MINK 91 



of North America, the finest and darkest being the small minks of 

 Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. While it lives on the 

 water a large part of its time and makes its home near streams, it can 

 live on the land away from the water and has even been found in trees. 



The fur is dense and soft and the over hair is of stiff, lustrous water 

 hairs. The darkest colour extends down the back and tail. The dyers 

 usually accentuate the dark colour by brush dyeing or tipping the fur. 



Brass estimates the world's yearly supply as follows: America, 

 600,000 skins; Europe, 20,000; and Asia, 20,000. They do not seem 

 to be decreasing rapidly, but the price is advancing and, owing to the 

 excellent quality and durability of the fur, is likely to remain high. 

 Some fancy ranch skins have been sold for $13.00 and the best skins bring 

 about $10.00 each wholesale. Some conception of the extra value of 

 north-eastern mink can be formed when it is known that Quebec furriers 

 sold their mink to New York in 1911 at $9 each, and purchased mink 

 of the same quality mixed with the best eastern United States skins 

 at $8 each. 



Mink-farming 



The farming of the mink is still in the experimental stage. It 

 has been demonstrated that mink can be kept in captivity and its 

 yoimg reared successfully. As for the quality of pelt, only a few state- 

 ments could be secured. All attempts to rear this animal in Canada 

 are too recent to furnish data for a general conclusion, or else were 

 made over thirty years ago when mink was high-priced, and accurate 

 records were not kept. The statements of sales of skins received were 

 highly satisfactory, and indicate that pelts from stock bred in ranches 

 are, under certain conditions, better than the wild stock. It was also de- 

 monstrated that rapid improvement in the stock is possible because of 

 the opportunity for selection of sires — an opportunity not possible in fox 

 rearing at the present time because of the latter animal's monogamous 

 habits. Thus, one male out of every four or five can be chosen for 

 his size, beauty of colour or quiet disposition, and a rapid improvement 

 towards a good stock made. 



There have been hundreds of mink ranches in America and there 

 are probably about fifty in Canada at the present time. None of them 

 are very pretentious except, possibly, that of La Compagnie Zootech- 

 nique de Labelle, Ltd., the head office of which is in Montreal and the 

 ranch at Lac Chaud, in the Laurentian highlands of Quebec. The 

 capital of the company is $49,000.00- As soon as the success of mink- 

 ranching is assured, it is proposed to proceed with the breeding of the 

 otter along similar lines. 



