Harding Fur Farming

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FUR FARMINGA BOOK OF INFORMATION ABOUTFUR BEARING ANIMALS,ENCLOSURES, HABITS,

CARE., ETC.

BrA. R. HARDING

Published ByA. R. HARDING PUBLISHING CO.Columbus, Ohio.


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^v^"^^^^w^

Copyright, 1909By A. R. HARDING PUB. CO.

C.

LIBRARY of CONGRESS


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.Page

Some Young- Black and Silver Fox FrontispieceEnclosure in Thick Woods 32Corner of Enclosure 39Fence with Wire Turned in at Top 41Fence Showinor Sheet Tin 43

Plan for Comhmed Enclosures 4(5Eox Trap for Catching Animals Alive 55Box Trap with Swing date 58Barrel Trap for Catching Animals Alive 60Another Box 1>ap (ij?Northwestern Fox Skins 66Map Showing Where Fox Farming is Feasible 72Plan for Arrangement of Fox Yards 74Box Shelter for Female and Young 75Corner of Fox Yard 77Fox Yard, Showing Outer Fence 78Yards of a ]Maine Fox Farm 81


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10 List of Illustrations.Page

Corner of an Ohio Skunk Farm 90Mink Enclosure in Detail 103Ideal Location for an Opossum Farm...- 112Fur Farm Near a Farmhouse 117Muskrat House in a Marsh 122Barrel Shelter for Female and Young 134Fur Farm on Open Ground 135Elk in Enclosure 163Tame Deer Eating Watermelon 178


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INTRODUCTION.

VER since Columbus discoveredAmerica, furs have been an im-portant article of commerce, butat the rate of the catch durin

recent years, the su])ply drawn fromthe natural sources forest, tiehl andstream will soon ])rove inadequate ifnot entirely (lei>leted in sonu^ species.

Less than HO years a


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14 INTRODUCTION.

This work has been hastily gottenout to meet this demand, yet the sourcesof information from which the workhas been gathered, are authentic. Muchof the habits, nature, etc., of the variousanimals has been furnished by Mr. E.Kreps, a trapper of Avide experience.Facts have also been furnished bythose that have to a certain extent fol-lowed "Fur Farming" and as well someinformation has been added from theUnited States Government Bulletins.

A. R. Harding.Columbus, Ohio, April 1, 1909.


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FUR FARMING.CHAPTER I.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

TOR 3^ears there has been a belief that thesupply of fur-bearinganimals would soonbe inadequate to the demand. This be-lief is well founded and is apparent when

the fact is known that the natural haunts andhomes of the fur-producing animals are becom-ing less each year. The draining of swamps andmarshes is destroying the homes and breedingplaces of muskrat and to a certain extent coonand mink. The saw mill and clearing of. theland is rapidly .lessening the natural resortsof coon, bear, wild cat and opossum in the Southand Central States, while in the North, marten,fisher and lynx are being deprived of their nat-ural homes.

Beaver and otter do not like civilization andleave on signs of man and his works. This isespecially true of beaver; otter linger in watersfringed with timber longer even if settled.Some animals, it is true, do well in fairlythickly-settled sections. Among animals of this

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16 FUR FARMING.

kind are red fox, skunk, mink and muskrat.Yet no fur bearer can hold its numbers againsttlie ever-increasing number of trappers and thepersistency with which they now seek the furproducers.

North America, furnishes a Uirge per cent, ofthe furs of the worldfoxes, mink, otter, beaver,skunk, marten^ b'^^^? coon, opossum, muskrat,wolves, etc. Considerable quantities of fine fursare still secured in parts of Russia, in Europ(^and Siberia in Asia; Australia furnishes greatquantities of opossum, Avliile from parts of SouthAmerica, the trade in cliinchilla is large. YetNorth America has been for centuries, the greatfur-producing continent and now that trappingis being pressed harder than ever and the naturalhaunts of the animals are becoming less eachyear, the question is,where will the future sup-ply come from?

In this connection the following article onThe Fur Markets is reproduced from the Aprilissue of The Hunter-Trader-Trapper :

"The Spring or ^March London Sales beganMarch 22 and ended April 2. During that timeAmerican Raw Furs were offered b}^ Hudson'sBay Company; C. M. Lampson & Co., and A. &W. Nesbitt. In faee of the fact that prices onsome articles have advanced so materially thatAmerican manufacturers have bought sparingly.


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SUPPLY AND DEMAND. . 17the outcome of the sales was awaited with muchinterest by the trade.A year ago in giving the quantity of goodsoffered by the Hudson's Bay Company, this mag-azine said : ''Tlie quantity seems to be decreas-ing as the offering this year is less than 1907,and 1907 less than 1906." The offerings thisyear are still less than 1908, and for ready com-parison the Hudson's Bay Company offerings atthe March Sales for three years are given

:

1909Otter 5,341Fisher 2,671Cross Fox 1 , 445Red Fox 2,987Silver Fox 344Blue Fox 14White Fox 2,058Marten 21,577Mink 10,966Ermine 15,314Lynx 8,856Wolf 3,756Wolverine 718Skunk 1,478Bear, Black 3,943Bear, Brown 387Bear, Grey 108Bear, White 89Badger 125Raccoon 140

2

1908


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18 FUR FARMING.The combined offerings of C. M. Lampson &Co., and A. & W. Nesbitt were as folloAvs at the

Spring Sales in 1907, 1908 and 1909

:

1909 1908 1907Mink 82,575 134,200 75,600Skunk 545,284 416,000 615,900Muskrat 1,238,257 1,015,000 1,018,000Raccoon 203,155 316,000 69,726Opossum 225,671 267,000 225,350Marten 8,168 15,000 18,600Lynx 1,500 7,550 11,727Fox, Red 25,600 36,660 31,870Fox, Cross 1,585 5,021 5,080Fox, Silver 539 728 1,015Fox, Grey 13,600 23,270 8,961Fox, Kitt 1,670 388 655Fox, White 3,310 14,000 4,785Fox, Blue 3,630 2,600 3,600Otter 5,211 9,000 2,916Fisher 2,914 3,440 1,705Beaver 14,282 6,800 11,900Bear 7,240 6,980 5,770Badger 4,070 4,475 5,905Cat, Wild 6,925 5,800 7,072Gat, House 20.344 15,800 17,000Wolf 21,365 24,150 12,100Wolverine 350 450 323Ermine 77,600 77,000 100,580Civet 19,200 33,000 53,800

The nOticable falling off in the Hudson'sBay Company offerings can be accounted for


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SUPPLY AND DEMAND. 19from the fact that more ^'free traders," as theGreat Company calls them, are yearly encroach-ing upon their territor3^

The offerings of Lampson and Nesbitt is shortof a year ago with the exceptions of beaver,muskrat and skunk. The advanced price ofmuskrat, no doubt, caused more trapping ofthese animals than ever before. Again thefact of the dry fall in many localities bunchedthe rats, so that they were much easier caught.The rats offered at the recent sales are largelyfall and winter. From reports, the collection ofspring rats will be very light in many locali-ties not more than one-fourth of an average col-lection.

While the offerings now show some 200,000in excess of March, 1908, and also March, 1907,indications are that before the year 1909 endsthere will be a shortage in the total rat catchfor the year. Considerable anxiety is felt re-garding skunk, as the number offered was545,280 compar


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20 FUR FARMING.iii2js of skunk were; you perhaps will be sur-prised to learn that it was 615,900 or 70,000 morethan at this spring's sale. The offerings of bea-ver were larger than a year ago, but with theseexceptions, there appears a decided falling offnote the quantity of fox, coon, marten, lynx

all much less.Furs are fashionable throughout the entirecivilized world, and the catch seems inadequateon many articles. This is probably responsiblefor the high prices. At any rate, some articleshave advanced beyond all previous high record.Prices for wolf, fox, lynx, wild cat and muskratare very high, as well as many other Americanraw furs. Skunk reached a price that no oneexpected the i)ast season. Since early in IMarchor shortly after, too late to. get goods into theLondon Sales, prices were lowered on skunk,opossum, raccoon and some grades of mink, es-pecially Southern and Southwestern, but at thesame time it should be taken into considerationthat the quality is not so desirable as duringtlie mid-winter months."Many believe that by far the most of the furscome from the Far North. Tliis is erroneous.It is true that the most valuable furs, such assilver, black and cross foxes, lynx and marten,come from that section. Some of the best otter,red fox and mink are also secured in the far


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SUPPLY AND DEMAND. 21

northern country. Yet fully one-half of the valueof the American catch of raw furs is comprisedin the three foUoAx ing articlesskunk, mink andmuskrat.

In the Far North there will be foxes, otter,mink, and marten for some time to come. Butwhat about that part of the country, say southof the Great Lakes, west of the Allegheny Moun-tains, north of the Tennessee and Arkansas Kiv-ers and east of the Rocky Mountains?a sectionwhich has been producing about half of the fui^s.

