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OUTDOOR
OPPORTUNITIES
The Raising and Care of Small
Animals, Birds and Plants
Published by
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
The Raising and Care of Small Animals,
Birds and Plants
A Practical Treatise on the Raising and
Care of Small Animals, Birds and
Plants for Profit and Pleasure
120 ILLUSTRATIONS
PUBLISHED BY
OUTDOOR ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING CO.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Copyright by Edw. H. Stahl, 1922
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FOREWORD
Realizing the importance of placing in the hands of the
people a book that is adaptable to individual requirements for
an occupation deriving pleasure and profit at the same time
and thus meeting a big general demand—is the aim of
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
a book dedicated to the vast army of Opportunity Seekers.
Ever since the dawn of history the great outdoors has
offered the best that is in the way of satisfying the yearnings
of the Opportunist. The determination of the Opportunity
Seeker at first to capitalize his project with brains and energy
rather than money have been the chief assets of success. With
this in mind, the publishers of OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES secured
some of the most learned authorities to treat upon the various
subjects herein. In all instances, the Opportunity Seeker will
be surprised to learn of the little outlay of money which is nec-
essary to start him on the way to build a successful industrial
career, starting in spare time and building up until it will
mean the full-time service of himself and others.
Opportunity is the corner stone upon which great indus-
tries are built. Every man, woman, boy and girl seek the
great outlet of opportunity to work up to a successful career.
The purpose of OvuTpoorR OpporTUNITIES is to satisfy those
longings of ambition because everybody is interested in some
kind of animal, bird or plant, in an occupation which is fol-
lowed in the great outdoors, combined with the principle of
profit, as well as being assured of health and happiness, which
are of inestimable value. OuTpoorR OPPORTUNITIES Will mean
the crowning achievement of hundreds of Opportunity Seekers.
Should any reader want additional information upon any
of the subjects treated in this book, he may write to us, and
we will advise him thereon, as our services are at your com-
mand.
The publishers wish to express their great appreciation
of the assistance of the writers and those who helped in the
illustrations of this work.
Successfully yours,
OuTpDOOR ENTERPRISE PUBL*SHING COMPANY.
Edw. H. Stahl }
Jas. Bunt if Compilers.
July, 1922.
EDITORS OF SMALL-STOCK MAGAZINES
JAS. BUNT W. HB. BLAIR
Managing Editor Outdoor Editor ‘‘Rabbitcraft”’
Enterprises
EDW. H. STAHL
Editor Outdoor Enterprises
©
JOHN) EDR: FRANK H. HOLLMAN
Editor Pet Stock Journal Editor American Pigeon Journal
PROMINENT MEN OF THE SMALL-STOCK
INDUSTRY j
LEWIS H. SALISBURY RAYMOND L. PIKE
TW ACY @lEx
ALLAN C. SMITH V, REED STORMS
6S C8 WN (Ss OW. ite 2 0S he
a
a
CONTENTS
Page
AB yey) RES V MONT Bacal bral o 0 S110) (5 eae ane ORE Crome tr fer 9
Lilee Se (OMe Wai DG ES) 5 cic nn ra 8 Ree rk 100
Mie Milles OA. MMCWSULY chen cis od cle ase Qeeee teehe ac PERN ccc ni BoE
Pie wh iT searant ae: MMOS ty ack kes lek Sons ays Seu op ne 124
The Fox Industry Lee eat Gu: Fares Mees otis eis colina, atte lenient 146
MHE PST RECs LIM USELY a ccntsecanct ate fala abet wie wie. ocean ee reueat 153
Gab acti! WIC SY hp eriye oer ong ee tis Nae phy Sie AS ely) Sin eh a bie 158
RYN kaa Bo) <a ORR bee ens ume ae DEE atk aid ee aN | Ae PU ge TS 167
Raising ang: Care vor iOacs cs oust tss oe ok oe Beaten 180
ike: PiSeon TWVGUS tiny osha mane tees os HA ae co date aa ees 189
ihe. Pheasant, Mid ustry ser ees tetas bactave a hese ee ae 20H:
Caze-and Management of (Bantams. p...5\2c.4.56008ee 215
ME (| AMV AIY wcities! cree a's 31a Sb Mocs eee hea 220
Making Money with)-Beesie yo. 2. iat eas. 6 > sce eee 226
THE ROR Mane, o's’ hence boice let eke 8, ot ee ae 232
Mushroonr “Growin: 3.65) 054% le oe ee ee 236
History ol (Ginsene. 6.16. oe eee ee 241
Golem Bea aa. iene yoo ce. Seve ay 40 a nee 247
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
EDITORS OF SMALL STOCK MAGAZINES
James Bunt, W. H. Blair, Edw. H. Stahl, John C. Fehr and
ISS ey Tea, MEMO TINA Sere w ntcedepe se =: wheter teaoraeme ce mlecolawen deme omen sey ays 4
PROMINENT MEN OF THE SMALL STOCK INDUSTRY
Lewis H. Salisbury, Raymond L. Pike, I. W. Taylor, Allan
GaSintihe VW seed “SCOrMB is «cae ail ecte ween dhe suas meth amends 5
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY
TSU) OST Ro ELEN ei SEERA ote ae RUER PMES acd r MAEM, Blot Ge yS sono lore LOS 13. 4, 43
HE COROTrOCICKaAmG! IVUACIR es Sih .a ohd Sens Sareea ace shoe he nen caret en arene 18
ullennls tte Grin tee Behe hore es ek ve yc eke ee eae) oS NL ce Mae acetic sapere 20
INiGAN ee WASSER EB ai le a BNO Gl Gee hes Ih ein rie taraa hel) cio ronae Taha tually Misdoeu Badttokcte 23
Hxhibitine:) DressedmitabpOlts mami) ss iUneStane wcisti-me rae ene SNA eo
Belevani Hameo ten 2 cee Pedic, ic see eeaena bi eaad Tyce’, 4 yea ccmaner: hie Ome a 31
LEVEN TAIT Ayes CBee Wah oh ee cart eles wR sae Oat Sane ce WU ROM Imra me MeO Pdba hy. Suhel. rae 36
INGE Oa LANG sD) © Geen ieee eis san et cae le a eye, chee Getic ats ene 4]
Wane: GHATS. M5. ee ake eect d woe ps) bra, ab eeweniile me speabas ys (ere oo bus SiR 47, 88
Ship pine: Crate oaks ce GR ee DD EAPrre ck HY Seek abe, ee ee
MA Se Claaske cy dita oS ESRINS es cie G ee Ade ei cease aie Woes sy Al tba ete anal to Me 49
TESA MASTOTEGI EG a(t Ran Rapa ree oe Rl, Eee Leng At ae RR ir Oem mercies ty Ali 51
JENA) ET SNe AICO a ie ag yet Sh CoA Site (at ee RN Pe eS Cae ere a 54
DRESS allo onthe ee? Sa beats eust ecco teas ata. Soa wents 2 Mpa eee ogee calarte 55
conic a Can bers mV Ee Caer ACE AMICUS. ons tartar mae tian chet ccc c eae: ant tee 58
Belpian Wanm, vlaibioiby . +a. - Ele dx, Be, Od ar AINA), BE RRO oo OR oh ee: 59
(GING Che S Gwe Gol eli Leena ee say Soar tay ose este a beg oh aah or cys, cgay Seoteanra) AeA 60
ATES URE NP ee og, MONS ied CE Ree acy cy SERA ee) yh ges, RON G3), Gos 166
eve ee aril Peas tue een orient erie e kotinwes stareneeat Gum kann wel. ya susauedet eg Cero mens 69
SINTRA CIMA eatin: tas Mccaitdct ics Cceer a Tat oh se Rie Osis atts ree karate se mets oh ee)
AGnvenican. celmes | fo. dake fees g ase Bee eae eed Gish bed erices tetas « 71
PAV Ss OIG ESHOP tease fay auWtcs x nd on tet setiye hela tehess yiohs Mek ote eicele Reaeicins Ratti me Nat cantar se sy:6 74
WAAL Cees Gl SAO DASH 4 CaM tian, in Shomer tes Samara n a Eas St oO Gna ne ey ep oe 79
Rebbe veel I wrap Mo Sees asc ss oes, cae pee us IES Hanae ANIA econo 82
(ON air mal ciikl Oe hee eens te: tele as “ot aoe RRSP Aoki: Poe 8 hn athe ane eae eee 85’ 87
TRCTUT [ZA b. 9) ae RP aU) SC Re DSC A 90
THE CAVY INDUSTRY
TDvaediar TS DYSON Were Bey, BAERS Gy $i co Smee a Biot teh i en a ne me Car en oe eo 191
CBN CaCA IA Ohh CAVA yc ta ta mas eee ofa eh tena Che DONA ao Sh anth ont Cement eces ole LOZ
JED A BIGNE Se Pye eA ha en tee oro ON Eee) CO Ce ce ORE RS Sek nO 103
yak rea Maeve” (COUSIN Sens 68. Guten naa, CREME RE Se oe ane cesar ne Oe EEE Acreiny Chery oe ane cd See ee 105
tis ete eae Te ee hia avuie Wale o sk ie iatuate stare ecldvewivehebsce ss priv dale a we aces 106
ARV AGESG GHINM GINS. <i) Seinen ann iocen fe eas anion le HOA a Oe KOS. LOO. shL0
ILLUSTRA TIONS—Continued
THE GOAT INDUSTRY
Saanem (DOC hs Pee ut ee cia oe aan Pe a Oe ieieey Smcy aitsas be ee ies oN eee ere gee eS A,
Oi (Go =ac) emacs MART cc lcs taeda Taneeey eam lear trol once Sete PAPE REECE lar a. ineo ad's 114
INGOT SUC: hectic eis tons Sota Ae pater sect oad ehctyae cee ewttaeen ahea mee ke aly
INUIT IDO Ge | xe ye nea a, Pec ane La ORT RO cesta d? bo A Once et ea 118
Goat “ainda Act temic anit hiernots oer eee see ee eee eta cra ahal esas) signa ote ae cman 120
SEE TEs Th geo glean] Sub Ic] sie Gunn ne at eae ate ge ee AU pe ica ata Pad Cat ete Wenn UR PEAT oh OSS Mache 2
Si estinat ee et ceas. ceietepaaaattns Fate oa merncd ai(ah lodge sary aut ome aE eRe Mepehr eiapion et emeeae nate 126
TS Gee Pe GB an on Ne row Tac ea kc Pert epg EO Ca HRY Oat Sesotho Ce 12:7
AVEa Tile et otee eh soy ect ens Ae cape eeney mds Bs! Ree LCE RR at MME een it i tuawicte Oe 128
IVEUISI Gast Rowe ete pec ard ls MASE orn cies cee easy ha Ae RR Mee a Ooo 129
OTT ae seer ee OER alia oh IS NES Re MN OR ers y Oe a ete Pica ran Sabla a encsir atten tne 131
YO SANS KGS pees a pe te Petey ttn, cea tee de SE ee torte licen Side MacNeal ets tee pA ates 135
LDpelagh DOM CMU He Ac Berets ara kea es See ahs sk araees saypek dee Meer gece ae tc tar eer ey ee ae 139
Bo)
EVAN (OATS ARVO eh cnt et Goce ec rocee kere GlactMa cece iahdl seer ea eee cher os he Cray 147
HEIDEN ed EM Gb cl RANG S ueeM ter W i aE teh Rei PENS eR namo LRAY ros eames doe Seine Ate te 149
UNA YALE CLAVE EXC oe git oy cotisien, Saks aay Wis ROM emer ce etna c erisard aa a lca iene iy peat ee Aes aliyal
MISCELLANEOUS
TEV STNG VIGNE ocd pies Bette) ot egal aah act cate NG Pre otate ele a ORaMe eee Meme ME EO. Gi We:
YO SS taphvend one nets Rake Bee Ree arabes As bad iitaca ne canons IDs ae Debye akiict venkat Cet
(OURS nar rey Eira ie Shia Ait Bobet Aad alee, Se Are Re Ee LS PUSS; MBos SO, lesa
PAS ECOMS pra ee sENONUS Ueno) cocina ieie eee N90, LO 92, os GG Ags
PINE aASamibSeets, sceseats seats DOA AVA SOG RAO Ss AAEM er eee ens ements
] SY GLOSS da Shar apa alec Ream atirs Ona ane AEN EAE Ain Sawer PR Raion hd, eee nar 216," 2108
(CATE S Ane oo he LES aR A wlth aN Melis eta cies Te Ate eam ae Agi, 223
Bees=—Author,. William. ATES SOM: volte cue ou Ne ato ahen taeeis Z2te V229
EM DVO peat etal ee tae WA ALY 2 te AC eB a Ore Nee RY AEE UR A ore scee ts S PPA ye PAE
IVEUES TOOTS Me CaN Gites cee tan eT a Rete en Oe DS lao ee)
CIM C 1 Baar ose eG eee oe a. AE CRE crap, toh hla. oa toate a dD 242, 244
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY )
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY
Food—Fur—Fancy
HE experimental stage, the “kid” stage, of the rabbit
industry has passed.
We now have to deal with a real business of the
production of food; food of the most nutritious and valuable
kind and among the cheapest to produce of any.
Lest some should still look upon the rabbit industry
with a view of its past days of experiment and “boom” times,
we draw respectful attention to the fact that there are in
the United States alone over 50,000 persons engaged in it.
with plants and equipment and live stock valued at over
$25,000,000. Thus it will be seen to be no small industry,
when its value and backers are considered.
Can Begin With Small Capital
What possibilities are here! In no other business is
there so much opportunity for the person of small capital to
begin and make a real showing.
This business of the breeding of rabbits has now be-
come the national business of the American people, and will
be found to pay in just the proportions that we put time and
effort and thought into it. To do this intelligently requires
that we start correctly. Hence the great demand for a work
of this kind, a work beginning at the natural starting point
of the industry and continuing to its logical ‘end.
In other words, to start with the housing of the stock
and to continue the instruction to the sale of the hide of the
rabbit.
Between the extremes of “just a few for the table’ and
a large rabbitry “for commercial gain” you may find your
place and in this book find your complete instruction. Your
success from here forward will depend on YOU.
10 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
HOUSING
For Fancy and Breeding Stock
It would seem to be obvious that the first thing to do on
starting into the rabbit business, either for pleasure or profit,
would be to fix a place to put the rabbits. But it oftentimes
happens that Uncle John or Aunt Sarah gives Tommy a rab-
bit or two and there is no place for the bunnies.
What is the right course?
Construction of House
In the first place, the three main enemies of rabbits are
DRAFT, DAMP and DOGS. These we must guard against.
—Courtesy of Charles Humfeld
A MODEL RABBIT HUTCH
To eliminate the drafts we will make the back and the
two ends of our rabbit house walls of good construction to
Keep out wind. A cheap way to do this is to use a good
roofing, or to cover a board wall with building paper and then
shingle it.
Preferably the rabbit hutches should open to the south
or east and the other three sides be built solidly. Where
a stout fence or brick wall is available to build against,
this is comparatively easy.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY ii
To keep out damp we will roof the building securely, as
well as the three sides, leaving a space of not less than four
inches and preferably six inches, between the hutch walls
and the walls of our building clear around. For this reason,
the movable or portable type hutches, built in groups or sec-
tions.
As a rule these are built in sections of six, three long and
three high, each hutch being 30x30 inches square on the floor
and 18 inches high from floor to ceiling in each hutch.
There is then a sliding partition built between each two of
the group on a floor giving a hutch 30x60 inches when the
partition is out, which is the proper size for a doe with a
litter, or a larger type of rabbit, such as the Flemish or
Checkered Giants.
The bottom tier of the three rows of hutches will be
about eight or ten inches from the floor of the shed or rab-
bit-house.
The door on the front of each hutch must be the full
length and full height of that hutch. Some favor one door
for the full height of the entire three tiers or rows of hutches,
which is a very good method also, and saves some time in
the feeding period.
The door frame should be made of 1x2 common pine, the
screen being held on the inside of the door with strips of
lath nailed clear around to conceal the raw edge of the screen.
Lath may also be used to put across the corners and brace
the doors with.
Little hay-racks should be constructed against the walls
of each hutch, either accessible through a hole in the screen
of the door to put the hay in, or open on one end so that the
hay may be thrust in after the door is open.
The grain and water should be fed in heavy crocks. A
very good type of feed or water crock is handled by most rab-
bit supply houses.
Nest Boxes
Besides the water and feed crocks and the hay racks
used to equip the hutches, you will need a number of boxes
for nest boxes, to be used as in the manner described in the
section on Breeding.
12 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
These boxes may be ordinary grocer boxes, mreasuring
about ten inches high, about twelve inches wide and about
sixteen or eighteen inches long. It wiil be noted that we
say about so many inches in most of the measurements given
in this work. There is no exact rule. What we wish to do
is to help the rabbit breeder work out a system of rabbit-
keeping that shall be adaptable to the breeder’s particular
environment and circumstances. The important thing is not
the exact number of inches that each object shall measure,
but the comfort and health of the rabbit and the convenience
of the owner in their care.
The nest box, then, conforming as nearly as may be to
the given measurements, or a little larger for the Flemish
Giants and large breeds, should have the lid cleated into one
piece and hinged on at what shall be the back end. The
front or entry end will have a hole cut so that half the hole
is cut from the end of the lid of the box and half of the hole
from the end of the box. The hole should be about six inches
in diameter and rather round in shape.
The hutches and the nest boxes should all be painted
inside and out, both as a preservative and to keep germs
from lodging so freely in them. Besides it gives a finished
and business-like appearance to the rabbitry.
White or a very light color should be used inside the
hnutches and grey or olive green or some other neutral color
for the outside of the hutches. This will set off the stock
to better display advantage and help sell it.
These hutches, built in sections of three long and three
hutch high, as outlined, may be used in old sheds, if it is
not convenient to build new. Such old buildings or sheds:
must be thoroughly cleaned out and made damp and draft-
proof, before setting up a rabbitry in them.
As for dogs, be sure that your fences or outside sheds
and walls are sound, for a big dog will do some remarkable
stunts in his efforts to get at a rabbit or her young. Dogs
have been known to stalk about a rabbitry for weeks, watch-
ing the chance to get in, at last succeeding, to the destruc-
tion of a fine line of stock.
Build as many hutches at a time as you think you will
need for the stock you get and their offspring for three or
four months to come. Figure one hutch to each mature ani-
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 13
mal and one hutch for each litter for the next three months,
that you may expect to raise, after learning from this book
about what to expect.
Open Pen System for Commercial Stock
For those who desire to operate entirely upon a meat or
market basis, and who do not desire to keep the exact track
of their stock that would be required on a pedigreed-stock
basis we will show in this section a range, or pen-system of
keeping rabbits.
Select a piece of ground with a slight slope, preferably
shaded by trees or a building to some extent. Have it sloping
to the south if possible. Lay out a space about fifty feet in
length and twenty feet wide on this ground.
—Courtesy of W. J. EB. Williams
PORTABLE HUTCHES—BUILT-IN NEST BOXES IN REAR
Around the border line of the ground dig a narrow trench
twelve inches deep and set in two boards temporarily to
make a concrete form four inches wide and extending three
inches or more above ground. Run such a trench and con-
crete across one end of the space about twelve feet from the
end.
You now have a space twelve by twenty feet and another
space thirty-eight by twenty feet. Build the little concrete
walls all around and across, of about six to one mixture, that
is, six parts sand to one part cement, and mixed with water
to a fairly thin consistency.
After you have set your forms you can set the posts that
are to carry the rabbit wire, a one-inch mesh wire made for
14 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
the purpose. These posts may be set right in the forms at
the corners and then each six feet apart all around and
across the dividing line. Spaces should be left for two gates,
one into the large space and one into the small space.
Pieces of galvanized wire must be left sticking up out of
the concrete each foot or so, to fasten down the rabbit wire
to the wall between posts. Pieces of wire two feet long bent
U shape with the ends sticking up, will do.
The smail space has been left on the north end of the
patch, if possible, and a shed with back and end walls tight
will be built clear across the end of the space, twenty feet in
length. This shed will be only about four feet high and six
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A PORTABLE HUTCH DESIGN, SHOWING SIDE
AND END VIEWS
‘a
feet wide. The back side of it will be about two and a halt
feet high, thus giving a good pitch to the roof. This roof
is hinged on in sections so that it may be raised in filling
the grain and hay hoppers beneath. These grain and hay
hoppers occupy ten feet of the length of the shed, three feet
for grain and seven feet for hay, the other ten feet of the
shed’s length being occupied by rows of stalls or boxes,
built-in.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 15
Thus you will have provided a place for hay, in the
hoppers with the screen fronts, for grain in the three-foot
hoppers with the solid front and the narrow trough at the
bottom, and for a sleeping room.
As for water, it may be provided in whatever convenient
hopper or running water trough form may be most readily
devised, avoiding freezing in winter, if possible.
The cross-fence, dividing the large space from the small,
should be provided with two small apertures, just large
enough for the rabbit to run through. These two gates
should be managed by a lever from the outside of the pen.
The purpose of these gates is to have the rabbits in the
small pen at feeding time, so that those desirable for butch-
ering for market may be readily caught.
FEEDING
General Rabbit Feeding
At this point we will take up the general feeding of the
rabbit and the main principles by which one may be guided.
Feeding for size, color or any special effect will be taken
up under the name of the breed for which such special feed-
ing is desirable.
The rabbit is naturally a herbivorous or vegetarian ani-
mal. It is this fact that makes it so desirable for food, and
more nutritious than any other kind of meat. The chicken,
by comparison, is a natural scavenger, eating all manner of
dirty food, including decayed meats, etc. The hog also fol-
lows this line of eating, hence we find only the bovine ani-
mals, such as the cow, sheep and deer that will bear any
comparison to the fine white meat oi the rabbit, and NONE
of these can show such beauty of meat or such a large
weight of meat compared to bone in the dressed animal.
Practically all vegetables are food to the rabbit, much of
the parings and waste from the kitchen making a very de-
sirable addition to bunny’s very economical plan of eating.
There are a few things, though, that are better left out, and to
the young rabbit frequently prove dangerous. Among these
are potato parings, which act as a violent physic on the intes-
tines of the rabbit, causing scours and acute indigestion, gen-
erally resulting in death. Parings that are rotted or badly
wilted are too low a gragle of food, too, for the cleanly little
16 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
animal. See that all the food your rabbits get is as fresh
and clean as you would want for yourself and you will have
no trouble. Avoid dusty and musty hay, rotted cabbage or
other vegetable and all uncleanness in the food of your rab-
bits.
The general feed of a rabbit, with such special feedings
and changes as will be noted in the sections of special breeds
and special effects to be attained (as noted later) are prin-
cipally rolled barley, alfalfa, carrots, chicory and water.
Where rolled barley cannot be obtained, a mixture of
rolled oats and bran, equal parts, make a good substitute, or
cracked wheat and bran, equal parts, may be used. Corn
should be avoided, except in cold weather or extreme North-
ern states. Corn is too heating for rabbits as a rule, and
results in skin and abscess trouble in the summer or warm
weather. f
Where alfalfa cannot be obtained, a good substitute will
be found in clover and timothy, equal parts mixed; or in
wheat or rice straw and clover, equal parts. Oat hay, if well
cured, may be mixed with clover to good advantage, about
equal parts.
Other roots besides carrots may be fed, but sparingly, as
too heavy feeding in roots may result in pot-belly. Roots
should not be fed over twice or three times a week. Other
roots besides carrots that are suitable to rabbits are prin-
cipally radishes, turnips, beets, artichokes and sweet pota-
toes.
Vegetable greens, such as celery tops, lettuce, cabbage
(sparingly), beet tops, carrot tops, radish tops, turnip tops,
etc., may also be fed, but it must be borne in mind that these
things are to be fed sparingly, especially for fancy stock
where shape is an element of culture. Too much greens as
above mentioned, or too often fed is frequently the cause of
the misshaping of the abdomen, known as “pot-belly.”’
We give here a list of the foods that may be used for
rabbits, their value being indicated by their place in the
list:
ALFALFA. Used as roughness. Should be well cured
and, if being fed for the first time to stock used to other
hay, should be fed sparingly at first and mixed with the hay
formerly used. Bear in mind that it is much easier to over-
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 1%
feed a rabbit than to under-feed one, as they are naturally
adapted to very little at a time. A small handful twice a
day to each mature rabbit, except as otherwise noted fur-
ther on.
ROLLED BARLEY. Used as a grain food and fattener.
Should be fed once a day for general feeding, twice a day
for fattening purposes. One to two ounces to each rabbit
per feeding. Find out how much one ounce is in appearance
and then get a small can, using that for a measure. Thus
you can be regular in amount as well as time of feeding,
which is one of the cardinal principles in rabbit rearing.
CARROTS. Used as a root. crop for digestion and keep-
ing system generally in tone. Said to have some little influ-
ence on color in the red and brown types of rabbit. Should
be fed sparingly, generally a piece as large as your thumb
; for each mature rabbit, fed once a day in the evening.
BRAN. Often used with equal parts of rolled oats, as
a substitute for rolled barley. Fed same as rolled barley,
whether mixed or not.
ROLLED OATS. Generally used mixed with bran. (See
Bran. )
WHEAT. Generally used crushed or rolled, fed mixed
equal parts with bran or rolled oats. Fed same as rolled
barley.
OATS. Sometimes fed whole, but the hulls are a little
dangerous to young stock, liable to give them the scours or
acute diarrhoea,
CELERY, LETTUCE, ROOT-TOPS, ETC. Fed once a day
only and then just what they will clean up quickly, say
twenty minutes, as you must not allow roots or green stuff
lay about the hutches and rot. The younger stock sometimes
eat this rotted food and stomach and bowel troubles are the
immediate result.
CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, CAULIFLOWER,
ETC. A strong food for young stock, tending sometimes to
looseness. Ali right for mature stock, but always remember
about feeding green stuff sparingly as outlined above, and
once a day only.
ALL OTHER FOODS try out slowly and carefully, feel-
ing your way. Avoid sudden changes,
18 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
WEEDS. There are many weeds that make excellent
food for rabbits, fed carefully as outlined for other greens
above, such weeds numbering the dandelion, often used to
correct liver and kidney troubles (see section on diseases),
rag-weed, pig-weed, sour-dock, lamb’s quarter, wild spinach,
wild oats, and many others. We have given them common
names used in the middle west for these weeds, as the scien-
tific names would be of little use to any but regular botanists.
Weeds should be tried out carefully, as outlined in the para-
graph on all other foods, just above.
The two cardinal principles of rabbit feeding are CLEAN-
LINESS AND REGULARITY. Keep the grain and water
crocks thoroughly CLEAN. Keep all foods off the hutch
floors as much as possible, using crocks for grain and water.
—Courtesy Western St ware Co.
NON-TIP FEED AND WATER CROCK
Use a small hay rack as shown below to keep the
hay up and clean. Feed root crops in the grain dish as weil
as the green stuff. Dry, but not mouldy; dry bread is excel-
lent for the rabbits occasionally, instead of grain,
U
: ARS i
Pil a
4 + Ae ay ro : V5
" = WAL:
ia
Wrsaay:
—Courtesy of M. Meek
HAY RACK
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 19
Always keep plenty of clean water before the rabbits, as
they are warm blooded animals that sweat. Hence they
MUST have water. It is rank and outrageous cruelty to
deprive ANY warm blooded, sweating animal of water. Ask
any veterinary or any doctor about it.. Be sure to give water
to your rabbits.
BREEDING
General Remarks
Breeding for special purposes and particulars for each
breed will be taken up under the headings of the breeds that
may be referred to, when such instructions are deemed neces-
sary. In this section we will only take up the general prin-
ciples and breeding of rabbits in general.
Health of the parent stock is the first consideration in
rabbit breeding. A habit of constantly testing out your own
stock before breeding them for general health, is a very good
habit. If you are taking or sending your doe to some buck
owned by another breeder, be sure to get a good report on
the buck’s health and see to it that your doe is in good
health also. The question of health and the proper tests to
be made are taken up in detail in the section on buying
stock.
Having ascertained the health of the stock to be bred,
the next consideration is the pedigrees, if it is fancy stock
you are about to breed. A great deal has been said pro and
con about pedigrees, their use and their abuse. [ft is true
that the pedigree has been much abused and many fakes have
been promulgated on the strength of a pedigree not worth
its paper, in order to obtain money for rabbits of otherwise
doubtful value. But the fact remains that some sort of record
of the parentage of an animal is absolutely necessary in
order that we may see what we:are doing, what strains we
are crossing and what effects in color, weight, type or shape
we may expect to get.
If you are not where you can have confidence in the
stock you are breeding to or with, if you cannot trust the
pedigrees and the records, then you will have to simply
build up a strain of your own keeping accurate and scien-
tific records of your own on the subject.
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
MONG LNVID HSINGITA .‘AO@ GOOMUON:,
“meyuod “WO jo Ase}Jin0D—
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 21
The section on rabbitry records will be taken up in de-
tail, the matter of pedigrees, forms and manner of record-
ing and registration.
Having ascertained that the parertage of the rabbits
you propose to breed is what you want for points and pedi-
gree you will now take the doe to the buck’s hutch. She is
a stranger to his hutch, which will tend to prevent her from
fighting and he, being at home, has a tendency to greater
_ boldness. If the doe will take the buck at all she will do so
in the first five minutes. In that event you will see the
action, which will be almost instantaneous. Immediately re-
move the doe, after one serving, setting her on a little table
or shelf you have built handy for exhibiting your stock. This
table or shelf, about twenty by twenty inches each way, is
covered tightly with carpet or burlap sacking. Stroke the
doe down a little and get her calm again, then replace her
for a second serving to make sure. Now replace her in her
hutch, marking her card as instructed in the section on rab-
bitry records. In exactly thirty-one days she will drop her
litter, if normal conditions prevail.
Watch and feed her carefully and if she is a fancy rab-
bit commence adding a little milk to her drinking water on
the twenty-second day after breeding. Start out with about
a tablespoonful to the cup of water, increasing until you have
about two-thirds milk in her water crock, each morning.
This will tend to make her babies fat and healthy and keep
her in fine health and fur.
On the twenty-fourth day after breeding put a nest box
in her hutch, which you’ have half filled with clean straw
or prairie hay. This nest box you have painted inside and
out, and dried thoroughly, if you have had it in previous use.
You should have at least half as many nest boxes as you
have hutches and keep them always painted up and ready
for emergencies, painting and setting aside each one as you
get through with it.
Do not disturb or move the nest box after you have
placed it in position, and if it is necessary to clean out the
hutch do so without touching the box. Place the nest box so
that the entrance of it is away from the light. Mrs. Bunny
22 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
likes to think that her babies are a great secret and she re-
sents any knowledge of the event on your: part.
Two days after the babies have come, or should have
come, according to your records, take the doe carefully out
of her nutch and place her where she cannot observé your
operations. Now put on an oid pair of gloves and stroke
the stomach of the doe a little to get the scent of her on
the gloves. Remove the nest box to the nearest convenient
place to the hutch, so you can raise the hinged lid of the
nest box and examine the young. Count them quickly. Re-
move any dead ones and all the smallest ones, above the
number eight in the Belgian hare doe, where size is not the
prime object; and all above the number four in the Flem-
ish Giant where size IS an object. You may give these
young to a nurse doe, if they are desirable stock, as pointed
out in this section a little later. Replace the nest box
carefully and set down the number of young the doe pro-
duced that litter, on her card, on the buck’s card and on
your charts, if you are running your rabbitry the modern
way.
When the young are one month old and you see that they
do not need the nest box any more, take it out, substituting
a pile of clean straw in one corner of the hutch. The
youngsters will be healthier than in the nest box, from
then on. For this reason it is better to have the removable
nest box, rather than the built-in type. The removable one
is also easier to keep clean and sanitary, being painted and
renovated after each litter.
If you have the room, you can now pull out the parti-
tion between the mother doe’s hutch and the next, giving the
mother and young a double hutch, making healthier stock.
Leave the bottom board in the partition so that they will
have a hurdle to jump over for exercise.
BUYING
General Remarks
There are some general facts about the buying of stock
that will apply to all breeds of rabbits. The particular facts
and points relating to the buying of particular breeds will
be found in the sections relating to those breeds,
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 23
In the first place there is absolutely no value to be
placed on the buying of a sick rabbit. Health is the first
and primary consideration and no rabbit is a bargain at
any price that has ANY disease or illness, however slight.
In examining a rabbit for health, first look carefully at
the fur. In health the fur is smooth and clear in appearance,
the hair having a natural glossy appearance and laying fairly
smooth. Even in a rough haired Angora rabbit the fur will
‘have a soft smooth feel to it.
Next look squarely and carefully into the eye of the ani-
mal. The eye should be clear and bright and in the smaller
breeds should have a snap and fire to it, especially the Bel-
gian Hare. The eye of the larger breeds, as in the Flemish
—Courtesy of G. N. McCoy
“RED PEPPER,’ A SPLENDID NEW ZEALAND RED BUCK
Giant and the New Zealand Red rabbit, is liable to a more
lazy easy-going, less excitable appearance. In any rabbit,
however, the coloring matter of the eye, whether blue, black,
brown or pink (in the Polish and similar breeds) will be
clear and liquid with a perceptible depth to it, in the healthy
specimen. In the sick rabbit the coloring matter of the eye
takes on a dead or opaque appearance. Watch the eye care-
fully, therefore, in picking out stock.
. Running or mattery eyes are especially to be watched for,
as indicating a cold or snuffles. .
24 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Next, look into the ears. They should be clear and pink
down in the base inside. Do not buy rabbits with scabby
ears, no matter how confident the seller is in assuring you
that “that’s nothing. You can fix it up in two days.” Maybe
so, but you don’t want to BUY trouble at any price. Time
enough to FIX it if it breaks out in your own hutches.
Next put the rabbit up on your shoulder with your ear
against its ribs. Stroke its back vigorously while in that
position and listen for a rattle or a rasp in its breeding.
Any trouble in the breathing of the rabbit is especially to be
avoided, as indicating the presence of cold or snuffles.
If the rabbit passes these tests without any apparent
disease, turn your attention to the rabbit’s surroundings.
Are the surrounding hutches and rabbitry clean and health-
ful in both smell and appearance? Are the OTHER rabbits
apparently free from diseases and sneezing of any kind?
The two or three fatal diseases of rabbits are contagious
to other rabbits. Do NOT buy ANY stock where the other
stock is diseased, for you cannot tell what infection has
already taken place. You may be buying more than your
money’s worth in trouble by carrying home infections that
will wipe out some of your own fine and healthy stock.
If you are buying pedigreed stock try to see that each
one is recorded in the regular registry or national system of
registration. While many fakes have been practiced and are
practiced in the pedigreeing of stock undeserving of it, your
chances of getting a good specimen are much increased where
an official national registrar‘ has passed on the animal. It
gives you all the chance there is, anyway, and is well worth
the small fee charged.
After you have purchased good stock and it is what
suits you after having read up on the standards for that
type of animal, THEN you can start building up your own
strain and in three or four generations of stock you can, by
careful selection, have a real STRAIN whose pedigrees you
KNOW to be right. Keep careful track of your pedigrees
as shown in the section on rabbitry records; if you do those
things it will not be long until you have a well-earned repu-
tation of being a person of honesty who has the “real thing”
in real stock of your favorite breed.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 25
Honesty pays from the ground up and that business is
not worth while, whether rabbits or dry goods, that is not
built foursquare on the foundation of the square deal.
Spend your money for a little of the best, rather than a
lot of the cheapest, and you will invariably find that you
have really bought the cheapest; for the best IS the cheapest.
Better to buy ONE good bred doe from a reliable dealer, a
doe bred to a good buck, and good clean papers on both the
doe and her coming litter, than to buy a lot of half-breeds
that will bring you nothing and do nothing.
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert, New York
BLUE BEVEREN RABBITS RAISED BY EX-SERVICE MEN IN
ENGLAND. THE CARCASSES ARE SENT TO LONDON. THE
PELTS ARE TANNED AND SOLD FOR $1.75 TO $2 EACH.
Of course, where one is buying simply to raise meat
stock, a selection should be made on the basis of gooi
health and PRODUCTIVITY, more than any other factor.
Size is the next consideration, but look up the matter of the
parentage of the stock from a productive standpoint, where
meat will be your object.
26 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
SPECIALTY BREEDING
“The successful rabbit breeder is the one who does NOT
try to mix his objects, but devotes his time, talent and ad-
vertising space and money to one great specialty.”
Now in market stock you will find that the buck from a
productive mother will be the sire to big litters, while the
doe from a productive father will put out big litters. So
see to the parentage aS Well aS you can, and when you do
get a fast and good producing doe save all her sons for
breeders, selecting the best of these for herd leaders (speak-
ing now of market or meat stock), and when you get a
buck that is an especially fine producer, throwing large and
good litters from practically all does, save his daughters for
breeders, selecting the best of these to head a pen.
Heed these remarks because they apply to buying the
stock, insofar as you can learn these things of the stock
you buy. You will know by this that you should buy the
daughters of the fine bucks and the sons of the fine does.
Thus you will carry on the line for it is nature’s law of
preservation of a species to thus promote the father’s best
in the daughters for the next generations benefit, and the
mother’s best in the sons.
There is no doubt that you will make some mistakes in
buying stock, but if you will persevere THROUGH these first
mistakes and still go on loving the BUSINESS, you will be
well rewarded for your efforts.
RABBITRY RECORDS
General Remarks
Rabbitry management or any business management re-
quires records more or less permanent in order to know
whether we are progressing or not. Hence the earnest in-
junction to START your rabbitry with WRITTEN records of
some kind. If you can find improvements on the kinds given
here, well and good. But at least start with these and thus
have something to refer to.
The first and most essential record, perhaps, about the
rabbitry is the hutch card, to be kept in a little tin pocket
bent for the purpose and fastened to the door or front of the.
hutch. The tin pocket or slide is better than tacking on
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 27
the card, as it preserves the card and is easier to change
from hutch to hutch as the records may require.
The following is a form of hutch card used by many of
the finest and largest rabbitries in the country, and worked
out after years of experiment, based on simplicity and wide
range of usefulness.
The cardsshould be about 3x6 inches in size.
DUE NUMBER MATED TO
(to litter ) (of young) (buck or doe)
Je UEEE NEE EIEEIEET EE
The numbering system of keeping track of rabbits is
probably the most simple and easiest to handle, and what
may here be said of recording the numbered rabbits may
readily be applied to the naming of the stock, instead of
numbering it, ;
We will assume that you have just separated the young
from each other at about three months, or a little less, of
age.
To mark these youngsters, one by one, as they are sep-
arated to a hutch for each, you should get a regular mark-
ing or tatoo outfit, which can be purchased from any rab-
bitry supply house, or write to the publishers of this book.
This marking identifies your rabbits permanently, and is one
of the best systems known for keeping track of individual
rabbits and litters. Instructions, “How to Use,” are sup-
plied with each marker.
A good system of records is to letter the bucks and num-
ber the does.
Now referring to the hutch card, the number (or name) .
of this rabbit, let us say, is 34, being a doe. Her father, or
sire, was K; her mother, or dam, was 21. 34 was born July
Te. ea,
28 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
The hutch card now looks like this on the top portion:
INT ASIMINED fox8 capsid cater src'spetee Chase Gat yerrciletct 9a myles: Siete, eemeeman
‘
SHE) atl ape iraea ease PC ee bata DAM ees Dil erea #
BORN... cdededil wer ee PRICH: a2. pow. as
Along in January, 1922, we decide to breed this doe to
a tancy buck we just bought, which we have lettered R.
Thirty days later, she drops a fine litter of seven. As
we bred her on the 12th, the hutch card now looks like this:
INAS Ets hs stepson ae: « OL cond artes bara 3 Neate a ote She ee
ro ba Dae |g Goo Cane ee DAM 3 Fs.) 706 We ee ok
BORNE 233 Teieahi os PRICH. <4: 9000.2 &:
DUE NUMBER MATED TO
2-12 if R
Assuming that the buck, K, the father of 34, was sired
by B, and was out of the doe 11; and assuming that the
doe 21, the mother of 34, was sired by D and was out of the
doe 14; we now can make a pedigree of the mothers side
for any one of the seven youngsters produced by the doe 34,
on the 12th of February, as per the above hutch card.
This pedigree for the mother’s side would appear as
follows:
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 29
Pedigree of any one of the seven born February 12, 1922.
nnn aU EE EEE EEE SUE UES EER EEE RSE
BLANK’S SUPERIOR RABBITRY
229 Billers Street
JONESBURG, N. C,
Vel? WUC Mee deo citten see chs ieee tuna ee esiters. Soto a sbant aaa ds ga
ST LE Se a el ee eee ose en ee esata hance Gd ae Mal «eee
SO MPSMraAUe) oe wash ss aise stake eye eae ieee er sacroge atone
A GYRRERECOE ey. 1 Cod -ccks tating a ease Galtsta o> ere ales eee Wreath Whar enenane
(Here write in show winnings or any other interesting
facts about the lineage or stock.)
SiR. ac. a eee
ca ale STRE.,.R..
SEVEN fo eee ue ve
Born. .2-12-22..
[
DAM ic 228¢.. :
( SIRE...D.
[DAM...21.. } Dam. 14.
We declare the above to be a true and correct pedigree
as shown, to the best of our knowledge.
THE BLANK SUPERIOR RABBITRY,
Of course, where the data is known, you will fill in the
pedigree of the sire to the young, known above as R, which
would make the pedigree complete.
These pedigrees should be made out in duplicate, one to
be kept on file in your lettered or numbered files, the other
to be given to the customer with the purchase of the rabbit.
This makes a reference file with almost no extra labor,
and enables you to refer to any rabbit the customer bought.
To obtain duplicates most effectively you should have
a typewriter. In these days they may he obtained on small
payments down, and carbon paper may be used on a blank
30 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
paper of a cheap kind for the second copy,.only the one copy
being a regular printed job, the one you send to the customer.
The typewriter is also very necessary for the use of
the correspondence part of your business, as its use with
carbon paper always gives you a copy of what you wrote the
customer, and typewriting looks so much more business-like
and makes a much better impression on the _ prospective
customer.
