32 Fur Farming. 



fish, bread, milk, eggs, rabbits, and even poultrj'. make 

 the best kind of Fox food. A nursing mother Fox should 

 get plenty of eggs, milk and porridge. On the average, in a 

 province like Prince Edward Island settled with fifty peo- 

 ple to the square mile it costs from two to three cents per 

 day to feed a Fox. Some of the ranches have great num- 

 bers of rabbits inside the outer fence, which gives the 

 Foxes a chance for an occasional chase and an opportunity 

 to secure familiar food in the natural way. 



Soil, climate and location must always be considered 

 when choosing a farm for breeding purposes. A lime- 

 stone or alkaline soil will decrease the value of the fur 

 by making it harsh and brittle. A cold climate is a prime 

 neeessit}^ for the production of high class fur, and the 

 Fox pens must be secluded from the intrusion or even ob- 

 servation of strange men and animals. A forest covering, 

 preferably of spruce, fir, pine or cedar, is very desirable. 



A farmer w^hile hunting some straying cows in the 

 woods in 1888. found a male and a female Silver Fox pup 

 in the hollow of a log. He carried them home and traded 

 them to a neighbor for a cow and a few extra dollars. 

 The neighbor experimented for several j^ears with various 

 kinds of pens and treatment, but finally becoming dis- 

 couraged sold the Foxes to another neighbor for eighty 

 dollars. This party was no more successful than the pre- 

 vious owner, and soon sold the Foxes to a ranch owner 

 who lived on an island in Cascumpec Bay. The quiet of 

 the new place, the increasing tameness of the Foxes, and 

 the new owner's knowledge of the requirements, produced 

 conditions that relieved the nervous mother's apprehen- 

 sion for the safety of her young, and three pups were 

 reared to maturity in three seasons. This success, al- 

 though the result of eight years of experimentation, 

 caused six men who thoroughly understood the science 

 of rearing Foxes in captivity to engage in the industry of 

 raising Foxes for breeding purposes, but they jealously 

 and successfully guarded their secret until 1910. Up to 

 that time, with the exception of some light Silvers sent to 

 distant places, no live Foxes had been sold by them. The 

 surplus stock was always killed and the pelts marketed 

 in London. A dark silver pelt sold in 1901 brought £580 

 ($2,718) at a London auction and in 1010 the prices of 



