2 BULLETIN 301,, U. S. DEPABTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



to the establishment of fur farming on a small scale as an additional 

 source of income on farms in many places along our northern border, 

 much as poultry is now raised. When properly conducted, fur farm- 

 ing may become very profitable. It will pay not only in direct 

 returns to the producer but, indirectly, the natural and legitimate 

 desire for furs can be gratified, the extirpation of the most valuable 

 and interesting of our fur bearers can be prevented, and an extensive 

 department of manufacture and trade supporting a large population 

 can be continued. 



Success in domesticating wild animals, as in other branches of 

 husbandry, depends on experience, adaptability, and prudence. No 

 one should engage in the business unless he enjoys it and is familiar 

 with the habits, characteristics, and climatic requirements of the 

 animals he intends to propagate. The choice of location is of prime 

 importance. The best furs come from cool, moderately humid 

 regions. If a locality furnishes native furs of high grade, that locality 

 is favorable to the domestication of fur bearers. The climate of the 

 Middle and Southern States is not well suited to this industry, as 

 shown by the medium or low prices commanded by furs from 

 these areas. The ratio of expense to income must be considered 

 with care. One can not pay the exorbitant prices animals for stock- 

 ing purposes sometimes bring and expect to raise fur at a profit. 

 Neither can one expect to raise furs of a fine quality from inferior 

 stock. But given a normal market for breeding-stock and pelts, a 

 favorable location, a love for animals, and an ordinary degree of 

 prudence, one may engage in black or silver fox farming with a good 

 prospect of satisfactory returns, provided, of course, a high price 

 for pelts is sustained. Values of animals and pelts were very high a 

 few years ago, when the industry was being launched, but are now 

 on a much lower basis. Persons who contemplate going actively 

 into the business or investing their money in corporations or com- 

 panies organized for fox farming should thoroughly investigate it in 



all its phases. 



THE SILVER FOX. 



The name "silver fox," as commonly used by furriers, includes the 

 dark phases of the ordinary red fox, 1 variously called silver, silver 

 gray, silver black, or black. It should not be confused with the 

 gray, or tree, fox 2 of the United States, the fur of which is of compara- 

 tively little value. The color of the red fox of the Northeastern 

 States and of its allies of the colder parts of North America varies 

 from red to black, and these extremes, with their gradations, form 

 four more or less distinct phases, known respectively as red, cross 

 (or patch), silver, and black. In the red phase the fur is entirely 



1 Genus Vulpes. " Genus Urocyon. 



