Fox-farming.— The red fox, which, in its normal fulvous condition, contributes thousands of beautiful pelts to the furriers annually, has a strong tendency toward black in its pelage. When one shows a line of black along the spine and across the withers it is called a 'cross fox" ; when the dark coloring is more irregular it is a apatch-fox"; when black all over, with the tips of the hairs white, it is a ((silver fox." This last is the most valuable variety, and one which varies from grizzly to almost pure black; finally, some may be pure black To rear in captivity the ordinary red type would not be worth the cost; but to cultivate by selective breeding the high-priced silver and black furs promised wealth. Attempts to do this began in eastern Canada more than 50 years ago, but no considerable success was reached until two in dependent fox-breeders in Prince Edward Island united their knowledge and stock in 1894, and began to produce black and silver foxes the sale of which, as breeding pairs, brought them great wealth, and aroused a furor of ex citement and an army of more or less specula tive fox-farmers. The success of these orig inators was owing not only to the acquired knowledge and experience of many years, but to what is now known to be a most favorable situation, and to the availability of wire-mesh for fencing. To make a fox-proof fence had been, until the invention of woven wire, a practical impossibility.
Messrs. Oulton and Dalton, operating with great secrecy, continually bred from darker and darker animals until finally they achieved sil ver and black strains that bred true; but it was not until 1910 that they felt justified in ap pearing in'the market. The first 25 silver skins sent to London sold at auction for an average of $1,386 apiece. This created a furor of specu lation. 'People who formerly had known some thing the business," says Osgood, ((were now eager to engage in it. . . . How rapidly prices for breeding-stock advanced is well illustrated by the experiences of one ranchman who sold his first pair of cubs for $750, and other pairs successively for $3,000, $12,000, $13,000 and $14, 000." The maintenance of this prodigious in
flation of prices was due mainly to stock com panies which sprang up like mushrooms and were capitalized so recklessly that in May 1913, when the value of the foxes on Prince Edward Island was estimated officially at $15,000,000, the combined capitalization of 196 registered companies was 29,305,700, and in December 1914 was $31,500,000. In addition to this fox 'ranches" were established all over Canada, and in almost every one of our northern tier of States. Then the monopoly was broken. Wild stock was searched for and found in increased amount, the war came on, and the inflation collapsed. Ranch-bred silver foxes could soon be bought for $1,500 to $2,000, or often much less, and pelts fell in price to the level of 10 years ago. 'Now, with a comparatively large number of silver foxes in domestication, with a clearer understanding of their successful man agement, and with a return of moderate prices for breeders, a steady, healthy and general de velopment of silver-fox farming may be ex pected." A very different kind of domesti cation of animals for the production of fur is that of the Central-Asian sheep, known as karakul (Black Lake), whose lambs at birth are clothed in a coat of closely curled black hair, formerly designated astrakan or Persian lamb. Some of these sheep (known as Arabi, Krim mer, broadtail, etc.) were imported, at great trouble and expense, in 1908 and their progeny, crossed with other breeds, is now producing these valuable lamb-skins here and in Canada. The industry is experimental as yet, but seems likely to prove a very valuable success. Consult Ingersoll, E., Competitors) (New York 1911) ; Jones, J. W., 'Fur Farming in Canada' (Montreal 1913) •, Circular on Karakul Sheep (Department of Agriculture, Washington 1913); Dearborn, Ned, Domesticated Silver Fox) (Department of Agriculture, Farmer? Bul letin 795, Washington 1917, which summarizes Farmers' Bulletins 301 and 328 previously issued).