4 BULLETIN 301, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



HISTORY OF DOMESTICATION. 



Domestication of the fox was first achieved in 1894 by Robert T. 

 Oulton and Charles Dalton on Prince Edward Island, a Canadian 

 Province in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Silver fox pelts have continu- 

 ously commanded high prices, and hunters have been correspondingly 

 keen to secure them. It is not strange, therefore, that the first suc- 

 cessful breeders of this rare animal were men who had pursued it in 

 the chase. The two mentioned had hunted foxes together and had 

 frequently bought and sold fox pelts of their neighbors. Oulton was 

 once lucky enough to shoot a silver fox the skin of which netted $138. 

 Becoming impressed with the possibility of domesticating such valu- 

 able fur bearers, Oulton and Dalton separately experimented in 

 building fox-proof fences and in feeding and breeding the animals. 

 After several years' work on these problems they formed a partner- 

 ship in 1894, built a ranch, and stocked it with two pairs of silver 

 foxes. This became the first profitable fox ranch, the forerunner of 

 a remarkable and, for that region, a revolutionizing industry. 



At that time black pelts brought much higher prices than silver 

 pelts. This prompted Oulton & Dalton to retain their darker animals 

 and dispose of the lighter ones, and as a result each successive lot of 

 pelts from their yards was darker than those of previous years. 

 Finally, in 1910, they were able to send to the London sales the finest 

 collection of silver fox pelts that had ever appeared there. This lot, 

 containing 25 pelts, brought an average of $1,386 each, the best one 

 selling for $2,624. In the meantime a few other small ranches had 

 been started in the Maritime Provinces, Newfoundland, Maine, On- 

 tario, Michigan, and Alaska. The policy of the half dozen Prince 

 Edward Islanders in that business had been to monopolize it. They 

 had kept their own counsel, and not even their families were en- 

 lightened as to methods. The pelts had been shipped three in a 

 package by parcel post from a distant post office, and reports of the 

 sales had been received in code. The fox raisers had entered into a 

 compact to sell no live silver foxes and had bought the best that could 

 be obtained. Notwithstanding their secrecy, the evident improve- 

 ment in their financial conditions was noticed by their neighbors, 

 who thereupon desired to participate. 



Disclosure of the results of the 1910 sales was the climax of the 

 first stage in the development of fox farming. People who formerly 

 had known something of the business were now eager to engage in it. 

 Those having money invested it in foxes. Others mortgaged their 

 farms for the purpose or fitted up ranching facilities and boarded 

 foxes for a share of the progeny. How rapidly prices for breeding 

 stock advanced is well illustrated by the experience of one ranchman 

 who sold his first pair of cubs for $750, and other pairs successively 

 for $3,000, $12,000, $13,000, and $14,000. In the fall of 1913 good 

 ranch-bred cubs 6 months old sold for from $11,000 to $15,000 a 



