288 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



liabit where there are several fish in a small pool to kill all be- 

 fore eating any of them. A live rabbit which was introduced 

 into one of the cages was very quickly killed by a male mink. 



It is the custom to feed minks in captivity once a day. Run- 

 ning water is preferable, but not necessary, and it was noted 

 that where water has been frozen in the pans the minks gnawed 

 at the ice and lapped up the particles that were dislodged. The 

 method of drinking milk is similar to that of the cat. 



The mink is a very cleanly animal, and the cages which, be- 

 cause of the cold weather, had not been cleaned recently, were 

 wholesome and free from odor. 



The chief factor in the success of this mink farm lies in the 

 care and skill shown by the owners in housing, feeding, and 

 breeding. 



The individual cages are about six feet long by three feet 

 high, and three feet wide. They are built of pine and wire 

 mesh, the pine box having part of the top at one end and all of 

 the contiguous end of one-fourth inch mesh wire. That part of 

 the top which is of wire swings upward on hinges and affords 

 easy access to the interior of the cage. Within, on the floor, is 

 a litter of straw and grass, a pan for water, and the box previ- 

 ously described, in which the mink makes its nest. 



It has been found best not to handle them and the easy meth- 

 od by which handling is avoided and the supposedly difficult 

 process of getting an animal from one cage to another simpli- 

 fied, reveals the careful planning by the owners in the conduct 

 of this experiment. Along the front of each cage and connect- 

 ing each cage to every other one in the house is a small wire- 

 constructed alley about six inches high and wide. At eacft par- 

 tition between cages, this alley is fitted with a sliding drop 

 door, much like the stop to a grain spout, The door from the 

 cage into the alley way is similarly guarded by a drop door 

 which can readily be operated from the outside of the cage. If 

 it is desired to clean the cage this door is raised, a little rattling 

 of the wire induces the mink to enter the run-way, the door is 

 closed and he is prevented from going back into the cage, and 

 can not follow the run-way farther than to the limits of the 

 partitions between the cages, where, as noted before, there are 

 drop doors to close that particular section. The run-way so 

 closed forms a box three feet long by six inches wide and high. 



