FEBRUARY 23. 1952

THE GUARDIAN.

u-uuu.m'nt:r0WN

PAGE ELEVEN

SW" 'I'lMEl.Y mas on mics eomcren mus

'3 Silver, Fox and , Mink Farming .13-

-4

I, J, Fox, who conducts stores in New York and Boston and is prob- ably the largest rets)i turner in me world. has released 85 em-

loyees from his New York prem- Escs due to the slump in fur sales. The firm regretted to make this more but they said that business ,,.,.,, so quiet and they were losing so much money that it.had to be

d0nP.

Ea Stanton writing in Women's west Dally says: "Deaiiiive dwin- rshed local interest in buying American 1-aw skins, purchases mm. by or for Europeans have hg1pQd.mainlrI&n some activity during the recent weeks on items such as muskrat, mink. raccoon and other furs. As far as New york is concerned the appetite for

pelts is rather lethargic at the moment with the exception of comparative flood interest in bet- ter mink.

Europeans on the other hand. are said to find today's price lev- PL, my-1y attractive and are buy- mg more than they did at this .,,,,,. ,. year ago. when the dam- rsnc market was competing vis- orously for merchandise. With less competition from the America.ns- and the Canadians, who are also buying sparingly-the French. lt.illans. Belgians. West G9l'm3M- ,(c,, have been taking on cheaper lypPS of mink and muskrat. D1113 cont raccoon. 0i?0SSUm- b9EV9l'- skunk and faxes. This is confirm- ed by the United Fur Brokers, who note that Europeans are following

their normal pattern of heavy mum buylmz. while Americans are inclined to wall when sales

ll'(' not up i0 P37-

vv 9rvv-

week there was very little differ- ence between the prism for wild mink and .'those of the previous month at ikhe Dominion fur auct- ion sales. Prlcu were on the whole, lower and there was a definite resistance from the fair attendance of buyers. In wild mink fairly seasnnabla -norlhem males sold from 538 to 344; females sold from 820 to 5.24; Manitoba central males went from has-to 537 with females from S18 to sill. The 15.- 000 ranch mink were withdrawn because rancherst limits were still too high and the feeling ls'that prices will adjust themselves up- ward.

Arthur C. Prentice. general man- ager of Canadian Fur Auction sales co. Ltd, Montreal, states that the present decline of fur prices is the result of the unex- pected slump of the last half oi 1951 and the attitude of uncer- tainty which now surrounds the market. Analyzing the causes of the softening of fur prices at in time when other commodities have risen to abnormally high levels. Mr. Prentice comments: "To begin with we may as well make up our minds to the fact. that the fur business as well as every com- mercial enterprise is either hitch- ed directly or indirectly to the al- lied defense program. The ordin- ary forces of supply and demand no longer function in our present day economy and for this reason we are bound to experience artific- ial fluctuation, some rather pleas- ant and others equally painful."

lie comments on the heavy gov- ernment spending and the efforts to put the brakes on consumer purchasing power through credit restrictions and severe tax in-

Al the Winnipeg sale held last

PROFESSIONAL. CARDS

3Yll0ll J. GRAIN 0.0.

0PTOMl1TlllS'I”

mu lien! street PIi0Nh B10 Adjoining North American Hotel

Dr. A. L. Maclsoud DliN'I'lh'l nentsl X-Bay

GLUILIA BUILDING I10 Grlnlln St '

Illunv 2Il

Allison M. Gillis, LLB.

BABBISTBB. SOLICITOB. EM.

130 Richmond St. - Clflnml Phone 590

J. A. CARRlJ"l'IiEli3

OPTODIBITCIST

PHONE 2872

123 Kent Street (Next to Simpson; Agency)

Sir. John E. .Starns

VETEBIN ARV SUHG EON

l'huna 1'39 230 Pownul 5! Office Hours

By Appointment

Boll. Mofhieson & Foster

Barristers. Solicitors. oil'- R. R. BELL. Q.C.

