JUNE 24, 1950

vv :,53gr,',(a:-;.G'oDL-A run

until sores on mics coiinrcrrn mm

Silver Fox and A Mink F arming.

..w-- ' Wt'&'m-sIvm”u Oommwcing Tuesdayofthisweek canaclian Fur Auction sales the ,,m (Quebec) Ltd. Montreal, been holding a public auction. westuzg to our readers is the wt that l9.000 wild and ranch ufnk including - mutation mink :1,” offered on Wednesday. m,u,,da,y was a general sale of ms including 130.000 mulkreii d yegterdiiy 12,000 silver fox gcludlng Platinum. White Mark- wd Standard Biivers were Mmed, particulars of which I, W111 give our readers next week.

we suver foxes will be present- ” m the Buffalo, N. Y. 200 this ,5, by-the American National Breeders' Association. The ani- mus W111 go as a present from the ,chool children of Wisconsin to the "heel children of Buffalo. They .111 not be delivered until winter but the token plaque will be pre- gentt-ll to zoo officials at the con- yention of the Master Furriers Guild of America, which is to I held at Buffalo. July 8th. A similar presentation of live foxes was made in the two preceding years lilo American National to the 2005 of Cleveland, Ohio, and New York City-

Trading: in raw furs is the old- est existing business in America. It opened the new world to civili- zation and was the first business undertaken in it. Together with the work of missionaries it cs- iablishcd the first contact with the Old World and the American na- tire, In those days the operations of the fur trader provided the link between the forest and the town, trading the goods of one for that of the other. The first trad- mg posts were the centers of such civilization as existed at the time .1-111 illny were also the general stores. The part played by the trader in the early days was of greatest importance in the de- velopment of the new country. He was the earliest settler. the merch- ant, the adviser of the community as it grew, and the financier of the only business enterprise known in the area and a leader in new industries and undertakings But. with the coming of more set- tlers and developments along agri- cultural and industrial lines. the fur tradcr became a specialist ani dropped that part of his business relating to merchandising and paid cash for his purchases.

Today the business of the col- lector is to receive furs direct from the source, from the smaller col- lector or ranchers. in small or large quantities, and to put them up for the market. This may in- clude the job of processing green drlns and a number of other de- tails as well as the willingness to buy furs at market prices, re- gsrdlrsa of conditions. Furs, are obtained by direct call on- trs-DP": local collector and fur rancher as well as by shipment. In this im- portant region of fur farming, it very important part of the coiled- tor's business is that obtained from the fur rancher.

The operation of the collector in present day: has been completely changed by modern high speed transportation; the automobile. the train and the airplane. These have brought the market to the producer's back yard and mean quqirk sales at fairer market prices. while the pack horse and canoe have been displayed. the clement of risk to capital invested is greater than ever before, even though modern communications permit it much closer contact with changing markets. In this densely populated area. it is seldom that any man depends on the trarming of wild furs alone for his living. The professional trapper has been

largely displaced by the farm boy. by the marsh owner who traps his own area during the session and by the sportman trapper. Yet. there are occasions when the col- lector is still required to furnish cash on credit to be paid out of pelt sales. -

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In the far north the natives de- pend on trapping for a living and their furs are marketed mostly through the Hudson's Bay Com- pany. This company was organized in 1610 with Crown Prince Rupert as its Governor. They sent out two ships and these fortunately re- turned with a full cargo of furs. Tharewas great jubilation among the shareholders who had waited patiently for over a year to learn how their venture would turn out. Eventually the Hudson's Bay Com- pany had trading posts over all the far north and in British Columbia and what is now the state of Washington. Great rivalry uisted in the early days between the various fur companies in- cluding one owned by John Jacob Astor, the man whose land specu- lations in New York have turned out so profitably that the heirs are among the wealthiest people in the world. Largely through the efforts of Astor the H. B. C. was driven out of Washington territory and their activities confined entirely to Canada. They absorbed the North West Company after a fierce fight for existence.

At one time the H. B. C. control- led practically all of western Can- ada but a deal was made with the Dominion government which pur- chased their rights, although they still hold millions of acres of land which is available for settlement. The trapper not only in Canada but the United States, has had to make considerable change in his operations because of the lower prices now paid for white ioxcs, red foxes and silvers. although the latter have not been caught in any great quantity in the wilds .for many years. On the other hand muskrat has advanced in price and that is a very profitable fur for the trapper, not only in Canada but in the U. 5.. particularly in Louisiana where hundreds of thousands of muski-at pelts are obtained every yeur. In Manitoba there are muskrat farms operated under the supervision of the government and these have been very successful. Thus it will be seen that the fur business has come a long way since the first traders risked their lives by fol- lowing it.

