SILVE R -FO X FARMING. 
17 
just described, the pens are more durable. (See Fig. 11.) In some 
ranches the floors of the pens are of concrete. This makes it much 
easier to keep them clesm and sanitary, but it is yet to be determined 
whether foxes will do as well living on a concrete as on a dirt floor. 
Square as well as rectangular pens with wooden posts have been 
set on concrete foundations, the walls of which are 4 inches wide at 
the top and set into the ground 3 feet, with an underlay of approxi- 
mately 1 foot. 
niiwinu 
NEW TYPES OF PENS. 
The square pen and the 
rectangular pen have been in 
use ever since fox ranching 
was started. Both these typos 
seem to have been very satis- 
factory, but a great disadvan- 
tage has been that it is very 
difficult to prevent foxes from 
climbing the wire. Foxes 
climb wire fences readily, but 
onlv when badly frightened. 
(Fig. 15.) 
OCTAGONAL PEN. 
In a pen of the octagonal 
type the maximum practicable 
area can be inclosed within a 
certain length of wire. The 
top of the pen may be covered 
with wire if desired, and then 
the height of the walls need be 
only 7 feet, a center pole being 
used to support the roofing. 
The plan shown in Figure 1H 
is suitable for 100 feet of wire 
for the walls around the pen. 
A pen of any size can be 
made in the same manner. A 2 by 4 strip running from post to 
post is necessary when the pen is covered over the top, to prevent 
the wire from drawing in the side boards between the posts. A 
coil-spring wire supports the wire netting, running under it from 
the wall posts to the center post. 
Fig. 15. — Square corner of fox pen. Foxes 
climb such corners readily when frightened, 
and frequently are badly injured in falling 
back to the ground. 
PENS WITH SLANTING SIDES. 
The walls of the pens in some new ranches are built slanting 
inward, at an angle of about 20°. This is for the purpose of pre- 
venting foxes from climbing the wire. Some have walls 7, 8, or 9 
feet high, with an overhang similar to that recommended for pens 
with straight walls, while others, as in Figure 17, have walls 7 or 8 
feet high and the entire top covered with wire. 
31825°— 23 3 
