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I, ' ~ w. nd there has been w. “ndgfifitfi the price of musk- ‘rigid this has repercussions on so state of Imiislana where trap- mmiber 23,000. Reports in m, press are that they are suffer- gig along with manufacturer: and Iessors. in what is termed the ‘u; critical period in the history 4 the fur industry. It is reported may, of the 5,760,000 pelts caught m m; 1948 season there are still mrmird stored in WIUOLXOILSBS. various reasons are cited for the “crease in sales of Louisiana ‘mm-ate, chief among them being m”, the muskrat coats are p188" and that costs of manufacturing M" “one up tremendously. An ist, however, has polrited out that hundreds oi thousands of “mat skins are being used for giro on cloth coats and it is felt am. that will be very helpful-

lnteresting to note is that the state oi Louisiana also had a mink catch last year oi 153.000 skins and the catchof wild nutrla is in- mgging rapidly. A resident iur dealer in Louisiana must pay a license fee of $15 a year and a lion-resident D8315 $300- A X05160!“ m; buyer pays $25 fee a year while a non-resident fur buyer must pay a fee oi $100 for a privilege oi buying Louisiana furs in Louisiana.

During the past season — Feb- yugry to October, 1947-11 Johan- nesburg, SA. firm flew 40.000 Karacul pelts worth $400,000 to the iondori market. The skins were sent by rail to Johannesburg from where they were flown to London, arriving at their destination with- in 48 hours. The air-freight cost almost half as much again as sea- fa-eight. but the shippers gained three weeks on other firms ship- ping the old way.

Those oi us who are in the fox business today intend to remain and therefore it- is necessary that

but methods of continuance. A writer in The American Fox and Market Journal points out several things that/he has observed that no doubt has come to the atten- tion of many oi us. He is sure that etemal vigilance is the safety of fox or mink ranching. One of llliem is that distemper can be vcry much more easily controlled in a clean ranch than in a dirty one, and that distemper is not nearly as liable to happen in a clean ranch as in a dirty ranch. Another point he makes out is that lht‘ feeding of Vitamin A and D and a generous balanced diet will

Ilrgeiflliifl Move To Save Wildlife

MONTREAL. Feb. 3 - (C?) — Immediate action “at cabinet levels" to halt wildliie destruction in Canada is urged by e. sportsman- writer who finds governmental de- partments too frequently only rump bodies headed by incompetents with a greater knowledge oi politics than oi the business in hand.

The plea, coupled with warnings blsed on facts and figures. is made by Isaak Hunter in his "With Rod Ind Gun" column in the Montreal Gautte.

The columnist; who can easily be identified also as G. H. Carpen- ter. executive editor. would like his grandchildren to be able some day .to enjoy hunting and fishing h the country of their birth.

He takes note of the provincial and federal governmental set-up§ but finds wildliie conservation de- lefinratinfl into extermination Often departmental heads chosen ior reasons other than any real knowledge oi wildlife mlhlllemeni. Some hamper the work oi competent and conscient- lolle men employed permanently in the departments.

He finds many instances oi re- "vkresslon in the work, with little realization that hunting and fislv ‘"9 A"? bl! business in Canada.

Moose have already gone out l-‘l bl! same animals in Nova Scotia 011d New Brunswick and are "a blll question mark" in Quebec and Ontario. Caribou in Quebec are

lit barely flickering."

Serious In West

life

inf")? inroads have been made P °_ flame in northern parts oi the ""19 provinces, and the serious ° l8 being reached in the great gservoire of Northern Alberta and ritish Columbia. mlxzlaak Hunter finds the most wh lnon cause a combination oi "We lllesel slaughter. in- "lflillate law enforcement and -l'll(‘l)l:‘el leniency toward violators. prom! i! national scale, the most mm "l8 possibilities may result m l "port oi a committee oi h: P“ "‘ A iation of Tour- dalmd Publlclly Bureaus. Provin- lmnlpvemments are paying more h" lvn to their publicity depart- nis and bureaus. , ‘ti’? committee struck snags when x An ed statistical information. "cenilrovlncesdump all but resident no filed!‘ as non-resident." with m“ cation oi the amount of m‘: wmllfs from~ille United I" and other foreign countries. ‘Vilma was noihinl resembling a ‘nhouehcenlus or even estimates, a I Ontario now harltarted flag? Ewe-y. - I e committee's many re- xf-"tllltllllalioxls were: stricter ie- moh on oi travel by aircraft to ro- w areas, increased number of “llmlnt enforcement officers:

