January, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
41 
C. D. S., Seattle, Wash.: 
Will you kindly give some information 
regarding the financial side of silver fox 
farming. I have heard that great fortunes 
can easily be made in this business. What 
is your opinion? 
Ans.—We have yet to find the business 
wherein great fortunes can easily be made. 
If we could, we might be persuaded to 
engage in it ourselves. Nevertheless, it is 
conceded to be true that the profits from 
silver fox farming have generally been 
large. Prior to 1910 they were derived al¬ 
most wholly from pelts, but since then they 
have come mainly from the sale of breed¬ 
ing stock. Following the decline of the 
speculative phase of the fox industry, 
ranch-raised silver fox pelts reappeared at 
fur sales, and brought encouraging prices, 
a few going very high. First-grade skins 
during the 12 years from 1905 to 1916 aver¬ 
aged about $600 each. Out of a miscella¬ 
neous collection of silver fox skins, prin¬ 
cipally wild, disposed of at auction early in 
1916, 60 were sold at an average of $550. 
Many wild skins are necessarily imperfect, 
being unprime, worn, or not well colored, 
but those from selected domestic animals 
killed when their fur is at its best may be 
confidently expected to rank as first-class 
goods. 
The supply of silver fox pelts must al¬ 
ways come from cold climates beyond the 
more thickly settled temperate regions. 
They are not likely, therefore, to become 
overabundant. The supply from wild 
foxes can never be greater than it is now. 
Already red foxes can be raised and their 
pelts sold without loss, and it may be prob¬ 
able that before many years the rise in 
fur values and the introduction of more 
economical methods of ranching will re¬ 
sult in making the raising of all foxes 
probable. The silvers are of superior 
beauty and many years must pass before 
they can become common. 
A. B. E., Cincinnati, Ohio: 
Will you please publish directions for 
tanning a hide, to tan it nice and soft and 
not injure the hair any? 
Ans.—Full and simple directions for tan¬ 
ning a hide were given in Forest and 
Stream for February, 1917, which can be 
consulted in the files of any public library, 
or will be mailed from this office on re¬ 
ceipt of order. 
“Boy Scout,” New York: 
Is it harmful or not for men on a hike 
to drink plenty of water, providing it is 
pure water? 
Ans.—The drinking of water at frequent 
intervals while on long hikes is not recom¬ 
mended by U. S. Marines, stationed at 
Quantico, Virginia. 
AMD 
While the average man should consume, 
according to medical authorities, from two 
to three quarts a day, troops on the march 
should drink this amount at regular pe¬ 
riods and not sip a mouthful at a time, 
say the Marine officers. 
In Haiti, the Philippines and other coun¬ 
tries where the Marines have been com¬ 
pelled to hike long and hard, men who 
constantly sipped at their canteens were 
the first to become exhausted. On the con¬ 
trary, the men who drank their fill every 
two or three hours and not between times, 
proved to be the best hikers. 
W. B., Milwaukee, Wis.: 
I have bought a 16 gauge N. R. Davis 
double gun, both barrels full choke. Would 
you advise me to leave them thus or should 
they be changed, as the dealer has offered 
to do for me. How would you have them 
for duck, rabbit, and squirrel hunting? 
What do you advise for shells? This is 
my first shotgun and I will depend on your 
advice. 
Ans.—As an all around game gun we 
prefer to have the right barrel bored modi¬ 
fied choke and the left barrel full choke. 
You can tell more about your gun after 
you have tried it out at a target, and we 
advise you to do this even if it takes half 
a day and uses up a couple of boxes of 
shells. Tack a large sheet of paper on a 
barn or other background, stand off 40 
yards and shoot at the center. If neces¬ 
sary use a rest. Use No. 8 shot; there 
are 400 pellets in one ounce. A cylinder 
will throw 40% in a 30-inch circle; im¬ 
proved cylinder, a little better than 50%; 
modified choke, about 60%; full choke, 65 
to 70%. 
We have always used Winchester and 
Remington shells and like them. If there 
are any other points which we can help 
you to clear up, we shall be glad to have 
you write again. 
R. S. D., Calgary, Alta.: 
I am a right hand shooter, using a Win¬ 
chester pump 12 gauge shotgun, and my 
left eye seems to be my master eye. Will 
you please advise if I would likely be shoot¬ 
ing to left of my object as I seem to be 
doing very poor duck shooting this fall. 
If this is the case could I get the stock on 
my gun made over in any way? 
Ans.—You are shooting to the left if 
your left eye is the master eye, and prob¬ 
ably miss right quartering birds and do 
fairly well with those going to the left. 
You can learn to shoot from the left shoul¬ 
der if you will practise, or you can have 
a gun made that casts the stock off one 
inch to the right from comb to butt. 
Will be glad to answer any other ques¬ 
tions if this does not solve your difficulty. 
J. W. B., Toledo, Ohio: 
I am going to spend the next four or 
five months in Arizona, New Mexico, and 
southern California. I am going by auto¬ 
mobile first to Denver, and from there to 
New Mexico, Arizona and California. 
This is the open season for ducks in 
those states, and any information you can 
give me as to where this game can be 
found in these states during my travels, I 
assure you it would be highly appreciated. 
I know that there are plenty of ducks to 
be found in these states, but of course do 
not know just where. 
I shall be very glad to keep you posted 
as to the amount of game I get, provid¬ 
ing that this information would be of any 
service to you. 
Ans.—While we are more or less fa¬ 
miliar with that country and have corre¬ 
spondents there, it is impossible to give 
you as good advice as you will be able to 
get along the road. The movement of 
ducks depends so much upon the weather 
and the rainfall that you never know where 
to find them. 
You are going through a very interest¬ 
ing country and we shall be delighted to 
hear from you along the way. 
Iff. W., Lynden, Wash.: 
I Desiring to become an amateur taxider¬ 
mist, I wish jx>u would inform me where 
I can get a correspondence course for same 
at reasonable cost. 
Ans.— Forest and Stream will publish 
from time to time articles on Taxidermy 
that will enable you to learn all there is 
to be acquired of the art by reading. After 
that, you will do well to work under some 
experienced man. 
C. L. S., Germantown, Pa.: 
Is there a device for throwing clay tar¬ 
gets by hand, similar to the regular trap 
used by trapshooting clubs? If so where 
can I see one of these? 
Ans.—What you refer to is undoubtedly 
the hand trap which is used quite exten¬ 
sively by trapshooting clubs, country clubs, 
vacation parties, week-end gatherings, etc. 
The hand trap is carried in stock by most 
sporting goods dealers. It is a very prac¬ 
tical device. 
F. W. R., Holyoke, Mass.: 
I have been a reader of Forest and 
Stream for years. Can you or some reader 
kindly tell me what I can do to' keep my 
feet warm while put in the woods? I love 
fishing and hunting, but after being out a 
while my feet get so cold I have to give 
it up and go home. I have tried heavy 
socks and overshoes. 
Ans.—We would like to hear from other 
readers of Forest and Stream on this sub¬ 
ject which opens an interesting discussion 