It now requires much capital investment plus good banking credit and financial risks have in- creased, although physical dangers have declined. One factor that -does stand out is the long con- tinuity of operations by H. B. C. accomplished by the careful sc- lectlon of their advisory personnel. Just recently two men, Conrad S. Riley and Robert J. Gourley, botn outstanding businessmen who had been members of the Canadian Committee for the past 22 years. were honored on retirement with a notable banquet at the Winni- peg store on the Company's 280th birthday. At the great table ninetv feet long. were seated eighty of the Company's men, serving and retired, drawn from points all across Canada from Victoria. B. C. to St. John's Nev-rfoundland.Sucha greatvgathering of H. B. C. ol- ficiais had not been seen in all its history. Presiding was Philip A. Chester. Managing Director. and on behalf of the entire body of Company men and women in Canada he presented the guests of honor with two magnificently

wrought pieces of silver.

I. g y I i- ,( it '"'1' 314.3?!-C-.:.

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TI-IE GUARDIAN. , Te ems Trade Tangle

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DOOQL THIPUEPIIMABTIN

When you see a picture of I real bird-house. with several apert- msnts, stun” on a fifteen-foot pole. then you know that the art- ist must have had the Purple Martin in mind. For no other "summer resident" is so elaborate a residence maintained.

The 1918 Bulletin says that the Purple Martin was common at that time. Later, a careful observ- er. the late Mr. Ludlow Jenkins of Marshfleld. asserted that it was becoming rare in 1933. Francis min, 1001), does not mention the bird at all. About ten years ago. a friend told me that he had seen a Purple Martin in the Borden area; if this bird was really a Martin it was the last one brought to any notice. In places where they are still plentiful, special care is taken to protect their nesting- places from the encroaching house- Sparrows.

Purple Martin. A00 611 - Rare summer Visitor? Male: glossy blue-black, wings and tail duller. Female and immature birds: up- per parts glossy bluish-black. duller than the male. wings and tail dusky black: throat, breast and sides brownish gray, more or less tipped with white. belly white. length of adult 8.0 inches.

Ferns As Food

There is a fern, known and de- tested in many lands under the name of brake, bracken or brack- an. Nothing will grow beneath its shade, and this circumstance has

put thousands of acres of fine sheep pastures in the Scottish Highlands, out of commission.

Against this may be set the fact that in former times the bracken has often saved nations from per- ishing of hunger. In times of fam- me the people of Normandy made bread of its roots. In 1683 the Abbe Grandel wrote that lnccrtain dis- tricts of France. "the people were living on bread made of fern." In 174.5 the Duke of Orleans gave Louis XV a piece of such bread. with the words, "Sire this is what your subjects live upon." A nasty dig for the profllgate King.

The botanist. Thunberg men- tions that the young fronds of the braoken were made into a soup highly prized by the Japan- ese; and that the young shoots are used as pot-herbs in various parts of North America. The rhi- zornes, (root-stocks). of this fern were used as hops in England. says Llndley. As to taste I found the young stalks tender. nuclla- ginous and slightly sweet. Lin- naeus calls this fern Pteris aqui- lina. '

There is another group of ferns, called ”fiddleheads" from the like- ness of the young curled frond to that part of a violin. They are used as a first spring vegetable in many localities and this is the way to prepare them. Pick off the fiddle-head part of the frond, and wash off the brown fluff; then cook in boiling salted water until Just tender - in a saucepan with-

NOTES -

Iy Agricola

outacover.'rbisissaidtobe a trestle

Thisgroupoffernsistlle Os- mlmdaofhlnnseua.

Concerning the Railway Tracks

It was long a matter for won- der that the Standard guage of British railway tracks should be four MW. alkht and one-half in- ohes. A strange figure It doesn't fit into the table of Long Mea- sure, nor into the Metric System. And yet it is the guage of the British railways and of many of the world's systems tool.

When George Stephenson, in- ventor. was asked by the Railway Commissioners why he had adopt- ed this guage for his first rail- ways, he replied that 4 feet, 8 1-2 inches was the guage of the tram- ways in the colliery districts around Newcastle. The coal wag- gons, formerly drawn by horses.

had run on these tramways; but now his engines-were to haul the same rolling stock, on the same tramways.

That was very satisfactory to the uummissioners, but it will be noticed that it only shifts the question back a stage and does not answer it. Meanwhile. the rail- way system grew tlll England was covered with a network of iron rails, all of Stephens:-.in's gusge.

About half a century later, while

antiquaries were excavating a Roman camp, they discovered chariot tracks. These so-called

camps were really walled towns. and the chariots, during the 400- year Roman occupation, had worn their tracks deeply into the stone sills of the town gates. A smart fellow measured the distance be- tween the tracks; it was 4 feet, 8 1-2 inches!

