II. Early Attempts to Domesticate the Fox 



IT would be futile to record all the early attempts to rear foxes in 

 captivity and note has, therefore, been made of the experiences of 

 only a few breeders at widely separated points. The experimenters, in 

 most cases, were wholly unacquainted with the experience of others. 



It has been customary for trapper-farmers to keep alive, foxes 

 caught in warm weather until the fur is prime. Thus, young foxes 

 captured in July are kept until December before being killed. The 

 earliest authentic record obtained of producing young from foxes kept 

 in captivity on Prince Edward Island, comes from Tignish, where 

 Benjamin Haywood reared several litters some thirty-five years ago; 

 but they were destroyed by the parent foxes because they were not 

 kept in seclusion and quiet. 



Doubtless there had been, in earlier years, numerous cases that 

 were as successful as Mr. Haywood's, but it is interesting to record this 

 experiment because he was a near neighbour of the men who finally 

 achieved the greatest success in the commercial fox-breeding industry. 



Several furriers in Quebec have been connected with breeding 

 experiments. Messrs. Paquet Bros, had a small ranch at one time at 

 St. Joseph-d'Alma near the head of the Saguenay, which they finally 

 sold. Revillon Freres were interested in a ranch on the north shore 

 of the gulf of St. Lawrence a dozen years ago, but finally abandoned 

 the experiment believing that fox raising was destined to faU. Holt, 

 Renfrew & Co. have a ranch near Quebec the foundation stock of which 

 was a litter of silver foxes from a pair of exhibition foxes in their me- 

 nagerie at Montmorency Falls. 



In Ontario, Rev. George Clark, of St. Catharines, an experienced 

 breeder of pheasants, bred a litter of reds from a pet pair of wild foxes 

 in 1905. Two ranches were started about 1906, near North Sydney, 

 and on the Lingan road near Sydney, N.S., respectively; but, after 

 several years, they failed to maintain the foxes in breeding condition. 

 These were later sold to Bruce, Cummings, McConnell, and others, 

 who have proved to be successful ranchers. 



Excellent success in breeding the fox has been achieved by 

 Breeders ^^' J^hann Beetz, at Piastre Bale, North shore, gulf of St. 



Lawrence, and Mr. T. L. Burrowman, of Wyoming, Ontario. 

 The former is the scion of a wealthy Brussels family, and his roving 

 spirit led him to Labrador and Alaska on hunting expeditions. He 

 finally settled at Piastre Bale, about 1898, and attempted fox ranching 

 with a pair of silver foxes brought from Alaska. There were trees at 



