'0I

" wor . ' f l e - Ianch of 300. another of 240

. trades or

DECEMBER_ Io, 1944 __

THE CHARLOTTETOWN

GUARDIAN

PAGE SEMVENTEEN _

Rem notes on

We learn with pleasure that W. 5 v, Ruthven of Alliston, Ont- n-lo, was the la est

at the Mic

greatest fox show in the history

the organization and Mr. Ruth- ven's winnings are therefore all the more creditable and they re-

ptet also to advantake on Can- 1|dlan fox breeders.

guyers Fritz Weissler and uusrs. Rose and Winnigar, all of Montreal, have been very active the put wot buying in the vicin- lty of Charlottetown. All foxes are bought alive and generally the buyer arranges for the peiting so that the rancher is relieved of that To give you an example way things are going one and their

another of 160 dis of

'p9lf.5 to the above parties and a

reat maia Inaller ones having from ten o I00 foxes. In Sum- merslde Dick 0'Br‘yan is the prin- tipai buyer. He represents Holt Renfrew s: Company. of Montreal “d we hear is getting a lot of pelts,

In conversation with some of those who sold we understand that prices paid are much better thth anticipated, particularly the offering contains a number o! Platinums and White Faces. We are glad to see this eagerness on the part of buyers because it wneans that the trade is active. It

would certainly be a very dull and

apprehensive time if no local buy- ars were around to bid on our of- ierinzs.

This is the time of ycar when our thoughts must turn towards the selection of our foxes breeding purpose! and we have pleasure n r reducing advice

iven by Dr. C. . Gunn and Wil- (ism Donant. a well-known Am- ‘ericari rancher.

In December the fox rancher =ls usually makeierag the final

last check-up for parasites before the mating season.

Careful selection of the future breeding stock is one of the most important ctors in the success

oi iox ranching practice. Here the pncllced eye of the good ranch- er takes into consideration not only desirable fur qualities, but fifllllfff, size, fecundity. mating rigor of the parents, conforma- ‘ilon. temperament of the foxes 1nd other hereditary traits.

Characteristics of Good Fur

in selection of fur characters. food color in the underfur, guard and silvered hairs should be in- sisted upon. The foxes should be rell furred all over, with dense

lur on the back. sides and neck. 1

Although fox fur of a snappy kind is preferred, coarse: or wiry texture is undesirable. Length of both guard and under- lur coupled with density give rise to tightly furred pelts that stano up well in the tanning and dres- sing processes. Black-tipped white hairs and a sharply defined wide sliver bar in the silvered area of the pclt are very desirable. I-low- vrpr. llicre should be sufficient veiling to give the pclt character, but not to the extent that the sil- vcring is _ silvered body area should

5911i strip. while full silvered foxes in which the neck is heavily furred mid the jowls ‘and throat are wcll marked with long. fiashv (liver hairs, are considered very ilfliliible for the manufacture of

~ P65.

Emphasis should also be placed "lion selection of foxes with well lurrcd necks. Many of our other- Wl! 100d foxes are weak in this respect today.

knows the

Every fur former llortance of keeping complete of his animals. but how

strong.

records "My of us do it? I-Ierc is a system "I Flip grading used by a success- fur farmer that records facts black and white, leaving noth- s to chance and memory. "At this time of writing, October '. i944, we have Just finished 1100M: our fox pups. I thinl: that lhe best-managed fox farms-large ;nd small-tattoo their foxes each ‘all. We do it for two rcascns—- lientlflcatlon and grading. You lfllxht say we kill two girds with I" Misc, as grading your foxes is ‘all as important as tattooing for 1 entlficatlnn.

A9111‘ grading system starts with BA for good: B fairly good: hIOI‘ fair: with our lowest grade clnz marked C. This makes five foxes, which are enough: have grades which would, I think. more confusing. We have a

lil

Jllt it m" is quite possible to

be

connected wma Silver Fox Farming

ii’ in

for'

TOPICS

book that happens throughout th {WP-Pedigree of all foxes kept foI- rdlns. their pen numbers, etc.

we ha" "i" I Bfllflblete record of all of our doings for nine years;

but thou it I

W? 11°01‘ggystemwoggmbuIbrelfgI-Inr: ers do not know what they do from year t0 Year- You" ask them what. Ehlely fed in 1941, but Lhgy cam"; mind, is of foxes _ especially of ones — and h th ' . duced. When giIere °‘.'..$"°§° §§§s may {prizes involved.

I igalukable ulrfirfiiltk rilfiiioficeirfo: o0 .