This section is the great skunk producingone and as well as one of the best mink andmuskrat sections. It also furnishes from theSouthern States Avithin the area outlined, great(quantities of coon and opossum. When those in-terested in the fur business consider that halfthe value of the annual catch is skunk, mink,and muskrat and that the best producing sectionhas hitherto been the section as outlined, onecan easily see that the supply will not long beequal to the demand.

During recent years, owing to persistent trap-ping, the fur producers have been greatly re-duced and if not practically exterminated inparts of the country, are destined to becomenearly so. The fact that skunk, mink and musk-rat have been so greatly reduced in the past fewvears has caused those interested in the fur in-


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22 FUR FARMING.dustry to ask,'Svliat of the future?" with thesettlement of the country and the draining of theswamps, clearing of the forests, etc., which de-prives many species of fur producers of theirnatural homes, how can it be expected that thesupply will last?

That skunk, mink and muskrat do well insettled sections, there is no question, but sincetheir pelts are so valuable, more trappers areafter them than ever before. In addition, maga-zines and books on the subject are more plentifulthan in former years, so that the inexperiencedhunter and trapjjer has far better success than inpast years.There is always a cash market for raw fursand since the discovery of America, raw furshave been an important article of commerce.In the early days, beaver Avas the leading articleand even at. this date thousands of skins aresecured annually by the professional trapper inthe swamps of the south and along the streamsand lakes of the north. Scattered thruout theSouth, Rocky Mountain sections. NorthernCanada and parts of the East, are severalthousand professional hunters and trapperswhose annual catch amounts to several hundreddollars each. The aggregate of these men, foot-ing up to perhaps |3,Oo6,000 or |4,000,000. Inthe settled sections are tens of thousands of boys


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SUPPLY AND DEMAND. 28and amateur trappers with here and there a pro-fessional. The annual catch of these foot up toperhaps ?6/)00,000 to |8,000,000, or double thecatcli of tlie professionals who leave civilizationin September and are not seen again until Mayor June.

It is tliis cla^s (boys and amateurs) that se-cures the greatest quantities of fur and as thenumber of trappers is so large and the groundsnecessarily limited, here is where the animalsare rapidly decreasing and at the present rateare in danger of extermination. In some sec-tions tliere has been a wonderful falling off inthe catch of late years, altho the number of trap-pers is larger.An industry paying the hunter and trapperprobably |15,000,000 yearly is one that shouldreceive attention. At the present rate of exter-mination, some of the fur bearers are destinedto soon follow in the wake of the buffalo. Thedemand for furs is increasing as the populationof the world is becoming more and more. Againfurs are being put to more uses than ever. Whilethe demand for furs are increasing, what of thesupply? The day, perhaps, is not far in the dis-tance when the demand will call for two orthree times as many furs as today. Where arethey to come from? The natural supply is surelydiminishing.


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24 FUR FARMING.The matter of 'Supply and Demand" is one

that there is considerable difference of opinionupon. Hunters and trappers, as a rule, are ofone opinion and that is that the number of peltssecured upon a certain territory is becoming lesseach year. Trappers going over their lines aresurely the ones who know wljiether the fur isholding out or not.The number of persons seeking fur is largereach year. In localities furnishing as much furas ever, the chances are that the number of ani-mals left for breeding is less each year. If suchis true the day when these localities will show afalling oft* in the receipts is not far in the dis-tance.

Until recently, many dealers and manufac-turers believed that the supply of wild fur-bear-ing animals was practically inexhaustiblethatAvlien wanted, trappers would go out into the"wilds," catch, skin and send the pelts to mar-ket. These people are beginning to awaken tothe true situation and while they send out pricelists, circulars, and traveling buyers after raT^'furs, they say it is much harder to secure thegoods wanted than formerly.A well known dealer in Minneapolis in siz-ing up the situation, says : "With the vast fundof information about trapping being sent out andwith improved traps for catching and the great


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SUPPLY AND DEMAND. 25stimulus to trapping owing to high prices, in fiveto ten years, there Avill not be one-fourth to one-lialf the fur bearers that there are now, unlessstringent laws are enacted to curtail the trap-ping.''

^'IJnder proper conditions, with intelligentcare, no doubt, raising fur animals can be madeto pay. Tlie raiser starting on a small scale andincreasing as their knowledge increases. Mostall successful business is built up by startingsmall."

The dealer who wrote the above advertises(piite extensively for furs. The territory tribu-tary to that city has always been considered agood fur producing one. During recent years,the suj>ply 1ms fallen off materially in face ofthe fact of improved trapping methods and agreatly increased number of persons seeking thefur bearers. The same conditions are true to agreater or less degree in many parts of thecountry.

The American people, however, can be de-pended upon to meet all emergencies. They havealready set about to provide for the future rawfur supply by raising the animals. As early as1884, experiments were made at raising foxes onthe islands in the Northern Pacific Ocean, alongthe coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Theexperiments, 'as a rule, proved successful and


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26 FUR FARMING.there has been for years a number of successfulfox raisers on the islands of the North Pacific.]\rore will be said about them elsewhere.

In various parts of North America, experi-ments have been made, principally with skunk^altho a few have tried mink and other animalsbut only in a small Avay, or by men who expectedto get rich quick and who did not give the enter-prise the care and attention that is necessaryto make a success at anv business.


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OHAPTEK II.WHAT ANIMALS TO RAISE.

CHEKEis a bright future to ''Fur Farm-

ing." The person who knows somethingof the habits of the animal or animalsthat the}' expect to raise, will be the suc-

cessful ones. A person who has always lived inthe city would not be apt to make a success atgeneral farming or fruit raising. The same ap-plies to "fur farming.'' The person who hasfollowed hunting and trapping or the farmerwho has given attention to fur bearing animalsare the ones most apt to be successful.

Foxes, no doubt, will be the animals that themajority would like to begin with, especially themore valuable species, as black, silver and cross.These for breeding purposes of course can besecured, but the present raisers do not seem tocare to sell any of their stock unless at goodround figures. They want to further increasetheir own numbers.A good many attempts were made at raisingskunk a few years ago, most of which werefailures. Some entered the business on a largescale, knowing nothing of the animal, and of

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28 FUR FARMING.course failed; others ''peDned up'' a few skunkand as thej Avere not properly cared for resultedin failures.

The recent advanced price for skunk skinshas caused a revival in their raising. This time,an entireh' different class of people are takingup their raising, and tliey are going to succeed,why? Because tliey know something of theanimal and are going at the business in a calmand business-like way.

Mink, at present prices, look good to the fur-farmer. They are small animals but yield apelt worth from |3 to |T, depending upon thesize and color. Raccoon and opossum are com-pared with many fur-bearing animals as pro-ducers of cheap furs. This is true, but at thesame time, they offer the most promising futurefor the fur-farmer in many localities. They areeasily raised, and in addition to their fur, thecarcass finds a readj^ sale in most cities.Opossum and coon will not dig deep seek-ing escape, but are good climbers and consider-able precaution should be taken to see that thewire netting is either extended in several feetat the top, or that a strip of tin a couple of feetwide is fastened to the posts some three feet fromthe ground.

The ^'fur-farmer,'' should the market be lowfor certain animals, can keep over ; or the better


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WHAT ANIMALS TO RAISE. 29plan would no doubt be to kill off the surplusmales aud perhaps some females At such timesdo not make the mistake of killing off tooclosely, as some will do, claiming that the fur islow and that there is no need of trying toincrease Tsiue times in ten, this is the time toraise as manv as possible, tor by another season,that particular article is apt to be m demandTo illustrate: skunk were low m 190


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30 FUR FARMING.changing but indications are that owing todiminishing supply?" and increased consumption,prices will be on a fairly high level always.Trappers and hunters often catch fur too earlyand as a consequence have blue pelts which aregraded down. In the spring shedders andrubbed skins are secured which are sold as No.2 or lower. With the "fur farmer/' there willbe no early caught blue skins or late caughtspring and shedders. The animals will be killedwhen "prime/' and will bring best prices.Some reports from those that have experi-mented in a small way at raising fur animals isto the effect that they do not fur properly.This is true in regard skunk, when kept in abox or a small enclosure for weeks and fedlargely on meat. The writer when a fur buyerhas bought skunk that had been kept in a "pen"or small enclosure for weeks and in addition tobeing thinly furred, the hide was much thickerthan it should have been.

