5 8 THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 



mark of identification of the silver fox, three silver foxes in Prince 

 Edward Island had no white tips on their tails and some others had 

 only a few white hairs. 



The explanation is sometimes given that silver foxes are 

 peculiarly pure in Prince Edward Island because the province is cut 

 off from the mainland and the blood cannot be diluted with alien 

 strains ; but that argument hardly holds good ; for some of the 

 finest silver foxes known to the trade have come from Labrador and 

 Athabasca, which are not cut off. Highest prices are now paid for 

 Prince Edward Island foxes ; but isn't that because domestication 

 has purified the blood and care has beautified the fur ? A colder 

 climate produces a heavier, stronger pelt and deeper pelage ; but 

 care produces the sheen and the silky beauty. 



In many Provinces and States, it is unlawful to keep fur-bearing 

 animals in captivity. These laws will have to be changed and 

 a license system established. 



In fur farms, the location of the ranch will depend on the needs 

 of the animal. The mink must have access to water and fish diet. 

 So must the otter. Fruit diet helps the fur of the marten. Good 

 natural pasturage and ample ranging ground are required for the 

 buffalo. It may surprise the American trade to include the buffalo 

 as a fur bearer ; and at the big spring sale in Montreal, the general 

 trade's lack of appreciation of the buffalo as a fur bearer came 

 out in the fact that of buffalo heads and buffalo pelts sent down from 

 Wainwright Park, the hides sold at #75 — presumably for floor rugs 

 — and the heads sold at #1200. Yet in the old days in the North- 

 west, when buffalo were more plentiful than cattle, there was no 

 pelt that gave the same degree of warmth with the same light 

 weight. The hide was proof against any and all weather. Damp 

 did not mat it. Sunlight did not fade it ; and the skin was tougher 

 than shoe leather. As to the beauty, that depended on the Indian 

 dressing and the season when the hide had been taken ; but with 

 dyeing and dressing firms that can transform muskrat into a perfect 

 imitation of Alaska seal, a well-dressed buffalo can be made into 



