Evening star., 1915-12-12

closed season for the purpose Of build
ing up the depleted seal herd was GOV
cred by an act of Congress, ana this.
in turn, was abolished by the treaty
In In Wssb Of The tsi tDtes ,ss taes
Great Britain. Russia and Japan. the
only countries engaged in the sealing
industry. BY the terms of this treaty
the United States, in return for the
stopping of all sea sealing, is to have
entire control of the land sealing and
TO pay to Great Britain and Japan 10
per cent each of the total skins taken.
1t is expected that killing of the seal
herd will shortly be resumed. The two
large islands have been the stopping
places of large packs Of foxes which
live part of the year on the great num-
ber of eggs and birds that swarm over
them in the nesting season. The bal
ance of the year they have subsisted
on the remains OF the slaughtered seals
that were killed for their hides. Thus.
in great measure. the fox herd has been
closely associated with and in some
respects dependent upon the sealing,
and during the closed season IL SUI
fered considerably. It is believed that
when the killing of the seals is re-
sumed ,I1s, the fox packs may be increased
Fur farming came about through the
scarcity of the frst-clsss fur-hearing
animals, and the blue fox was the first
animal to be scientifically reared in
periments were a universal surprise,
for finer skins were obtained from
the captive bred than have ever been
caught in the remotest wilderness The
reason for this is that the fur Of the
blue fox or arctic fox reaches perfec-
tion in the winter time. when II is the
LONGEST The wild animal frequently
spols his beautiful coat by his Thought
less habit Of haSking IN the sun While
the sun does not hurt his fur. the
warmth of his body meits the ice. which
speedily freezes again and incloses the
tips of the longest of his hairs When
he rises these are pulled out and left
behind. But when these animals are
kept within the Enclosures provided for
them on the fur farms. ii is said that
they do not thus lose their hairs.
According to recent bulletin issued
by the Department of Agriculture the
name silver fox" as ordinarily used by
furriers includes the dark phases of the
ordinary red fox, called silver. silver
gray. silver black or black The mar
ket value of the skins of the various
OF the animal. The beauty and scarcity
of the animal. The beauty and ecarcity
of the silver fox have made it the most
valuable of fur animals
The silver fox was at first success
fully domesticated in 1894 on Prince
rauch-reared foxes brought higher
prices than those of the wild animals,
the average being over $1,000 each.
The rates for live animals for the
stock farms scared into prohibitive fig
ures. but the European war has
brought them down considerably. The
high values placed upon these animals
have resulted in a close study OF them
in the different stages of domestication.
which has disclosed facts of great val
ue in fox farming.
A fox ranch should be situated where
it VIII have good drainage and be
shaded in part by trees. Each pair of
foxes SHOULD have a runway of about
$500 square feet They thrive on
diet that is varied. including meat. fish.
bread, mush. milk. etc The repro
ductive period is about ten years and
the average litter contains four cubs
They bear their captivity well and are
not difficult to care for
Because of the exceedingly high value
set upon silver foxes. many precautions
are taken to avoid their loss. On some
of the larger. more prosperous farms the
animals are regularly exam ned by a doc
tor and guarded by watchmen. bulldogs
and burglar alarms. Cats are kept on
hand to act as foster-mothers to orphan
cubs. Fox hounds are trained to over
take and hold, without injur ng them.
any runaway foxes that have escaped
and bloodhounds are employed to track
thieves that would steal them.
**
Most surprising of all OF the data to
be had on the subject Of fur farming. fur
buying, etc, is that which concerns fur
selections. For 1t would indeed be
wise animal that would know its own
hide under cover OF the names and guises
by which it is made to masquerade.
Much red fox goes to big stores as
black fox, and all of the other fur-coated
animals of lesser value are utilized to
ants Tal1 1ad b1- Of
an animal that they probably never even
met in the whole course of their lifetime
for instance, the family house cat, the
dog rabbit or goat.
takes the prize for the var ETY. of uses TO
which it is put. Many of the buggy
robes sold wild animal fur, are moth
ing more than Angora goat skins dyed.
Many OF the monkey-skin muffs and coats
worn by women are only straight haired
goat skins dyed black. There is no other
animal that can supply the great variety
of demands for substitutes for gh-class
furs better than the Angora goat. When
its hair IS one month old 1t is scarcely
told from astraFhan. after il has been
dyed black. If taken a little earlier 1t
can be made to represent either the
polar or the black bear. according to the
kind of dye used
Another use for the Ansora gcat skin
is in the making Of lace tr!nlm nrs VII ch
command a price rer yard en''iva'7nt 70
SIS for a $ ngle hide Still another usa
is in the making of floor rugs. etc. The
market value OF loose goat skins is about
S. apiece for well haired skins
Attempts are be ng made TO breed
skunk m nix and sable by means OF
ranches or farms adapted to their habits;
and unless these plans are successful IL
is claimed that these animals are doomed
TO extinction. Another an NAL to be ex-
perimented upon in captivity is the chin
chila