42 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



vening space packed with sawdust or chaff. An entrance was provided 

 by a passageway constructed of boards. The roof was made water- 

 tight by a piece of sheet iron. Such houses are still in use, but have 

 the disadvantage of being easily robbed. 



Mr. Burrowman, and some other Ontario ranchers, attempt to 

 imitate nature more closely by constructing solid one-piece cement 

 dens built mostly underground and in well drained spots. They can 

 be made quite thief-proof and, indeed, there is apparently no way 

 for the keeper to get access to the nest. In the case of one den, it 

 was only possible to crawl in by shovelling out the small entrance used ■ 

 by the fox. 



The most generally approved houses are wooden constructions, 

 placed in the centre of each paddock. The interior consists of an 

 inner and an outer keimel, and the entrance for the foxes is through 

 a passageway of rectangular cross-section constructed with four boards. 

 The interior dimensions of this passageway should be about 7^ in. 

 by 10 in., and it should slope from the building down to within 6 inches 

 of the ground or even less, in order that very young foxes may be 

 able to climb in easily. The entrance for the keeper is through a 

 door in the end, or else by means of a hinged roof. The door or hinged 

 roof is, of course, always kept locked. The house is usually made 

 with a floor area 3 feet by 4-^ feet, or slightly larger. The posts are 

 about 3 feet high; the walls are boarded, papered and shingled; the 

 floors are double boarded with paper between; the roof is boarded, 

 papered and shingled and ventilation is provided by openings in both 

 gables. All parts that the foxes rub against are smoothed and sand- 

 papered so as not to injure the overhair. The building should be 

 set on skids a foot off the ground so that the foxes cannot hide under it. 



The iimer keimel, or nest is to be the home of the young 

 of Ihe Nest foxes and must be large enough to prevent crowding 



and small enough to be warmed by the body heat of 

 the animals. The usual size of the nest is about 18 in. long by 18 

 in. wide by 20 in. in height, but some prefer to make them with floor 

 dimensions 16 in. by 18 in. or 20 in. The entrance, 8 in. in diameter, 

 is centred on one side; the floor corners are filled up with a triangular 

 piece of 'moulding; three or four half-inch holes are bored in the roof 

 to provide a slight ventilation and the roof or cover of the nest can 

 be lifted off so that the manager can see into the nest when necessary. 

 The nest is kept warm by being packed about on all sides with some 

 material of low thermal conductivity. The best yet discovered are 

 the ground cork in which the Spanish Malaga grapes are packed, dry 

 seaweed, sawdust, chaff and leaves. A space of four or five inches 



