Fox Trapping

I have found the summer and early fall months the best time to locate the haunts of the fox, as they are sure to use the same territory in the winter season. While on one of my recent investigating tours, a few days after a rain, I observed some facts that will be interesting.

I struck an old road running through a farm, and readily noticed some fox tracks. Naturally I followed on and found they led under a wheat harvester, which had been recently left in the road and on under an iron gate, into the pasture beyond. All know that a harvester is largely constructed of iron and steel. Now if the fox is so afraid of this metal, as is supposed, does it seem reasonable that he would walk under such a mass of iron, or under an iron gate?

In fox trapping the smoking and smearing process is advocated as well as the handling with gloves and concealing under the ground. In the light of my observations, are all these precautions absolutely necessary? On this same trip, in question,