Indians and professional hunters and trap-pers of the north say that they can notice adifference in the fur of foxes, lynx, marten, etc.,when the food supply is abundant. The fur isthicker and has a healthier, silkier and glossierappearance. The secret, no doubt, is to give theanimals plenty of room and feed should bevaried. Here is where the person who knows the


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WHAT ANIMALS TO RAISE. 31habits of the animal or animals he is raisingis valuable. When cattle, sheep and hogs arefed properly the}^ take on fat readily and pro-duce a healthy coat of hair or wool. The sameapplies to the fur bearing animals.What animals offer the best inducement toraise? This is a question that each individualgoing into the business must largely decide. Theplace you have in view for the starting of the''farm" will have much to do Avith this. Isthe location one best adapted to skunk, mink,coon, fox, muskrat or some other fur bearer?Again, your experience should be taken into con-sideration, what fur bearers you are mostfamiliar with. If you live near a large citywhich offers a market for coon and opossumcarcasses, this should be considered as theseanimals are easy to raise and opossum especiallyare very prolific, producing from six to twelveat a litter. While the fur of coon and opossumwill never be very valuable, yet, as both furand carcass have a cash value, they will provegreater money makers than many believe. Musk-rat are another animal that should not be over-looked as they increase rapidly and their fleshis now being sold in many of the larger cities.Marten and silver fox should not be raisedin the south, as these are animals that do bestin the cold sections. Otter and mink are two


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32 FUR FARMING.animals that the sun fades the fur and as thedarker the fur, the more valuable, it is importantthat as little sun as possible shines upon them.For this reason it is advisable to have the en-closure for these animals in the woods or thicket.In fact some trees should be in enclosures for all

Enclosure in thick woods.animals. If raising coon or opossum, they willbe "at home" in the trees while other animalswill enjoy the shade in the summer and willmake use of the leaves in the dens for winter.

There are some animals such as marten,fisher, wild cat, weasel, badger and wolves that


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WHAT ANIMALS TO RAISE. 33do not seem proiiiisiiii*' to ns to raise for variousreasons. Marten do best in the high mountainsections; fisher and wild eat would be hard tokeep in an inelosure; weasel and badger arenot valuable and woubl Ixtth be difficult to keepin; Avolves are n()t valuable for fur and wouldrequire considerable attention and food, hence,not desirable to raise. In most states there isa bounty on wolf and coyote^ scalps but the rais-ing of them for the purposeof the bounty Avouldnot work the bounty would not be paid ifcounty officials knew from what source theycame.

Among the animals promising the best forraising are the black, silver, cross and red fox,skunk, mink, coon, opossum and muskrat. Theotter, beaver, bear and lynx under certain con-ditions may be well Avorth considering, especiallylynx at present value.bo you think present prices for furs willcontinue? Generally speaking, yes. In fact,some articles are liable to go higher. On theother hand some furs may go lower but are sureto sooner or later react. The chances are thatraw furs will not soon sell at the low figures ofpast 3^ears.

Suppose thousands engaged in the businessof raising fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum and

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34 FUR FARMING.muskrat, what effect would it have upon themarket? Would they overstock it? How manyhundreds of thousands of persons are todayraising cotton and wool to furnish clothing tothe millions of people and there has always beena market. The same will be the case with fur.In fact, unless thousands engage in the fur rais-ing business, the demand is going to far exceedthe supply at no distant day.

Furs in the north are a necessity as no clothwill repel the piercing winds. Teamsters andothers much out of doors wear fur overcoats,caps and use fur laprobes. Farther south, sayin the latitude of New York, Pittsburg, Denver,etc., while furs are not an absolute necessity, yetthey are much worn for comfort. In all thecities of the north, furs are -worn eight or ninemonths in the year ; in the central sections per-haps six months; Avhile in the south only a fewmonths. In addition to this, American furs areworn in all civilized countries of the world.

The farmer or stock raiser, as a rule, who ismaking the most money, is the one who raisesnot horses, cattle, sheep or swine alone, butoften two or more of them. The same can beapplied to fur farming. Suppose an enclosureof a few acres is made for skunk, why not takein a pond and raise muskrat, coon, fish and frogs.


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WHAT ANIMALS TO RAISE. 35There is a ready market in all cities for freshfish and frogs.

The farmer tliat raises sheep not only sellsthe wool but fattens and sells some of the lambs,wethers or old ewes from time to time. Thefarmer is in the business to make the most outof it and such will be the case with the furfarmer. In the cities there is a demand forthe carcasses of coon and opossum at pricesranging from 25 to 75 cents for coon and 10 to50 cents for opossum, depending upon the sizeof the carcass, as well as the city in which youare marketing. In New York, Boston, Phila-delphia, Baltimore, there is a ready sale for allcoon and opossum carcasses at good prices.Other cities that use large quantities are Buffalo,Cleveland, Pittsburg, Detroit, Chicago, andMilwaukee. There is no city of any size northof the Ohio River but offers a market. St.Louis, Louisville and other southern cities be-ing near the coon and opossum producing sec-tions does not offer so good a market. Muskratare.noAv served. as "marsh rabbit" in Baltimoreand other cities. The trapper realizing from 5to 10 cents each.

With the exception of muskrat, fur bearinganimals breed only once a year, unless the firstlitter are killed or die, when another is some-


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36 FUR FARMING.times born and it might be said, such is fre-quently the case. The number that the variousanimals produce at a litter is given in thec]iai)ter dealing with that aninml.

It is not all that are successful bee raiserswho have gone into that business, yet how fewfailures are there among men who began in asmall Ava}^, learning more of the business andgradually increasing tlie number of hives in theirapiar}.

One thing is important and that is, get theanimals accustomed to their keeper as sOon aspossil)le. The old will be wild for some timebut the young soon become tame. Skunk andcoon are easily tamed and even beaver, otterand mink have become so tame when securedyoung, that children have safely handled them.A man Avho has been in the ''fur farming"industry for years, in response to the inquiry,"Will the business pay,'' says: ''Yes, it willpay the right man big dividends on the capitalinvested." The right man is one who has"natural aptitude" for this sort of Avork, andwho is "cut out" for "fur farming." If he hasan "inkling" for this sort of Avork, he Avill studythe nature and requirements of the animals andattend carefully to their eyerj Avant.Fur farming as an industry is only in itsinfancy, in fact, not begun. The future looks


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CHAPTER III.ENCLOSURES.

CHIS is indeed, one of the important thingsin connection Avith "fur-farming." Someof the first experimenters in raisingskunk and other fur animals, dug a

trench from 2 to 3- feet deep, putting in rocksor boards edgewise to keep them from diggingout, on top of Avhicli they constructed an uprightfence of boards from 4 to 7 feet. On top of thisfence was fastened a wide board to keep the ani-mals from climbing out.

The enclosure should be an acre in extent and2 to 5 would be better. The "ranch" should belocated where the water will drain off quickly,so that the dens Avill be dry, making a good placeto burrow. The ground should not be level, orat any rate, should have good drainage. Skunkand perhaps other animals are liable to disease,if kept in damp and crowded quarters, such assore throat or similar diseases, which may cause


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ENCLOSURES. 39


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40 FUR FARMING.or some other long lasting avoocL They should befully 10 feet long and put in the ground 3 feet ormore, depending upon how firm the earth is; theysliould be 8(4 about 8 feet or not more than tenapart, as your fence should be about 7 feet aboveground. A trend i two feet deep is dug, intowhich your wire is put. From this it Avill beseen that you need woven wire 9 feet high tomake your fence 7 feet above ground, as two feetare under.

After your wire is in place, fill up the trencliAvitli dirt, or if there are flat stones, it wouldbe well to place a layer about a foot wide, ex-tending inward from the fence or bottom of wire.Should any of the aninmls dig downward fromthe bottom of the wire, striking the stone theywould become discouraged and give up, as thestone would cause them to dig in the wrong di-rection to escape. On top of the wire fence, asheet of tin roofing about 18 inches wide, shouldextend around the enclosure, on the inside, tokeep the aniuials from climbing out, for skunkas well as coon can easily climb out of yourenclosure.

Instead of placing the tin around the topsome turn the fence in as shown in the illustra-tion. If this is done to make the fence 7 feethigh, a 10^ foot meshed wire is required as twofe(^t are under ground and at least 18 inches


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ENCLOSURES. 41

should be used for turning in 2 feet would bebest.The ''turning in'' method has some advantages

over the tin ; one being that dogs cannot get in so(asily, and another is that the fence will stand

Showing Fence with Wire Turned in at Top.

up better; the wide strip of tin or sheet-ironcatching wind or snow which helps to sag thewire or cause the fence to lean. The tin orsheet-iron, hoAvever, seems to be the best in pre-venting anv animal's escape.


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42 FUR FARMING.The enclosure can be enlarged at any time,

but do not make the mistake of beginning withtoo small an enclosure, as some have. Also haveyour fence about 7 feet high to keep dogs out,as well as to keep the fur-bearers in. Just howmuch the enclosure ^^ill cost depends upon sev-eral things : The cost of 9 foot, 1 inch mesh No.16 galvanized wire is about |1.50 per rod. Thisprice, of course, will vary some, depending uponwhere you are located. In some of the smallercities you perhaps cannot get the kind you wantand will be compelled to send to some of thelarger cities or catalogue houses. Perhaps you cannot get wider than 5 feet. If such is the casebuy in two widths 5 feet and 4 feet. This willgive you the desired height.

