34 
BULLETIN 1151, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
potency is a property of characteristics and not of individuals, 
breeds, or sexes. 7 
The secrecy which surrounded the breeding of silver foxes in the 
early days is largely responsible for the present lack of informa- 
tion regarding ancestry and breeding. In general, no systematic 
records were kept of pelt production, breeding, and pedigree, and 
for this reason prospective buyers are compelled to rely largely on 
the word of the seller. A few breeders, however, have been far- 
sighted enough to see that records regarding the quality of fur 
produced are necessary to the successful conduct of fox breeding 
as a business. There is probably nothing that will make more for 
progress than the systematic maintenance of the breeding record 
of promising foxes based on the production of a high quality of fur. 
£>IPS 
\^A/AP£OP A/£CST 
MC* LOW 
/?UMP 
TA/L P£AD 
H/P 
T/P 
CLAWS 
FPOA/TFOOT 
tf/A/D FOOT 
Fig. 38. — Points of a fox. 
PEDIGREE. 
Selection must be based on the ancestors as well as on the indi- 
vidual. An inferior fox of good pedigree is in every way prefer- 
able to a better-appearing individual of unknown ancestry. The 
selection of either of these individuals as a breeding fox might prove 
disastrous, but the latter offers by far the greater chance of unsat- 
isfactory results. The best test of the breeding powers of a fox is 
to see the progeny. Rarely are a pair of foxes of proved excellence 
as breeders offered for sale, and selections must generally be made 
from untested stock on the basis of individuality and pedigree. The 
value of particular individuals in the pedigree depends on the de- 
gree of relationship. A good sire or dam is a very important con- 
sideration: the grandparents, when judged by themselves, do not 
have so much weight ; and remote ancestors need hardly be taken 
into consideration. 
Bull. 905, U. S. Dept Agr., p. 34. 
