FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 125 
In conclusion your committee would again wge upon this Associ- 
ation such action by resolution as will give emphasis to our desiie that 
State legislatures should so modify their laws as to permit the market- 
ing, under needed regulations, of venison or live deer reared in pre- 
serves stocked and maintained at private expense. 
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BREEDERS’ 
ASSOCIATION ON BREEDING FUR-BEARING ANIMALS* 
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 
The possibility of breeding many species for their fur has not 
been overlooked and spasmodic effoits along this line have been made 
in various parts of the country for generations. Almost every fur- 
bearing species has been the subject of experimentation. Fox and skunk 
farming has attracted most attention, but mink, marten, otter, beaver, 
and muskrat have come in for a fair share. The field has proved most 
alluring, as with pencil and paper any sanguine person can in a few 
minutes figure out a large fortune in fur at the market price and well 
known normal rate of inciease of a given species of mammal. Again 
end again it has taken years of wo1k and the expenditure of thousands 
of dollars to prove that important factors have been omitted in the 
computations. One well-organized company in Pennsylvania sank 
$25,000 in three years, only to prove that skunks would eat their young 
when in close confinement. Skunk faiming, however, has, in some 
cases, proved a partial success, but ‘“ Why raise one-dollar skunks in- 
stead of thi ty-dollar mai ten?’ ’ is a question asked by Mr. E. T. Seton, 
a member of the piesent committee. 
The nearest approach to success in fur culture has been on the 
native range of species, where, owing to favourable conditions, protec- 
tion could be afforded and the animals allowed to multiply until a 
profitable yield of fur was secured. This method has been especially 
applied to blue foxes, beavers, and muskrats, and with considei able 
success. It merits every possible encouragement; but in most cases 
there has been little attempt at domestication and nothing gained by 
way of permanent control of breeds of valuable fur bearers. In fact 
there seems to have been no systematic attempt to develop a domestic 
breed of fur-bearing animals. Most of the experiments have been in 
“Annual Report, 1898. The objects of this committee are; To investigate and 
report on possibilities, methods and technique of breeding fur animals; and to en- 
courage experiments in the production and breeding of fur animals. 
