FUR FARMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 June 1923, Page 4

FUR FARMS.

NEW CA XA DIA X ENT ERL' RIS E. EDMONTON. Alberta, Apiil I I. Practical trapper* of Albert.! state that fortunes are going to le made soon by people having Miilii ielit kno.vlerlge of th" life uf the smaller furhoari n:> jiiiimaK to ‘'/aim” niuxk-iat•; and beaver, [•'or many years, the supply o' fox lynx, wolf, marten, and other pelts has been (’-.’creasing, w L-i lo the dcmand for tine furs, since the end of ike war, has been steadily increasing. witli lbe result that the nrico ot ul! the iaw pelts Dripped in the north has been going higlie: and higher, and of course. the manufactured fur goads have been compelled to keep pane. For several years now. the heaver baboon protected by the Government, and verv lew animals have been trapped. Tin- Pc::ver is now coining back to itch! haunts, and it is possible tlmt trapping may bo ic-openo:! within a year or two. Meantime, heaver pelts are a rarity, and naturally, command high price-. With, the demand for fine turs constantly growing, fur dealer- began, so,tic ten years ago. to offer a price el al.-nu a shilling a. skin for musk-rat hide-. To-day none of the smaller fur-t.-earers hold so high a place in the esteem of the trant er, itir trader, mnimfa.turer and general public as dees the nitre despised musk-rat. In the guise of Hudson seal, the beautiful fur coats made from the humble musk-rat are prized in every las!.ion centre. So a move is 1 oing made to breed the nuisk-rat and the beaver on a commercial scale. The territory which is to-day the habit, t of the musk-rat. and was formerly the habitat al-o of the heaver is the vast, water-dot ted region of Northern Alberta, and it i> here tin t fur farming is expect 'd to make new fortunes for those, who know something of the musk-rat or heaver and their habits. All that is required is suitable water, with lots of water weed and vegetable growth, and plenty uf small timber near the water of a growth which is natural almost all over the country. The area must -be . suitably wired to prevent- the escape of tho rodents, and well watched against predatory trappers and against preying wolf or questing great owl. The musk-rat is very tame and quite unabashed by the presence of human beings.

As a propagator of his species, he rivals the famous Australian bunny. Marrying at the tender age of nine months, lie raises families of from five to twelve at a litter, three times a year, and his first family is ready to go oft' anil marry by the time the third litter is born.