Seward daily gateway., 1931-10-30

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 though the fur has sold for high brices during the past 10 years Wild breeding stock is not only diff
 ficult to obtain, but animals cap
 tured wild do not respond readily to good treatment. Beginners should purchase breeding stock from re-
 liable breeder and carefully follow
 his instructions until the minkeries
 are we'll established. Young minks
 born in captivity are much superior
 for breeding stock, and consequent ly the prices asked for ranch-raiSed
 minkS often are higher than the prospective mink farmer cares to pay
 Description and Habits of NIinks
 The American mink is one of the
 most valuable members of the weasel family and is widely known for it's fur. It is long bodied and attains a weight of from 112 to 2 pounds. The legs are short, and the animal travels with the back arched, in a series of easy bounds, which it appears able to continue tirelessly.
 AIinks are bold and courageous and in the wild attack and kill for food species heavier than them selves, such as the varying hare and the muskrat. They eat mice, rats, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds and birds eggs of many kinds includ- ing waterfowl and other ground frequenting species. Along water fronts they capture fish of differ ent species, which they pursue in the water, and vary this diet with one of snakes, frogs, salamanders, insects, crustaceans, and mussels.
 Because of its fur value, the mink has been consistently trapped from the coast of Florida to the borders of the Arctic tundras. With the growing demand for furs, the num- berS of this animal in the wild are steadily decreasing, and this stim- ulates efforts to establish mink | The mink appears to be we'll adapted to successful breeding in captivity, but the relation of the cost of caring for the animals to the value of their pelts in the raw fur market is yet to be determined. i
 electing Ranch Site
 When raising nlinks was first at tempted it was believed that place for the animals to swim was an es- sential feature of the ranch. This, { however, is not now considered nec- Highly successful mink ! ranches are situated in open fields adjoining suburban properties, on farms, or in back yards in rural districts. Natural shade is an asset as it provides comfort for both the animals and the attend | ants who work on the ranch.
 Pens and Dens
 On the first mink farms the ani- I mals were given an extensive range inside a large fenced inclosure, in which they were fed and provided with nest boxes. Under a later sys- tenn, families of minks were placed in houses with a runway to the water supply. As mink farming | progressed experiments were made ! with a third system. of confining these animals, by which each was kept in a separate pen. Today the individual-pen system is used a1- most exclusively by those who are minks on large scale.
 Under this system it is found l most satisfactory to confine the minks in small crate pens, with the den and nest box forming the back | side of the pen. Pens six feet long, three feet wide and two feet high, made of wood or steel, covered with one-inch mesh-wire, will serve very well for minks. The den may be built three feet long, one and half feet wide, and two feet high, and |