Evening star., 1915-02-28

~ TORIES of fortunes made or to be
~ made in fox farming continue to
~ greet the eye frequently In the
pages of the public press as well as
certain advertisements. A recent ar
ticle ran like this: How would you
like to be the owner of pair OF sill
yer black foxes. valued at $4,000! or
would you rather own a pair OF pups
worth $4,000 apiece? Each pup Is
actually worth more than its weight
in gold, said a man from Alaska. we
raised five pups two years ago. Iney
brought US $36,5Oo. They were sold be-
fore they saw the light, and we were
offered $4,000 for the mother and
father shortly afterward."
The raising of fur-bearing ANNA is
in general and the breeding of foxes
in particular have been subjects OF
government investigation, and the re-
suits of that inquiry indicate that the
royal road to fortune. II there is such
a highway, does not lead in the direc-
tion of fox farming. r. Lester Jones,
direction of the Secretary of Com
merce, recently made a survey and in
vestigation, of the various fishery IN
dustries in Alaska. the fur-seal hsh-
status of the minor fur-bearing ami
mails, including both the matter of the
protection of the wild stock and the
development of the industry or raising
such animals in captivity. He has
pointed out that the industry in Alaska,
the raising of fur-bearing animals IN
corrals or on island ranches, has Great
ed more than ordinary interest, ana
that owing to the fact that rev OF the
men who have engaged in this business
have sufficient knowledge of the condl-
tions necessary to raise foxes in cap
tivity successfully, there have been
many failures and few successes. He
has said that because live black or
silver-gray foxes have brought ex-
orbitant prices, men have been misled
into thinking that all they had to do
was to purchase a few foxes and soon
begin to reap the benefits by receiving
large sums for their sale.
In the official opinion of this govern
ment investigator the prices obtained
by many who are carrying on the busi-
ness in Canada and elsewhere on the
continent do not indicate a healthy
condition. and that the prices asked
and actually received in many cases do
not represent the real commercial value
of these animals as fox farm business
proposition
The government of the United States
is not without hope. though, that fox
raising in Alaska may be developed
into a profitable and thriving industry.
but that to undertake the business Of
fox ranching in Alaska a man must, in
the first place, be Industrious and will
ing to endure hardship; In the second
place, he must study the habits of fox
es and the kind of country or soil nee
essary for their welfare; third, he must
have sufficient capital to buy his first
of breeding stock, with am
pie capital in reserve for ordinary loss
es and to provide against the fact that
it will be necessary to operate the farm
for probably four years without any
returns. and that those who are now
beginning realize that it Is business
to be worked out practically and scien-
tif1cally, and that haphazard methods
will not pay.
In 1904 President Roosevelt issued an
executive order transferring from the
Secretary of the Treasury to the Sec
retary of Commerce and Labor the au-
thority to lease certain islands in CEN
tral and western Alaska for the pur-
pose of fox raising, and minimum
lease price of 5000 a year was placed on
these islands, and four islands were ac-
tually leased, the leases to run for five
years Some of the islands have been
found adapted to raising foxes. and