TIIAELYIIUTES III TIIPIIIS IIUEIIEUTEII YIITII

Silver Fox and ' ' Mink Farming 3

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also prevent distemper. Vitamin A and D cad be obtained in the slllpe of cod liver oil or con. centrates oi it and should be fed from the first oi January until the middle oi July. It is pam- clllarly necessary to feed it during the .months of March, April, May and June to prevent rickets. The first year we started ranching at the Vlmy Ranch we fed pretty heavily and never thought o1 vim. min A and D or cod liver oil. The result was that in the Spring most U! l-lle pllps were downin the legs. We also had some cases oi rickets when we put foxes in the sheds on wire bottoms but after the first year we always bedded the wire bottoms with hay and oi course for many years we have fed con- centrated Vitamin A and D. The lype we used is the Rex A and D, 400-3000. That would be about eight times stronger than a good brand of cod liver oil. It. fl also well to feed Brewers yeast flakes. We have been using the brand put up by the National Breweries, Montreal. for many years.

Calcium is a necessity too for foxes for bolic and growth and oi course it can be given in the iorm oi fish, either fish bloc or smells or in fact any type oi fish. By balancing up with horse meat, iish and the above accessories. with a good cereal feed, you should be able to produce good pups and have a fair average.

The present season has been dis- appointing as far as matings are concerned. at least it has been that way with us. Only about 15% oi our females have been mated up to now, no doubt due to the mild weather in January. We hope the cold, bright weather will continue as that is ideal for breeding pur- poses.

Another thing our American fur farmer writer draws attention to is the danger oi feeding unwash- ed or poorly washed tripe. This is comparable to the feeding of strychnine in many cases. The efiete material has been merely cleaned out, not properly washed out. and has been hung up waiting for delivery to the iur ranch. By the time the rancher gets it, it is more or less on the tainted side. but is ground up and mixed in the feed. Then the foxes or mink will go off feed and many. particular- ly mink, -will die. Then an effort will be made to find the source and correct it with drugs and proper treatment, but the best idea is to watch tripe very closely as it is well known to be one oi the ingredients that will spoil quite easily and will also be a-souree-ok infection. There is no such thing as horse tripe though many ranch- ers speak of it. The horse has a true normal stomach. Tripe oc- curs only in the clovcn-hoof animal sucll as the sheep. cow and deer. This material is the lining oi the first and second stomachs, which are not true stomachs but merely pouches from the normal stomach. Much oi it is not digestible ma- lerllll but it acts as a very excel- lent filler.

We understand some whale meat has been imported and is being used on some ranches this season. We hope that it will prove equal- ly as good as horse meat ior win- ter feeding and production. Now that Newfoundland will be a partner oi ours the latter part oi next month. it will be much easier for us to import whale meat and- land it here at a price considerably below the cost of horse meat. The Norwegians have been using it for years with good success and there ll no reason why we cannot do like- wise. Then there is whale liver, seal liver and even cod livers that call be obtained in pi- cessed form at a much lower price than we have to pay ior horse or pig liver. So while the feed problem looked so black early this fall there seems to be a silver lining appearing in lllv Prospect oi cheaper feeds. One thing we cannot bring costs down on is cereals, for as long as the price oi wheat stays up at a pgg- lzed $2.00, cereals will be high even though manufacturers use the Cllellpel‘ grades oi wheat to manu- facture them from.

There has not been much activ- ity in the fur mar-beta the pom week. but prices of mink seem to be strengthening and there nas been a good demand iii New York for them. No silver iox auctions Ilavc been hold since the Canadian in Montreal, so we have no lino ill) 0n prices for our product. The fact that tho Argentine has stop- ped the exportation oi any monies will not affect us very adversely as we have not been selling many furs to that country ior a con. siderable time. It was a iew years back .one oi our best customers. There is a possibility that silver iox can be exported to Australia within a iew‘ months and if so it will find a ready market. One oi the fur pools had an opportun- ity not so long ago to make a big shipment to Australia but was Prevented by exchange restriciibna

TNl-zws?

GQAiZDIAN,

NOTES -

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Iy Agricola

The Osprey

The Osprey isgaptly designated the Fish Hawk. for fish are its fav- orite food, though it may occasion- ally eat a water snake or a frog. It flies rdther alowly above the water (sea or lake) at a height of about 50 feet, till its sharp eyes spy an unsuspecting fish. Then it spirals down and may even (though unwillingly) plunge into the water to capture its prey. Rising into the air again, the osprey shifts its grip so that the iish points for- ward (affording a minimum resist- ance to the air), shakes the wet from its wings, and makes for its favorite feeding place. Under its perch the ground is covered with accumulated fish bones from many a meal! _

The Osprey is known to breed in the Labrador regions. It is not particular in its choice of a site for its nest. It is said; it may select a tree. a rocky ledge, a pinnacle rock, or occasionally the roof of a build- ing. On ihe chose site it proceeds to make a clumsy nest oi sticks. weeds and other rubbish. To this it adds more every year. Brimlev states that the accumulated rubbish may weigh 1.000 or 1.500 pounds!

