NO. 1405. 3rA^fI^^ALS of northwest territories— macfarlane. 713 



mice, which t'rc([uent]y do a considerable amount of damage b}' devour- 

 ing- and concealing- meat and other eatables, and in cutting- up cloth 

 and goods. A domestic cat seldom evades death from native dogs. 

 In May, 1885, a skin of this species was forwarded from Fort Chipe- 

 wyan, Athabasca, to Dr. Ro])ert Bell, of Ottawa; and in July, 1889, 

 three trade specimens froni Babine Lake, British Columbia, were sent 

 to Washington. It is fairly abundant in New C-aledonia District. The 

 Hudson's Ba}' Company now annually trades and exports to England 

 man}- thousand ermine skins; l)ut for several decades previous to 1887 

 the prices obtained for them were not renuuierative, and their hunt- 

 ing Avas not therefore encouraged. Jubilee and coronation functions 

 have, however, brought them once more to the front, to the advantage 

 of the hunter, the trader, and the seller. From 1853 to 1877, inclu- 

 sive, the company's average London sales of ermines amounted to •2,4:16 

 skins a year. The five best 3'ears were 1873 with l,Ult^, 1871 with 

 4,147, 1875 with 4,7;W, 1876 with (),;560, and 1877 Avith 5,338; and the 

 live lowest, 1858 with 1,034, 1859 with 809, 1862 with 912, 1803 with 

 1,178, and 1864 with 899. As against all this, the sale of 1902 reached 

 16,374, and that of 1903, 33,883 skins. 



MINK. 



Lutreola v'lson UiciiMri^ Preble. 



The mink is one of the company's staple pelts, and although it is 

 but very slightl}" dependent on the American hare for food, yet it 

 somehow seems to periodically augment and decrease in numbers much 

 in the same way, not perhaps in as precise, but still in a remarkably 

 interesting manner. If we adopt a minimum of 50,000 and under as 

 a "lean" unit, and sales above that tigui-e as "good,"" as was done in 

 the case of the marten sales, we may better understand this. The sales 

 of the years 1853 and 1854 were 25,152 and 42,375 skins, respectively. 

 There is reason to believe that the sales of the three previous years 

 were below the average. Then came five "good" years in succes- 

 sion, 1855 with 50,839, 1856 with 61,581, 1857 with 61,951, 1858 with 

 76,231, and 1859 with 62,264 skins. Next we have four "lean" sales, 

 1860 w^ith 44,730, 1861 with 31,094, 1862 w^ith 49,452, and 1863 with 

 43,961 skins. These were followed by six "good" j-ears — 1864 to 

 1869— with 61,727, 60,334, 51,404, 58,451, 73,575, and 74,343 skins, 

 re.spectivel}^ Once more we have four "lean" sales, 1870 with 

 27,708, 1871 with 31,985, 1872 with 39,266, and 1873 with 44,740 

 skins. The year 1858, already mentioned, with 76,231, 1876 with 

 79,214 (maximum), and 1877 with 79,060 skins were the three largest 

 3"ears' sales for the period under review. The total output of minks, 

 exclusive of some 15,000 skins sold in Montreal and St. Paul, was 

 1,365,360. 