VARIETIES
Belgian Hares
So far as we can learn, the Belgian Hare, sometimes
known as the Rufus Red Belgian Hare rabbit, originated in
France and Belgium, the breeders of the two countries cross-
ing their lines so frequently that it is impractical to tell
which is which so far as rabbits are concerned.
Although titled a “hare,” the Belgian Hare is not a hare
at all, but a rabbit. The chief distinguishing difference be-
tween hares and rabbits being that the rabbit is easily do-
mesticated, while the hare is not, and that at birth the
hare is equipped something as the deer is, ready furred and
with eyes open, able to care for itself, that is, so far as es-
cape from immediate danger may be concerned.
The rabbit, on the other hand, is born blind, and re-
mains so, generally, for seven to nine days, and is born prac-
tically without any hair, thus being totally helpless in its ex-
treme infancy, up to at least three weeks, so far as foraging
for itself may be concerned.
The Belgian Hare finds its principal usefulness as food,
although we are now getting to the point where the fur is
getting noticed more and, no doubt, in the very near future
will be a highly desirable asset in the Belgian Hare, as it
already is in some of the other breeds mentioned later.
While the utility side of the Belgian Hare will always
be largely food, the fancy or thoroughbred side of the in-
dustry will always have its devotees just as it does in cattle,
hogs and horses. There will always be a good market for
good stock at top prices for those who will let the world know
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY dl
that he has such stock and who will base his business abso-
lutely on the square deal.
In the matter of feeding as applied to this breed of
rabbit, a plain food of grains and alfalfa with but little green
stock and small quantities of root crops, are to be advised.
Water should be given rather sparingly to the show stock,
a short drink twice a day being sufficient except in extreme
hot weather. The whole idea being to hold the long slim
shape and not to overfeed, as it is far easier to overfeed a
rabbit than to underfeed it in this breed of stock.
of Carl Th. Goldenberg
BELGIAN HARE, “MORNING STAR’”’
*ourtesy
Although the standard on Belgian Hares, as shown in
the latter part of this section, calls for seven pounds mature
buck and eight pounds mature doe, it is still a fact that the
thing most by breeders of the fancy stock is shape and
color. When these are well advanced the weight becomes a
secondary consideration with practically all breeders and
most of the judges in actual practice.
32 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
So much is this true that in the effort to get fine bones
and delicate appearing specimens of the long, siender variety
and type among the English breeders of the past twenty,
years, health and weight were sacrificed and some of the
finest and longest specimens ever seen were produced.
Poor health, of course, meant poor fur and dead color.
Thanks to the breeding wisdom that made America famous
as outbreeding the Belgian horse, outbreeding the English
setter dog, and many other types of cattle and domestic ani-
mals; we find that the American breeder took hold of the
rabbit question, until today the very finest specimens of
ANY rabbit are those bred in the United States.
We find many breeders not only retaining shape and
color, but actually meeting standard weight requirements by
careful selection.
By observing the simple rule that nature always pro-
motes the color of the father in his daughters as their most
noticeable trait, and that the size and shape of the mother
is promoted in her sons as their most noticeable trait, it is
comparatively easy to build up any kind of strain you wish
by just keeping careful track of what you are breeding. The
future is before you and the rest is simply patient progress.
Description
The color of the Belgian Hare required is a rich, light
mahogany red, or reddish brown for coat, with practically
half the hairs on the back and flank coats tipped with black
on the extreme ends. “This gives an overlay or “ticking” of
a wavy, fine shadowy effect, having a rich velvety appearance.
The fur should be glossy and lifelike.
The belly should be a strong cream and the under jaw
practically the same. The ears must be well furred to the
tips and very thin and the inside a shell pink.
The eye bright and saucy looking, with just enough white
showing to give a slightly wild and hare-like appearance.
At maturity the standard calls for seven pounds for the
buck and eight for the doe, at seven to eight months of
age. Up to six months the rabbit should weigh about one and
one-eighth pounds for each month of its growth,
The type of Belgian Hare desired by fancy and thor-
oughbred breeders is of the long slim variety, with snap and
go in the manner of carriage and plenty of room beneath the
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 33
belly and flanks of the animals as it sits up. The ears to
be held well together and at direct right angles to the line of
the head; chest well out, front legs slim and well together, the
whole appearance full of life and pride. Flesh firm and
solid, which is obtained by a long hutch with a hurdle in it
as a regular home for the rabbit.
BELGIAN HARE STANDARD
Adopted by the Federation Belgian Breeders of America.
Color
Rich Rufus Red. ‘Carried well down the sides and hind
quarters and as little white under jaws as possible. Points,
20; cuts, 1 to 10.
Shape
Body long and slim, well tucked up at flank and well
ribbed up. Back well arched. Loins well rounded, not
choppy. Head long, slim and trim; the slimmer the better.
Tail straight, and specimen to be altogether of a racy ap-
pearance. Points, 20; cuts, 1 to 10.
Ticking
Wavy appearance. Points,.10; cuts, 1 to 5.
Ears
Five inches in length, thin, well laced on the tips, as
far down the outside edge as possible. Good color and well
set on. Points, 105 scuts,. I to-5.
Eyes
Hazel color, large, round, bright and bold. Points, 10;
cuts, 1 to’ 5.
Legs and Feet
Fore feet and legs long, straight and slender, well col-
ored and free from ticking. Hind feet to be as near the color
of the front feet as possible; (not a tan color). Points, 10;
cuts, 1 to 5.
Condition
Perfectly healthy, not fat, but firm in flesh and with
good quality of fur, without dewlap. Points, 15; cuts, 1 to 5.
Weight
Might. pounds. Poitits, 5; cuts, 1 to 3.
34 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Color Description
A description of a Rufus Red color is well nigh impos-
sible; we have before us a‘ description given by the Na-
tional Association as follows: The true color is almost a
cherry red, but has a golden shade of rust in the effect that
is very pleasing to the eye.
The well informed breeder will agree that ‘“‘cherry” red
is rather far fetched and altogether insufficient. We lean
to the thought of a brownish red blended with a cinnamon
brown. Harmonize this brownish red with a cinnamon
brown in your mind’s eye and you will have more nearly
the color of the thoroughbred Belgian of today.
The ticking should be entirely absent on lower sides,
shoulders and front legs.
The jaws and ears to be free from ticking. Particular
attention should be given to producing red feet and legs.
A beautiful jet black lacing confined sharply to the edges
of clean ears is one of the real features of a thoroughbred.
The ticking, which consists of black points on the red
hairs, should be found on the following sections: Rump,
back and upper sides.
Special color sections are: Belly to be a deep creamy
cinnamon, rather than creamy; the color which has been
acceptable in the past and before the Belgian was brought
up to the Standard of today. This belly color should be
held up as nearly as can be under the jaws. Top of tail
should blend with the body color and be as free from tick-
ing as possible; under side of tail, white. Under color (not
belly) should run clear to the skin.
Disqualifications for Registration
Bucks under 54 pounds, does under 6 pounds. Any dis-
ease, crooked feet or legs, missing toe nails, a decided patch
of white hair, very poor condition, lumps, blemishes of any
kind, crooked tail, lop ear and ear under four inches in
length. A lop ear is to be understood as an ear that is not
carried up in position when the specimen is in an alert pose.
A specimen may carry the tail to either the right or left side
at intervals, but when it is so decidedly kinked that it
“flops” back into a crooked shape when released, it should
disqualify.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 35
THE FLEMISH GIANT
As its name would imply, this rabbit originated in
Flanders, principally, but like the Belgian Hare, it has been
crossed and recrossed so many times with specimens from
other countries that it is difficult to really say just what we
have in America, so far as ancestry is concerned.
It is probable that the Flemish Giant rabbit will always
be raised principally for its meat, although some of the breed-
ers are already making a special issue of the fur, particularly
where the rabbit is of a fancy color, such as clear black or
clear white.
In feeding the Flemish Giant rabbit, we have more of
a beef purpose than with the Belgian Hare, as weight in the
Flemish Giant is a primary consideration. Therefore, we will
pursue a little different method.
A good start is the first requisite. Some of the young
should be placed with a nurse doe for first three days, so that
the real mother will have only three or four to feed. To
do this, of course, it will be necessary to breed a common
or meat stock doe at the same time you do the Flemish doe.
By thus raising the young with more than one doe, we get
size and weight. A little precaution must be used, however,
in changing the young over to the nurse doe. First, take
the mother nurse doe out of the hutch and place her at a
little distance. Take her babies out and kill them all but
‘one or two of the best. Take the Flemish Giant babies one
at a time and rub them back and forth gently on the stomach
of the nurse doe, placing them in the nest box of the nurse
doe immediately. Do this with each of the Flemish babies
that you want to save.
* Leave about three or four babies to each doe when
through,
About ten days before the Flemish Giant babies are born,
you should commence adding a little milk to the Flemish
mother’s drinking water until, at the birth of the babies, you
are giving her about one-third water and two-thirds milk
to drink twice daily, just as much as you find she will clean
up nicely in twenty minutes, so as not to have it about the
hutch to sour.
36 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
FLEMISH GIANT DOH, ‘“FERNWOOD PRINCESS”
—Courtesy of Seott Smith
FLEMISH GIANT BUCK, “FERNWOOD PRINCE”
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 37
After the young have started to eat well, in three to five
weeks, you may discontinue the milk diet for the mother,
and start feeding the whole hutch a mash made up of the
grains you have been feeding regularly, and one part of lin-
seed oil cake, or oil meal to each six parts of the mixed
grains. This will be a dry mash and must be thoroughly
mixed.
Feed this mash twice daily in the winter and once daily
in the summer, along with your hay and water, regularly.
Feed just so that each mess is well cleaned up before the
next feeding. Do not feed so much that it will lie about and
rot. .
A larger quantity of greens and roots may be fed the
Flemish Giant than to any other rabbit, although the rule
of nothing left at the next feeding must be observed at each
meal. Regulate it accordingly.
While you will, of course, feed the Flemish Giant more
than you do the Belgian Hare or the smaller breeds, as they
are a bigger rabbit, still the cost per pound of produced meat
will not probably be as great in the actual feeding of the
stock. This may be offset, however, by the fact that one
must support a nurse doe in the first three weeks of the life
of the young. Where this is not done the young will grad-
ually take on less size per month in each successive gen-
eration, until you get to the production of the pitiful little
grey rabbits sold as Flemish “Giants,” when they are any-
thing but giants, or more like dwarfs.
The reason is all in the good start on a rush growth that
must be made. You MUST get MORE nourishment into stock
to keep up size and you MUST begin at the beginning to do
it. Hence, you can stuff a Flemish Giant all that they will
clean up between feeds and that of rich foods if you are care-
ful about breaking them in to each new feed, and you will
get what you want in the Flemish—weight. But one thing
must be remembered, you must give the Flemish Giant plenty
of room and exercise, they are big rabbits. If you attempt
to keep them in small hutches to gain weight, you will find
that they only gain flabby fat and that they will weaken their
constitution with this same weight of fat until they will be
susceptible to every little ill that comes along.
38 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Description
The Flemish Giant may be of several colors, it being so
far impossible to make them hold to any one general color,
with the exception of the white and blue Flemish, The color
determines to some extent what weights shall prevail, the
heaviest rabbits being in the types in which little or not any
attention has been paid to color to gain weight. This is
known as the Grey Flemish, and is of a nondescript grey
color, generally showing plenty. of ‘‘sand” or red tinge across
the shoulders and top of the neck. The belly may be white
or greyish.
They must have great length to carry the weight and
furnish the meat, and the rabbit will generally be lying down
in a lazy posture, seldom showing the poses and snap of the
smaller breeds. The weight of the Grey Giant, standard, is
thirteen pounds for the buck and fifteen for the doe, at
twelve months.
The steel grey Flemish Giant must have the color of
newly-made iron, as near as possible, or perhaps more re-
sembling the color of a bar of heavy iron casting, at a new
break. The color should be as even as possible on the back,
flanks and sides and the belly grey, but not ticked like the
back and flanks, giving the broken iron effect.
The weight of the steel grey Flemish Giant is eleven
pounds for the buck and thirteen for the doe. Of course, in
all Flemish, the main title being Giants, any weights over
these, as high as possible, are to be desired: these weights
represent the standard minimum in this class of rabbit, and
are given as at maturity, twelve months in the Giant rabbit.
The other Flemish Giant rabbits are the White, the
Black, and the Blue, or Maltese. All weights running about
one pound below given on the steel grey, just above.
The ideal Flemish Giant in any class is one that makes
the weight, carries the color and still has a firm clean flesh
and fur.
FLEMISH GIANT STANDARD
Compiled from Standards in use by Several Associations,
Color
As is well known by all the Flemish Breeders, Flemish
Giants as a rule do not breed true to the color of the par-
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 39
ents. A sire and dam of one color will throw young of an-
other color; for instance, when Steel is bred to Steel Grays,
Light Grays and Black may be in the litter of this mating.
This does not by any means mean that stock producing
young like that are inferior or not pure bred. The Giant
is a rabbit that has been crossed and recrossed many times
to get size. In many cases where mostly Steel Grays were
wanted, a Black doe has been mated to a Light Gray buck,
or vice versa, and it has been found that whole litters have
-been Steel Gray from such a mating, and in most cases the
majority of the young have been Steel Gray, therefore, it
can be seen the reason why the Giants as a rule do not
breed true to the color of their parents. This, however, in
no way reduced the value of the stock, as all colors are of
equal value. It is possible to produce a strain that will
breed true to color by always selecting specimens of a cer-
tain color and never breeding to another color.
Type
The Flemish Giant should be a giant in every respect,
with a long body, large massive frame, large bone and ears,
straight powerful legs and feet; bucks to have larger heads
than does, and does may have a well developed dewlap evenly
carried.
Weight
When fully matured bucks and does should weigh as fol-
lows according to color.
Steel Grays—Bucks, 12 pounds and over; Does, 14 pounds
and over. .
Light Grays—Bucks, 13 pounds and over; Does, 15 pounds
and over.
Blacks—Bucks, 12 pounds and over; Does, 12 pounds
and over.
Whites—Bucks, 11 pounds and over; Does, 12 pounds
and over
Above are weights for stock fully matured and developed
and when these weights are attained especially when not
over fat, you have a Giant rabbit in every sense of the word.
Ears
Large, strong, thick and straight, well set up and to be
the same as body color of the animal,
40 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Condition
Glossy shiny coat, full of life, brightness and luster;
flesh solid and firm, and coat free from moult.
Flemish Standards
Scale of Points
Steel Light
Gray Gray Black White
Ete aides See TGS s or ead ths Gace agen 5 5 5 5
ESO GLY ee aah ate a Se ee eee: 105) 20 7s 15
SIZES is ad oct do tee hls ead Caen ee Reese 15 15 185 15
WielSit : KoA ee 5 ae orishas Ss pare 6 10 ty 10 10
COMBI hid aie he RIE URE OF Bet 25 20 25 20
] EE Gh eRe oR ne RMR Rarer ee BAC Gg E BT ke 5 5 5 5
De SSramie WES cage accesso et ae ee 15 5 15 10
CONGIEIONT aoa. ta ae ene eae oe 10 15 10 20:
100 100 100 100
Disqualifications
Patches of hair of other coior that specimen; lop or lazy
ears; moon eyes; crooked, broken, wry, screw tails, or tails
that are carried sideways; crooked or deformed feet; ears with
cuts over one inch long; unhealthy specimens.
NEW ZEALAND RED RABBITS
The origin of this rabbit is shrouded in mystery, some
claiming one origin and some another. The theory is that
it originated from a crossed Golden’ Fawn with possibly a
Giant of some type, giving an extra large Golden Fawn rab-
bit. As a matter of fact, the rabbits from the islands of.
New Zealand are of a greyish hue, something after the man-
ner of our cottontails, but somewhat larger; so the claim
made concerning the first specimen of this breed, has never
been convincing. Be that as it may, the many fine points of
the New Zealand Red rabbit are not to be despised, and it is
good that this useful and beautiful animal enjoys so great a
popularity among breeders today.
In weight and size the New Zealand is between the Flem-
ish Giant and the Belgian Hare, the mature stock weighing
nine pounds for a buck and ten pounds for the doe, standard,
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 41
The color is a rich tawney yellow in the fine specimens,
tending toward an orange in shade, the redder types being
more desirable.
They are useful both as fur and as food rabbits.
As meat they are of firm flesh, maturing quickly and
reaching weight in good time. The taste does not show ma-
terial difference with that of the Belgian Hare.
The same instructions for feeding as given in the Flem-
ish Giants will apply to the New Zealands, as weight is a
prime consideration when coupled with good color and firm
flesh. The delicate form and fine bones of the Belgian Hare
are not desired nor sought in the New Zealand nor any of
the heavy rabbits, as they are all raised for their beef qual-
ities.
hae
Qty
—Courtesy of Junior McConnell
NEW ZEALAND RED DOE
Like the Flemish, they should be allowed to haye plenty
of room and exercise, and, in fact, this will apply to any
rabbit, as they are naturally a foraging animal and used to
wide treedom in their native state.
In breeding the New Zealand, care should be used to
get specimens that come up to the weight first and then breed
for the colors and type. Too many times the anxiety to at-
42 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
tain the exact rich orange color so desirable leads one to sac-
rifice weight, with the result that, for all practical purposes,
we have a Golden Fawn rabbit, calling it the New Zealand.
Description
In color, the New Zealand should be:a rich tawny yellow
tending to a reddish buff, with a real creamy belly. The
feet and legs must be free from white or light bars, some-
times called shadow bars. The ears should be carried well
up and they should have a bright, though not a wild, eye.
Flesh must be firm and fur clean and glossy. The whole
type of the animal should be alert and alive, but the nose
of the New Zealand will generally resemble that of the
Flemish Giant more than the Belgian Hare, as the New Zea-
land comes under the head of the heavy type of rabbit.
The mature New Zealand will be eight months old ana
weigh nine pounds to the buck and ten pounds to the doe.
NEW ZEALAND RED STANDARD
Adopted by the American Federation of New Zealand
Breeders.
Color
Rich Reddish Buff, as evenly spread as possible over
head and face. In its general appearance this color scheme
should be free from stray white hairs, light or dark ticking,
frosty or smudgy effects, and as near the same shade over
all surfaces as possible, due allowance being made for a much
lighter shade of color on the belly, where the skin is made
free to permit motion of joints.
Type
In general appearance the ideal type of New Zealand
should present a rather close eoupled frame that is well
filled and free from over fatness,
Ticking
Free from ticking or smudge.
Head
Head to be medium full from top tg bottom with well
filled face and jaws.
Eyes
Medium large, bright and expressive,
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 43
Legs and Feet
Medium bone, medium length and size, straight and
strong, aS near general color as possible, free from ticking
and shadow bars, Dewlap evenly carried.
Condition of Fur
The fur coat should be clean, free from hutch stains,
smooth, even and glossy.
Standard Weights
Three and one-half vounds at two months old.
Four and one-half pounds at three months Set
Six pounds at four months old.
Seven pounds at five months old.
Seven and one-half pounds at six months old.
Hight pounds for bucks at eight months old.
Hight and one-half pounds for does at eight months old.
Nine pounds for bucks and ten pounds for does at ma-
turity.
Complete Color Description
The ideal New Zealand Red color is a rich reddish buff,
as deep in tone as possible, but not so deep as to lose the buff
element and become a deep mahogany red, the sorrel red
horse is offered as nature’s nearest likeness.
In general appearance this color scheme should be free
from stray white hairs, light and dark ticking, frosty or
smudgy effects, and as near the same shade over all sur-
faces as possible; due allowance being made for a much
lighter shade of color on the belly, on the flanks, and all
surfaces where the skin is made free to permit motion of
joints,
—Courtesy of Ww. J. E. Williams
AN IDEAL SMALL HUTCH (MOVABLE)
44 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
HEAD. Rich Reddish Buff, as evenly spread as possiblé
over head and face. 4
BARS. Rich Reddish Buff, as free from ear lacing as
possible.
NECK. Color to be as near that of other sections as
possible, allowance being made for lighter shade on back
of neck and on the under side.
BACK. Rich Reddish Buff, to be as even and uniform
over the entire back as it is possible to get it.
SIDES. The Rich Reddish Buff of the back shall be
carried well down over the sides and blend with the belly
without any sharp or sudden breaks.
BELLY. Rich Reddish Cream, credit to be given for the
closest possible approach to the general color scheme.
FRONT QUARTERS. Rich Reddish Buff, carried well
around the Jimb and blending with the dominant color of the
belly at the under and inner side.
FRONT FEET AND TOES. As near that of the gen-
eral color as possible, free from shadow spots or bars; as
free as possible from ticking of any kind; toe nails horn
colored.
HIND QUARTERS. Same as the general body color and
carried well over the hind parts to the tail, well around legs
to blend with under color.
HIND FEET AND TOES. As near the general body
color as possible; toe nails horn colored,
TAIL. Upper surface to be the same as body color,
under surface to be as near that of other under parts as pos-
sible, but not to be cut for white.
Standard Disqualifications
Crooked front or hind feet or legs, crooked spines, wry
or twisted necks, tails that are crooked or otherwise de-
formed, ears that fall below the horizontal of the head as
drawn through it from ear to ear, ears that are less than
four and one-half inches long, eyelids that turn: either in or
out upon themselves, blindness: of one or both eyes,. absence
of ear, tail, toe nail or any evidence that a possible blemish
that would have disqualified has been removed, any other
anatomical or bodily deformity.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 45
Scale of Points
Section Type Color Condition
Poetal- Lengthy rs ei. we 10 ay Fur 5 Ftesh 5
PMSA ia-.t: leone eee, saben 2 5 3
MIE S oaks ke rere ape eke 3 il
Wargo. cis Sees pre eee 8 5
eee te, eee oe eee 2205 6 | Points
SEER. oc,5 beara ooo ee one 3 3 4 Wiig (eee ee en 60
Bella eee tess one ek ¢ 3 3 Colas o.k. oo. . 30
Myron QuUarcens ser <i 8 3 Condition * 22.4%. 10
HMrOntemeete cis fs sie. 2 2 ——
Himad Quarters® <..2.2082 2 -- 8 3 Equals:...:...~. 100
Pund “Weel 26a). eee. D 2 |
1A LR an, Bc pee eats PLE 2 1
RABBITRY MANAGEMENT
All business is conducted for a profit. Hobbies fre-
quently begun for pleasure only, develop into businesses, and
then come under the above rule.
The profit in a business is often miscalculated for the
reason that only one or two of the costs are taken into con-
sideration in the figuring up of the costs against the income.
For instance, in the rabbit business, many breeders fail to
figure in their rental costs on the theory that since they
are renting the house and grounds, or own them, it-is not
necessary to figure any cost for that. The rental basis
should be the value of rental of that portion of the property
of the owner used as a rabbitry, feed room, store room, etc.
Depreciation of the buildings and equipment should be fig-
ured in at a basis of at least twenty per cent of the original
cost per each year of use.
Profit on any business can only be derived from the dif-
ference between the total costs and expenses and the total
receipts or income, on the service rendered. SERVICE should
be in capital letters in the mind of every breeder of rabbits,
46 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
whether fancy or common stock. Careful, efficient service
depends almost entirely on the records kept, In our business
real service will depend on our knowledge of, our stock based
on the reports we get from the hutch cards, the pedigrees,
and the accurate records. By keeping such records we can
so manage our fine does and bucks that we will see to it
that each doe produces not to exceed four litters per year,
while the bucks will be used not oftener than twice per
week. This makes a ratio of about one buck to fifteen or
sixteen does.
The surplus of bucks, after a careful selection is made
each week or so for breeding purposes, will be disposed of
by the well regulated rabbitry, on the theory that no “free
boarders” are wanted. The same good management will see
to it, too, that the doe producing below the average will
soon find the air. This is taken up more fully in the past
section on rabbitry records.
Efficiency
Efficiency is the idea. Efficiency in production, effi-
ciency in reporting that production, that we may know pre-
cisely who is doing it and which rabbits to keep on as pro-
‘ ducers.
The market for fancy stock is naturally the fancier, that
is, the breeder and buyer of thoroughbred stock. Just a
word here for the dealer, the man who buys fancy stock at
a price to dispose of it again.
It is perfectly logical that the dealer should want Dick
to come back to the dealer for his future stock, because this
same said dealer has spent honest-to-goodness money for big
space in the pet stock magazines to let Dick know that the
dealer COULD furnish the stock that Dick wants, Hence this
dealer does not take the trouble to say “I bought this rabbit
of Tom, to fill your order,’ when Tom was too cheap to do
a little advertising and win the trade for himself.
We hold that if the breeder is a good breeder but not
a good salesman nor a good advertiser, then it is really the
DEALER’S place to bring Tom’s goods to Dick, and there
is no obligation whatever to tell Dick where he got them as
long as the goods are honest and the value for the money.
That’s the way big business of all kinds is conducted and
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 47
we will get on a business basis when we quit fighting our
distributors, learn the selling and advertising games for our-
selves and live and let live.
It is just here that this work will find its great value;
it will enable us all to get a good idea not only of the
breeding of rabbits, but of the great profit that will come to
him who dares to put up his money on his judgment of the
public’s wants.
Such men are the Marshall Fields, the Ingersolls, the
Woolworths in big business and the big men in the rabbit
industry who dare, are the men who win. So let’s not crab
about the other fellow’s success; let’s just thank him for the
example, be he dealer or strictly breeder, and““GO ON” in
the industry.
—Courtesy of S. M. Scott, Jr.
WHITE FLEMISH GIANTS
Our market being the fancier and fancy breeder, we will
most likely be able to reach him through his reading. What
does he read? He reads all the late pet and small stock
journals, the rabbit magazines and poultry journals and such
papers. A person who is a rabbit fancier or breeder is quite
as frequently a lover of other stock, such as cavies, dogs,
cats, fish, skunk and mice and rats, bantams and chickens,
Hence the order of importance of the mediums you may
choose to advertise in is about as follows:
48 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Rabbit Journals, Small Stock Journals, Poultry Journals,
Dog and Cat Publications, Goat and similar trade magazines,
The essential thing, however, before rushing into print
is to get a QUANTITY of GOOD stock on hand, by breeding
up and then see to it that you have exhibited in several
shows, so that you know by experience WHAT a good animal
IS, after which it is plenty of time to take up space and
money in the better class of trade to which ‘you aspire as a
AN IDEAL SHIPPING CRATE
vu
fancier. You should really HAVE what you advertise, either
as a discriminating dealer of xperience in rabbits, or else
as a bona fide breeder. Do NOT try to deceive the people.
On the other hand do not sell the best you have or your
quality will soon deteriorate till you have no quality left.
Keep your very best to keep up your stock and let the show
winners you own stay with you until they have left a goodly
part of themselves in youngsters behind them, before you
sell them.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY
49
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'-XG NV NGAGD YOU GUVH SI LI LVHL TVOILOVUd OS SI HHOM GAHL ‘HLYOA OS UNV ‘MHAVUs
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50 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
DIFFERENT WAYS OF PREPARING APPE-
TIZING RABBIT MEAT
By 0; ©; Pour
The Preparation of Preserves. From Rabbit Meat
HE chief value of the rabbit can be divided into two
i varieties of uses, viz.,, as breeder, and last but not least,
as a furnisher of food and fur. Its value as food is by
far the most important, even if we have to fall back to the
sport-breeder to give us a rabbit that combines all purposes.
The present feeling against the eating of rabbit meat is
entirely without cause and in regard to taste, rabbit meat
surpasses many other meats. The main point of cause is the
mode of preparation for the table. This we will describe
in the following articles as it is done in countries where the
rabbit is a standard addition to the table.
We can preserve meat by putting it up in Mason jars,
smoke it, or put it up in sausages; thereby meat that can
be raised during the summer can be canned, etc., at the right
age and eaten when you wish throughout the year by simply
warming it up and serving it, the same as you would veg-
etables. This canning process is best done in the fall when
the fur is of some valve.
1, In this country we have our Mason jars and these
are the ones that we will use in the first part of this artic‘e.
After the rabbit has been prepared as usual by skinning
and cleaning, it is soaked in water for 24 hours, changing
the water several times. Then hang the rabbit until it has
dripped out good. The next day cut the rabbit into suitable
pieces, to fit the jars to be used. The spaces created be-
tween pieces can be filled with suitable pieces of meat from
the bones. Fry these pieces as usual in the pan until about
one-half done. To add to the taste a few strips of bacon
can be fried with it. Then put the meat into the jars and
fill the jars with the drippings from the frying pan to about
two inches from the top and cover the whole with about one
inch of rendered rabbit fat. A space of one inch from the
‘top of jar should be left empty to give enough room for a
vacuum to hold the jar cover, Put rubber ring and cover on
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 51
the jars and put them in hot water to cover two-thirds of
jar and let it slowly boil for one hour for pint jars and one
and one-half hour for quart jars. Take the jars with the
boiling kettle off the stove and let cool slowly, while the
jars are in the water. After they have cooled put a clamp
on them and they will keep this way until you use the con-
tents. Only good rubber rings must be used for this pur-
pose.
WIRE FUR STRETCHER
IN USE
52 . OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
In order to have meat on hand to make soup, etc., cook
the meat, after the large bones have been removed, in a
little water with spices and vegetables to be used, and put
the whole in jars, and after closing seal the jars by boiling
at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stewed rabbit can be prepared the same way only do
not put any flour into the stew to thicken until ready for
use on the table.
If you now want to use the canned rabbit, all you have
to do is to warm it, or in case of fried rabbit, fry it, until
done in the gravy already in the jar and in a very short
time a wonderful meal is ready on the table. Meat pre-
pared this way is said to taste better than when prepared
fresh.
Smoking
Rabbit meat is just as suitable for smoking as any other
kind of meat, provided it is done right. Before you can
smoke it, the meat necessitates a careful preparation. Usu-
ally older and larger animals are used in this process, es-
pecially bucks, who give a tough roast or fry anyway. The
butchered animals, after soaking in water and dripped, are
cut into pieces, the hind legs, the front legs and the back.
This is cut into pieces about two inches long. The head is
used for soups, etc. To smoke a whole animal is not prac-
tical
Now a solution is prepared that contains one tablespoon-
ful of salt and one tablespoonful of saltpeter to the quart.
Enough of this brine must be made to cover all the meat to
be smoked, Into this place the meat and cover it with a
board in such a way that all the meat is covered by the
brine at all times and weigh the board down with a rock.
Put this in a cool place and let stand for two or three days.
During that time a good smoke house can be made out of a
barrel. If you like, spices such as laurel leaves or pickling
spices can be added and this naturally improves the flavor.
In order to make a smokehouse, take an empty barrel
and up end it, place two bricks into the bottom lengthwise
and put a piece of tin over them. This will support a metai
pot. About an inch from the bottom and through the bot-
tom bore a few holes to give the draft to the apparatus.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 53
Then lay over the open end of the barrel a few sticks to hold
the meat, attached thereto with strings. The pieces of meat
must not touch each other though. The space between the
fire in the pot and the meat must be at least 30 inches, Now
start a weak fire in the pct, of sawdust, preferably beach
tree, until a good smoke evolves and smoke the meat daily
for about two hours and keep this up for a week. During
and after smoking a piece of burlap must cover the top of
the barrel to keep the smoke in better.
Meat preserved this way will keep quite a while if kept
in a cool dry place and can be used either raw or cooked.
with vegetables, to make stews. etc. In other words it will?
keep as good as bacon anytime. ;
Sausages | “4
The preparation of sausages from rabbit meat is very |
practical and the taste is beyond equal. It is not practical |
to use it alone though, but the addition of pork makes the
embination perfect. The proper meat is the one of older
animals. The meat is taken from the bones, cut into
small pieces and salted. It is then ground in the meat
grinder and spiced to taste. For every three pounds of rab-
bit meat one pound of fresh fat pork is ground up and added
The whole being mixed well and the mass left to stand for
four or five hours in a cool place.
In order to make the sausage, a sausage funnel is used
and the mass filled into hog intestines after a small amount
of ground cloves has been added. Sausages prepared this way
are then boiled and dried for two or three days. To make
them still more durable, smoke them in the smokehouse de-
scribed previously.
Sausages from rabbit meat are very appetizing and can
be fried, cooked or used as spread on sandwiches.
Left over rabbit fat can be used just like suet or lard
for frying all meats and will not impart.a taste to the meat.
b4 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Ae LUD
a“
—Courtesy of Mrs. G. A. DeLano
A SPLENDID EXHIBITION OF RABBIT FURS
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 55
COOKING THE RABBIT
It may be said first, before proceeding to the recipes
for cooking rabbit, that the rabbit may be fixed for the table
in any way that chicken can be fixed, but that about one
and one-half times as long would generally be required for
the cooking to make a tender and palatable dish. A very
little practice will enable any good housewife to prepare the
rabbit in its tastiest and best array for the table and of all
meats known to man there is none more palatable, more nu-
tritious than the humble bunny.
DRESSED RABBITS
To Fry
The best rabbit for frying is a young buck or doe from
ten to twelve weeks old and weighing from three to four
pounds alive. This dresses at about one and one-half to two
pounds,
Have the skillet sizzling hot with grease, preferably pork
_“eracklings” or bacon rinds, Cut the rabbit up at all the
56 | OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
joints and roll in flour or cracker crumbs. As soon as you
have put the rabbit in set the skillet back where it will fry
more slowly, taking from forty to fifty minutes, according to
age, to fry. Just before taking off the stove pour just a little
melted butter over the rabbit.
Roast
A little older and heavier rabbit may be used for a roast,
if desired, but of course the younger and more tender the
rabbit, the better it can be cooked the easier it may
be handled.
Fill the dressed rabbit with a dressing made to suit the
taste, having the dressing rather wet. Sew up the carcas and
sprinkle well with salt and seasoning to suit. Put strips
of bacon across the body or pour a little melted butter over
the rabbit and bake slowly for two to three hours.
Pressed Rabbit
Boil until well done with a pinch of soda in the water.
Skim frequently and then take all the meat from the bones
and grind it up in a grinder. Pour the skimmed broth, the
water it was boiled in, into the ground meat and mix well.
Press the same as chicken and let stand in a cool place. For
sandwiches and lunches.
Hare Spanish
One onion sliced, one chili pepper, three or four medium
tomatoes. Cut fine and let come to a boil in salted water,
salted to taste. Carve the hare at every joint and put into
the boiling stew as above. The addition of a little soup stock
of beef will often add to the flavor. Just before it is done add
browned flour and butter to thicken.
Onion Roast
Take a small roasting pan. Place a layer of sliced onions
in the bottom. Cut your dressed rabbit rather fine and make
a layer of rabbit and a layer of onion, seasoning each layer
of the onions to suit. Pour a little melted butter over the
top of all. Roast slowly, two to four hours, in a double
roasting pan,
Rabbit Curry
Cut into joints, putting two tablespoonfuls of butter and
a few slices of onions. After it is well browned add a cuptful
of good soup stock and a tablespoonful flour and currie well
mixed, smooth with cold water. Let simmer gently for an
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 57
hour or two and then add a tablespoonful of juice with a
little parsley. Serve with boiled rice.
To: Broil
Boil in salt water for five to ten minutes first, and then
put on the broiler immediately. Season to taste.
Pot Roast Rabbit
Cut the rabbit, roll in flour, brown in hot fat, cover
with boiling water, add salt, pepper, one carrot and one
onion. Cover the kettle tightly so that all flavor will be
retained. Simmer until tender. Drop in dumplings fifteen
minutes before serving. This recipe may be adapted also to
the fireless cooker.
A Breakfast Dish
When preparing cornmeal for frying, just before setting
out to cool, briskly stir in some finely chopped rabbit meat,
mixing thoroughly with the cornmeal mush. Season it.
Roll in flour for frying.
Jellied Rabbit
One rabbit, one slice onion, one bay leaf, six pepper-
corns, three stalks celery, one envelope gelatine, one-half
cup water. Cook rabbit in just enough water to keep from
burning until very tender. Add vegetables and_ spices
shown above to the meat of the rabbit and boil until the
amount is about one quart. Pour into a square mold and
serve when cold in thin slices.
Stewed Rabbit
Soak the rabbit after killing for a few hours in cold
water. Cut in pieces and scald for five minutes in boiling
water. Fry the rabbit for twenty minutes in hot grease, Let
cool slightly and then slowly add gravy or hot water to
make sufficient soup. Season with onions or garlic and pep-
pers, bay leaf, salt and celery to taste. Cook slowly until
very tender.
58 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
WHITE NEW ZEALAND RABBIT
By H. K. Carrer, Tacoma, Wash.
A Special Section Pertaining to
All Breeds of Rabbits
Hk (CARTER
HE White New Zealand is a new breed; they were a
sport from the Red New Zealand and are said to breed
true to color and type. They should have the true New
Zealand type, no off colored hairs, said to have very good
fur. The Standard calls for the weight type and points of
condition the same as the New Zealand Reds. COLOR points
being a true Albino the New Zealand White calls for pure
white color in all sections covered by fur, the eyes should
be pink in color. Spots of color other than white shall dis-
qualify.
(Left)
WHITE
NEW ZEALAND
BUCK
—Courtesy of
Wim. Smith
(Right)
NEW ZEALAND
DOE
—Courtesy of
A. M. Findlay
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 59
American Spotted Giant or Checkered Giant
A large Spotted Rabbit that must be as the name calls
for, a GIANT, as well as a well marked specimen, makes a
very striking looking rabbit.
The Standard calls for a butterfly nose, eye circles, and
a spot directly under each eye; ears solid color, must have
large patches on sides and hips and must not run together,
but must-have a strip of white between them; have saddle
markings that run along’back from ears to hips.
They come in Blue and White, Black and White, Tor
toise. and White. Three colors are not permissab‘e. They
should be large, from 13 pounds and up for does, and from
11 and up for bucks. Fur when made into children’s coats
is a very pretty article.
BELGIAN FARM RABBIT—THE FOREFATHER OF THE GERMAN
AND ENGLISH CHECKERED. NOTE ABSENCE OF
“BUTTERFLY” ON NOSE.
American Spotted Giant Standard
(Formerly called German Checkered Giant.)
Head—Large, but not so full as Flemish. Avoid “Bull
Dae Aye OF. Mente. foes cree xk eee aKa eee inva ctnathiars 5
maine ——laree, heavy, iirm, solid color.:........0.20.s2 ss: 10
Body—Long, well arched, broad hindquarters, straight,
tapering to the front, not wedge-shape. Body carrie
well’olt theseround.” Upright position. \::..%05 3... nays
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
60
LIGa4vVu LNVID GHYUaMORHO
: eT > ore Rconce aed eeceeaabcte
ee ET AE AB enc E SR et aa na
ee
Psat
RHEE
eS Be
pueliey
we
RS AOR a8 da:
a
M jo Asoy
in0pj—
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 61
Legs—Front legs long, straight, medium size bones, hind
legs Jarger); carried parallel with body... ...ic5a0 oes 10
Size and Weight—Large as possible. Bucks 11 lbs. or
MOres — WOE Loss SOL MOIS f6 SSS Ge Parsee ce het ee 20
Color Marking—Without chain markings. Side markings
to consist of two or more heavy patches on both sides. 25
Condition—Perfectly healthy, not fat, flesh firm and solid.
Fur medium length, good quality, free from moult... 10
Disqualifications—All defects under general disqualifica-
tions, also split butterfly, one-half butterfly, absence of any
important markings, as eye circles, butterfly, ear markings,
more than three-fourths of saddle or side marking. Gray
color or any three colors disqualifies. Side patches and sad
dle marking all in solid patch disqualify. Cuts; double dew
lops; sway back. Spots and markings other than called for
to cut according to size and number.
‘ Black, blue and tortoise to be judged alike. No prefer-
ence shown to either color. Separate classes may be made
for blacks, blues, tortoise.
The Himalayan Rabbit
The Himalayan is one of the most beautiful of all rab-
bits. A class of them in the show room makes a striking
display and causes much comment. This breed is used more
for fur and exhibition purposes than for the meat. They
have to be small, about four pounds is what the Standard
calls for.
This variety is thought to have come from the valleys
of the Himalaya mountains of India. In early history they
are described under the following names: “Egyptian Smut,”
“Antwerp” and ‘‘Chinese Smut-nosed”’ rabbits.
They differ greatly from the average breed of rabbit,
in markings; should have black feet, tail, ears and a black
smut on nose that should come up well between the eyes and
should be egg-shaped and not come to a point or be broken.
The eyes are red and the fur is short and glossy, resembling
ermine. Its markings are most striking—a white body, with
nose, ears, legs and tail a velvety black.
When the young are born they are pure white and do not
start to show the markings until they are six weeks old,
when a nose smut will start to appear and the ears will have
62 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
a small black band at the base which every day will get
higher until the entire ear is black. All this time the feet
and tail will be taking on a dirty gray color, which will
soon be black as the rest.
As it is a fur rabbit, great care should be used to keep
it clean. Plenty of good clean straw should be in the hutch,
and it should be cleaned often. When entered in a show
spotted with hutch stains and with feet badly stained the
judge will pass it very quickly.
One thing the fancier must guard against is stains under
the eyes. Sometimes it looks as if the rabbit had stained it
with its front feet. These should never be used for breeders,
for this will disqualify your rabbit in the show room. The
ears should be all black, with no white hairs, the black end-
ing abruptly where the white begins. They should be small
and shapely, carried rather close together, with clean cut
white between them.
The black of all four feet should be a good deep black
with no white hairs. The markings or stockings on the hind
feet should go up as far as possible and should be black to
the top. This is one of the strongest points.
The fur is best when the rabbit is 5 to 8 months old.
Does should not be bred until § to 10 months old. The litters
are small and can be bred more often than the larger breeds.
Bucks should be sevarated when 4 months old and stock kept
for exhibition should be kept out of strong light, as the black
will fade in the sun.
Great care should be used in breeding. Always pick the
most perfectly marked animals and be sure that they are in
good coat, for if they are in poor condition you must expect to
find poor, broken-coated youngsters.