Posts as already mentioned should be of lo-cust or some other long lasting wood, as cedar,and should be thoroughly seasoned before put-ting in the ground. The posts should be fully6 inches in diameter. If from larger locust andsplit, so much the better, as the older the treethe longer it will last. The cutting and settingof the posts, putting up of the fence, can be doneby the "fur-farmer" in those sections where lo-cust and cedar grow, so that all the cash outlaynecessary in building the enclosure, will be forgalvanized wire, some staples and sheet tin forthe top. Instead of placing the tin around the


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ENCLOSURES. 43

top, it may be fastened on the inside of the wire(as'shoAvn), about fonr feet from the ground.The coimer posts should be two or three times

laro-er than the others; they should be set morefirmly in the ground, iive feet being about right.ThisAvill necessitate these posts being two feet

Fence with Sheet Tin Four Feet from Ground.

longer than the rest. They should be firmlybraced in both ways.

The cost of fencing an acre, varies, of course.An acre contains 160 square rods or about 12^rods each side equal to 50 rods of fence. Ifthe wire costs |1.50 a rod, and posts 40 centseach, the cost of material required to enclose


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44 FUR FARMING.an acre will be |95.00. AVe are figuring on tAvoposts to the rod. Add to this staples, gates, etc.,and the cost will perhaps be about |100.00. Ofcourse a much cheaper wire could be used,])oorer posts, etc., so that the cost would begreatly reduced but it generally paj'S to doa thing well.

To enclose a certain amount of ground withthe smallest number of rods of fencing possible,the plat or ground to be enclosed should be in asquare. The additional cost to enclose an acre,say 20 rods long by 8 Avide, Avould be materialfor 6 additional rods. To fully illustrate, anacre fenced in a square would be 12J rods oneach side, or 50 rods; if 20 rods long, the tAvosides would be 40 rods, and the ends 8 each or 16rods, making a total of 56 rods.

While the cost of enclosing an oblong pieceof ground Avould be a few dollars more than ifsquare, this should not stand in the AAay if theoblong piece of ground AAOuld make a betterhome for your fur-bearing animals.

The persons avIio expect to make "fur-farm-ing" a business, can begin in a small way andsame need not interfere AA'itli other AAork to agreat extent. Year after year, as they learnmore of the business, they can enlarge, etc.Trappers, hunters and others AA^ho from expe-rience know much of the animals, will no doubt


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ENCLOSURES. 45be the mo^t successful from the stai't. Oneparty Avrites to know if skunk, fox, opossumand mink can be successfully raised in the sameenclosure. If he means allowed to run together,they can not. If he means the same outside en-closure, with separate apartments for the variousanimals, there is no reason why such a placeshould not be successful as there will be advan-tages in such a plan.

First, an enclosure of four acres can be builtmuch cheaper than four separate enclosures ofone acre each. To enclose four one-acre enclos-ures would require 200 rods of fencing 50 rodsfor each. The four acres in one enclosure wouldbe only about half or 100 rods. A square 25 rodson each side would be almost 4 acres. Shouldthe fur-farmer wish to subdivide this into fourtracts, a fence thru the middle each way wouldtake 25 rods additional or 50 rods for both ways.This fencing need not be so high or so secure asthe outside one. Should animals manage to getinto anc^ther part of the four-acre enclosure, theywould still not be at liberty, altho they mightkill or injure some of the other species beforebeing discovered by the owner.

If possible have a small stream of runningwater in the enclosure.

Without labor the cost of material will varyfrom 12.00 to |3.00 per rod. The greatest varia-


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46 FUR FARMING.tion in expense will be for posts. Those livingwhere posts can be had, having considerablethe advantage. This estimate being for galvan-

Plan for Combined Enclosures.

ized one-inch mesh wire Xo. 14, per rod, smallerwire of course being cheaper. This is b}^ far thebest material in making enclosures, yet found.Some of the first experimenters used boards,


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ENCLOSURES. 47but where there were cracks, or the sap or barkon edges rotted, affording the animals a place tognaw, they soon found a way out. This had tobe guarded against Avhere the boards extendedinto the ground they often rotted so that therewas always danger of the animals escaping.Where stones were set up edgewise or cementused, it was rather expensive and as galvanizedwire lasts well either in the ground, where notexposed to tlie air, or being galvanized, it standsthe elements well, it seems to meet the require-ments of the fur farmer for fencing or enclosurepurposes.

Where is the farmer who would expect tomake a success at raising horses, cattle or sheep,by keeping them in a small pen and feeding themfoods not to their liking or nature? Yet, suchhas been the case with some of those who tried''fur animal raising." They made a failure ofit and no one who is at all familiar with fur-bearing animals is surprised. Those who will besuccessful at "fur-farming" are trappers, hunt-ers and farmers who know something of the ani-mal or animals they expect to raise those wholove the animal and have a desire for the busi-ness.

The ox, horse and sheep were all wild at onetime, but have become domesticated. Why notthe same with the fur-bearers? This is exactly


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48 FUR FARMING.what should be done. Skunk, especiall}^, are veryeasily domesticated, and other fur-bearers, suchas coon, mink and opossum, soon lose much oftheir fear.When the raiser learns this and furnishes alarge enclosure witli dens and food similar totheir wild state, tliey will be on the road to suc-cess. As one raiser says : "The^^ do well in asemi-wild state." If the enclosure is too small,lleas, seed ticks, and other parasites are a greateneni}^ to the animals. In a large enclosure theanimals are more ^'at liome" although at firstthey are restless and will walk around seekinga way to escape; that is they try to escape atnight. The}^ are seldom, if ever, seen during theday when first let loose in the enclosure; theygenerally go in the first den that has been pre-pared for them.

Water is important. If you are raisingskunk, fox or opossum, water for drinking is allthat they require; the same is the case with thecoon, although they will do best Avhere they havewater to wade, play and search for food. Musk-rat, otter, beaver and mink must have water toswim and play in, as Avell as to drink or theycannot be raised. The enclosure for mink andmuskrat should include a stream of runningwater if possible, or a pond of pure water. Thesame conditions apply to otter and beaver, but


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ENCLOSURES. 49of course the wire should be of larger size thanfor mink and muskrat. Several different speciesof fur-bearers can be successfully raised in thesame enclosure. Coon, opossum, and skunk willall do AA'ell together. BeaA^er and otter, appar-ently, live peaceably for weeks in the same bea-ver lodge or house.

The thousands of small lakes, ponds, etc.,offer a splendid opportunity for the successfulraising of muskrat. While many owners of such,toda}', in their natural condition, or without anyfence, are reaping a profitable and furry har-vest; yet there are additional hundreds that bybuilding a fence around, would soon have amuskrat lake or i^ond worth a great deal. Musk-rat are fond of their homes and often remain atthe same location for years. Jf a wire fencethree feet high were built around this lake orix)nd, (with one foot underground), it wouldkeep the rats at home, as some would leave, es-pecially as soon as the increase became large.8uch a fence would also keep out mink, whichkill muskrat, often.

. Muskrat, in their wild or natural homes, sel-dom leave the water more than a rod or two, sothat a pond a considerable distance from anystream, would be a comparatively safe place toraise them, without any enclosure. The dangerwould be, mainly, that after the animals became

4


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50 FUR FARMING.quite plentii'ul, some would perliaps leave, forinstinct seems to teach them that some shouldseek homes not so crowded. This has happenedin their natural breedinij;' places where they be-came very plentiful.How large and where to build enclosures forfur farming, must be decided by each individual.One part}^ maj^ have a creek, pond or lake, per-haps a swamp, already inhabited by muskrat,and all that is necessary is to keep other liuntersand trappers off. On navigable rivers or lakeshaving an inlet and outlet, we believe in moststates any one can trap so long as he is uponthe water. In other words, the water does not be-long to the land owner and he cannot keep othersoff; but any small lake or pond umj be enclosed.On this point it would be well to see some law-yer in your county, as different states may havedifferent laws.

A wooded bluff containing some den treesfor coon, and hollow logs, stumps, etc., for opos-sum and skunk, would be an ideal place for afur-farm. The location of the farm should bewithin sight of the home of the raiser, in case adog should get within or a thief should visit thefarm. To guard against stealing at night yourdog would give the alarm, or you could have anelectric appliance connect the farm T\ith thehouse.


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ENCLOSURES. olIslands in lar^e lakes offer a splendid place

to begin raising fur-bearing animals, and espe-cially those that do not like to get their ^furwet" or that naturally are not swimmers. Inthis class are the various kinds of foxes, skunkand opossum ; marten, it is true, are not includedin the swimming class, but the successful martenraiser perhaps will be found, if at all, in thehigher altitudes where the snow gets severalfeet deep during the winter months, and theground is covered with snow eight or ninemonths each year such is the ideal and naturalhome of the nmrten.

Skunk and opossum are two animals that donot travel much in extreme cold weather, so thatan island in a lake or large river, could be usedwith no fencing. It perhaps would be best to putup a wire fence but it need not be so substantialas if it were not surrounded by water. Of courseislands in rivers that overflow, would not besuitable. There are, however, islands in theGreat Lakes and elsewhere, that can be used forraising both skunk and opossum with little orno cash outlay at the start.

