FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 63 
for the fox business. This house is divided into three rooms, in the 
larger of which is a vat for freshening salt meat or fish. The other 
rooms are designated as trapping and examination rooms, respectively. 
The cage adjoins the trapping room. All food set out for foxes is 
placed in the cage, the door being always open. Week after week before 
trapping begins the foxes feed in this trap, and of course have no fear 
of it. 
“When trapping time arrives, food is placed in the trap as usual 
and 8 or 10 men repair to the fox house. The door of the wire cage is 
adjusted and the man who operates it is stationed in the trapping room, 
in a position to observe what is going on in the cage; and when a suffi- 
cient number of foxes have entered, he closes the door by pulling a 
small rope. He then goes into the cage and drives the animals into 
the trapping room, where two men with large leather mittens pick the 
foxes up and pass them, one at a time, into the hands of others waiting 
in the examination room. 
“When foxes are numerous in the trapping room, they run between 
the legs of the men attempting to catch them, climb up their bodies and 
jump from their shoulders, but very seldom bite except when they are 
taken hold of. If they get a good hold of a man’s hand they hang on 
with bull-dog tenacity until their jaws are pried apart. They seem to 
realize their inability to bite through the mittens, and with few ex- 
ceptions are easily handled. Major Clark reports one last year as lying 
inert in the native’s arms, making no struggle whatever, and apparently 
enjoying the smoothing it received. 
“The Government Agent is stationed in the examination 
ping han ee room, and when a fox is passed in he decides whether it 
shall be killed, or branded and dismissed as a breeder. 
The elements on which his decision is based are the colour and quality - 
of the fur, the age, length of brush, and live weight of the animal. 
All white foxes, runts, those off colour, crippled, bob-tailed, in poor con- 
dition physically, suffering from mange, or otherwise unfit to be left as 
breeders, are dispatched at once. All animals left as breeders must be 
in good physical condition, of good colour, and either young or in the 
prime of life; males must weigh at least 10 pounds, and females at 
least 74 pounds. 
“The age is determined by a dental examination which is made by 
opening the animal’s mouth with a soft gag, and inspecting the teeth. 
“Tn taking the live weight, a strap two inches wide is looped around 
the animal’s tail and the other end of the strap attached to a spring 