Shape is another imvortant point. They should not be
short and stuffy, but have slender shape and weigh about four
pounds. The coat is another important point. It should be
fine and silky, pure white. A coarse, wiry-coated animal
should never be used for a breeder.
Himalayan Rabbit Standard
Hind legs—Color: The “boots,” as they are sometimes
called, should be rich black and extend up the leg as far as
possible. Right hind leg, 12.5; left hind leg, 12.5 points.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 63
Front legs—Boots should be same as the hind legs. Right
front leg, 7.5; left front leg, 7.5 points.
Ears—Should be solid color, with clean cut white between.
Right ear, 7.5; left ear, 7.5 points.
Smut on nose—Round, solid and well up between the
eyes, 14 points.
Tail—Solid color, 6 points.
Weight and shape-—Four pounds, body long and slender;
does free from dewlap; 11 points.
Condition of flesh and fur—Flesh to be solid and fur to
be fine, soft and close; 14 points.
Disqualifications
Putty nose, eye stains, ear markings or nose smut or
feet markings missing; over five pounds.
Dutch Rabbit
The Dutch rabbit was thought to have originated in Hol-
land and in the last few years has become very popular in
the United States. In all large shows good classes are shown.
They should be about the size of the Himalayan or between 4
and 5 pounds weight.
They are a hardy animal and will stand up well in all
parts of the country. They come in blues, blacks, tortoise
shells and steel gray.
In breeding, always pick your strongest color. The
blacks are the most popular and as a rule the blue will fade
out in a short time. The other colors mentioned above are
very rare in this country.
—Courtesy of Wm. A. Smith
DULCH RABBIT
64 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Face Blaze—A white tapering wedge covering the nose
and ending just beyond the whiskers, tapering up to the ears,
dividing each cheek and ear and having a cord like line run-
ning between the ears and joining to the white part of the
body color, and run down to the jaw bone, not running under
it, or cutting off the white saddle; blaze should not be wide
between the eyes, nor taper off all at once. It should appear
as a perfectly round sweep, the colors not running into each
other. <A perfect head is beautiful, but hard to produce.
Neck and Ears—The base or starting spot of each ear
on the neck should be the exact color of the body, and cut per
fectly clear, without the colors running together. The white
neck color should run down between the ears, wedge shaped
into the small line connecting the blaze and the neck. Many
specimens have poor necks and fail to have the connecting
line between the neck and the blaze. The ears should be
short, free from white hairs and match the body color.
The saddle is the part of the rabbit which covers the front
feet, chest, throat and body, just clearing the shoulders. The
circle should be perfectly round and clear cut, not running
into the body color. The under part should be perfectly
straight, and not touch the front legs. A good way to tell if
the under cut is free from the front legs is to straighten
out the legs with your hand. The white color should not run
into the belly color, but cut off clear. Perfect under cuts
are very scarce.
Feet stops are the beautiful markings, appearing on the
ends of the hind feet, and should be white and run back
about one and one-half inches from the end of the toes. They
should be perfectly round, clean cut and alike on both feet.
Eyes should match the body color, but hazel in blacks. They
should be free from specks and “wall eyes.” Wall eyes are
off colored, pale blue as a rule, and speck eye is one with a
small speck or splash of light color in the iris.
Dutch Rabbit Standard
Color—Black, blue, steel gray, tortoise and tortoise shell.
The color to be solid and uniform, over ears, check and boly,
from saddle lie over back to tail and down hind feet to feet
stops.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 65
Bars, Cueeiwamd OGY sf a isd. ese las ache ine ee 5
Ted] capiahy WINS APE Sie, sec ese ae. alae ew raion, ear eriepere ie 5
Saddle—A white collar, starting just clear of the front
legs, running to the ears and in clean cut lines on top and
underneath body.
BOW AEE oie ree ce > i PEE wah pie Se eet @ ete ert as oe D
BRT Sed rete en ae ohn, see nro eek eas a Rea a ee 5
TERE UD ee rece ee coher cdot Gh sn cosa wise yet ito DRO ae oh 5
TUNG TREO oa ce cathe, ale eG ce ites © oI CME ee ne eo 5
Blaze on Face—The white color appearing in shape of a
wedge, rounding just clear of the whiskers and becoming nar-
row at the ears, where it has the appearance of a white cord.
Pe oe at et ecto ive MU co Sees ib ccd eh eee 10
PAIR OF DUTCH RABBITS
Small white mark passing through ears and con-
MECN With WHTHORMGNG is ota. cee 4k ee eee ne Ae oe 5
Ears and Neck—FErect, color to be solid and same
as body. The color around base of each ear should
be solid and not run into the white. The lines all
ein Re) CLO DN CTE es MUI ate i i aisc Ke Ale se sales ores 20
Eyes—To be rich hazel in blacks and to match the color
of the body in other colors.
66 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Right CVO hi OU AU ahs eecia hee Rie Lee ree 2.5
GORE OVC. cescer a ote 5, cpet ave cee eget he eae Ea eee Oa ee 2.5
Stops on Hind Feet—Clean white markings starting about
one and one-half inches from the toes and should be cut off
even on both feet.
RIGHETOOUS O25 Meee pte See ouk cet ule Le tee ee GES)
OPS 2 Bh 00 | ER A See AeA NB RR MSC Soe etd AltA iM 7.5
Size and Shape—To be under five pounds. They should
appear lively, frame compact and limbs a trifle short.
S GORE ei cute Steesioreue te ret cigs Vicewey oy cain Veh Ac cotey cheney aiveda ine antes 10
Condition of Flesh—Flesh to be firm and solid, the fur
very close, even and shining.
CONMGTELOM OE SIGS HAs, sts aeesices. eek tno REO. aed eaceue ce eee 2
COonGgitvOny Ole ie eee se oh ee naan cen Ee eee 3
POCA POOLING excess titan Site aie ante ede ales Ja tet ache 100
—Courtesy of Wm, Smith
“THESE LITTLE ‘RABBITS’ WENT
TO MARKET”
English Spotted Rabbit
Knglish spotted rabbits originated in England in the
late 80’s, and are said to have originated from the common
white smut-nose rabbit.
This breed is very difficult to get proper marking; much
more so than any other breed. Besides shape and color, the
markings that effect every portion of the animal, from nose
to tail, not only have to be in the right position, but of speci-
fied shape. _
If the fancier starts with a well marked pair you will
find, as in all other spotted and belted rabbits, quite a num-
ber of the young with the proper markings on one side, and
the other a blank as far as the standard calls for. In the
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 67
English Spots, the points and spots of perfection are more
numerous and as a consequence this breed is much below that
of other breeds. ;
They are bred in black and white, blue and white, tortoise-
shell, gray and white, and rarely a yellow and white. The
black and blues are the commonest breed in the United
States.
In describing the points and markings: The nose should
have a butterfly with no spots or white hairs, or split but-
terfly, eyes should have a black circle around each one, all
spots to be free from the eye circle; ears to be not over 4
inches in length, to be free from white hairs; chain markings
to run from top of neck in a link-like formation and run in
a slanting direction toward the loins, and should start with
one dot and run in two rows; saddle or herring-bone should
start between the ears and run in an unbroken line to top of
back to the tail. Leg markings, a small dot on the elbow of
each leg; front leg most important. There should be six
belly or teat spots. This rabbit when well up to the stand-
ard is a very beautiful animal.
They are fed the same as any of the middle-weigh: rabbits.
The American standard calls for 6 pounds, the English says
from 6 to 8 pounds. In breeding, never breed two with the
same markings missing.
English Spotted Rabbit Standard
Color—Blue, black, tortoise or gray; color to be clear and
the markings to be the same size, color and in the same posi-
tion on both sides; the color of the fur outside of the markings
to be white. Right side, 2.5; left side, 2.5. Smut on nose-—
To have the appearance of a butterfly in shape. Color, 5;
shape, 10.
Eye Circles and Cheek Spots—HEyes bright and bold.
Solid colored circles under right eye, 4; solid colored circle
under left eye, 4; dot on left cheek to be cut clear from eye
circle, 3; dot on right cheek to be cut clear from eye dot, 4,
Ears—Not over 4 inches long, good carriage, 4; color to
be solid, clean cut and free from white hairs, 4.
The Chain Markings—Named on account of link like for-
mations; start on top of the neck near the base of the ears,
and run in a slanting direction towards the loins. They
68 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
should start with one dot and run in two rows. Right side,
6; left side, 6.
Markings on the Loins—Appear to be a continuation of
the chain markings, only the spots are larger. No plain patch
of white hair should appear between the ending of the chain
and the starting of the loin markings. Right side, 6; left
side, 6.
Teat Markings—Should be six small dots on the _ white
belly. Right side, 3; left side, 3.
Markings on Legs—A small dot appearing on the elbow
of each leg; the front legs are the most important. Hind
leg, 4; front leg, 4.
Saddle Markings—A line beginning near the base of the
ears and running in an unbroken line on the top of the back
to the tail. It should be very narrow at the start and widen
out near the rump and again become narrow at the tail. It
should have hair extending out from the edges in the form
of a herring-bone. Saddle, 5.
Size and Condition—Six pounds; the flesh to be firm and
solid. Fur soft and free from molt, 10; herring-bone, 5.
The Black and Tan and Blue and Tan Rabbit.
The Tans were first introduced in England in 1883. In
type and weight are the same as the Dutch, 3 to 43 pounds
in weight. As to color, no other is permissable but Black
and Tan, no White or foreign color. The color, both Black
and Tan should reach well down to the skin; the same goes
for the Blue and Tan. The Blue should be a slate blue, the
same color as a blue Persian cat; the fur should be silky to
the touch.
In the Black and Tan, the black is the body color and
the tan the marking, the official description reads. The
head and cheeks to be black, that color reaching up to the
nose point, but with a ring of tan around each eye. Saddle
back, rump and sides also upper part of tail black; all should
be free from brindling except sides; sides of rump should be
thickly laced with long tan hair. The nostrils, jaw, chest,
belly, flanks and under part of tail should be one solid mass
of deep golden tan inclined to a red or mahogany tint; the tan
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY §9
should be free from soot or body color. The shoulders or |
neck immediately back of ears should be tanned wide and
tapered to a fine point, thus forming a triangle; this should
be large enough to be seen when the rabbit’s head is up
Ears should be fine, short and not tapery, outside jet black,
well furred; inside laced with tan; ears free from white tips,
white hairs or brindling. Shape, the shorter the better, coat
must be fairly short, laying well with the body with a silky
feel to the hand. Standard is the original English one used
the world over.
BLACK AND TAN RABBIT
Black and Tan
Points
BUACK— Dense mameeSOUNUe oi cig eee Oneal d a os 10
TAN—Deep and rich..... Pe ey conch vac 15
Eg en TES OIE SE at et 8 6 DR ee ee 5
CUSTOM DLS Coa teh heh de a ce ee a 10
70 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
1M CN SO Beer ot G6 OMMMRCR entrar VANE uo Mat anne gy Cae cer Se oce te Lc 10
POET SSN PONE sits Wat ei Meukes octets aiebre cher ce eee 5
CHEEKS; PEANKS VAN D, BELLY 3:2 3b sc aoe 10
PASE Sisceee se Mrht es steah Seite tea niessteiie iets ae areas, aac ee ee 5
NOSTRILS. Vl VBS ec AVWas on.. 2 curieve see cholera ate Ss otras 5
SECA A GN oe. ees eaten a cee delle Sern er tiara ener aa 10
Ve R Se 11s See acide Syatian GOeaea « Sea ace oan cee eee 5
COMMOTION ee Ae aatahe a rabietege AU akcls Oe ate a ene ae 10
EL URES SS Oa te recite Sik rons Reet rade hh econ fete mak ete oe 10
PY ESS 2 (0) 6 I eae Se rr Sede aan ra a PAO Ad vce eaten aft c 15
DISTRIBUTION—As to: Black and°Tan-s: 2)5) 2252. 40
SERA BE Ube te tenis a csu vo ctnvetet ne ete aaaa, SER am esas 10
EAR S=—Shore- andl stele Ae hee be ore on ee tiens 10
MVHS SiMe ran eh ws ask cote eet ae en ei ee 5
COINS IGE ON Meter eis ghive et eae eek ee Gul cee aotone, paeeeener 10
The ideal weight 34 to 44 pounds.
The Blue Imperial Rabbit
BLUE IMPERIAL BUCK
This breed was introduced by Miss Mabel Illingworth o:
Braintree, Essex, England. The ideal Imperial is described
as to shape and size, similar to that of the Belgian, Buck,
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY tL
but “shorter in limb.” Weight when full grown, 6 to 7
pounds. Color dark blue, even shade; fur soft and bright,
rather longer than most short haired varieties. Head narrow
and tapering, eyes large and bright and deep blue. Ears 44
inches long, round at tips, carried erect, set rather close.
The commonest faults are white hairs, rusty color, brown
eyes, bars of light or darker shade on feet.
The original Standard used for years in England are as
follows: ;
Points
SETAC Hy PPAUING DS ab ets) ate ee, be eag takers woe hie rae 6 oon ame 25
RY ye og nec 2a he res aoe CLAS ee SO eo oane MEE 10
PARES Ste cca f Kear ee tet oat ga ee eens we ee Seno iaes 5
1514 al (DA a cea ORR Sie de AC SR RE hs Lome a ECR ME Oat 15
Cl OIL, | 3 hale aA ee CRG MIP ek UM eM EN ie ee aL he) Bele cay Be 25
(OL GW il REP ee ere ee Ura ened ae come atl Mh ee SORE, dea A Rate ut 15
REE AR vere bec: & Br See ake ee Pa heel ee Be RON TIC gayle custo Re 5
MO LAL aS OUMER Ys terse rare Meer ets ella So oe ees eae 100
American Blue Rabbit
One of the new breeds which has been said to have orig-
inated from the Blue Vienna. Jn shape they are described
as Mandoline; in color a deep rich slate blue. Hyes blue;
toe nails to match. Well adapted for meat and fur. The
Standard fully describes them:
(2 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
American Blue Standard
SHAPE—Mandoline, compact, broad, meaty back.
slightly arched back, not flat, medium size bones,
small \dew=la pods spassiDlenciss estas we ttancty comenee 20
COLOR—Rich, clear Slate Blue, with as great a
depth of color as possible. Should be free from
all white hairs, sandy, or rusty colors and uni-
form over the feet, legs, chest, head, ears, body
ATG obs Adlets elcesre jaee A et sesre eae tee anata es Ba ns ity nla lg eae 25
WEIGHT—Bucks and does at maturity, 10 lbs..... 10
HEAD—Well shaped, not too long; even color..... 5
BY YOR SO DG DEMOS Gere sane alata th ee ettahte Sta sles 5
EARS—About five inches in length, narrow, well
SEL-ON and veveMm COlOL mealies cones ee ken e mee 5
Well developed ac igNg. e a eee ce ce yo cae ee 10
LEGS AND FEET Straight, medium size, dark toe
MNES 4h Pay shape ear asteatin Ps Styl < rite atiagiarhe et aera c ee Mera eae pee ea 10
CONDITION—Coat to be free from moult and good,
deep color, free from any stray colored hairs,
with dense soft, fine silky texture; flesh firm and
‘Sto (CG LAR ath nein A et en SA Caer | WA AON Serer pee wane 10
(All general disqualifications, also.)
Disqualifications—White patches of hair, crooked feet,
legs or tail; any other colored eyes but blue or lop ear. Faults
to be severely cut, but not disqualified; stray white hair,
sandy or rusty, or any other foreign colored hair, uneven color
on body, legs or loins. Rough or uneven coat.
Black Siberian
The rabbit that has caused more controversy than ail
other breeds as to its origin. It was claimed that they first
came from Siberia. It is still an oven question among many
fanciers. The Standard calls for Bucks 9 pounds and Does
10 pounds. They are getting away from the Flemish type
and size. The new Standard calls for a bright black sheen
for coat, free from white hair and as to type as near the
Belgian as you can get. The writer has spent a few seasons
in. Northern Alaska and found all rabbits and small game
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 73
of the brown shade change to a white in winter as nature
provides this protection to all animal life in Alaska, and as
Siberia is only 54 miles from Point Barrow across the ice the
climatical conditions would be the same in Siberia. They
should be, Bucks not over 9 pounds; matured Does not over
10 pounds. Type same as Belgian Hare. Head medium, not
too large, having the bulldog appearance as the Flemish.
Ears large and long, having a tapering shape. Eyes dark
brown. Does to have as small dewlap as possible. Body
shapely, similar to Belgian Hare. Type, legs large, long,
strong, carrying the body well off the ground. Tail very long
and jet black. Fur thick, dense black and of good length with
a bright sheen. Disqualifications—Color other than Black,
White Patches, scattered white hairs, severe cuts, etc.
Angora Rabbit
All Angora wool used comes from France and Belgium,
where they raise them by the thousands for meat and wool,
but from the fineness it is like silk. The wool, when made
up into yarn, retails for $2.50 to $3 per ounce and not enough
is made to supply the demand.
Here is a branch of the industry that the fanciers should
take up. They are easy to raise, and a pair of breeders can
be bought at a reasonable price. They are a hardy breed
and require only a reasonable amount of care. Of course, if
you are raising for exhibition you will have to do more groom-
ing and give more attention.
In breeding, it is advisable to iimit each doe to four
youngsters. Destroy the rest of the litter or use a nurse
doe, and keep only the largest and most promising youngsters,
with big bold head and big bone. The youngsters should be
separated when six weeks old and put in pairs in separate
hutches, as they will huddle when kept together and are
liable to spoil their coats.
Do not ever wash an Angora in water. If soiled, dust
with French chalk or corm flour; do not put too much on,
In exhibiting, always remember that the longest and finest
haired rabbit, free from miats in the wool, is the one that
will get the blue ribbon.
74 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert
+ ANGORA RABBITS ON A FRENCH FARM—A PROPEL.
ABLE INDUSTRY OVERLOOKED BY THE
AMERICAN BREEDER
PLUCKIN
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 75
Hutches should be large and roomy. You must not ex-
pect to keep a wool-bearing rabbit in a little 2 by 4 hutch.
Have hutches as large as you have room for, and clean out
often. Sprinkle sawdust in corners and bed down. I have
seen Angoras kept in yards and they looked good and healthy,
with nice long, clean wool.
In color, white predominates, although they come in blues,
blacks, fawns and grays. In competition the colored Angoras
seldom have a ‘“‘look-in.”
In describing the Angora, they should have the coat as
long as possible and of uniform quality, fine soft under-coat,
having the fleecy appearance of wool, not in any way open
or have a cottony appearance; the fur on shoulders and chest
when brushed forward hiding the entire head and gives the
rabbit the appearance of a big round ball of wool; all four
feet should be well covered with a deep fringe of wool hang-
ing from them; ears well covered, should be stout and erect,
with a tuft of wool on tips if possible.
In shape, the Angora is cobby, and size is a point that is
sometimes hard to attain and keep the wool of the highest
quality. Good small ones are more easy to attain, but what
is wanted in the show is an Angora that is good and at the
same time large.
The eyes should be pink; the coat must be well brushed
and free from cots or matted fur.
Standard
Points
QUALITY OF WOOL—The texture shall be very
PING ROU AA aOR YS. 48 VERS oye cet k aia earaee Gee ok 20
FEET AND TAIL—To have thick wool........... 10
LENGTH AND QUALITY OF WOOL—Shall be of
good length, 24 to 5 inches at 4 months of age. .15
TAIL AND FEET—Feet to have a fringe of wool
LNG OFS ROWS aRe 600d cp) 01) 01 See ee a 10
HEAD—To have a noble appearance and covered
WILE a OOM Meena "OL. WOON. dus sc ccaccrda s dou ou « 5
CHEST AND HEAD—Chest to have wool as long
NSS TOG STN ERS ne 5
EARS—Short, stubby and erect; good quality of
wool and tufts on end of ears.
76 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
ERT tr hota Pe ace eye sae ne aah ete ea ae Meee ORs ae an aa 5
| Det ka or: i a PRne eRE heiy eben ec, ose ecu OS naa MME jas Pd 5
SHAPE—To be cobby and have the appearance an a
Far eree wilt: cial. se scat eeu tor ne trol a tac) Ronee eee 5
SIZE—Over 6 pounds, with large bones in legs, and
Food, laree, Tround Weads... 2a cise. osm darscaee mare 10
CONDITION OF WOOL AND FLESH—Wool free
LromMemats: and wel rwsweds @ oi ck saosin de macs eceas eee 5
PRE SH Mirna tamed Solids nse svt louse se anele aie aa 5
Angoras are bred in White, Blue and Blacks, or Smokes,
as they should be called. Fawns and Grays are also ex-
hibited. White Angoras should have pink eyes.
Champagne De Argent
The Champagne De Argent is known in America as
French Silver or Champagne Silvers, from its name it is a
native of France.
It is one of the greatest fur rabbits in the world, as the
fur is the same all over, with hardly any waste.
In 1916 over 200,000 Champagne furs were exported from
France. This will give you some idea of the value of this
rabbit as a fur animal.
In color it is described as having a rich under-color of
blue intermixed with black and white hairs, the outer cover-
ing a rich, even silvering, making a striking appearance.
A matured rabbit should weigh 8 pounds and in shape
should not be racy or baggy. Hutches should be cleaned often
so the fur will not get stained.
The Silvers, when born, are jet black and gradually
change to a silver ticking; sometimes it will show only in
spots around the chest and sides, but does not show full coat
until about 5 months old, and on the second moult shows
lighter.
it is better not to keep this breed in the direct rays of
the sun. In breeding, you should pick the ones with the
most even, rich silver ticking; all specimens will show a dark
butterfly smut on the nose.
The Continental Standard calls for blue under-color good
and clear, intermixed with black and white hair.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY i
The silvering must be even all over the body, presenting
a sharp, bright, silvery appearance, full of life and sparkle.
The coat must be smooth and soft. The ears must be neat
and straight, well set on head, rather high in position. The
body shape must be neat and compact, not bulgy or baggy.
Condition must be such that the rabbit is clean and lively.
KXyes bright, coat sleek and smooth, size 8 pounds.
English Lop-Eared Rabbit
This breed has two varieties, the English and the French.
It is recorded as far back as 1850, when they were shown
in the shows in London, England, in large classes, .for trophies
and cash prizes for years.
They were known as the King of the fancy. Where and
when they criginated is not known, but they can be traced
back for over 100 years.
Lops in the early stage were different from the lop of
today. They had great difficulty in getting them bred with
the ears hanging down as they do today, and in the early
shows they had different classes. If the specimen had both
ears with the correct fall it was known as a Double Lop; if
both ears stood out from the head at right angles it was
classified as an Oar Lop; if one ear hung down it was known
as a Half Lop, but these have disappeared, and only the
Full Lop is now recognized.
Ears have been produced 284 inches long, the improve-
ment has all been made by the English fancier, as this
breed has never been very popular in America.
They come in all colors, both solid and broken. In a
show held at Leamington, England, in 1910, twenty lops in one
class had ears that came to 25 inches in length, the winner
with an ear 25 inches long and 64 inches wide. The longest
ear in the show was 26 inches long, 64 inches wide. This
goes to show the breeders what can be done with proper
breeding and attention.
Lops cannot be raised successfully in out-of-door hutches.
They should be in good tight hutches, free from draughts.
Also you must pay particular attention to the ears, as fleas
are sure to infect the base and inside of ears in a warm rab-
bitry.
The young should have ears eleven inches in length at 4
78 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
months; if they do not come up to that length they will never
amount to much.
If you have a youngster that one ear does not lop well,
you can take a piece of tape, wrap it at the tip and place a
small weight in the tape, and this will help them to fall.
The ears should be massaged from the root to the tip; do
this gently. Vaseline rubbed in well will help the growth.
To measure the ears, take the flat part of the left ear
and hold firmly. Place a rule with measure to tip of right
ear across the head; to get the width of ears, place rule at
widest part of ears. This breed needs about the same feed
as any of the larger breeds.
Standard for Lops
Length and width of ears—any length ot ears—
GSE RAGE Gs pn tie ck Tas te ik oy aR ee ees 12.5
H BPd oH Shi Bal SD 8 eee tes Sc Ah ae Rn Lee Re ET ane acetate ty A b5)
WIDTH OF EARS—Any width from widest place
OIMASAT: coi oi th Rian e soe Soe Rea ae en eine oe eee eee ae 19
THE EARS should be stout, strong and free from
PSG anS Nay OEP, ewes eine eto Beane Aloe Wace coe ees 10
HYES— lobe large and rier kien ote. eon 6
SHAPE, SIZE AND TAIL—Body to be large and
arched. Bucks to weigh about 10 pounds and
does 11 pounds and over. Tail straight, not
WVITSV RUUD Ssh cee cc he reat ene Raa en aes ee Meee eis Be he 14
LEGS AND FEET—Good size and straight....... 6
COLOR AND CONDITION—Any color. Flesh
solid and in’ healthy condone! >... 6 ck oe ee 20
109
White Polish Rabbit
They are one of the most beautiful of all fancy rabbits,
never weighing over 3 pounds; the smaller the better.
As they are a hard rabbit to raise, and have no great
value except for show purposes is one reason that they have
never been very popular in the United States.
The Polish have very short ears, set very close together
so when you look ‘at them from one side they look like one
ear, have large blood red eyes; the coat must be very short,
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 79
the shorter the better, and must have a high sheen; should
glisten with life. The color should be pure white, the shape
small and. neat.
It is said that this breed originated from the sports of
the Belted Dutch rabbit and prior to 1884 any small white
rabbit was called Polish. The first authentic record of a
class of Polish was in Hull, England, in 1884.
It is not necessary to keep them in dark hutches but they
should be kept out of the direct rays of the sun, as they.
fade easily.
A CHAMPION: WHITE POLISH
In feeding grains, give oats and wheat. In summer they
can be fed green feed, but not cabbage, as they are subject
to diarrhea, and in feeding roots be sure to cut in small
pieces. If you give whole roots they will stain their noses
and jaws as they gnaw into it,
80 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Sawdust is the proper bedding. Never bed in hay as the
dust will get in the fur. Feed just what they will clean up
and clean the hutch out at least twice each week. The Polish
are perhaps the least prolific of all rabbits. Five are con-
sidered a good litter. Much inbreeding has been done in the
Polish. The young are not as hardy as the other breeds and
a greater difficulty will be found in rearing them.
In breeding be sure that the buck and the doe are in the
pink of condition, have correct type, well coated ears, fine
bone and rich, blood-red eyes.
The young should be separated when five or six weeks
of age.
Preparing for the show the fancier must remember that
coat and condition are the strongest points. In cleaning to
remove dirt use bread crumbs, not too dry. They should be
given a good hand rubbing and finished up with a polishing
with a chamois skin.
Never put anything in your shipping coops but sawdust
and see when they enter the show room that the exhibition
coop is gool and clean and bedded with good clean sawdust.
Polish Standard
Points
COMOR RICH DUEe WihIGE oe sa Se, Serena ae cee 14
SHAPE—Short and neat: weight, 3 pounds;........ 14
COAT Short, fine, and srliky.cs os.cies nero aieasies Rees 26
EKARS—Short, set very close together and well
rounded. When viewing them irom the side they
appear as one ear; good fur on base of ear if
TOSS UDC ae Se ee otra, ras eee a Se ee ane eke eer ee 16
HY HS—Large, bold and blood-red.................. 16
CONDITION—Fiesh and fur-flesh firm and healthy.
Fur in fine condition, free from moult or stain...14
Japanese Rabbit
A rabbit rarely seen in this country, they are described
as a short, well-shaped body, strong limbs, good shaped head
with neat ear carriage; should weigh 8 pounds at maturity.
No set markings, in color from faintest cream tint to a
deep brick red with patches and spots and stripes of black.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 81
Care should be used not to expose them to the direct rays of
the sun as their color readily fades. The Standard describes
them as to shape and size. Short and thick legs, 8 pounds in
weight.
Points
SQN seta cee roa a cE ES rome Boe aie, ego went 10
Tee ee eae eo Aa hare oy he ene eae ar es et 10
HEAD—Medium size, well spotted with black
TNE CLECs Ore sree ete os, sere tet ee rite ewer ea Os eka Me derrnee 5
_BEARS—Medium size, spotted patches to match
es 158) A Ate aE Dee gee Peers rare: ket war Te Oe are oe ro 5
MARKINGS—To be irregular and of different
BOOT Mies oss aes a h Cewstiah aoe fee oan: tages Ses pea 30
~ UNDER-COLOR—Shiny and shading from cream to
FETAL TALL cs, os 8S Seat un eer oiragts: SRC asa Sata otal ee Wee Be eas 20
CONDITION OF FLESH AND FUR—Flesh to be
solid; fur to be soft, close and free from moult. .20
Silver Brown Rabbit
The Silver Brown is another breed, they were pro-
duced originally by mating the Belgian Hare Doe with a light
Silver Grey Buck, and breeding up to the present perfection.
They are not as popular as the Silver Grays and do not stand
up in coloring as long as the Grays and is one of the hardest
of breeds to keep anywhere near the Standard. It is near
impossible to see a real first class Brown.
The Silver Brown is bred in four distinct colors, Slate
Blue, Brown, Black and White; the white is the silvering and
the black the ticking.
In size and shape almo:t the same as the Silver Grays.
The English Standard calls for—
Points
UNDER-COLOR—Deep rich Chestnut............. 25
SiLVERING——Hvenness throughout .....:....ss 20
TICKING—Sharp, even and bright............... £5
ELD ved Ie cere dl aa oe 0 101111 a er 15
EARS—Neat and well set on........ 1) nant 10
BEYES=+—Bold_and bright........... }
POSIT LC OLIN uit ka orate ss Galen es a 15
82 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Silver Gray Rabbit
‘The Silver Gray Rabbit was known as the Silver Sprig,
originated in England. Jn size the Standard calls for 4 to 5
pounds; in color you will have to imagine a short haired
black rabbit that has stayed all night out of doors in a cold
winter and has a covering of frost glistening on his black
coat; they are exceedingly handsome animals, lively and
bright and are quite hardy.
They come in different shades—light, between and
dark. They have a dark under-color with a white or silver
ticking. The Standard is used in England where they are
most popular.
Standard
Points
UNDER-COLOR—Deep-rich blue black. 2724-4 wen 25
TICKING—Sharp, even and bright........... eee
BEVENNESS OF SILVER -THROUGHOUT........ 20
COA AI MSMOT ars coe cs tas eeuc ce eee oma eee aoa rd
HARS—Neat and well set....... aa WY creat a 10
EYES—Bold and bright........ ;
CONDITION sAINDS HAP Bian! S scace cantgenta ss cianeea 2 ete 15
100
A DELICIOUS DISH OF RABBIT AND DUMPLINGS
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 83
THE HAVANA RABBIT
By THEODORE TURNER,
The value of the Havana lies in its adaptibility for food
and fur production. Its type is one producing the maximum
flesh in proportion to offal and at the smallest cost. Its fur,
especially in the cold months, is extremely dense and very
valuable for imitations of Hudson Bay Sable and Marten.
Its size is such that the pelt is matured at the same time that
the rabbit is the proper size for market.
Havanas originated wholly by chance on a farm in Hol
land. The first pair were produced by an unknown sire
and a Dutch marked black and white doe. This occurred
in 1898. They were shown in Holland the following year and
in 1903 made their appearance in France, where they were
quickly taken up and perfected. For that reason they are
claimed as a production of France, and by some called French
Havanas. They were first shown under the name of Fire
Eyes, due to the red light which will show in their eyes in
the proper circumstances. Havanas were first imported into
the United States in 1908.
Breeding Havanas is the source of great pleasure and no
small profit. They are very healthy and hardy rabbits, have
a very pleasing disposition, taming very easily, yet getting
offended at the first sign of ugliness from their breeder.
Havanas breed easily the year round, have proven to be won-
derful producers and are able to rear large litters very well.
The young grow very fast, usually being fully matured at
six months. They are born all shades of brown, and with
an occasional black, white or blue among them. White young
are valueless and should not be ke;z:. Black ones, if does,
may be kept to darken the stud if it has a tendency to be-
come light. Goudas or Lilacs originated from the Blues.
The lightest colored young usually prove to be the best show
specimens, the light color denoting the proper under-color.
Havanas are very fond of green stuff of all kinds and
when it is in season will grow and thrive on practically noth-
ing else. They are also kept in the best condition through
a liberal feeding of grass, clover and other similar feeds.
84 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Proper selection of breeding stock is very necessary for
the success of the beginner. Due to the great popularity of Ha-
vanas many Havanas or brown crosses from other stock are sold
as Havanas, but have not the proper characteristics. With
proper foundation stock, care must be used to breed only
when the stock is in prime condition, and then breed for the
bright brown color and the densest fur. Care must also be
used to keep Havanas from coarseness.
Standard
The standard for Havanas, as advocated by the American
Federation of Havana Rabbit Breeders, ‘s a3 tollows:
Points
COLOR—Rich, BRIGHT Brown on entire body,
head, feet and ears, with under-colcr of pure
PALO SRA A 654 Manoeselces eletn Aisle aie, eon tee ee eects ee 20
SHAPE AND SIZE—Extreme mandolin type,
broad behind, narrowing to- the front, well
arched back, short body. Weight from six to
GIGI bE POUMES wee Ae ee an gece Wee tas Ale cea Aen ry netted 30
EARS—Four inches long, narrow, straight and
GATTI: UPTV NG aye vas) eee ah Soa She anes twee ee ae 10
FEET—Slender and straight, brown toe nails.... 10
EYES—Large, having gentle expression, color of
body, but showing a red light in the pupil.... 5
COAT—Short, silky and heavier than is general... 20
CONDITION—Healthy, clean, firm in flesh...... 5
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 85
THE CHINCHILLA RABBIT
By THEODORE TURNER.
The Chinchilla rabbit is a wonderful fur-bearing possi-
bility. The fur of this animal resembles very closely the
real Chinchilla. The color is the same from the time of
birth to maturity, making it possible for its fur to be sold
Good specimens of this particular rabbit in this
We give the views of two breeders.
at any age.
country are very few.
—Publishers.
—Courtesy of Outdoor Enterprise Co.
A CHINCHILLA DOE
The color and coat character of the Chinchilla is of the
utmost importance. The Chinchilla color is produced in the
following peculiar fashion: Each individual hair consists
of—firstly, a band of medium gray next to the skin; then
a band of lighter gray; then a darker band; then a band of
very light gray and lastly a band of black. The fur,'is loose
and very thick and the surface effect is that of light and
dark gray bands blending into one another. Therefore, with
the proper color and the proper fur character, a very good
imitation of the real Chinchilla is produced.
86 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
The honor and credit for producing the Chinchilla rabbit
belongs to a Serbian who spent quite a few years experi-
menting to produce a rabbit with the real “Chinchilla lani-
gera”’ coat. After he had produced this stock and found it
bred true to color; he interested one of France’s wealthy rab-
bit men, who took some of his stock and in a short time had
sown a few Chinchillas all over Europe. This was in 1920.
The first Chinchillas made their appearance in this country
in 1921.
The great value of the Chinchilla lies in its pelts, which
imitates very well the real Chinchilla, which is now prac-
tically a thing of the past. Real Chinchilla pelts are worth
$75.00 each. Chinchilla “rats,’ the only other imitation for
the real Chinchilla, are also scarce and very valuable, from
which you can see the advisability of raising Chinchilla
rabbits.
Standard
Because there is at this time no recognized Standard for
the Chinchilla, the author submits the following:
Points
COLOR—Chinchilla color over entire body, feet,
head, ears, with the exception of belly, which is
wiite:- iinder-coat hull Ssort-slate. 2.) 2% seca 30
COAT—Exceedingly so-t and dense, hairs one inch
TOUS os cs, ts Seoseh anasto canoe Slane re agar hakctceet oc hap: ee ee 30
POO UNE OS A oi ies ara aoa al ea hae eee en eee er nee 20
HEAD AND BARS—Head tree trom coarseness,
Ears to be smail with darker lines on their
BUSES Ee Ra eh Sate one ade Degen Ag he a ee 5
EYES—Full and round, bright but dark colored.... 5
FEET—Small, straight and evenly ticked........ a
CONDITION—Healthy, clean, firm of flesh........ 5
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 87
THE CHINCHILLA, ITS SOURCE AND
HEREDITY
By Oe Orn,
The Chinchilla rabbit was first bred by the Serbians and
during the world war French soldiers occupying this country
imported these most pleasing little animals to their homes
in France. On account of the large numbers of foreign sol-
diers being there, they at once saw the g.eat possibility of
this breed as a fur rabbit and it spread rapidly all over
Hurope as well as this country and is known there and here
as the Chinchilla rabbit.
—Courtesy of Outdoor Enterprise Co.
CHAMPION CHINCHILLA BUCK
SENSATION AT
OMAHA, NEB., 1921
As to ancestry it is not hard to find the forefathers o-
this breed. Long before our Christian history a silvered rab-
bit was bred in India, especially in Siam and Burma, where
also the white elephants make their home. If we cannot
say that this rabbit made the trip on Noah’s ark, it is written
in the histories by Buddhist priests, dating back to before
Christ, that animals of that breed existed in that country.
88 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
In the beginning of the sixteenth eentury (1547) these were
imported to Europe by Portuguese sailors. Also the French
about 1630 brought specimens of this breed home to France
with them and later the Spanish also. In the eighteenth
century this rabbit could be found domesticated in all Latin
speaking countries, mostly by the efforts of the English it
spread from England south and west, thereby also reaching
Serbia about the middle of the last century.
This rabbit appeared in three different shades, a brown-
silver, a gray-silver and a yellow-silver, and had the same
shape and weight as the present Chinchilla. .The lightest
shades of the gray-silver could hardly be distinguished from
our present Chinchilla and only the breeding of the lightest
shades to each other, the introduction of animals with long
black-tipped hair already existing in the forenamed breed,
and the influence of the Serbian mountain climate was needed
to produce what all those who see it admire.
We have now a small rabbit weighing up to 6 pounds
on the average, but by the use of nurse does it ought not to
take us long to get the average weight increased to the limit.
about 8 to 9 pounds.
: &
Mea ~
A WHITE FLEMISH GIANT
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 89
KUDZU AS A RABBIT FEED
Kudzu succeeds on land too poor for alfalfa.
It does not have to be fertilized or limed.
It enriches poor soil more rapidly and more permanently
than it can be improved in any other way.
It will transform non-productive barren hillsides into a
main resource of the farm.
{t doesn’t have to be cut at a certain time to save it.
A shower of rain doesnt’ ruin the hay.
It makes a good permanent pasture.
It is not injurious to rabbits and is perfectly safe for all
stock, when fed either green or dry. (Does not cause sick-
ness of animals even when overfed.)
When fed to nursing cows it will produce more milk and
richer milk than any other one feed.
It contains more protein than alfalfa or wheat bran.
'
Kudzu is a wonderful perernial legume. It is perfectly
hardy all over the United States and endures the winters
as far north as Nova Scctia. .
Kudzu springs up from the roots when the first warm
days come in the spring and, grows vigorously until a killing
freeze comes in the fall. Two cuttings can be made each
year in the North, and four in the South. Instances are
known where four cuttings of hay, averaging 24 tons per cut-
ting and making a total yield of ten tons per acre in a single
season, have been made.
A remarkable feature is that although the hay is richer
than alfalfa, yet it is entirely free from the tendency to
cause loose bowels, kidney disorders and bloat. When moist-
ened, Kudzu hay becomes almost like fresh foilage again and
makes an excellent green ration for rabbits in winter.
Kudzu will thrive on any soil, provided the land is well
drained. Like any other crop, it will make a stronger growth
on rich land, but it does well on land that is too poor for
any other hay crop and rapidly improves the soil by draw-
ing in nitrogen from the air. Poor, worn out land planted to
Kudzu soon becomes like the rich soil that has been recently
90 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
cleared from the virgin forest. The soil becomes richer every
year, and the deep roots live to a great age and hecome
,
ground and needs
ll produce
i
rabbitry.
KUDZU
a small
A FIELD OF
A small plot of ground in your lot w
abbit feed; yields very largely on a small Piece of
enough feed for
attention.
wonderful r
but little
rae
Courtesy Burgess Feed & Plant Company
Makes
stronger and more vigorous as the years pass by. The roots
penetrate so deeply as to make it proof against dry weather.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 91
Kudzu should be given cultivation the first season.
Some other crop may be planted between each row of Kudzu
the first season if desired. After this it needs no further
cultivation, as the vines will run all over the ground the
next season and take root at the joints, growing so rapidly
as to choke out all other plants (even such pests as Johnson
and Bermuda grasses), yet it is an easy matter to get rid
of Kudzu if desired, for it has a peculiar habit of neither
blooming or bearing seed under field culture, and the plants
will only sprout from the crowns and can be killed by cutting
off these crowns with a disk plow in hot, dry weather. When
the crowns of Kudzu roots are cut off and exposed to sun-
shine for half a day or so they are killed, and the roots decay.
For this reason there is no danger of it ever becoming a
pest.
Plant the Kudzu on these hills, about 5 feet apart, on
plowed strips 5 or 6 feet wide. These strips can be laid off
10 to 12 feet. apart on the cross-way of hillside to prevent
washing. The second season these hills will be entirely cov-
ered and sodded with the finest crop of hay or pasture you
ever saw.
Kudzu is a native of Japan, where it is a leading hay
crop, and is highly recommended by the United States De-
partment of Agriculture.
Growers are now propagating it largely by transplanting
young plants from old Kudzu fields, owing to the fact that
the seed is very scarce. They prepare the ground the same
as for a crop of corn, and then check off into rows & feet
apart each way, setting a plant at each check. It takes only
680 plants to set an acre, so you see it is not as big a job
as one might imagine, and the time spent is a very small
consideration when you figure that once you get it planted
it is there as long as you want it.
Rabbit and Cavy breeders especially should have a patch
of Kudzu. A plot 100 feet square will produce enough to feed
a good sized rabbitry or caviary the year round. It is claimed
that it can be fed green without affecting the stock in any
way. It is also said that rabbits will leave all other feed
for Kudzu.
