El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-24

circus tent in the night, the latest
J venture in frenzied finance-the cap
! ture and propagation of the capricious
royal silver black fox, developing a
/ new industry that has vergcd Into a
veritable Klondike in which Americans
and Canadians have invested more than
/ So OOO,O coo within the past three years.
The silver black fox fur from time
| immemOrial has been affected by the
royal families of Europe, and by per
| sons of highest wealth and fashion. The
| acceptance OF this fur as the choicest
and most valuable is time honOred and
/ not a vogue, the residents of Prince
Edward island will tell you, and its
, worth is almost as fully standardized
as that of the diamond among precious
stones
But until three years ago the expert
ment of prOpagating the silver black
fox in captivity had seldom suggested
itself to the people Of the island Ihe
success of later experiments did not
begin to attract investors until about
q year ago. The United States, British,
! japanese and Russian governments
| through the consular service and by
( sDecfal investigation, directed the com
| pilation of reports upon the eIIOrls IN
J progress to breed the wild silver black
1t was then that native capitalists
/ and foreign promoters entered the field
{ OF a new INDUSTRY ana LDudy nearly
/ $50 fox ranches dot the island with It's
/ population of more than 100000 people.
Breeders Bring Fabulous Prices.
| Speculation became so rife that the
peIts of the foxes slain disappeared
! from the English fashion shops. Prince
I Edward island had ceased to slay It's
( valuable fur bearers. The little animals
! had become of such an immense value
upon the breeding market that it no
Z longer was business policy to have any
/ negotiations with the fur dealers. Com
/ panies were formed and a single COM
/ panies of breeders would be capitalized
at $4,000 One SherbrOok farmer sold
/ to a syndicate pair OF proved breeders
1 for the enOrmOsI sum of $4,000.
The demand for furs became stronger.
With almost every known region OF
the globe invaded by hunters IN quest
of fur bearers the animals were rapidly
growing extinct. Russian sable. chin
chilla sea otter and seal had been
withdrawn from the market for five
years. Dame Fashion had placed its
universal stamp Of approval upon the
expensive and rare silver black fox
furs, and few of these were to be had.
No PeIts For Market.
Prince Edward sland ranches, how
ever. have no pelts Tor the markets
demand. The last sales Of pelts from
here were in April, 1910, when single
/ skin was sold for $1,000. Twenty seven
skins in a single shipment nr5uSlJ
( total price Of S3S000, or an average
! price of s1,4OO each.
A pair of breeders could be pur-
chased in 1910 for So 600 Today the
some instances of proved breeders of
pedigree the sum Cf $4,000 is asked.
It now is becoming difficult to secure
breeders, although it is estimated that
the value Of the pups" produced this
year viii aggregate S3,700,00e
Fox Ranches Incorporated.
The rapid growth CT the sjiVv~ ftX
! industry supplied the provincial legis-
lature with food for thought tt
, adopted a law and the fox ranches were
incorporated under its provisions.
special act imposed a tax Of one per
centum upon the young foxes born
handsome new revenue for the province.
1t is an unquestioned fact that many
persons here have grown wealthy
through the fox industry but as it
eventually transpires in every new sec
ton of the country where a new in
dustry takes on life and prosperity. the
promoters have Overdrawn upon their
imagination in painting their alluring
pictures.
Census shows 2,4sO Foxes
The effect of rapid money making in
a small community of farmers may
easily be imagined. Under the provision
of the recent act of the provincial
legislature in requiring a tax OF one
per centum of the young produced. it
became necessary to have an official
census taken. 1t resulted in bringing
in a revenue Of $4,000 This official
census showed 2$3 ranches. Of which
lO1 are operated by Incorporated COM
panies, and 122 by individuals and
partnerships. In the ranches We're
-four 2,4SO foxes of all grades. 1 S25
foxes.
Upon the Charlottetown stock ex-
change bulletin may be found a LIST of
dividends declared for the year They {
range from 40 to 900 per cent. and the /
capital invested is given at from SIS. GOO I
TO 1925, 600
Animals Roam in Grove.
The majority of these silver blac1,
1oX ranches cluster about the three +
principal cities of Prince Edward island /
SIOnS tne line of railway at Abortion
CharIottetOwn and Summersfde. These
small cities are within so niIas Of
each otner The usual location is
grove atrording natural conditions for
the animals.
The ranches are provided with an
enclosure of meshed wire. surroundiDe
an area of from one to five acres. This
enclosure is supported by posts about
WE'VE teer in height, with the wire
oVerhanglng inWards at the ton to
prevent the animals from cli1bircs
over and Is also turned i'm ut rio 5rT-
tom 70 prevenJ their burroWlne- ont
WlthIn the ranch are the pens. each
ION having a separate pen enclosed
with mesh wire. and within this men is
d AsILle!' OF enclosed sleeping place
49, Pairs Are Mated in January.
ne pairs are usually mated in Ian
uaty' and later are separated for the
remainder of the year. The larger ana
more extensive ranches are. in numer-
Gus instances, supplied with electrical
Equipment for lighting purposes and
Iof giving the alarm in the event of
attempted burglary. The ranches keen
Al . ~
- Two diets are fed the animals. The
lIeSn diet includes horse meat veal I
Dutchers scraps, fish, rabbits. ground
noSS' mice, rats squirrels. lobster beef
ana mutton The meats usually are /
Led raw but in some ranches they are
paIDolIed and slight touch of salt
AIDED. The lighr -iet iutIl. ,a5 Ii o. I
CUTS yeast bread, hot bread. vege-
-aDies- porridge. grass. berries, appIes
mix and eggs. Tallow is used as a I
substitute for butter on breads All
meats are subjected to a tubercuIin
esq, as foxes have been known to die !
u tuberculosis. About one fourth pound
III meat IS considered a days ration.
/" men a fox is discovered hiding the
ooo' the supply is decreased Thew ]
1ury what they do not want for their
appetite S
DuflnS the mating season strangers
IRE not permitted within the enclosures
lose watch is kept over the Dofre In