For fox decoy, get five or six musk glands from rats in the springtime; put enough trout or angle worms with them to make a pint, cork them tight and leave in the sun thru the summer, and add the essence from one skunk (squeeze out the essence, don't put in the bag). I have never seen a better decoy and I have used many. You can use either one alone. I have caught many foxes with trout oil alone.
Remember the bait and scent is no good whatever as long as there remains a trace of human odor; the whole secret is, Be Careful.
The beaver castors or bark sacks and the oil stones are found near the vent in four sacks in both male and female. In taking them out, cut clear around them, and take all out together with as little meat as possible. The bark sacks contain a yellow substance. To get the contents, tie a string around the hole in the sacks and rub them between the hands until soft, then cut them open and squeeze the contents into a glass jar or bottle. To get the oil from the oil stone, cut the end off and squeeze it. Keep separate and mix as directed:
1st. Take the castor of one beaver, add 20 drops oil of cinnamon, 10 drops oil Anise, and "wine" of beaver to make the bait thick like mush.
2nd. Take the castor sacks of one beaver, add 7 drops of oil sassafras, 7 drops Anise, 10 drops oil from the oil stone.
3rd. Take the castor sacks of one beaver, add 10 drops of Jamaica rum, 5 drops oil of Anise, 5 drops oil cloves, 5 drops oil sassafras, 5 drops oil Rhodium.
4th. Take the castor sacks of one beaver, add 10 drops oil from the oil stones, and beaver's urine enough to make the bait like mush.
For beaver bait, get six castors off of beavers, one nutmeg, 12 cloves, 30 grains or cinnamon and mix up with a little whiskey to make in a paste or like mixed mustard. Put in a bottle and cork. In a few days it will get strong, then use as a bait on pan of trap.
You catch no foxes if there is any human scent around, says an Eastern trapper. I will tell you how I set a trap for fox in a brook of running water. Have your trap free from rust (beeswax is good to prevent rust on a trap); have on a pair of water-proof boots, put the bait on a rock about two feet from shore, and set trap on a rock three inches from shore. Cover trap about one inch with moss; have it rise above water, and place a rock for reynard to step on before he steps onto the trap rock. Put a few drops of scent on the bait, of the right kind, and be sure the trap is under water; handle bait and moss with sharp stick. Now I am sure you would catch no fox if you worked from the bank. Always walk in water when going to trap.