92 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
DISEASES OF RABBITS—CAUSES, SYMPTOMS
AND REMEDIES
Colds
Rabbits will be found to take cold quite readily, although
they are above the average hardiness of people in this re-
gard. The causes of colds in rabbits and people, however,
are much the same and in fact, nearly all diseases of rab-
bits have the same symptoms, the same causes and about the
same cures as of the same diseases in people.
Changing from warm hutches to cold ones, changing
from low to high or high to low, where the temperature or
airing will vary, frightening to the extent that the animal
gets overheated and any other means of changing tempera-
tures suddenly, either of the animal’s body or his hutch, is
very liable to be the main causes of colds in rabbits. Infec-
tion due to companionship or mating with another rabbit
afflicted with a cold will cause it also.
The symptoms of a cold at first, as in the human, are
sneezing, coughing and thickened breathing. Slightly watery
eyes indicate colds also.
The remedy is transference to a newly disinfected hutch,
where there are no drafts or damp. Feed well on clean food,
sprinkled well with Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator and com-
mon table salt, equally mixed, salted on to the grain and
hay, A hot mash may be given once a day of equal parts of
bran, crushed oats and linseed cake, with a very light sprink-
ling of cayenne pepper, which will help straighten up the
sick one’s stomach and ward off the cold.
The best cure, of course, for any trouble, is prevention.
This is accomplished by the application of right principles
in the start, right housing, right buying, right breeding.
Right housing will be found well explained in the early part
of this work. Right buying means the careful avoidance of
rabbits either infected or in a place containing infected stock,
right breeding in disease prevention is to breed only healthy
stock in a healthy place.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 93
Catarrh
Catarrh is an advanced stage of cold settling usually in
the nasal passages and the bronchial tubes. It will be dis-
tinguished by a slight rattling in the nose and the flow oi
a mucous of a thin greenish nature from the nostrils.
Treat same as for a cold and make un the following prescrip-
tion, putting the medicine into a small machine oil can for
convenience in dropping into the animal’s nostrils: 4 ounces
clear Sweet Oil, 2 ounces Oil of Eucalyptus, 6 drops Turpen-
tine, 6 drops Coal Oil, 2 ounces Glycerine. Mix the Glycerine,
Sweet Oil and Eucalyptus Oil together in a warm pan on the
‘pack of a stove where it will not be too hot. Take off the
stove and add the Turpentine and the Coal Oil, mixing thor-
oughly. Drop six drops of this mixture in each nostril of the
afflicted animal night and morning. Keep the animal in clean
dry hutches, free from drafts.
Snuffles
Snuffles is a case of quick consumption in rabbits and is
absolutely without any cure. Care must be used, however,
not to confuse Snuffles with the Catarrh. Snuffles will man-
ifest itself in a thick whitish mucous from the nostrils, loss
of appetite, thinness and utter indifference to surroundings.
When the disease gets to this stage the only safety for the
rest of the stock, and the only right way to relieve the ani-
mal from its sufferings is a quick sure death. There are
remedies professing to cure Snuffles, but they will be found
really effective only in cases of Catarrh and Colds. If it
were possible to cure Snuffles in a rabbit it would be entirely
practical to use the same remedy to complete curing of the
human in cases of quick consumption, as the rabbit and
the human are organically the same.
STOMACH TROUBLES
Slobbers
The first stomach trouble liable to a rabbit in its young
days is Slobbers. This is shown by a wetness about the
chin and mouth, caused by derangement of the stomach, re-
sulting in a weakening of the salivary glands. The ducts
of the salivary glands being weakened, an excessive watering
94 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
of the mouth results, causing the “‘slobbers,’’ from which the
disease gets its name. Improper foods and feeding, some-
times old or rotten foods getting in the youngster’s way, and
generally an attempt to eat too early in life, are some of the
causes of this trouble. Be sure to have the mest boxes made
with the entrance holes high so the youngsters cannot get
out on the floor too early to eat. They should never be out
before fourteen days anyway and eighteen is better. See that
the hutches are kept well cleaned or else built on the self-
cleaning style.
First, separate all the youngsters whose jaws are wet,
as the trouble is contagious by contact with the slobbers on
the food, For these separated youngsters see that they have
six drops of sweet Spirits of Nitre to each cup of drinking
water. Feed as usual, excepting that you should substitute
dry or toasted bread for grain.
Make a ration salt as follows:
One part Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator, one part com-
mon table sait, and then to one pound of the above mix-
ture add one-half teaspoonful of common table soda. Mix
thoroughly and place in small salt shakers to be dusted on
the grain ration or the bread ration at each feeding, salting
the grain or bread with this mixture just a little each time,
as you would your own food. It must be remembered that
the rabbit in a hutch cannot get out to select his herbs as
he might in the wild state and that the above salting is
necessary to his health. This salting should therefore be
done for all rabbits as a stomach trouble preventive, or, a bet-
ter way is to hang an Ex-Cel-So Salt spool in the hutch.
These spools are made for that purpose.
When the youngsters are first found with the slobbers
they should be taken up and a mixture of half and half of
common table salt and baking soda rubbed on the wet jaws.
Repeat twice a day until the trouble is cured, which it will
be in a few days if the case has not been left to advance too
far.
Constipation
Constipation is sometimes catised by the water and some-
times by the food,.but is rather a rare disease in rabbits.
May be known by an extreme hotness of the ears and a
general dumpiness or lack of energy in the rabbit.
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 95
Dust powdered licorice root on the food night and morn-
ing and give a little milk to drink instead of water.
Diarrhoea
Frequently caused by eating green food too young or by
other poor food. May be noticed by the droppings being
soft and shapeless when they really should be round and
firm. Equal parts powdered Arrow Root, common table salt
and common baking soda dusted well over the ration will
have a good effect. Feed toasted pieces of bread instead of
grain and give tea leaves from the kitchen after the tea has
been used, which the rabbit should eat readily. The trouble
will be found principally in the young, but may occur in
older stock. Not dangerous if handled early.
Pot Belly
ae extra large fullness of the abdomen caused by too
much green or wet foods. Really a sort of permanent bloat,
which while not very dangerous in itself is ruinous to the
appearance of such rabbits as the Belgian Hare where shape
is a requisite to value, To prevent this do not feed root
crops or greens so heavily, but in the case of young stock
showing a tendency toward the trouble feed dry grains, clean
dry hay and give only what water they will drink in twenty
minutes twice a day. Powdered licorice root to act as a
mild physic will help take down the bloated or “pot” effect.
Red Water
An excessive redness of the urine, caused by deposits in
the kidneys, sometimes due to the water given and some-
times due to the food containing minerals. Sweet Spirits of
Nitre, one teaspoonful to each half pint of drinking water
is a good remedy. See that the rabbit has plenty of clean
clear water always at hand, properly fixed with the Nitre.
As soon as the urines assume the natural color, a light ye!-
low, discontinue the Nitre.
Ear Canker
This affection is not at all dangerous if any care at all
is used with it. The trouble appears generally as a scab in
either or both ears and if allowed to run on will fill the ear.
Mix up the following prescription and have it in a small
machine oil can handy to drop a few drops in each affected
ear night and morning. No other treatment need be ap-
plied, except that it will be well to massage the ear a little.
96 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
working it gently round and round, Even if you do not do
this it will work out all right in three to four days. But do
not poke sticks or other aitempts to clean out the ear. The
prescription for the oil to be used follows: Cottonseed oil,
4 ounces; Turpentine, 6 drops.
Abscesses
These are the gathering of matter under the skin of the
rabbit, generally along the back or under the neck. They
may be caused by a bite, a scratch or a protruding nail in
the hutch. Wait until the abcess appears to be full size.
when it will get quite soft. Carefully cut away the hair
from around the place of incision or cutting of the abscess,
which you will do at the base or side of it and not on the
top of it, as it will clean out so much better.
Have someone help you hold the rabbit. Make rather a
long incision at the side of the abscess and if the pus is in
a sac be careful not to cut the sac if you can help it, as it
will be a cleaner job if you can remove the sac entire.
After the pus or sac is removed and the pocket is well
cleaned out, have a pan of luke warm water into which two
tablespoonfuls of Listerine have been poured, Wash the
pocket out well with this Listerine water and then with clear
Peroxide of Hydrogen, full strength. Fill the pocket pretty
well with Carbolated Vaseline and squeeze it out again, leav-
ing little or none for the rabbit to lick off, which it will be
sure to do if possible.
Spotted Liver
Heavy breathing in rabbits is often laid to lung or bron-
chial troubles when the real cause lies in what is known as
Spotted Liver. This is generally a deposit of lime or some
sodium or salts on the liver and may be caused by bad food,
by poor water or by hay or alfalfa grown in marshy or salty
soil. There is no cure, once the disease finds a good hold,
but it is comparatively easy to prevent.
If you are not where you can obtain dandelions in the
wild state and dry them yourself you will need to buy dande-
‘lion root at the drug store. By using the followipg salt
ration regularly and keeping it in your salt shaker to dust
a little on EVERY grain ration that you feed, you will pre-
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 97
vent all kidney and liver trouble as well as practically all
stomach troubles in both old and young stock.
Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator, 14 lbs.; common table
salt, 14 lbs.; common baking soda, 1 tablespoonful; powdered
dandelion root, 1 tablespoonful; powdered licorice root, 2
tablespoonfuls. Mix all together thoroughly and sift through
an ordinary flour sieve, Keep in tightly closed can to main-
tain the strength of the herbs and to prevent the salt gath-
ering moisture.
For regular use have a large salt shaker and supply it
from the large closed can as needed. If care is used to dust
this salt on EACH ration of grain, the larger part of the rab-
bit diseases will be prevented, especially all those relating to
the stomach, liver and kidneys.
Paralysis and Convulsions
This disease may occur to any rabbit, but is especially
prevalent in young stock. At first will be noticed a stiffness
in the hind legs, followed a few hours later by a dragging
of the limbs about on the floor. About this time convulsions
will appear, causing spasmodic movements of the sufferer, re-
sulting in death in considerable pain in a few hours. There
is no known cure for the disease, which is almost always
caused by malnutrition or the lack of vitality due to mal-
nutrition in the parents. This lack of nutrition may be
caused by the kind of food fed, rather than by the lack of
the food. Rabbits require a variety enough in their diet to
furnish the salts, phosphates, proteins and hydros necessary
for building the blood and bones of the animal.
The prevention of the disease, therefore, will be found
in the proper care as to the feed and the water given the
rabbits, more especially to the breeding does and bucks, As
the trouble is due to lack of vitality also, the necessity of
care is not overusing the bucks or the does as breeders will
be easily seen. Take very careful note on the principles laid
down in the section on breeding.
Vent Diseases
Vent Disease is caused by mating with unclean specimens
and sometimes by filthy floors in hutches. The preventives
are, clean hutches, which it is hoped that every reader of this
28 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
book is a crank on, and another preventive, and the main
one, is care to examine both specimens BEFORE mating them.
The trouble is easily detected by an inflamed or reddened
appearance of the generative organs of the animals. If this
condition is observed make an ointment as given below and
apply it well to the affected part twice daily. Keep the
rabbit in clean, disinfected hutch and do not breed so long
as the slightest sign of the disease remains.
The ointment is made up as follows:
Carbolated vaseline, cne ounce; powdered sulphur, one-
half teapsoon; common baking soda, just a small pinch on the
end of a pocketknife. Mix well and use as a salve.
Skin Disease
Usually caused by filthy conditions but may occur in a
well regulated rabbitry by other sources of infection than
the direct uncleanness of a hutch, It generally appears in the
form of a germ called mange and may be noticed by the hair
falling out on the affected part and a general scaliness or
scalded appearance of the skin at the place. The ointment
given above for vent disease will prove entirely sufficient if
applied twice daily and well rubbed in. Do not leave too
much surplus ointment on the place as the rabbit will be sure
to lick the spot or rub it with its paws and then lick the
paws, which may make it ill if too much of the ointment is
left on the place to be licked off.
Sore Hocks
May be caused by filthy hutches, by frozen or cold urine
and dirt on the floors, or by other infection. It will appear
on the bottoms of the hocks of the rabbit in the hind feet as
first a swollen place and then matter will gather in the sore
places and the rabbit will move about with apparent pain
and will not slap the foot on the floor in the natural way of
the rabbit when aroused or fearful.
The condition is easily overcome by using the ointment
given as a remedy for vent trouble. This will probably be
found to be the best all around general ointment to have about
the rabbitry that can easily be procured. Apply the oint-
ment after soaking the hocks of the affected animal in warm
water for a few. minutes to loosen the skin and open the
pores. If matter has gathered in the sores, which is some-
times the case, have some one help you hold the rabbit while
THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 99
_ you gently open the places with a sharp knife. Wash out well
with Percxide of Hydrogen or with Listerine, Fill the place
with the ointment and then place the rabbit in a clean dis-
infected hutch, with a bedding of two inches of clean straw
in the bottom. Keep the patient under these conditions until
well.
General Remarks
It may be assumed from the perusal of the numerous dis-
eases listed above that the rabbit is a very easily deranged
animal, but such is not the case. Of all the domestic an1-
mals the rabbit is the healthiest and far more so than chick-
ens could possibly be under the same conditions. The large
chances are that one following the precepts laid down in the
earlier portions of this work, especially as to cleanliness and
regularity, will have few if any of the diseases listed and
certainly not very many of them in the course of many years.
Some rabbitries go from one year’s end to the other and
NEVER need to doctor one rabbit, by reason of the care and
judgment they use in the general prevention of disease.
The only source of disease you need fear is outside infection
through purchase or breeding to diseased stock, and this
book has already thoroughly instructed you as to that.
MONEY IN RABBITS
Information concerning the rabbit here given is from a
source of reliability and experience. Large profits can be
realized from this enterprise if the instructions mentioned
herein are carried out, as no previous experience is neces-
sary to make a success. Rabbit culture in this country is
yet in its infancy, yet is taking very fast in all parts of
the Union. Those who enter the business now with deter-
mination to get ahead have every opportunity of doing so
and building very prosperous circumstances. These instruc-
tions will enable you to make the attainment and the result
will be of profit and of pleasure; first, because there. is
much money tod be made in rabbit raising; secondly, there
is no other enterprise which affords more pleasure to the
individual than does the raising and care of rabbits.
100 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE: CAV Y INDUSTRY:
By EpwIn F'. DEICKE, Cavy Judge.
Illustrations by Courtesy of Author
Characteristics of the Cavy
HE Cavy, commonly known as “Guinea Pig,’ is a mem-
To of the rodent family, although it does not gnaw,
scratch or bite. It is a very gentle little animal and is
entirely in a class by itself. It resembles neither the rabbit
nor the rat, and by no means does it resemble the real pig,
by which I mean the barnyard hog, which some people think
is the case, because of its nick-name, Guinea Pig.
It is different from practically every kind of animal, in
that it does not have a tail, and that is where the old joke
about the Cavy originated—‘Pick it up by its tail and its
eyes will drop out.” .
The Cavy, when fully matured, weighs about two pounds.
It matures at the age of about six months. Cavies, when
born, weigh from three to five ounces, and at the age of four
weeks will weigh ten ounces, at which weight they are at
the proper marketable size. Cavies breed at the age of four
months, and the period of gestation is from 60 to 70 days.
Cavies are born with their eyes wide open and will start
eating food practically the same day they are born. In this
respect they are quite different from the rabbit, which does
not open its eyes until nine days old.
Cavies are very interesting and at the same time they
are very profitable. They require but little food, room and
attention. It is estimated that each female of breeding age
will net its owner a clear profit, above all expenses of at
least $5.00 a year when properly cared for. _Cavies are so
interesting and fascinating that they instantly appeal to
anyone who sees them, and they become even more inter-
esting when one learns of their usefulness and the profits
that can be made from raising them.
| Feeding
If Cavies are properly fed, you will never experience any
difficulty in raising them successfully. The Cavy, like any
THE CAVY INDUSTRY 101
other animal or bird, if not properly fed will not thrive as it
should, and, therefore, proper attention should be paid to
the feeding.
During the summer months, dandelions make the very
best kind of food, and dandelions may be obtained in almost
all parts of the United States. They just wax fat on dande-
lions and they certainly like dandelions above any other
kind of green food. Cavies cannot be over-fed. They take
EDWIN F. DEICKE
Cavy Judge
care of this themselves and do not eat more than what is
good for them. Therefore, feed them, all they want. In
addition to dandelions, during the summer you may feed
lawn clippings, lettuce, cabbage, green alfalfa and clover,
and any other vegetables you may best be able to procure.
In addition to green food, they should have clean oats and
hay once a day. Oats may be fed either whole, rolled or
steel-cut, which ever way it can be obtained the cheapest.
102 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Timothy hay is best for them, and it should be fed rather
than alfalfa, as alfalfa is too rich for the Cavy, Use prairie
hay if timothy hay is not available.
During the winter, carrots and mangel-wurtzels make the
best kind of green food. Therefore, it is advisable to put in
a patch of carrots and mangels during the summer so you
will have them for the winter. Grass and other greens are
usually gone by the first of October, and then you will have
to start feeding carrots. If you are not able to raise the
carrots and mangels yourself. then it is best to buy them in
the fall, for at that time of the year you can obtain them
EAR
S SHOULDER
BACK
HINDQUARTERS
FORE FEET
A =
SIDE ‘oF BODY HIND FEET
from the Truck Farmers for about $5.00 to $12.00 a ton, de-
pending on your location. If you feed both mangels and
carrots, then feed carrots one day and mangels the next day.
But either one of these roots may he fed alone and exclu-
sively all winter, together with hay and oats.
Dry bread is also a good food for them. This need not be
soaked, but is best to feed this dry. Cavies do not need any
water at all, if you feed them enough green food, which you
should do. Under no circumstances should you feed po-
tatoes, as they are not good for them.
Housing
Proper housing for Cavies is very essential in order to
be successful. The main thing in housing, however, is to
see that they are located free from all drafts. Nothing will
kill a Cavy quicker than when subjected to drafts from which
it cannot get away. Drafts on Cavies will develop into colds,
and colds into pneumonia, and then your Cavy is a has-been.
THE CAVY INDUSTRY 103
Therefore, provide good, comfortable housing for your Cavies
where they are free from, drafts, and where they get sun-
shine at least part of the day. Hutches as illustrated in this
chapter are very practical and used successfully by many of
the modern Cavy Breeders.
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” This also applies to
Cavies. Be sure that your hutches are cleaned once a week.
Oftener is not necessary, but they should be cleaned each
week. The Cavy is absolutely the cleanest animal in the
world, and therefore it insists on being kept clean and in
sanitary quarters at all times. After cleaning the hutch it
is best to disinfect and place shavings on the floor, which
FOUR AND FIVE SECTIONAL HUTCHES
make the floor nice and dry and comfortable for the Cavies.
During the summer time you may keep your Cavies in
hutches outside or even provide runs for them if you wish,
but during the winter they should be kept inside, either in
a warm building or a basement. The basement is an ideal
place to keep them. They are clean and there is no odor
connected with them; but be sure that your basement is dry
and not damp, and place them where the sunlight will face
them: Cavies prefer as much as possible an even temperature,
and, if possible, you should arrange to keep them this way.
104 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Breeding :
Careful attention should be paid to the breeding end of
the Cavy business. Do not breed a Cavy if it is not in the
best of health and condition. It not in good condition when
mated, they will produce inferior stock and many times both
the mother and young will die. Therefore, mate your stock
only when in good condition.
WHITE CAVIES, THREE WEEKS OLD
Females may be bred when four months old and males
when five months old. If, however, they have not attained
mature size when four months old, then it is better to wait
another month, It takes from 60 to 70 days for females to
have young. They produce from one to six young at a time,
and sometimes as high as eight, but this is a very unusual oc-
curance. Three is a very safe average.
Immediately after they are born they can be seen running
around their mother with their eyes wide open. They are
SOLID BLACK AND WHITE CAVIES
105
THE CAVY INDUSTRY
SLOd HNIA AMVW SHIAVO—AAVO
GuUNIVaL V
eseS “7 19eM jo ASayIn0D—
106 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
very hardy when they are first born. Mother Cavies do not
make nests before giving birth, and nest boxes are not neces-
sary for Cavies.
When a female is about to have young it is best to place
her in a hutch by herself where she is not disturbed. If
left together with other Cavies, she is sometimes injured,
and this would easily cause premature birth, resulting many
times in the loss of the mother.
CAVY SHIPPING CRATE
One male and four females make a properly mated pen.
When the females show signs of being heavy with young,
then separate and place by themselves. Females are usually
bred as soon as placed with the male.
When females have young, leave the youngsters with the
mother until three weeks old and then separate them, placing
the males by themselves and also the females by themselves.
This is necessary as they become sexually mature when only
about four and five weeks old, and therefore it is not advis-
able to leave them together, After weaning the young, give
THE CAVY INDUSTRY 107
the mother a rest of one week, and then place her again with
the males by themselves and also the females by themselves.
By doing this you can safely raise four litters a year from
each female without injuring her. A female is good for
at least six years of breeding, and in some cases females
have successfully raised young for nine years.
Commercial Use of Cavies
Cavies are useful for medical work, food, fur and fancy.
Their usefulness in the medical field is almost beyond com-
prehension, Practically every hospital and physician uses
Cavies off and on in their medical work. Every university
and medical college keeps large quantities of Cavies on hand
for research work. Every laboratory needs Cavies. One
laboratory near Chicago alone uses 25,000 Cavies each year.
FINE SPECIMENS OF CREAM, BLACK AND WHITE CAVIES
Another institution near Philadelphia uses approximately
50,000 baby pigs a‘year, and another institution near New
York City uses about 40,090 a year. They are also used in
large quantities on the Pacific Coast. The Government is
also a heavy buyer of Cavies and they use them at their
various Research Stations.
The above is merely to give a slight idea of the vast
quantities in which they are used, and this will give you an
idea of the large commercial demand for Cavies. The de-
mand for baby pigs is at nearly all times of the year ahead
of the supply. Most laboratories desire them when from
nine to twelve ounces in weight, and again others want them
108 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
of a larger size. Some desire only males and others want
only females, but the majority of them do not care whether
they get males or females, so long as they are healthy.
The Cavy is generally known as the “LIFE SAVER,” be-
cause it gives its own life to let others live. Some people
have the idea that it is cruel to use Cavies for this pur-
pose, but at the same time we all have to admit and agree
that it is better to take the life of an animal than the life
of a HUMAN. The Cavy is absolutely the best animal to
use for this purpose, as they are very easy to handle, do not
scratch nor bite, and are very quick to show symptoms of
irregularity.
TWO CHOICE BLACK SPECIMENS
The Cavy is also good for food. The meat value of the
Cavy can hardly be estimated. It is regarded far more nu-
tritious than most any other kind of meat, Many banquets
are held where the Cavy is the main item on the menu. AI-
though, because of the scarcity of stock for this purpose, it
will probably be some time before they will be more generally
used for food purposes. ‘There are many ways of preparing
the Cavy, and they can be prepared about the same as the
rabbit.
Their fur, too, is of great value, and is very adaptable
to many purposes. Caps, gloves and even coats are being
made of their furs. When the supply of Cavies becomes more
abundant, then their fur, no doubt,. will be more commer-
cialized.
THE CAVY INDUSTRY 109
The Cavy, like nearly every other animal, has its place
‘in the “SHOW WORLD.” Practically every live stock show
has an exhibit of Cavies, and no show, large or small, is
complete without a display of Cavies. The best displays are
usually found at the Chicago Coliseum, the Madison Square
Garden at New York, the Los Angeles Live Stock Exposition,
and also at other big shows, such as are held at Boston,
Cleveland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Colorado Springs, and
other places. A visit to any of these shows will convince
one of the popularity of the Cavy, and the demand that ex-
ists for fancy, well-bred stock.
PAIR ©. CUP, WINNERS
Various Breeds
Cavies come in the following breeds and cocors:
Ries
Black
Cream
Red
| Chocolate
ENGLISH SMOOTH-HAIR. { Tortoise and White
Dutch Marks
Himalayans
Brindles
Silver Agouti
| Golden Agouti
| Mixed colors
Cream
White
Black
AG yer LIT DAI Sis 8 oie whee Red
Chocolate
Mixed colors
110 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
PHERUYVUANS @) oc@i'e wet
| White
| Mixed colors
Black
Red
IA INIG OR AUS lee Sa eee a ae White
Cream
Chocolate
Mixed colors
As you can see by the above, there is certainly a large
variety of color to choose from and also have you got four
distinct breeds to select from. There is nothing monot-
onous about the Cavy business. There is an equal demand
for the various colors, but the demand for the Abyssinians,
Peruvians and Angoras is rather limited, because they
are used and bred almost entirely for the show room, as
they are not practical for medical experimental work on
account of their long hair.
The smooth haired Cavy, as you can tell by the name,
has a smooth coat of hair, while the Abyssinian’s fur is
rosetted, its hair being short and wiry. The Peruvian
has long and silky hair flowing both backward and forward
so that it is entirely covered with its silky hair. The Angora
is similar to the Peruvian, only its long silky hair flows only
backward and does not cover its head, as the Peruvian.
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY ht
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY
By Dr. C. E. LEAcH
HIS is not written with any thought of making it a
[commie treatise on the Milk Goat, but it is with the
hope that it will be complete enough to enable the reader
to obtain a fair understanding of the industry and enable
the would-be breeder to avoid the mistakes that have been
made by the pioneers in goat breeding.
We have three standard breeds of milk goats in the
United States at the present time, viz: Toggenberg, Saanen
and Nubian.
We also have the Royal Murciana and the Alpine, for
which no standard has been set.
-The Toggenberg is a native of the Toggenberg Valley cf
Switzerland. It is a fawn or brown goat with lighter iegs
and brindle markings. The bucks are rather long-haired, but
the hair cf the does should be shorter. They have smal. up-
standing ears.
The Saanen is a white goat from the Saanen Valley of
Switzerland. Like the Toggenberg, the buck has rather long
hair, but the does should be smooth coated. They have small,
upright ears.
The Nubian is native stock from India and Africa which
was taken to England and there crossed with the native Eng-
lish milk goat, and is therefore an English goat and not a
Swiss goat. Nubians are any color, and are distinguished by
their large, drooping ears, almond shaped eyes and nostrils,
roman nose and large size. Both male and female should be
smooth-coated.
Anyone interested in the complete standard for these
breeds can obtain same by writing to Will L. TeWalt, Vin-
cennes, Ind., who is secretary of the American Milk Goat
Record Association,
There is now a move on foot to develop what is called
Free-Bred Goats. This is a cross or crosses of the three stand-
ard breeds. J. A. Winans, 4571 Pasadena Ave., Los Angeles,
112 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Calif., is secretary of this movement. No doubt there will
be one or more very good strains of milk goats developed from
these crosses.
Horns are gradually being bred off all the breeds until
now we have most of the stock born hornless.
In the United States we have registry associations for
each breed and also the American Milk Goat Record Associa-
tion. This association registers does containing 50 per cent
or more pure blood of any breed and only pure bred bucks.
The breeders of each breed claim special merit for the
breed they own. Perhaps it is more a matter of choice than
any real difference in economic value.
—Courtesy of R. R. Glahn
SAANEN DOE
Feed
In manger feeding we prefer alfalfa hay, though we have
had fair success with oat hay. Almost any grain is good.
We usually feed oats or corn preferring the oats. Kaffir corn
is fine when obtainable. Bran or shorts mixed to a thin mash
with warm water is excellent. Beet pulp, carrots, oil meal,
etc., are good.
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 113
For pasture, we like alfalfa, rye or oats. Goats are very
fond of most weeds and brush. They do not like rape, sudan
grass, blue grass or prairie hay.
We are often asked if alfalfa will kill goats. We have
pastured it under all conditions and have never had one show
signs of bloating from it. However, when first turning them
on it in the spring, we feed dry hay, morning and night,
for a while, turning the goats on the pasture days only.
ALL FEED MUST BE CLEAN.
They should have access to clean water all the time.
Warm water in winter, especially for milking does, is well
worth the extra expense and trouble.
Method for Manger Feeding
We have found after many expensive experiments that
the following manger is the only practical one.
Fig. I shows a ten inch board cut to shape. A fourteen
foot board, ten inches wide, cuts just right for four pieces.
Fig. Il shows the side of the manger. The board, Fig I,
should be nailed to two-by-fours, top and bottom, A and A.
These boards should be spaced three and one-half inches apart,
leaving the slot C three and one-half inches wide. If it is
narrower it is too small for the goat’s neck. If larger, the
kids will get through into the manger. The notch B should
be cut two inches into the board, thus leaving the diameter
of the opening B, Fig. II, seven and one-half inches.
A one-by-two inch strip is nailed to the inside of the
manger twelve inches above the floor of the manger as HE,
Fig. II. Strips D three and one-half by twelve inches are
nailed to the two-by-four A at the bottom and to the strip
E at the top.
Fig. III shows a grain box which is nailed to the inside
of the manger and on top of the strip E. The high back on
the feed box is to prevent the neighboring goat from stealing
the feed.
G is a wire hook made from number nine wire. It should
be jointed two-thirds of the distance from where it fastens
on the manger to the hook end. After the goat has placed
her head through the opening B the hook is dropped into
staple at left of opening and the goat is stanchioned.
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
114
vysv Yd IN-
hunawivd
HOVIT IA
wold
z |
hg
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 115
_ This style manger may be placed near a wall, using the
wall for one side. If this method is used, the manger should
be set twenty inches from the wall.
If the barn is twelve or more feet wide, it makes a good
arrangement to have the manger set in the middle of the
barn, making both sides alike. If this method is used, the
two sides should be set three feet apart, having one end
fastened to one side of the barn and the other end within
three or four feet of the opposite side of the barn. This gives
a double manger with the goats facing each other and eat-
ing from the same manger.
of CE, Leach
INKYO MULEY HASSAN
The Most Wonderful Buck in America—Pure-Bred Nubian
If one wishes to go to a little more expense and work, it
is quite an improvement to raise the entire manger six
inches off the floor and put in a false floor on a level with
the manger floor. This false floor is made of slats set just
far enough apart to permit the droppings to fall through.
The false floor should be made in sections and so placed that
it can be raised or removed to permit cleaning.
—Courtesy
116 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Breeding
The breeding season is in the fall, though occasionally
the does come in at other seasons of the year. In breeding
season they usually come in heat about every three weeks.
The period of gestation is five months. Some breeders
breed their spring kids the following fall, while others wait
a year longer. We prefer the latter method to give the young
does opportunity for development.
The best buck obtainable is the cheapest to breed to, no
matter what the charge for the service fee or the price of the
buck. The increased value of the kids and the satisfaction
of building up the herd is worth more than any extra expense
incurred.
Kids and Their Care
Does usually produce twins or triplets.
There are several ways to proceed with the kids. We take
the kids away from dam as soon as they are born, drying
them well and placing them in a warm, dry place. When
the kids are two or three hours old, we take the first milk
from the doe, placing it in a small pan, warming it to about
blood temperature, and feed it to the kid. Usually all that
is necessary, if not allowed to suck the dam at all, is to place
the kids nose in the milk and it will drink. Occasionally we
have to use a spoon the first feeding or two, but after that
they will always drink out of a pan with no trouble.
- Others prefer to use an ordinary nursing bottle and ‘‘bottle
feed” the kids. But this method makes much unnecessary
work and expense.
Others let the mother raise the young. The last named
is the easiest method, but is not the best method to develop
good milkers from the dams, especially if the kids are allowed
to suck the first time or two she is fresh.
Be careful about over-feeding the kids. They cannot be
fed too often, but if forced to go too long between feeds they
get so hungry that they over-eat and become scoured. We feed
the kids five times a day the first week, then cutting down to
four times the next week, then to three times a day for the
next few weeks, then to two times a day as long as we have
milk for them and they will drink it.
A kid may be taken off of milk entirely at six weeks of
117
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY
SIOUMO
Jo As}}]1IN0D
118 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES .
age and raised on dry feed, but it pays to continue the milk
for twelve weeks or more.
When the kids are a week to ten days old they will start
nibbling at hay. From then on we keep a little good, clean
hay where they can reach it at all times. When about three
weeks old we give them access to bran and cracked corn or
oats.
We have had no success with prepared calf meals or
lamb meals.
Kids like a small box, well bedded, in which to sleep.
—Courtesy of Dr. C. EB. Leach & Son
A PURE NUBIAN DOE
Housing and Feeding
Goats do not require a particularly warm house, but it
should be dry and free from draughts. The old ones, like
the kids, like to have a cozy place to sleep, In winter, espe-
cially, a small barn is preferable to a large one.
The pen need not be large if it is well drained. Two or
three does can. be easily kept on the back end of a city lot.
Four foot woven wire fencing with a barbed wire at the top
is sufficient to hold them. It is economy to buy the heaviest
woven wire as the goats are prone to stand on it with their
front feet and they soon destroy the lighter weight wire.
Goats’ Milk
Goats differ as much in quantity and quality of milk as
do cows. The same doe will vary according to her age, feed
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 119
and care. Perhaps the large majority of goats give from two
to four quarts of milk per day. There are many, however,
giving from four to six quarts per day and a few that will
give even more than this.
The milk is as sweet and delicious as cows’ milk, only
richer and whiter in color. It averages from five to seven
per cent butter fat, and some tests considerably higher than
that.
- The composition of goats’ milk as published by the United
States Experiment Station is as follows:
as Sethe he OR aie dof she Sa ice oat ces csetes 5.99
Solita teeta tai es eck we note teen, hoe ever, pte celia Oe 10.97
FURAN G SUE Rare es ion aie eet pe eee ced GeO cae tee anaes 16.96
SUT STN aie pet Satelit Sepa RAAT any oP REF nese RO RENEE Wer Med MSY An Am Ae 4.93
a oh hk Ree Pe Oe ng ta i: ne eS Ua og 4.63
Witter 6 cin ge fen ass nt 2 PR RS at ae Ieee lgie ee 82.04
The milk is very easily digested, because the globules are
much finer than the globules in cows’ milk.
Most of the imported cheese is made of gcats’ milk.
Butter made from the cream is excellent. It is white
unless coloring is used.
Goat milk sells from twenty-five to fifty cents per quart;
its greatest value is perhaps in infant feeding and for in-
valids, although it is unsurpassed for family use.
Infant Feeding
There are so many things to consider, and so many
conditions, that each case must be considered individually to
quite an extent, though there are general rules and principles
that can be followed.
We can give no better suggestions than those written
down by Dr. Carl G. Wilson of Palo Alto, California and pub-
lished in the Angora Journal, Portland, Ore. Dr. Wilson is a
man of experience in medicine and is considered an authority
on goat-raising and the use of goat milk.
“In approaching this subject, I must frankly admit I do
so with considerable reluctance, as there are so many angles
of approach, conditions, chemical compositions, environment
of the producer of the milk and the consumer, that I fear for
too deep a consideration of the subject, and fail in the very
object of this paper, namely, to give a few simple, practical
120 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
suggestions on infant feeding and broadly suggest plans and
formulas for feeding. ;
“IT am irrevocably convinced that goats’ milk is the best
substitute human milk for infant feeding, not only because of
its close similarity, chemically and physically, but also the
readiness with which the infant’s digestive organs receive
and digest goats’ milk.
“It has been my experience in infant feeding that each
child is a law unto itself, hence you can readily realize that
any formula would only be a guide and it would vary accord-
ing to conditions met with.
See
—Courtesy of J. T. Gordon
CLETA B. OF LA MESA GOAT RANCH
“For the sake of simplicity, I will divide the infants which
come under my observation, and for whom I am asked to
suggest and regulate their feeding, into four classes:
““A,’ healthy normal child; ‘B,’ health slightly impaired
with digestive disturbances; ‘C,’ health markedly impaired,
digestive disturbances pronounced; ‘D,’ health vitally impaired,
digestive disturbances very greatly pronounced:
“You can readily see that a general formula suggested
for an infant, say. one month old, would in no way agree
with all four classes. Hence my suggestions will be for an
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 121
infant of Class ‘A,’ which would probably apply for class ‘B’
with slight modification, but probably would be very detri-
mental to classes ‘C’ and ‘D’ without considerable dilution
and modification, which requires considerable skill, judg-
ment and experience.
“It must be definitely borne in mind that infants in
classes ‘C’ and ‘D’ cannot at first receive all the nutrition
which they should have, but rather only that which their de-
vitalized digestive system can handle and properly digest,
for, on the other hand, if you should unduly crowd feeding on
these infants they would be able to digest but a small portion.
The rest would undergo chemical change which would re-
sult in poisoning the system.
“It is also necessary to classify feedings in regard to
age of infants, as their stomachs are very small and cannot
hold much at atime. As they grow older, the stomach grows
rapidly, also the requirements for food increases.
“The following formula is a general guide which applies
to infants of class ‘A’ and not to ‘B,’ ‘C’ and ‘D’ without modi-
fying:
Aesth iss 1 mo. 2 mo. 3 mo. 4 mo. 5 mo.
and after
Gostumilk 23.3... .Lroz: 2 OZ. 3 OZ. 4 OZ. 6 OZ.
Malt sugar... 4 teasp. 1 teasp. 1 teasp. 1 teasp. 1 teasp.
Lime water... 1 teasp. 2 teasp. 2 teasp. 2 teasp. 2 teasp.
Boiled water..1tol3o0z. 2 oz. POA es) pUOos OZ ai bss sc lacens
Frequency of
feeding os. 2am: 2 hrs. 3 hrs. 3to4hrs. 4 hrs.
Night feeding. 4 hrs. 4 hrs. er lins, 5 hrs. 6 hrs.
For “B,’ “C” and “D” classes I advise dilution with boiled
water formula: for “B” class one-fifth and gradually increase
to formula for class “A.” ;
For “C” class, dilute formula one-third and gradually in-
crease to formula for class ““B” then to class “A.”
For class “D” dilute one-half gradually increasing formula
for class ‘‘C’” then to “B” and then to “A.”
I have frequently found for class “C” and “D,” giving
small quantities of formula frequently will agree better than
large quantities at longer intervals. I have also had excel-
lent results by carefully combining goat’s milk with some of
the prepared foods.
122 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Publications
For those wishing further information on the industry
there are the following publications:
The Goat World, a magazine of some fifty pages printed
en good paper and devoted entirely to the raising and breed:
ing of Milk Goats. This magazine is published monthly. The
subscription price is one dollar per year.
“Modern Milk Goats,” a book of about two hundred and
seventy pages, written by Irmagarde Richards. Price, three
dollars.
—Courtesy of R. R. Glahn
SAANEN BUCK
“Profit and Pleasure in Goat Keeping,” by Fred C. Louns-
bury.
“The Milk Goat Dairy,’’ by Wickersham.
The two last named are small booklets and can be pur-
chased from the publishers of this book.
“Farmers Bulletin, number 920,’ United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 123
“Bulletin, number 285,” Agricultural Experiment Station.
Berkeley, Calif.
The two last named may be obtained free of charge by
writing to the respective addresses.
“Stomach Worms in Sheep, number 47,” United States
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., is a good
treatise on worms. -Goats should receive the same treatment
for worms as sheep.
The Future
Many thought at first, and perhaps a few still think,
the Milk Goat Industry only a fad. Such ideas have long since
been proven erroneous for the demand for good stock is greater
now than at any previous time. And why not? “Hight to ten
goats can be kept as cheaply as one cow.” (Government re-
port.) :
The milk is free from tubercular germs.
It tests twice as rich as cow’s milk in butter fat.
It can be used in any way that cow’s milk can.
It is the nearest approach to an ideal infant and invalid
food we have.
Goats are free from tuberculosis.
(A hospital in Chicago claims to have cured many cases
of tuberculosis by the use of goat’s milk. They also report
the cure of cancer of stomach by the same).
Goats can be kept where it is impractical to keep a cow.
The offspring will sell for more than the cost of keep for
the dams.
Children and wcmen can handle and care for goats as
easily as a man. We already have several women in the in-
dustry as a means of livelihood. The clean habits, the gentle
disposition of the goats and their ease of handling really make
them peculiarly adapted to woman’s work.
Two good does will keep the average family bountifully
supplied with the richest and purest milk the entire year at
practically no expense. If the does are well bred and a pure
bred sire is used the kids will show a profit aside from the
milk.
THE MILK GOAT HAS COME TO STAY.
124 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY
By Ale HARDING
ing up that we wrote Mr. A. R. Harding, author and
publisher of Fur Farming, to write this chapter, Mr.
Harding is not only a well-known Writer-Publisher of Trap-
ping and Fur Books, but knows fur and fur values, from more
than thirty years’ experience in handling, not only mink, coon,
skunk, opossum, muskrat, but valuable ones as well, including
black, silver and cross foxes.
S O promising is the raising of Fur-Bearing Animals loom-
In writing a chapter devoted to Fur Farming or Rais-
ing I do not know that I can bring more clearly or forcibly
before those who have or expect to engage in the business
than to reproduce Chapter II from my 278-page book, Fur
Farming, with a few changes and extracts on the care, feed-
ing, breeding, etc., of the various animals as published in my
book. Remember that this book was first published, spring
of 1909, and that many things that I predicted or foresaw
that have since come true.
What Animals to Raise
There is a bright future to Fur Farming. The person
who knows something of the habits of the animal or animals
that they expect to raise, will be the successful ones. A
person who has always lived in the city would not be likely
to make a success at general farming or fruit raising. The
same applies to fur farming. The person who has followed
hunting, trapping, or the farmer or pet stock raiser who has
given attention to fur-bearing animals are the ones most apt
to be successful.
FOXES, no doubt, will be animals that the majority
would like to begin with, especially the more valuable ones,
as black, silver and cross. These, for breeding purposes,
can now be secured at more reasonable prices as raisers are
now selling more freely to others than formerly.
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 125
During the past few years, many started in the business
of raising the most valuable foxes—black, silver, cross. The
business has developed wonderfully in Eastern Quebec, New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Prices paid for fine specimens
of black and silver fox seem fabulous. It is reported on good
authority that $10,000 to $15,000 is no uncommon price for
good pairs—male and female. This is not so unreasonable
when the value of the skins are taken into consideration, and
proportionately would only mean $40 to $60 for a pair of
mink, the skins of which would bring $5 to $7 each.