T0 80l- down to what I want to 131k "mil-Bra foxes. Every pup we tattoo is graded accordin o his or her classification an put down in the year book. The lpen numbers where pups were born.

e sires, and the dams are put dawn. so that u we discuss each fox that is handled. we can in. tciligently talk about him or her. My helper is as much interested

the pups as I am, and it makes it very interesting to do this irn- portant grading.

First of all, it ls necessary

know what constituts a - goat: fox. Most ranchers know this

while. on the other hand, 50mg do not. Going to live animal shows pelt shows, and if possible, watch- ng a first-class fur grader grad- 1Il€ an assortment of silvers, will help plenty.

It is quite difficult for some of us to carry color in our eye; but a clear, bright fox seems to pop right out at you. For example: Before placing an AA mark on a foX. he or she must be medium size to large or extra large, have plenty of fur, no loose l '" and sides. a good broad back, well covered with guard fur, and be slick in every way. The silver band should be 3-4 inch long or better and veiled with a blue-black tip, thc latter being enough to givr- character to thc pclt and yet not pearance of thc silver. There should be no trace of “Tinge" or rusty silver on the neck and sides. No matter how long-barred thc silver, this “Tinge" puts the fox gut asva breeder. as "Tinge" breeds Tinge’. and is very undesirable. The AA fox must be clear and bright. just like a new dime. The

only foxes we mark AA are the extra fine specimens. Through culling. we

selection and ripid have about rd ourselves of some of us to do; but it can be done, although it may take a good many breeding seasons. The read- er will see that I um talking about the Silver Fox. and I am not gu- ng-to attempt in this article to talk about Platinum Silvers. It might bc wcll to say at this time, for those who have Platinum Sil- ver inales, to brccd them only to good, clear-colored females, pre- ferably of the Full Silver type. The Full Silvers are better to use than the Pale silvers, both individuals must be good. t Our next classification is the A grade, which must also be clcar and bright but not necessarily as perfect as the AA. After handling over 400 pups every year, as wc do, it docs not take long to see the difference between an AA and an A, The AA must be a show fox. The A is a very desirable fox, but not quite so flashy as an AA . How many of us have dream- ed of having show foxes in every en. and what a thrill it is to ook into a kennel in the fall and see a litter of all top-notch foxes! The A fox must be wcll-furred: and if any open_ sides, shoulders, rind neck show. the fox should go into a BB grade. which is for

pclting.

Now to talk about the BB grade. This grade is getting down the line and can be readily classified be- cause of its not-too-bright appear- ance. and yct it must also be well- iurred. We seldom now have tn use a BB grade for breeding, as we have plenty of A grade foxes and several AA's, which are all kept for breeders. All grades of foxes must be reasonably well-grown and listed as medium. large. and extra large, Once in a whilc. we come across a small fcx that goes right-into the C EPW19-

Thc B grade fox with us il Just a pelter and is not given much consideration. We have not kidded ourselves that we can raise all AA and A grades. Thc B grade is ot the darker color phase—short bar- ring with not mucii flash. Tim density of the fur is there, but the pelt lacks that bright finish, There must be no "Tinde W911 1n °U~ B grade.

The C grade foxes are very few with us, and I need not mention them except to say that they crovp u once in a while. Poorly-luff"

g_-_‘

is now buying nil

CHARLES

I‘ “BUYER

0f HOLT RENFREW and C0. LTD” Montreal,

Al. Office Of

SUIVIM ERSIDE

i

D dull-silvered foxes constitute this

IVBIIYAII

types of fox pelia

R. ROGERS

Every Pap Gl‘ a s A at c ‘iricativgm n‘ T“ d

"Tings." This is quite difficult for {a

Young Orchards _ Should he Guarded Against Rodents

In the past few years many hun- dmis 01 young fruit trees have been planted m this Province. This is a commendable effort by marry to improve or replace old orchards which have become un- profitable. Too many people, however. once the trees are plant- ed. feel that the job is completed and allow the trees to grow up in grass and weeds. As winter sets in these areas become the feeding place for field mice or moles and each year thousands of such trees are injured or completely killed by these pests. Mice usually begin feeding on the bark near the ground and, as the snow deepens, they continue to fecd higher up on the trunk until even the young branches may be attacked.

It has recently come w our at- tention that, in spite of repeated warnings in the past, many hun- reds of young apple, pear. plum and cherry trees still remain un- protected against rodent injury for the coming winter. In Pact. since mice are usually most des- tructive during the fall and early spring, many trees may alreadv have bcen injured. Much injury may still be avoided if simple pre- cautionary steps are taken im- mediately.

