The Washington times., 1904-03-14
FREAK ANIMAL FARMS
PROVE PROFITABL E
Pays Big Money to Raise Snakes snails, Skunks and
Moles to Say Nothing of AlIigators

Several French dealers in animals are
coming to the United States 10 purchase
stock for an alligator farm which they
propose starting In the south Of France
Alligator skin has become so highly
priced throughout France that the ami
mai dealers believe It will pay well to
raise the gators on this the first farm Of
its kind IN the world.
Not long ago President Loubet re-
ceived a present Of hunting suit of al
ligator skin. and the novelty of the thing
has been extensively advertised in the
French press. The skin is said 10 be
growing scarcer each year. and there Is
always great demand for II for boots,
shoes. handbags, writing pads, portfo-
lios. and toilet articles
Farins Pay Dividend.
An animal dealer near the New York
city hall whose trade is confined 10 wild
beasts remarked the other day that
freak animal farms are springing up in
hundreds Of places throughout the
United States He said that he bought
an interest in a snake farm started by
friend OF his near Cation. H., few
years ago and that 1t paid IS per cent
dividend last year
This snake farm explained the
ucdleIs i iLOL AOE the purpose OF raising
reptiles for exhibition purposes. as
might be supposed. The cultivation Of
the snakes is for medicinal purposes
only. The farm consists Of seventy
three acres OF virgin prairie. There, are
eighty mounds of earth prepared In such
a way that the snakes use them for
nests. and there are a dozen nests 70
each mound. a patent medicine con-
Germ is the chief buyer Of the snakes.
This firm alone took 500 snakes last
year at &-G each The contract with
the firm calls for snakes not less than
four feet In length
Snakes Good Mousers.
THE young snakes are as carefully
cared for as il they were lambs. Some
mother snakes are neglected. and do not
properly rear their young The infant
snakes are taken close to the house OF,
the farm, placed in one corner of
good-sized lot and fed with bugs. Sew
eral very large snakes are used as
| household pets by the manager. Their
I fangs are drawn, or course. The house
has always been OVerrun with mice and
the snakes make better mousers than
cats.
''The manager has one man TO help
him in his work about the farm. and
the only prccuutiOn sthey take against
| the reptiles is 70 wear a pair of thick
| boots. The only thing that the mana ger
complains of Is that his neighbors never
visit him. A total of 1872 snakes were
sold from the farm last year
Breeders of Skunks.
There are about ten skunk farms scat
tered over the S6untry. One OF the
largest is operated b. i a. Renick,
farmer in Greenbriar county w. Va
Capt. Adrian Perkins, OF Bradley, Me-
has another successful skunk farm The
animals are raised for their hide and
oil and the industry needs no protection.
Captain Perkins began his skunk farm
with three female and two male skunks
and at the end Of five months found
himself the proud owner OF thirty-four
baby skumks, nearly half of which were
almost pure black few days later
the captain discovered that the father
skuuks had eaten up all their offspring.
/ 50 he built restricting fences when the
next filters came.
The skunks feed upon anything SO
long as il is good. but they like grass
hOppers better than anything else Ar
ter being killed and skinned the skunk
Il roasted over slow fire for its oil
Tins usually sells for s. u gallon to
Sl.25. a skunk Will yield from one to
three pints of oil The average is about
a quart Last year a Western Judge
gave woman Il divorce because her
husband was a skunk farmer
Culture of Leeches.
The culture of leeches has grown con
siderably within Il few years. and
there are now five leech farms in the
country. Many doctors still believe IN
the bleed him policy.
Leech farms in Europe are more prof
liable than those here, however. The