SKUNK. <A good many attempts were made at raising
‘skunk, a number of years ago, most of which were failures.
Some entered the business on a large scale, knowing nothing
of the animals, and, of course, failed; others “penned up” a
few skunk, and, as they were not properly cared for, failure
was the result.
The advanced price of skunk skins in recent years hag
caused a revival in their raising. This time, an entirely dit-
ferent class of people are taking up the work, and they are
going to succeed. Why? Because they know something of
the animals and are going at the business in a calm and
business-like way.
MINK, at present prices, look good to the fur farmer.
They are small animals, but yield a pelt worth from $3 to
$7, $8, or occasionally $10, depending upon the size and color.
(Remember this chapter was written back in 1909).
RACCOON AND OPOSSUM, compared with many fur-
bearing aimals, are producers of cheap furs. This is true,
but at the same time, they offer the most promising future
for the fur-farmer in many localities, especially the South
and Central sections. Opossum cannot stand severe cold
weather. They are easily raised, and in addition to their fur, »
the carcass finds ready sale in most cities.
Opossum and coon will not dig deep, seeking escape,
but are good climbers, and considerable precaution should be
taken to see that the wire netting is either extended in sev-
eral feet at the top, or that a strip of tin a couple of feet
wide is fastened to the posts some three feet from the ground.
126 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Watching Market Prices
The fur-farmer, should the market be low for certain
animals, can keep over; or the better plan would, no doubt,
be to kill off the surplus males and perhaps some females.
At such times do not make the mistake of killing off too
closely, as some do, claiming that the fur is low and that
there is no meed of trying to increase. Nine times in ten
this is the time to raise as many as possible, for by an-
other season, that particular article is likely to be in de-
mand.
To illustrate: In the winter of 1908-09, No. 1 skunk
from Northern and Eastern sections were worth $2.00, while
the following winter the same quality skins were bringing
$4.00. If the skunk raisers had sold off their stock at low
prices, because the prospect was not bright, but had gone
ahead, they would have had a good crop of fur to market at
high prices by January, 1910.
Had the opossum raiser, during the comparatively low
prices for this fur in 1908 and 1909, sold off his breeding
stock, he would not have had a supply when the prices ad-
vanced in January 1910.
Some make the mistake of selling off their stock when
prices ease up, expecting to go into the raising again when
a reaction takes place. This is not the way to make the
most money; when a reaction comes other farmers who have
continued raising: this certain animal, reap the harvest, sell-
ing to the market or their neighbors at high prices.
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 127
Prices
The prices paid for the various articles show about what
the grower may expect for his “crop.” The demand, of course,
will have much to do with the price. Fashion is constantly
changing, but indications are that, owing to diminishing
supply and increased consumption, prices will be on a fairly
high level always. Trappers and hunters often catch fur
too early and, as a consequence, have blue pelts, which are
graded down. In the spring shedders and rubbed skins are
secured, which are sold as No. 2 or lower. With the fur-
farmer there will be no early caught blue skins or late
caught spring and shedders. The animals will be killed when
prime and will bring best prices.
- EY a ne .
Chin wat
Red Fox
Fur Quality
Some reports from those who have experimented in a
small way at raising fur animals is to the effect that they
do not fur properly. This may be true in regard to skunk,
when kept in a box and fed largely on meat. The writer
has bought skunk skins that had been kept in a “pen” or
small enclosure for weeks, and in addition to being thinly
furred, the hide was much thicker than it should have been.
Proper’ feeding was mainly responsible.
Indians and professional trappers and hunters of the North
say that they can notice a difference in the fur of foxes,
lynx, marten, etc., when the food supply is abundant. The
fur is thicker and has a healthier, silkier and glossier ap-
pearance. The secret, no doubt, is to give the animals plenty
of room, and food should be varied. Here is where a knowl-
edge of the habits of the animal or animals one is raising
is valuable. When cattle, sheep and hogs are fed properly,
128 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
they take on fat readily, and produce a healthy coat of hair
or wool. The same applies to the fur-bearing animals.
Inducements
What animals offer the greatest inducement to prospect-
ive raisers? This is a question that each individual going
into the business must largely decide. The place you have in
view for the starting of the farm will have much to do with
this. Is the location one best adapted to skunk, mink, coon,
fox, muskrat or some other fur-bearer? Again, your expe-
rience should be taken into consideration—what fur-bearers
you are most familiar with. If you live near a large city,
which offers a market for coon and opossum carcasses, this
should be considered, as these animals are easily raised and
opossum are very prolific, producing from six to twelve or
sometimes more at a litter. While the fur of coon and
opossum will never be very valuable, yet as both fur and
carcass have a cash value, they will prove greater money-
makers than many believe. Muskrat are another animal that
should not be overlooked, as they increase rapidly, and their
flesh is now being sold in many of the large cities.
Localities for Raising Stock
Marten and silver fox should not be raised in the South,
as they are animals that do best in the cold sections. Otter
and mink are two animals whose fur is faded by the sun, and
as the darker the fur, the more valuable, it is important
that as little sun as possible shines upon them. For this
reason it is not a bad idea to have the enclosure for these
animals in the woods or thickets, in fact, some trees should
be in enclosures for all animals. If raising coon or opossum,
they will be “at home” in the trees, while other animals
will enjoy the shade in the summer, and will make use of the
leaves in the dens for winter.
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 129
There are some animals, such as marten, fisher, wild cat,
weasel, badgers and wolves, that do not seem promising to
raise for various reasons. Marten do best in the high moun-
tain sections; fisher and wild cat would be hard to keep in
an enclosure; weasel and badger are not valuable and would
both be difficult to keep in; wolves are not valuable enough
for their fur and would require considerable attention and
food, hence not desirable to raise. In most states where wolves
still abound there is bounty on the scalps, but the raising of
them for the bounty would not work—the bounty would not
be paid if county officials knew from what source they came.
Choice of Animals
Among the animals promising the best for raising are the
- black, silver cross and red fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum
and muskrat. The otter, beaver, marten and lynx, under cer-
tain conditions, may be worth considerably, especially now
that these animals are becoming scarcer and their value apt
to increase.
For Value and Uses
Of late years the price of most raw furs has been forced
higher and higher; as a consequence, reactions have taken
place, but they have not gone as low as they were some
years ago. I think that fur prices in general will maintain
high value and most kinds will gradually increase in value
as the animals producing them become scarcer, but when-
ever the price is forced up too high, there is bound to be a
reaction.
Suppose thousands engage in the business of raising
fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum and muskrat, what effect
would it have upon the market? Would they overstock it?
MUSKRAT
130 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
How many hundreds of thousands of persons are today rais-
ing cotton and wool to furnish clothing to the millions of
people, and there has always been a market? (The scarcity
and high prices which began in 1917 were due, of course, to
the war). The same will be the case with fur. In fact, unless
thousands engage in the fur raising business, the demand
is going to far exceed the supply at no distant day.
Furs in the North are a necessity, as no cloth will repel
the piercing wind. Teamsters and others much out of
doors Wear fur overcoats and caps, and also use fur laprobes.
Further south, say in the latitude of New York, Pittsburgh,
Denver, etc., while furs are not an absolute necessity, yet
they are much worn for comfort. In all the cities of the
North furs are worn eight or nine months in the year; in
the central sections, perhaps six months; while in the South,
only a few months. In addition to this, American furs are
worn in all civilized countries of the world.
Millions of dollars worth of fur skins are used eacn
season to satisfy fancy for furs, which, of course, the trapper
and Fur Raiser has no objection to.
Combination Raising
The farmer or stock raiser, as a rule, who is making
the most money, is the one who raises, not horses, cattle.
sheep or swine alone, but often two or more of them. The
samre can be applied to the fur farmer. Suppose an enclosure
of a few acres is made for skunk or other animals, why
not take in a pond, if there is one, and raise muskrat, coon,
fish and frogs? There is a ready market in all cities, usually
at hotels and restaurants, for fresh fish and frogs.
The farmer that raises sheep not only sells the wool,
but fattens and sells some of the lambs, weathers or old
ewes from time to time. The farmer is in the business to
make the most out of it, and such will be the case with the
fur-farmer. In the cities there is a demand for the car-
casses of coon and opossum at prices ranging from 40 cents
to $1.00 for coon, and 15 cents to $1.00 for opossum, depend-
ing upon the size of the carcass, as well as the city in which
you are marketing. In New York, Boston, Philadelphia and
Baltimore there is a ready sale for all coon and opossum Car-
casses at good prices. Other cities that use large quantities
are Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Milwau-
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY
YoHLLO
132 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
kee, Minneapolis, St. Paul.. In fact, there is no city of any size
north of the Ohio River but offers a market. St. Louis, Kansas
City, Louisville, Memphis and other southern cities, being .
near the coon and opossum producing sections, do not offer
so good a market. Muskrat are now served as “marsh rabbit”
in Baltimore and other cities. The trapper realizes from 5
to 10 cents each.
Other Important Points to Consider
With the exception of muskrat, fur-bearing animals breed
only once a year, unless the first litter are killed or die, when
another is sometimes born, and it may be said, such is fre-
quently the case. The number that the various animals pro-
duce in a litter is given in the chapter dealing with the ani-
mal.
Raising fur-bearing animals may be compared with rais-
ing bees for honey. Not all of those who have gone into the
business of raising bees are successful, yet how few failures
are there among men who began in a small way, learning
more of the business, and gradually increasing the number
of hives in their apiary.
One thing is important, and that is, get the animals ac-
customed to their keeper as soon as possible. The old will
be wild for some time, but the young soon become tame.
Skunk and coon are easily tamed and even beaver, otter and
mink have become so tame, when secured young, that chil-
dren have safely handled them.
A man who has been in the fur-farming industry for
years, in response to the inquiry, ‘‘Will the business pay?”
says: “Yes, it will pay the right man big dividends on the
capital invested.’”’ The right man is one who has natural ap-
titude for this sort of work, and who is “cut out” for fur-
farming. If he has a liking for this sort of work, he will
study the nature and requirements of the animals and attend
carefully to their every want.
Fur farming as an industry is only in its infancy, in fact,
scarcely begun. The future looks bright to those who en-
gage in the business in a business way. To those who ex-
pect to make a fortune in a year or two, we predict failure,
but to all who are willing to go at the industry intelligently,
building a substantial enclosure, paying the same careful
attention to the feed and care of their fur animals that they
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 133
would to “other stock,” to get the best results, far more than
ordinary profit should result.
To all others who are desirous of trying the raising of fur-
bearers for profit, we say: Read this book carefully—study
it—and then if you feel that you can make it a paying busi-
ness, make a small enclosure and try a few animals. By
the end of a year or two, you will Know whether you are
going to like it; whether you can make a success of it or
not, and will have acquired a lot of very necessary knowl-
edge regarding the animals, that could. not have been ob-
tained in any other way. You will know then whether to go
ahead or not, and if the former, you will also know how.
The business surely looks like a “gold mine” at pres-
ent prices for fur and breeding stock. Even should prices be
reduced by one-half or more the business bids to continue
very profitable.
While scores, perhaps hundreds, will make good with
the more valuable foxes—black, silver, cross—thousands will
find that profits may not be so great (neither is the expense
to get started) with the common red fox, skunk, mink, mar-
ten, coon, opossum and muskrat, yet the raising of these
animals is not apt to influence values. The world needs
millions of these skins each year, and the market is not so
limited as with the high-priced furs. Looks like a great
future for the raising of these animals. There is no denying
the fact that the supply of wild fur-bearing animals is grad-
ually becoming less, not only in America, but throughout the
entire world, while the demand for furs is constantly in-
creasing.
Since the wild ginseng and golden seal has become scarce,
hundreds are profitably growing them. The value of these
has never been but a million or two each year. How about
the raising of fur-bearing animals? Here is an industry that
can use $50,000,000 worth of raw furs each year. Where are
they going to come from unless thousands engage in the
business of raising? The demand for animals for breeding
will be an enormous one as well.
Enclosures
The fur raiser should have substantial enclosures and
the following is taken from Mr. Harding’s book:
134 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
For foxes, coon and other animals of similar size and
strength, wire netting should be of 14 or 16 gauge, and the
mesh two inches. It should be about 9 feet wide. It can be
gotten in four and five foot widths. The enclosure should
be 7 feet high, which leaves two feet to go under ground. For
skunk, muskrat and opossum, the material should be 16 or
17 gauge wire with 14 inch mesh. For mink, probably as
small as 18 gauge wire can be used and the mesh should be
Lpinch:
Some animals will stand crowding more than others and
probably a dozen muskrat or 6 skunk could be raised in an
enclosure that would accommodate but a couple of foxes,
SKUNK. For 10 skunk or less, and their offspring the
first year, I suggest an enclosure measuring about 3 rods
wide by 4 rods long. An enclosure of this size will answer
for a much larger number, but I don’t believe in crowding.
Mink, marten and opossum will probably stand more crowding
than most other animals, and the enclosures for the numbers
given above for other animals may be smaller. In fact, an
opossum or two will do fairly well in a box 4 by 5 feet, if kept
clean.
FOXES. Foxes, on the other hand, will require more
room, and for ten animals something like oue-fourth of an
acre should be used.
MUSKRAT. While muskrat can be raised “penned up,”
the thousands of small lakes, ponds, etc., offer a splendid op-
portunity for the cheap and successful raising. Many own-
ers of such today, in their natural condition, or without any
fence, are reaping a profitable and furry harvest; vet there
are additional hundreds that, by building a fence around,
would soon have a muskrat lake or pond worth a great deal.
Muskrat are fond of their homes and often remain at the
same location for years. If a wire fence three feet high were
built around a lake or pond and a foot or two underground,
it would keep the rats at home, otherwise some would leave
when feed became scarce or their numbers became too great.
Such a fence would also keep out mink which are destructive
to young muskrat.
Fur animals like the earth rather than boards as the
floor of their living quarters. In enclosures where only one
NATURAL
BLACK
AND
SILVER FOX
SKINS
135
136 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
or two are kept, temporarily in boxes, it is well to have the
bottom covered with dry earth.
While best grade of galvanized wire will last for years
in the ground it is not a bad idea to have the wire only
come to the ground and cement below. A wall of cement two
inches thick will keep or prevent any animal from digging
out or through.
Foxes—Black, Silver, Cross, Red
FEED AND CARE. The food for foxes in the wild
state consists principally of small animals and birds, such
as rabbits, partridge, quail, chipmunks and mice, but they also
eat fruit, such as apples, wild grapes and nuts. They are also
fond of fish and eggs.
Foxes should not be fed too much meat, for, in cap-
tivity, they do not get as much exercise as in the wild
state. One of the most successful raisers feeds a quarter
of a pound of meat and a quart of skimmed milk daily.
A quarter of a pound of meat and a handful of table scraps
is a very good daily allowance. Another fox raiser feeds
along with the meat a hoecake made of corn meal and
sour milk. Stale bread also makes good food for foxes.
They should only be fed what they will eat up clean, and
to go hungry occasionally may be ‘‘good for them’’ for in
the wild state they sometimes went hungry, no doubt. A
bone, with little meat on, is good for them to gnaw at to
keep their: teeth in condition. They should be fed twice
a day—morning and evening—and given fresh water each
day.
BREEDING. Each pen or compartment should be
provided with small kennels, for although the fox will
usually dig a den, the nature of the ground is not always
suitable and they take kindly to these artificial dens. A
box about four feet long and three wide and at least two
high is all right for a ‘‘den,’’ with a smooth round hole to
enter and come out through. Dry leaves make good nest
material, although sometimes the female fox makes use of
but little.
Foxes attain their growth usually before a year old.
They breed but once a year, and the mating or rutting
season includes the months of February and March. The
period of gestation is about 51 days. Therefore the young
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 137
are born in April and May. The number in a litter varies
from two to eight, the average number born to adult par-
ents being five. In the wild state foxes are monogamous
—have only one mate—at least only one in a season, and
when the young are being reared he dutifully forages for
them. In confinement, however, one male sometimes has
been mated successfully with two or even three females,
but. beginners probably had _ best handle the animals in
pairs. ;
It is possible, also, as proved in a number of instances,
to allow male and female to remain together throughout
the year without bad results, but it is much better to keep
them separate, except during the mating season. They may
be paired in December or January and separated in March
or April. The females should be kept in the small en-
closures continuously and the young removed when weaned.
(By small enclosure is not meant den or kennel, but the
small enclosure surrounding same which is usually 30 by
40 feet, or thereabout. )
None other than the owner or keeper should go near
when the young are born or for weeks after.
The males, if regularly fed, are not quarrelsome, ex-
cept in the rutting season, and therefore, during the greater
part of the year may be allowed to run together in the
larger enclosures. The separation of the sexes is not as
Many suppose, to prevent the male from killing the young,
for, unless suffering from hunger, he usually is a model
parent.
Skunk
FEED AND CARE. Skunk are found over most of the
United States and Southern Canada. They take on fat
readily in the fall and often hole up during December and
January in the north, especially if the winter is a severe
one. Being slow moving animals, they cannot catch the
more active animals and birds, and their food consists
mainly of mice, insects and grubs, also eggs and young of
such birds as nest on the ground. They are great dead
animal feeders, although preferring fresh. Even in the
wild state they are not strictly speaking, a carnivorous
animal, as they will eat and, in fact, are fond of, sweet
138 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
corn when in a milky state, also potatoes, melons and wild
fruit.
Skunk in captivity will eat a great variety of foods, in-
cluding meat, fish, insects, bread, cooked and even raw veg-
etables and ripe fruit. Table scraps will keep the animals
in good condition, but occasional meals wholly of raw meat
are desirable. The meat should not be putrid (decayed)
nor very salty. More of it should be fed in the spring, for
it is a lack of meat diet that causes old skunk to eat the
young.
Cakes and mush made from corn meal and bits of
meat are excellent food. If fresh milk is available, it may
be made an important part of the food. Cooked green
corn and hominy also are recommended.
No more food should be given than they will eat clean
during the night. Do not give the carcass of some animal
and let them feast on it for days. But little more food
than required for a cat will suffice for a skunk. They
should be fed once or twice a day; if fed but once, it should
be in the evening. Females with young should always be
fed twice a day. Good fresh drinking water should be
given and both vessels for food and water should be kept
clean.
BREEDING. The mating season in in February and
early March and the young are born mostly in May, al-
though some will be born in April. The period of gesta-
tion is about 63 days. There are usually from four to ten
in a litter, but occasionally there will be more. One male
skunk is sufficient for about six females.
The “‘skunkery”’ should be divided into several com-
partments which are needed to separate males or females
and young just weaned. In addition to these divisions,
separate breeding pens must be made for each female and
her young. Cheap wooden boxes will answer for nests,
but the enclosure in which they are placed should be
large enough (say 8 by 12 feet) so that the young will
have space to play after old enough to leave the nest and
before they are weaned. Where litters are allowed to run
togther, there is more or less quarreling and mothers steal-
ing the young of others and, while there might not be any
killed, it is not a good plan. The divisions between the
G INDUSTRY
139
THE FUR FARMIN
140 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
various females and their young may be of wire unless
there is fighting, when a board partition some three feet
high is needed.
In each compartment a number of dens should be
made by digging a trench and covering afterwards. While
the animals will dig dens if necessary, they prefer, even
while in a wild state, to use dens already made. Boxes,
barrels or pens with board floors should not be_ used.
Some of the successful ones claim that this has a tendency
to cause a thick pelt and thin fur, saying that it is abso-
lutely necessary that they have natural dens in the ground.
The dens should be quite deep so that there will be no
danger from frost in winter.
No matter what style of den is used, it should be so
made that there is no danger of it getting damp. There
should be plenty of dens, so that if one becomes damp or
infected with vermin, the occupants can take up quarters
elsewhere. Leaves and fine dead grass make good nests.
Mink
FEED AND CARE. Although Mink are found in
nearly all parts of North America, the most valuable ones
are found in the Lake Superior region, Southeastern Can-
ada, the New England States, Northern New York; yet,
with the exception of those native to the extreme South,
any are all right to raise. The larger and darker the ani-
mals started with, of course, the more valuable.
The food of mink consists mostly of rabbits, partridge,
quail, squirrel, muskrat, mice, fish, frogs, birds and eggs
in their wild state. While they will eat stale meat, they
prefer strictly fresh.
The following food is recommended by those who
have raised the animals: The best steady food for mink
is bread and sweet milk, corn-mush and milk, or corn-
mush cooked with bits of meat in it. The animals should
have meat or fish about twice a week. The meat may be
of a cheap kind. Keep pans clean, and feed only as much
as the mink will eat up clean at each feeding. Feed once
a day, except females that are suckling young. These
should be fed twice. Provide fresh water regularly. Do
not salt the food.
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 141
BREEDING. Mink should be kept in the proportion
of one male to five or six females; that is, one male
is enough for five to six females. The first half of March
is the mating season in most northern states and Canada,
but the owner must’ be very watchful during the latter
part of February and up to the middle of March. The
male can be admitted through chutes or holes, but must be
withdrawn at once if the two begin to quarrel. If there
is no quarreling, the male should be left with the female
a couple of days.
The young will be born six weeks after mating, as the
period of gestation is 42 days. You will be aware when
the young are born from the “crying’’ from within the
“nest boxes. This ‘“‘crying’’ is apt to continue for several
days, but all is well, and, under no circumstance, disturb
them by peeping in the nest box. If your curiosity gets
the better of you and the box is even slightly moved, the
mother is apt to kill her young. Keep away, except to feed
twice a day.
A mink, when nursing young, will eat about one-fourth
pound of fresh meat at each meal with what fresh milk she
wants. If she does not care for milk she may eat a half
pound of meat morning and evening—or a pound a day.
The females must be kept alone or they will be likely
to kill each other’s young. The male would also kill them
if they had an opportunity.
Instead of using wire to enclose pens, many make of
smooth boards four feet long, set up with the lower end
resting on stone or concrete 18 inches in the ground. The
pen need only be about 5 by 6 feet. The floor of the
pen should be the bare ground—top, of course, covered.
The pens can be built economically in groups of four or
more. Boxes about 2 feet long, 1% feet high and 1%
wide should be provided for nests. They should have
hinged lids so as to allow their being opened and examined.
Fine straw or hay should be provided. The boxes may
be outside the pens, bolted to the outside wall. A hole
in the wall admits the animal to the box. These boxes
should be several inches off the ground. A round hole
about four inches in diameter is made in the end of the
box extending into the pen for the mink to enter.
142 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Raccoon
FEED AND CARE. The natural home of the raccoon
is in the heavily timbered parts and its den is in a hollow
cavity of some tree well up from the ground. While its
liking is for a ‘‘tree den’ they do den in natural caves,
as well as dens in rocks and earth. The raiser should
take his lesson from what the coon prefers—provide for
them a hollow log placed on end for a den or home.
Coon eat a great variety of food, both vegetable and
animal, including rabbits, fowl, fish, frogs, crawfish, clams,
eggs, water snails, wild grapes, berries, nuts, acorns, etc.
They are very fond of corn when in the milky state—about
roasting ear time. They like sweets, also Watermelon,
and also fond of bread and milk.
This animal does well in captivity and soon becomes
tame and makes an interesting pet. Now that both fur and
carcass are valuable there is no question but that increased
numbers will be raised.
BREEDING. One male is sufficient for from four to
six females. The mating season is towards the last of
February and the first part of March. The period of ges-
tation is about nine weeks and the number of young va-
ries from three to six—usually four or five.
The mother should be fed twice a day. If fresh meat
is given each day in addition to bread and milk and table
scraps, so much the better. While coon will eat putrid
flesh, it is best to feed only fresh, for should the decayed
meat be infected it is apt to cause the death of the suck-
ling young.
Raccoon, in the wild state, are a clean animal, so that
none but this kind should be fed. Plenty of clean water
should be given, and both water and food vessels should
be kept clean.
If unable to get ‘‘den trees’’ or pieces of trees with
hollows suitable for dens, boxes will answer. These should
be at least two feet square and a hole, say eight inches in
diameter, cut for use of the animal. Some poles or branches
should be put inside the pen for the young and mother to
climb and play on. Males should be kept away from the
female until the young are weaned. It probably would
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 143
be best to keep old males by themselves only during the
breeding season; yet, if they do not quarrel they can be
kept together.
Opossum
FEED AND CARE. The opossum is a southern ani-
mal and in the wild state is not found, to much extent,
north of 41 degrees, or say Central Pennsylvania, Northern
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Southern Iowa. The animal
cannot stand extreme cold weather.
While the opossum is a Southern animal, I do not see
any reason why it cannot be successfully raised in Northern
States and Canada as well as in the Southern and Central
States, if good warm dens are provided. I am inclined to
think that, with plenty to eat and deep ground dens, they
will do well in most any locality. In the wild state, as a
rule, their dens are in the ground, under a rock, log or
tree, and are shallow.
The opossum is omnivorous, that is, feeding on both
animal and vegetable food. They eat a great deal of
carrion—dead animals—but in captivity it is not best to
feed this. They are fond of rabbit, fowl of any kind, and
eggs, as well as fruit of all kinds, also persimmons, polk-
berries, paw-paws, wild grapes, etc. They also eat mice,
insects.
BREEDING. One male is sufficient for several fe-
males. The young are born the latter part of April or
first part of May, being very small and imperfectly formed.
They are placed immediately after being born in the pouch
on the belly by the mother, where they remain until they
have attained a perfect form and have become large enough
to walk about. When placed in the pouch by the mother,
they attach themselves to a teat and remain there until
strong enough to move about. From six to twelve are
produced at a litter.
As the severe weather is over by the time the young
are born, very good nests for the mothers can be made in
boxes, old logs and the like. A West Virginia raiser says:
The young are born the middle of April and in two months
are about the size of rats and growing fast. Six months
later, or December 15th, if well fed and cared for, they
will weigh from 9 to 15 pounds. Thus at eight months—
144 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
born April 15—they are grown by the middle of December,
which is a very good time to kill for the market as both
fur and carcass are apt to be in demand at that season.’’
The males should be kept from the females, at least
from the time the young are born until they are two months
old. The mother with her many young requires a good
deal of feed, so see that she gets enough. Feed should be
given at least twice a day.
Muskrat
FEED AND CARE. Although one of the cheapest of
the fur bearers, being so widely distributed and its num-
bers so great, the total-value of pelts of this animal is
probably as great if not greater than any other.
Best species, or at least finest and best furred seem to
be secured mostly in the region of the Great Lakes, yet
there is only a few cents difference in value of the brown
variety regardless of where caught. The black variety
found along the Atlantic Coast is more valuable.
The natural food of the muskrat is grass, roots, fruit,
grain, clams. They are fond of parsnips, carrots, arti-
chokes, white flag roots, wild rice, pond lily roots, corn
and pumpkin and will eat almost all kinds of vegetables.
BREEDING. The breeding habits of muskrat are dif-
ferent from those of other fur bearing animals, as they
will have three litters in a season—two being quite com-
mon. The first are born in April or early May, and there
is apt to be from six to nine young. It is claimed that
the female of the first litter will also bear young that sea-
son, which accounts for the small rats, or kits, caught
during the fall season.
During recent years, property owners in many rat-
producing sections have awakened to the fact that their
“swampy land’’ is of more value for the annual fur harvest
than for any other purpose. Those who expect to raise this
fur bearer should take into consideration that little or no
fencing is required on lakes, ponds and creeks if proper
feed grows there. If the feed is not there, the prospective
raiser should see that it is started at once by sowing wild
rice, transplanting some flags and lily roots to his muskrat
waters. In fact, the muskrat raiser should have the food
THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 145
supply well under way before the rats are bought or se-
cured, or they will destroy it.
Muskrat can, no doubt, be successfully raised in artifi-
cial enclosures, but if the water and food is furnished they
will “‘raise themselves’’ if given a chance. This, no doubt,
will be the best plan.
When starting these animals, it might be advisable to
get a supply of the ‘‘black variety’’ from some trapper or
raiser in eastern Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey or Vir-
ginia.
Other Fur Bearers
As the wild supply becomes scarcer and values go
higher, no doubt other fur bearers will receive attention
from raisers. Marten will probably be one of the ani-
mals whose fur will command a high price in the future
as the wild supply is diminishing. Raisers will find the
plans as given for mink will be considerable of a guide
for this animal.
Otter and beaver are being used a great deal—in fact,
always have been serviceable furs—and prices are apt to
be higher. Methods explained for other fur bearers can be
used for these animals other than they must have water to
swim in as well as drink. They are strong animals and
the enclosures must be made very strong and substantial.
As they are not prolific breeders, they, however, do not
appeal to me as being desirable to raise at present fur
prices.
Fisher are now quite scarce and good pelts command
high prices, but as they are not prolific breeders, I do not
believe this animal offers very flattering inducements to
the raisers at the present time.
146 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE POX INDUS Te
An Industry Which Has Within the Last Few Years
Spread Over the Whole of America and Has
Assumed Vast Proportions
By she Cr RA ya
Editor The Black Fox Magazine.
URS ALWAYS IN VOGUE—From the time of Adam the
F fur covered pelts cf animals have been used by man for
protection against tne inclemencies of the weather, also
for adornment, and from this time with never a let-up, fur-
bearing animals of all kinds have been hunted and killed for
their pelts, which have always found a ready sale in the
markets of the world.
For centuries these animals were found to be plentiful,
and inhabited the trackless wilds to be found on every con-
tinent, but as civilization progressed and the devastation
of the forests took place, and man encroached ever more and
more upon the native haunts of the wild fur bearers they not
only were driven farther and farther back into the unac-
cessible sections, but have become greatly depleted, and in
fact some kinds are either totally extinct or practically so.
GOVERNMENT STATISTICS—A short time ago our
government, through their Bureau of Biological Survey, made
the statement that within the last fifty years the supply of
wild fur-bearing animals had diminished 50 per cent and
that if through conservation and the fur farms the supply
was not augmented, it would only be a short time before
many of the fur-bearers would become totally extinct.
Increasing Demand for Furs
As this decrease in supply has proceeded, so has the de-
mand increased, until at the present time furs are consid-
ered one of the easiest and greatest sellers of any article of
trade. There is only one solution to the problem through
which this supply can even in a measure be made to equal
the demand—and this solution is the raising of fur-bearing
animals in captivity
FUR FARMING—Silver Fox for centuries has always been
regarded as one of the most yaluable and beautiful of furs,
THE FOX INDUSTRY 147
-and even in the early days was never found in quantity, the
proportion being something like one silver fox for every
40,000 red foxes captured.
It was therefore most natural that when the idea of
raising wild animals in captivity was originated that a val-
uable animal like silver fox was the one selected.
TE eA HOR, bY Cy KAW
PRACTICALLY A NEW INDUSTRY—While Fur Farm-
ing is a comparatively new industry, still a certain amount
of mystery exists as to the efforts of the pioneers. However,
it is generally conceded that one Charles Dalton (now the
Hon. Sir Charles), a farmer residing on Prince Edward
Island, Canada, can rightfully claim to be the first man
who, together with his partner, Robert Dalton, successfully
143) OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
raised Silver Foxes in captivity. This, according to the
best reports obtainable, was in 1889. Prior to this, however,
a Benjamin Haywood, also of Prince Edward Island, is said
to have kept a pair of Silvers in captivity, but did not raise
any pups from them.
BIG PRICES OBTAINABLE—Thus a new industry was
born, which up until 1905 was kept a close secret, and which
was participated in by only six men. Foxes were raised and
their pelts were shipped to the London market, and brought
from $300 to the enormous sum of $2,650. Even in these few
years the pioneers headed by Dalton made a vast amount of
money out of their undertakings.
THE INDUSTRY BRANCHES OUT— Finally in. 1905
Silver Fox fur farming began to attract so much local atten-
tion that other people were anxious to engage in it, and
through the letting down of the bars on the part of one of
the pioneers, the combine which had existed was finally
broken and foxes were supplied to others.
From that time on up until the world war started in 1914
a wild period of speculation was indulged in. The demand
for breeding stock became so great that prices of same ad-
vanced until the climax was capped through the record sale
of one pair of Silver Foxes for $32,500. It is needless to say
that this wild speculation was in every way harmful, and
the end had to come, so that when the war started prices of
breeding pairs of Silver Fox began to decline until some-
thing near their true basic pelt value was reached, and as the
industry has spread, and knowledgde has been gained, breed-
ing animals have ever more and more assumed a value strictly
in accordance with their pelts’ value,
Commercial Fur Farming
It is upon this valuation that the present day commer-
cial Fur Farming industry has been established. Like any
other live stock industry, the raising of fur-bearers is sub-
ject to losses and discouragements, but where first the
proper quality of breeding animals is secured, and secondly
the same care and attention given them that is required to
make a success of any business, there remains no doubt what-
ever in regard to the large profits which can be made. Con-
servative estimates which have been arrived at through the
THE FOX INDUSTRY 149
examination of hundreds of records show that a pair of high
class quality breeding foxes is capable of producing on an
average of from four to seven pups a year, and therefore
should net their owners from $1,000 to $3,000 annually. In
many instances these figures are much larger, but even
—Courtesy of Black Fox Magazine
A PURE-BRED QUALITY SILVER FOX
though some reason, a year may pass without a profit being
shown, the fact remains that no other like investment will
in the long run pay so well. Present day conditions point to
the fact that Fur Farming—not alone Silver Fox—but almost
every known kind of fur-bearing animal is now being raised
150 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
in captivity. We have our Mink ranches, our Muskrat farms,
our Skunk ranches, as well as those in which Marten and
Fisher are being raised, and these are now springing up in
all sections of the country. Our own government as well as
that of Canada and several other countries have recognized
the great importance of fur farming and all are giving it
their serious attention and in every possible way seeking to
‘encourage and develop it.
It is next to impossible in one article such as this to
convey a truly intelligent idea of the magnitude to which
‘this industry has advanced or to intelligently present all its
necessary features, but with the idea that the readers may
obtain a slight insight into it—which I trust they will follow
up—a few important subjects in connection with fur farm-
ing will be touched upon.
First Consideration—Location
Primarily, the first and important thing a prospective
fur farmer must consider is the prover location in which to
build his ranch. Proper climatic conditions are essential
as it is useless to attempt to raise good fur in localities
where fur can not be successfully grown. A safe rule to
follow in this connection is “that wherever the native fox is
found in the wild there fur farming can be _ successfully
prosecuted.” Natural surroundings as far as possible should
be aimed at in building vour ranch, a certain amount of
shade, also plenty of sunlight is. necessary.
BUILDING A RANCH—tThe building of a ranch can be
made to suit the individual ideas of any one, as hardly any
two ranches throughout the country can be found to be ex-
actly alike.
PENS—When foxes are kept each pair should have an
individual pen entirely separated from each adjoining one.
These pens can be built almost any size and shape, but the
prevailing size seems to be about 25x30 feet. Some ranchers
prefer to carpet the whole floor of the pen with wire, others
(and these are in the majority) dig a trench and sink the
wire about three feet on all sides. Again some ranchers only
build their pens five or six feet high and cover the top over
with wire, but it is believed that the old style ranch where
the wire was run up about 9 feet with an inclined overhang
THE FOX INDUSTRY 151
on the inside of the pens of 18 inches but 2 feet is much
preferable. Around the pens and at a distance of 10 to 20
feet a guard fence 9 feet high should be erected so that any
animal that might dig out of its pen would be prevented
from escaping.
—Courtesy of Black Fox Magazine
FOXES ARE EASILY TAMED
GOOD QUALITY STOCK ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS—
Probably the most important item in connection with the
making of success in fur farming is to be sure and secure
good first-class breeding stock, as with poor and cheap ani-
mals a great handicap is encountered. Insist on getting
the best, as the money in fur farming is in Quality and not
in Quantity.
FEEDING AND CARE—Feed and care form a very im-
portant part towards the final successful outcome. With the
former there are many dont’s that must be taken into con-
152 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
sideration and understood, as when it is considered that a
wild animal is being raised in an environment that is for-
eign to its natural habits, care must always be taken to so
far as possible make it feel happy and contented and this
can only be done through proper feeding. Good clean food is
vital; also a balanced ration. Every experienced rancher gen-
erally finds what he believes to be the proper feed, and it is
well to follow the method of the rancher from whom you
buy your animals, providing of course these animals are in
good physical condition. Sanitation has always to be made
a chief factor in the care of fur-bearing animals, as without
absolute cleanliness is practiced trouble of one kind or an-
other is bound to ensue. To be a good caretaker comes nat-
ural to some people while others never do. If you love ani-
mals and they take to you, the rest is very easily acquired.
Study your animals and treat them as you would any other
valuable live stock, and you will find that fur farming in
any of its branches will pay and pay you well, for all the
money, trouble and patience you care to invest in it.
Fur Farming Is Making Vast Growth
Today not only every state in the Union where fur farm-
ing can be prosecuted can hundreds of fur farms be found,
but in all parts of the Dominion of Canada fur farming is
continually gaining ground. Foreign countries such as Nor-
way, Sweden and Japan all have their numerous fur farms,
and in time it is certainly believed fur farming will hold a
place all over the world that will be second to no other in-
dustry of its kind.
It is no longer an experiment as for over 30 years it
has been tested and tried, and governments and fur mer-
chants alike realize that fur farming is the one and only
solution as to increasing the fur supply, so that the demand
can in any measure be adequately met.
THE FERRET INDUSTRY (153
THPePeRRE INDUSTRY
By A. R. HARDING
Ferret Raisers of the importance of the industry than
to publish the ‘‘Introduction”’ to Ferret Facts and
Fancies, a book written by A. R. Harding, which says:
P Ferrers there is no better way to inform prospective
Introduction
“No business of the importance of the ferret industry
has received so little attention and notice, especially from
the press. Fur Raising, Ginseng and Golden Seal Culture,
Game Growing, Fish Culture, Etc., have all been given a
good deal of attention from newspapers, magazines and
books upon the several industries, as well as publications
devoted entirely to these special lines. Although the ferret
industry, in America, is really yet in its infancy, the busi-
ness is of much more importance than generally realized.
Perhaps there is no better way to illustrate the extent to
which even now ferrets are raised, sold and used than to
call especial attention to Chapter II—Ferretville.
“Ferrets are a domesticated wild animal. I have seen
more than one raiser pick up, with bare hand, old ferrets,
handling or wooling them around, the ferrets apparently
enjoying it. At the approach of the owner or raiser they
usually come to him, or as close as the wire screen will
allow, jumping up or clinging to the wire and otherwise
showing their friendliness.
“At the present time ferrets are mostly used to exter-
minate rats and for rabbit hunting. -For rats, they are
much used in barns, granaries, grain elevators, mills, stores,
levees, walls, ships or any place where rats are. If rightly
used and handled, there is no better or quicker way to
rid a place of the pests. Where rabbits are doing an in-
jury to fruit trees, etc., ferrets can be used to advantage.
Ferrets are also used, to some extent, on the large Western
ground squirrels, gophers and prairie dogs. Some success
has also been had in using on mink, skunk, coon and other
fur-bearing animals.
154 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
“The ferret is very similar to the fitch, a European
animal that furnishes tens of thousands of skins to the
fur trade annually. In Europe the ferret is sometimes
called fitch-ferret, whereby many claimed to be half fitch.
Some dealers in American furs class ferret skins as
‘“‘*halves’’—half ferret, half fitch—and buy on that basis.
At the present time the fur value of the ferret pelt is but
little, yet the time is not far distant when it, no doubt,
will be much more valuable.
“Raising ferrets, like most other lines of business, is
profitable for those who are familiar with the nature and
habits of the animal, but is apt to prove otherwise for
those who know nothing about it. Information in this
book was gathered from visiting some of the largest ferret
colonies, aS well as correspondence with many others who
raise thousands, down to those who raise a very few.”’
NOTE.—tThe Ferretville referred to is New London,
Ohio, near where the industry was first launched in Amer-
ica by Henry Farnsworth. At this time there are many
there engaged in the business and some of the largest
raise thousands each year. It is said that one year 35,-
000 ferrets were shipped from this one town alone. Those
interested in ferrets will find much of value to them, not
only in Chapter II—Ferretville, but throughout the book—
Ferret Facts and Fancies.
Ferrets—General Information
COLORS. There are two colors, white and brown.
The white ones have pink eves and are called the English
ferret, and the brown ones have dark eyes and are called
Fitch ferrets.
There is no difference in the two varieties as to their
breeding and working qualities—only a matter of fancy
as to color. They are hardy; strong animals and breed
well in most climates. The average life of the ferret is
from five to eight years.
BREEDING. In breeding, always use strong, active,
healthy and hardy animals. Never breed from weak or
sickly parents:or bad workers. They must be wintered well
if you expect to get a good, strong litter of young. They
THE FERRET INDUSTRY 155
must have warm winter quarters, plenty of straw for nests,
also.
MATING. Watch each female for developments, which
will be when warm weather comes in March or April. When
you find her ready to mate, place her with the male and
leave for a day. You will have no trouble in telling when
she is ready to mate, as she will remain in that condition
for from one to two weeks. Each female should have a
pen to herself for two weeks before she has young. Use
wheat straw or fine grass for the nest boxes. The female
carries her young for 42 days.
LITTERS. The average litter is from 6 to 10, but
they have been known to have 15 to 18. Asa rule, they
will breed and raise two litters of young in a season. Some
raisers have females that breed three times during the
season. In the breeding season, each male should be
kept in a pen by himself, as they fight if they get to-
gether.
The young are born with their eyes shut and will re-
main that way for about four or five weeks. When you
look at the young, do so when the mother is feeding.
When the young are large enough (shortly after they open
their eyes) to come out and eat, they can be weaned and
in about ten days the old ferret will be ready to breed
again.
FEEDING. Feeding is one of the most important
branches of breeding, rearing and working of ferrets. The
greater part of the success depends on the proper feeding.
The main food is cooked graham mush, fresh meat and
sweet milk. Bread and milk and meat is all right if you
have only a few. A matured ferret can be kept in good,
thrifty condition on mush or bread and milk, as meat is
not an absolute necessity. When feeding meat in warm
weather, feed only a little at a time. Do not feed salty
or diseased, rotten meat, as salt and refuse will kilt them.
