FUR FARMING SECTION
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
This section Is open for discussion of anything pertaining
to fur farming.
Information concerning stock, site, house and pen con
struction, equipment, cost, breeding, mating, feeding, cooking
recipes, sanitation, prevention of contagious diseases, disinfec
tion, trapping, killing, pelting, marketing, packing, shipping
and other notes are welcomed for publication,—with due credit
to the author.
This section is intended to be the common meeting ground
for fur farmers. Interchange of ideas, helpful information* con
structive suggestions anent these particulars should readily
solve vexatious problems of fur farming. Readers are urged to
take advantage of this section and help The Gateway foster fur
farming throughout Alaska.
BLUE-FOX FARMING IN ALASKA
(By Frank G. Ashbrook, Bureau of Biological Survey)
ESSENTIALS OF BREEDING
Success in fox raising is directly
dependent upon a careful and in
telligent selection of the right type j
of breeding stock. Those engaged j
in the industry should have a clear j
conception of the important fac- j
tors involved in breeding. When I
the animals are confined in pens
and the ancestry is known, select
ive breeding is a comparatively
simple matter. When the foxes
run wild and breed promiscuously,
however, as is the case on the is* j
lands of Alaska, it is impracticable
to follow any definite system. In
other words, the rancher is never
quite sure that certain young fox
es are the offspring of any par
ticular pair of adults. Some ranch-'
ers, of course, may feel reasonably
certain of the ancestry of one, two
or even three litters on an island,
but this is generally a very small
part of the breeding operations.
The real basis for selecting breed
ing foxes is the quality of fur pro
duced. Indications from conform
ation occupy a secondary- place.
PELTS
At the time the foxes are trapped
to pelt, the rancher should care
fully select and retain desirable
animals for breeding stock. The
pelt should be perfectly and evenly j
furred all over, both on the back
and on the belly. A. fur that is rea
sonably long, lustrous and silky
indicates that the animal is in good
physical condition. The under-fur
should be abundant, soft and dark
in color, the darker the better.
Matted or woolly under-fur is not
desirable.
When prime, a blue fox should be
a dark maltese color throughout
the entire pelt. Clearness of color
is one of the most important fac
tors in determining quality. De
ficiency in luster and a rust or
tinge, which gives a brownish or
chocolate cast to the fur, reduce
the value. A breeding fox possess
ing a rusty pelt, no matter to what
degree, should be eliminated. a|
perfectly furred pelt, slightly ting- j
ed, is less valuable on the fur mar-1
ket than one fairly well furred but j
clear in color. Rust or tinge has
been attributed to many causes, in
eluding breeding, feeding and sun
light. It is possible that heredity '
is a determining factor and that j
the undesirable characteristic can ;
be eliminated by careful selection.
The term “samson” is applied to .
foxes devoid of guard hairs and
having a very inferior woolly fur.
This condition has been variously
attributed to feeding, breeding and i
parasites. The real cause is not!
definitely known, and for this rea- i
son it is highly inadvisable to use
such foxes for breeding. The pelts'
have small value on the market, j
The brush should be reasonably «
long, in order to balance properly
with the length of the body. The
general principles determining the
quality of fur on other parts of the
body are equally applicable to the
brush.
CONFORMATION
Conformation involves the indi
vidual structure of each part as a
unit. A defect in any part offsets
to some extent an otherwise per
fect structure. Some parts, as the
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chest, back, loin or leg, are rela
tively of greater importance than
the others; a deficiency in such
parts would have more effect on
the serviceability of the whole than
a similar inferiority elsewhere.
Constitutional vigor is evidenced
by a well-developed heart girth,
chest, front flank and loin, and
both vixen and dog should be deep,
wide and well coupled in these re
gions. There should be no indica
tion of a pinched appearance be
hind the shoulders or in the loin.
If breeding foxes are strong in
these regions it is safe to assume
that, other things being equal,
they have strong lungs and heart,
and consequently are stronger,
healthier and more able to resist
disease.
BREEDING
It is to be constantly borne in
mind that blue foxes are not do
mesticated animals in any sense of
the term. The purpose of breed
ing blue foxes is to produce good
fur and to improve the stock. The
business of blue-fox ranching is
comparatively new, and he who
would succeed in it must give it
careful thought, study the moods of
the animals, and prepare himself |
to meet intelligently emergencies
as they arise. Many companies
formed for the sole purpose of
raising foxes have failed because
}f the great difficulty in hiring a
deeper having the necessary per
sonal interest hi the welfare of the
mimals. The more thoroughly a
nan studies breeding practices and
lis foxes, the more closely he may
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Your raw fur skins dressed
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Write for free catalogue.
JONAS BROS.
1030 Broadway, Denver, Colo.
January 26
February 16
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May 17
June 21
July 19
August 23
September 20
October 18
November 22
December 20
Advances will be made
jls usual when request
ed. Transferred by tel
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Special sales held on
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65 marion street viaduct
SEATTLE USA
approach a uniform degree of suc
cess in his breeding operations.
Tlie ony method of breed im
provement that the blue-fox farmer
can use, unless he is raising the
animals in pens, is grading and
close culling of inferior stock. On
islands where steel traps are used
instead of trap-feed houses, all ani
(Please turn to P«"c Three)
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NEW YORK
Wants Your
FURS
The purchasing power
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Let us put you on our
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[NEW YORK AUCTION Cftl
'Incorporated
226 West 26th Street
NEW YOK
The lihUST place for
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I AT
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MS ROLPH III
t Leaves Seward 20th
of each month
i
Capt. Pete Sather
For Charter or Hire
WHEN WINTER COMES
IS YOUR house packed to the eaves with tremend
ous stores of flour . . . meat . . . clothing . . . and
other supplies to carry you through the long winter?
Not very likely!
But if not, won’t you—like the butterfly that
played all summer without a thought of the cold
days to come—won’t you be in danger of facing
famine, months before spring comes around again?
Certainly not!
When wintry winds are blowing their coldest,
and the storm is wailing like forgotten banshees on
the roof-top, the chances are you may be eating juicy
strawberries from Costa Rica and fresh asparagus
from Florida. For the day of storing up supplies
against the barrenness of winter has gone forever.
It has passed when America ceased to be a lot ofj
scattered communities, and became a nation united
by swift line of transportation.
As you read the advertisements telling you just
what the stores contain for you, fresh to your order,
remember that here are the inexhautible store
rooms of today . . . storerooms that have banished
forever the anxieties that went with the snows el
yesteryear.