D. L. MATHIESON. Ll..l3.. QC- G. R. FOSTER. LLB. Loans on City and Farm Properties 150 Richmond Street Charlottetown. P.E.I.

5...... & Hoszord

QILBERT A. GAUDET. I A.. LL I Barrister! and sollcllon Moncy lo Loan

Baal: of F

1' -- cu Bldg

Malhoson. Pcolfo & Nicholson

A. W. MATIIESON. Q.C. A. ll. PISAIIE. B.A.. LLB. JOHN P. Nl(iH(ii.sriN. I-I-ll Barristers. ole

- lfonay To boon

f'

MocPiue'e it Troinor

ii. !'. liiscvfilili. 3.11.. 9.0. IL SOMERLIID TRAINOK I. I: Barristers; . ta.

Palmer 8. Hoslom

A. J. IIASLAM. ILA. LL8 Banister. Eta. Bank of Nova Souls aumben Charlottetown, P I I.

MONEY T0 l.OAN

FREDERIC A. LARGE. i o.c. -A

Barrister. Solicitor; Notary Royal Bank of Canada Building Charlottetown. P E. l. LOANS ON CITY AND FARM PROPERTI

A. Wollhon Guilder. L.B.

L nsnrsran. soucrrou. an rump. Building in drama discos Wane: to Loan Cclloallon

J. 8. TIYl.0ll

Obtolllollil ' Ina cumiooo. gluon allot

Goran Int 0 Queen Ila Olllao PIIOFO IOII-llnuao ill!

00 Great George Street Ctmlottalmvn

William A. Reddin B.A., B.5c.. I.L.B., Barrister, Solicitor. ltto.

120 Biolunond St. - Charlottetown

PHONE 2484

Dr. W. R. Carson

chiropractor Palmer Gnduto OIIARLOTTITOWN Phone 101! :01 Prince St

J. A. McGuigon DAIIIIISTEB. SOIJCITOB, lb. NOTAIIY. I10. .IAlIBl8'l'EB. 80I.lUl1'0I CUIIIII BUILDING

M. Alban Fonnov I. A. LL. I. MONK! 1'0 LOAN P Clllrlolutown. I I. I.

Chas. R. Mcqiuold

I. a. asnlsrsn, soucrron Nouns. cm Intern mu naming oluunrrnown Thou ml

ll. nestle nu coursuf

ormn-stun soootmnm-o in Great ooono Gt-. Ohm-Iomtows Phonon nu. rm - lo: :41

Mlmou-n "w. munmco. 0.A.

IRMA l'. MMPIIIJBUON 0.A.

Other offices at llamas. Monsoon. ac. JoluI'I.. Amherst. Dut-

-..m

lnonlll. Ientvlllo. Liverpool. New Glasgow and hard.

IIODONALD, OUIIII I 00.

OIIAIIIIE A000IlN1AN'I'I

Ilntnal. Quota onsws tunes. Iain Iona. almncou. V,IIaIovor. Ilnlud MM. Ilnaaua. llaultpn. chortovinsvn.

-ii"!!! Ills. casmmun

telephone IX

crosses. The result was that the trade suddenly became aware that they had over extended thunsaivu and consequently were now ob- liged to sustain losses in order to reduce inventories. As for 1952. Mr. Prentice feels that there will he I decided change in merchand- ising poiicies as compared with last season. It is likely that there will be I. disposition to fill re- qulrcments for merchandise as needed.

The chinchilla breeders are go- ing merrily along even though their pelts are not featured in any of the markets and no prices have been established for them. Last week 200 live chinchilla: were entered in a show in Colorado with entries from nine other states and in this weeks Collier's magazine is a couple of pages giving the story of chinchilias and the few remain- ing speclments being brought by a Mr. Chapman from the Andes in Chili and domesticated in the United States.

My recollection of chinchilla is seeing it at C. M. Lampson at Company's in 1926. The fur was very similar to pearl platinum mink but longer. It had a greyish blue color. There was nothing pur- flculnrly attractive about it. but the warehouse man said that they had been in good demand but there was. very little sale for them at that time and very few arriving on the markets. The coats illu- strated in Colliers have a very flat appearance and in our opin- ion. would not be very attractive.

