124 BULLETIN NO. VII. 



min. They cannot climb a smooth surface, but ascend readily 

 where there is roughness enough for a nail hold. The grown 

 male will weigh about two pounds; the female is heavier than 

 she looks, averaging between one and a half and one and three - 

 fourths pounds. These tame Minks make excellent ratters, 

 hunt vigorously, and soon exterminate the troublesome pests. 

 Rats will make off on scenting them, they are so bewildered 

 in flight that they give no battle, but yield at once; and the 

 Mink severs the main vessels of the neck so quickly and skil- 

 fully that an observer would scarcely imagine the deed had 

 been done. 



When wild Minks are confined with the tame ones, the latter 

 always prove stronger than the former, and come off victorious 

 in the contests that ensue. They have been observed to beat 

 off a cat that imprudently invaded the minkery in quest of food. 

 So completely domesticated are the animals that a person may 

 enter the inclosure with impunity, and observe the animals 

 playing about him like kittens. 



Mr. Resseque states that he finds ready sale for his Minks 

 in fact, that he cannot supply the demand. His prices are $30 

 per pair $20 for a female, $10 for a male, and $25 for an im- 

 pregnated female. It is to be hoped that this novel branch of 

 industry will be perpetuated and extended. There are plenty 

 of Minks in this country, the services of which are available 

 without difficulty for the purpose of destroying vermin, and in 

 the aggregate their good services would have a very decidedly 

 appreciable result. They have a great advantage over terrier 

 dogs in being able to enter any ordinary rat-hole and drive their 

 prey from its hidden resorts. 



From the "Forest and Stream" of July 2, 1874, the following 

 article is extracted in further illustration of this branch of 

 industry : 



"Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, of Cancadea, New York, 

 commenced two years ago the business of breeding Mink for 

 their fur. A correspondent of the Buffalo Express describes 

 the 'Minkery' in the following terms: 



" 'The "Minkery," designed to accommodate one hundred 

 Minks for breeding, consists first of an enclosure about forty feet 

 square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a plank at 

 the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the wall, which 

 consists of boards four feet high, with a board to cap the top, 

 projecting upward eight or ten inches to prevent their climbing 

 over. Within this enclosure is a building 14 by 24, supplied by 