One of the easiest and cheapest methods of controlling mice is to wrap the trunks with tarred bulld- lng paper. The paper to be effect- ive should be at least sixteen in- ches in height. A small amount of clay placed around the bottom will keep the mice from getting underneath. For best protection. the sod within a. few feet of the

free of weeds and grass the round.

should be removed.

Immediate attention to orchards not already protected will save many hundreds of trees ' winten-G. C. Warren, Experi- glerlital Station, Charlottetown. P.

grade; and I think you will agree with me the fewer the better All G a Eliminated To mc, it is a vcry important part of our ranch management—- this grading. To know what you are doing to attain the highest de- gree of efficiency is all in the game of "The , Well-Managed Ranch." . To know what you have produced and to be able to make necessary changes in matings is very im- portant, and it cannot be done by guesswork. Our grading record

elps us lo determine our matings for the following season, Mating our foxes is not a slap-happy af- but a serious business which will. if handled correctly, pay dividends in the long run. We can- not all be experts, but at least we can try to attain the best out of our herds; and this can be done only by keeping good records, Do your best to know what is what. It pays. as I have said before, good dividends.

RAW POULTRY

We require large quan- tities Turkeys, Ducks and ' Geese besides uil the dressed |

Chicken you cnn send us.i Daily, returns at ceiling prices.

The Royal Packing Go.

J. D. Jenkins, Prop. Ch’town.. P. E. l.

FURS Mink, Muskrais and Fox bought at highest market prices. Office open Satur- (lav evenings from seven rfciock until nine. J. D. JENKINS. Prop. The Royal Packing Co. Ch’town., P. E. I.

- NEWSY NOTES -

"Mil-l

A Chapter 0f Errors

Said my young friend: still ht. You can hear whistling boo-ie at Rustico."

told you that it's a whistling boy?" “Well. that's not what the)‘ call it round here, anyway," said he. "Still. that's the way to pro- nounce it. though you must spell it b-u-o-y. Ever hear of buoyant or buoyancy?" "No". “Well then. did you ever hear of anything be- ing buoyed (boy’di up?” “Yee," said. “v hat is the same word and the correct sound. Look it up in Sour dictiona y. and spread the gla tidings," I said, with a smile. (It's always policy to gild the philosophic pill).

In the "Better English" depart- ment (Guardian, Dec. 4th) is the question-"What is the correct pro- nunciation of “cuckoo? and the answer is "koo-oo." This is probably a printer's error for oo-koo. Question 4 is "What does the word ‘prediction’ mean?" The answer given is “a previous liking; partiality." illustrative sent- ence is: “My father never has lost his early prediction for base- ball." Since the word "prediction" is used twice, one must suppose that the printer made no mistake. Prediction, however, means a foreteiling or a prophesying, The word intended is “predlieictionfi

erican magazine that I had on loan recently. It was a colored print of an old-fashioned lantern with a

trees should be removed and kepi|

In the spring, after the {little knowledge is a ground thaws, the tarred paper thing" and the ad showed it.

candle inside; and the candle was crossed by equidistant marks. Un- der was the script commencing:

"Th1! Ch II hi’: B St fl . Bdoptedwuby ewe ‘taflfiu, ygfiu; Fill the can, and fill the cup: Arthur" Somebody once said. “a A“ me W111i)’ WW5 °I m“

dangeroifi was not King Arthur but King Alfred who used that kind of can- dle, and he used it to measure time; scarcely to give light, for the lantern was glazed with cow's horn

to protect the candle from draughts. The candle burned down to tiie marks to show the

flight of time, and could not be seen without opening the lantern- door. Because horn was used for the sides. the archaic spelling was "lanthorn." a

I read, not long ago. 1n a Can- adian magazlne, a remarkably good article on “Irish Moss." It gave an account of the industry in Nova Scotia, with all the details of gath- ering, drying. bleaching. etc., to- gether with the prices realized. Then the writer went on, with an intimate knowledge, to describe its use for a great number of com- mercial purposes. I learned that one of the most valuable consti- tuents of Irish Moss is called

“gelosefl This has the curious property of causing oil and water to mix. Water and oil poured into

a common receptacle will form separate layers: add a little gelose and you "couldn't tcll Uother from which." So far. so good: but when. in conclusion, iic said the moss was one tiie algae. and the]

"It's a.

