Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-01-20

rancher to start with = ,
costing perhaps $1,000 an VI Pup,
SCH al the en4 Ut tour ,ss-. IN
aoLen pairs ana an AM. ITO,
~ peitS. AS the young .5,.. -. 4
oder animals are killed - ,., - e
IS no rea. depreciation. ~. "e'e
1909 consists OF horsea.s, .a.si
coarse fish, am so Or. w5.,5 'Ps,
o'herwise be wasted ana i, IL 'Ola
msnted BY biscuits, bread. yers,, rP.:'
oatmeal, berries and eggs '''a'e',
FOX biscui' factory has be-, 'Fs'.A
to cater for the industry. rLa ,''''sd
practice is to feed twice a DAY SRA 8,
ular hours. Il req
Inc external organization ~ -
dustry has steadily gone abs,4 IL
leading fox ranchers have 49,, Inc
The Prince Edward Island rov p
ers Association and have l-,n- ''@'
regulations to govern class;f,sro.
foxes. All the best grades are "
Pedigreed and classified as eIio;,,. "o'
registration under Glass A ,5a t,I 'o'
est-in the record book ken, h, '. 3.
association. "s
AS long as the London fur n,,....
which was the greatest in tho n,'
was open, pelts were easily jis,o,'s
of by auction at the seasonal sale. 49,.
there. The prices being very s...
factory the farmers were conte,, n,.
the system. But when the Io,.,.
market was shut down, prices OF nell.
fell heavily and it became imner,,;r.
to lind new markets. There w,s
great demand in the United States ,,,
the conditions of marketing were varr
different. In London the fur auction,
were open but in the United States N.
directors of the auctions were ofte, Al.
so dealers and price rigging was n,
unknown. Fox farmers soon found ,l.,
attempts to sell individually in the new
market would bring poor results So
the Fox Breeders Association decided
to form fur sales boarl with an pm,
ergetic manager in charge Ma7v
ranchers bound themselves 10 sell the,
pets only through it. 1t en-! uc,sI
some propaganda to dissi0a'c PREM.
dices against farm bred rcts and me,
with excellent success in the Gvr mar
kets of St. Louis and New York n
1917 the Fur Sales Board con'plletS
per cent of the furs FRO 'uced on the
island Sof which 70 per cent were soil
at an average of $3.50 a skin. II con.
tro's today a smaller portion of II.
sales, because the London and Paris,
markets are now open and individual
ranchers are shipping their peltS there
This year, however, he exchange ST..
uation has dealt heavy blow to +,
export trade to Europe and many pe'l
will go south OF the border Price.
are much lower than before the war
but the decline is balanced by the i'm.
provement in stock and better qualify
of their pelts.
There are now 5000 foxes on Prime
Edward Island farm. One ranch which
the writer visited held ninety breeding
pairs and seventy more for killing for
their pelts before Christmas. The in.
dustry has reached stage which en-.
ableS it to support its own Literature
paper called the Silver Fox Magazine
having considerable circulation,
Prince Edward Island fox furs have
now as established a place in the mar
kets of the world as California peache,
or Brazilian coffee, and the success
which has attended their farming has
resulted in similar ranches being es-
tablished on the Canadian mainland and
at various places in the United States,
chiefly in Maine and Michigan. This
industry has the promise of great
favor by the Dominion and provincial
governments which render il various
kinds of assistance. And the re-
markable thing is that it has been out
up in a quarter Of century from
few pairs Of wild foxes. 1t las Seen
feared that extensive production OF me
silver fox pelt will depress prices oH'
with lower price will come lncre&'
demand and mass production an
will be a great boon to the peoFIs
Of the northern half of his tonraen'
il good furs can be produced at mo-
crate prices.