The Argentine Industrial Center of Furriers have made sharp com- ment on the decline of activity in the fur industry there. As a rea- son for the drop in business they give the gradual exhaustion of im- ported raw furs and the impossi- bility ol replacing them because of the ban placed by Argentine on the importation of furs since 1947. All attempts of both industrialists and workers' unions to induce the government to lift the ban have failed so far. The scarcity of im- ported furs has gradually stimu- lated the demand for domestic furs. zspecially for nutria.

A nutrla coat which in 1045 re- tailed for 2000 pesos. now ccsts 15 to 20 thousands pesos. Appreciat- ing the difficulties oi the iurrlers the government began on January 21st by abolishing the 20 per cent luxury tax which had been im- posed last year on the retail sales values of furs. In November. 1950. a new Argentine import tariff was introduced multiplying duties on furs nearly ten times. This tariff has not nfiected the industry u imports were not allowed. , ...m

The Peron regime has been the means of ostracizlns; Argentine from other countries. it. has play- ed havoc with the internal econ- omy of that very prosperous country in which Britain had 'cnol'nl0us investments in railroads and in cattle rnpches and plants for the processing of beef. We be- lleve that most all ihnt investment had been got rid of by 'n take-its or-leave-it price and for the past two years Peron has been upping the price of Argentine beef to Great Britain. This year he is ask- ing three times the price oi last year.

A.rgz-ntluc up until 1947 was one of our best customers for Canadian silver and mutation fox pelts. in 1946 two platlnums from the Mo- Lure and Mncxinnou Silver Fox Farms. Ltd. were sold for 3220 each to an Argentine iurrler through the C. N. S. F. B. A. large number of other plstlnums white faces and silvers went to that. country in the same sale. The olty of Buenos Alres is one of the finest in the world and was peopled by very wealthy men and women whose garments were mostly purchased in Paris and who went. in for the very best in furs. Mexico is another country that we did a large business with in silver fox. but apparently it is out of the picture foo.

....m..D.....

MONTREAL. Feb. 20 -.(cP) ..

Three of 45 store owners booked for breaking a holy day closing by- law today pleaded guilty and were lined 540 and costs. The owners were changed with remaining open for business Dec. 8. the Feast. of the Immaculate Cuiception. This was the first of six Roman Catholic holy days mentioned in a. by-law prohibiting stores from opening on such days. One of the cases heard today was postponed until tomorrow and the others wero- postponed until March 5.

PROPANE GAS

For Hot Water Heating. Cooking and Cabin Heating. Non-Poisonous - Clean -

neonomiuu ism. This Gas Is:--

Sold by

smttev, sum 3. venues l.1'll.

Distributors f hfwhry Propane Gas lgango stoves

"! Ol. 000.5; Phonoit

' .- NEWSY

Rabbits And Hares

One of our school teachers wrote recently. stating that his pupils wished to know if what are called wild rabbits on the Island are rab- bit or are they hares? The answer is that our so-called wild rabbits are hares. Lepus Amorlcanua. known as the varying hare or white rabbit. This hare takes its name from being brown in sum- mer and white in winter. In milder climates further south, this change is not so marked as it is here. Its white winter coat is produced on the approach of snowy weather, by the actual disappearance of the brown pigment in the hairs; the brown coat is resumed in the spring by the melting of the white hairs.

This hare ranges from Virginia. to Hudson's Bay. It never makes or enters burrows. but lives both day and night with no other shel- ter than the, thickets. It feeds largely at night. but Ls frequently seen near the edge of the woods in the evening. It travels along runways and has a definite listen- ing seat. It sits on its haunchas on t is, with erect head. and when scare off, it will circle and will usually be back again at the same spot. It makes scarcely any nest: for its young. which are born fully furred. with eight, and are very active shortly alter birth. Its win- ter food is largely bark. buds and twigs of trees.