Feed the old ones twice a day, about what they will eat
each time, with meat two or three times a week.
When feeding young ones it is best to feed three
times a day the amount they will eat up clean and no
more, Bread and milk is the best food for the young. A
156 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
little meat two or three times a week will do no harm.
Use good judgment in feeding and you will lose very few.
HOLDING. Ferrets are naturally tame, and with just
a little handling will become as tame as kittens. Never
grab a ferret as he is coming out of a hole, for if you don’t
get him the first time, he will become shy; let him come
clear out of the hole and then when you do reach him, be
sure that you get him the first time. Better wait a few
minutes for it than to have a shy ferret.
THEIR USE. They are old enough to work on rabbits
when three or four months, and on rats at six months.
Any ferret will hunt and drive rabbits from their burrows
and come out after they have driven the game out, so you
can pick them up. That is all one could desire. Most
ferrets do this without training.
It is natural for them to hunt, drive and kill, and it
is just as natural for the rabbit to be afraid of them and
so it takes ‘fa hike’ at once. Ferrets will drive out rats,
rabbits, mink, gophers and weasels, and some claim to
have ferrets that will drive out skunk.
BREEDING SEASON. The breeding season of ferrets
is from March to September, and they may breed as early
as February if warm or in Southern states. Those who
breed ferrets being many and under different conditions,
no general rule will apply to all.
HOUSING. The main thing in hutch or pen building is
to make a comfortable home for them and to be so construct-
ed that cleanliness of all the apartments can easily be
attended to at any time. Next in importance is to have a
dry place to build and have them so arranged that they
can be properly ventilated in the summer and closed in the
winter. You cannot succeed in raising ferrets if you have
a damp place for their hutches—dryness and warmth are
the principal points to be observed.
A good size for a hutch is 4 feet long, 3 feet wide and
2% feet high. Take a box about 12 to 14 inches square
and make a hole in one end about 4 inches square, and
then place this box, which is used as a nest box, in the
larger box or hutch. The size hutch mentioned will be
about right for a female and her young.
THE FERRET INDUSTRY 157
NESTS. An Iowa ferret raiser of many years’ expe-
rience, says: Fix the nest for the female at least a week
before she has young—young are born 42 days after mating
—and do not bother her until the young are about four
weeks old. The ferrets hide their young until about that
time. If the young get to squealing and crawling about at
this time, soak a small piece of bread in warm milk and
place it in the nest, as they are hungry. They will soon
find it and suck the milk all out.
158 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
BREEDING AND CARE OF RATS
AND MICE—ORIGIN
By JOHN ALLEN,
President of the Rat and Mouse Club of America
UE to the fact that tame rats and mice now hold a con-
D spicuous position in the commercial world—more es-
pecially among the medical fraternity chiefly for ‘experi-
mental purposes—and also owing to the great demand there
is for stock and the splendid chance the raising of these
small animals offer as a business proposition, this book
would be incomplete if this department were left out. It is
all-important, and the information you will get here should
enable even the very beginner to take up this wonderful
enterprise profitably, as well as the entertainment to be de-
rived therefrom.
Rats and mice belong to the rodent family—which is, a
gnawing animal, originally natives of Southern Asia, that
is, the common everyday rat and mouse, whose destruction
we always seek. They are known everywhere in the world
except in a few islands of the Pacific Ocean, and have fol-
lowed man to all corners of the globe, and is still a regular
traveler on steamboats, railroads and other means of. trans-
portation.
The two common species, the black and white rat, are
found in nearly all parts of the world. It is commonly un-
derstood that the black rat was the first to reach America,
sometime in the year 1544. It was a matter of about two
hundred and fifty years later before the brown rat made en-
trance into this country, of course, getting here by means
of secreting itself in vessels of transportation, such as above
mentioned, nad disembarking itself “at port,” as it were,
enjoying liberty and exercising its prolific characteristic of
_breeding, consequently the “swarm” of the common rats and
mice in our country at this time.
In their characteristics, color and size, unlike other ani-
mals, they are the same all over the world, doing most of their
“destructive” work at night, possessing large eyes and ears,
long whiskers, all-of which are suited for midnight activi-
ties,
RATS AND MICE 159
Rats differ from mice only in being larger. The black
rat is between seven and eight inches in length, while the
brown grows to be ten or eleven inches long; the latter is
much stronger, and has shorter hair, a shorter tail, smaller
ears, and a less pointed nose. The long tail is believed to be
useful in climbing and in jumping. These same principles
apply to the common mouse—the only difference being the
size, as already mentioned.
BALD-FACE PINK-EYED SILVER MOUSE
The common brown or black house rat or the little
brown ordinary mouse from time to time have been tamed
and domesticated by people who have interested themselves
in this “taming” process, then by reason of closer observation
and training, breeding, etc., the white rats and mice have
been produced, as well as many varieties and standards—
very nearly three dozen different species so far as solid and
mixed colors are concerned—produced by reason of specialty
breeding. Then there is the Japanese Waltzing Mouse—
160 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
characteristic of freaks of nature and queer antics which is
mighty interesting to the observing eye of the rat and mouse
fancier and even entertaining to the untrained eye.
On Buying and Breeding Stock
In purchasing your breeders be sure you are getting
good stock as this means more to you than anything else.
You had better get a few at the start and see what kind
of stock they are, before you get a large supply on hand.
Don’t take up some pet stock paper and look over the
ads to see how cheap you can get your stock. It always pays
to get absolutely the best there is.
You must not be backward in paying a fair price for
your breeding stock. Nine times out of ten it is the stock
you buy to start that spells your success or failure. So try
and get your stock from a breeder who breeds up to the
standard as they cost but a very little bit more, and costs
no extra to feed and to take care of; then you will have
good healthy stock and you can sell them for more money
and are sure of more orders when you fill your order with
good stock than when you send out a lot of sick stock as
no one wants that kind, and you will have less trouble with
your breeding stock.
_ A good healthy rat or mouse should have eyes large and
bold, and their tails long and tapering and free from sores.
Coat should be short, thick and glossy and they should be free
from sneezing.
Male and female are kept together in a cage, but when
the mother has young the male should be taken away and
put in a separate cage. This will avoid any risk of the male
rat or mouse eating the young. Also see that they have plenty
of feed especially when having young, or efSe the female may
devour her babies.
Rats and mice breed several times a year, producing froin
six to fifteen young to a litter, and as there is always a ready
market for them it is certainly a good paying business if
managed properly. Hospitals and laboratories handle and
experiment on thousands of rats and mice yearly. Then
there are hundreds of people who keep rats and mice for
the sole purpose of pets.
Housing
We know of no other pets that can be so cheaply housed
as these little fellows. There are many ways to house them
RATS AND MICE 161
but most any good sound box will do that is large enough to
give them plenty of room and is arranged so you can care for
them.
Use a piece of screen wire on front of the cage and on
the door too, and make the door to open from the top.
In this cage put 6 females and 2 males and a bed box;
a cigar box makes a good bed. Then place the boxes in rows
on the floor.
Most any place will do if it is dry and plenty of fresh
air at all times. Always keep your cages dry. It is a good
idea to keep some saw dust or straw or something of this
kind in the cages to take up the dampness.
A NEST OF SILVER MICE
You will find a barn or any outbuildings that are not in
use that can be made free from the cold winds and snows
will make a fine place for mice and rats. A cage about
12 inches by 28 to 30 inches long with a bedroom 8 by
12 inches, cage to be 6 to 8 inches deep; for the bedroom
use a nest of straw in summer, and in the winter use a bed
made from cat tails, which the mice will pull to bits and
use it for nest bedding. Put in this cage 6 females and 1
male. Then every three weeks look over the little ones and
if you see any that are about one-third grown and eat grain
wean them. Use a larger box or cage for the young;
a cage 3 feet long and 2 feet wide with a large nest room.
162 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
In this cage you can keep from 50 to 100 young. When the
young are weaned you put the little females in one cage and
the males in another cage.
A mouse carries her young 21 days before they are: born
and a rat 28 days.
Feeding
Care should be taken in feeding your mice and rats if
you want to get good results from them. Always feed good
food and feed once a day and at night only just what they
will clean up over night so they won’t leave any to sour.
Always give fresh feed each night; clean out the feed vessels
daily. If there is any food left feed it to the chickens, but
give the rats and mice fresh feed each night. One thing you
must not forget, mice must have feed before them at all
times; it will keep them in good shape. Mice that do not
have all they want to eat and have to go without feed some-
times start eating each other. So do not forget to feed
your mice every night. They should be given plenty of fresh
water at all times. They will eat most any kind of grain
and seed but when kept confined a little more attention is
given to feeding. If you feed properly the death rate
will be greatly reduced. A well balanced ration—one that
will keep your stock in the best condition, is one you should
feed regularly. Care should be taken to get the right amount
of protein and fats and carbohydrates. Some have one way
of feeding, some another. Here is more than one ration.
You can pick out the one you think best, all of these rations
bring good stock:
Ration No. 1
Oats, 20 lbs.; buckwheat, 10 lbs.; whole corn, 8 lbs., wheat,
5 lbs.; millet, 3 lbs.; sunflower seed, 6 lbs.
Ration No. 2
Oatmeal, 25 lbs.; scratch feed, 755 lbs. Milk to drink once
daily. No water.
Ration No. 3
Scratch feed, 95 lbs.; green feed, 5 lbs.; water morning
and night for summer time.
RATS AND MICE 163
These feeds are just as good for rats as they are for mice,
but you know that rats are fed twice a day, night and morn-
ing. Rats and mice should have greens, at times you will
find lettuce, dandelions and watercress are the best. Do not
give your stock any cabbage as it may kill them; they are
very fond of live crickets and grasshoppers. Dry bread
crusts, grain, corn, green food, vegetables and fruits should
be the general diet for your stock, fed as per the above tab-
ulation. ° In warm weather, corn and nuts should be fed
sparingly. Meat should never be given, or else your stock will
become vicious and devour one another.
CAUTION.—A good sized piece of wood, preferably a
piece of green wood with the bark on, should be left in the
cage at all times for the animals to gnaw upon, otherwise the
teeth of your rats will grow abnormally long, which will
eventually kill them.
Diseases of Rats and Mice
Diseases in mice and rats are very few, and if you give
the proper feed and care you will not have any trouble of
this kind. Disinfect once a week with any good disinfectant
on the market.
Diarrhoea is an excessive action of the bowels. Causes:
It is more often due to sudden changes from some food low
in its percentage of protein to one having a high percentage;
also to sour and musty food, and damp cages and so on.
Symptoms: The evacuations are frequently watery and offens-
ive, and if not checked at once the animal will get very thin
and weakly, then little can be done to save it.
Treatment: Remove sick ones to a nice, clean, dry cage
and feed boiled rice and warm boiled milk; do not feed
any food of watery nature from then until cured.
Colds consist of an inflammation of the mucous mem-
branes. Causes: Are usually brought on by subjecting the ani-
mal to a sudden change of temperature, or draft, or dampness.
Symptoms: A dry cough, sneezing and a watery-like sub-
stance running from the eyes; if not treated at once little
can be done that will effect a cure.
Treatment: Take all water away from them and give
them fresh water with two drops of tincture of Aconac to
each teaspoonful of water. If eyes are running watery, bathe
them with a solution of boracic acid. To make solution,
164 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
take one teaspoonful of boracie acid to a pint of warm water.
Use this two or three times a day and make fresh every
day; use a piece of cotton to apply it with.
No. 2 Cure for Colds: At night take a piece of onion and
cut up some for each cage; cut pieces about 1% to % inch
long, give the sick stock some every other day until they
are cured.
CAUTION.—Always separate the sick stock from the
healthy ones to prevent spreading of any diseases. ‘This is
important.
WHITE ALBINO RAT
Physical Culture
Rats and mice delight in exercise, and branches and
perches should be provided, in addition to any windings and
swings. The more exercise and play your stock gets, the
healthier and robust will be your production—consequently a
more prosperous and successful business.
Always work for and aim at the highest attainment in
your enterprise. Conduct your rat and mice activities on
1
RATS AND MICE 165
business-like lines—heed the instructions here given, and you
will experience success at all times.
Varieties, Exhibition, Etc.
There are numerous breeds or varieties of tame rats and
mice, but each belongs to one of the two species, and has
been the resuit of experimental and scientific breeding by
those fanciers who have interested themselves therein, and en-
deavored to produce “something different’ from that al-
ready in existence, and to improve specimens, and so forth,
by selecting and breeding.
Pure white animals with pink eyes are the commonest
kind. Then there are those that are white with brown or
black spots, while others are ‘tortoiseshell,’ or several dif-
ferent colors combined. There are also other varieties which
are pale gray, others black with white markings, and others
yellow or orange. Among the Rat and Mouse fancy, the dif-
ferent breeds are known by the following different names:
Agoutis, of a rich brown color, ticked all over with orange
hairs; eyes are black; the underneath body color being rufus
red—the color of the real Belgian Hare rabbit. Blacks, of
a solid color—lustrous appearance, in popularity, comes
second to the white rat and mouse. Solid Blue, very definite
of a slate shade, though there is still some experimentation
going on in the production of this specimen. Broken Marked
Black-Eyed and the Broken Marked Pink-Eyed. As this would
indicate, the colors are not even, there being a mixture, but
with certain specific markings as mentioned about the eyes.
Solid Chocolate placed in the same category as the Blue, the
only difference being the color. Chocolate and Tan. While
there are many fanciers who prefer the solid colors, still
there are many raisers who appreciate the mixed colors, and
take quite a great deal of interest in producing stock of two
Or more colors—even markings—distances, etc. Cinnamon,
another uncommon color; the coat should be a rich brown,
ticked with chocolate hairs. Creams, perhaps the third in
popularity among the solid-color varieties. This variety at-
tracts great attention. Once produced in this color, they will
nearly always produce that way. Dutch Marked is very pretty
and pleasing to behold, and, while there is a good demand
for them, they are not so easily produced as some of the
other more-than-one-color. The markings should be very
166. OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
much after those of the Dutch rabbit. Grey Agoutis are con-
sidered quite pretty among fanciers and are very successful
at shows; the coat has a similar appearance to that of the
silver grey rabbit, and the belly-coat should be of silver gray.
Then there are Solid Reds; these are scarce, comparatively
speaking, yet offer a whole lot of attraction to the prac-
ticed eye of the fancier. Among others there are: Harliquin.
Lilacs, Plums or Plum Silvers, Sables, Sable and White, Sil-
vers, Silver and Tans, Silver Grays, Tortoise Shell, Varie-
gated, Etc.
The above-mentioned colorings apply particularly to the
Mouse; as to the Rats, they are produced:in such colorings
as Agoutis, Blues, Chocolates, Yellow and Whites, in par-
ticular. There may be a few others, though not generally
recognized. Then there is what is known as the Hooded Rat,
possessing a square-cut hood, with a narrow pencil line along
the back. It is generally accepted that the hood and pencil
line may be of any color on a ground of white; the eyes may
be either black or red.
The so-called “Japanese Waltzing Mice,’ science has been
unable to account for, though some who have made a keen
study of the peculiarity of this particular mouse say that
it has a brain disease which causes it to run in circles or in
an erratic manner. They were originally produced in Japan,
and may be bred easily in confinement. However, this mouse
is particularly amusing with its freakish behavior, anties, and
so forth. It is quite likely that this specie, in time, will be
no more, as it is found that by cross-breeding the “antics”
are gradually being eliminated, so very much evidenced in
the progeny of this cross-breeding.
Rats and mice are easily kept and do not require a great
deal of care. They always seem happy and are very prolific.
There are probably no animals in the world that are more
easily handled and more entertaining generally than Rats
and Mice, as well as offering a very profitable business prop-
osition to the ambitious man, woman, boy or girl. The cost
of keep is but very little, and the profits are large, .
THE DOG 167
THE DOG
Compiled by R. P. MERCER.
Foreword:-—In this brief treatise on the dog no attempt
is made to be original. It is, as its heading indicates, a
matter of compilation. Everything which came to hand
regardless of its source has been used if it looked to be of
interest to the new or old fancier. Due credit is given for all
help in this smal! work.
The Dog “A Faithful Friend”
The dog is man’s oldest and most faithful friend and
helper. He has been found pictured in some of the oldest
of the Egyptian monuments and was held sacred by many of
the ancients. The dog was also among the first of the beasts
of burden. The savages tribes tamed the wild dog and
trained him to guard his possessions and to draw his heavy
loads. This wild savage wolf dog was made to do service
at a time when beasts of burden were few and if the his-
tory of his life among the savage tribes can be relied upon
he did better service at that time than many of our fine
bred specimens of today have ever accomplished.
Many of our present day specimens which have been
bred for years to an almost perfect standard, have been trained
to perform services for mankind which are almost unbe-
lievable. However, owing to the many domesticated ani-
mals at present under the command of mankind, the dog’s
seivices have been sadly neglected. How much more could
be done with such dogs as the collie, the Airedale and the
pit bull than have been done, under skilled and well directed
teaching. Let us hope that breecers of such dogs will try
in the future to put them to better use than to keep them
only as pets.
Dogs trained for the service of which they are capable
are not only most useful but bring much better prices than
dogs .of no training.
A not uncommon story is told of a dog who loved his
master so well that after his master’s death and burial, the
dog was missing from home for several days and when found
168 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
was lying on the grave of his dead master and though gaunt
and hungry refused to leave even to eat. He was forced to
go home, where he had to be tied for several days. Verily
the love of a dog is past human understanding and not only
follows the master through hunger and privation, but fol-
lows him to the grave as a lasting mourner and ofttimes
remembers after his human companions have forgotten.
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert
“JENNIE McCAURA,’’ A WINNING SPANIEL
Get the Best Start
Do not expect such devotion from a mature dog raised
by someone else. Buy your dog when he is a young puppy
and raise him yourself. You will get the devotion you are
entitled to expect. Above all, if you love a dog, love a good
one. Buy from a man who thinks enough of his dogs to
make a permanent record of their breeding and give them
a name on such a record. The thoroughbred of whatever
breed you fancy is the cheapest in the long run and costs
THE DOG vy 68
no more to raise and less effort to train in his path of use-
fulness; for he will develop with proper training into just
what you have a right to expect rrom him according to his
breeding and training.
You can always judge a man by the kind of stock he
keeps around him. If you find his chickens, his dog, his
rabbits or other stock of the highest grade you immediately
place him as a man who is satisfied with nothing but the
best and your opinion of him is at once of the best.
Large clubs have been formed for the registration of dogs
according to bloodlines. Among these is the united Kennel
Club. This club registers whole litters with a separate cer-
tificate for each puppy for one dollar, and advertises the lit-
ter in its own journal, “Bloodlines,” free of charge.
All fanciers who own pure-bred dogs should by all means
register them and thus have a permanent record of their.
stock. It has been truly said that the sun never sets on
United Kennel Club registered dogs and may the star of
its ascendency never grow dimmer but brighter with the
years.
Feeding and Care
No matter what breed of dog is kept, no matter for what
purpose, the feeding, care and Management of the animal is
absolutely essential to its well-being. Cleanliness and freedom
from draughts are just as necessary as feeding, and will pro-
tect the dog from many diseases he would otherwise be
subject to.
From general observation we can easily see how
many dogs are not properly cared for, that is, they are not
regularly looked after as they should be taken care of; they
are allowed to “run wild” as it were, seek its own food and
shelter very often. However, regularity in meals, general
care and keep must be properly observed, and in the matter
of meals, they should be served regularly if you want the
best that is to be bred and maintained. Wherever possible,
it is best to keep dogs out of doors; see that they are prop-
erly kennelled or housed, free from exposure to drafts, etc.
Another thing to consider, that is, do not keep it eternally
chained or in a kind of prison house; see that it has plenty
of exercise; don’t keep the dog indoors as it is essentially
an outdoor animal. Reverting to feeding, one meal a day is
170 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
sufficient which may consist of dog-biscuit or scraps from the
cable, and not too much meat, otherwise the animal is likely
to cultivate a habit of viciousness, which is not the general
characteristic of a dog if it is properly looked after. Don’t
forget a good bone once in a while. Again, see that it has
free and easy access to a water pan at all times, and don’t
forget to bathe him at least once a week; soak the coat in
warm water, apply good dog soap to a brush, and then scrub
the coat of the animal thoroughly ; after this is done, give the
bedy a rinsing, and then rub with a dry cloth, until the body
is about as dry as you can:‘get it. If you commence this bath
treatment while the animal is young it will look for it reg-
ularly, and you will never experience the difficulty that
some breeders have when they are bathing their dogs, due
—Courtesy C.
ae
J. Mercer
BOSTON BULL
to the fact that the animals were not bathed when young-
sters. veya
_ These are simple instructions, but if carried out will
ensure the health of your dogs, and enable you to cultivate an
increased liking for them so that you will always delight in
doing everything that will promote the health and happi-
ness of your animals. They’ll appreciate it all right as you
will notice by their fondness for you in looks and in actual
service. . .
THE DOG 171
Male and Female Dogs; Their Relative Value
Male Dogs Versus Females
Much misunderstanding has been prevalent in the past
as to the relative value of male and female dogs as compan-
ions and hunters, watch dogs and general purpose dogs. The
following is an unbiased opinion of the relative value of the
sexes. Females are more affectionate than males, are better
home dogs, do not run after other dogs and are just as game
and make just as good fighters and hunters as males. In
your home or place of business a male dog may be approached
by anyone having with him a female dog without being mo-
lested, but woe to the man who tries it with a female. On
the other hand, a female is often objectionable to people on
account of their being subject to their regular seasons, when
strange visitors are likely to make life unbearable for their
owner. Just a word in this direction. If properly cared for
during this time you will be out of the use of your dog
much less time than you would a male on account of their
proneness to be away from home on all occasions. Another
phase of the subject which presents itself for consideration
is the fact that you can always have a regular income from
your female by properly breeding her.
All females who do not show promise of being above the
ordinary should be promptly killed before being allowed to
suckle the food which should be given to the best ones. Also
dco the same by any males which do not show proper form
and class. It pays and pays big to do this. On no account
allow a pup to grow up that would not in every case be a
credit to your name. If they show faults according to the
Standard eliminate them at once. Like produces like, and
a dog that you would be ashamed to own as a product of
your kennels is better not sold. A female, if she is worthy
to propagate her specie, is instrinsically worth more to the
fancy and her owner than a male.
Varieties
The Airedale
Like the ‘“‘master key” to the huge skyscraper which un-
locks every door in the great edifice, the Airedale may be
called the ‘“‘master key” to Dogdom. The Airedale terrier is
a self-respecting, self-contained gentleman, reserved in his
172 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
tastes and friendships, quiet in his demeanor, leisurely in his
walks, the embodiment of force and well developed, well sup-
pressed energy and power; good natured in disposition but
terrible in anger. When aroused, as quick as chained light-
ning, aS game as a tiger and bold as a lion. The well-bred
Airedale bears the red badge of courage, the kind of courage
that will die in the defense of home and master, or climb a
black locust thorn bush to fight a wildcat. They combine
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y.
DASH,” THE: CHICKEN CATCHER
the affectionate heart of a woman with the courage of a
gladiator. Trustworthy guardians of home and master, in-
spired with an instinctive love of the game, they will hunt
for you, live for you, starve with you and, if necessary, die
in your defense. All hail to the Airedale, the “Master Key
to Dogdom.” The All-Round-King-of-Hovel or castle, equally
at home in the tropics of the south or the rigid zones of the
Arctie.
THE DOG 173
Dogs Can Be Raised and Sold at a Profit
Almost any one who does not care to raise many dogs
could own a pair of his favorite breed and by intelligent ad-
vertising make money on his investment and at the same
time have the pleasure of owning a pair of fine dogs.
Remember that advertising is the force that moves the
modern world around it and by it all the achievement of mer-
chandising and business are built. Ministers and _ philoso-
phers, salesmen and service men, and all others with a mes-
sage to read must take advantage of this great force or the
best and greatest part of their message remains unsung.
Great trade names worth millions of dollars have been built
up by intelligent and consistent advertising. The constant
hammering at it in the medium which is read by the peo-
ple who want to buy is the secret of the who!le business.
The Redbone Coonhound
If there has been one development in the past few years
that has added to the pleasure and profit of the sportsmen, it
has been the development of the Redhone Coonhound. Many
of us remember when any kind of an old crossed dog was a
coon dog. Many people still try to hunt with them and get
some coon. :
The Redbone was developed from pure hound bloodlines
by breeding the best and by natural and other selection, until
today a hound has been developed that is pre-eminently a
coonhound. Trained for generations to hunt coon.
Sportsmen marvel at the ability of these dogs to unravel
a cold and tangled trail, their grit and courage in pushing
through briars and underbrush and spattering through ice
cold water, forgetting all physical discomforts in the joy of
the scent and the chase. These dogs are also wonderful
fighters and unlike many hounds do not forget the game in
the joy of the trailing.
Their lightning like speed in the dash through open
woods and their unerring progress through almost inaccessible
swamps, their unerring quickness in locating the tree in
which is their gama is the result of the breeding of the best
to the best for many generations.
Like the range horses of our own dear West, they have
weathered the blizzards and drouth and only the strongest
\
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
=
~]
—
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y.
THE CALL OF THE WILD
A Male Wolf Dog Calling for His Mate
THE DOG 175
can survive. They have been accustomed to the hard races
through heavy underbrush and thickets and briars and thorns.
Icy rivers and muddy streams.
Fine, large, brown eyes, broad forehead, with lots of
sense, loud, clear voices that can be heard for miles and
miles. What more musical to the coon hunter than the loud,
clear voice of the hound cn trail or at tree.
They come from a long line of healthy, hardy dogs, never
inbred, but always bred to the best.
The Redbone can be taught to track anything ‘ha leaves
a scent. They have been worked successfully on wolf, cougar,
bear, deer and every known game, and have never been found
lacking in the performance of any kind that a hound can do.
Long live the Redbone Coonhound.
The Pit-Bull-Terrier
The Pit-Bull-Terrier is the family dog. His affections
for his master and mistress know no bounds. It has been
bred in him for years. ‘While the Pointer and Setter have
been learning their lessons in the fields and the Collie has
been developing his marvelous instinct in the pastures, the
Pit-Bull-Terrier has been at home with his master and mis-
tress. It has been bred in him for years that his master’s
possessions must be guarded and that he must die to protect
them.
The Pit-Bull-Terrier is not necessarily a fighting dog, as
so many are led to believe. They are no more apt to start
fights than other breeds, but if something starts and he is
mixed in it, as.the boys say, it’s “all off; he is game to the
core. The Pit-Bull-Terriers are most beautiful in colors. It
is most impossible to find two with the same color markings.
They are all colors and beautifully marked. In 1910 the
United Kennel Club registering officers recognized the Pit-
Bull-Terrier as a distinct breed and in the past seventeen
years they have developed wonderfully. They now register
several per month of the finest bloodlines in North America.
In fact, they have developed so strongly that there are a few
Purple Ribbon litters being registered.
The Scotch Collie
Almost every one knows the great Sable and White and.
the wonderful black and white Scotch Collie which have
176 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
been developed to a well nigh perfect standard. What many
fanciers who are well up on collie bloodlines do not know,
however, is that the Scotch Collie is exactly the same blood-
lines as the widely exploited German Shepherd dog.
—Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y.
“CHOWS” ARE BECOMING POPULAR
Some
The Columbian (White) Collie
There is a strong tendency in the animal race, as well
as in the human race, as the generations roll by, for the oft-
spring to become lighter and lighter. It was only a few
short years ago when the Collie breeder would go and look
at his new born thoroughbred litter and to his unintelligent
disgust would find one or two white ones in the litter. At
first the white ones were unintelligently destroyed and noth:
ing said of their appearance in the litter, but they kept on
coming just the same. Naturally a few were raised by the
more humane breeders and the United Kennel Club register
ing officers were quick to get behind them and encourage
their breeding. They recognized them as a distinct breed,
THE DOG LTT
calling them the Columbian Collie, and today they are running
40-60, if not more, with the great Sable and White bloodline.
There are a few pure white Columbians, but most of them
show a little spot of Sable, artistically placed upon their
head.
You Collie fanciers try training your Collies for any aud
all things which German Shepherd breeders claim as the
prowess for their dogs. You will find him equally capable
and more tractable.
The Borzoi the National Canine—The Samoyedes
and Owtchar Popular
In speaking of Russian dogs one’s thoughts instinctively
settle upon the Borzoi, because this graceful creature is more
intimately associated with that vast, mysterious land than
any other. We know him better, and therefore regard him
as typically Russian. So he is, in a sense, being to the Rus-
sian noble very much what the Foxhound is to the British
aristocracy. First and foremost we associate packs of Wol!-
hounds with the Imperial Court and the establishments of the
Grand Dukes, who follow the chase in the truly grand
manner.
By introducing the Boroi into this country we have trans-
planted him into an alien atmosphere; not only into a cli-
mate different from that of his native land, but into sur-
roundings strange and unfamiliar. Having no wolves to hunt,
we have wrenched him away from his proper vocation, keep-
ing him merely for the sake of his undeniable beauty and for
the companionable qualities about which there has been a
difference of opinion. Those, however, best acquainted with
the dog insist that he is all he should be in this respect, be-
ing gentle in manner, dainty of habit, and a fit inmate ot
the house, in which he takes up less room than might be
imagined from his size. That he enjoys less popularity than
some of the big dogs—the Great Dane for example—goes to
demonstrate the futility of trying to account for taste. No
one can dispute that he is handsome, graceful and picturesque.
The Greyhound form stands in a class by itself among the
canine race, and the Borzoi has a size that makes him im-
posing, and a coat and markings that certainly please the
eye. As far as one can see at shows, he seems to be tract-
178 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
able, well-mannered, and readily taught. No dog could have
a better start than was given him by the Dutchess of New-
castle, who, if not the first to acclimatize the breed, may
reasonably claim to have been the earliest exhibitor to estab
lish an extensive kennel. Next came Royal sanction, with
the appearance of Queen Alexandra among the exhibitors. In
spite of all these advantages, and notwithstanding that prices
for good specimens are far from being extravagant compared
with the money asked for others, no appreciably solid progress
has been made. Indeed, from 1907 onwards the registrations
at the Kennel Club have gone steadily downwards. Frankly,
I cannot pretend to offer an explanation.
_ UMP. ENDCLIFFE PERFORMER
: U.K.C. 81900. -
—Courtesy C. J. Mercer
AIREDALE
British dogs have been imported into Russia tor many
years, especially Foxhounds, and Pointers and Setters. Tur-
geney’s “Sportsman’s Sketches’ abound in references to
shooting dogs. There is Valetka, Yermolai’s Setter, who was
never fed by his master. ‘A dog’s a clever beast; he finds a
living for himself.’’ That doubtless accounts for a misde-
meanor that he was in the habit of committing. “He dis-
tinguished himself by untiring energy in the chase, and had
a good nose; but if he chanced to overtake a slightly wounded
THE DOG 179
hare he devoured it with relish to the last bone.’ Possibly
the Russians train their Setters to retrieve as well as find,
which would explain why Valetka had the opportunity of
chasing a wounded hare. One little colloquialism may be
repeated. A dog that keeps close to heel is said to clean his
master’s spurs.
The Bird Dog and Other Varieties
When we speak of a Bird Dog, the average man will
think immediately of a Setter or a Pointer. The best inter-
pretation of the word “Bird Dog,” however, includes not only
the different families of Setter and Pointers, but other dogs
bred principally for hunting birds.
These include the Water Spaniel, the Chessapeake, the
Tolling Dog and perhaps some others. The Water Dogs are
more familiarly known as “Dick Dogs.”
Of the Setters we have the strains known as English,
Llewellen, Irish and Gordon Setters. The Setter is a noble
looking animal and is very brainy and affectionate and can
be trained for other things, but his predominating instinct is
' the hunting of birds on land.
The Pointer is likewise a land bird dog but works in a
little different way than the Setter. The Pointer is a smooth
haired dog while the Setter is a longer haired dog. Both
breeds have fine noses which are developed principally on
game land birds.
Of the Water Retrievers, the Spaniel is perhaps the best
and most widely known, and is recognized as a distinct breed
by the different kennel clubs and associations.
The Brown Water Spaniel is a duck retriever of no mean
prowess and was developed by P. I. Appleman. He is a won-
derful breeder and trainer of the different breeds of bird
dogs.
Sam Stephenson, the originator of the Redbone Coon-
hound has also a goodly number of fine bloodlines in the Set-
ter and Pointer. Most all of his stock are trained or partly
trained.
Altogether there are about two hundred different breeds
of the domestic dog and it would be impossible to treat upon
all of them in this work. We have dealt very largely along
the lines of the most widely known.
180 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE BREEDING, RAISING AND
CARE OF CATS
By Mrs. F. G, HILLer.
must have a heart interest in the work. Some people
are fond of cats, while others do not care for them
other than for mere domestic purposes. However, this
article is intended for the “lover of cats,’’ who antici-
pates and appreciates fancy and has a matter of personal
taste and of individual preference in catdom. ‘The best
is always the cheapest—in the long run.” Such is a well-
known saying; and should be a maxim to be observed by
all cat fanciers.
| ORDER to be successful in the raising of cats, you
Varieties
There are many varieties of Persians. First, decide
upon which variety you prefer, and it is best for the novice
to keep to one color until he or she has learned some-
thing about the breeding, care, etc. Then look around
for the very best. If you can get about two queens, which
could be bred to good studs, you have a good start.
The Whites with blue eyes are very beautiful, but
have a great tendency to deafness, which those with the
orange eyes do not have. Some breeders advocate crossing
with a blue stud in order to obviate that tendency.
The Blacks should be BLACK, sound in color to the
skin, with no tinge of brown nor white hairs, eyes deep
orange or copper.
Blues, which vary in shade, some being dark and
others light, should also be sound and free from brown, the
light lavender shade being preferable; they also should
have deep orange or copper eyes.
The Reds or Orange tabbies are very popular and are
beautiful. The tabbies should have very distinct markings of
darker shade. So many in this class have white or light
chins, which should not be. The chin should be dark, and
the eyes orange or copper. ls
CAT RAISING 181
The Brown tabby is really related to the Red tabbies,
and are wonderfully beautiful if the markings are cor-
rect. They have a tawny color with broad, very distinct
black markings, copper eyes.
The Tortoiseshell is not quite so popular, although
some wonderful reds have come from breeding them to
the Red or Black.
enoté by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y.
$20,000 REFUSED FOR THIS SILVER SHADED PERSIAN CAT
Last, but not least, are the Silver classes. The Chin-
chilla, which ranks first, is a wondrously beautiful crea-
ture. The tips of the hair are very pale silver, growing
darker at the roots, with a lavender tinge over all the coat,
which is very beautiful. They should have deep sea or
blue green eyes, as should all silvers, the eyes being very
large, round and full.
Then there are the Shaded Silvers and the Silver
tabbies. The tabbies have very broad black markings, and
are lovely also.
182 5 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
The Persian males, particularly, should be very cobby;
low on legs, broad head, short, square muzzle, small ears
well rounded at tops and set well apart, the eyes large, full
and set well apart, and with the exception of the blue-
eyed Whites and the green-eyed Silvers, should have deep
orange or copper eyes. Brush should be short and full.
The females are not, as a rule, so cobby, as they make
better breeders when not So.
Breeding
In breeding, one should try to find a stud that excels
in the points in which one’s queen is lacking. It is well
also, to breed coior to color. It is absolutely a crime to
breed the Silvers with their green eyes to cats that are sup-
posed to have copper eyes, for the reason that the result-
ing kittens are ruined in regard to eye-color, and that for
generations, as the Silvers are very likely to have the
orange eyes, while the others take the green.
Unless there are a number of females in one’s. town
to pay for keeping a stud, it is much more economical to
send your cat to be bred, for keeping a stud entails a lot
of work and worry.
Gestation Period and Preparation
The period of gestation with the cat is from sixty-three
to sixty-six days. Before being bred, she should be thor-
oughly wormed and gotten in the pink of condition. Dur-
ing that time she should be well fed, ground raw beet
mixed with a little bone meal or calcium phosphates, and
sometimes mixed with health bread, at least two or three
times a day. Should always have access to grass, and pure
fresh water with a little lime water in it. Her bed should
be in a dark place and she should have gotten used to it
before her time comes. Some breeders advocate leaving
her entirely alone while giving birth to her babies; some
do not. Sometimes a kitten will come feet first, and un-
less the queen has help she is in a bad fix, and the kitten
very often will have strangled before it can be delivered.
I have saved many a valuable kitten by promptly tak-
ing it and dipping it first in quite hot and then cold water,
slapping it and breathing into its nostrils; in about a min-
ute it will begin to gasp, and ycur kitten is saved, which,
CAT RAISING 183
had you not been right there to render first aid, would
never have breathed. During the last two weeks of the
queen’s period, if three pellets of homoepathic pulsatilla
are given daily, it will greatly aid her in giving birth to
her kits.
Necessary Care After Young Are Born
When the kits are all safely into the world, the mother
should have a clean bed, a turkish towel is good. She will
greatly relish a drink of warm milk at that time, and then
should be left to rest. While she is nursing her family,
she should have ALL she wants to eat, and whatever she
wants.
—Courtesy of Mrs. E. H. Danforth
PERSIAN KITTENS
The kits should NOT be taken out every few moments
to show to someone, for they look like little rats anyway,
and the light is apt to cause sore eyes, ‘which is very stub-
born to cure, once it begins. They should be left in the
dark until they come out themselves, which will be about
four weeks. Another thing, no good, human mother will
awaken her sleeping baby if she-wants it to thrive, then
why allow some one to grab up the tiny kits out of a sound
184 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
sleep? However, about the ninth day, when the eyes should
begin to open, it is well to rub your finger over the eyes,
and if there is any roughness caused by infection that
sometimes will develop, they should be bathed with a solu-
tion of real warm boric acid, and a drop of castor oil put
in the eye, and the trouble is usually ended.
Number to Raise
Four kits are all a queen should be allowed to take
care of; if there are more, a foster mother should be
found. Some will say, “Oh, nature never gives them more
than they can take care of.’’ Not so. We must remember
that nature is very much perverted these days, like everything
else in this old world of ours.
The kits should be fed a little scraped raw beef, moist-
ened with iime water when they begin to come out of the
basket. But they are greedy little things and it is very easy
to over-feed them, so great care must be taken not to leave
food on the floor, for everything should be taken right up as
soon as they are through.
Feeding
In the breeding season the studs should be fed two good
meals of raw beef. After the season is over, the quantity
can be cut down and just a small amount given in the morn-
ing and their good meal at night. If one has a number of
cats it is practical to keep a few chickens, for there will
usually be almost enough left from the cats to feed the chick-
ens. If, after you have fed your cats at night, they still cry
and claw at the wires of their runs, you may rest assured
that they have not had enough, but when they sit back and
begin to ‘‘wash up,” then take up what is left for the
chicks.
Don’t feed liver, kidneys and stuff like that, and expect
your cats to thrive. Don’t feed mush and milk either; a cat
that is fed that sort of stuff will succumb to the very first
~ serious ailment he may have, where the meat-fed cat who has
all the resistance possible will quickly recover.
Housing and Cleaning
Persians should be kept out of doors, in a dry place.
Their houses should face the south with plenty of windows
in the south and west, for they need all the sun that is go-
ing in-the winter time. They should have cozy boxes of
185
CAT HAISING
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186 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
clean straw, and in winter time they love to curl up in a
keg containing straw. The runs could be built to the north,
made with inch wire mesh, and the top covered with roof-
ing paper to keep out the rain. Their houses should be kept
scrupulously clean, and if a few moments each day are spent
in combing and brushing, and they are kept free from worms,
fleas and other vermin, your cats will always be in show
form. Some judges will give a poorer cat which-is in perfect
show form the blue ribbon over a better cat that is out oi
condition.
—Courtesy ot Mrs. F. G. Hiller
CHINCHILLA KITTEN
“MADRONA SILVER TWINKLE”
Exhibiting
When you go to the show, don’t go with the idea that
you have the ONLY eats. Your cat looks good to you un-
doubtedly, but remember the other fellow’s cat looks good to
him. Remember that the judge has been engaged to judge
the cats, not the people, although some of them I fear do
187
d-ld,, ‘A1IVNGA VITIHONIHO
BINH YD ‘A ‘Sd jo Asoqan0pj—
AT RAISING
C
188 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
not always do so. Be a good loser as well as a good win-
ner. A good winner does not crow over those who are not
so fortunate; remember that ‘Charity is kind.’ There are
many heartaches and disappointments in the show room,
and if you cannot lose without showing a spirit of bitterness
and envy, stay at home.
General Advice
Now remember, it is not always the highest priced cats
that are the best; do not deal with one you KNOW to be un-
reliable, for they should not be encouraged. When you have
kittens or cats to sell, don’t be afraid to advertise, for that
is one of the most important considerations. When you have
a prospective buyer, be sure to describe your cat accurately.
If she has a fault, tell that as well as the good points. Your
customer will not then be disappointed when she receives
her purchase, and you will be surprised how quickly people
begin to sit up and take notice that such a one is honest, and
they soon begin to tell each other, “You need not be afraid
to deal with so and so for she is straight, and you’ll get a
square deal from her,’ etc. As we used to write in our copy
books, “Honesty is the best policy.”
IN CONCLUSION. Cats are divided into two general
classes, namely, the long-haired kind and the short-haired
breed. The former type belong to the various Angora and
Persian Cats, while the latter belong to the common cat we
see every day.
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 189
RAISING PIGEONS FOR PROFIT
AND PLEASURE
By FRANK HOLLMAN,
Editor American Pigeon Journal.
money out of pigeons is, perhaps, something new to
the average American citizen. Too many people, when
the subject. of pigeons is mentioned, think merely of the com-
mon barn pigeon which may be seen flying around in the
country, villages and cities. But in raising pigeons for
profit distinct breeds and varieties are used and such birds
are kept penned up in wire pens or aviaries.
