The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 16

16 THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1936 ILVER ING OX KM Prospects of the Industry in Great Britain AN UNBEATABLE RECORD THE POLICY OF STACK'S FOX FARM Annual Expenditure Food supplies enter largely into the economics of a fox farm. Proximity to a big centre of population usually means easy food TO those contemplating taking up Silver Fox Farming the great secret of success is to start with the FINEST Foundation Stock that money can buy. Here is the unbeatable show record of the DARTMOOR herd of Silver Foxes over a- period of four years, which amply bears out our claim to being EASILY the leading herd of SILVER FOXES in the British Isles. calculates, after allowing for the cost of a hole-time man. Another farmer is of the opinion that it is almost impossible to say how much stock any individual will require to make a given income.

It depends on the attention and ability given to sales. Those ho sell furs direct to the public can obviously make more than those who sell only in the raw fur market. The sale of live stock is another matter to be considered. This is the most profitable way of selling, but it entails looking for a market by judicious advertising, and from a business point of view it is better not to reckon these sales in the possible income for the year. If three or four pairs are sold the profits will be correspondingly increased.

Future Markets The first silver-fox farm in Great Britain was started in Scotland in 1920. Blue foxes have been in these islands since 1930, and are gaining in popularity. The number of fox farms of standing in this country is said to be remarkably small compared with the great possibilities offered by the industry. A recent estimate puts the number of farms I A I is to supply only the very best cubs as breeding stock to established Farms and to the new entrant. Cubs can be ranched for one year to enable pupils to partake in all work such as preparing food, inoculating foxes, pilling, to the end that they may be thoroughly competent to take over the care of their own foxes, assured of success on their own farm.

We have always set our faces against the half-litter plan and absentee owner it is not done, as far as we know, in'any other kind of farming and we cannot see how it can work to the satisfaction of both sides. If the animals do not breed it is a dead loss to all concerned, while if they breed well on the half-Utter plan, the farmer would have been much better off to have used the pen for a pair of his own foxes from which he would get the whole output. Stack's Fox Farm offers to all clients full feeding charts all facilities to pupils to partake in routine work on the farm furs can be marketed for clients if desired. The Dartmoor Fur Farms win more Championships and First awards than any other breeder, including the Cub Championship and Pale Silver Championship, both for the third year in succession. A 1934 Dartmoor Client wins the Novice Championship.

The Dartmoor Fur Farms win more than twice as many Championship Awards as all the other Silver Fox Farms in the country put together. The Dartmoor Fur Farms wm more Championships and First awards than any other six farms put together. The Dartmoor Fur Farms win more Championships and First awards than any other six farms in the country put together. 1935 1934 1933 1932 For full particulars' apply to: COMMANDER C. M.

STACK, R.N. (Retired), STACK'S FOX FARM, FRININGHAM LODGE, DETLING, near MAIDSTONE, KENT DARTMOOR SILVER FOX FUR FARMS CHAGFORD, DEVON, ENGLAND IF YOU SEEK AN OUTDOOR LIFE REMUNERATIVE OCCUPATION '-e Owners of silver-fox farms in Great Britain speak optimistically of the future of the industry. There are, they say, good prospects for people with some capital who are willing to work and are fond of the open-air life of the country. They expect to see a substantial increase in the number of farni3 in the next few years, and thej declare that there is plenty of room in the market for the products of the farms. One of the chief reasons for this optimism i3 the conviction of experts in the trade that the fashion for fox aB a fur will not alter.

There may be variations with regard to the make-up of the article for wear, but, it is contended, there is no alternative fur to replace the fox fur. Added to that argument is the fact that women are fond of fox furs. The successful silver-fox farmer must be trained and work according to a plan approved by experience. It is no use hujing land and foxes on the assumption that profits will naturally follow. Much has to be learned first.

