4 BULLETIN 301, U. S. DEPABTVLEXT OF AGBICULTUBE. 
HISTORY OF DOMESTICATION. 
Domestication of the fox was first achieved in 1894 by Robert T. 
Oulton and Charles Dalton on Prince Edward Island, a Canadian 
Province in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Silver fox pelts have continu- 
ously commanded high prices, and hunters have been correspondingly 
keen to secure them. It is not strange, therefore, that the first suc- 
cessful breeders of this rare animal were men who had pursued it in 
the chase. The two mentioned had hunted foxes together and had 
frequently bought and sold fox pelts of their neighbors. Oulton was 
once lucky enough to shoot a silver fox the skin of which netted $138. 
Becoming impressed with the possibility of domesticating such valu- 
able fur bearers, Oulton and Dalton separately experimented in 
building fox-proof fences and in feeding and breeding the animals. 
After several years' work on these problems they formed a partner- 
ship in 1894, built a ranch, and stocked it 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 silver 
pelts. This prompted Oulton & Dalton 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, hi 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 in that business had been to monopolize it. They 
had kept their own counsel, and not even their families were en- 
lightened as to 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 improve- 
ment in their financial conditions was noticed by their neighbors, 
who thereupon desired to participate. 
Disclosure of the results of the 1910 sales was the climax of the 
first stage in the development of fox farming. People who formerly 
had known something of the business were now eager to engage in it. 
Those having money invested it in foxes. Others mortgaged their 
farms for the purpose or fitted up ranching facilities and boarded 
foxes for a share of the progeny. How rapidly prices for breeding 
stock advanced is well illustrated by the experience of one ranchman 
who sold his first pair of cubs for $750, and other pairs successively 
for $3,000, $12,000, $13,000, and $14,000. In the "fall of 1913 good 
ranch-bred cubs 6 months old sold for from $11,000 to $15,000 a 