Therefore, in the following pages it shall be the privi-
lege of the writer to give a few fundamental principles and,
also, general information on the raising of pigeons for profit.
While this will prove of interest to experienced breeders, yet
it is written primarily for the beginner, showing him how
to make money with pigeons,
Fy, niones 0 is interested in making money. But to make
Squab Raising As a Business
Squab raising as a business has become quite an indus-
try in America. There are thousands of people who keep
pigeons, some only a loft of 25 or 30 pairs, while others as
many as several thousand birds. There is one class of peo-
ple who keep them as a side line to their regular business,
and who raise enough squabs to supply their own table with
meat. Pigeons can be raised profitably from a few pigeons
to several thousand birds, with careful management, if the
owner studies the business as one would do any other busi-
ness. Besides the man who has from 50 to 100 birds for
the purpose of producing his own meat, there is the large
squab plant conducted solely for profit. The largest plants
are usually classed as those having 500 or more pigeons. One
of the largest plants is that of King Lofts, owned by C. R.
King and located at Hayward, California. They have a total
of 16,000 pigeons, kept primarily for the purpose of producing
squabs for market. Of course, it is understood that a large
190 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
plant can make more money than the average size plant, due
to the fact that grain can be bought in larger quantities and
squabs can be sold to the large hotels, private clubs, railroad
companies and steamship lines in large quantities.
—Courtesy American Pigeon Journal
WHITE SWISS MONDAINE
A list of questions on pigeon raising was recently sent out
by the United States Department of Agriculture to pigeon
breeders throughout the United States, and among other re-
plies were received from 22 large breeders, who kept from 300
to 2,200 pigeons and produced squabs for market. The rec-
ord of these breeders are considered more acceptable to the
commercial production of squabs than the replies which were
received from breeders keeping only a few pigeons for home
use or pleasure. The replies showed that the annual profit
per pair of breeding stock varied from 32 cents to $3, and
averaged $1.52. All squabs were sold for market, while about
one-half sold both as breeders and for market. A great deal
of valuable information was contained in these replies of in-
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 191
terest especially to commercial squab breeders, but. the in-
teresting fact to be noticed is that all showed a profit for
each pair of breeding birds.
—Courtesy American Pigeon Journal
WHITE KING SQUAB, WEIGHING 1% LBS. AT THREE
WEEKS OF AGE
How to Start
Too many people, when they get the “pigeon fever” want
to start big at once, This, many times, is the first step to-
wards failure. The advice to a person who knows nothing
192
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY , 193
concerning the nature and characteristics of pigeons is to
start small. By a “small start’ is meant beginning with
from five to twenty pairs of mated pigeons. In this way
the beginner will learn the general management of pigeons, e
such as the feeding, watering, selection of breeders, banding.
record keeping, killing, shipping and marketing. The plant
can then be enlarged as one’s knowledge increases. Then.
also, by starting with a few birds you will find out whether
or not you actually love your work, for that is the greatest
factor in the success of any business. .
Be sure to get guaranteed, mated and working birds from
some reliable breeder, and not some “bargain lot.” Be willing
to pay a good price for breeders and be satisfied with nothing
but the best for foundation stock. Good stock goes a long
way towerd success.
What Breed to Select
This is a very common question asked by the beginner
and rightly so. There are eight prominent utility breeds
of pigeons, namely, Carneaux, Homers, Mondaines, White
Kings, Maltese, Hungarians, Runts and Polish Lynx. These
are the most popular squab breeding varieties used in Amer-
ica at this time and the advice would be to study carefully
. each breed and then select the one that suits you the best,
considering the size of squabs produced, etc. One can make
a success with any of the breeds mentioned, provided he will
specialize on one breed and give this breed proper care and
attention. One must study each breed and after having se-
lected the one of his fancy, the breeder should make this his
specialty, paying particular attention to culling and selection
of breeding stock. It is of paramount importance for the be-
ginner to get first-class birds from a reliable breeder, and,
having done this, the chances are that the beginner will make
a success, provided he takes the proper interest in his birds
and will give them the necessary care and attention. Briefly,
the’ advice is this: Select your breed then stick to it.
Advantages Over Poultry
Squab raising has several marked advantages over poul-
try. Squabs are raised the year around and bring highest
194 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
prices during the winter months, when your hens usually
unanimously decide to take a rest, No new blood is neces-
sary every two or three years in raising pigeons. Pigeons
stay mated for life and the average pair is profitable nine
to ten years while in poultry, new blood is necessary every
two or three years. Pigeons are not as susceptible to disease
and are rarely bothered with lice or mites. The common
chicken louse is not known to affect pigeons.
Squabs are reared by the parent birds and therefore there
is no bother with incubation; aiso, no need of worry about
squabs drowning when a shower of rain comes, as the squabs
are always under roof sitting quietly in the nest. Other ad-
“RENE Be
—Courtesy American Pigeon Journal
RED CARNEAU
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 195
vantages may be mentioned equally as important as ‘the fore-
going, such as less space needed, less equipment necessary,
and smaller capital.
Value of Squabs as a Food
The pigeon is the only species of aerial bird kept in
domestication to provide food for man. It is also the only
useful domestic bird that is able to maintain itself and in-
crease in numbers in populous districts without the care of
man. Their value as food is primarily the use of the squabs
which they raise. A squab is a young pigeon from four to
five weeks of age and is called a squab as long as it remains
in the nest. After it leaves the nest it loses in weight and
is then called a youngster. Its growth is so rapid that at
four weeks of age it is practically as large as the parent
bird, fully feathered and ready for market. The average
weight is from 14 to 24 ounces at four weeks of age, and
sometimes even weighing as high as 26 ounces. However,
all this depends upon the breed and the care and attention
given the birds.
Because of the fact that the squab remains more or
less inactive in the nest for the first four weeks of its ex-
istence, it becomes very fat, due to the generous feeding of the
parent birds, and on account of lack of exercise, squab meat
is exceptionally tender. Only the choicest grains are eaten
by the parent birds and as the old birds are not scavengers,
only clean, sweet food is fed to the squab. Squabs are, there-
fore, one of the cleanest forms of meat. They are simply the
result of a transformation of grain and cereals into animal
flesh. Pigeons are exceptionally clean, in fact one of the
cleanest of the bird family, and as a result, their squabs are
most delicious and palatable. Squab meat is used for two
general purposes, namely as a fcod for home consumption
the same as any other meat, and for medicinal purposes.
Profits
The profits in the squab business are usually from three
sources. They are selling squabs for market, selling adult
birds for breeding stock to other pigeon breeders, and selling
beautifully plummaged birds to firms who mount the birds
and sell them to milliners, floral houses, undertakers and such
196 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
uses as might be found for mounted birds. The white plum-
maged bird is especially in'demand for this class of trade,
and thousands are used annually for this purpose, one of
the largest firms using them being J. W. Crismore of Chicago.
There are other sources of profit such as selling feathers
plucked from squabs, disposing of the fertilizer to tanneries
and florists. |
With proper care and attention one ought to realize at
least 15 per cent profit on his investment, but if one has
a large plant, having several thousand pairs of breeders, and
with the best of culling, this profit sometimes is as high
as 25 per cent.
A good pair of birds should raise, on an average, from
12 to 16 marketable squabs per year. The small breeds, such
as the Homer and Maltese, raise the greatest number of squabs
per year, averaging 9, 10, 11, and sometimes 12 pounds to the
dozen, while the large breeds, such as the Mondaine and
—Courtesy American Pigeon Journal
ONE-UNIT SQUAB HOUSE READY FOR BIRDS
Runt, do not raise, perhaps, as many but average 10, 11, 12,
13 and 14 pounds to the dozen and some even as high as 15
pounds to the dozen. But usually the final outcome is the
same, since the number of pounds of squab meat produced per
pair by the small breeds is equal to the number of pounds
of squab meat produced per pair by the large breeds.
Prices on squabs are based on the weight per dozen, and
of course, the heavier the squabs, the greater the price.
Squabs weighing 12 pounds to the dozen usually bring from
$9 to $12 per dozen, depending upon the season of the year.
It is usually considered that a pair of breeders should make
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 197
a net profit of from $1 to $3.50 per year, depending entirely
upon the cost of feed and the price received for squabs. How-
ever, do not think that squab raising is a get-rich-quick busi-
ness, for it certainly is not. But it is a very profitable
business, and many large, successful plants are to be found
throughout the country, Quite a number of squab men are
making as much as $100 per month from their squab plants.
WHY NOT YOU?
Value of Pigeons as a Hobby |
The domestic pigeon is not only rendering a service as
a means of profit, but also as a pleasure to the busy man.
There are thousands of business and professional men who
have a small loft of pigeons merely as a hobby, and are
strictly fanciers. The birds are kept for the pleasure of
raising something beautiful to the eye and it brings a spirit
of satisfaction to the man who is able to realize his ideal
along this line. There are many different varieties of so-
called: fancy or ornamental pigeons raised for show pur-
poses only. A small pen of pigeons does not require much
time, perhaps only 15 or 20 minutes daily for providing
feed and water, because the old birds feed and take care of
the young pigeons. This, then, forms an avocation to his
regular work and a means of pleasure and diversification
from his regular routine duties. The value of a hobby can
readily be appreciated by a man who is kept busy with his
tasks from day to day, as it gives him an opportunity to
develop the artistic and aesthetic side of his nature, thus
giving him a chance for expressing the finer sense of his
nature. :
Annually throughout the country there are held many
pigeon shows where the best of each variety is exhibited, and
these shows mean much in developing the hobby as well as
the business. Pigeon conventions are held throughout the
country in connection with the large shows, and much in-
terest is manifested in seeing who is able to produce the very
best in his favorite breed. To raise a champion bird as near
the official standard as it is possible for man to raise pigeons
is indeed an art and something that can only be done by the
experienced breeder after years of careful study of the laws
and principles of heredity and environment.
198 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
DOUBLE NEST BOXES IN USE
THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 199 -
Pigeons Ideal Pets for Children
Then there is also another value of the pigeon and one
of great importance in the life of the boy and girl. Most
children love pets and a few pairs of pigeons make ideal pets
for children. Many a man, in his youth, has spent his leisure
time taking care of a few pairs of pigeons, studying their
habits and learning their traits and characteristics. It is
an ideal means of keeping the boy, who is in the adolescent
period of life, at home, thus keeping his mind occupied with
something that will be of value to him in after years. Pigeons
do not require so much care and attention as to make the
work monotonous, but a few minutes each day is all that is
required for attending to the needs of the birds. It teaches
the boy to be responsible for his pets and to take care of their
wants and needs, and the lesson of responsibility is one of
great importance in the life of any child and in the shaping
of his future character. Habits of obedience and promptness
will necessarily be formed in taking care of his pets and
these are traits of great value to him through life. It is in
youth when the habits are formed which will make or un-
make the boy, and if his mind can be occupied with the
things of educational and cultural value, such as described
above, it will teach him the first lesson of industry and
citizenship. The problem of the youth in modern society is
how to counteract the influence of the street gang and places
of cheap amusement. Instead of wasting his after-school
hours in conniving some mean trick with other boys running
on the streets, or perpetrating something that they consider
daring, his time will be spent learning the traits of the birds,
and thus the boy is saved from the temptations and vices of
the influences of evil.
Traits and Characteristics of Pigeons
The traits and characteristics of a pair of pigeons may
be readily compared to family life. Unlike other birds, the
pigeon is monogymous and remains true to its mate for life.
Judging by modern social standards, it is doubtful whether
we can make the same statement regarding present-day family
life. There is no need for matrimonial bureaus and divorce
courts. The cooing and courting of pigeons is very interest-
ing. When the male bird has selected one of the opposite sex,
200 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
he begins the process of flirtation and courting with such
a degree of proficiency as though he were a past master of
the art. He will parade himself before the bird of his choice,
displaying, to the best of his ability, his prowess, graceful
step and beautiful plummage. This continues until he se-
cures her attentions, and if to the contrary he is unsuccess-.
ful he repeats the performance to the next bird of his choice.
If, however, he is successful, he is within her company
most of the time, and will soon go house hunting. After
they have selected a nest box for their home, both will share
equally in the duties of the home and in the raising of the
family. In the building of the nest, the one bird, usually
the hen, will take its position in the nest box while the male
will bring the desired straw or twigs of proper length to his
mate who arranges them in the desired manner in the nest.
The co-operation between male and female does not stop
here, but continues during the incubation of the eggs as well
as the raising of their young. Seemingly, union hours are ob-
served by a pair of pigeons, as the male incubates the eggs
during the six most pleasant hours of the day so that his
partner may have the pleasure of the board walk in the sun-
shine and the joys of a refreshing bath on a hot summer day.
Then, at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the hen will return
to take charge of the home and continue throughout the night
until about 10 o’clock in the morning, when the male will
again take charge for the day.
The eggs hatch after 17 days of incubation and both par-
ents take equal responsibility of feeding the youngsters, When
the squabs are about four weeks old they begin to leave the
nest to take care of themselves, and then the parents start
to prepare for the next nest of eggs.
There are few men who would care to share equally in
the work of the housewife, and especially in taking care of
the home during the day, much less the night. Many an
American home could learn a wonderful lesson of loyalty and
constancy to their home and family life by watching and
studying the traits of the domestic pigeon.
THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 201
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HATCHING
AND REARING OF PHEAS-
ANTS AND GAME BIRDS
By W. F. KENDRICK,
President American Game Association,
birds for ages and centuries has been looked upon as
an intricate nad mysterious process and in the old coun-
try, especially in England and Continental Europe, has been
under the management of professional game keepers. The
head and under keepers often being on the same estates and
preserves from generation to generation. The oldest son
having the preference in the father’s position. Many of these
head game keepers having what they call their secret mix-
tures that has brought them their success in feeding and rear-
ing, which they impressively impart to their sons.
By faithful study of the nature of the pheasants, any
industrious, intelligent person can successfully handle the
situation.
Pheasants can be reared by incubation and brooder, as
shown by accompanying illustration of the picture of several
hundred baby pheasants in the brooder, also where there were
common chickens and pheasants hatched at the same time,
mixed.
T hatching and rearing of pheasants and wild game
Feeding
Feed exactly the same as with baby chicks, using hard
boiled eggs freely with first foods, and in addition baby chick
food dry mixtures, also may bake what the game keepers
call Johnny cakes, composed of either whole wheat and corn
ground together, or if buying, use a mixtures of bran, flour
and corn meal, about one-third each, mixed with about four
eggs to each quart, shells and all, and a tablespoonful of char-
coal to the quart, which bake well, and after cooling put it
through a grinder or crumble it by hand. Where you are
feeding baby food to chicks hovered by a hen feed her corn
so she will not consume too much of the baby food.
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
202
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THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 203
To the above, of course, are added fine sand; gravel,
oyster shell or other grits, also an abundance of pure water,
kept in clean modern water vessels, by which the birds can
drink freely without getting wet and the water protected
from the hot sun.
These same foods will answer for partridges, quail, prairie
chickens, peafowl, turkeys and water fowl.
In addition to this you can use the modified form of the
English and European method’ as used by imported game
keepers, so that you may be posted and decide what system
you wish to adopt, or are prepared to adopt, owing largely to
the magnitude on which you handle the business.
Hatching and Rearing of Pheasants by Modified
English Method
The accompanying illustration (see page 202) of one end
of some setting boxes, and picketing of the hens for feeding,
will give a good idea of this method which was established by
a gamekeeper who came from England for that purpose. The
next head gamekeeper, a Scotchman, also came over for the
purpose, cut off the stakes even with the ground and drove a
nail in the top to which he tied the string and the hen could
not wind up the tether about the stake. Another head keeper
uses brooder boxes instead of stakes.
Hatching Boxes
The hatching boxes are constructed first of partition
boards of 14 inches long, of which hundreds of pieces are
cut ready for use. Then take a board for the back of tha
box, 16 feet long and 12 inches in width, and line it every
123 inches, making 15 setting boxes. For the front of the
box use 10-inch boards, 16 feet long, marked identical witli
the back board. In these are nailed the partitions, which
are 14 inches long, 10 inches in width, and 12-12 inches cen-
ter to center. Taking out the thickness of the board parti-
‘tion, one inch, leaves the size of the nesting box 114x14
inches, inside measure. On top of these put lids made of
13-inch board and fasten at the upper end with canvas hinges,
as shown in the picture.
These boxes, in the fall, after the hatching season is over,
‘are taken apart, the nails taken out, and the boards piled up
-as lumber to be used again the next season. But before using
204 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
these boards boil them in a solution of lime and salt water,
adding a little crude carbolic acid, so that the cracks in the
boards may be thoroughly filled to protect the hens from in-
sect pests. Cleanliness is the first requirement in the pheas-
‘ant business.
The nest boxes, after being constructed, are placed on
level ground and one or two inches of damp earth put into
each box. A good way to prepare the nest is to use fine soft
blue grass hay, winding a portion of it into a rope one inch
in thickness and about three feet long, then place it inside the
nesting box on the earth, as the outside of the nest. Inside
of this lay a one-half inch coating of hay, laid all one way,
on which to place the eggs. After the eggs are hatched a
nest made in this way will be almost as perfect as in the
beginning. ~
—Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick
PAIR GOLDEN PHEASANTS
Placing the Eggs
Place from 14 to 18 pheasant eggs under each hen, ac-
cording to her size and the time of year. The warmth from
the hen brings up more or less moisture from the earth, keep-
ing the eggs from drying out too rapidly; although the last
week sprinkle them daily with warm water. As you may
set several thousand hens during the season, take whatever
you have on hand or can readily buy. As a rule the mon-
grel, or common barnyard hen is preferable as it is usually
not so heavy; although you can use many thoroughbred White
Rocks and other fowls of like weight.
| Care and Attention
These hens are dusted with a powder to kill vermin and
put on trial nests with glass eggs for one or two days before
THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 205
they are put on the pheasant eggs.
The hens are fed and watered daily at about the same
hour, being allowed to remain off the nest, according to the
temperature, from 10 to 20 minutes for the purpose of eating
and drinking. The hen will soon become so accustomed to
being tethered that before the hatching period is over many
of them will remain near the stake at which they are fed if
their tether slips off. In taking the hen off the nest, do so
with both hands, but in returning her to the nest it is hard
to use both hands, sc take the thumb above the backbone of
the hen and two fingers underneath, one each side of the
rear end of the breast-bone. A hen can be held in this way
without molesting the feathers or hurting her and can be
put on the nest quietly. If the hen commences to strike at
the board on her nest with her feet, tip her body up and set
her down quietly and at the same time, with the free hand,
hold the lid close to her head, closing the lid as the hen is
put on the nest. .
The necessity for having a high and close box for a hen
setting on pheasant eggs is that it is the nature of the pheas-
ant when it is hatched to run away from its mother, like that
of the partridge. The saying is that a young partridge will
run with the shell on its back. Most of the hens setting on
pheasant eggs without an enclosure lose most, and in some
instances, all of the young pheasants.
The Setting Hen
The food for the setting hen is largely wheat, cracked
barley, corn or oats. Also see that plenty of grit is given
them. Give the hens water in dishes that are kept clean. If
their feet are soiled while off the nest, have them washed
or cleaned before putting them back. While they are off the
nest see that the nest and eggs are in good order. If there
is a broken one, take it out and wash with warm water any
that are soiled.
Cleanliness
Clean the feeding ground each time after the hens are
put back on their nests,- being sure to return each hen to
her own nest; put out fresh water and grain before picketing
out the next lot of hens. Twenty-five picket posts, or brooder
boxes, according to method used, can take care of several
hundred hens by using them in relays.
206 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
REEVES PHEASANT HELD BY W. F. KENDRICK
THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 207
Record Keeping |
The head gamekeeper and assistant should look after the
hatching, each egg is examined before setting, the lid of each
box is inscribed with the kind of eggs, date, etc. The last
box in photo on page 202 is No. 655, 5-12, 6-2. Goldens, set
May 12, due to hatch June 2nd. The whole battery of boxes
are marked so that the keepers know when each hen is due
to hatch and the kind of birds. When hatched and dry the
head keeper delivers each hen with fifteen babies to an under
keeper in the rearing field. Any hen not a good hatcher is
put in fattening pen and her young divided up to average 15
birds to each hen put in the rearing fields. When the head
keeper turns them over to his under keepers at the rate of
80 hens and brood of 1,200 babies to each under keeper or
feeder, who is held responsible for the successful rearing of
the birds.
Brooding and Care of Young Pheasants in
Rearing Field
Modified English-Scotch-European Method
The stepmother, or common hen from the poultry yard,
used for hatching the eggs, is placed with the newly-hatched
chick pheasants in a brooder coop, closed for first day, in
front of which the under keeper attaches a closed runway.
Coops are made 22 inches wide in front. Make this runway
22 inches wide to fit all coops, and four feet long, with side-
board 12 inches high, and where there is danger from mag-
pies, cats or vermin, cover this with one-inch mesh wire.
This allows the little birds to only get four feet away from
the mother for the first three or four days, until they become
accustomed to the hen’s call. After that the keeper quietly
removes the runway, giving the birds the run of the field.
There is a shutter made of light material to close the front
of each coop after dark. This serves to teach the young
birds to remain in the coop, so they can be caught to be re-
moved from the field, and also protects them from vermin.
The feeders wear, as near as possible, the same looking
clothes.and move quietly, allowing no dogs within the field,
nor strangers, in order to keep the birds quiet and under
control; otherwise, the birds are liable to become frightened
and run away. At any time between six and eight weeks old
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
208
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THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY ~ 209
they are removed to their permanent quarters, especially if
they are to be put into enclosures.
The birds are brooded in meadows with roadways kept
cut through the grass six to ten feet wide, laid out like streets
of the city, shown in accompanying photo, allowing the young
birds exercise and food in the sunshine, or to run into high
grass for hunting bugs and in which to hide when fright-
ened. .
The coops are moved every day or two, the width of the
same, or as far as necessary to get it onto clean ground.
Coops are placed 40 feet apart. In stormy weather place
coops in the field two or more days ahead of the time you
expect to use them, in order to have the ground dry on which
to place the hen and young birds.
The birds are not fed until they are from 24 to 48 hours
old, giving time for the digestion of the yolk of the egg
taken into the digestive organs of the bird just before it is
hatched, supplying sufficient food for the first two days or
more.
Sand or very fine grit can be put into the coop when it
is put in the field or at their first feeding, and it should be
furnished them until they are old enough to gather it from
the ground.
The first food game feeders give the birds is prepared
from ‘egg boiled from 20 to 30 minutes, to make them mealy
and easily digestible, and passed through a colander or sieve.
This is mixed and rubbed or chopped with ground barley,
ground whole wheat meal, or with toasted bread, dry bread
crumbs or Johnny cake.
The food is just moist, not wet, but so it will crumble
through the fingers. Never feed young birds sloppy foods.
Where barley or whole wheat meal cannot be secured, the
bread crumbs or toasted bread and fine corn meal can be
used.
When five days old, a little rice with a very little boiled
meat finely chopped and rubbed is mixed with the above.
Boiled rabbit is a favorite dish among the English feeders
for either young or old pheasants. Rub it thoroughly in the
Johnny cake so it is not pasty. One hard boiled egg in the
food is sufficient for 50 or 60 birds for one meal.
Feed at 6 and 10 a. m. and 2 and 6 p,m. Feed but little
210 OUTDOVR OPPORTUNITIES
at a time, no more than the birds will eat, and want a little
more. Food left on the ground to sour may sicken them.
At ten days old hemp seed, wheat or hulled barley, or
finely ground corn meal or oat meal can be gradually added.
At two weeks gradually drop off the feeding of eggs,
and at the same time add the feeding of cooked meats.
‘Pure: linseed oil or linseed oil meal in the food at the age
of from two to three weeks aids in the growth of the feathers.
At this date cracked grain of different kinds is added to the
‘bird food.
ea COUrtesy) of’ Wi... Bs Kendrick
CHINESE RINGNECK COCK PHEASANT
Cottage cheese, made from sour milk, is often added to
‘the bird food, either fed to them separately or mixed with
their food after they are a week old.
--Where parties have not an ordinary sieve they can use
- mosquito wire for rubbing the food through.
: esln -order. to save the bird food the game keeper places it
onthe clean grass in front of the coop, where the hen can
only reach a-small part of it; feeding the hen a mixture of
wheat, corn and: barley, either whole or cracked.
’ When insect ‘life is plentiful the young birds often secure
211
K PHEASANT INDUSTRY
TH
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212 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITI2¢£
enough insects and larvae from the plant life, and worms
from the ground, so they eat but little of the prepared food.
HERVE SE
—Courtesy ‘of W. #. Kendrick
REINHARD’S PHEASANT
The pheasant is an insectivorous bird and will eat insects
and worms in preference to grain, when obtainable.
THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 213
When more food is given the birds than they will eat
at a time, either gather it up or cover it with earth, so that
birds cannot eat soured food. This is an important part of
feeding. It is better to feed so they will clean the ground
than to overfeed, as they are liable to cause trouble by pick-
ing up the old or rancid food. Only mix up the amount
of moist food you wish to use at one time.
; =
—Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick &
»
PAIR SILVER PHEASANTS
The birds you wish to keep in open top enclosures, com-
mence clipping the eight flight feathers from one wing al
about seven weeks old, being very careful not to clip a green
feather that would bleed, as it injures the bird and in hot
weather is liable to become fly-blown, which would kill the
214 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
bird. This process is repeated about five times, two weeks
apart, which will do until the birds moult the coming sea-
son, and prevent them from flying. When pinioning is
adopted the wing is clipped when a few days old.
Where there are but few birds the food can be prepared
on the kitchen stove, or use dry mixtures.
—Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick
PHEASANTS
At most places the early birds are given food prepared
at the cookery at the buildings, but in the main rearing sea-
son, when each feeder has from 80 to 100 coops to look after,
the cooking is done almost entirely in the fields, and the
men live and sleep among or near the birds.
When birds are reared to be liberated, as in England,
they are usually moved to the game fields when six weeks old,
accompanied by their stepmother hen, or at eight weeks old
if not accompanied by the hen. The under game keepers or
feeders continue with them, to feed, care for and keep them
from straying and protect them from their enemies until
aiter the shooting season.
BANTAMS » 215
CARE AND MANAGEMENT |
OF BANTAMS
By A.C) Smit:
are miniatures of the regular breeds, the dwarfs of
larger fowls
Like the nurserymen have developed dwarf varieties of
fruit trees for use on small lots, so the bantam fanciers have
developed a dwarf variety of poultry—similar to the large
varieties in everything except size, and which can be raised
in small space.
There is practically no difference between a bantam
and a regular chicken, except as to size. They weigh less,
eat less, lay smaller eggs. Instead of requiring large houses,
they use “doll houses.” Instead of needing a big run or
yard, they require only a small one or none at all. In other
words, they are treated and fed like big fowls, except on a
reduced plan.
Bantams are far from being a pet or plaything, although
they are all of that. They lay as many eggs as their big
sisters and, while they are smaller, still it takes less feed to
produce them and are larger in proportion to the size of
the fowl. If eggs were valued by weight, instead of by the
dozen, you would find that bantams will produce them just
as cheaply or cheaper. Three bantam eggs are equal to
two regular ones,
Just as many city and town people plant dwarf fruit
trees on their lots instead of regular ones, so do many per-
‘sons with small and limited space satisfy their desire for
chickens by raising bantams. You can get all the pleasure,
experience and satisfaction out of bantams that you can out
of regular poultry. On a limited amount of space you can
‘raise many more bantams than you could full-sized chickens.
You can get as many or more eggs for the food used—you
can sell all you raise at as high or higher a price. In other
words, you can go in for bantams and find them just as prof-
‘itable-as.the larger breeds, with far more pleasure and less
- ‘work and expense. 5 ere
B are min are the “Shetland ponies’ of poultry. They
. 216 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Bantams and bantam houses are an ornament to any
back yard, instead of being a nuisance, as regular chickens
often are. They do not need a range and even if let loose,
are not wanderers, You can keep bantams anywhere, and
they are the only chickens you can keep in many places
without being an annoyance to your neighbors. Nobody could
possibly object to bantams.
GOLDEN SEABRIGHT BANTAM
You can keep a dozen bantams in the same size space
that four regular chickens would require and for about the
same feeding expense. Your dozen bantams would produce
many more eggs than the four full sized. Bantams are gen-
tle, tame, easily handled, and a constant source of pride and
pleasure for every member of the family.
The Kind to Raise
The most popular of all bantams are the Cochins—white,
buff, partridge and black.
Origin, Description, Buying Stock, Etc.
The Buff Cochin Bantam is of ancient origin; credit
has been given to the Chinese for the production and culti.
BANTAMS 217
vation of the Bantam. The history of the Pekin, or Cochin,
as far as one can determine, shows that the first birds se-
cured were from-.the city of Pekin, China, hence the name
“Pekin” in relation to the Bantam.
A COCHIN BANTAM is supposed to be a “midget” or di-
minutive Bantam, certainly noted for its smallness. One of the
most important features about this specie of the poultry
family is the shape, Head should be small; comb, single and
evenly serrated; face, ear-lobes, and wattles must be bright
red; eyes, red or as nearly so as possible; beaks, a rich yel-
low; neck and back of male should have plenty of hackel
and saddle feathers flowing well over the shoulders and
saddle; breast, broad and full, and fluff very abundant; tail
should be carried rather horizontally, broad but short.
BLACK COCHIN BANTAMS. These are being bred to a
high degree of perfection, and they are just as popular as any
of the Cochins. They possess a greenish black all over, with
bright red comb, face, wattles and ear-lobes. These Ban-
tams are very attractive indeed. and “hard to beat,” as the
saying is.
LIGHT BRAHMA BANTAMS. These are after the order
which their name implies, but have been bred down to little
midgets. They are especially attractive to look at, and lay
the largest and most eggs of any variety of the Bantam.
These kind of birds are recommended to those who have
very limited space to keep their stock, yet want the greatest
possible production, as this kind of stock does well in close
confinement,
Feeding
Bantams are fed much as ordinary chickens are, except
much less. A few pens of bantams could easily be kept on
the table scraps of the ordinary family with maybe a little
grain, just before going to roost.
Housing
Bantams require only a “play-house.” A very practical
and serviceable house can be made from a dry goods box,
by covering it with tar paper to keep it warm and dry. A .
house three feet deep and five feet long will hold comfort- .
ably a pen of one rooster and four or five hens. Have the
218 © OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
house about thirty inches high in front, sloping to twenty
inches in the rear. The floor should be of boards covered with .-
straw or chaff. Provide a roost in the rear and several nest
boxes. It should be built with three sides solid and front
covered with chicken wire and a waterproof curtain for
use in inclement weather. A small wire-covered run can be:
provided, if desired. Such houses can be nicely painted
and will make an ornament for any back yard.
Breeding
Bantams should be kept in pens of from three to six—
or one rooster to two to five hens. Inbreeding is quite large- —
ly practiced among bantam breeders. Cochin Bantams make
the best setters and mothers of any variety of chicken. They
WHITE BANTAM
hatch every hatchable egg and raise every chick hatched.
Buff Cochin Bantams are used by pheasant breeders to hatch
pheasant eggs and raise the baby pheasants, Breeders of
the very highest priced fancy chickens often hatch out their
eggs from prize-winning stock under bantams, as they are .
sure of a maximum hatch and the best of care of the little —
chicks. Give a bantam mother clean, dry and warm quar- °
ters and she will raise every chicken.
BANTAMS 219
Hatching
May and June are the best months to hatch Bantams,
April, July and August are not favorable months, while Sep-
tember is all right if you have a suitable place to care for the
chicks in winter.
The eggs can be set under Bantams or large hens, but
you have to be careful to see that if the chicks are hatched
by a large hen that she does not step on the youngsters and
kill them, which is quite likely to happen if due care is not
given to this matter.
Bantam Profits
Bantams are profitable because there is a wide market
for all you raise at a fancy price. There are nothing like
enough bantams in the country today to supply the demand.
We know, because we have tried ourselves to buy them in
large quantities and cannot find them. Almost any kind of
a bantam will sell for more than an ordinary chicken. At
the same time it costs much less to feed and raise them.
Bantams are truly the chickens to raise for pleasure
and profit. No other will give you so much enjoyment. No
other will so appeal to every member of the family, There
is not a boy or girl who will not love them and enjoy them.
They can be made as tame as a puppy. The eggs they lay
are as good as those of their big sisters and the children
seemingly enjoy them more. They are an ornament to any
yard. The pleasure of exhibiting them at poultry shows is
unlimited. There are no entries that create so much interest.
From every standpoint, bantams are the ideal chickens to
raise, and are, in fact, the only kind that one with limited
space at his disposal can raise with any degree of satis-
faction, :
Success Pointers
Keep your chicks free from lice, give them clean, dry
quarters, clean water, dry food in abundance, and you have
the four main essentials in rearing Bantams for Pleasure
and Profit.
220 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
THE CANARY
By H. A. HASSLER.
Breeding, Feeding, Care and Management
ANARIES have been used as cage birds for so many cen-
C turies that they are really thoroughly domesticated and
have lost practically all of their wild characteristics.
Of all small cage birds, they are most popular, as they are
hardy, require comparatively little care and are charming
songsters.
Selecting Stock
If you wish to breed canaries, use judgment in selec-
tion. The pale lemon colored bird, called in Germany the
roller, on account of the rolled tones in his song, stands at
the top. Those with darker color are birds crossed with
linnets, and are also wonderful singers, having the rolled
tones, and both are capable of being taught to imitate the
notes of certain wild birds and, more wonderful still, the
notes of a violin.
Do not breed a fine singer to any old kind of a hen, as
we estimate that 3-5 of the blood lines are carried by the fe-
male.
When wishing a singer, select the bird whose song pleases
you, then give him the right food in the right quantities,
and protect him from draughts, and he will keep in song.
The male is the finer singer and on the job all the time. The
female, of course, on account of family cares will not be so
ready at all times to entertain you.
There is a registration system now in force which guar-
antees to you the breed and quality of the bird you buy in
the certificate which goes with it.
Breeding
It is very easy to breed and raise canaries, provided you
select good, strong, healthy birds from a prolific strain. Buy
only birds with a registration certificate in a National As-
sociation, :
With a record of the bird’s breeding, you may intelligent-
ly set about to raise birds. Related birds are not desirable
for breeding unless you wish to line breed, and this should
not be attempted by an amateur.
THE CANARY 221
If directly related birds are bred, you will get weaklings,
worthless and short lived.
Sometimes it is difficult to get a certain pair mated.
You must remember that they must be ready to mate. And.
that they are sometimes nervous.
There are many ways to make them mate. One is to
place them in cages side by side so that they will flirt and
get acquainted, and it goes without saying that each must
be in the pink of condition. If you think you will have to
use a tonic, get some from a dealer who KNOWS.
It is best to alternate in the ages of birds bred. With
common sense treatment,one can raise a number of good birds
from a good pair each year. When the birds are about two
weeks old the hen is ready for another nest.
THE AUTHOR AND A TAMED CANARY
Birds, when breeding, may be given a more liberal diet.
Add a fourth part of summer rape to the staple food. A
small teaspoonful of the mixture of equal parts of Hemp,
Maw, White Millet and Linseed may be given to the cocks
every second day and to the hens twice a week. Egg Food
and crushed bread or biscuits should be given the cocks
twice a week and to the hens once a week. Also some dainty
green food, like lettuce or apple, placed between the wires.
Now after the hatching process is over, you may allow
the young to remain with their parents as long as they are
kind to them. The mother bird may be your guide as na-
222 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
ture has taught her. The cock bird will often feed the birds
through a cage placed near enongh, and this develops the
muscles of the young and their tiny frames.
- When you take the young birds out, place them in a
flight cage, which is larger than the ordinary one, so as to
make the needed exercise possible. Keep them for a time on
the diet. of hard boiled eggs, chopped up, and crushed cracker
eS, then for a time, give nothing but plain canary seed.
Careful Feeding
When birds are moulting some of the diet prescribed for
them at breeding time is required, and bread and milk may
‘be given, being sure to drain off all of the milk. Also clean
gritty sand should sometimes be supplied.
Cleanliness is essential. The foods must be fresh. Bear
in mind that many seeds are old and musty, and that your
bird will starve before it will touch seeds that have been
visited by rats and mice.
The water should also be fresh. Place a cuttle bone be-
tween the wires. They will sharpen their bills on it. Keep
gravel in for them, and a little tempting lettuce or clean
peeled apple. The birds’ main diet should be Spanish Canary
seed and German Summer Rape, the former being fed in the
proportion of three parts to one of the larger hemp, this
latter being too fattening.
The Canary Bath
Cleanliness is essential, not only of the food, but of the
cage and the water given for the bath. Two or three times
a week is often enough for the bird to bathe, and right here
let us caution you about never allowing the bird to stay in
a wet cage,
Do you know that birds sometimes refuse to bathe be-
cause they slip on the bottom of the tubs? A little gravel
or sand will help. And in cold weather, the water should be
‘warmed a little.
Dust will ruin the voice of a canary, so cleanliness even
of the atmosphere is essential. You can remove your bird’s
cage’ to another room if sweeping and dusting without a
vacuum cleaner.
Caring for Your Canary at Night
Wild birds naturally seek their roosts at dusk, but a
canary cannot do this in a lighted room, so you may cover
tf.
223:
THE CANARY
~—Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y.
TEACHING BIRDS HOW TO SING
224 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
its cage with paper at nightfall, using one thickness in sum-
mer and three in winter, with the paper fitting closely about
the lower part of the cage and extending several inches above
the ring which supports it.
When moving a canary from one place to another, cover
the container completely with manilla paper, and make holes
about the size of a dollar near each drinking or food vessel,
also other holes with a lead pencil, for air.
Caring for the Health of Your Birds
Following above suggestions should keep your birds abso-
lutely well. However, should they be ill GIVE NO GREEN
FOOD AT THIS TIME. Even the moulting time will not be
critical if the birds are kept under healthy conditions and
properly fed. 5
More About Moulting Time and Exercise
As we have said, it is most advisable to allow the young
birds extra space for exercise until they have entered into
their moult, when they should be placed in their small, quiet
cages in a warm, quiet place, in twos and threes. They will
feed better this way.
When some portion of the new feathers begin to come
in, about two weeks after the moulting time starts, it is
best to shut out some of the light. Also a few grains. of
linseed will add lustre and finish to the new feathers. Justa
few grains for each bird about twice a week.
The Development for Song, or Training a Roller
The care of canaries for breeding is somewhat different
from that required for the development of song tours. This
song training may begin as soon as the young cocks are, in
the flight cage, at about four weeks, or even younger.
In the elementary stage, only a twittering is noticed,
which, however, day by day becomes louder and stronger,
and even in the early days one can distinguish plainly in
some of the more forward birds, the tours in their songs.
-The general opinion is that the moult hinders development
of song. It will be found that the birds which have made
the most progress in the moult will show the greatest ad-
vancement in their song.
The above rules are not hard and fast. You can use
your judgment and common sense with your birds. Differ-
ent climates and different conditions should govern you.
THE CANARY 225
The Demand for Canaries
.1@ principal demand for song birds comes from the
bird lovers in the homes. But a great fad for using these
birds in the higher class Motion Picture Houses, the artistic
Cafes and in Hotel Lobbies and in other public places is
growing rapidly.
Some Other Breeds of Canaries Are
The Saint Andreasburg, noted for singing in the even-
ing; the Campanini Holden, raised and bred by the most
successful breeders and which has a wonderful soft, full, me-
lodious voice, and the Manchester and the Norwich of the
English Canary strains. These last are noted and greatly
admired for their many odd wild bird notes. And also there
are the Red Canary and the Gold Spangled Lizard Canary,
which originated in England.
Those birds known as “mule’”’-canaries are produced by
crossing the canary with some other bird.
Traditions, Facts and Fancies About Canaries
Some people place a rusty nail in the birds bath tub
to supply the iron they believe necessary.
Canary seed is small. Hemp and Rape are larger. Feed
the greater proportion of the small seeds.
When the birds are breeding keep mite powder around,
and use a brush dipped in kerosene around the cage weekly.
Or place a thick cotton flannel cloth over the cage at
night, and iron with a hot iron to kill any mites which may
collect on it.
Should you be breeding a large number and you find the
birds in the moulting season developing the mischevious
habit of plucking feathers from each other, you may tie pieces
of unraveled string to the wires of the cage and let the birds
amuse themselves by playing with these,
- A little electric light placed in the top of the beautiful
wicker cages of the “music birds” in certain theaters makes
them sing at night.
Your bird will build her own beautiful nest from pieces
of paper, rags and string,
Canaries belong to the finch family, noted for their apt-
ness in being trained to sing music other than their own
natural song.
To sum up, the canary is a beautiful and attractive bird,
a real songster and a charming pet.
226 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
MAKING MONEY WITH BEES
By Wm. (BILL) ANDERSON.
into the avenue of pleasure and profit is that of Bee
Culture.
There are unlimited opportunities in this enterprise for
the would-be get-ahead, and you can make your business just
as large as you want it to be, which will depend wholly and
solely upon the time and effort you give to the same; the
more of your personal aitention you give to the enterprise
the more money you will make.
You Can Start Right on Your Own Lot
You can start right at home—on your own lot—in your
spare time, You need not give up your position until you
have firmly established your business where it will take
up your full time, and perhaps the time of others, so that
you will be an employer in place of an employee. Hundreds
have done it, so can you.
The Honey Bee
The bee which supplies man with one of his most pop-
ular luxuries, namely, Honey, is commonly known as the
“Honey Bee,’ or “The Little Busy Bee,” because of its great
industrial qualities as well as being an insect of social life
and activity. a
SMALL CAPITAL REQUIRED. By following the in-
structions given below you will find that you do not re-
quire expensive equipment; just simple things are needed
which can be made at home by any handy man, or the
equipment may be purchased at very moderate cost. It is
a business which takes but very little capital in the start,
and from that humble beginning it is possible to grow with-
out limit.
A NOTHER outdoor industry which invites you to step
The Start
The following are some of the things you will need; some
of the Bee-Keepers’ terms are used to describe the hives and
accessories.
