120 FUR FACTS 



Foxes like to be screened from observation, and by day in the 

 wild state are rarely found far from cover. During the heat of sum- 

 mer, especially, they enjoy dense shade. Furthermore, sunshine 

 injures the color and character of fur. It is advisable, therefore, to 

 locate a ranch among a growth of young trees thick enough to shade 

 about half the ground. Deciduous trees are preferable to evergreens, 

 as they allow the sun to make the yards more comfortable in winter 

 and to clear the ground of snow earlier in spring. Old trees are 

 likely to be broken by storms, and in falling to demolish fences. 



A good site is on a slope with a southern exposure, as the snow 

 will be gone and the ground warm when the cubs are ready to leave 

 the dens. A clay surface is to be avoided, but a subsoil of clay or 

 hardpan is an advantage, as the foxes will not dig ground hard 

 enough to require a pick to break it up. Gravel affords excellent 

 drainage, but foxes burrow deeply in it and thus are difficult to 

 manage, even though they may not escape. 



A Modern Silver Fox Ranch 



The writer has recently visited and spent some time at one of 

 the largest and most successful silver fox farms in the world. The 

 men responsible for this farm started out as boy trappers and have 

 made a careful study of fox ranching for the past fifteen years. After 

 experimenting with numerous styles of fox houses they decided on 

 what is known as the barrel den. This is made by taking an ordinary 

 new vinegar barrel, and cutting a hole in one end of it about eight 

 inches in diameter. The barrel should be fresh and clean, however, 

 and old, oily, greasy barrels should not be used. The next thing is to 

 construct a small house to hold the barrel. This is made with 

 a slanting roof that can be raised and lowered, and an open- 

 ing is made down near the bottom big enough to allow the 

 fox to enter and is about ten inches square. The house itself 

 is made about two feet wider than the barrel and about two 

 feet longer, so that when the barrel is placed in the box there 

 is about two feet of space on the side and two feet of space 

 at the end. The barrel is securely placed against one side of 

 the box, and then an entry way from the opening of the box 

 to the opening in the barrel is constructed. This is done by making a 

 square trough out of four ten inch planks and running it from the 

 opening in the end of the box and then across to the opening in the 

 barrel which gives the trough an "L" shape, thus shutting out the 

 light from the barrel itself, so that when the animal finally gets into 