After answering the letter brief- ly, it was thought that others. as well as the pupils. would be inter- ested in further items on rabbits and hares. These two species be- long to the order of mammals, Ito- dentia, and to the family (Lerner!- daei. The rabbit, however. known in English legal phraseolcgy as "cony" was formerly placed in the same genus Lepus, as the hare. and known as Lepus cuniculus.but it is now put in a genus by itself. Oryctoiagus cunlculus. The rabbit is of European origin. and is be- lieved to be native to the western half of the Mediterranean basin. It has been taken to Scotland and Ireland, where it has multiplied rapidly. as it did in England. It was taken to Australia and New Zealand. where, freed from natural enemies it multiplied into count- less hordes. and became a very serious post.

can

L Rabbits

Wild rabbits differ from hares in being much smaller in size; they lzave shorter ears and feet. They do not have the black natch at the tin of the ears common to some hares. and are grayer in colour. Thev burrow deep in the earth. and make their nests there. called "warrens". in which the young a. barn naked. blind and helpless. The gestation nerlod is thirty days. they breed four to eight times a year with three to eight young

: 7

each time. Ordlnnrv wild rabbits weigh twoyand a half to three pounds. 7''

The domesticated rabbit is the one known here. the "Br-ltzinn I-fare Craze" partly due to World War conditions in 19l4-l9l8. and the in- creased prices for fur and meat. caused many to start breeding rab- bits. rancv nrlces were paid for breeding stock. and units a num- ber of hreeds were introduced into the United States in 1919. and into Canada in 1923. There nre a great number of varieties. Under domes- tlcation and crossing, rnanv differ- ent coloured pelts have been de- veloned. from white to black. ple- bald. grey and various hues.

In England and Eurone rabbit rnlfilmr as a business is firmly es- tablished. Wlth' the people there. it is a regular long-time industry.

0 I 0

Hares

In America the terms hare and rabbit are used indiscrlmately for the species of the various rodents under the family Leporldae. Here is the generic form. while rabbit in properly applied to a single short-legged European speclet. with burrowing habits. etc. I-fares are rllstlngutshed from all other ro- dents by in second pair of upper incisor teeth. that are small. non- functional. and placed directly be- hind the large gnawing teeth. The cars are always large. and the tall short. bushy and up-turned. The fare limbs are short and five-toed. while the hind legs are long and four-toed. The roles of the feet are densely hairy. Hares are exclus- l'.'elv vegetarian. and nre,extreme- ly timid, alert. and with very keen senses.

Hares have great speed for short distances. They move with peculiar en-atlc leaps. thev walk with s shuffling gait bv placing the entire sole of the hind foot on the ground. They rest on their haunches. with head erect. There Ire no hares that climb trees or swim. as some rodents and rabbits do.

There are five groups of hares In Canada: The Arctic hare. Lepus Arctlcus, is a pure white species. Its range is throughout the bar- ren grounds. Arctic islands. North- west Territory. Ungavn. Labrador and Newfoundland. This here is the chief food of the fur-bearing animals of the north. it in sub- ject to intestinal diseases. which about every seven years reduce their numbers almost to extinction. and then many of the camlvorous animals die of starvation.

The varying lure (the Island species) has already been describ- ed. The Jack manic or Prairie hue, Lepus campeetr-ls. is I large. long- legged. big-eared hare that lives on the western plains. It is usually "on the jump". and for short dis- tances it is about the fastest quad- rupod known. It lives and breeds among the bushes. and feeds on twigs. frherd the yoimg are drop- ped. and In a short time have to shift for themselves.

The Oottontsil. or wood hare. tispua svlvilasus. is the smallest bars in Canada. It prefers mead- ows and open glades in wooded areas. Its territory is gradually

- By J. A. chrir, n.sc.

NOTES-

xtsndln, northwards.

There is also the grey rabbit, Lepua floridanus. which much more nearly resembles the Europ- ean rabblt than any other hare. it does not burrow. but will enter the burrows of other animals. and its young are born blind and helpless. Southern Canada - is about the northern limit of its territory.

