1134 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
September  1,  1923 
Nature  Notes 
Fox  Breeding  on  Prince  Edward  Island 
I  have  had  several  inquiries  from 
readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  about  the  black 
fox  business  or  rather  the  silver-black,  on 
Prince  Edward  Island.  I  would  say  to 
one  and  all  that  the  fox  breeding  business 
on  this  island  is  exactly  on  the  same 
basis  as  the  breeding  of  any  other  pure¬ 
bred  stock — pigs,  sheep  or  collies.  There 
is  an  All^Canadian  Fox  Record  Associa¬ 
tion,  and  animals  are  registered  or  re¬ 
corded  herein  same  as  any  other  class 
of  purebred  animals,  the  only  difference 
being  that  the  margin  between  the  cost 
of  raising  silver-black  foxes  over  pigs, 
for  example,  and  the  sale  price  is  per¬ 
haps  10  times  as  much.  A  fox  can  be 
raised  for  about  $20,  whereas  he  sells  in 
the  Fall  for  $200,  $300,  more  or  less  as 
to  pedigree  and  strain.  There  are  some 
well-known  and  appreciated  strains,  as 
for  instance  the  Tuplin,  Oulton,  and 
Dalton  strains  that  bring  bigger  prices 
because,  as  I  only  think,  that  these  were 
the  original  Ibreedeirs  of  domesticated 
black  foxes.  I  was  in  what  is  called  the 
is  permitted  for  the  loss  of  property  by 
foxes.  If  the  dens  of  these  foxes  are  on 
premises  of  subscriber,  and  they  are  de¬ 
stroying  her  chickens,  she  can  invade 
their  dens  and  destroy  the  foxes. 
TIIOS.  B.  M’GREGOR, 
Attorney-General. 
Carbon  Bisulphide  and  Woodchucks 
I  have  used  Paris  green  and  killed  lots 
of  woodchucks  but  just  now  the  style 
here  is  to  use  carbon  bisulphide  in  the 
hole,  exploding  it.  One  can  will  do  about 
one  dozen  holes.  Put  the  bisulphide  on 
a  rag,  leaving  it  in  the  hole  covered 
tightly  about  10  minutes,  then  explode 
with  a  light  on  a  stick.  Mr.  Chuck 
thinks  it  is  an  earthquake  and  dies.  Only 
one  hole  has  been  dug  out  since  they 
have  tried  it.  Look  out  while  you  shoot 
it.  A. 
Cats  and  Sleeping  Children 
Noting  what  M.  B.  D.  says  about  cats, 
page  1043,  I  felt  it  a  duty  to  state  that 
under  no  circumstances  should  a  cat  be 
allowed  to  remain  in  the  room  with  a 
baby,  especially  in  cold  weather.  A  new¬ 
born  babe  undoubtedly  has  a  surplus 
muscular  power  as  to  its  own  require¬ 
ments,  but  not  enough  to  lift  a  heavy 
Here  is  a  pair  of  purebred  Nubian  goats,  “Billy”  and  “Nanny”  which  we  should 
call  very  appropriate  names.  (When  we  began  to  talk  about  these  milk  goats  we 
had  no  idea  that  our  people  were  so  thoroughly  interested  in  them.  We  are  con¬ 
stantly  getting  letters  about  the  goats  and  their  care,  and  it  seems  without  ques¬ 
tion  that  goat  keeping  is  coming  to  be  a  regular  part  of  American  country  life. 
We  judge  through  correspondence  that  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  the  goat 
will  occupy  a  definite  place  in  American  dairying. 
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Tuplin  ranch,  now  owned  by  another 
party,  last  Fall  in  which  there  were  136 
foxes,  and  the  manager  told  me  they  sold 
none  less  than  $500  each.  I  am  sure 
there  are  foxes  just  as  good  that  could 
be  purchased  for  half  that  price.  As  to 
duty,  I  don’t  know,  but  I  imagine  a 
registered  pair  of  foxes,  with  free  bill  of 
health,  will  pass  duty  free  for  breeding 
purposes,  same  as  a  pair  of  purebred, 
registered  pigs.  I  was  talking  to  a  ranch¬ 
man  last  week  who  told  me  his  average 
litters  this  Spring  ran  four  which  he 
said  was  satisfactory.  Anyway  I  no¬ 
tice  the  ‘fox-men  have  got  the  money  when 
you  have  any  dealings  with  them. 
J.  A.  MG  DONALD. 
Prince  Edward  Island. 