the "You mean the affair that sounds like a cow lost in the dark‘! What if I

alga is one of the "lowest divisions’

of the animal kingdom", I experi- enced a severe mental "shag, as the Scots say. It is truly a mar- ine alBR. but belongs to the vege- table kingdom, though by no means to the lowest division of it. Open confession is good for the soul, they say; so I'll relate how I once pulled as bad a “boner '- I believe that's the proper term-- rnself. In the fall of 1934. so ool of 40 or 50 Blackfish went ashore on Cape Breton Island. The fishermen used the oil for paint- ing, for hamess oil, and for light- ing purposes. The Department of Fisheries carried a good article on this in its "Bulletin, and ended it after this stylc—"It may interest the reader to know that the scien- tific name of the Blackfish is Tautoga onitis." Well. I thought, that's not what we call it in Eng- land; there it's Giobocephaius me- ias-the latter word meaning black: but I suppose the scientific lads have been changing thc name, as their custom." and I let it go at that. Subsequently. and in conse- quence of this, I inserted in the "Naturalists Calendar" that I pub- iishcd in i998. the eritry—“A school of Blackfish (Tauioga on- itisl came ashore at Summerside, Oct. 5. i960." The calendar had a good sale. a goodly number of copies going to tourists from t U. S. A. and from other placu. A

w

year or two later I read of the ly in

Tauioga onitls in the National Geographic Magazine (U.S.A.l which it was described as a small fish known as the Blackfish. Some- thing fishy about this, I

with chagrin. I therefore sent the Bulletin (which I had preserved

on account of its excellence) bac verv expensive 1n to the Department with the 19115 blhfllnt-‘Si- Think -query "What about it?" The ans-

wer came back: "The name of the (C. B.) Blackflah is Glnitoce- phalua meiaena.“ Too late I saw what had happened. The wr-iter in the Bulletin had associated the name of another kind of "Black- fish" with the Cape Breton eni- sode. it had slipped past the cen- sor-so to speak-I had broadcast’ it, and was left “holding the bag. Popular names, as you know, are often misleading, so I always use the scientific names as well. time I repented of it

The Sea-Pink or Thrift

On December 7th I went round to my rockery to see the littl

ra

the leading Iluicheri R. O. l‘. Pedigree!!!

cushion of Thrift. It. still had.

Chicks, Chicks, Chicks

Anyone wishing to order chioka for the season of i945 l would like in have their orders aa early aa possible as I was only able to get sa per cent of any orders filled iaat year from some M‘

In Canada. Any person wishing to order ‘hiia Leahorna frnin parents ateclr with ll lruln! record of 28010 {(39 eggs per year. write call or phone before ordering. Phone No. 2068-11.

A. ll. BRYENTON. Charlottetown. x

incl

thought‘,

This a teacher who has this iii

half a dozen flowers. and as you can imagine. they were the last in the far . Sir J. I-Iooker fo this Plant growing in the Highlands o Scotland at a height of 3,800 feet. I-le also states that it grows in all the Arctic regions of the world. This means that it is very hardy. and accounts for my having flowers in December. Six botanists, ' ‘ " eus, have given different names to this plant. Out of the list I think we may choose Armeria Maritima Wiiidenow. The plant is a peren- nial. with a “ranched woody root- stock from which spri s a dense cushion of short grass- lke leaves. Prom this there arises here and there. the flower-stems about six inches high, topped by a little head of pinkish flowers that re- minds one of the composite fam- y, though it no relation. Noticing that one of my plants had IIOWCILBX of a deeper shade, pp;

C

from it, and now I doubt if any with the pinkish color remain.

A lady living in Souris, once sent me a root of an Armeria with eighteen-inch stems of white flowers, an Asiatic species. I think. I was interested this surn- mer to find an Armeria with long stems and pink flowers. which

kc to be a hybrid between two species.

The dense, spreading growth of Thrift makes it useful in the rock- garden, and for borders to flower- beds. In the latter case it is dug up, separated, and replanted every three or four years. Nickels “Bot- anical Ready Reference" says thaf the flowers of Thrift are diuretic,

The Political Criais

the.

Arc but dust that rises up, And is lightly laid again. ‘ _ —Tennyson

What Shall We Teach- and How? i2) We resume a condensed version of J. C. Moloney's article in Blackwoods Magazine, Edinburgh. One of the first practical reforms

size of the classes. even though that means increasing the num- ber of teachers. and a consequent. increase of taxes for educational work. “I was appalled (he says) when a teacher told me that as often as not he had to take classes of sixty at a time." I myself in my pupil-teacher days, had to take charge of as many, when another teacher was absent through sick- ness or other cause; and I, agree that under the circumstance Vno real teaching can be accomplish- ed. Possibly a class of twenty-five allows Justice to all, and certainly a. class ought not to exceed thirty. Now comes Mr. Moloney's pet theory. “My own idea (he states) is that it does not matter very much what children are taught, provided they are taught thorough- ly and intelligently." One parent