i*"AR 26 1917 



THE DOMESTICATED SILVER FOX. 



CONTENTS. 





Page. 







3 



Propagation — Continued. 



History 



_ 5 



Care of young 



Climate _ _ 





Behavior 



Sites- . 



7 



Handling foxes 



Iiu'losures_ . 



9 



Health 







Improved strains 



Yards . 





Accessories _ 



Guard fences 



- . ___ 17 



Marketing 



Food 



17 



Costs _ 





20 



Income _ 



Page. 



21 

 22 

 22 

 23 

 25 

 28 

 29 

 31 

 32 



INTRODUCTION. 



From time immemorial furs have been worn for protection and 

 adornment. With the increase of population and of encroachments 

 upon the breeding grounds of fur-bearing animals the supply of furs 

 has steadily diminished and prices have correspondingly advanced. 

 Trappers have been stimulated to penetrate farther and farther into 

 the uninhabited regions of the North and to redouble their efforts to 

 increase their catch nearer home. Many of the more valuable ani- 

 mals have thus become so scarce that the demand for their pelts is 

 met by the substitution of inferior products. 



The natural production of first-class furs seems to be approaching 

 a sure end, and the demand for them requires that the present supply 

 be supplemented through domestication of fur-bearing animals. As 

 some of the fur bearers may be raised without much difficulty, the 

 establishment of fur farming on a small scale may be expected in 

 many places along our northern border, much as poultry is now 

 raised as an additional source of income on farms. When properly 

 conducted, fur farming may become very profitable. It will pay not 

 only in direct returns to the producer, but, indirectly, the desire for 

 furs can be gratified, the killing off of the most valuable and interest- 

 ing of our fur bearers prevented, and an extensive branch of manufac- 

 ture and trade supporting a large population continued. 



Note. — This bulletin, based on Department Bulletin No. 301, " Silver Fox Farming in 

 Eastern North America" (1915), has been prepared to supersede Farmers' Bulletin 

 No. 328, " Silver Fox Farming" (1908). It is for general distribution in areas shown 

 by shading in the map on page 8. 



3 