If islands are used for foxes (except in saltwater where the water does not freeze), the sameprecaution in fencing must be taken as else-where. I^oxes travel during all kinds of weatherand the first night the ice formed sufficient to


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52 FUR FARMING.bear tlieir weiglit, they would be very apt toleave.

Coon could uot be successfulh' raised on anisland. They do not travel much during severeweather, but unless the island happened to besome distance fi'oni the mainland, they wouldlikely swim to shore. Mink would be at homeon an island where there was fish, frogs, etC;,with drift and log piles to wander through, butas they are good swimmers, there would be noth-ing gained by starting with this animal on anisland.

Skunk nnd opossum seem to be the only ani-mals that can be safely raised on an island with-out the same precaution taken in fencing and en-closing, as upon the mainland. These two ani-mals, while not the highest priced furred ones,for various reasons will prove to be as profit-able, or more so, where conditions favor, thanmanv other fur-bearers.


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CHAPTER IV.]U)X TRAP TRAPPING.

T^VASborn in Cenlral Pennsylvania and

spent tlie greater part of my early lifeamong the mountains of that part of ourcountry, writes iMr. A. C. Williams, a

well known trapper. From my early boyhood,1 had a decided liking for the wilder class ofliterature, and took special interest in tales ofhunting and trapi)ing adventures; but at tliattime, did not know that there were many whostill folloAved hunting and trapping for profit.When T did learn of it, I naturally became evenmore interested, and tried to find a partneramong my boy friends, intending, if I could findsome person to accompany me, to make an ex-tended hunting and trapping trip into some oneof the wilder portions of the West or North.

Of course I was no more fitted for such atrip than any other country boy of the same age,and knew nothing of the wilderness; but beinga boy, and having read so many tales of boyhunters traversing tlie wilderness as they wouldtheir own back yards, I naturally thought thatlife in the forests was a very simple thing, and

53


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54 FUR FARMING.tliat there A\'as no reason why I should not go.As I grew older I learned that there was stillsome fur to be found in Pennsylvania, and notonly that but that there Avere parties who madetrapping a business, in season.

T was interested, and decided to trj^ my handon the fur-bearing animals found near mj ownhome, before going farther, but I had no trapsand knew nothing about the various sizes andgrades; as a consequence, I sought out one ofthe trappers that I had heard of, and asked hisadvice regarding different traps for the variousanimals. He gave me the desired information,very v>illingly, and also remarked that he hadbeen very successful in trapping mink and othersmall animals with box-traps. After he hadmentioned it, I remembered that my father had,on one occasion, caught a mink in a box trap,after it had been pacing nightly visits to ourchicken coop for a Aveek or more, killing a heneach night; but for all of that I did not knowthat these traps could be used successfully whentrapping for profit. It was not very long after1 ly conversation with this trapper, that i hadan opportunity of examining one of these woodentraps and studying its construction. I will givehere a description of the trap used in that sec-tion :A plain box, size 10 by 10 by 24 inches, is


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BOX TRAP TRAPPING. 55made of one-inch lumber, hardwood preferred,and is left open on one end and the top (seeA) another part (B) the cover, is fitted in topand end, and hinged at back by driving a nailin each side, being careful to get both nailssame distance from the end of board. This covershould work freely, and when dropped down inplace, should fill the opening neatly, leaving nocracks for the captured annual to gnaw at.

Box Trap for Catching Animals Alive.Now nail two strips (CO on opposite sides

of the box and about three inches from the mouthof the trap. These strijis should extend aboutten inches above the top of the box, and shouldhave the tops notched to hold stick (D). Stick(E ) is tied at one end to a nail driven in the endof cover, and at the other end, is attached thetrigger (F). One end of this trigger fits intoa notch cut into the end of the box, and th^


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56 FUR FARMING.other end fits into a similar notch cut in thebait-stick (G). The bait-stick, as will be noticedin the drawing, is slipped through a hole in theend of the box, just below the trigger notch, andis kept in place by means of a nail driventhrough on the inside of the box. A small tripboard (H), rests under the bait-stick on theinside of the trap. This trip board doubles thevalue of the trap, as by its use many an animalAvhich merely enters the trap to smell at thebait, will be caught; which would not occur ifthe board were not used.

To complete the trap, a snap catch (I) isfastened to one side of the trap in front of up-right strip (C) and its purpose is to catch andhold the cover when the trap is sprung. Thissnap is made of springy wood, beveled on thetop, and the falling cover presses it outward

;

but as soon as the trap is fully closed, it springsback to the original position holding the coversecurely. In making this trap it is advisable,always, to use old, weather-beaten lumber.As a result of my investigation, I made anumber of these traps and was successful withthem, from the start. In that part of the countrythere had been many saw-mills and loggingcamps, at one time or another and at such placesI could always find old boards from which toconstruct the traps. The only tools required


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BOX TRAP TRAPPING. 57being a saAv, a hatchet, and a half-inch auger, Iwould go to these places during the summer,whenever I Iiad a day to spare, and make a fewtraps, liiding them near tlie places where Iwished to set tliom.

Tlie trap described above is of the size usedfor mink, skunk and opossum, but I made mostof mine on a larger scale, and by baiting withfish, I cauglit many coons. On one occasion 1caug]it three coons in one night, with only threetraps set, and in auotlier trap, set by the sideof a small stream, in a gap of the mountains, Icaught three mink and two coons in onefall season. At another time I caught a largebob-cat in such a trap.

As T said before I baited ^\ith fish when Icould get them ;but those trappers who used themfor mink alone, never used bait, but attractedthe mink into the trap by means of mink muskrubbed on the trip board.

I caught quite a lot of skunks in box traps,and it is a nice way to catch these animals, forthe trap may be carried to the nearest waterand the catch drowned by holding the trap be-neath the surface. It is advisable always, toplace a weight a few stones or wet chunkson the cover, as this will make it more certainin its action.

These traps are specially suitable for catch-


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58 FUR FARMING.ing animals alive and uninjured, for breedingpurposes, and noAv, that so many people are in-terested in raising fur-bearing animals, there isa ready sale for live animals, and this mattershould be given attention.

I have used another style of box-trap formuskrats, but is not intended for catching theanimals alive, and the muskrats are alwaysdrowned. It is a simple box or square tube of

Box Trap with Swing Gate.

boards, 6 x 6 x 24 or 26 inches, open at both ends.A wire screen is fastened over one end, and aloosely hinged gate of i^ointed wires is hung inthe other end. I used for the gate, pieces ofumbrella ribs, cut about eight inches long andthe ends filed sharp. With the wires cut thislength the gate will hang at an angle of forty-five degrees, or more, and will push in easily,allowing the animal to enter the trap without


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BOX TRAP TRAPPING. 59

effort; but once inside, escape is impossible, asthe gate cannot be puslied out, and even if thecaptured animal sliould raise the gate and at-tempt to creep under it, tlie pointed Avires willcatch in its back and prevent escape.

They are set in the dens, under water, and ifthe mouth of the den is too large, the

spacearound the trap should be closed with sods. Setin this way, it will catch any muskrat that at-tempts to leave the den, and I have caught threeat one time in. such a trap.

While muskrats caught in this way are al-ways droAvned, other animals, such as: mink,skunk and opossum, may be taken alive by set-ting the trap in the mouth of the den, blockingup all side openings. The width of the trap asshown in the cut, is considerably out of propor-tion, when compared with its lengthit beingdrawn this Avay to show more clearly the Avork-ing of the swing gate.A very effective skunk trap may be made froman old barrel. The barrel is piA^oted to a pairof stakes, driven firmly into the ground along abank or hillside, Avhere skunks are found, andthe bait is fastened on the bottom of the insideof the barrel. This trap is shown plainly in theillustration. It will be apparent to all thatwhen the skunk, in approaching the bait, passes


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60 FUR FARMING.the center, where it is hinged to the stakes, tliebarrel tips over, and it Avill be impossible forthe animal to escape.

Muskrats are somtimes taken with a wirenet. To hunt them snccessfully in this way, twopersons are required. While one holds the netover the month of the den, the other hunter

V.'^Viil^

Barrel Trap for Catching Animals Alive.drives the inmates from the burrow by proddingthe ground with a pointed pole. A wire cagewith a cover must be used to carry the capturedanimals, and each individual must be shakeninto the cage as soon as captured, and the cageclosed immediately to prevent their escape.When box traps are used, no difficulty what-ever will be encountered in transporting the ani-


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BOX a?RAP TRAPPING. 61mals, as trap and catch may be carried into theenclosure before the animal is liberated. Eventhe skunk may be carried along in this waywithout any danger of scenting. The trap shouldbe handled carefullynot thrown about.

Muskrats may be handled with perfectsafety if grasped by the end of ^the tail and heldat arm's length.

