TRAPPING
1939
TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH
stand out in great steps on the sides of hills and mountains. They are made chiefly of feldspar and pyroxene. Trap-rocks when freshly broken usually have a green color, some being a very light green and others nearly black; the weathered surfaces are usually rusty in color. Some trap is very compact, looking like flint. Basalt is a dark, heavy variety of trap-rock. The Palisades on Hudson River just above New York City are cliffs of trap-rock.
Trap'ping is a form of the pursuit of animals which is unsportsmanlike and commercial ; although it is sometimes employed abroad against lions and other beasts for self-protection. The most familiar form of trapping, perhaps, is the taking of fish. Netting fish is a form of trapping; and is done either by a gill-net into which the head of a fish enters, so that its gills are caught, or by a cast net which extends from top to bottom of the water or by a trawling-net dragged behind a moving vessel. Fish are often trapped in nooses, cages and baskets. Traps for rats and mice generally belong to the spring-type. Traps of this kind are sometimes cruelly armed with iron teeth; they may be used against animals of every kind. Some animals, as rabbits, may be trapped in nooses which possess a tightening slipknot. Birds are often taken by such nooses, which catch their feet and hold them prisoners. Large animals are sometimes taken by a fall-trap, in which a heavy weight is loosened by a touch in such a way that it crushes the -animal beneath This is the principle of the box-trap also; but in a box-trap the animal is uninjured by the fall of the lid which imprisons him. An ancient method of trapping large animals is by means of pits loosely covered with earth. This method is laborious, but useful in the case of big game, as bears, elephants, wolves and even lions. Some animals, as deer and wild horses, may be driven down a V-shaped passage into a corral or enclosure. Trapping is,an important form of the pursuit of fur-bearing beasts; since it is economical and neither injures the fur nor is apt to terrify other animals. See TRAWLING.
Trasirne'nus, Lake. A shallow Italian lake lying between the towns of Cortona and Perugia, about ten miles long by eight in breadth. There was no outlet until 1896, when an artificial one was opened, draining a wide, frequently overflowed margin which has been planted in eucalyptus trees. On the farther removed slopes are olive-plantations. The lake contains three small islands. It is memorable as the scene of Hannibal's victory over the Romans under Flaminius in 217 B. C. Fifteen thousand Romans were slain, 10,000 captured, Hannibal losing only 1,500 men.
Trav'erse City, Mich., the seat of Grand Traverse County, on Grand Traverse Bay,
an inlet of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of Boardman River, also on the Grand Rapids and Indiana, the P6re Marquette and the Manistee railroad, 55 miles northeast of Manistee. It is reached also by steamer from Chicago, and has steamboat connection with the chief ports on Lake Michigan. It is situated in a good farming and fruit-growing region, has a fishing-trade on the lake, and is an attractive resort in summer. The Northern Michigan Insane Asylum has its seat here. The city also has a public library and fine municipal buildings. Its trade is varied and growing, and (besides machine-shops, furniture, sash and door, shingle and lumber products) includes considerable industry in making baskets, oval wood^dishes, corn-starch, floorings, interior finishings, wagons and sleighs. Settled early in the 50*3, Traverse City was incorporated in 1895. Population 12,115.
Trawl'ing, one of the many modes of catching fish, as cod, haddock, herring, soles, on the fishing-grounds off the American coast and in its bays and estuaries, as well as off the Newfoundland "banks" and off other countries of the world. In the Great Lakes of North America, as well as in deep-sea fishing, pound, gill and drift nets, seines and herring-weir, besides the hook and line, are used to trap fish, in addition to dredges, with fine-meshed nets, for obtaining oysters, scallops, clams, lobsters etc. The trawl in common use is a triangular net, purse-shaped, 60 or 70 feet in length, with a breadth at the mouth varying from 30 to 40 feet; this is fastened to a wooden beam, which keeps the net open, and is supported by two upright frames, called trawl-heads. The net, on its underside, has a deep, curved margin, attached to the ground-rope; the trawl itself having two deep pockets so adjusted that the fish, when caught, are unable to escape; while two long, stout ropes .fasten the net to the trawl-heads, with a lengthy towing-line appended. The vessels engaged in trawling are generally visited periodically by swift-sailing cutters, which bring the fish, packed in ice, fresh to market. See TRAPPING.
Treas'ury, Depart'merit of. See UNITED STATES, DEPARTMENTS OF THE.
Treaty of Ports'mouth, The, which closed the war of 1904-5 between Russia and Japan, was signed at Portsmouth, N. H., on Sept. 5, 1905, by the envoys of Japan and Russia; and on Oct. 14 by the Mikado and the Czar. President Roosevelt of the United States had urged peace on the belligerents as early as June 2, 1905. As a result, negotiations for peace were begun; and on June 10 Russia agreed to receive the proposals of Japan. Plenipotentiaries were appointed to meet at Washington, D. C., but Portsmouth, N. H., was chosen
