FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 9 
Reliable furriers, however, do not use the deceptive names 
erate ae mentioned above. Many of the smaller furriers are 
: doubtless ignorant of the real names of their stock; but 
cheap advertisers are frequently guilty of misnaming. Many enya 
giving private addresses mislead the public; when a lady who is ‘ going 
South’ offers her new $150 Russian lynx set for $25, the conclusion 
may readily be reached that it is ‘doctored’ rabbit. However, the enter- 
prise of furriers should not be wholly discouraged, as, aes. owing 
to the scarcity of really good fur, many ladies would nee to appear in 
worsted scarfs and mitts for six months of the year. The pride they 
take in their ‘ermines’, ‘foxes’, and ‘chinchillas’ and in their bargain 
‘fishers’ and black ‘marten’ would probably be diminished if they 
knew they were only ‘doctored’ rabbit, opossum and wallaby. 
All these artifices of the fur dresser and the fur dealer 
Hunter-Trapper have failed, however, to compensate for the decreasing 
eS a supply of fur of good quality. One fact stands out 
prominently: the hunting and trapping of wild fur-bearing animals 
must give place to their domestication if the demand for furs is to be 
satisfied. 
The hunter-trapper age has passed its zenith. With the demand 
exceeding the possible supply, more economical methods must be intro- 
duced and the supply must be increased. The tearing up of trapped 
animals by carnivorous mammals before the trapper can reach the traps 
is common and represents a great loss. The killing of animals whose 
pelts are not in prime condition represents a large annual loss of val- 
uable fur. These and other wastes are eliminated when fur-bearers 
are domesticated. 
The first step towards raising animals for their fur was 
ae ee taken years ago when karakule sheep—a domestic animal 
from which the Persian lamb and broadtail are obtained— 
began to be bred for its pelt. Up to recent years this animal was the 
only example of a valuable fur-bearer in captivity. It is a domestic 
animal merely, but, because of the difficulties in travelling, in language 
in knowledge of good stock, in quarantine laws and in remoteness of 
the district in which they flourish, it would be very difficult to secure 
specimens for breeding purposes. Latterly, exceedingly optimistic 
reports of successes in karakule ‘crosses’ in Germany and the United 
States have been reported. If the Persian lamb can be produced in 
