FEEDING TIME
seasons liave been adveitised from
time to time for them, and apparently
without and regards to their needs,
suchi closed seasons being a signal for
their almost complete extermination—
the prices paid for their pelts being
much higher at this time.
Slightly more than forty-eight years
ago the idea of raising furbearing ani
mals in captivity and for their fur,
occurred to a few, and contrary to the
general impression it was in the
United States where the first at
tempts were made and not in Canada,
as many now suppose. In parts of
Canada much greater progress has
been made than here in fur farming
for profit, due to the fact that Canada
is not as rich in a mineral way as
Alaska, and more attention being paid
to other pursuits.
The fur farmers of Canada deserve
great praise for the wonderful devel
opment work they have been doing
along breeding up marvelous strains
in black and silver foxes. The Cana
dian government went promptly to the
aid of the fur farmers and has tech
nical men investigating the needs and
diseases of the fox, and much credit is
due them for the aid they have so
freely given.
Many Professional Men Engaged
Another thing that has greatly ad
vanced the industry, is that it has
attracted to its ranks ten times more
doctors and physicians than of any
other profession. These being men of
the highest educational attainments,
they must of necessity have broad
minds and keen visions, and it is but
natural that they should see the great
future for fur farming. Some of these
men are still practicing medicine, but
the great majority have retired from
active practice and are giving all their
time to the industry. These men who
stand foremost in their profession,
now head fox corporations running up
to six figures in value.
Pioneers in the Industry.
We trust it will not be out of place
to mention the names of a few men
who are pioneer leaders in the fur
industry, and whose unselfishness in
» giving out valuable information to be
ginners and others make them out
standing figures. Dr. WTilliam P.
Hutchins, of Los Angeles, California,
retired, is head of a $300,000 fox cor
poration; his work has done a great
deal to popularize the industry and
expand it in the Western States.
Dr. George Harvey Walker, also of
Los Angeles, for many years occu
pied the chair of materia medica in
v' the Medical Institute of Southern
California, has done much, and espe
cially assisted the writer while making
research in the care and treatment of
foxes.
a-ju. ju. v^ai mituaci) ucau ui luc
Diagnostic Laboratories of Los Ange
les, who with his father once practiced
medicine in Fairbanks, is taking great
interest in the game.
In Canada two outstanding figures
in foxdom are Dr. E. A. Randall, of
Truro, Nova Scotia, who has each year
4 for a number of years, printed a small
booklet of facts pertaining to the
, raising of silver foxes which he sells
for two bits each to defray the cost
of printing and mailing, and in addi
tion answers many thousands of per
sonal letters each year, giving free
advice on the care of foxes. Dr. Leo
Frank, head of a large fox company
at Charlottetown, P. E. Island, broad
casts information worth thousands of
dollars to breeders.
V Due to the lure of gold, Alaska, with
the finest wild furs in the world, is
the last to come into the ranks of
the fur rancher, but is now fast mak
ing up lost time.
Blue Foxes First Raised.
Blue fox ranching on islands in the
ocean and along the coast of Alaska
was the first to attract the attention
of the commercial world. The blue
for appears to be a color phase of the
j white fox, and appears to thrive best
| on salt water. Six pairs of blue foxes
were taken to interior Alaska a year
j ago, and reports are that they did not
I do well and that no pups were raised.
; On the islands the blue foxes run at
| large and thrive wonderfully. They
i have on an average much larger litters
than do silver foxes.
Because of the great distances by
water many of these island ranchers
are far from their neighbors, and are
compelled to work out their many
problems single handed and alone, and
almost wholly without any help from
the many Government bureaus which
draw the taxpayers money for the
very purpose; not even will it deliver
his mail to him. Instead of aiding a
growing industry the ranchers have
been held up, pestered and nagged by
! government bureaus. He is denied
the right to homestead his island lo
cation; denied the right to purchase
it; denied any way of protecting his
investments and improvements. No
two islands are alike, and when the
rancher has learned his business on
one island, then is forced by higher
rentals or some silly whim of a de
partment clerk, to move to another
island, he must learn his business all
over again. If through business re
verses, sickness or some other cause
he fails to pay his ever-increasing
yearly rentals, he loses his location,
his home, his improvements and his
ranch. He must have a double-bar
reled license to do business, and his
product is taxed as fast as it matures.
And now he is forbid by law to catch
the fishes that swim in the deep blue
sea, to feed his foxes with. But in
spite of these pesky regulations, the
blue fox ranchers have had two big
years’ business, and the outlook for
the future is very bright.
Many Ranches Coming Into Existence
In the Interior of Alaska, silver
black fox ranches are coming into ex
istence almost every day, and in les
ser numbers mink, marten, beaver
and muskrat ranches have been estab
lished, most of which are largely of
an experimental nature.
In this connection there is wonder
ful work that could be performed by
the Alaska Agricultural Experimental
j Farms in determining the best varie
’ ties of carrots, peas, rutabagas, sugar
| beets, parsnips, hay and some other
farm products required by the fur
farmer. They could experiment with
and determine the best breed of goats
for Alaska and for the fur farmer, and
not leave all this to the lone rancher,
who may not have the time or means
to purchase all the different breeds
and determine the one best breed.
Goats’ Milk Fed to Pups
Experiments are now being made
by the writer with pure-bred Swiss
Toggenburg goats. These goats do not
have the usual goat odor; nor does
the milk taste goaty. Minerals are
mixed with their feed and they are
thriving. Goat’s milk has eight per
| cent more vitamines than codliver oil.
It is well known that there are cer
tain spots or zones in Alaska, where
due to the mineral content of the
ground or to some other cause, fur
bearing animals that live in these
zones have better conformation, are
larger and have more beautiful fur
than those living in other regions, and
often not many miles distant. These
zones could be laid off on a map and
marked with the kind of fur animal
and quality of fur in each zone. This
would be a great aid and saving in
time and money to a prospective fur
farmer, and enable him to locate at
once in the zone best adapted for the
fur that he intends to raise.
Veterinarian Should Be Handy
Then a man skilled in the care and
treatment of animals should be avail
able to suggest best methods of feed
ing and housing and sanitation. Give
information on breeding to produce a
definite strain, which all ranchers are
striving for. Determining and treat
ing diseases, especially parasites.
Calling in help after an animal has
taken ill has very small value. It
should be raised in healthy surround
ings, and fed a properly balanced ra
tion.
The perfect fox or other fur bear
ing animal has not yet been raised,
and only very remotely approached.
The thoughtful breeder is striving to
each year produce better pups than
he did the year before, and to develop
a definite strain in his herd.
Wild Animals Not Good
There seems to be a gen&raF but
mistaken impression, even among
some of the Government Bureaus, that
a fur rancher sets out a few traps
and is very lucky if he adds a few
wild animals to his ranch. One wild
animal added to a ranch of pure bred
stock (if for breeding purposes) would
cause as great a loss financially as an
epidemic might do. An exception
would be where a few wild animals
were used for scientific research
work in connection with the study of
anthelmintics and the like.
Suppose a company was being
formed to raise high grade horses,
and announced they were not going
to purchase any pure bred foundation
Stock, but would go out on the plains
and catch a few small, inbred cayuses
(Continued on Page 23)
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