El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-13

, heir to the Austrian throne, prince
I Franz Ferdinand.
A mother fox is able to bear young
| ordinarily for nine years, and, averag-
! ing four pups to litter, may be reas-
Onably expected in her lifetime to rear
| at least thirty offspring This allows
for some loss by death from accident
or from disease. Reckoning the skins
as forth from $1,000 to $4,000 apiece, II
is easy to see that a pair of the ami
mails might be expected under favorable
circumstances TO yield an annual in
come of something like $4,000.
1t is because of their extreme shy
ness that foxes are never known to
produce young IN geological gardens
The mother fox, even under such con-
ditiOnS of captivity as are here de-
scribed, will, if disturbed in any way,
imperil the lives of her offspring by
carrying them about in her mouth
picking them up from one place and
putting them down in another until
they sUccUmb to exposure and too much
handling. It will be understood, then,
why it is necessary to seclUde the pens
continual watch TO prevent the ap-
proach of possible intruders, man or
wild beast
Food Costs Little.
To feed the foxes costs very little
not more than two or three cents a day
per fox Butchers refuse, fish bread,
milk and eggs serve eXcellen1y for
the purpose. The nursing mother gets
plenty of eggs. milk and pOrridge- On
some of the fox ranches there are a
pen, which give the animals exercise
and amusement in the chase, while af-
fording an additional article of diet.
TWenty-four years ago, in 1888,
farmer named Lamb, while hunting for
strayed cattle in the woods on Prince
Edward island, came across two silver
fox pups, male and female, in a hollow
log. He carried them home with him
and snapped them with a neighbor for
COW and few dollars to boot. This
was the beginning Of the industry
which has had so remarkable and prof
liable a development.
For long time, however, not much
success was had in efforts to rear the
animals in captivity. They obstinateIy
knoW-hoW was acquired through ex-
perlence, and the present method,
whereby they are kept in strict seclu-
sion and under conditions approaching
as close as possible to those of nature.
was adopted The secret was carefully
kept, and until recently was known
only to a very few persons on the is
land Meanwhile, no live foxes were
sold, except a few of inferior quality,
which were sent to very distant points
in Canada
Prince Edward island. which are
stocked with zoo fine dark silver foxes.
500 silver grays and 400 very light sill
vers and crosses. The total estimated
killed tomorrow is S550,000- AS breed
ing stock, however, they are worth ever
100000.
Dark SiIvers Very Valuable.
The dark silvers" are the very vaIu-
able ones These are absolutely black
except for scattered light hairs which
are black at the base and tip. the silver
being near the outer end The fur Of
such animals is a marvel of richness
and beauty.
And yet, strange though it may seem,
the animal is exactly the same as the
not more than IS. Once in a long while
a specimen is black. and then il is called
2 dark silver fox If such a fox is
bred through a series Of generations
spring after while will be black This
has been proved by many experiments.
and thus IL appears that a farmer. of |
small means. who could afford to buy
only one real silver fox. might, by the I
of proper methods, acquire a ,
stock of the precious animals in the 4
course of a few years
The government bureau of animal in ]
duStry believes that fox farming on 4
such plan might be made very sue
United StateS-fOr example in Maine 4
and North Dakota The foxes need a 1
cold climate to produce satisfa Glory
lur. II IS at present engaged in pre-
urinary experiments with this idea in
view Ihere IS no question to the fact
NAT the silver fox is the most valua-
Die beast in the world today. and the
Dractica blllty of rearing il on an extern
slVe scale has already been proved by
he breeders of Prince Edward island
Once obtained. the black variety al I
ways breeds true to color" The BUDS /
Ire born IN March TO early May One
mother fox reared Is in three years, Z
Ind $4,000 was refused for her.