Forest and Stream 
$3 a Year, 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, $ 1 . 50 . 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1913 
VOL. LXXXI.—No. 25 . 
22 Thames St., New York. 
His Highness, the Silver Fox 
By M. H. BOLGER 
T HE subject of silver black fox and general 
fur-ranching has occupied much space in 
daily newspapers and other publications for 
some time, yet a large proportion of enlightened 
Americans are today in ignorance of the fact that 
a new industry of world-wide scope has been 
born or rather was born some few years ago 
and is at this present time growing into a busi¬ 
ness of immense proportions with every prospect 
of taking a leading place in the wealth-producing 
commerce of the universe. But only in a small 
corner of this vast continent, to be exact, in the 
Province of Prince Edward Island, is this epoch- 
making industry known for its full worth and its 
possibilities being used to make millions. 
The writer had the good fortune to be placed 
in position to obtain at first hand much authentic 
information pertaining to ranching fur-bearing 
animals in general and silver black foxes in par¬ 
ticular, and statements made below can be veri¬ 
fied by writing to the Biological Survey Depart¬ 
ment, Washington, D. C., or to the Commission 
of Conservation, Ottawa, Canada. 
It is a fact beyond dispute that wild animals 
can be successfully raised in captivity and in the 
case of fur-bearers, by selective breeding, a grade 
of fur produced superior to any coming out of 
the wilds. The world at present buys $95,000,000 
worth of raw furs yearly and the demand is 
steadily increasing. Furs are lighter and warmer 
than any article of clothing manufactured. Furs 
from the wilds grow scarcer every year. Where 
is the supply of the future to come from? 
Foxes raised in captivity to date, consist of 
the blue (a specie distinct from the red), now 
successfully raised on islands off Alaska. The 
price of the blue fox as breeders, per pair, went 
to $1,500 in the Spring of 1913, while the pelts 
sold as high as $150. And the red, with its color 
phase kindred, the cross or patch and the silver 
black. 
The red fox ranched in large numbers for 
its pelts alone is a promising profitable commer¬ 
cial venture that is now engaging the attention 
of capitalists. The patch also is receiving great 
attention, more, however, on account of the pos¬ 
sibilities that a pair of patches may at any season 
produce a pair or more of silver black pups, and, 
although the value of the pelts seldom exceed 
$200, patches for breeding purposes sell for $1,- 
000 to $7,000 per pair. 
In connection with patches it is interesting 
to note, so strong is the black strain, that there 
is no authentic record to show where silver 
blacks, no matter whether their parents were 
patches or silver black, ever produced anything 
but silver black pups. The color phase in patches 
run from red to almost black; in some cases a 
spot of red, called “rust,” no larger than a 
silver quarter making a difference of several 
thousand in valuation. 
While much that is interesting could be writ¬ 
ten about the blue, red and patch, this article has 
to do more especially with that color phase of 
the red fox, the silver black, as connected with 
the ability of man to raise same in captivity and 
profit thereby. 
The silver black or silver fox, which is the 
trade name, was always considered unusual and 
even today it is something like the lien and the 
egg. Which came first, red or silver? is still a 
mooted question. To the trapper in the northern 
wilderness it has been the great lure, as a single 
pelt meant riches equal to hundreds of less valu¬ 
able pelt. In the circles of the royal courts of Eu¬ 
rope it has a standing second to no other fur, 
due to its scarcity and not being easily imitated, 
and while a large fur store in New York City ex¬ 
hibited forty pelts in its window this Fall, the 
prices, $1,300 to $2,000 per pelt, one pelt for the 
neck and one for the muff, still hold this fur 
for the exclusively rich. 
The early history of fox-ranching is not alto¬ 
gether clear, but the following may be considered 
fairly accurate: About 1884 a farmer living at 
the western end of Prince Edward Island cap¬ 
tured a few foxes (presumably patches), and 
noting some darker than others, proceeded to 
raise them in captivity, but failed, owing, no 
doubt, to lack of what is now common knowl¬ 
edge, i. e., that the animal is highly nervous, 
will not breed if kept indoors, is monogamous 
and must be kept under observation rather than 
allowed to wander in a large range. Growing dis¬ 
couraged, this pioneer passed his venture along 
to a man named Dalton, whose knowledge of 
wild life was a bit more profound. This man 
met with a degree of success, but it was not 
until going into partnership with a Mr. Oulton 
that full measure of success crowned efforts 
made, for not only did these shrewd men raise 
foxes in small enclosures, but by selective breed¬ 
ing produced what is now acknowledged as the 
A HAPPY COUPLE 
Courtesy of St. Georges Bay Fur Co. 
