40 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



Construction l^ie requirements of an ideal pen may be summarized 

 of Pens as follows: 



1. It should be large enough for foxes to run in at full speed 

 when playing. 



2. Part of it should be shaded overhead and it should pro- 

 vide good hiding cover. 



3. It should have warm, well-drained, sionny areas in which 

 the young pups may play. 



4. Turfy or mossy ground cover is desirable. Leaves, or 

 spruce or pine needles, make a good ground cover. Sand is good, 

 but mud is objectionable. 



The smallest pens used by the best ranchers enclose an area of 

 at least 9,000 square feet. One rancher has a highly-valued pair in 

 an enclosure of over 4,000 square feet. The usual size is a pen enclosed 

 by one bale of wire, which is 150 feet long. Thus the area is 37 feet 

 by 37 feet, or 30 feet by 42 feet, or 25 feet by 50 feet. In some cases 

 the last-named dimensions are adopted and a cross fence is used, so 

 that the male is shut in one end and the female in the other during 

 the latter part of the period of gestation and while the pups are young. 



Inasmuch as they must be extended into the ground to preveni; 

 the foxes from burrowing under them, the paddock fences are harder 

 to build than the exterior. When a solid hardpan exists, the fence 

 may be laid on it, even if it is only one foot from the surface. If the 

 subsoU is light and open, paddocks are not fox-proof unless the fence 

 is buried over four feet. In light soU, additional precautions maybe 

 taken by digging the trench wide and by rough-concreting the base 

 a couple of feet inwards from the fence. One rancher, on a sandy 

 area, planned to concrete the whole floor area of his paddocks and 

 cover it with a foot of sand. When it interferes with the drainage, 

 this use of concrete is objectionable. 



The carpet wire should be used on the paddock fence as well as 

 on the exterior. It prevents the fox from burrowing alongside the 

 fence where digging out is always attempted. 



The following material is necessary for the construction of a 

 paddock fence 9 feet high and extending three feet into the ground. 



12 posts, each 13 feet long. 

 150 lineal feet of 1-inch board, 5 inches wide. 

 150 lineal feet of overhang wire, 24 inches wide, 2-inch mesh, 



gauge No. 16. 

 150 lineal feet of fence wire, 5 feet wide, 2-inch mesh, gauge No. 16. 

 150 lineal feet of fence wire, 4 feet wide, 2-inch mesh, gauge No. 15. 



