The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-03-25
a new INDUSTRY,
Z Plan to Raise Fhrs to ordcr-An Enth,.
siuttic Wow.
Especial Correspondence

5iutttc Wow.
Especial correspondence
BUFFALO, March 22.-This part of the
state of New York is about to have b,
new industry, and ono which if. success.
full will make fortune for its origina-
tor and revolutionize some important
branches of manufacture.
MIR. Levi Daniels, who lives not fas
from Chautauqua lake and who has q
place just suited to the business, called
on me yesterday by appointment and
kindly volunteered an explanation of
his scheme, which" rs he says, "is not
patentable, nor need 1t be confined to this
section"
Some years ago Mr.. Daniels says H.
met in Buffalo the we'll known journal
list, Major Calhoun, who had just re
turned from q trip to Alaska and tho
great fur land Of the northwest. MajoE
Calhoun pointed out that the fur bearing
animals were being killed off very rapid
ly, and that if some means were not
taken to protect them, as in the case OF
the seals. many of them must soon be-
come as extinct as the great aux. All
our domestic animals, this traveller ex-
planned, were at one time as wild rs the
widest. The cat has all the attitudes of
her wild ancestors, and IL forced to shift
for herself she would soon show that the
instinct of destruction only slept during
domestication.
"After my chat with the major" Mr..
Daniels went on, II got thinking this
matter over and the more looked at it
the bigger it got to be. 1t was either an
immense thing or nothing. And as it
could not be patented / reasoned that
the first man in the field would reap the
biggest profit. 1 have known in five
years minkskins to rise in price from so
cents to Sc.
Every winter myself and my neigh
Dor have trapped minks about our hen
houses, and some of the best of these
saved alive, and four years ago l began
my experiments. The mink is an am
phibious turnover. He likes plenty of
running water, and he prefers fish to
other food. got 10, of them females,
inclosed them in n little spring pond and
then began my experiments. In state
of nature they breed only once year,
but in captivity we can count on two
filters of from TO 10 each. They will
average eight. One pair will produce lG
in the course of year. Recently have
brought down from Canada two dozen
that cost me s. apiece, but which are SO
large and vigorous that the strain of the
lot must be improved
81 can get plenty of fish in season at a
nominal price, and in the winter, when
the animals eat but little, can supply
them with odds and ends of fresh meat, so
that | estimate the keep of each at about
5O cents year, leaving out the increase.
At 10 months old they arc full grown,
though the skin is not at the best till ii
months.
at is difficult SO far to come down to
actual cost, rs 1 have not had animals
enough to take one mans time. But one
pair will produce eight females In year.
''At present fair minkskns are worth
$2 apiece, and fine ones bring twice as
much. AT 81 apiece can make money,
and at So apiece l would rather have
good minkery than gold mine. I am
now satisfied that the other fur bearing
animals, excepting those that need a
high arctic climate, can be raised in this
latitude at a profit. Once the industry
is started we can apply the rules for
breeding that have done so much for
other animals, and the result will be
such splendid furs as are not now to be
found in the market"
CHARLES APPLEBEE.