Though authorities differ as to the length of the training period, they advise beginners to start as pupils on farms where the stock is to be bought. Some beginners find a few months sufficient, while others prefer to remain on a farm for twelve months to see the whole cycle of mating, whelping, rearing, and finally pelting or Eell-ing. In every case, however, the beginner is advised to go to a farm whose owner is a member of the Silver-Fox Breeders' Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Members of this body only sell animals registered in the association's stud-book, and the foxes, therefore, have been passed by an inspector as being good, sound breeding stock. The beginner should inquire into the breeding and show records of the farm.

The cost of feeding and housing is no more for good fox than for an indifferent one, and it is false economy to try and cut capital expenditure by buying cheap stock. Arrangements are generally made for the foundation stock of a new farm to be kept on the parent ranch for the first breeding season that is to say, for twelve months after purchase. Starring a Farm The usual method of starting a farm, says a booklet on the subject, is for the purchaser to buy a few-pairs of foxes as a beginning, from which he can build up his herd to the required number. Good average foundation stock will cost from 100 to 125 per pair. The cost of pens, dens, kennels, can be reckoned at 15 per pair, and a Ruard fence to enclose, say, two acres, would cost less than 50, while the fox kitchen and other necessary equipment should not cost more than 40.

These prices do not include labour, and are based on a fair average msr, nf inTiorial The actual amount of, capitai required to start a farm of five pairs would work out at between 700 and 750. This does not include the purchase of land, but the most suitable ground for a fox farm is useless for any other purpose and should therefore be picked up fairly ciieaply. A three-pair farm could be started for about 500, but whatever the initial size it must be remembered that to the capita! outlay must be added the cost of living and expenses of the farm until such time as the returns begin to come in. Almost any kind of land, it is pointed out, will do for fox farming so long as it is well drained and dry. To ensure this a slope is necessary, and if the slope is to the south or west so much the better.

Poor land which will not yield a crop or woods from which the timber has been cut will make a verv satisfactory farm provided proper attention is given to detail. REVIEW OF THE IHDUSTRY Free. "Silver Fox: A Career or an Investment (Illustrated). CHAPTERS: Trade Facts. Health.

Breeding Notes. Suitable Locations and General Equipment. The Sussex Fox. How to start. Summary.

The Sussex Plan. This book is issued for the benefit of future Sussex clients and is designed to give a comprehensive review of the Industry such as every investigator needs. It is kept up to date and is now in its 5th edition. We commend it to those whose patronage we seek with the assurance that though a Sussex client may continue as such for many years, yet the information given will always stand to our credit as valuable, detailed, not over-optimistic but essentially sound and correct. Hote.

by the Atdsrshst Cemmind Herss thaw. supplies. From accurate accounts kept over a period of jears," says one firm of breeders. we find that we can put the cost of feeding an adult fox at 4 10s. per annum, while the cost to feed a cub to pelting time is about 3.

Thus. taking the annua! production of a twenty-pair farm us being sixty cubs raised, the cost of food for one year would be in the neighbourhood of 350. On the assumption that there is no paid labour on a farm of this size, about 150 should cover other incidental expenses, such as rates, insurance, veterinary items, telephone, postages, stationery, subscriptions, carriage and cartage. cost of treating the pelts, registration, depreciation, making a total annual expenditure of 500, excluding advertising." The fox is a carnivorous animal and requires flesh as the major por tion of his diet. Rabbit, ox heart, tripe, and liver figure largely in most diets, while some farmers give horse flesh on account of its cheapness.

Eggs and milk are in the diet for cubs and nursing vixens. Certain cereals, green vegetables, fruit, fresh-ground bone, cod-liver oil, and a varietv of other ingredients in small proportions are required to build up a balanced ration. There are several milk foods now on the market, and makers of dog foods suppjy biscuits specially adapted for both silver and blue foxes. Dealing with capital outlay, a well-known fox farmer states that at an expenditure of 2,000 a man can train himself and equip and stock a farm which will give as good a return as he is likely to get from any business into which he puts his money. But he gives this warning "While the market for fox skins in this country alone is capable of almost indefinite expansion, a fox farm is no use to the man who looks for quick profits and who is not prepared to suffer the discomforts of an all-day job all the year round.