BEE KEEPING 227
The Brood Chamber is the lower compartment of the
hive, and it may otherwise be called “the home.” In this
chamber the Queen Bee lays the eggs trom which the young
are hatched.
The Super is a frame the same length and breadth of
the brood chamber and about five inches high, or about the
height of the pound frames of honey one can see in the
stores, .This super is placed on the brood chamber about the
time you notice that the worker bees have the brood cham-
ber filled with honey, that is, when they have the cells that
are not filled with brood, filled with honey.
A Veil is also needed. This can be home-made and can
be put on over the hat and.come down over the shoulders and
then tied under the arms. :
To pry open the cover of the hive a putty knife can be
used and small screwdriver can be used to start the frames.
THE AUTHOR, WM. (BILL) ANDERSON
Also a Noted Rabbit Fancier
Now pay particular attention to the situation, and you
will be able to see the Queen. She is much longer than the
Bees and is always in motion. She is truly as “Busy as a
Bee;” turn the frame around, (NOT over) as if you hold
it flat, the Queen may fall off and you would not notice her.
In your operations, if you see there is capping over
honey cells for about an inch along the top of the frame,
it is time to put on a “super.” After you have done this,
look at it about every three days and when you see that they
228 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
have the cells all drawn out and about the time they are
commencing to cap them over, lift this “super” off and place
another where it was, and put the first one on the top. The
Bees will immediately start to work drawing out the lower
foundation and at the same time finish the upper or first
one. |
The “super” holds ten frames and each frame when well
filled will weigh about five or six pounds of honey, and in
a good season a splendid colony will fill four or even five
or six “supers,” according to how far the Bee will have to
travel for the nectar.
The hives should be placed facing South, and if you can
have them along the south side of a fence, it will be ideal for
winter. Of course, there are different kinds of hives, but
the beginner is advised to get the Hoffman ten-frame stand-
ard hive, and after you have secured the first one, you can
go ahead and make the others from the sample you have,
and thus reduce your cost of equipment.
Again, be sure to place your bees in a sheltered spot, and
if unable to let the hives face exactly south, then if pos-
sible, let them face southeast or southwest; be sure to avoid
northern exposure as it has proved disastrous to many an
enterprising Bee-Keeper. The old saying is, ‘Being fore-
warned is being forearmed,”’ and if you attend to this mat-
ter of locating your hives as advised you will experience no
trouble at all that can be attributed to hive location.
Before starting you should investigate your proposed
location very carefully, and also ascertain that the bees have
no great distance to go to get to the flowers from which
they draw the perfumed nectar, which is far preferable to
them than to be fed upon moistened sugar. The bee not
only takes honey from the flower; for the young, which are
not little bees, but tiny “grubs,” are not fed on honey, but
on “bee bread,’’ which is the pollen the flower visiting bees
carry home on their thighs.
The bee is the only insect which makes any contribution
to the food of man, and is the most highly developed and
intelligent of the insects. Bee culture is undoubtedly a very
practicable and profitable enterprise. A small back yard
in any suburb, or lot, can be used very successfully to de-
velop this highly interesting and ever growing business.
BEE KEEPING es)
There is room for hundreds of people to start in this in-
teresting money-making enterprise, for Bee-Keeping is fol-
lowed by a few people in comparison to poultry raising and
other outdoor enterprises It is not necessary to start in a
big way, but if you have a location for your bees which is
within easy distance of the growth of white clover, sweet
clover or mellot, heartease or smart weed and other blos-
soms, one can very directly add to his income by having this
Bee-Culture as a sideline, if you do not feel disposed to go
large enough to make of it a regular employ. i
— Photo by Kadel & Herbert
A SUCCESSFUL BEE FARM MAINTAINED ON THE FLAT ROOF OF
A FIVE-STORY APARTMENT HQUSE IN THE HEART
OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.
The raising of bees for commercial purposes is not a
simple matter of placing a hive in a suitable place, how-
ever, and for a swarm of bees to be within it. There are
quite a few things to learn and which must be attended to;
these you will gradually learn and experience as time
goes on.
230 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Attending to the Hive
We will presume that you have gotten your first colony
from a reliable source and that the season of spring is here;
that the bees have been working for two weeks, and at
present are out. Choose a warm day; the hours of 10 a.
m. and 3 p m. is a good time to attend to the hive, as most
of the workers are then out of the hive ,and they are also
more quiet.
Take the top off the hive (as before indicated), being
very careful in doing this; move slowly, yet deliberately, If
you use a veil you will need a smoker. Some Bee-Keep-
ers smoke cigars during the time they are attending to the
hive, and they blow a few puffs of smoke over and down on
the top of the open hive. When you have removed the cover,
set it to one side and be sure you stand at the rear—or at
least on one side.
Now lift out one of the frames. You will note that all
but 14 inches around the ends and top and bottom is capped
over; this is known as “brood,” or young bees. You will
also see at the back of some of the cells a white object, curled
up; this is the “grub,” or young bee that has not been sealed
up or “capped” over. In some of the cells you will see a
substance that glistens, which you will readily understand
to be honey. —
Here are a few other terms that are used by Bee-Keep-
ers, which words you should become familiar with and know
their meaning,
THE QUEEN. She is the mother and lays all the eggs,
which is her only duty. Average life of the Queen Bee is
two to five years.
THE WORKER—as his name implies, is the industrial-
ist; they build the combs, rear the brood by feeding it and
maintaining its warmth; they harvest the honey; chase in-
truders away, and also keep the hive clean. Average life
of “The Worker” is 40 days if she is flying about and
keeps busy, which is generally the case with her; she really
“wears herself out.” During the winter months, when she
is in much repose, her life may be extended to something like
a period of six months.
BEE KEEPING 231
THE DRONES. These are the largest inhabitants of the
hive, They are just what their name implies; they do not
work at all, but feed on that which is within the hive and
spend their life in pleasantly flying around, ete. After a
drone has mated he dies in that act; two drones are suffi-
cient to fertilize the young queens of a colony.
To keep and care for living things is most interest-
ing and instructing to anyone, and the person who becomes
interested in Bee Culture and will follow the course rightly
will prove it to be a source of profit as well as pleasure.
This article has been prepared for the purpose of giving
brief instruction in Bee Culture. No doubt when the enter-
priser gets well started, by reason of the instructions here
given, he may want to learn more of the things necessarily
to be done in order to extend his business. In a case of
this kind the publishers of this work will be glad to ren-
der their help to such a person.
234 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
This variation in time is brought about by climatic
changes.
There are many enemies of the egg mass, as fish, turtles,
ducks, snakes, etc., etc., are known to devour great quantities.
The tadpoles’ first food is the gelatinous envelope which pro-
tected the egg from which he hatched.
Shortly afterward he will devour almost anything given
him. It was thought for a long time that the tadpole lived
on a vegetable diet, but it is now known that while they can
live on vegetation exclusively, they thrive much better when
some sort of meat is fed as well.
The Bullfrog tadpole grows to a very large size, anl
ee
ROG
A GIANT BULLF
often measures 4 to 6 inches, also develops four legs.
He also has very many enemies and it is necessary that
the pools are kept free of fish, turtles, also frogs as the bull-
frog seems to relish his own tadpole as well as any other
LOG» vai. so “
- The tadpole develops into a frog during last of first sea-
son and grows rapidly.
Again we caution to keep frogs only of a size together.
Frogs fed right do remarkably well. They will not take
meat or other dead food from the ground. It has to be of-
fered in some attractive manner,
FROG FARMING 235
Frogs begin to burrow in August and September, and
later bury themselves in the mud where they stay dormant,
protected from frost, ete., all winter until spring.
Successful frog farms and froggeries are to be found
throughout the East, in the Middle West, also many in the
South. California perhaps has more than any other one
state.
The possibilities to derive an income from the breeding
and culture of bullfrogs are excellent and the surprising
thing is that more have not taken it up. Perhaps the reason
is that it has not been brought to notice.
Should you be serious regarding a start, go into the mat-
ter earnestly, using common horse-sense.
As experience is the only satisfactory teacher where ani-
mal life is concerned, it is advisable to make a small be-
ginning which enables one to feel his way and learn as he
goes.
236 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
GROW MUSHROOMS AND MAKE
MONEY ;
No Special Building Necessary—Your Own House
Cellar One of the Best Places
sheds, boxes, greenhouses, caves and the like.
, Many people think that mushrooms can only be
grown in a warm, dark, damp place. This is a mistaken idea.
Any ordinary place heated or not, where the temperature does
not go below 32 degrees in winter, and where the bed can
be screened so that the direct rays of the sun will not fall
upon it, will grow large quantities of this delicacy. The bed
should be on a dry bottom, it making no difference whether
it is a wooden, cemented or earthen foundation.
\\) eae are grown to perfection in cellars, stables,
The beds may be on the floor, on shelves, or both, but no
matter where they are, whether in a dwelling house, cellar
or other place, if properly made, they emit no odor and are
in no way offensive or unhealthful.
First, remember that mushrooms can be grown all the
year. There is no off season and it is never too late to start.
Beds bear just as well no matter when started.
During the summer or in hot climates a cellar or cave,
cement house, or some place that can be kept moderately cool
is to be preferred. It is necessary that the intense heat of
the hot months should not strike the mushrooms. To over-
come this place straw on top of the beds one foot deep and
water the beds through the straw and they are thus kept
cool and moist. Pick the crop by moving the straw from
side to side with a fork.
In a cellar, cement house or cool place there is no need
of doing this, only in unprotected hot sheds where the hot
sun beats directly on the roof that covers the mushrooms.
Do not give the idea that the beginner must have an
expensive, large or specially built establishment to make a
profit at this business. Just the reverse. No matter where
MUSHROOM GROWING 237
he is located, whether in a cold or hot climate, he has without
doubt at hand a good place to grow mushrooms. That is the
beauty of cultivating this crop, it requires no capital to start
outside of purchasing the spawn and perhaps the manure,
and a crop will pay just as big and grow just as well in a
cellar, or old shed, stable, etc., at home as in a regularly
equipped mushroom plant.
A cellar is one of the best places to grow mushrooms, as
it usually has a fairly moist atmosphere and a moderate,
even temperature.
—Courtesy of National Spawn & Mushroom Co.
A HEALTHY GROWTH OF MUSHROOMS
It can be under a dwelling house, stable, barn or shed,
or any kind of building. It may be either light or dark.
The beds can be made on the floor, or if more space is desired
one or two tiers of shelves can be put up.
The sides of both can be boarded in so as to keep the
materials of the bed from falling out, or in the case of floor
beds simply banked up at the sides. These beds can be made
so as to fill up the whole cellar, leaving, of course, sufficient
space to get in the material and allow watering and picking
of the crop.
238 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
The profits in the mushroom business are most satis-
factory to the grower. As practically no capital is required
and no special building is necessary, and as most everybody
has some unused place suitable for their culture, they may
be profitably grown, the field is open to all, either as a means
of livelihood or the source of profitable recreation. They are,
however, held back by the fact that reliable spawn and prac-
tical instructions are hard to obtain, and those already en-
gaged in the business refuse to open mouths or doors, either
to give information or to allow inspection of their methods
of cultivation.
Some growers will not admit visitors to their plants and
others who are willing to show their beds to callers seeking
information but deliberately give false answers to questions
regarding culture. What is the result? The mushroom in-
dustry records another failure from the person thus falsely
informed, and the unsuccessful grower in many cases starts
out to give the business a black eye. This has happened not
once but many times. It is simply a question of having the
right facts and materials and applying them in the proper
way that begets success.
The provit of growing may be estimated from the fol-
lowing: ie
Beds will yield from one to two pounds of mushooms to
the square foot. The crop will last from two to five months,
oftentimes seven and nine. months. As fast as a bed is
through bearing it is immediately remade. Beds should be
started at intervals of a month or so in order to keep a
crop coming continuously.
Suppose for instance for a first trial a bed of 100 square
feet is prepared and spawned. This amount of spawn will
cost about $3.75. The horse dressing needed for a bed of
this size will cost you at most only $4.50 delivered. In many
places you can get it free for the asking, if you will take it
away. From the bed we will estimate that 100 pounds of —
mushrooms are gathered. This would be but one pound to
the square foot of bed and is extremely conservative. A good
bed rightly made should yield 2 pounds of mushrooms to the
square foot, or 200 pounds from a bed of 100 square feet.
The average selling price is around or between 50 cents and
75 cents a pound. At certain seasons of the year they will
MUSHROOM GROWING 239
sell for $1.00 and $1.25 a pound. (The average price we
get for our mushrooms by the year is $1.00) a pound.) We
will infer that the low price of 50 cents a pound is paid you,
viz., 100 pounds of mushrooms at 50 cents a pound is $50.00,
less cost of spawn, $3.75, and manure, $4.50 (manure may
have cost you nothing), which amounts to $8.25, leaving a
net profit of $41.75.
—Courtesy of National Spawn & Mushroom Co.
A REMARKABLE BED OF MUSHROOMS
Mind you we are figuring only on 100 pounds from the
bed, sold at the low price of 50 cents. Should you get 200
pounds of mushrooms from the bed and sell them for 75 cents
a pound, your profit would be $100 or $141.75 net. Figure on
the smaller profit, however, and you will be pleasantly dis-
appointed if you make more. A bed 10 feet long by 10 feet
wide containing 100 square feet is a small bed, compara-
tively speaking. If you have space that will accommodate
larger beds your profits will be Jarger in proportion.
Do not start too small a bed if you have plenty of space
as the heat of the dressing holds better in a bed of a fair
size than in a small one and results are more satisfactory.
The mushroom industry is not crowded and the supply
cannot equal the demand for many years.
240 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Remember this is an occupation that can be readily un-
dertaken by either sex.
Women and children can grow mushrooms as easily as
flowers and plants and besides the business will yield a
handsome profit for time expended. The bed could be made
by some male member of the family and after that they could do
all the work themselves. If there, however, is no one to do
this, a man could be hired at small expense as the opera-
tion only consists of watering and heaping the horse dress-
ing and putting it in the bed. After that, it is nothing hard
or dirty .to’-do:
No lady in the land would hesitate to pick mushrooms
in the open field. How much less then, should she hesitate
to gather the fresh mushrooms from the clean beds in her
own cellar.
Many people are content to plod along in the same old
rut and dislike to undertake anything new. They wait and
keep putting off and finally when they awake the chance is
gone. You know the old adage, “Fortune knocks but once at
each man’s door.” This may be your opportunity. Don’t let
it go by.
One man in a suburb of Boston sold a three months’
crop for $1,100, and made extensive additions to his plant.
Another grower was offered $1,200 for his crop, still to come,
but preferred to wait and increase his profits. Similar prof-
its, only smaller, from smaller investments, occur daily, but
pass unnoticed because unknown. This publication of the
facts by us is for the purpose of making people acquainted
with the wonderful possibilities of this business.
MUSHROOM
GINSENG CULTURE 241
HISTORY OF GINSENG
By Dovctas E. McDowEeELt.
Ginseng Is a Chinese Word Meaning Man-Shaped
HE American Ginseng is a plant closely related to the
- ia Parsley family, in which family are included the
parsnip, carrot and celery. The American plant is a
very near relation of the Chinese and Corean root—Panax
- Ginseng—which is so highly prized by the Chinese. The root
has been used constantly in China for centuries. A ‘report of
the high estimation in which it was held in China reached
America early in the eighteenth century. Father Jartoux, a
missionary in China, gave a description of the plant and sent
samples of the roots, seeds and leaves to Father Lafitau,
who was a missionary among the Iroquois Indians in Canada,
and who thereupon began a search for it. He soon found
roots answering the description of those sent by his brother
missionary, and after due time it proved to be a near relative
of the Chinese root—Panax Ginseng. This discovery was;
made near Montreal, Canada, in the year 1716.
Soon after its discovery, the French, who then controlled
Canada, began to gather it for export to China through their
Indian agencies. The demand in this way created grew so
large that Ginseng soon became a very important article of
export. The first shipments were very profitable to the
traders, the roots costing 40 cents per pound in Quebec and
selling for $10 per pound in China. At that time the Com-
pany of the Indies controlled the trade between Canada and
China. At first the exportation of the root was looked upon
with so little favor that the business was given to the sail-
ors-as an extra inducement to remain in the service. The
business, however, soon grew to such proportions and the
profits were so great that the Company took control of it in
1751. At this time Ginseng in Canada was worth $2.40 per
pound, but the Company soon “boomed” the price to $10 or
more per pound. This high price caused the Canadian hunt-
ers to gather the root out of season, improperly to clean and
240 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Remember this is an occupation that can be readily un-
dertaken by either sex.
Women and children can grow mushrooms as easily as
flowers and plants and besides the business will yield a
handsome profit for time expended. The bed could be made
by some male member of the family and after that they could do
~ all the work themselves. If there, however, is no one to do
this, a man could be hired at small expense as the opera-
tion only consists of watering and heaping the horse dress-
ing and putting it in the bed. After that, it is nothing hard
or dirty to do.
No lady in the land would hesitate to pick mushrooms
in the open field. How much less then, should she hesitate
to gather the fresh mushrooms from the clean beds in her
own cellar.
Many people are content to plod along in the same old
rut and dislike to undertake anything new. They wait and
keep putting off and finally when they awake the chance is
gone. You know the old adage, “Fortune knocks but once at
each man’s door.” This may be your opportunity. Don’t let
it. 20 by.
One man in a suburb of Boston sold a three months’
crop for $1,100, and made extensive additions to his plant.
Another grower was offered $1,200 for his crop, still to come,
but preferred to wait and increase his profits. Similar prof-
its, only smaller, from smaller investments, occur daily, but
pass unnoticed because unknown. This publication of the
facts by us is for the purpose of making people acquainted
with the wonderful possibilities of this business.
MUSHROOM
GINSENG CULTURE 241
HISTORY OF GINSENG
By DovucLtas BE. McDOWELL.
Ginseng Is a Chinese Word Meaning Man-Shaped
Parsley family, in which family are included the
parsnip, carrot and celery. The American plant is a
very near relation of the Chinese and Corean root—Panax
* Ginseng—which is so highly prized by the Chinese. The root
has been used constantly in China for centuries. A ‘report of
the high estimation in which it was held in China reached
America early in the eighteenth century. Father Jartoux, a
missionary in China, gave a description of the plant and sent
samples of the roots, seeds and leaves to Father Lafitau,
who was a missionary among the Iroquois Indians in Canada,
and who thereupon began a search for it. He soon found
roots answering the description of those sent by his brother
missionary, and after due time it proved to be a near relative
of the Chinese root—Panax Ginseng. This discovery was
made near Montreal, Canada, in the year 1716.
T American Ginseng is a plant closely related to the
Soon after its discovery, the French, who then controlled
Canada, began to gather it for export to China through their
Indian agencies. The demand in this way created grew so
large that Ginseng soon became a very important article of
export. The first shipments were very profitable to the
traders, the roots costing 40 cents per pound in Quebec and
selling for $10 per pound in China. At that time the Com-
pany of the Indies controlled the trade between Canada and
China. At first the exportation of the root was looked upon
with so little favor that the business was given to the sail-
ors:as an extra inducement to remain in the service. The
business, however, soon grew to such proportions and the
profits were so great that the Company took control of it in
1751. At this time Ginseng in Canada was worth $2.40 per
pound, but the Company soon “boomed” the price to $10 or
more per pound. This high price caused the Canadian hunt-
ers to gather the root out of season, improperly to clean and
242 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
diy it and doubtless to adulterate it with other and similar
roots. A large lot of this inferior root was shipped to China.
The Chinese refused to purchase it at any price. A few
shipments of inferior roots soon lost the Chinese trade and
ruined the reputation of American Ginseng. This occurred
in 1754, and for several years thereafter the Ginseng trade
from America entirely ceased.
Its Propagation
Ginseng is propagated by its seed. In a few cases roots
have branches, sometimes three or four roots spring:ng from
GINSENG ROOT
(Human T'orm) Retfdbis fi :
—Courtesy Douglas E. McDowell FIG, No. 2
one root-stalk. These may be cut off close to the stalk an!
each root will make a separate plant. Very few roots may
be secured in this way,however. The grower must depend
upon the seed for its extension. The seeds do not germinate
for eighteen months. For instance, seeds gathered and
planted in the autumn of 1922 will not come up until the
spring of 1923. Regular Ginseng growers, as a rule, plant
the seeds when gathered. They plant the seed while it is
still in the berry, before the pulp in the berry has decayed.
If for any reason the grower does not desire to plant the
seed when gathered, they are placed in moist earth or sand
in a box in a cellar, or the box is buried in the ground.
Seed so kept one year and. planted in the fall will germinate
GINSENG CULTURE | 243
the following spring. Or they may be kept eighteen months
and planted in the early spring, in which event they will
come up the same spring they are planted. Seed kept in moist
earth, for want of a better name, are called “stratified” seed.
Natural Home of the Plant
The natural home of Ginseng is in the wilds of the for-
est. Those who commence the cultivation of the mysterious
root should always bear this in mind, and make the environ-
ments of the garden as near like the primeval forest as pos-
sible. In other words, make the surroundings shady and
cool and the soil rich. In its wild state it thrives best in
the rich, moist, but well-drained soil in which the oak, hick
ory, beech, maple, basswood and similar timber thrive, but
‘will not grow in low, wet, marshy soil. Forest soil in which
there is a wealth of leaf-mould and has a fairly light texture
is the kind of soil for Ginseng. However, the character of
the soil need not deter the beginner, for any soil can be easily
and cheaply made as rich as any forest. In the absence ot
leaf-mould, well-rotted horse manure does as well. In the
absence of these fertilizers get some of the rich dirt around
the base of an old straw stack. In other words, if the
reader intends to grow Ginseng, let him make the soil rich.
A garden that will produce vegetables will produce Ginseng.
Go into the woods where the May-apple thrives and study
conditions there.
Ginseng in the United States
About the time Ginseng was commanding such a high
price in Canada, the Yankee, never to be outdone, made dis-
coveries of the root in the American Colonies, first in the
western part of New England generally, afterwards in New
York, Massachusetts, and indeed in all the colonies. These
discoveries were made prior to the American Revolution and
the price at that time was about 25 cents per pound.
As the population moved west, Ginseng was found in the
timber sections of all the states east of the Rocky Mountains.
It may still be found wild in small quantities in all these
states. Whether Ginseng has ever been found wild west of
the Rocky Mountains the writer is not informed. It is, how-
ever, being cultivated successfully in that section.
244 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Description—Botany
When the Ginseng plant is old enough to produce fruit
(seed berries) it is quite conspicuous in the forest, especially
about the month of August, on account of the cluster of red
berries at the forks of the stem. Until the plants are three
years old they are small and not conspicuous. In the State
of Missouri (later of course further north and a little earlier
My 7
% }
4;
Wie
a
PN) My,
(Sig (\ 4
t NOON a Fels ih
A CaaS Tt ”
ee Ad
ew. ke ip q ¥
2aG jo Re és y j iy
* . * Wy) WM YEH) A
N 0 (a idk Wi) “hn
= AU i Sab ie 57 liffy te
= *
egg
—Courtesy of Douglas E. McDowell
FIG. 1—FRESH ROOTS OF GINSENG FROM CULTIVATED PLANT.
(a), ONE YEAR OLD; (b), TWO YEARS OLD; (c), THREE
YEARS OLD; (d), FOUR YEARS OLD; (e), BUD;
(f), LEAF SCAR.
farther south) the seedlings appear about the first of May,
some years earlier and some later, the time depending upon
the season. When they first come up they resemble newly
sprouted beans on-.account of having one little leaf-stem and
three leaves. The first year the plant attains a height of.
GINSENG CULTURE 245
about two and one-half to three inches. The work of the
plant the first year seems to be to develop the bud at the
top of the root which produces the next season’s stem and
leaves. In the autumn, usually after the first frost, some-
times before, the stem dies and breaks off, leaving a scar on
the root, at the side of which is a single bud. The spring
of the second year this bud produces a single straight stem
which has two to three leaf-stems on it and three leaves to a
stem. The second year the plant rises 4 to 5 inches from the
ground. The third year ten or fifteen leaves are usually
put out and the plant grows from 6 to 9 inches high. After
the third year the plant may produce from four to seven leaf-
stems with twenty to twenty-five or more leaves. They grow
from 10 to 24 inches high. After the second year each fork
of the leaf-stem has five leaves. From this regular number
of leaves the plant derives its botanical name—quinque folia.
The Seed
The third year and each year thereafter, at the point
where the leaf-stalks meet, the stem is continued straight
up, and at the end of it, late in June or early in July, is a
small cluster of yellowish-green flowers. These flowers soon
turn into little green berries about the size of a small pea
(Fig. 2). There are from 15 to 80 berries in a cluster. In
August these berries turn a bright red. In September they
begin to fall off, and should then be gathered, for the berries
contain the seeds. A part of the berries contain two seeds.
and a few three seeds; the others contain but one. Some-
times plants will bear the seeds the second year, but such
plants are rare. The third year they produce a good crop
and continue to do so for years.
‘The Roots
The part of the Ginseng plant which is of commercial
value is the root. The root is composed of two parts, the
root-stalk and the root proper. The former is a slender,
rough, usually crooked stem, running from the root to the
leaf-stem. It is of no commercial value. It is full of scars.
Each scar indicates one year’s growth. There are roots now
on exhibition with sixty-four scars on the root-stalk. The
size of a root does not indicate its age, for afier several years’
growth the root seems to shrivel up and get smaller. The
246 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
writer has seen Ginseng roots a quarter of a century old not
more than one-third of an inch in diameter, others five years
old an inch in diameter and weighing several ounces dried.
Sometimes new roots form on the root-stalk of an old one and.
thrive as well as seedlings, while the old one dies and sloughs
off.
The Ginseng root is spindle-shaped, simple and almost
straight at first, but when three or more years old usually
branches. Its size is from + inch to nearly 2 inches in
diameter and from 23 to 8 inches long, the size depending
upon the food it lives on and the care in its cultivation. Its
color is a light yellow.
The Profits
Ginseng is the most valuable and profitable crop in the
world. More money can be made from a few square rods of
ground than from the average farm, and with one-tenth of
the labor. As a safe estimate, 1,000 roots will grow on one
square rod of ground, which makes 160,000 to the acre. Some
growers claim as many-as 200,000 and even more to the acre,
but the writer’s experience shows 160,000 to be about right.
Setting the roots 6 inches apart in rows, making due allow-
ance for paths between the beds, an acre will be found to
contain about 160,000 roots.
One square rod of ground produces 1,000 roots, set 6
inches apart each way, allowing for walks between the beds.
Estimating ten roots to the pound (at the age of five years)
gives 100 pounds; when dried 331-3 pounds. At $6.00 per
pound, it makes $200. While making the five years’ growth,
the roots would produce 200,000 seeds, or at present whole-
sale prices, $500.00 worth of seeds. But, leaving the seeds
out of the count, for one square rod of Ginseng five years
old, we have $200.00; or for an acre we have $32,000. This
estimate looks unreasonable and most people will not believe
it, but it is a conservative estimate, nevertheless.
There are many ways to make money in giving Ginseng
a trial on a small space which will grow into a valuable crop
in a few years.
GOLDEN SEAL 247
GOLDEN SEAL
Grown in America and Consumed in America
OLDEN SEAL is a perennial plant, the same as Gin-
‘— seng. It is known by a dozen different names, but the
most common ones are as follows: Golden Seal, yel-
low root, yellow puccon, orange root, Indian dye, curcuma,
wild tumeric, jaundice root and ground raspberry. The med-
ical name is Hydrastis.
The plant is found wild in nearly all the timbered parts
of the United States east of the Missouri River, and in On-
tario and Quebec, Canada. Like Ginseng, it has rapidly faded
away from most parts of the country, as the timber was cut
down, for, like Ginseng again, it grows in the shade.
The plant grows about a foot high, and has two leaves
(in rare cases three). Each leaf has from five to seven lobes,
and the lobes are sharply and usually unevenly tvuothed. The
leaves on a good healthy plant are from 6 to 8 inches in
diameter. It comes out very early in the spring, but it
takes a month or more for the leaves to expand and come true
to the above description. For this reason it takes an ex-
perienced person to locate the plant in the woods in the early
spring. About the time the leaves are fully expanded the
plant blooms, but very few ever see the bloom, for it lasts but
two or four days. The bloom or yellowish flower turns into
a berry-like head and in July and August turns a bright red,
resembling a large raspberry. This is why the plant got the
name of ground raspberry. Unless the season is a wet one
the plant dies down sooner than other vegetation.
The root is the part used in medicine, always being pre-
scribed as Hydrastis. The full-grown root is a bright yel-
low, the inside being the brightest of lemon color and the
outside darker. A matured root is 14 to 24 inches long and
4 to ? of an inch in diameter. Each root has dozens of. lit-
tle rootlets or fibrous roots. When broken, the fresh root
gives off a rank, nauseating odor. It is crooked, knotty and
wrinkled. On the upper part of the root are several depres-
sions, left by former annual stems, which resemble the im-
print of a seal, hence the name Golden Seal.
248 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
Golden Seal is propagated in three ways: (1) by seeds;
(2) by the division of the large roots, and (3) by suckers
or small roots which form on the largest fibrous roots. The
seeds are gathered when ripe and treated the same as Gin-
seng seeds. They germinate the first spring. The best way
to succeed with Golden Seal seed is to plant them as soon
as they are gathered. The truth is that very few people suc-
ceed in getting results from Golden Seal seeds.
The second method is the really sure and successful one
of propagating Golden Seal, namely: by a division of the
roots. This is done by taking a large root and cutting it
into pieces about one-third of an inch long. Do this in the
fall. Put these pieces in a box with rich, moist earth, place
the box in a cellar or other place where it will not freeze,
keeping it moist, but not wet, and in the spring each piece
of root will have a nice bud on it, ready to grow when set
out. Jn the third method the little roots which form on the
fibrous roots send up a plant. These plants are dug up and
set out into regular beds.
Golden Seal needs a rich, loose and moist soil, but well
drained, and a bed of it should be mulched. Indeed, it is
grown under the conditions as Ginseng, but will thrive under
less shade. About half the sun should be excluded from a
Golden Seal garden, though it does all right in a denser
shade. In truth, the writer grows his Golden Seal right in-
side the Ginseng gardens under exactly the same conditions
as Ginseng.
The production of Golden Seal is about the same as Gin-
seng—about 5,000 pounds of dry root to the acre—but it ma-
tures a year or two sooner. Most growers claim that the
time to dig it for the dry root market is at the age of three ©
years. The writer’s experience is four years. It does not
increase in size much after the fourth year. and after that it
deteriorates.
Twelve years ago the price of Golden Seal was about 40
cents per pound. It has gradually gone up until now it is in
good demand at $4.75 per pound. It is used as a medicine
principally in the United States and Canada. Any physician
can tell you its uses.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Practical and Valuable Books
that are truly helpful about
OUTDOOR INDUSTRIES
There are sure to be some of the books mentioned
below that you will need to help you in your out-
door life for pleasure and profit. Carefully read
this list and then send in your order. All books
sent postpaid.
The New Zealand Red Rabbit—All about this
wonderful breed—C. P. Gilmore________~_ Sn
The Flemish Giant—A book on Flemish Giant
rabbits; truly a valuable and complete
work———Jobhn: -C., Ment. 5-2 et eee Ba
How to Sell Dressed Rabbits—Geo. B. Talbot. .25
How to Sell Cavies—Splendid selling ideas—
Gepe be . baw uOte = 2S a ele 150
Cavy Culture—Complete in every respect re-
PA ANTheS Siem Ca WAT ak ad, et S 1.00
Profit and Pleasure in Goat Keeping—A won-
derful book on Goatery—Lounsbury, a
MOLE Godt aI CMOrby = ee ee .50
Rats and Mice for Pleasure and Profit______ a0
Rabbit Culture and Standard—Limp leather
Rb Ta EO) ty rca pe ee Ph ee 1.25
Ginseng and Other Medical Plants—320
pasesclothe bound =. 2. 2 a 1.25
Ferret Facts and Fancies—214 pages, 45 il-
lOSiPatiOns, cloth. pound. eae ek See 5 5)
The Modern Airedale—W. J. Phillips_____~_ 1.25
Frog Culture for Profit—Interesting and in-
Sta clwvee seeks ee Phe ee See ee 2.00
Pigeon Diseases and Feeding Management___— .75
Elmer Rice’s Pigeon Manual—tLarge cloth-
AORUNEN GLE OW Flere ser ee ee 2.00
‘Home Manufacture of Furs and Skins—276
pages, cloth bound—Harding___________ £50
Complete and up-to-date books on Pigeons, Cana-
ries, Bantams, Fur Farming and on all other fea-
tures mentioned in this book can be supplied by
the publishers. Write us for information.
Outdoor Enterprise Publishing Co.
Dept. W.B. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
249
250 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
= Surprising Profits
Money in Mushrooms No Capital Needed to Start
The profits in the mushroom business are most satisfactory to
the grower. As practically no capital is required and no special
building is necessary, and as most everybody has some unused
place suitable for their culture, they may be profitably grown,
the field is open to all, either as a means of livelihood or the
source of profitable recreation.
Mushrooms are grown from spawn or, in scientific language,
mycelium. It is not a seed, but a mouldy looking substance
which develops into a fine white thread-like fiber. This white
fiber is really what may be termed the vegetation of the fungi.
Spawn is made from the living flesh of a fresh mushroom. A
piece of the tissue is placed in a jar of prepared compost. From
this piece of the mushroom, spawn will run and finally inocu-
late the whole jar. The contents of the jar is then used to im-
pregnate the prepared bricks, this being the form in which the
spawn is handled and sold commercially.
Price List Imperial Pure Culture Mushroom Spawn
(Guaranteed Fresh and Fertile)
Spawn sufficient for
(trial order) bed of
50 panes feet (10x5 or its equivalent)
of 100 sq. ft. (10x10 or its equivalent)
of 200 sq. . (20x10 or its equivalent)
of 300 sq. - (30x10 or its equivalent)
of 400 sq. . (40x10 or its equivalent)
of 500 sq. » ChOxL0"ortits equivalent)
Also sold in larger quantities. Send in your order today and
ask for our General Price List of Supplies.
NATIONAL SPAWN AND MUSHROOM CO.
Dept. 1 WABAN, MASS.
KUDZ Cut Your Own Feed Bill in Half—Grow
Your Own Rabbit and Small Animal Feed
KUDZU is the best hay known for feeding rabbits and other
stock because when moistened it becomes almost like fresh
foliage again. It succeeds on land too poor for alfalfa, and does
not have to be fertilized or limed. It outyields alfalfa on poor
land, enriches poor soil more rapidly, and will transform non-
productive barren hillsides into a main resource of the farm. It
is adapted to every class of well drained soils, both North and
South, and will succeed on practically any land not water-
soaked and not a desert. It is not injurious to any kind of
stock, and is perfectly safe to feed, either green or dry. Rab-
bits, horses, cattle and all kinds of stock like it better than any
other hay.
KUDZU is a wonderful perennial legume. It is perfectly hardy
all over the United States and endures the winters as far north
as Nova Scotia. KUDZU gives promise of being one of the lead-
ing sources of wealth to farmers and stock growers. Two cut;
tings can be made each year in the North and four in the South.
KUDZU contains more protein than wheat bran; as high as
18.82 per cent and averaging 1743 per cent. Grow ers are now
propagating it almost entirely by transplanting young plants
from old KUDZU fields, owing to the fact that the seed is very
scarce and does not germinate readily in the open ground. They
prepare the ground the same as for a crop of corn, and then
check off into rows ten feet apart each way, setting a plant at
each check. By planting a few dollars’ worth of seed you would
soon be able to grow enough plants to set an acre. All KUDZU
seed sold by us is put up in sealed packages and guaranteed to
be the best that can be bought. Per pkg., 25c; 5 pkgs., $1;
12 pkgs., $2; 20 pkgs., $3; 35 pkgs., $5; postpaid.
BURGESS SEED AND PLANT COMPANY
Dept. Y.A. GALESBURG, MICHIGAN
ADVERTISEMENTS 251
Going Into Business
For Yourself
THE GREAT OUTDOOR
offers to everybody the finest opportunities to at-
tain the desire of one’s own business.
Write Today
for our complete list of books giving practical in-
formation on business building in the industries of
Small Animals, Birds and Plants.
Outdoor Enterprise Publishing Co.
Dept. W.B. Kansas City, Missouri
Everybody Loves to Read
Good Print
When you need printing and want real quality and
service at reasonable prices, write us.
“What we advertise we sell; what
we sell advertises us’’
WE PRINTED THIS BOOK
Western Baptist Publishing Co.
Dept. W .B.
113-115 East 3ist Street
KANSAS CITY MISSOURI
252 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
RICHARD M. O'BRIEN
Breeder and Exhibitor
FAN FAILS EXeCLUSlVEEY
In Red, Yellow, Black, Blue, White
or Silver
Proudest and Prettiest of All Fancy Pigeons
I GUARANTEE
every bird sold to be as represented. Mated pairs
stock birds ten and fifteen dollars per pair.
Show Birds $20.00 Each and Up
SRI A OR TE TN TRA NE a TE,
Look up my show record at Big National Pigeon
Show held at Richmond, Va., January, 1922.
HIGHLAND PIGEON LOFTS
228 LEONARD PLACE KNOXVILLE, TENN.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Dollars Made and Saved
for Rabbit Breeders by
These Two New Books
Practical rabbit-keeping conducted in a systematic
way will make you successful. Don’t
overlook these big helps.
COMMERCIAL RABBIT FARMING
Complete Breeders’ Guide
This is a complete breeder’s guide, a plain talk by
a big rabbit man. Unlike other books on the subject,
COMMERCIAL RABBIT FARMING deals only with
those breeds that are best adapted for meat and fur
purposes, explains best breeds, and how the business
is commercialized, giving the experience of those who
have made it pay in a commercial way.
Put your rabbitry on a paying foundation right
from the start by starting right. Follow the teach-
ings of men who have succeeded. Commercial Rabbit
Farming has helped many and it will help you.
Beautifully illustrated with photographs of Amer-
ica’s finest fur and food rabbits and hutches.
Price 50 Cents, Postpaid
40,000 Have Been Sold
RABBITS AND DOLLARS
A book that is a marvelous work. It teaches the
rabbit business in all its branches, even to the small-
est detail of answering inquiries for stock, stationery,
advertising costs and profits. Describes and illus-
trates all breeds of rabbits and their habits. It is
endorsed by the leading breeders and fanciers.
Beautifully illustrated with photographs of Amer-
ica’s finest stocks of all breeds. Also showing how
different types of hutches are constructed.
Price 50 Cents, Postpaid
7,500 Have Been Sold
BOTH OF THEM, POSTPAID, 75 CENTS
136 Pages With Many Illustrations
Wheolesale Prices to Dealers, Fanciers and Breeders
Upon Application
OUTDOOR ENTERPRISE PUB. CO.
Dept. W.B. Kansas City, Missouri
253
ao4
OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
RATKIL
Death to Rats, Mice, Gophers
Satisfaction or No Pay
Quit worrying over your big losses because rats are
eating good grain, killing baby chicks, spreading
disease, endangering life and property. Use the
WONDERFUL DISCOVERY
known as RATKIL, a perfected means of killing
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SEND NO MONEY
Special Offer Simply write your name on
a postcard asking us to
send you a $2.00 supply of RATKIL. Pay the post-
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cash with order gets RATKIL to you sooner. Write
today!
NATIONAL CHEMICAL CO.
Dept. W.B.
5714-E TRACY AVE. KANSAS CITY, MO.
ADVERTISEMENTS 255
TWO WONDERS IN
THE CAVY FIELD
BUILD A CAVY BUSINESS
The “HOW?” is in
“THE RAISING AND CARE OF GUINEA PIGS,”
By A. C. Smith
A working guide to the efficient management of
the modern cavy business. This is a standard work
by an outstanding authority. It gives complete in-
formation that will enable you to make real suc-
cess.
Price, 50 Cents, Postpaid
Do You Want to Make Money From Your Cavies?
If You Do, You Really Need
“Cavies for Pleasure and Profit’
By EDWIN F. DEICKE
National Judge and Secretary of the U. C. B. A.
This book contains the ‘All in All’’ to lead you
to success in breeding and in selling at a profit.
98 pages, cloth bound, $1.00, postpaid
How to Conduct a Scientific Fur Farm
Do you want to get into a business at whicn you
can make from $100 to $5,000 a year? If so, start
a fur farm. Raise foxes, skunks, mink, muskrats,
marten, fisher and other fur-bearing animals.
To anyone who wants to get into the fur farming
business, you should have our book—‘‘How to Con-
duct a Scientific Fur Farm.” It tells everything.
‘How to build pens. What to feed. How to get
stock, with many illustrations of the world’s finest
fur-bearing animals and pelts.
Price, postpaid, 50c
OUTDOOR ENTERPRISE PUB. CO.
Dept. W.B. Kansas City, Missouri
256 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES
America’s Leading Small Animal
Trade Journals
will bring you during the year many articles, success
pointers and plans for your small-animal business
that will prove valuable to you in experience and dol-
lars. You will read from month to month all the
latest happenings in the Rabbit and Small-Animal
World. You’ll read about helpful hints on Practical
Raising and Care of Stock, Feeding, Buying and Selli-
ing, Marketing of Rabbits, Cavies, Goats, Mink,
Skunk, Fox and other fur-bearing animals, ete.
The Outdoor Enterprises’ Way Makes It
Easy for You
12 big issues—one whole year
50 cents
RABBITCRAFT
America’s newsiest rabbit and cavy publication. We
have some of the best informed men in the industry
on our staff of contributors and “Rabbitcraft” will
continue to lead in the amount and quality of author-
itative information it prints that is of vital impor-
tance to the rabbit, cavy and small stock breeder.
Yearly subscription 50 cents
Both Magazines, Each for One Year,
75 Cents Only
Mail Your Subscriptions Today
Outdoor Enterprise Pub. Co.
Dept. W.B. KANSAS CITY, MO.
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