694 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



to 30 drop doses. Cats may take glan- 

 ders by eating the meat of glanderous 

 horses. They should be killed, since 

 they may spread the disease. Eczema 

 and canker of the ear may best be 

 treated with five-grain doses of Rochelle 

 salts and one-grain doses of iodide of 

 potash. Tor fits and epilepsy give ten- 

 grain doses of chloral hydrate or ten- 

 drop doses of laudanum, if any treat- 

 ment seems desirable. In warm cli- 

 mates cats are commonly infested with 

 fleas which may be removed by use of 

 insect powder. For mange perhaps the 

 best treatment is thorough washing and 

 the use of sulphur ointment. Ringworm 

 may be checked by rubbing the affected 

 part with mercurial ointment. Tape- 

 worms and stomach worms may be ex- 

 pelled by giving 10 to 20 grains of 

 powdered areca nut. Cats are often in- 

 fested with trichina and in general 

 badly diseased cats are a dangerous 

 nuisance and should be put out of the 

 way by chloroforming or some other 

 method. 



FOXES 



The familiar red fox of the eastern 

 states is not looked on with much favor 

 for the reason that he depredates too ex- 

 tensively on poultry yards. His fur, 

 however, has always been recognized as 

 valuable and he has been hunted and 

 trapped for this. He is frequently cap- 

 tured and kept chained about the farm 

 house. Occasional attempts are made to 

 breed foxes in captivity but without 

 much success except in zoological gar- 

 dens. The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) 

 inhabits the whole arctic zone of both 

 continents. He has not the same fear 

 of man as the red fox and may easily 

 be trapped and domesticated. In do- 

 mestication he is not malicious but 

 rather confiding. The common fox 

 odor is absent and he is cleanly in hab- 

 its. The fur of the arctic fox is abun- 

 dant, covering even the \mder side of 

 the paws. The color is white in winter 

 and grayish brown or bluish in summer. 

 In some individuals the fur remains 

 blue the year around and the name blue 

 fox has thus arisen. Blue foxes are 

 worth $20 apiece, while white ones are 

 worth little or nothing. The Alaska 

 Commercial Company has therefore es- 

 tablished several blue fox farms on 

 islands over which they have control. 

 The methods of fox farming are very 

 simple. Wild blue foxes are trapped and 



placed on islands from which they can- 

 not escape. They are then protected 

 from their enemies and fed in abun- 

 dance, mainly on fresh or dried fish. 

 The young litters come in May, June, 

 and July and the foxes receive most food 

 during these months. The food is placed 

 in traps and the animals are thus ac- 

 customed to entering the traps and are 

 the more easily caught whenever de- 

 sired. After capture the females and 

 some of the finest males are set free for 

 breeding purposes, while the other males 

 are killed for their fur. Attempts are 

 being made to introduce rabbits and 

 other rodents as food for the foxes. 



The arctic fox is naturally monog- 

 amous, but is becoming somewhat polyg- 

 amous in its state of semi-domestica- 

 tion. This will make it possible to use 

 fewer males, but of better quality for 

 breeding purposes. 



On account of the very high price of 

 the silver fox skin ($150 to $200) some 

 attention has been given to raising these 

 animals in Maine, Minnesota and else- 

 where. The fur is in best condition in 

 December. The silver fox breeds read- 

 ily in confinement and the period of 

 gestation is 51 days. The foxes should 

 be fed like dogs on dog biscuit, milk 

 and corn meal bread, table scraps, and 

 meat about once a week. A little skim 

 milk to drink daily is good. Over-fat 

 foxes do not breed readily or are entirely 

 sterile. For this reason they should not 

 be allowed to reach a size greater than 

 10 pounds. 



SKUNKS 



Skunks have been hunted and trapped 

 for their fur since the advent of the 

 European races in this country. During 

 the years 1850 to 1890, the Hudson Bay 

 company sent 250,000 skunk skins to 

 England. Skunks feed on small mam- 

 mals, reptiles, frogs, birds' eggs, poul- 

 try, and insects. They seem to be par- 

 ticularly fond of grasshoppers a'nd white 

 grubs. On account of the value of the 

 fur attempts have been made in several 

 states to establish skunk fa,rms. Thus 

 far, however, little success has attended 

 these efforts. The skunk breeds rapidly 

 and may easily be supplied with suitable 

 food, but the disgusting odor makes a 

 skunk farm a nuisance to the whole 

 neighborhood. The scent glands may be 

 easily removed from the young animal 

 but this is after all a rather tedious mat- 

 ter, especially when it has to be done 