Foxes, like other lie stock, have to be fed every day of the three hundred and sixty-five, Sundays and Bank Holidays included, and they have to be fed at regular intervals. Only disappointment faces the man who is not prepared to recognise that. Given these qualities and the necessary financial' backing, the industry offerB real' attractions. I commend it specially to the attention of the man retiring from ser ice or employment abroad, particularly if, in addition to the nest egg he proposes to devote to the starting of his farm, he has a pension to see him through the early difficulties." Selling the Furs The ultimate aim of all fox farmers is to sell furs, and it is the practice on most farms to do this in two tvaj s. Furs are sent in the raw state to be sold at the auctions in London, which is the central fur market of the world.

Buyers come from all parts to attend them. This method of selling is the least lucrative, though it has the advantage of small selling costs. Auctioned pelts have to provide a profit to the manufacturing furrier who buys them and a further profit to the shop which finally disposes of the furs to the public. The second method is to dress and mount the skins ready for wear, and the stoles, or "ties," as they are called in the trade, can then be sold retail. These will fetch a much better price than if sold in the raw state, but against that is the cost of mounting and advertising.

The sales will be spread over a much longer period. Mentioning 14 per skin as a conservative estimate, a farmer states that sixty cubs should produce a revenue of at least 840, giving a net profit of 340. The corresponding figures for a forty-pair farm will show a profit of at least 500, he THE SUSSEX FOSTER'S FOX FARM Prop. B. A.

LE NEVE FOSTER ROYSTON HERTS (372 miles irom London) BREEDERS OF HIGH-GRADE SILVER FOXES Silver Fox farming offer a profit yield equal to that obtainable from any other form of livestock breeding. There ii ample room for expansion in the industry and an assured market for furs. All took on this farm i bred from prolific, prize-winning strains, and clients are given adequate tuition in all branches under the persona supervision of the owner. ENQUIRIES INVITED FOR REGISTERED AND PEOIfiREE BREEDING STOCK VISIT THE HAMPSHIRE HIGHLAND SILVER. FOX FARM PeOULWlUeCvmany animals, prize foxes bred from prize-winners-In 1934 this Quality and Quantity ranch's average of five cubs per vixen was a record silver fox breeding.

There are opportunities in this new and thrivine Mrs. M. G. WHfNFJELD THE PIONEER WOMAN FOX FARMER concentrate on the breeding of high-grade foxes. Here you can obtain foundation stock from prize-winning strains and expert advice on all matters relating to the establishment of your own farm.

Tuition is given free until the pupil is thoroughly proficient. WRITE NOW FOR FULL DETAILS expert reckons that there will be V.n4-...nnn il "cnctu uiie Luousana ana two before the sale of breeding stock aiJlJiuituca saturation -point. is a statement on the market probabilities by Mr. G. Ennes Smith, superintendent of the Canadian Government experimental fox ranch: "The analysis of the conditions the fur trade as a whole, and in the fox industry in particular, would indicate that an overproduction of silver-fox pelts during the next fifty years would be physically impossible, and, further, that when the number of silver-fox pelts produced annually is ten times greater than at the present time, the silver fox industry will be on a better basis and a higher price will be obtained both for high-class breeding stock and pelts.

In the silver-fox industry, like every other commercial industry, it only pays to produce the best, and those fox breeders who have built up a herd of high-class breeding animals are in a sound financial position." Pnnorlo 1 -I silver-fox farming. Some Canadian rnnnpra l-or cl lirav tn--nr, Li out of season, and consequently with inferior coats, until their fur became prime "that is, at its beBt and fullest. This practice brought considerable wealth to the trappers, and the knowledge that men were making fortunes by fox farming soon spread. Great expansion took place about 1910. Until then the idea of the farmers was to sell the skins only, but the demand for foxes for breeding purposes became so great that in 1911 all available silver foxes were sold alive.

