FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 73 



The whole question of mink-ranching is one that needs more 

 thorough investigation and probably the establishment of experimental 

 farms under experienced ranchmen. A somewhat vague classification 

 into three types of farming can be made from the information gathered : 



1. The Natural Plan. — The minks are given an extensive 

 range and the conditions under which they live differ from the 

 natural conditions only in that the animals are fed and occasional 

 nests provided. All catching is by trapping. 



2. The Colony Method. — The families are kept in colony 

 houses with a runway to a creek. 



3. The Pen S3'stem. — Each mirtk is kept in a separate pen. 

 ^. ,. The Compagnie Zootechnique de Labelle was the only 



The Natural ■, „ , • ■ t -, ■, 



Plan ranch of this type examined, though a vague report was 



obtained of another of the same type at Port Medway, 

 N.S. In 1911, some two dozen mink were placed in the area shown in 

 the illustration, comprising about one-quarter acre. They increased 

 about 100 per cent, in number in 1912. The manager explained the 

 small increase as being due to the limited quarters with which they 

 were provided. Another possible explanation is that 1912 appeared to 

 be a poor year for both mink and fox. It is also possible that the old 

 wild animals captured did not take kindly to their new location or to 

 the artificial nests. The last cause will disappear, particularly as soon 

 as ranch-bred mink are available. 



As stated, the total area enclosed in the ranch in 1911 was about 

 one-quarter acre. In 1912, work was under way to enclose an area 2,000 

 feet long and 1,500 feet wide at the widest point. The larger range will 

 probably insure considerable success. 



The situation of the ranch is on an island in Lac Chaud in an 

 uninhabited section of country in the Laurentians. It is high and 

 rocky and covered with birch and spruce. The ranch is enclosed with 

 one continuous fence about 12 feet high, set on solid rock on land, and on 

 sunken piers in the water. The chief difficulty is in the construction of 

 the water fence as ice breaks the wire in spring. It is proposed to 

 prevent this by dropping a plank fence three feet wide into the piers to 

 protect the wire during the icy season. In spring the planks will be 

 removed. Not more than a dozen feet of the margin of Lac Chaud are 

 included within the fence. To prevent ibo escape of the mink under 

 the fence, a wide carpet wire is turned in on the lake bottom. To pre- 

 vent high climbing, a strip of sheet iron a foot wide is fastened half 

 way up the fence. There is also an overhang of iron. 



