osures for fur farming, must be decided
by each individual. One party may have a creek, pond or lake, perhaps a
swamp, already inhabited by muskrat, and all that is necessary is to
keep other hunters and trappers off. On navigable rivers or lakes having
an inlet and outlet, we believe in most states any one can trap so long
as he is upon the water. In other words, the water does not belong to
the land owner and he cannot keep others off; but any small lake or pond
may be enclosed. On this point it would be well to see some lawyer in
your county, as different states may have different laws.

A wooded bluff containing some den trees for coon, and hollow logs,
stumps, etc., for opossum and skunk, would be an ideal place for a
fur-farm. The location of the farm should be within sight of the home of
the raiser, in case a dog should get within or a thief should visit the
farm. To guard against stealing at night your dog would give the alarm,
or you could have an electric appliance connect the farm with the
house.

Islands in large lakes offer a splendid place to begin raising
fur-bearing animals, and especially those that do not like to get their
"fur wet" or that naturally are not swimmers. In this class are the
various kinds of foxes, skunk and opossum; marten, it is true, are not
included in the swimming class, but the successful marten raiser perhaps
will be found, if at all, in the higher altitudes where the snow gets
several feet deep during the winter months, and the ground is covered
with snow eight or nine months each year--such is the ideal and natural
home of the marten.

Skunk and opossum are two animals that do not travel much in extreme
cold weather, so that an island in a lake or large river, could be used
with no fencing. It perhaps would be best to put up a wire fence but it
need not be so substantial as if it were not surrounded by water. Of
course islands in rivers that overflow, would not be suitable. There
are, however, islands in the Great Lakes and elsewhere, that can be used
for raising both skunk and opossum with little or no cash outlay at the
start.

If islands are used for foxes (except in salt water where the water does
not freeze), the same precaution in fencing must be taken as elsewhere.
Foxes travel during all kinds of weather and the first night the ice
formed sufficient to bear their weight, they would be very apt to
leave.

Coon could not be successfully raised on an island. They do n