. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETllSr 1350, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE Government and to claim others by squatters' rights for engaging in fur farming. So great has been the demand for islands that practically all the desirable ones under the control of the Depart- ment of Agriculture are leased for the purpose. A number of individuals in Alaska have attempted to raise blue foxes in pens, and recent reports show that some of them have been successful (fig. 2). In addition, litters of blue foxes have been pro- duced in captivity at the exp
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETllSr 1350, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE Government and to claim others by squatters' rights for engaging in fur farming. So great has been the demand for islands that practically all the desirable ones under the control of the Depart- ment of Agriculture are leased for the purpose. A number of individuals in Alaska have attempted to raise blue foxes in pens, and recent reports show that some of them have been successful (fig. 2). In addition, litters of blue foxes have been pro- duced in captivity at the experimental fur farm of the Biological Survey, in New York State, as well as on ranches in other parts of the United States. A number of ranchers and raw-fur buyers main- tain that blue-fox pelts produced in pens lack the quality and finish of those produced in the wild. This has been held to be the case with silver foxes also. Approximately 90 per cent of the silver-fox pelts sold on the raw-fur market in 1924, however, were from ranch- bred Fig. 1.—Sections of the Alaska coast where blue-fox pi'oduction is becoming an important Industry: 1. Southern Alaska. 4. Kodiak-Afognak region. 2. Prince William Sound region. 3. Islands off the Alaska Peninsula. 3. Lower Cook Inlet region. 6. Aleutian Islands. Because the number of islands available for fox ranching is lim- ited, those already engaged in the business should determine as quickly as possible whether blue foxes can be produced profitably in pens. If this is found possible, blue-fox ranching can spread to the mainland of Alaska, to Canada, and to the United States. With the resulting growth of the industry, there will be an increased demand for breeding stock as well as for pelts. Blue-fox ranching is in a condition similar to silver-fox produc- tion in that it is an industry of too recent development to be sup- ported by the results of extensive study and research. Sufficient is known, however, to assist beginners
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