cribe are constructed from
rough twigs, as these are always to be found in the woods, and
with a little practice are easily cut and shaped into the desired
forms. If desired, however, many of them may be whittled from pine
wood like the foregoing, and the pieces carried in a bundle, ready
for immediate use. In either case, whether made from the rough
twigs or seasoned wood, it is a good plan to have them already
prepared, and thus save time at the trapping ground when time is
more valuable.

THE PORTABLE SNARE.

This is simply a modification of the snare just described, but
possesses decided advantages over it in many respects. In the first
place, it requires little or no protection in the shape of an enclosure.
It can be set in trees or in swamps, or in short in _any_ place
where an upright elastic branch can be found or adjusted. Like
the foregoing, it is to be commended for its portability, fifty
or sixty of the pieces making but a small parcel, and furnishing
material for a score of traps. We call it the "portable snare"
partly in order to distinguish it from the one just described,
but chiefly because this particular variety is generally called
by that name in countries where it is most used.

It is composed of three pieces, all to be cut from a shingle or thin
board. Let the first be about eight inches long, and three-quarters
of an inch in width. This is for the upright. An oblong mortise
should be cut through this piece, one inch in length, and beginning
at about an inch from the end of the stick. Three inches from the
other end, and on one of the broad sides of the stick, a notch
should be made, corresponding in shape to that shown in our
illustration. The bait stick should be four or five inches long,
one end fitting easily into the mortise, where it should be secured
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by a wire or smooth nail driven through so as to form a hinge, on
which it will work easily. On the upper side of this stick, and two
inches distant from the pivot, a notch should be cut, similar to that
in the upright. The catch piece should be about two inches in length,
and bevelled off to a fiat edge at each end. This completes the pieces.

[Illustration]

To set the trap, it is only necessary to find some stout sapling,
after which the upright stick may be attached to it close to the
ground, by the aid of two pieces of stout iron wire, twisted firmly
around both. It is well to cut slight grooves at each end of the
uprigh