Francis Bnln. in 1891, rccordcil that he used to see "the Osprey pursuing his summer fishing along our \V£‘li-SI.Dl'(‘d shores."

Osprey or Fish IlawkHAOU 364. More or less cammon-dlllfi list. Adults: head white or whitish, with a dark-brown medium stripe and a dark-brown band through the eyes to the back. Bill strongly hooked. Back and wings dark-brown; tail grayish with narrow black bars. Chin white. a necklace of brown spots, (usually on the throat of the female). The rest oi the under- parts whitish. Legs pale, blue, tai- ons rough and strong. Length of adult about 23 inches; wingspread to 62 Inches.

The Name Maclaaao

A contribution to this discussion comes from Kamloops, B.C.. and is a fine piece oi research. Here it ls: —"De:ir Agricola. may I add my bit to the discussion of the family names of McKisick and McIsanc. recently appearing In the ‘Newsv Notes?‘

"First of all, as every good wife should always ask her husband's opinion, I questioned my husband. who is a Ross from Ross-shire, and he says that Mcisaac is a Scottish name. So I immediately looked up my ‘Citing and Tartilns of Scot- land,’ by Robert Bnin, and found the name's MacIsaac, MacKessoclz, and bim-Kissock. arc given as septs of the clans Campbell and Mac- Donald oi Clanranald. This signi- fies that therc were three distinct families who had obtained the pro- tection of those powerful clans.

"ln the census of 1798, there ap- pears as a resident of Lot35, the. -name_.oi_.il.odcrick.. MCLilmfllllllJL family of five. as well as the name of Donald Mc-Kislck with a family oi five.

“In Mcccllams Atlas, publisher’ in 1880. I can find no mention of either family in Lot 35, but a Don- aid Mclsaac is shown as living on property in Lot 36. which was quite recently owned by Mrs. Alex Mc- Isaac; and a number of families of that name are shown as living Ill Lots -il. and 47, where in 1798 only McKlslcI: families had settled.

"I would suggest that as both families have been but fairly re- cently out from Scotland, they both gave ihe correct pronunciation of their respective names~MacKlssock being easily written as McKlsick by the census taker who surely was not noted for his ability in spell- lug-and that while the descend- ants of the McKisick families may now ,be using quite unwittingly the name of Mac-Isaac, to which family they do not belong. the des- cendants of Roderick Mcisaac are quite rightfully using their own name.

"As to the Col. Kenneth Mac- Kesaack who was a British Military Attache at Washington, D.C., do you not think It is highly probable he was one of the MacKc-ssock family?

"A quite humorous hut Interest- ing article entitled ‘The Big An- cestor Hunt’ appeared in the Janu- ary 15th issue oi the ‘Saturday Eve- ning Post". When the Americans trike an Interest In anything they usually do it with great enthusi- asm. Apparently ancestor hunting Is no exception to the rule. Yours sincerely, Nina G. Ross."

I thank Mrs. Ross for her nice lively letter with just the right amount. of humor! Personally I be- lieve that all follr names mention- ed above were originally pronounc- ed In one way, I.e.. as Maclieealck. The Gaelic pronunciation of "I" was "ee". not “ah-ee". That latter sound was Introduced into the alphabet by the English at a comparatively recent date. as has already been mentioned in this column. The ren- sus-taker of 1798. an Englishman. Robert Fox, would certainly take his cue from the Old Testament and give Roderic Mclsaac a new, slant on Ilia name, which has now auperceded all the rest.

i recall an instance of change of name in my home-district a great many years ago. A Scottish fam- lly surnamed Anllll. settled in the upper reaches of the Derwent. Val- ley. 30 to 40 miles west of New- castle. Thia family multiplied ex- ceedingly and as they were fond of the old baptismal names, there grew up Andrews, Duncans, Mar-

‘ Potatoes

I wont 20 con number

be used on this Phone

PRODUCE IROKER

Prosecution of both Poacher and '°°°“'" °l lllesq-l takings.

for tile F. W. PIRIE CO. LTD. account. Island bogs may older. Shipment may be mode of once.

FRANK B.

