92 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



The whole question of mink-ranching is one that needs more 

 thorough investigation and probably the establishment of experimental 

 farms under experienced ranchmen. A somewhat vague classification 

 into three types of farming can be made from the information gathered: 



1. The Natural Plan. — ^The minks are given an extensive 

 range and the conditions under which they live differ from the 

 natural conditions only in that the animals are fed and occasional 

 nests provided. All catching is by trapping. 



2. The Colony Method. — ^The families are kept in colony 

 houses with a runway to a creek. 



3. The Pen System. — Each mink is kept in a separate pen. 



^. „ , The ranch of La Compagnie Zootechnique de LabeUe 



The Natural ^, , ^ ^v,- ^ -vj j ^t. 



Plan was the only one of this type visited; and the examma- 



tion was made in 1912 when the ranch had been in opera- 

 tion only one year. In 1911, some two dozen mink were placed in the 

 area shown in the illustration, comprising about one-quarter acre. 

 They increased about 100 per cent in number in 1912. The manager 

 explained the small increase as being due to the limited quarters with 

 which they were provided. Another possible explanation is that 1912 

 appeared to be a poor year for both mink and fox. It is also possible 

 that the old wild animals captured did not take kindly to their new 

 location or to the artificial nests. The last cause will disappear, partic- 

 ularly as soon as ranch-bred mink are available. 



As stated, the total area enclosed in the ranch in 1911 was about 

 one-quarter acre. In 1912, work was under way to enclose an area 2,000 

 feet long and 1,500 feet wide at the widest point. The larger range will 

 probably insure considerable success. 



The situation of the ranch is on an island in Lac Chaud in an 

 uninhabited section of country in the Laurentians. It is high and 

 rocky and covered with birch and spruce. The ranch is enclosed with 

 one continuous fence about 12 feet high, set on solid rock on land, and on 

 sunken piers in the water. The chief difficulty is in the construction of 

 the water fence as ice breaks the wire in spring. It is proposed to 

 prevent this by dropping a plank fence three feet wide into the piers to 

 protect the wire during the icy season. In spring the planks will be 

 removed. Not more than a dozen feet of the margin of Lac Chaud are 

 included within the fence. To prevent the escape of the mink under 

 the fence, a wide carpet wire is turned in on the lake bottom. To 

 prevent high climbing, a strip of sheet iron a foot wide is fastened half 

 way up the fence. There is also an overhang of iron. 



