FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 67 
life. It was placed on a hot water bottle, where it soon revived and 
began to squeal. Mrs. Judge administered milk with a medicine drop- 
per and it soon settled down and went into a healthy sleep. When it 
awoke, the medicine dropper was again brought into use; and, later 
on, it learned to nurse one end of a bunch of cotton, the other end of 
which was immersed in milk. It improved steadily on a milk diet 
until it was three weeks old. It then grew less ravenous, probably as 
a result of overfeeding, and, at times, refused to nurse. At the age of 
four weeks it died. Its eyes opened on the 15th day. When brought in, 
it weighed 2 1-4 ounces; when three weeks old it weighed six ounces. 
“White foxes are occasionally found in litters of blue. 
Reduced Number There is no record of a litter of white foxes. As the 
of White Foxes ; : : : : 
white skins are of comparatively little value, continued 
effort to exterminate white foxes has been pursued since 1897. Every 
white fox entering the trap since that time has been killed at once 
and, in addition, the natives are permitted to shoot them any time dur- 
ing the winter. The total number killed in 1897 was 40, in 1898 it 
was 18, and since that time the number killed per year has varied be- 
tween 6 and 12, with the exception of the winter of 1903-1904, when 
15 were killed. Last winter 8 white skins were secured, but Major 
Clark, who was then in charge of St. George, says that only three of 
these were pure white, the others being either marred or mottled with 
faint blue spots. During the summer of 1906 Mr. Chichester observed 
a number of foxes that were part blue and part white. After Septem- 
ber, he saw but one of these and therefore concluded that as winter 
approached the parti-coloured coats became white. 
“Evidence of disease among foxes on the island is scanty. 
Diseases Foxes found dead at any season are always autopsied, the 
local physician assisting, but it is seldom that the cause of 
death can be definitely ascertained. Dr. Mills and I found a fox in 
spasms, which on post mortem was found to have been suffering from 
uremic poisoning. One death was due to hemorrhage of the kidney, 
and another to tuberculosis. This latter case was found by us on May 
28, 1905. The animal was a female, 3 years old, carrying one brand. 
She was void of fat and weighed not more than 4 pounds. The loss 
of flesh had occurred since the time of trapping, a few months previous. 
Tubercular nodules were found in both lungs. Death, on one occa- 
sion, resulted from a sack of pus which had formed on the intestine. 
Another dead fox showed all the organs normal except one of the 
kidneys, which was atrophied. 
“Mr. Chichester reports three dying of kidney disease and one of 
