COMMERCE IN RAW FURS 133 



of raccoon, opossum, skunk and other animals not now found in north- 

 ern Canada could be improved by domestication in colder regions. 

 Ranch-bred animals properly kept will develop as heavy pelts as wild 

 specimens, and they can always be killed when prime. 



. The average price for all silver fox skins sold in Lon- 



of Silver Fox Skins don, including the wild stock and ranch stock, are 



as follow 



Year Average Price 



1905 $146 . 59 



1906 166.93 



1907 157.11 



1908 168.91 



1909 244.12 



1910 414.37 



1911 290.01 



The high average price obtained for silver fox skins in 1910 is ac- 

 counted for by the better market. More than one half of the skins sell- 

 ing for $500.00 or more were from Prince Edward Island ranches. 



At the present time, the average price of wild silver fox skins in 

 London is about $200.00 and, for ranch foxes such as are found with 

 the best ranchers, SI, 200.00. 



Wild silver fox are not always prime and they are frequently shot, 

 chewed, mangled and poorly dressed, while ranched foxes are usually 

 killed when their fur is in primest condition. The highest price ever 

 paid at the London sales for a silver fox skin was $2,900.00 It is said 

 that this skin was sold by a Paris firm which had bought it at a previous 

 sale for $1,950.00, and that it was from a ranched fox from Prince 

 Edward Island. 



The next highest price was $2,700.00, and a half dozen have sold 

 for $2,500.00 or more, all being from Prince Edward Island ranches. 

 A rather remarkable sale was made in March, 1912, when a pelt from 

 a fox that died in James Rayner's ranch at Kildare, P.E.L, on October 

 12, 1911, brought the highest price, $2,050.00, although the skin would 

 not have been fully prime before December. 



It is a difficult matter to obtain authentic records of sales 

 P.E.I. Skins of silver fox skins from Prince Edward Island; farmers, 



as a rule, do not give careful attention to correspondence 

 and records. Many reports are alleged to have been lost and those ex- 

 amined gave evidence of having been filed in an inside coat pocket for 

 a considerable period. Documentary proof of sales made in London was 

 also difficult to obtain. Below are reproduced the sales reports of Charles 

 Dalton and J. S. Gordon for the year 1910: 



