FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 73 
The whole question of mink-ranching is one that needs more 
thorough investigation and probably the establishment of experimental 
farms under experienced ranchmen. A somewhat vague classification 
into three types of farming can be made from the information gathered: 
1. The Natural Plan.—The minks are given an extensive 
range and the conditions under which they live differ from the 
natural conditions only in that the animals are fed and occasional 
nests provided. All catching is by trapping. 
2. The Colony Method.—The families are kept in colony 
houses with a runway to a creek. 
8. The Pen System.—Each mink is kept in a separate pen. 
: The Compagnie Zootechnique de Labelle was the only 
ca Natural yanch of this type examined, though a vague report was 
obtained of another of the same type at Port Medway, 
N.S. In 1911, some two dozen mink were placed in the area shown in 
the illustration, comprising about one-quarter acre. They increased 
about 100 per cent. in number in 1912. The manager explained the 
small increase as being due to the limited quarters with which they 
were provided. Another possible explanation is that 1912 appeared to 
be a poor year for both mink and fox. It is also possible that the old 
wild animals captured did not take kindly to their new location or to 
the artificial nests. The last cause will disappear, particularly as soon 
as ranch-bred mink are available. — 
As stated, the total area enclosed in the ranch in 1911 was about 
one-quarter acre. In 1912, work was under way to enclose an area 2,000 
feet long and 1,500 feet wide at the widest point. The lai ger range will 
probably insure considerable success. 
The situation of the ranch is on an island in Lac Chaud in an 
uninhabited section of country in the Lawentians. It is high and 
rocky and covered with birch and spruce. The ranch is enclosed with 
one continuous fence about 12 feet high, set on solid rock on land, and on 
sunken piers in the water. The chief difficulty is in the construction of 
the water fence as ice breaks the wire in spring. It is proposed to 
prevent this by dropping a plank fence three feet wide into the piers to 
protect the wire during the icy season. In spring the planks will be 
removed. Not more than a dozen feet of the margin of Lac Chaud are 
included within the fence. To prevent the escape of the mink under 
the fence, a wide carpet wire is turned in on the lake bottom. To pre- 
vent high climbing, a strip of sheet iron a foot wide is fastened half 
way up the fence. There is also an overhang of iron. 
