LXX THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



pelt continues its existence under a name and often under a guise 

 in which its original possessor would never recognize it. Thus 

 Goats become transformed into Bears 



Hares or Minks " " " Sables 



Muskrats and Rabbits " " " Sables, Seals or 



Electric Seals 

 Opossums " " " Beavers 



White Rabbits " " " Ermines 



White Hares " " " Chinchillas 



Raccoons " " " Silver Bears 



Even the domestic cat, hitherto an unappreciated national 

 asset, having exchanged its plebian designation for one which finds 

 more acceptance in good society, "arrives," and in so doing often helps 

 its wearer to do so also. 



Notwithstanding all the art and artifices of the fur dresser, the 

 supply of good fur continues to decrease and one fact stands out clearly, 

 namely, that to meet the demand we must domesticate and breed 

 our fur-bearing animals and no longer rely on hunting them. This 

 change is to be welcomed for humanitarian reasons as well as for many 

 others, since the most atrocious cruelty is perpetrated on our wild 

 animals in almost every kind of trapping, the creatures often lying 

 not only for hours but for days with crushed and broken limbs, maimed 

 and smashed before the hunter arrives and finally relieves their 

 suffering or some other animal finds them and tears them to pieces. 



Furs can, of course, only be produced under certain climatic 

 conditions and these are nowhere more favourable than in our Dominion. 

 The breeding of fur-bearing animals is an industry of great promise 

 which should, if carried on in a conservative and rational manner — 

 as any other industry must be to meet with success — have a great 

 future in Canada and be an additional source of wealth to the Dominion. 

 It is not, I think, generally recognized that a number of the more 

 important of these animals are already being bred in captivity — 

 several of them in Canada— with success, although as yet only on a 

 small scale. Among these are foxes of several varieties, mink, marten, 

 fisher, muskrat, raccoon and skunk. The skins of the animals bred 

 in captivity bring a higher price in the market than the skins of the 

 same animals taken in the forest. Fox farming, especially in Prince 

 Edward Island, indeed, although more or less discredited by the exces- 

 sive speculation with which it has been associated, has proved to be 

 a successful industry and one which is capable of great expansion. 

 The Government returns show that there were on Prince Edward 

 Island on January 1st, 1914, 277 fox "ranches," containing 3,178 