Kiling  Foxes  in  Kentucky 
In  my  State  there  is  a  law  which  pro¬ 
hibits  me  from  killing  foxes  now.  These 
foxes  are  making  great  raids  on  my  poul- 
trv.  Since  the  government  protects  these 
foxes,  could  I  not  make  them  pay  me  for 
loss  on  poultry  done  by  them?  Within  the 
last  90  days  these  foxes  have  taken  from 
my  flock  of  poultry  17  two-year-old  hens 
valued  at  $1  each,  seven  young  turkeys 
valued  at  $1  each,  and  21  frying  chickens, 
January  hatched  pullets,  valued  at  $1 
each  ;  total  loss  of  damage  done  by  foxes, 
$45  in  last  90  days.  We  live  on  a  creek 
and  there  are  fox  dens  up  and  down  the 
creek.  I  can  track  feathers  from  my 
poultry  run  to  these  dens,  where  I  find  a 
collection  of  feathers  and  bones. 
Kentucky.  a  subscribes. 
This  matter  was  referred  to  the  Attor¬ 
ney-General  of  Kentucky,  who  says : 
I  beg  to  advise  that  by  the  provisions 
of  Section  1954b-ll,  Kentucky  Statutes, 
foxes  cannot  be  killed  from  the  first  day 
of  January  to  the  14th  day  of  Novem¬ 
ber,  inclusive,  of  any  year,  except  when 
they  are  found  injuring  or  doing  damage 
to  or  destroying  any  property..  Then  the 
person  whose  property  is.  injured,  dam¬ 
aged  or  destroyed  may  kill  them  on  his 
own  premises  when  necessary  for  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  his  property.  No  compensation 
cat,  certainly  not  for  more  than  a  few 
moments.  A  heavy  cat  is  looking  for  a 
warm  place  on  a  wintry  night.  It  is  not 
afraid  of  the  baby  and  lies  on  the  child’s 
chest.  The  baby  cannot  lift  the  cat  in 
order  to  breathe,  and  soon  dies  of  suf¬ 
focation.  Among  Southern  negroes  the 
belief  used  to  be  prevalent,  and  may  be 
now,  that  cats  killed  babies  by  “sucking 
their  breath.”  Above  explanation  prob¬ 
ably  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  super¬ 
stition.  I  never  heard  it  in  connection 
with  any  other  than  babies  before. 
Virginia.  w.  d.  millner. 
Woodchucks  and  Chickens 
Some  years  ago  my  superintendent  re¬ 
ported  the  unaccountable  loss  of  fowls  of 
various  ages  from  the  chicken  yard  en¬ 
closure  on  my  grounds  at  Stamford, 
Conn.  iWe  knew  that  there  were  two  or 
three  woodchuck  holes  among  the  rocks 
in  the  enclosure,  and  knew  that  they 
were  occupied  by  woodchucks  so  that  the 
question  of  skunks  or  foxes  was  ruled 
out.  My  superintendent  and  I  both  said 
on  several  occasions,  “Don’t  bother  about 
the  woodchucks — they  won’t  do  any  harm, 
and  if  we  set  traps  the  fowls  may  get 
into  them.”  Our  final  conclusion  was 
that  in  all  probability  gray  foxes  or 
raccoons  that  are  excellent  climbers  oc¬ 
casionally  got  over  the  wire  fence  and 
departed  with  a  fowl. 
On  ‘Sunday  last  my  view  of  the  wood¬ 
chuck,  changed.  While  speaking  with  my 
neighbor,  George  A.  Palmer  of  the  Cog- 
newaug  Road,  Greenwich,  he  told  me  that 
his  wife  and  children  heard  a  great  com¬ 
motion  in  the  chicken  yard  a  short  time 
previously  and  when  they  ran  out  to  see 
what  the  trouble  was,  a  woodchuck  was 
trying  to  kill  a  large  rooster.  The  wood¬ 
chuck  ran  to  its  hole  and  escaped  when 
the  people  appeared. 
At  one  time  there  was  a  question 
whether  muskrats  ever  catch  ducks.  The 
first  expressions  of  opinion  brought  out 
by  Forest  and  Stream,  if  I  remember  cor¬ 
rectly,  were  to  the  effect  that  these  rodents 
were  wholly  guiltless.  Later  reports 
brought  testimony  from  a  number  of  wit¬ 
nesses  to  the  effect  that  muskrats  some¬ 
times  did  kill  ducks. 
ROBERT  T.  MORRIS. 
