spring of the trap. Dry and finely pulverized horse or cow manure may be more advantageously used to cover the inside of the trap jaws. Care should be taken to keep all loose dirt from getting under the pan and to see that there is an open space beneath it of at least a quarter of an inch.

A trap pad made of canvas or of old descented slicker cloth for finally covering the pan should now be placed on the inside of the jaws; then over all should be sprinkled dry dirt to the depth of a quarter to a half inch, of the same color as the ground surrounding the trap. The spot where the trap is buried should be left in as natural a condition as possible.

Scented Trap

A scent attractive to bobcats may be used to advantage to lure the animals to trap sets. When scenting is resorted to, however, the traps should not be placed in the runway proper, but on either side of it, or on one side only, and parallel to Sets the trail. They should be set in the same manner as described for the blind sets, between the trail and the spot selected for scattering the scent. (Fig. 3.) This spot should be no more than 6 to 8 inches from the trap. In placing the scent, advantage should be taken of any stubble, bunch of weeds, exposed root, or object known as a scent post. These are so termed from the fact that they are the places selected by the animal for voiding urine or feces.

Bobcats usually have their scent posts slightly off the trail, on stubble of range grasses, on bushes, or even on old bleached-out carcasses. Where the ground conditions are right for good tracking, natural scent posts may be detected by the claw scratches and the small mound of dirt where the bobcat has covered its excrement. Such habits are similar to those of house cats. In passing along its trails, the bobcat will usually revisit these scent posts.

When natural scent posts can not be readily found, one may be easily established along the determined trail of a bobcat by dropping scent (of a kind to be described) on a few clusters of weeds, spears of grass, or stubble of low brush. The trap should be set between the trail and the place scented, about 6 or 8 inches from each. (Fig. 4.) Any number of such scent stations may be placed along a determined trail. The farther from the trail a trap is set, however, the more scent will be needed. For dropping the scent, a 2 to 4 ounce bottle fitted with a shaker cork may be used.

Figure 3.—Placing a scent set for bobcats: A, double trap set, placed as in blind sets, but a few inches off the trail instead of directly in it; B, traps bedded, and springs and jaws properly covered and pan unobstructed, ready for covering with a trap pad, on which the topsoil is to be spread. Scent sets are placed between the trail and a clump of weeds or other natural or artificial scent posts

Preparation of Scent

The basis of the scent may be any kind of fish, but oily varieties, such as sturgeon, eels, suckers, and carp, are preferred. The flesh should be ground in a sausage mill, placed in strong tin or galvanized-iron cans, and left in a warm place to decompose thoroughly. Each can must be provided with a small vent to allow the escape of gas, otherwise there is danger of explosion. The aperture, however, should be screened with a fold of cloth to prevent flies from depositing