80 BULLETIN 301;, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



COSTS. 



The cost of establishing a fox ranch varies according to the mate- 

 rials used, transportation facilities, and the proportion of labor per- 

 formed by the owner. The factory price of the netting described 

 in the section relating to inclosures is from 1 to 2 cents a square 

 foot, according to the mesh and size of wire, when sold in rolls 

 containing 150 linear feet. It is manufactured in the various 

 widths required for different parts of the fences. The cost of netting 

 for a 2-pair ranch would thus be about $225. The posts, sawed 

 lumber, and miscellaneous hardware to complete the ranch might 

 cost $100. Ordinarily in a fur country the expense for lumber 

 would not be great. A considerable saving can sometimes be made 

 by building the guard fence of boards instead of netting. The 

 average life of the netting is about 12 years, except when exposed 

 to sea air, in which case it is only about 8 or 10 years. 



Feeding a fox costs from $5 to $15 a year. On a farm where there 

 are cows and where grain and vegetables can be raised it is not neces- 

 sary to buy very much fox food. Except on large ranches devoted 

 exclusively to fox raising and where a special keeper must be em- 

 ployed, the care of a few foxes will not entail much outlay. 



The present demand for silver foxes and their relative scarcity 

 place them, as stock, beyond reach of the ordinary purse. In de- 

 termining a reasonable price for a breeding pair, there must be taken 

 into consideration the value of the skins they may be expected to 

 produce, the cost of annual maintenance, the probable deterioration 

 of stock, possibility of loss through death or otherwise, and the ques- 

 tion of reasonable profit from the young produced. There is a tendency 

 to overestimate the value of fox skins which is well exemplified by 

 the following: The average minimum value of a pelt, as estimated 

 for 133 silver fox skins of all grades offered in June, 1914, at a London 

 auction sale was about $150, although at the sales they realized an 

 average of only $118 each. The fixed annual charges against a pair 

 of silver foxes will vary with the locality and value of equipment, etc. 

 On some ranches it has been estimated about as follows: Interest on 

 cost of yards, $10; depreciation of yards, $10; food, $20; and attend- 

 ance, $50; amounting to $90; added to this must be a reasonable 

 charge for interest on the original cost of the pair. Killing foxes at 

 the age of 4 or 5 years, when their pelts are good, and breeding 

 always from } 7 oung stock may be practicable, but this point has not 

 yet been decided. As a rule, one may expect to keep choice animals 

 as long as they are productive; that is, about 10 years. Deteriora- 

 tion, therefore, on the live stock will be 10 per cent; and to this 

 should be added 10 per cent for insurance against loss by death, 

 escape, or theft. Prolific animals belonging to choice strains, in 

 which a superior color and quality of fur have been fixed, are worth 



