St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-09-10
BFectiiHg Mink.

]
\. TO ascertain whether mink breeding
for fur he a paving business. \ CORE
>pondent of the Buffalo Express lately
visited ''Iinkery," and described it as
follows:
The "NIinkcry'' i designed for 100
minks for brecking, and consists, first, of
an enclosure about 10 feet square. made
10y digging Il trench Il foot deep, laying
Il plank at tine bottom, and from the out
er edge starting the wall. consisting OF
boards + feet high. with 4 board to cap
the top, projecting upward $ or 10 inch
f., 10 prevent their climbing over. With
in this enclosure i, Il buildny If it. by
n. supplied by running water. from
which the mlnke catch livin- fish that
are furnished, with seeming delight. The
building Is constructed with an alley 3
feet wide around lis entire circumference
Within are two rows OF cells / tcct deep
and , J wide, each having Il door vcntil-
atcd at the top and bottom with wire
scrccncS, Is Is also the ont wall opposite
the cell. There l. also at the front ell
trance what the prnpric;ur- call the ante
room, 10y / feet, which must he ftst,n-
81 within every time the buldin. Is en-
tered. to prevent the escape OF the AMI
mails. On entering the main room,
which the mnks all have access TO (whcn
not rearing their young,) they present Il
very playful group. The person feeding
them Is often mounted for their tooG.and
their tenacity of hold Is 50 strong that
they may be drawn about or lifted with
out releasing their hold upon the food.
The nest of the female is constructed
of grasS, leaves, or straw, with lining
OF her own FUR so firmly compacted to
gcther rs to be with difficulty torn in
pieces. The aperture leading to the nest
Is Il round opening Just sufficient to admit
the dam, and is provided with a defect
ed curtain, which covers the entrance and
ctitctually secures her against all inya-
sion when she is within. About the
middle of March the females are separat-
ed from the males until the young are
reared. The necessity for this arises from
the fact that the males seem inclined
10 brood The young almost as much us
the dam, when they are permitted to re-
main together.
The expense of feeding is almost NOM
inal, being supplied pretty much from
the usual otf;ll of the farm yard, with
woodchucks and other game. They eat
this food with avidity after decomposi-
ton has taken place, dcvouring every
particle of flesh, cartilage and the bones.
The flesh and bones entire of the wood
chuck are consumed often at "a single
meal. While the expense of keeping is
thus trivial, the profitable yield of the
animal Is, comparatively, large, it being
considered a moderate estimate or claim
that one mink with her increase will
equal the avails of COW. Should this
calculation hold good, when the propa-
CATION of the mink is prosecuted on a
large scale, the business becomes very
profitable.
So far the experience of these gentle
men Phillips and Woodcock of Cane
daga with the undomesticated mink has
not been satisfactory, as their shyness
cannot be overcome, and they have never
obtained any increase from the animals
III their wild state. They have to be
taken when young and domesticated.