166 FERRET FACTS AND FANCIES. 



pounds; 12 ferrets 25 pounds. This party evi- 

 dently uses lighter material for shipping one or 

 two than he does for one-half or dozen lots. 



When shipping it is advisable to keep old 

 ones by themselves. Females will fight young 

 males and the animals may reach their destina- 

 tion considerably chopped or bitten up. It is 

 best to keep young by themselves when shipping. 



There is heavy expense in connection with 

 keeping say 500 females and 100 males through 

 the winter, spring and summer. After the young 

 become any size, say by June, it will require the 

 milk from something like 40 cows to supply them. 

 This is assuming that each of the 500 females 

 will have an average of six young. It will also 

 take 300 or 400 bushels of wheat during the year 

 to feed this large number and the young until 

 sold. Some feed little or no meat while others 

 buy all the old horses they can or even those 

 that have died with any disease, other than blood 

 poison or contagious ones. 



Northern Ohio is the center of the ferret rais- 

 ing industry. The business was first extensively 

 carried on near New London, Ohio and while the 

 first raiser is no longer engaged in the industry 

 to any great extent others in the same locality 

 are. In several places in Ohio the business is 

 now being pushed as well as having spread not 