All Roman vehicles, chariots and military wagons were built to that standard guage. The Romans worked lead and iron mines in the north of England. and coal has been found in some of the guard- rooms by the side of the town gates. A most elaborate system of roads was laid down and such minerals were carried in the mili- tary wagons.

The question now was, why did the Romans select that guage? Well. the Roman army's unit of dis- tance was the "pace". in double stride, left-right-lefti And there were 1.000 paces in the Roman mile. (Mile means one thousand). It could not be ascertained in mg- land what the length of the Rom- an mile was, for most of the Rom- an milestones had been broken up: I doubt if more than half-a- dozen remain. The answer was found in France where two mile- stones were in situ. There the 1.000 paces were found to be 756 French toisea or 4334.28 migllsh feet. This would make the pace 4.83408 feet. which is not farifrom Steobensonb gauge; we must not expect too much exactness from those old times!

The Great ”"'We8l.el'n Railway: (English), once laid down a sec- tion of '1 foot gauge and found

taeouy equipment, Devnhlon Sales and mu"- Tcxes, but not lndudhg Ileenso foe, prewiadal or municipal taxes when Inca apply.

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that the trains run more steadily

'M'dh'. ; ; "Icy

A team of five Canadian Gov- ernment officials flew into Lon- don for a week's attempt at breaking the log jam between Bri- tis-Canadlan trade. Headed by W. M. MacKen1.ie. aabove. Deputy Minister for Trade and Commerce. the delegation will be swept through a series of conferences with British trade officials. de- signed to accelerate .Canadion sales to Britain. The Canadian Government is concerned with the drop in Brittsh purchases of Can- adian farm products and another aim of the conference is to agcelerate British exports to Can- il 8.

and were probably safer from ac- cidents. The hitch was that every- thing had to be transferred from one train to another at the junc- tion of the gauges. Readers may remember that Hitler and Molo- tov once had the some trouble. After their treaty Russia delivered goods togcvermany; but as the Rus- sian railways were narrow gauge, all the goods had to be transfer- recihto cars on the German rail- ways, with great inconvenience and loss of time.

A "New" Plant

I am indebted to Mr. Harold Messervy, City Surveyor, for a specimen of an Island plant which is new to our records. It is the Great Nettie. The Urtica diolca of Linnaeus. In the list compiled by former botanists are the two net- tles, U: gracilis and U: urens, the former of which I am well sc- qualnted with! I came to the con- clusion fhat Mr. Messervy's plant was not U: urens. and sent it to the Dominion Botanist for nam- ing. The reply came back: "The nettle you sent is Urtica dioica. None of the nettles are poisonous, but all have stiff brittle hairs. which contain 10171110 acid." In taking leave of the subject I thank the Dominion Boianist for his kind and speedy reply-

Brgllosls (Bang's Disease) deurvy

Canadian stock owners are show- ing an increasing interest in the Brucellosis-Free Listed Herd Pol- icy, and recent figures released by officials of the Health of Ani- mals Division show that there "are 4,295 herds under supervision. of which 1,980 are listed as Brucell-

'ra mun, they're startlingly thrifty to drivel And all Ihrough these ' d 1950 evidence of

osis-Free.

Seed Growers Continue Sessions

N. June 5-(fr) nobiems of Canada's seed growers were outlined to dele- ntes of the Canadian Seed Grow- as Association by Dr. C H. Goul- den, Dominion cereaiist. Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa Discussions this morning were held under the chairmanship of F. W. Townley-Smith, with J. Farquhareon. R. H. Cottlngham, A. Burgesl. W. E. Bracken and L. 3. Black taking part. Emphasis on the importance of

adopting the best methods for the production of registered seed featured the talks as the 47th

annual convention moved into its second day. Dealing with the "seed bed" Mr. Farquharson stressed the importance of taking steps to avoid any infiltration on the field of the seeds of weeds and varieties that do not belong there. He said the seed field must be well separated from other fields and care taken to avoid un- desirable seeds being brought on the seed field by means of run- ning water, men, animals or vehicles.

Farm Briefs

Disinfection Of Aircraft

A new section dealing with the use, cleansing and disinfect- ion of aircraft used for the trans- portation of animals has been added by Order-in-Council to the Animal Contagious Disease Regulations Act.

Gllts And Barrows Compared

In Alberta, Production Service officials of Canada's Department of Agriculture have made prelim- inary comparative scores of sides from gills and barrows and the average score for females was 80 compared to 66 for males.

” ination Trouble

seed Testing Laboratories of Canada's Department of Agricul- ture in Alberta. report the most difficult gennination season this year on record. many cars that gave good readings on first in- spection proving unsatisfactory when re-examined at a later date.

8. C. Oats For Alberta

Two carloeds of commercial seed oats grown in B. C. were shipped this year to Edmonton, probably the first time that this province has made such a ship- ment to Alberta, according to Production service, Canada De- partment of Agriculture.

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