The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-04-06
M0NTANANS WILL
FARM SILVER FOX
INDUSTRY WHICH DOOMED IN
CANADA TO Make START
IN THIS STATE.
War Checked Development of Silver
Fox Farming in Maritime Provin-
ces; Montana Climate Adapted to
Industry; Prominent NIissoulians
Interested.

Salute new Montana industry. 1t
is silver black fox farming, which
swept over the maritime provinces of
Canada a few years ago, attained the
dimensions of boom, which the war
punctured, and which made many
Canadians we'll to do. 1t spread into
the western provinces. In Alberta,
Saskatchewan and British Columbia
many silver black fox farms flourish
The pelt of the silver black fox is
one of the most valuable furs extant,
and sales of fine specimens have been
made as high as $1,000. The scarcity
of the fur gave a Prince Edward ISL
and trapper the idea of starting a sill
yer black fox farm. He organized a
little company, was successful in
trapping enough foxes of both sexes
to give him a start, and in a few
years had made for himself and those
associated with him, handsome for
tunes.
The Boom Starts.
This initial success started the
boom. Others organized companies,
and met with success. A silver black
fox exchange was established at
Charlottestown, and as the industry
grew, trading became furious. 1t
was nothing for the stock in a sue
cessful company to advance four or
five times its original price.
Much attention was paid to the
breeding strains and the Prince Ed
ward island stock, all descended from
the original pairs of the trapper who
started the first farm, became the
standard. The history and breeding
of the select foxes were immortalized
in the island fox stud book. Prices of
we'll bred pairs of foxes rose as high
as $4,000. The boom grew and the
people of the island made so much
money that they repealed the law
prohibiting automobiles on the ISL
and.
Spread Into the West.
The boom spread into the west.
Silver black foxes are native to north
ern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Farms were established in those
provinces. A law was passed prohib-
iting the expectation of foxes, not
farm bred, from Alberta. The indus
try was just getting fairly started
when war came.
The fur market of the world is
London. Came the British spasm OF
retrenchment. High priced furs were
taboo. The fur industry of the north
languished, and with it's war-lethargy
the boom in silver black foxes subsid-
ed. AS the fur is very much in de-
mand it is confidently expected that
there will be healthy revival with
the coming of peace.
Men who know the fur game say
the climate of Montana is adapted to
the breeding of the silver black fox.
Several farms just across the Mon
tana boundary, in Alberta, have been
very successful in propagating the
valuable animals. The stockholders
of the Missoula concern, which is
capitalized at 100000, are we'll
known men, including F. S. Lusk,
president of the First National bank
of Missoula and Fred T. Sterling OF
the Missoula Mercantile company,
which means that there is plenty OF
monty back of this start of a Mon
tana industry. If the breeding OF
foxes proves as successful in Montana
as it did on the maritime provinces OF
Canada, it will become one of the i'm
portant industries of the state.