78 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



after being in the house ten minutes the little thing showed signs of 

 life. It was placed on a hot water bottle, where it soon revived and 

 began to squeal. Mrs. Judge administered milk with a medicine drop- 

 per and it soon settled down and went into a healthy sleep. When it 

 awoke, the medicine dropper was again brought into use; and, later 

 on, it learned to nurse one end of a bunch of cotton, the other end of 

 which was immersed in milk. It improved steadily on a milk diet 

 until it was three weeks old. It then grew less ravenous, probably as 

 a result of overfeeding, and, at times, refused to nurse. At the age of 

 four weeks it died. Its eyes opened on the loth day. When brought in, 

 it weighed 2^ ounces; when three weeks old, it weighed six ounces. 



^ , , „ , " White foxes are occasionally found in litters of blue. 

 Reduced Number ^p, . i r t^^ x- i -^ r » xi 



of White Foxes -^ here is no record of a litter of white foxes. As the 



white skkis are of comparatively little value, continued 

 effort to exterminate white foxes has been pursued since 1897. Every 

 white fox entering the trap since that time has been killed at once 

 and, in addition, the natives are permitted to shoot them any time 

 during the winter. The total number killed in 1897 was 40, in 1898 it 

 was 18, and, since that time, the number kUled per year has varied 

 between 6 and 12, with the exception of the winter of 1903-1904, when 

 15 were killed. Last winter 8 white skins were secured, but Major 

 Clark, who was then in charge of St. George, says that only three of 

 these were pure white, the others being either marred or mottled with 

 faint blue spots. During the summer of 1906, Mr. Chichester observed 

 a number of foxes that were part blue and part white. After Septem- 

 ber, he saw but one of these and therefore concluded that as winter 

 approached the parti-coloured coats became white. 



"Evidence of disease among foxes on the island is scanty. 

 Diseases Foxes found dead at any season are always autopsied, the 



local physician assisting, but it is seldom that the cause of 

 death can be definitely ascertained. Dr. Mills and I found a fox in 

 spasms, which on post mortem was found to have been suffering from 

 ursemic poisoning. One death was due to hemorrhage of the kidney, 

 and another to tuberculosis. This latter case was found by us on May 

 28, 1905. The animal was a female, 3 years old, carrying one brand. 

 She was void of fat and weighed not more than 4 pounds. The loss 

 of flesh had occurred since the time of trapping, a few months previous. 

 Tubercular nodules were found in both lungs. Death, on one occa- 

 sion, resulted from a sac of pus which had formed on the intestine. 

 Another dead fox showed all the organs normal except one of the 

 kidneys, which was atrophied. 