Trappers, as a ruh^, know just Avhat time ofyear the young of each species of aninml are bornand I would advise, when trapping animals forbreeding purposes, to catch them before this time,or at such a length of time after the birth of theyoung, that tliere will be no danger of theirstarving in case they are not captured alongwith the mother. Even if the very young ani-mals are taken from the den, there is danger ofthem suffering from careless handling, or fromnot receiving proper care. It is better to catchthe female animals before the young are born.

Another box trap that is a good one, is de-scribed by an Illinois trapper as follows

:

"I here enclose a sketch for making a trapfor catching mink which I have used for years,and think it can't be beat. Make a box 22 incheslong, 5 inches wide, and 6 inches high out of inchlumber; bore a hole at the back for the string(D) to pass through, which is tied to a bait at


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62 FUR FARMING.(E) and fastened at the other end to a heavywire (C), on top of the box, which holds thesliding door (A), when set. Aconple of strips(B) are nailed on each side to hold the door inplace. This is a good trap for mink that areafraid of steel traps. For bait nse a rabbit'shead tied securely to tlie string, also a few dropsof good scent put on the bait, and set near themouth of some tiles or wherever mink abound.''

Another Box Trap.

This trap, as well as all the box-traps in thischapter, are recommended for catching such ani-mals as skunk, coon, mink, and opossum, aliveand uninjured, for stocking "fur-farms."

Muskrat can be caught in these traps by bait-ing and setting where they feed, or on runwaysfrom one pond to another.

Animals caught in these traps can be carriedwith safety to both catcher and animal, to theenclosure, before taking out of the trap.


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CHAPTER V.FOX RAISING.

CHEfoxes of North America are divicled by

naturalists into only three distinct groupsor species, namely, the red, the


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64 FUR FARMING.the matter is of little importance to the prospec-tive fox breeder as it lias become a well knownfact that the red color can be* entirely eliminatedby careful breeding.

The red fox is found throughout the greaterpart of Canada and the United States except inthe far south Avhere it is replaced by the grayspecies and in the extreme northern portionsof Canada and Alaska, where it gives place tothe Arctic fox, also they are not found in thefar western states nor on the Pacific coast, beingn^placed here by the gray. They are perhapsmost abundant in the New England States, New-foundland and the eastern provinces of Canada,but are also found in good numbers in parts ofNew York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, ^Yest Vir-ginia and the mountainous and hilly sections ofthe South.

The silver and black foxes are found butrarely in the most northern tier of states andare probably found in the greatest numbers inNewfoundland, Labrador, northern Quebec andnorthern Ontario, but an odd specimen is oc-casionally met with in all parts of Canada. Theyappear also to be quite plentiful in the interiorof Alaska and the Yukon Province of Canada.The range of the cross fox is the same as thatof the sih^er and black except that it probably


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FOX RAISING. 65

extends somewhat farther southward into theUnited States.Of the gray foxes, several varieties are recog-

nized, all however, being very much alike. Theyare found throughout the Southern and SouthCentral Statesin tlie east being found as farnorth as Connecticut and on the Pacific Coastare found in California and Oregon.

The Arctic fox, also known as the blue foxand the white fox, is found only in northernCanada and Alaska. In the most northern partsof their range they are a bluish color in summer,changing to white in winter, but in the lowerlatitudes they retain the blue color throughoutthe year.

There is an immense difference in the valueof the various varieties of foxes. While the furof the gray variety is seldom worth more thana dollar or a dollar and a half, that of the finesilver and black foxes will range from severalhundred to a thousand dollars, and more if theskin is an exceptionally fine one. The Arcticfox comes next in value to the silver, while thecross is as a rule of less value, depending mostlyon color, and the red variety sells for fromthree to five dollars each and upwards for primeskins.

The various members of the red fox family5


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66 FUR FARMING.


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FOX RAISING. 67are practically the same as regards habits, beinginfluenced to a certain extent by environments,differences in climate and food, etc., but on thewhole xerj much alike. They are all of a cun-ning, ^ary and suspicious nature and it is owingto this fact alone that they have ])een enabledto live and thrive in the face of the persistenthunting and trapping. They are hardy animalsand while they generally have a den somewhereon the side of a gravelly or sandy hill, they spendcomparatively little of tlieir time in the densand prefer to spend the day \n a bunch of grassor weeds, a clump of brush, or, curled up on topof a stump.In their search for food tliey sometimes startout quite early in the evening, but are probablymost active in the early morning when all animallife is on the move. Then it is that the rabbitsand other nocturnal animals are seeking theirplaces of rest and the birds, etc., are commenc-ing to move about and the fox stands a betterchance of securing some article of food.

Their food consists principally of smallanimals and birds, such as rabbits, partridge,quail, chipmunks and mice, but they also eatfruit, such as apples, wild grapes and nuts.However, they are more strictly carnivorousthan the gray fox. They are fond of eggs andoften rob the nests of ground building birds, of


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68 FUR FARMING.eggs and young, and in the settled sections haveacquired a decided liking for poultry of all kinds.

The food of the gray fox. is practically thesame as that of tlie red variety but they aremore given to eating fruit and feed extensivelyon grapes, apples, etc., and in some sectionsthey feed on green corn. All foxes will eat fishwith a relish when they can get them and willrefuse scarcely anything in the line of flesh,being especially fond of muskrat, skunk andopossum. In captivity they take very kindly toa vegetable diet.

The Arctic foxes live chiefly on lemmings,small animals which are found quite plentifullyin the far north, but in captivity they thrive onfish and cooked corn meal.

The mating senson of the red fox comesmainly in P^ebruary and the beginning of Marchand the young, from five to eight or nine, areborn in April or early in May. The young ofthe gray fox are born in ^fay, the mating seasonof this species being somewhat later than thatof the red fox. The breeding dens of the fox areusually located on some gravelly hillside but inplaces where the country is broken and rocky.They use natural dens in the rocks. It is onlyduring the breeding season and while the youngfoxes are still quite small that these dens areregularly inhabited. At other times they may


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POX RAISING. 69

spend an occasional day there or seek safety inthe dens Avhen hard pressed by hounds, but forthe most part the}^ jjrefer to rest out of doors.

Foxes prefer the rough hilly countries andare usual h^ found in good numbers in the hillyfarming sections where there are old pasturesand an occasional patch of woodland. The grayfox is most at home in the wooded districts butthe red species, including the silver, cross andblack prefer the more open stretches of country.In the north they will be found most plentifulin the barrens and sections where second-growthtimber prevails.

The two species do not appear to be on veryfriendly terms and not given to mixing one withtlie other. In some sections where red foxeswere once numerous and the gray variety wereunknown, the grays now predominate, havingdriven out the red variety. In other parts thereds have supplanted the grays. This, however,is only in the central and southern districts, asthe gray fox is never found far north.Fox Farming.Fox farming has been at-tempted by various parties from time to timeand those, who have given the business consid-erable study and have persevered have generallybeen successful. Many of the parties, however,were men Avho have had practically no knowledgeof nature, having gone into the business too


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70 FUR FARMING.deeply in the start and beiiii- ignorant of thenature and habits of the animals when foundin a wild state, have as a consequence, failed.Very few of those who have made a success ofbreeding the valuable silver foxes have gone intothis business in the start, but have first exper-imented with the less valuable red fox, and asthe silver and red foxes are of the same varietytheir nature and habits are also the same, andthe knowledge of their liabits gained by exper-imenting with one is of equal value as appliedto the other.

The Arctic foxes are being raised successfullyon many of the islands off the coast of Alaska.As the seas never freeze o^ er there, no enclosuresare necessary and the business has proved com-paratively easy from the start. Such islandsare not within the reach of the average foxfarmer and other means must be resorted to.The breeding of silver foxes has, thus far, beencarried on mainly in the Canadian MaratimeProvinces and the state of ^Maine, but it has alsobeen undertaken to some extent in Michigan,Alaska, Labrador and Newfoundland.We are certain that if one will give the mat-ter sufficient study, learn the habits and natureof the animals thoroughly and act accordingly,success is sure to follow and that the red, crossand silver foxes may be bred and raised sue-


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FOX RAISING. 71

eessfully. Experiments should be conducted ona small scale, for otherwise failure would meana great loss. ^Ve would advise that the amateurconduct his experiments with red foxes, learn-ing their liabits thoroughly before attemptingthe breeding of the valuable silver-gray.

Favorable Localities.It is a well knownfact that the finest furs are produced in northernlocalities and fox farming should not be at-tempted in the far south. The accompanyingmap, which is taken from the bulletin of theU. S. De])artment of Agriculture, will show thearea most suitable for silver fox farming. Tlieplainly lined i)ortions show the most suitablecountry, and conditions in those parts are mostexcellent and the cross-hatched parts show thearea where silver fox raising is possible and con-ditions favorable. The red fox will do wellsomewhat farther south, but as before stated,the warm climate of tlie south is detrimentalto fine furs, and it Avill be wise to not locate toofar south of the shaded portions shown on themap.

