184 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 



From the ''Forest and Stream" of July 2, 1874, the following 

 article is extracted iu further illustration of this branch of 

 industry: — 



'' Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, of Cancadea, New York, 

 commenced two years ago the business of breeding mink for 

 their fur. A correspondent of the Buffalo Express describes 

 the ^Minkery' in the following terms: — 



u^The *'Minkery," designed to accommodate one hundred 

 minks for breeding, consists first of an enclosure about forty feet 

 square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a plank at 

 the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the wall, which 

 consists of boards four feet hi^h, with a board to cap the top, 

 projecting upward eight or ten inches to prevent their climbing 

 over. Within this enclosure is a building 14 by 24, supplied by 

 running water, from which the mink catch living fish, that are 

 often furnished, with the greatest delight. 



"'The building is constructed by an alley three feet wide 

 around its circumference. Within are two rows of cells four 

 feet deep and two and a half wide, each having a door venti- 

 lated at the top and bottom with wire screens, as is also the front 

 entrance, what the proprietors call the anteroom, four by four 

 feet, which must be fastened within every time the building is 

 entered, to prevent the escape of the imprisoned animals. On 

 entering the main hall, which the minks have access to (when 

 not rearing their young), they present a very playful group. 



" 'The person feeding them is often mounted, for their food 

 and their tenacity of hold is so strong that they may be drawn 

 about or lifted without releasing their hold upon the food. The 

 nest of the female is very peculiarly constructed with grass, 

 leaves, or straw, with a lining of her own fur so firmly com- 

 pacted together as to be with difficulty torn in pieces. The 

 aperture leading to the nest is a round opening, just sufficient 

 to admit the dam, and is provided with a deflected curtain, 

 which covers the entrance and eftectually secures her against 

 all invasion when she is within. About the middle of March 

 the females, are separated from the males until the young are 

 reared. The necessity for this arises from the fact that the 

 males seem inclined to brood the young almost as much as the 

 dam, when both are permitted to remain together. 



"'The expense of feeding these animals is almost nominal, 

 being supplied pretty much entirely from the usual offal of a 

 farm yard, with occasional woodchucks and game in general. 



