FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 91 
facture of beaver hats, but, later, this use declined owing to the advent 
of the silk hat. At the present time, the fur is mostly plucked in dress- 
ing and sold for use in coats, stoles and muffs. The largest and finest 
skins are not worth more than $15 to $20, large No. 1 skins being 
quoted at $12. 
The beaver cannot be farmed because of the wide extent of terri- 
tory required to furnish food and also because it usually makes trouble 
for all neighbours in the same water area, whose lands have aspen, 
poplar, willow or other trees that furnish food. The only possible 
method is to enclose a large tract for both the forest and beavers that 
could be produced on it. Patrolling would be necessary and a certain 
number of beaver would have to be taken each year to maintain the 
proper supply. Possibly the range of the animals might be limited 
by fencing across the valleys. Trappers have said that the beaver will 
eat cultivated crops (e.g., turnips), but no proof of this statement 
could be found. If it eats such crops, ranching the beaver is feasible. 
The logical method to perpetuate the beaver is to create 
eee national game preserves under constant patrol. This 
ame Preserves 5 : : 
plan has proved successful in the Algonquin National 
Park, Ontario, where a considerable revenue is now derived from the sale 
of their skins. A system of national parks where the beaver and musk- 
rat would be efficiently protected and where other wild life would be 
propagated as well as protected is advisable. Protective laws, particu- 
larly in the case of the beaver, do not protect. Duiing the years when 
the beaver was contraband in Onta1io and Quebec, bales of furs fre- 
quently contained a number of beaver skins. The bale was sold as it was 
packed, or another customer was sought. Thus, many Montreal furriers 
testified that they purchased beaver skins continually and could not 
avoid it, if they wished to continue to buy raw pelts. 
For the information of those who desire to keep a few pairs of 
these interesting animals, it may be stated that when two years old, 
the beaver mates for life, mating taking place in February. The period 
of gestation is about three months. The litter usually consists of 
two or three, but may be larger. The young are weaned before they 
are two months old and taught to eat tender shoots of the raspberry 
and other plants. They accompany their mother the whole season. 
Foundation stock may be obtained from the Department of Lands, 
Forests and Mines, Toronto, Ont., at about $50 a pair. Success is 
easily achieved where water and the proper food are available. 
