207 ANIMALS 



FOR PROFIT 



They are not expensive to breed, as their food 

 is chiefly sour milk and cornmeal or flour made 

 into a small loaf, with a little meat once a week. 

 They are clean animals and with careful atten- 

 tion are free from disease. They breed as well 

 in captivity as in their wild state, six or seven 

 being the average litter, and any man who has 

 made a success of raising hens can succeed with 

 foxes, which require no more space or care and 

 are worth twenty times as much. Fine silver 

 fox furs are worth $150 a pelt. A cold climate 

 is needed. 



A fox ranch should have a No. 16 galvanized 

 wire fence, ten feet high with an overhang of 18 

 inches to keep the foxes from escaping. Stakes 

 must be driven close to the fence to prevent 

 burrowing. This and the purchase of stock com- 

 prise the whole expense for starting in a busi- 

 ness whose gross receipts may mean from $3000 

 to $6000 a year on a score or two of animals. 



But an easier business that is fast becoming 

 popular is bee-keeping. More than the average 

 living is made in raising honey bees, by careful 

 and intelligent study. Any farming, gardening, 