At first it was thought that the best results would be obtained by farming the animals under conditions approximately as closely to nature as possible, but experience has shown that pairs of foxes can be successfully kept in pens with an adequate area if kennels are provided to which the foxes can retire. Quality of British Pelts Prospective fox farmers usually ask questions about foreign competition and about the comparative value of British pelts. They are informed that (1) the industry in this country is protected, and no foreign live stock can be registered in Great Britain without special permission of the Executive Committee of the Silver-Fox Breeders' Association, and (2) the British-bred skin is not only considered as good as any that come to this country from abroad but it has peculiar commercial advantages of its own. Many women who decline to wear furs which aTe a sequel to trapping and other cruel methods ask now the foxes on the farms are killed. The answer is that they are killed humanely under chloroform.

TECHHICUL HANDBOOK Commercial Silver Tox Breeding by Jar vis and McLean. Price post free. 6 sections with illustrations, charts, etc. The most up to date book on the subject, produced specially by the Company for its staff and students and approved by the chief of the Canadian Government Fox Experimental Station as ahead of all previous publications. A book essential to every fox farmer, dealing with technical matters in nontechnical language and invaluable to beginners, since it gives a comprehensive and reasoned exposition Fox Farming, backed by the extensive practical experience of the largest English farm and approved by the highest fox authority in Canada, the home of the industry.

HAMPSHIRE HIGHLAND SILVER FOX FARM.itlUUKN, Rev ALTON, HANTS, ERflUKO 74 or THE BUXTED SILVER FOX FARM BUXTED, SUSSEX (MembM oJ The SUtk-Fox Breeders Aocition Gre Bnurn nd Northern IreUnd) OUR POLICY is to offer you good foxes, combining qusJity witfi prolificacy, at a fair price. To maintain a herd of, medium dimensions, to every member of which personal attention can be given. To specialise in the supply of high-cbui breeding stock only, to the novice fanner without having recourse to any complicated sales policy. We shall Welcome you as pupil at Roxted. and by working with the owner personally you will have every opportunity of learning how yonr ownfarm should be run.

And when, in due coarse, you feci sufficiently confident to stand on your own, yon win still have the knowledge that the parent farm is behind you. willing and ready to give you unstinted advice and assistance- SILVER FOX FARMING presents a splendid occupation to those desiring an open-air life and a most interesting and lucrative business. One of the secrets of success is to obtain stock from the most reliable strain, and tuition from a fssai run on modern and scientific lines. The Lake District Simr Fox Farm combines both these features with animals of the highest reputation as prize winners and prolific breeding. Tuition is given free and every assistance in establishing herds to those purchasing stock, and 100 increase is guaranteed the first year.

To those interested a visit to this farm is cordially welcomed and for further particulars apply to: THE LAKE DISTRICT SILVER FOX FARM NEWTON MANOR, GOSFORTH, Cumberland R. HARTLEY (Member S.F.B.A.) Station-SEASCALE TELEPHONE; ITKlf fr- jjj. By the aid of such facilities as are provided Sussex Plan a beginner can make a safe sidprahlp nutlav Th0 th VL- jS? eF fo3E industry without a con- lients TndtotyiJent fe Fh 'H01. the application of the principles of co-operation between It Is MmanentlilHS. a 8 flX our C3re inured at Lloyd and legally secured to its owner, rrno rXnrit an be expanded at known rate and cost so that a herd adequate for its SKrk tZ tw Tv.5 J-llr 1 outlay.

The Sussex PIau has sod of 8 years' practical work, while the combined herd is the lanrpsr. rmrnHont aro enroarl jnn PiDticsnoas i wilBngly sent, or better see as and the farm. still, come down to Basted and Proprietor: B. H. EILOART, M.C SUSSEX FUR FARM ASHES, MAYFIELD, -SUSSEX- 'sVtkmmi HADLOW DOWN Ms.

MAYFIELD A CROV9BOROUGM. CaMoa: SUSFOX, PiVI ACHU..