16 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



several points in the neighbourhood, and at some ten or twelve wooded 

 spots, a hundred or more rods from his dwelling, he kept his pens, 

 having two females and one male at each point. He adopted the system 

 of double mating. Large quantities of salmon, lobsters and game were 

 caught for food for the foxes, while horse-meat was occasionally brought 

 from Quebec city. He augmented his stock with native Quebec wild 

 foxes and conducted feeding experiments with red foxes. Careful 

 selection has improved his strain until they grade dark silver throughout.* 

 Authentic reports state that the late M. Menier, who owned Anti- 

 costi island, attempted to breed foxes there, and set at liberty silver 

 and patched foxes to grade up the colour of the wild fox. 



Mr. Burrowman is a fur-buyer who, at an early date, 

 ExDerim"nter I'^cognized the possibilities of domesticating fur-bearers. 



He kept foxes in captivity twenty-two years, but did not 

 successfully rear young to maturity until about ten years ago, because, 

 prior to that time, he kept more than one pair in a single pen. He 

 may be called the father of the Ontario fox-ranching business. The 

 only assistance he obtained was from the late Dr. Robertson of Fox- 

 croft, Me. 



The placing of the fox-raising industry on a commercial 

 DaltoS *°^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ *° ^^^® efforts of Robert T. Oulton, formerly 



of Alberton, P.E.I. , but now of Little Shemogue, N.B., 

 and his former partner, Charles Dalton, now of Tignish, P.E.L Dalton 

 began experimenting about 1887, with red foxes, which he kept in a 

 shed at Nail Pond. Later, he bought silver foxes from neighbouring 

 districts and from Anticosti island and continued his experiments with 

 indifferent success for about ten years. During that time, Oulton was 

 also experimenting with foxes, having bought silver foxes at various 

 points in P.E.L, Anticosti and elsewhere, and working somewhat in 

 conjunction with Dalton. All Anticosti foxes were subsequently 

 slaughtered because they did not come up to the requisite standard 

 of quality. 



One of their chief concerns was keeping prying neighbours 

 from their ranch premises. While Beetz had little difficulty with 

 neighbours, the obtaining of a sufficient food supply was a matter that 

 gave no little trouble. Dalton and Oulton were more fortunate in 

 their food supply as the thickly settled farming country all about them 

 supplied horse-flesh and other cheap meat in abundance. Tallow, corn- 

 meal, fish, oat-meal,flour and butcher's waste were available in plenty 

 and a very small outlay in cash procured a large supply. 



♦See memorandum by Mr. J. Beetz, Appendix VIII. 