Having decided on a favorable section ofcountry the next step is to find a suitable loca-tion. It is not necessary or even advisable tohave a large enclosure. For the beginner a half-acre to an acre will be sufficient, and a spaceof four or five acres is ample for extensive oper-


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72 FUU FARMING.


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FOX RAISING. 73ations. If the onolosiire is too larjie the animalswill be wild and nnnianageable, and on the otherhand if too small they will become nervons andrestless and will not breed well, and it is ad-vised also that the foxes be not distnrbed byvisitors and be alloAved to live as qnietly as pos-sible. A sandy soil is recommended, and thereshonld be some trees for shade, bnt a thick woodsis not desirable.

Enclosures.Fences should be made of ^ai-vauized woven wire of two-inch mesh,number14 or 16 ware beinu' best. The fence should beten feet in heiiiht and should be sunk in theground tAvo feet and turned in two feet at thetop. The overhang at the top is easily adjustedby means of cross strips on the top of the posts.Care in making the fences is essential, and ifthere is much snow in winter the drifts mustnot be allowed to become high enough to allowthe animals to leap over. It is advisable to havea set of inside enclosures, and as it is necessarythat the animals are not annoyed by visitors.It is a good plan to have the space between theinside and outside fences filled with trees andclumps of brush so as to obstruct the view. Theinner enclosures are small and- designed forsingle animals and pairs and should be aboutthirty or forty feet in size. There should alsobe several larger enclosures for the males and


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74 FUR FARMING.females, tor, except (luring" the breeding seasonit will do no harm to alloAv the males to runEach separate enclosure should betogether.

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Plan for Arrangement of Fox Yards.provided Avith a gate so that it will be an easymatter to remove the foxes from one enclosureto another. The plan for the arrangement of


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FOX RAISING. 75IS a good one and isthe yards as shown heretaken from the Government Bulletin.

Each compartment should be provided withsmall kennels, for although the fox will usuallydig a den, tlie nature of the ground is not alwayssuitable and they take kindly to these artificialdens. They are usually made four or five feetsquare and two or tliree feet high. If desired,shelters may be made of boxes as shown in the

Box Shelter for Female and Young.

cut. No bedding is required, as the old foxes willdo well Avithout or will provide one themselves.Feeding.Many fox raisers have failed to

recognize the fact that the fox is almostomnivorous and give a strictly meat diet accord-ing. While this does not always have disastrousresults, it is better to give them a mixed food,including besides meat, table scraps, bread andmilk, etc. Overfeeding is a common trouble andshould be avoided. Of course they must have


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76 FUR FARMING.sufficient, but should not be allowed to becometoo fat, as this spoils them for breeding pur-poses; also feeding should be at regular inter-vals. The weight of a healtlw fox is from sixto nine pounds, and when an animal weighsmore than ten pounds it is almost certain thatit is too fat. When a number of animals arekept together in one enclosure the boldest andstrongest will usually get more than its shareof the food. Of course fresh drinking watermust be provided regularlj^

One of the most successful breeders feeds aquarter of a pound of meat and a quart of skimmilk daily. A quarter of a pound of meat anda handful of scraps is a fair daily allowance.Another fox farmer feeds along with the meat ahoecake made of corn meal and sour milk.

Beef, mutton, fish, horseflesh, etc., are allgood food for the fox. Old worn-out animalsmay be secured in any rural district, but it isabsolutely necessary that the animals be healthyand the meat should be kept on ice. One breederclaims that if everything were purchased, hisfoxes would not cost . him more than one centeach a day, but as he feeds considerable tablescraps the cost is even less.

Breeding.In the wdld state the male foxmates Avith a single female but in captivity onemale will answer for two or even three females


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FOX RAISING. 77

but it is best to have all animals in pairs. Ithas been found best to place the male with thefemale in December or January and leave themin company until the last of :\[arch when themales should be removed. The females shouldbe kept in the small enclosures continuously and

Corner of Fox Yard showing Stones to Prevent Escape byDigging.

the young foxes removed when weaned. Theybreed the first season, when less than a year old,but as a rule the litters are small.

As before stated it is absolutely necessaryto prevent the animals from becoming nervousfrom too frequent visits of strangers. This ner-vousness has a bad efeect on their breeding


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78 FUR FARMING.qualities. It is especially bad after the youngfoxes are born, as the mother fearing for thesafety of her young, will move them about con-tinuously until they are badly injured or die ofexposure. The keeper also should not disturbthe young but sliould keep away from them asmuch as possible. In raising silver foxes, onlythe most perfect specimens should be kept for

Fox Yards, Showing Detail of Outer Fence.breeding purposes. However, if there is a ten-dency to show some red among the fur this maybe bred out entirely by using care in selectingthe breeding stock.

As there is considerable difference in the dis-position of individuals this should also be keptin mind and those animals showing the leastaversion to man should be selected, providing, of


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should always be kept in mind that foxes arewild animals and tlierefore should have far moreattention than is necessary with domestic ani-mals.


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CHAPTEK VI.SKUNK RAISING.

CilEllE are but two species of skunk foundin Nortli America, namely, tlie commonstriped skunk and the small spottedskunk of the Central States, commonlyknown as the "civet cat.'' This latter name iswrong as the real civet cat is an entirely differ-ent animal.

It is with the true skunk that this article hasto deal, and of this animal naturalists recognizeseveral varieties, the only diflVMvnce being insize and markings.They are found in all parts of the TluitedStates, with the exception of the bunch-grassplains and the mountainous district of the West.They occur again to the west of the mountainranges and also are found in most parts ofSouthern Canada. They are found in the prairiecountry and in the hilly and mountainous dis-tricts of the East, and are at home in the "wilds"as well as in the thickly settled districts, how-ever, they seem to thrive best in the farmingsections and especially if the country is of ahilly nature. Their dens are located along the

83


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84 FUR FARMING.gravelly hillsides, quite often under the roots oftrees and stumps but in the prairie they denalong the washouts and creek banks. In thicklysettled sections they frequently make their homeunder houses and outbuildings, showing prac-tically no fear of man and often appropriatethe den of the woodchuck.They are nocturnal animals and as a rule donot wander far from the den but in the fall theytravel farther, looking for a good den in Avhichto spend the winter. Again, in early springduring the mating season, the males travel con-siderably. While they are not a hibernating ani-mal, they stay in the dens during cold weather,also when the snow is loose and deep, but aresure to be out on the first nice night.

The mating season of this animal is in Feb-ruary and early March and the young are bornmostly in May, although some will be born inApril. There are usually from four to ten youngin a litter but occasionally there will be a largernumber.

The value of a skunk skin depends mainlyon its size and markings, they being graded bythe buyers entirely by the amount of black fur,providing, of course, that the skin is prime andwell handled. There is a considerable differencein respect to sizes and markings of the averagecatches of the various sections. From some parts


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SitUNK RAISING. 85of the country they will run quite large, in otherparts small, and while in one section thej willrun perhaps ninety per cent, long stripes, inother parts of the country the black and shortstripe grade predominates. Of course the skunksof the South are not as well furred as those foundfarther north.Being slow moving animals, they can notcatch the more active animals and birds as dothe other members of the weasel family and theirfood consists mainly of mice, insects and grubs,also on the eggs and 3'oung of such birds as neston the ground. They are very fond of poultryand frequently visit tlie poultry houses, killingthe young birds. They also feed on carrion. Whenthey can get it they Avill eat almost any kind ofanimal food. Even in tlie wild state the skunkis not, strictly speaking, a carnivorous animalas they will eat and in fact are fond of sweetcorn when in a milky state, also sweet potatoes,melons and wild fruits.

They have no means of defense other thantheir scent, but this is sufficient in many casesand the majority of people will give them a wideberth. This scent is only used when alarmed orfrightened and in captivity there is no troublewhatever from this source as they soon learnthat there is no occasion for alarm and becomequite tame.


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86 FUR FARMING.Past Experiments.Beyond all doubt theskunk has been given more consideration by

raisers of fur-bearers than any other animal,with the exception of the fox. There are manywho have tried raising these animals Avith moreor less success and where the experimentershave used good judgment and have given the sub-ject all of the attention it deserves, they have beenreasonably successful. Most of these people havestarted in on a small scale, having perhaps onlya dozen or two of skunks to start with ; in fact,nowhere has the business been carried on as ex-tensively as some newspaper articles Avould leadone to believe; the majority of these parties hav-ing at the most only two or three hundred ani-mals. One of the largest ranches was locatedin Eastern Pennsylvania, but for various rea-sons this venture was a failure.

It is the smaller experimenters, in other words,those who have begun on a small scale, Avho havebeen most successful. They are for the mostpart trappers who liad even before venturing intothe business a fair knowledge of the nature andhabits of the skunk and therefore were morequalified for making the business a successfulone. Trappers naturally take an interest in allnature and are most likely to give the properamount of attention to the animals, also learntheir habits readily and act accordingly and


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SKUNK RAISING. 87these qualities are absolutely necessary for thesuccessful raising of all fur-bearing animals.

