FUR-FARMING IN CANADA 



ized at from five to ten times the fur value of the animals assumes a 

 great risk. 



Since the fur-farming industry is so intimately connected with 

 the present high prices of furs, it will be worth while to enquire into 

 the causes of these high prices and endeavour to forecast to what extent 

 they will continue to operate. 



Demand and Supply 



J . Stated in general terms, fur has become scarce because less 



Demand for is produced and more is used than ever before. The remark- 

 ^^^^ able increase in the demand for costly furs in the past twenty 



years is due to a combination of causes. The population is growing. 

 The relative number of people in the wealthy classes is increasing. The 

 habits of travelling extensively and of living in metropolitan centres are 

 rapidly increasing. Commerce and more efficient salesmanship have 

 introduced furs all over the world, so that their admirers and users are 

 multiplied. Dame Fashion, whose influence is predominant every- 

 where, is responsible for a very heavy demand for certain kinds, and 

 only the best and scarcest are in high favour with her. Then, too, our 

 growing cities, which multiply the opportunities for gatherings and 

 concourses, especially of the well-to-do classes, engender competitive 

 habits in choosing personal adornments. 



The growing use of the automobile and the more general habit of 

 living out-of-doors have made furs almost a necessity. In America 

 alone, the valuation of automobiles is now about $2,000,000,000, 

 and a proper equipment for the luxurious vehicles and their occupants 

 necessitates the use of many millions of dollars worth of furs and leather. 

 Better roads, more extensive travel, and cheaper automobiles are im- 

 portant factors in determining the growing demands for fur and pelts 

 generally. 



If the keenness of the hunt is maintaiaed, some species of 

 Supply"^^ animals must soon be exterminated. When dead-falls, snares 

 °^ ■^"'' and the bow and arrow were used in hunting there was a 

 chance for the game to escape; but with modern guns, smokeless powder, 

 improved traps and the most alluring baits and scents that modem 

 chemists can compound or trappers can invent, there are fewer oppor- 

 tunities. Coupled with increased efficiency of destructive gear is the 

 general diffusion by railways, steamship lines and hunting and trapping 

 magazines, of knowledge respecting game resorts and the hunter's art. 

 Railways and steamship lines are tapping new territory, corps of guides 

 are organized, canned food and better camping equipment make the 



