Prairie Red-fox 747 



There are two sources of profit to the fur-breeder. First, 

 the sale of fur; apparently this is his only one. The Winni- 

 peg Commercial gives the following quotations for Fox pelts, 

 March, 1904: 



Prime Common Red . . $1.50 to ^4.00 

 " Cross . . . . $5.00 to $15.00 

 " Silvers .... $50.00 to $200.00 



These may be considered as conservative figures. W. F. 

 Sheard, the fur-dealer at Tacoma, tells me that he once sold 

 three perfectly matched Silver-foxes for $1,200. A man, 

 therefore, with an acre of ground "under Foxes" might raise 

 20 to 40 Silvers a year with an average market value of $150 

 each, i. e., $3,000 to $6,000 a year gross, and the expenses 

 would be very low. 



How long the price would keep up to this high figure it is 

 impossible to say, but it has kept up for over a hundred years 

 and there is no present sign of decline, rather the contrary. 



My own impression is that twenty years from now there 

 will be a great many fur-farmers furnishing first-class Silver- 

 foxes, more than ever before were put on the market. This 

 will eventually lower the prices, but it will be largely ofi^set by 

 the increasing market, and it is safe to say that so beautiful a 

 fur will always fetch a figure sufficient to make it remunerative 

 to produce. 



The second profit of the dealer, and perhaps his best, is 

 the sale of his fine stock to other breeders. A Fox whose pelt 

 is valued at $100 is worth $300 as a breeder. Messrs. Norton 

 and Stevens hold their breeders at: Reds, $15 per pair; 

 Cross, $75 per pair; Silvers, $300 to $400 per pair, and even 

 at that figure they tell me that they cannot keep pace with the 

 demand. This would naturally decrease, but to judge from 

 experience in other fine stock it is more permanent than it 

 would seem. It will probably last quite long enough to enable 

 the prudent to gather a very handsome return and perhaps a 

 comfortable fortune. 