Food And Peace

The world cannot hope for I secure peace as long as great num- bers of its peoples border on starv- ation and who 'are becoming in- ueaslngly aware of their poverty in relation to our plenty.

This statement was made at the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture by the Prime Minister of Canada who suggested thatcanadians can help to alleviate the world hunger by producing more through improved

they have with the hungry.

No one can dispute the Prime Minister's argument. As long as people have insufficient food. they will regard those who have suffic- ient: with suspicion and hostility. it is difficult to talk a person into being a friend when the shadow of starvation is lurking behind him.

some Canadians think we are producing as much as we can and that most. of the arable land in the country is now in use. But. in- creased production does not neces- sarily require more soil. It may be achieved by getting more out of the existing farm acreages. An an- nouncement hy the National Fert- ilizer Assoclation verifies this. The Association said that if grasslands in the United States were fertiliz- ed as recommended by the nation's agricultural colleges, the additional fertilizer would have made nossible the production of almost 3.000.000 extra tons of beef. Moreover. if adequate amounts of fertilizer had been applied to land devoted to field crops.U.S. farmers could have increased their corn output by 2:! per cent, wheat by 13 per cent and cotton by 28 per cent.

If this could be done across the border. the same should be possible in Canada where facilities to pro- duce fertilizers and other essential agricultural chemicals have kept. pace with increased demand in re- ccnt years.

May Make Fines.

(Payable On The instalment Plan

O'I'I'AWA. Fcb. 22 - (CM Revisions in the Criminal Code to be brought "before Parliament for approval at the forthcoming session may include changes in existing procedures for payment of fines. it was reported today.

One change which has been considered by a'special commit- tto drafting revisions to the Code has been the suggestion that fine: be made payable on the in- stalment plan.

I-fowever, whether this feature will be lncorporatrd in the new legislation was not known.

In Toronto yesterday, Mr. Jus- tice E. R. E. Chevrier of the On. tario Supreme Court said sec- tions of the Code giving judges the option of imposing a fine or s jail sentence are discrimina- tory because they allow a rich man to pay a heavy fine and get away with a 'lighl. jail sentcfw: or with none at all.

Flashes 0f I-.ife-A

GAUDALAJARA, Mexico. Feb. 22 (AP)sSlx persons died Wednesday and nine were injured when lire broke out near the screen of the Alameda movie theatre. Patrons in the orchestra escaped, but the one exit from the balcony became jam- med with terrlfled fans trying to reach the streets. Six bodies were found near the door. some were trampled. The movle being shown was. "When Worlds Collide".

BIG SEASON

' mnwnrcrou -tcr)- Fiz- ures for the 1051 hunting season in New Brunswick showed a total or 84,115 partridge. 21.745 ducks. 2055' woodcoclr, 6'17 pheasants. 0 geese and 83 hrant. The big major- ity was bagged by resident hunt- err.

GENEVA. Feb. l9-(Reuters)- Swiss police Monday investigated an application for political asylum -sought by Karel stern. Czechoslo- vak commercial attache in Bern. It is understood he left his office a few days ago and asked prolet- tion from Swiss authorities.

llome Painting More Popular

About 75 per cent of all indoor painting in Canada is now being done by the householders them- selves. says 6. R. Inglesan of the paint and varnish division of Can- adian Industries Limited.

Wrhis is partly due to the high cost of living and because of the feeling of omplishment I. man gets by doing it himself." Mr In- gleson said.

Comparing painting tastes across the country. he thought that people in Quebec, while excellent handy- man. were not quite so color-con- scious as those in Ontario. West- erners are using more and more wood for interior panelling which has created a demand for finishes which show up the natural grim. About half the paint used for in- tcrior decorating is white or based on white.

Improper mixing of paints and failure to clean walls thoroughly before painting. were the two most common mistakes made by the El" erage householder when he under- takes to paint his own home. he