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BtJLLEtllsr 1350, U. S. DEPABTMEKT OP AGKICULTURE, 



about the island, cost $15 to $25 each, depending upon the quality of 

 lumber used and the labor. Feed cookers can be constructed or pur- 

 chased at a cost of $15 to $50. Detention pens are necessary to con- 

 fine foxes during short periods for various purposes, and can be 

 built for $25 to $50. 



A good, substantial boat is needed to procure fish for feed, to feed 

 the foxes, and to transport supplies to and from the mainland or 

 other points. The location of the island, harbor facilities, and the 

 quantity of supplies to be transported will help determine the kind 

 of boat to be purchased. A motor boat used for short, light hauls 



Fig. 18. — A box trap used on some island fox ranches. The fox, feeding on the bait 

 at the rear, pulls a wire which drops the entrance door. (Top removed and used 

 to prop trap on side for showing interior wire) 



can be purchased for $600 to $1,000. A boat used for traversing 

 long distances will cost $2,000 to $4,000. 



ESSENTIALS OF BREEDING 



Success in fox raising is directly dependent upon a careful and 

 intelligent selection of the right type of breeding stock. Those 

 engaged in the industry should have a clear conception of the im- 

 portant factors involved in breeding. When the animals are con- 

 fined in pens and the ancestry is known, selective breeding is a com- 

 paratively simple matter. When the foxes run wild and breed 

 promiscuously, however, as is the case on the islands of Alaska, it 

 is impracticable to follow any definite system. In other words, the 

 rancher is never quite sure that certain young foxes are the offspring 

 of any particular pair of adults. Some ranchers, of course, may 

 feel reasonably certain of the ancestry of one, two, or even three lit- 



