April, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



161 



foodstuffs entering into tlie black fox's dietary vary 

 with the individual feeder. Up until recently no work 

 had been attempted to determine the food I'equirements 

 of foxes in captivity. In many cases no attempt is 

 being made to feed a balanced ration, and when there 

 is an abundant supjily of fisli the animals are almost 

 entir'cly fed upon this food, and wlien meat is plentiful 

 this is fed almost exclusively over a varied period. As 

 a result of this unscientific feeding many ca.ses of mal- 

 nutritiiii, su<'li as rickets, develop. 



Restiiclcd diets, esi)eciall\' during pregnancy, are 

 probably the primary cause of man.N' of the difficulties 



Vaccinating a silvci'-black fox. 



attending the bringing forth of vigoi'ous offspring. Dur- 

 ing the winter season, milk, eggs and cereals are gen- 

 erally withdrawn from the dietary because the animals 

 are fed outdoors and such food freezes rapidly; so that 

 the animals in many eases are restricted to meat, offal, 

 and fish which cannot be considered as a balanced ra- 

 tion, and is certainly verv iwuv in vitaminc content. 



The Problem of lireedhuj: In the early days of the 

 industry "a black fox was a black fox", and anything 

 that resembled a black fox found a ready market. This 

 means that some inferioi- sti'ains were introduced and 

 their influence is being felt toda.v. In these pioneer 

 days thei'c was nuich trickery practiced by unscrupulous 

 traders, and the unwary was often deceived. Black 

 foxes in which the t.vpe was not yet fixed were sold as 

 standard bred, and the purchaser was not disillusioned 

 until the following mating season when he would be 

 presented with a litter of red or patch foxes. 



A story is told of an Indian trajiper who brought to 

 the village a very fine black pelt which he desired to 

 sell. Several un.sophistieated prospects were anxious to 

 secure the skin, but: did not want to appear so lest \\w 

 Indian would demand its market value. When asked 

 where he had secured the skin, the old trajiper replied : 

 "died". Naturally, the men who were negotiating the 

 purchase interpreted this reply to mean that the black 

 fox died during or after the process of trapping. The 

 pelt was bought at a figure nmch below the market 

 value of black fox pelts, and the owner subserpiently 

 found out that the Indian in his laconic fashion had 

 i-eally told the truth. The skin was frcim a red fox that 

 had been "dyed" black. 



So far no universal system has been devised of keep- 

 ing records that would show the effect of breeding and 

 iidieritancc. The representative I'anches do keep records 



of performance and much benefit is derived therefrom. 

 The chief breeding points sought are naturally texture, 

 colour, length of fur, fertility and fecundity; and the 

 usual criterion is the pri<-e brought for the skins of an- 

 cestors or offspring. 



Up until recentl.v fox-ranchers have been working in 

 the dark so far as breeding to type is concerned. One 

 breeder had -no idea as to what was regarded by another 

 breeder as a good type. The tendency now is to stand- 

 ardize type, and eliminate undesirable traits and fur 

 charaeteristics. 



Fox-breeders have some difficult.\' in ari-iving at any 

 general agreement as to whether the silver or the black 

 phase shoidd b(> emphasized. Some maintain that the 

 dark silvei' fox, -a fnx showing not more tlian 10% 

 silver, — is ton easily imilali'il by the furriei- to retain 

 its exclnsiveness. while it is impossible to imitate the 

 more silvery varieties because of the unique colour 

 structure of the hairs. The sponsors of the dark black 

 fox claim that its fur is of superior lustre and texture. 

 Since this is a controversial quest ion, the writer re- 

 frains I'l'i Ml expres-ing any definite opininn other than 

 that tiic suppiii-tei-s (if bntli claims miglit find it advant- 

 ageous to ciimc liigi'llier ;ind cross their i)lacks with 

 I heir silvers. 



In Xovcmlicr, lIL'd, llic lii-sl I ritcinat ional Li\c Fox 

 lOxhibit icn was held in .Montreal. The holding of .s.ich 

 a show marked a distinct epoch in animal husbandry, 

 and ga\-e tangible evidence that the U>\ is heucefcH'th 

 to be considci'i'd in the list, of our (himest icated aninuils. 

 The information obtained through competition in this 

 and like exliihitions will go a long way in standardizing 

 fox-breeding, and fox-farmers have now a clearer con- 

 ception of a distinct \y\w of bleeding animal. 



In the early days of the industry much difficulty was 

 experienced in getting animals less than two years old 

 to mate, but now nuuiv \-earlings are mated. In our 



Tlio Interior of a Fo.x Kancli. 



opiniiin, there is great objection to this early nuiting 

 because it is questionable whetiier the young pujjs can 

 withstand the physiological drain consequent to the 

 bringing forth of offspring. It would be a much safer 

 practice to postpone mating initil the animals were at 

 least two years old. 



No system of breeding is complete, and gooii results 

 can not be obtained, unless accurate record is kept of the 

 performance of the individual. The Fox Breeders As- 

 sociation has for some years kept a register for stand- 