Wanted

one Cobbler Seed potatoes

CLARKE

‘ CHARLOTTETOWN

gareta, and Marlee, in profusion. '

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Soon miasivel and parcels get to the wrong addreaa and a good deal of inconvenience and vexation re- sulted. To remedy this atlte of affairs one branch of the family changed its name to , a change that answered the purpose very well. Owls

Not long ago a reader of these Notes asked: "How many kinda of Owls are iound in P. E. Island?" In reply I informed hel- that a bul- letin issued in 1916, reported that 9 species had been observed. Some of these Owls were undoubt- edly accidental, some were uncom- mon, and all are scarce. owing to persecution at the hands of un- thinking “sportsmen? (Some years ago. I recall, a resident on our south coast boasted that he had shot "9 owls in the last 12 monthsl)"

Two of the owls in the 1916 bul- letin, vlz.. the Great Horned Owl and the Snowy Owl, are destructive birds, raiding the poultry yard in daytime, and capturing and eating our game, particularly our native Ruffed Grouse. It must be admit- ted however-thut they kill great numbers ‘of rats. mice, squirrels. and other rodents. and, strange to say, skunks! The rest of our owls are innocent of the major crimes, and are so beneficial that they de- serve our careful protection. They are most active at dusk, when poul- try have retired for the night, and the rodents are uncautiously stir- ring. Probably a safe rule would be. “Never shoot an owl at night."

Owls have some peculiarities of structure that demand a brief no- tlce. The eyes of these birds are so disposed that they look directly forward: if the bird wishes to lonl: sideways it must turn its head. “There are striking facial discs (rings of feathers) about the eyes" -Tavprner. The cere. a wax-like swelling round the base of the upper mandible, is hidden in the feathers. The feathers themselves are noteworthy: they are soft and downy, and cling together in such a way that air cannot pass through. This prevents any whistling sound and ensures the silent flight for which the owl is noted. Owls are popularly believed to be more or less blind in daytime, but there is little reason in this. They sleep In the daytime because they “put in a night shift" hunting the rats and mice. As in the Hawks. the females are larger than the males.

Seeking Atlantis

A party of British scientists. equipped with radar. is to set out to discover the site oi the lost island of Atlantis. This was. ac- cording to an ancient tradition. a izreat island west of the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of Gibraltar). Its powerful princes invaded Europe but were defeated by the Athenians and their allies. The Atlanteans afterwards ‘became very "learned but wicked and Impious; and the island was, in consequence, swal- lowed up by the ocean In a single day and night. The story is rc- lated by Plato (430-347 B.C.). in his “Tlmaeus", and is said to have been fold to Solon by the Egyptian priests, about 550 B.C.

I quote from the Tlmaeus: "Sub- sequently, however. through violent earthquakes and deluges which brought desolation in a single day and night, the whole of your war- like race was at once merged under the earth, and the Atlantic island Itself was plunged beneath the sea and entirely disappeared; and whence even now that sea is neith- er navigable nor to be traced out, being blocked up by the great depth of mud which the subsiding island produced."

Some scientists believe that the Americas once lay close to Europe and Africa, and fitted in like a Jigsaw puzzle. Certainly a glance at a Mcrcatorui projection map sup- ports thc theory. What caused the break? The impact of that big meteor (or planetoid) in what is now Arizona? And were those highly civilized Mayana the des- cendants of the Atlanteans?

QUIET. PLEASE!

DARTMOUTH, N. S. -(OP) Dartmouth’: new anti-noise legis- lation has gone into effect-after the town's legal department chang- ed clauses whichwouldhave made {church chimes and fire sirens ti. egal.

CI-IARLOTFETOWN

Hotbed Outside Window Handy and Inexpensive

Ivan the smallest garden can profit from a hot-bed in which plants can be started weeks earhe: than seeds can be sown outdoors. The plants you grow coat a. fraction oi those purchased in the market.

Most economical in space. cost and upkeep, ia a hot-bed built around a window opening from l ” ‘ basement, preferably a south window. In front of the window make a shallow excavation, about a ioot deep. The also must be fig- ured carefully. so that a frame set in this excavation can be covered by window or hot-bed sash. As in the case of other hot-beds. a gloss substitute may be used on the sash. if desired.

Build a iiramc in fit in the exca- vation. The sides must slant sharp- ly from a point above the window. almost to the ground. Fit _t_he sasn on this frame. uslnd b15895 ll the top so the sash may easily be raised for ventilation. Eartih may be banked around the frame to keep out the cold; and the sides should be as tight as vosslblfl w keep out the wind.

The frbme may have to be caulk- ed, where it joins the foundation to prevent drafts. otherwise it ‘s built like the garden type, using a standard qr odd size sash as you choose.

Heat is supplied to this bed b} opening the basement window, and allowing the heated basement air to enter the bed. ‘Ilhe window ls lell open at night. and may often be closed during the day. when the sun is s-“inixig on the bed. Hotbeds of this type have been tried arid tested .and aIthouSll they (‘l0 ml maintain temperatures as high as other kinds the heat will be more even, and the ventilation much bet- ter.