The most successful stock breeders are thosewho mala^ a special study of their animals andtake a great interest in them and those who donot are almost certain to fail and really deservefailure. If so mucli care is necessary in breed-ing domestic animals, how much more importantthe care in handling the wild creatures, knowingso little of them as tlie average man does. Buteven handicapped by lack of knowledge the ex-perimenters have been fairly successful from thestart if they were the right men for the business.Without exception they all report that the ani-mals breed well in captivity and are easily kept

;

in a short time becoming quite tame and losingtheir fear of man.

The skunk is an animal which is despised andfeared by many people because of its readinessto make use of its powerful scent, the only meansof defense with wliicli nature has provided it,but it is only when frightened that it uses thisscent and once they have become tame and learnthat they will not be harmed they are practicallyliarmless. We will say, however, to those whoare afraid of the scent do not attempt to raiseskunks, but devote your time to some other call-ing for which you are more fitted.

It is true that the scent glands may be re-


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88 FUE FARMING.moved from the young animals but many of themwill die from the operation and there is prac-tically nothing gained ; therefore, this practice isnot advised.

Those who have failed were for the most partpeople who knew nothing regarding the habits ofthe animal and its care when in captivity. Theywere men with capital, Avho began on a largescale expecting to make a fortune in a short time,but in this they were mistaken, for many of themlost all that they invested. These parties havehad trouble from the older animals killing andeating the young, also from depredations of owls,but mainly from the first reason. It is our opin-ion tliat this cannibalistic tendency is causedby improper feeding, as those parties who haveused care in that respect have had no troublewhatever.

To those who are thinking of embarking inthe business of skunk farming, we would say,

start on a small scale with only a small numberof animals, say two dozen females and six males.Give them every possible attention and studythem under all conditions. Do not expect tomake a fortune in a short time.

Enclosures.After you have decided on thisbusiness the first thing is to find the proper lo-cation and make a suitable enclosure. Thereshould be a spring on, or a small stream


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SKUNK RAISING. 91four-foot fence, but there is danger in Avinterfrom drifting snow, and dogs and other animalsmust be kept out at all times; therefore, tliefence should be of the height mentioned and itmust be turned in at the top or a sheet of tinplaced along the edge to prevent the animalsfrom climbing out.

The interior of tlie enclosure should be di-vided into compartments, using the same ma-terial for the fences but tliey need not be soliigh. The largest compartment would be forthe females and there should be a smaller onefor the males, also one for the young animalsafter they haA^e become large enough to take careof themselves. Some also make small yards inAvhich to place the females, two or three together,after the young animals are born. The most ofthose Avho have tried skunk breeding, however,haAe not found this necessary, but there shouldahvays be a separate enclosure for the males.When the nujuber of animals increases it Avill benecessary to have a few small breeding yards,large enough for ten or tAvelve animals. Oneneed not, however, make such an elaborate en-closure in the start but can enlarge it as needed,adding more compartments.

In each compartment a number of densshould be made by digging a trench and coA^er-ing afterwards. While the animals aa ill dig dens


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92 FUR FARMING.if necessary, they prefer even while in a wildstate to use dens already made. Boxes, bar-rels or pens with board floors should not beused. Some of the successful ones claim thatthis has a tendency to cause a thick pelt andthin fur and say that it is absolutely necessarythat they have natural dens in the ground. Thedens should be made quite deep so that therewill be no danger from frost in winter.

Feeding.Skunks should have plenty offood especially during* the summer and theyshould be fed at regular intervals, giving justenough for a meal each time. It is advisable togive a mixed diet, partly animal and partly veg-etable. They will eat almost all kinds of fleshand fish, table scraps, fruits, especially if veryripe, melons, sweet potatoes, berries, etc. Oneof the most satisfactory foods is bread and milk,but it is considered too expensive by some peo-ple. However, it could be given occasionally.They are very fond of carrion, but such foodshould not be given, for it is likely to cause dis-ease. If near a slaughter house one can getplenty of offal and in the country one can buyold, worn-out horses, etc., but one should remem-ber that the skunk will consume an amazing^amount of food. One party claims that threehundred skunk will eat two horses in a week.In the fall especially, when they are laying on


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SKUNK RAISING. 93fat for winter, they should have plenty of food.In winter they do not require so much.

It should be remembered that it is a lack offood that causes them to eat their young and oneshould feed well during the spring and summer.

Skunks feed largely on insects, grubs, etc.,and it is to be regretted that one can not supplythis food. They are fond of eggs, either freshor spoiled, and should be given a feed of thiskind occasionally if possible. They also have afondness for poultry of all kinds.

The matter of providing sufficient food is notas difficult as it would appear at first glance.If the farm is located near a large town or city,hotel and restaurant keepers will generally savetable scraps, stale bread, etc., on request, if onewill make a regular habit of calling for it. Evenin the country the neighbors will help out. Thefarmers will be only too glad to have you takethe dead stock, poultry, etc., thus saving themthe time and labor of otherwise disposing of it.

Breeding.As before stated the mating sea-son conies late in February and in March andthe young animals make their appearance inMay. The period of gestation being about nineweeks.One male animal will easily serve eight orten females and he should be left in their com-pany a number of days. After that he should be


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94 FUE FARMING.removed and to make certain, another maleshould be installed for a few days. Two malesshould never be allowed with the females at onetime or they Avill fight and one or both may beseriously injured. This is the plan Avhich is usedby the most successful skunk farmers and isrecommended.

Great care should be exercised in the selectionof the males for breeding stock. Only the largeand healthy animals of good color should be usedand all others should be killed and their skinsmarketed while they are in good condition.

While the animals do not always breed strict-ly true to color, the white markings may begreatly reduced and the general stock improvedby selected breeding. One should, each year se-cure fresh breeding stock from other localitiesand related animals should not be allowed tobreed together or in a few years the result willbe disastrous. One can not be too careful inthis respect for it is very important.

After the mating season the females shouldbe separated, placing three or four together insmall enclosures and they should be well fedor otherwise they may kill and eat the young.They should be allowed to remain in these smallenclosures until the young animals are largeenough to take care of themselves, when they


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SKUNK RAISING. 95should be separated and the females may againbe placed in the large enclosure.

General Information.From the com-mencement of the breeding season until late inthe fall the animals require a larger amount offood than during the winter and especially dur-ing the breeding season and while the mother isstill nursing tlie young they will require plentyof nourishing food. They require fresh drinkingwater at all times and the enclosures should beso arranged that each compartment will be sup-plied.

As before stated one should use care in select-ing animals for breeding purposes as it is inthis way that the quality of the fur will be im-proved and the business made to be a profitableone. All small and weak animals and thoseshowing considerable white fur, especially malesshould be killed off while the fur is in good con-dition. If you wish to "increase the number ofanimals do not be tempted for the sake of ui^higher prices realized for the finer skins to killoff animals that should be kept for breeding.

The animals should never be allowed to be-come frightened by the intrusion of dogs intothe enclosure dogs should be kept away atall times.

The skunk raiser must watch closely at all


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times to see that the enclosure fences are in goodshape so that the animals do not escape. If theyare found digging holes near the fence, theseholes should be filled up so as to discourage theworkers.

Fleas and other parasites are likely to botherthe animals and they should have plenty ofroom so that they can change dens when theold habitations become infested with vermin.On the whole, one should study the habitsof the animals on every opportunity and attendto their wants. If one will give the proper at-tention to the animals and take an interest inthem there is no reason Avhy he should not suc-ceed.


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CHAPTEE VII.MINK RAISING.

CHEREis only one species of mink found

in North America, altho there are a num-ber of varieties differing in size, color andquality of fur. Thus we find in North-ern Maine and New Brunswick a very smallvariety having a fine silky fur of a very darkshade; farther west and south a somewhat largervariety, paler in color, and thruout the Mississ-ippi valley and parts of the south, also partsof Western Canada, a very large mink is found,but running quite pale, and the fur somewhatcoarser than the northeastern varieties.Again, on parts of the Pacific Coast, a verysmall and poorer quality are found, and themink from the lower Yukon River of Alaskaare said to be of very poor quality. One ormore varieties are found in almost every partof the United States, Canada and Alaska.Wherever there is running water their tracksmay be seen; but they seem to prefer the smallerstreams, as a rule, and they will be found asplentiful in the thickly settled parts as in thewilderness.

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Mink are great travelers, but each individualanimal has his regular route and seldom ven-tures far out of his course. While thej^ travelstreams and lake shores as much as possible,they do not Iiesitate to leave the stream and cutacross country in order to reach some otherwater-course. During the mating season they alsowander away from the streams more than atother times. While they are always found inthe neighborhood of fresh water, they are not awater animal, and in following a stream, alwaysrun on the bank, but usually as near to the wateras possible.

In the thickly settled districts where the mostvaluable

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