FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 43 



" Quite a few show rickets which is due largely to the kind of food 

 they get. In those ranches where proper care is taken, very few of them 

 have this disease. Where they are bred simply for quality of fur with- 

 out due regard to physique, where they are in-bred, and especially when 

 they are not properly fed, they are liable to develop rickets. Ground 

 bone, lime water or cod liver oil and hypophosphites of lime and soda 

 administered with their food will help to arrest the disease at its begin- 

 ning. Abundance of fresh air and sunshine should also be provided. 



" Foxes in confinement are prone to suffer especially from 



Disorders of • ,. 



Digestion disorders of digestion due to lack of knowledge in feed- 

 ing them. The following are a number of the more com- 

 mon of the diseases of the digestive organs, together with directions for 

 treating them : 



" Diarrhoea. — If severe, give a purge of castor oil with a few drops 

 of spirits of turpentine, followed by 10 to 20 grains of bismuth every 

 two hours till the animal is better. The castor oil dose may be repeated 

 more than once in smaller doses if the diarrhoea persisits. At the same 

 time, the food should also receive attention. Meats should be restricted, 

 and milk, biscuits and eggs given. No food should be left in the feed- 

 ing-pans more than a few hours and the pans should be scalded out 

 frequently. 



" Constipation. — They do not suffer much from this disease. It 

 can be overcome largely by means of dieting. A dose of cascara acts 

 well, and, when needed, injections of soap suds may be given. 



" Worms. — Pups are especially liable to worms. Indeed, I have 

 seen the whole intestinal tract full of worms. These often cause fits. 

 Fast the pup for eight or ten hours and give a dose of castor oil with a 

 few drops of turpentine. Also give santonine — one-third of a grain to 

 a pup six weeks old. Repeat every other day till the pup is well. 



" Indigestion. — In pups this is liable to cause fits. The young 

 ones will not eat ; their coats lose sleekness and they become listless. 

 If not promptly treated, they die quickly. Give castor oil and turpen- 

 tine and feed judiciously. This can only be done by separating the 

 ill from the well. 



" I have inet with no case of disease of the respiratory organs. 



" There have been no epidemics of any kind among the foxes of 

 Prince Edward Island. Now and again, a grown fox has died suddenly. 

 Usually the fox seemed to be quite lively, and in a few hours the keeper 

 found him dead. I performed autopsies on three or four of these and 

 could in no case be certain of the cause of death. In one case, I found 

 some congestion of the lung, which I regarded as post mortem. In an- 



