28 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



grapes about the paddocks and will train them over his pens. The predi- 

 lection of the fox for grapes is well known since the time of Aesop, 

 but life in a vineyard may not be more beneficial to Reynard's health 

 than life elsewhere. The grapes provide a dense shade in summer, no 

 shelter in winter, fresh fruit in season, and exercise in securing food. 

 The whole ranch is surrounded by a concrete wall. Such a ranch is 

 impossible in a district where there is a heavier snowfall, the lack of 

 ventilation through the pens is objectionable and the cost is consider- 

 able. It shows, however, what can be done by an experienced breeder 

 to esitablish an industry on city lots in a populous neighbourhood. 



Sometimes an orchard serves as a suitable situation for a ranch. 

 T. L. Burrowman, of Wyoming, Ont., for instance, has placed his pens 

 in a four-acre orchard, the foxes being kept out of the trees by trunJv 

 shields. 



Barnyards, open fields about the houses, hill-tops where snow drifts 

 off and many other situations are frequently chosen, but the ranchmen, 

 as a rule, regard such sites as temporary only. They usually contemplate 

 larger ranching operations on better sites when sufficient capital can be 

 raised. 



Sometimes a small island has been chosen as a site for 

 as a Site a ranch. When such is the case, visitors can be kept out 

 of the vicinity more easily. Also a fox that has escaped 

 is not apt to swim to the mainland away from the place where he has 

 been fed. Prince Edward Island has an advantage over mainland areas 

 as a ranching centre because a fox that has escaped can usually be 

 traced and captured, whereas on the mainland, he could roam £or 

 hundreds of miles and get into uninhabited territory. 



When the site of the ranch is chosen, the bush surround- 

 Fencing ing the selected area is cleared for a width of four feet 



and the ground levelled for the erection of an exterior 

 fence. The trees are trimmed or cut so that foxes may not climb over 

 the fence by means of them. Post-holes about three feet deep are dug 

 from 10 to 16 feet apart, cedar posts being used if it is possible to 

 secure them. If cedar, locust or other durable wood cannot be obtained, 

 the ground end of the post may be charred or treated with hot petro- 

 leum or creosote to render it more lasting. Posts from 10 to 15 feet 

 long are used according to the usual snowfall of the locality and should 

 be sharpened at the end to prevent heaving by the frost. A post four 

 inches in diameter at the small end and 12 feet long will cost from 30 

 cents in some districts, up to 75 cents in others. 



