The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-03

tive breeding is important to produce | silver progeny. Breeding to produce less nervous animals, as well as to produce fine pelts, must be consfd- cred.
 1 The most valuable skins are those 1 in which the entire pelage is dark | at the base and overIaid with gray 1 ish white. The black skins recently 1 have fallen below silVers because fur riers find they can dye red skins black. Silver foxes can be raised ] wherever the red foxes live in the wild state but will, produce superior fur only in regions where the fox na- turalIy~ produces a superior fur. Rec ords of the Biological Survey show that such localities occur only north | of the southern boundary of the Cana dian Zone. This boundary, as shown by a map in the bulletin, crosses the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Min nesota and South Dakota, and extends southward along the mountains in New York, Pennsylvania, West Vir- ginia, and in all the States of the Rocky Mountain region and westward South of the forested regions of the northern tier of States and western Oregon, however, the Canadian Zone, although sufficiently cold, is too dry and sunny for the production of first class fur. In the Transition Zone, a
 
 quality of fur may be raised but the best are obtained only in more north ern latitudes.
 To raise silver foxes calls for a pair of foxes, which will cost from $15O to $250 each for the common silvers, up to several thousand dollars each for the best silYers. The yards in which they are kept must have high and strong wire net or board fences with an overhang at the top to prevent the foxes from crawling over. Tn csc fences either have to be sunk in the ground or the fence wire has to be extended as a mat on the ground to prevent the animals from digging under. The cost of yards runs from $100sto $150 each, which includes the making of the special denS needed for the animals. The equipment is de- scribed in detail in the bulletin. The chief requirements for a fox farm are we1l-drained, wooded land in a se- cluded section where the foxes, which are inclined to be nervous, will not be subject to outside disturbance. The fox ranch must have good drain age and must be partially shaded by a young growth of deciduous trees. Each pair of foxes should have a runway of about 2,500 square feet, and provision should be made for sep arating them. One reason for prop erly equipping the yards and locating
 
 is the fact that the vixen is very nervous about her cubs and frequent Iy mishandIes and kills them in at tempts to hide them from imaginary dangers. Attendance is an important feature because foxes do not tame readily and rarely become friendly. Constant change of persons in charge, like the presence of absolute strang- CTS, has a detrimental effect on them.
 Foxes require some special atten- ton, certain skill in handling, and great care in feeding. They thrive on a. varied diet, including meat, fish, mush, milk, bread, and table scraps, but they are easily injured, especially when young, by improper food. It costs from $5 to $15 g year to feed foxes, depending on whether there are cows and whether grain and vege- tables are raised on the farm. The fixed annual charge against pair of foxes will vary with the locality and value of equipment, etc. On some