Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-19

NNS terminated the world
YH may still look to thai
30 region for some OF
the most valuable
and beautiful pelts known. At wholesale
prices the skin of black fox is now worth
from $50 to SIS; that of a blue fox Is valued
at from SIS to $40. There is money in the
business referred to. inasmuch as the ami
mails multiply with astonishing rapidly.
Under such conditions they have no enc
mics to contend against, and SO their in
crease is unchecked.
The breeding of blue foxes has already
been made very successful on one Of the
in Boring sea. OF their increase 10000 have
been killed and skinned for market. One
advantage OF this industry is that it in
wolves no expense for the care or feeding
OF the animals All that is required is to
let loose few pairs. and they will do the
rest. However, 1t is very important that
they shall not be interfered with during
the season of reproduction. Those Of them
which are taken must at all times be trap
ped and not shot. Thus they become ex-
ceedingly tame in the course of few gen.
erations. In the same region there are red,
white and cross foxes. Skins of the last
named variety, which is supposed to be a
quoted at from IS to IS wholesale The
white and red pelts are worth only about 81
apiece. because. though they are very beau
more easily obtainable. Black foxes are so
rare as TO be hard to procure for breeding
purposes.
As a Business.
The breeding of blue foxes is a business
regularly prosecuted on the Commander
Islands. in the western part Of Boring sea-
which belong to Russia and have the only
fur-seal rookeries besides those of the
PrlbyloR group. When The explorer, Bering,
hrst landed on Bering island. which is the
larger OF tie two isles referred to- he
ieund 1t fairly swarming with these four
footed beasts They were SO tame and
fearless that they could not be driven away.
ihey ate up his provisions and even at
tempted to devour the men who were
helpless with scurvy. To get nd of them
DTS of brush were tied to their tails and
set anre. Great numbers were killed with
ciubS and all sorts of eXpedients we've tried
but 1t was impossible to brighten them off
When DR. SteJneger OF the Smithsonian In
stitution visited Boring island not long ago
Tor the purpose of obtaining a skeleton of
the extinct Arctic sea-cow, he was anxious
also to secure specimens OF certain rare
auks which are washed ashore by storms
but the foxes were SO quick to grab them
that he could get but very few. The ma
tNeS there killed an average of loo foxes
annually. They are all trapped tie us. of
firearms not being permitted. White ones
are eagerly hunted and destroyed, TO rre-
vent them from communicating the blue
stock.
Cat PeIts.
Not long ago 1t was suggested that cats
of the domesucated species might be profit
ably bred on islands of the coast of Oregon,
and possibly the plan may yet be carried
into execution. The pelts Of these animals
fetch good prices in the fur market A
common cat skin is worth cents. a pure
Maltese fetches 10 cents and a black is
valued at % cents. OF course they must
be in good condition. Some grimalkins are
"n"e warefare that their
hides become seriously damaged. The fur
pA.a Ill Cd
is most available from the furriers point
of view. Street cats are usually too rag
ged and coarse haired to be useful. The
French dye the skins very Skillfully and
thus transform the humble tabby INTO the
regal ermine or other rare and costly fur.
The pure black. Maltese and tortoise shell
natural colors. Rugs of selected tortoise
shell and Maltese are quite fashionable
and the best ones are far from cheap. The
only use made of cat skins in this country
is in the manufacture of carriage robes.
but vast numbers are sent from the United
States to Europe, where they are made in
to coats, hats. rugs, dressing gown Innings
and various other garments. Small black
kittens. stuffed and fastened to scraps of
red flannel. make pretty penwiners. The
supply of pelts is mainly contributed by
professional fur collectors in different parts
of the Coun try, who shoot the animals. The
woods of New England are full of pusses.
running wild. A first-rate laprobe of cat
skin is worth from $40 to $50
Breeding Parrots.
An industry which invites the attention
of enterprisng Americans is the breeding
of parrots. DR.. Stejneger says that it would
be entirely practicable to propagate and
rear them in hot houses. The best takers
among these birds are the gray African va
riety, with the red tail. They are very deli
cate. and make risky stock for the i'm
porter. If one parrot in an invoice dies all
of them may be expected to succumb almost
Immediately. 1t is suspected that the water
in this country does not agree with them.
They are worth from $40 to sl2 untraine1.
price. They come from Liberia and Mon
rovia, where they are caught in great num-
bers by the blacks. The latter make bus
mess of catching parrots. and have regular
parrot farms in their villages. At the
breeding season the men, women and chill
dren scatter in the wilderness and rob
nests. They wait until the young are near
ly ready to leave the nest. and then they
take them. Trading vessels buy them in
steamers in the African trade stop for
cargo. Thus they are forwarded to Europe.
The talking powers of parrot depend to
a great extent on its being taken in hand
at very early age This would be che
advantage of rearing these birds in con-
fnement. Under such conditions also IL
would be practicable to vastly improve the
speaking faculty by mating the best talk
ers together for generations Thus would
be prod such feathered conye ga ton
alists as are unknown up to date 1t would
certainly be profitable to breed and raise
the parrots known Carolina parrokeets
These are rare now and bring high prices
though they used to be very common as
far north as PENNSYLVANIA and Illinois, At
present the few survivors are almost wholly
confined to scattered localities in Florida
and the Indian territory. They have been
successfully bred in captivity. The green
Australian par-okeets, of the sort used by
strolling fortune tellers on the streets, are
among the easiest Of birds to rear.
English Sparrows.
It is alleged that English sparrows are
bred on a considerable scale for sale as
reed birds and rice birds Plucked and
strung they look about the same. and their
flavor is said to be not far inferior. Not
long ago a writer published an account of
successful sparrow farm in Maryland
According to his story the birds destroyed
the produce of his acres. To kill them by
poison or shooting seemed useless, mas
much as their numbers We're constantly
augmented by new supplies prora ga, ted
in the cities, which followed tie line
Of the railway. picking up droppings from
to turn the afIliction to useful purpose
He covered the walls of an old barn inside
with partitioned boxes made in pigeon hole
fashion, each pigeon hole big enough to
accommodate one sparrow family. Each
pigeon hole communicated with the outside
of the building by hole bored through the
wall while its back was on a hinge so
from the interior of the barn If desired
There were 1,400 of these boxes in all and
nearly all of them were occupied by breed
ing birds within short time after they
were completed. Food being plentiful they
lost no time in taking possession Of such