THE DOMESTICATED SILVER FOX. 



5 



white section a little below the tip. Occasionally a guard hair is 

 found that is entirely black. In the typical silver fox black replaces 

 the red of the ordinary fox. the w hite of the guard hairs on the upper- 

 parts remaining constant. The result is a beautiful black, overlaid 

 by a sprinkling of silvery white. Between the red and the silver 

 phases there are grades of every degree, ranging from red-backed 

 animals with black underparts through conditions characterizing 

 cross foxes and rusty silvers. In rare instances even the white bars 

 of the guard hairs are displaced, the result being a black or a silver- 

 black fox. In general, the cross fox is fairly common, the silver- 

 gray scarce, and the pure black very rare. 



The market value of skins of the different phases depends upon 

 the relative scarcity of the animals. The price paid for black skins, 

 however, has recently fallen considerably below that of silvers, for 

 the reason that furriers now dye ordinary red fox skins a lustrous 

 black and put them on the market at a comparatively low figure. 



HISTORY. 



Domestication of the fox was first achieved in the Canadian Prov- 

 ince of Prince Edward Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Silver 

 fox pelts have continuously commanded high prices, and hunters 

 have been correspondingly keen to secure them. It is not strange, 

 therefore, that the first successful breeders of this rare animal were 

 men who had pursued it in the chase. 



In 1894 a ranch was built and stocked with two pairs of silver 

 foxes. This became the first profitable fox ranch, the forerunner of 

 a remarkable and, for that region, a revolutionizing industry. 



At that time black pelts brought much higher prices than silvers. 

 This prompted the first fox ranchers to retain their darker animals 

 and dispose of the lighter ones, and as a result each successive lot of 

 pelts from their yards was darker than those of previous years. 

 Finally, in 1910, they were able to send to the London sales the finest 

 collection of silver fox pelts that had ever appeared there. This lot, 

 containing 25 pelts, brought an average of $1,386 each, the best one 

 selling for $'2,624. In the meantime a few other small ranches had 

 been started in the Maritime Provinces, Newfoundland, Maine, On- 

 tario, Michigan, and Alaska. The policy of the half dozen Prince 

 Edward Islanders had been to monopolize the business, and not 

 even their families were enlightened as to their methods. The pelts 

 had been shipped three in a package by parcel post from a distant 

 post office, and reports of the sales had been received in code. The 

 fox raisers had entered into a compact to sell no live silver foxes 

 and had bought the best that could be obtained. Notwithstanding 

 their secrecy, the evident improvement in their financial conditions 

 w as noticed by their neighbors, who thereupon desired to participate. 



