THE DOMESTICATED SILVER FOX. 



13 



or cresoted planks. The posts of framed fences are tied together 

 by the netting and braced from the ground as shown in figure 15. 

 A dn ruble and attractive fence support recently adopted by several 

 fox owners is shown in figure 10. It has a concrete foundation 1 

 feet deep, 9 inches 

 thick at the bottom, 

 and C inches thick 

 at the top, and pro- 

 jects slightly above 

 ground. In this are 

 embedded posts of 



1-inch jjalvanized- 



Fio. 11. — Don improvised from a barrel. 



iron pipe. Tie-rails 

 of 4-inch pipe con- 

 nect these posts at the top and also just above the foundation. 



Wire netting for fox-yard fences has been in use from the begin- 

 ning. It allows free circulation of air and permits the animals to 

 take an active interest in their surroundings and in one another. 

 The netting ordinarily used is like that for poultry runs, except that 



Fig. 12. — An inexpensive type of den. Table in foreground is for the food of parent 

 foxes ; by means of it young cubs are prevented from obtaining too much meat. 



the wire is heavier. It may be of 2-inch mesh in 14, 15, and 16 gauge. 

 The lower part of a fence should be made of the heaviest wire ob- 

 tainable, the lighter grades being used for the middle and upper 

 parts. As very young foxes are likely to become entangled in 2-inch 

 netting or even to go through it, many fox breeders use only 1^-inch 

 mesh. Those having 2-inch mesh usually reinforce it from 6 inches 

 above the surface of the ground to C inches below it with boards or a 

 strip of 1-inch netting. 



