262 ANIMAL COMPETITORS 



vary with circumstances, but may easily be cal- 

 culated. 



"Mink," says Seton, "may be fed exactly as 

 one would feed a house-cat table-scraps va- 

 ried with meat two or three times a week. 

 Fish is very much to their liking, and may be 

 given nearly every day if other things are used. 

 Bread and milk, johnny-cake, etc., should be 

 added for variety ; even raw liver may be given 

 sparingly at intervals, but cooked food, as a 

 rule, is safer. Two light meals, morning and 

 night, or one substantial meal, late in the day, 

 is sufficient; and at all times an abundance of 

 clean water. ... A fast-day once in two 

 weeks is a good thing for fat animals." 



Each old animal should have a cage to itself 

 and be kept in it except in the breeding month 

 (February), when a male and four, five or six 

 females may be turned out together in one of 

 the yards; but persistently bad-tempered ones 

 should be taken away from the band. No bad 

 smell will be made if general cleanliness is 

 maintained, the yard-soil being frequently 

 raked and overturned to remove droppings and 

 air it. If their cages are kept clean the ani- 



