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The Women's Wear Daily aor- respondeht at the Canadian Fur Auction sales Company, Ltd" sale of last week stated that despite umited attendance there was mod- erate buying on the part of New York and Canadian dealers and percentages sold were higher than had been anticipated. The quality of the offering was mixed but good fox pelts continued to evoke competition. The sales room figur- ed that with United States duty added to the prices realized the re. rent New York market prices were more than maintained. Lack of European bidding was reflected in lhe demand for standard foxes. Breeders present had talked over prospects and apparently decided 1o meet buyers half way by reduc- ing limits and this led to more ac- :.\-lly than had seemed probable.

‘Ibo first offerlns of platinum: averaged $20. with s top price of s24. for the light medium skins. A Mexican dealer was among the buyers. Inferior’ platinums were reported 40% sold with a top price of $17.50. Of the 663 pearl platin- unis catalogued nearly half were ultlidrawn and the balance re- ported sold at prices up to $30. \\'liIl many lots between $20. and s26. white marked foxes were sold at prices ranging from $4.50 w si6.50. owing to the lack of usual European customers one-half to liiree-quartcr silvers went slowly. Prices ranged from $0. to $17. Among the buyers was a dealer from Turkey -— a rare visitor — who also bought full silvers. Can- adian dealers bought moderately oi full silvers. .

George A. Callbeck reporting for the Canadian National Silver Fox Breeders’ Association, has the fol- lowing . . . . The sliver and muta- tion fox catalogue began selling on Monday, June 28th. Of the 28.- Bfil skins 42% sold. The continued unsettled condition in internation- al relations had its affect on the lxride causing more or less spas- modic fluctuations. Of the 4.902 r-lalinums 45% sold at an average o! $17.86 for the good and ordin- ary types. For the inferior types 30% sold at an average of $8.34. 67",‘. of 385 pearl platinulns sold at an average of $13.54 and 40% of the 6,753 white marked silvers av- eraged $9.32. 644 one-half to three-g quarter silvers were 25% sold at an average of $8.77 and 933 select- ed fulls were 50% sold at an aver- rize of $16.90; 2,897 regular fulls ivore 35% sold at an average of $10.82.

HJ. Chambers, a large New York fur buyers and operator, states that the fur industry may be on the verge of the same kind of crisis of the inflation period of the 1920's when merchandise was entirely out of line with ability to pay for it. He said the nation's ba- sic salary is still only $2,500 and scored skin dealers, importers and manufacturers for contributing to I'l‘.'-7.Il prices and profiteering. Mr. (Iilamliers is probably quite cor- i-ect. Dealers haWe been Bell-MB In“ ordinate profits on most lineslof merchandise and in many cases have passed on to the public in- I"I‘li‘:l‘ types of furs after promot- ‘iizl: them with flambuoyant ad- lri-iising. This is particularly true ~i dcnlers who have taken on cer- iuii lines of imported furs. Jap- nzlese, Chinese, Russian. 9W- lil-ught at. low prices and extolled a. being of superior merit and slnllirv.

ll. is the dropping of 500d 50nd fir: such as sliver fox by the!!! rlialrrs that has caused such a li-micndous price debacle for this ii; cie. Thinking only oi the prof- is motive they have ljipcs c-f furs that are not worthy oi the selling efforts they put into lhcm. Today silver fox is thoueht of as highly as ever in most Eur- opean countries and its discredit lll America is largely due to the actions of New York dealers.

The New York fur reporter has a feature article in a recent issue which points out amons’ 0m" things that these who 9'05"" In‘ fci-ioi- types c-f silver fox pelts d0 not have much of a future and that there may be s REAiPPIiAR- ANCE OF ‘THE BLUE BLACK AND BRIGHT SILVER. THREE- QUARTER. AND EVEN HALF- sILvEl-tSto favoritism. Years alfi John Neimlm told the editor of this paper that in his opinion the breeding of fine silver foxes would eventually be confined to compar- atively few fox farmers. He for - saw the period of trial thr which the silver fox business‘ is MW passing. We were reminded of this conversation recently when we heard of a stats of affairs now existing on fox farms in eastern Canada and to a lesser extent in the UnlQd States.

There is much difference of Opinion among authorities on the subject as to why silver fox brefidlhl business has declined- It seems to us that the combin- ation of unfavorable conditions have prevailed for the past few veers all of which have broulhf- about the depressing situation MW confronting silver fox ferm- ers. ft is interesting to know that there were exceptions and that some silver fox breeders managed to dispose of their pelts Ind came through the season wlthmit lea. 1m fact of the matter is that fashion felled to hold silver m fur to fever dur- Ins the put five or nix years in “Pi-NM like the favor it had ‘It'll In a» envious lam-

Silver Fox and

ELY IOTES OI TOPI S OOIIIEOTEO YIITII

Mink Farming

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It is noted that in spite or ll; decline as a fashionable fur in 3M New York market, it Co... nued and still continues to on. JOY the l-Pmovsl of l great many women in other parts 0g the United States. It must be ad- mitted that this gppmvn has gznbefor the finer furs. Business e" ""53"" by finite a few manufacturers and retailers on fule slirllvler fox scarfspand stolen, jflfjkets b capes. This season has also Yflllilht about some revival in the demand for this lovely fur gg a tflmmmK. The Producers of infer- ?!‘ types of silver fox pglLg do no; i" lily future so far as we can Iudle- More and more sliver fox farmers will quit but we expect, m; lttlng - established and financially s-rong farmers to shorten their lines and concentrate on the re. plenishment of their breeding stock and perhaps return to their s inal source, namely, the m“; yo;

It is quite possible that the uro- duction of the extra full sliver fox has run its course and fashion may welcome the reappearance of the lovely blue black and bright silver, three-quarter and even one-half favorites of years ago, we thlnl; that the reincarnation of the sliver fox in all its original rich beauty Wm b"!!! it back to favor. It is a I-hm-Z 0f beauty but people can have too much of a good thing. Fashion has again turned with a smile to some of the long-haired furs and the silver fox is among them. In our opinion, however, only a return of the quality and beauty and limited numbers of former years will restore the position pg this inimitable fur. There will be fewer skins and they must be fin- er."

The above article from the New York Fur Reporter which has a large circulation. contains many elements of truth. but it hardly jibes with the sale of sliver fox furs in Montreal last week wnerc three-quarter and half-silvers were neglected. The only buyer was a party from ‘Turkey. 0f course a reason for this was the non-ap- pearance of buyers from Great Britain or the continent of Europe. At bondon sales three-quarters of good quality have been strong for some months, in fact they always were good sellers there and the years when we were representing the Hudson's Bay Company three- quarters and seven-eighths were most in demand.

We can remember the year i988 January sale of the Hudson's Bay Company when a half-silver pelt — one of the finest we had ever seen —was very eagerly competed for by a representative of royalty from the continent. It was truly s magnific- ent skin and even the buyers who were partial to the more silvery types could not help but admire its full-furred bluish cast and the splendid quality of black with bright silver sparkling on back and hips.

At the International Fur Con- ference next week a short, history of this fox industry will be or. the agenda and then again men's thoughts will turn back to the days when Charles Dalton and Robert Oulton were carrying on their breeding operations on Cherry Is~ land near Alberton. On that sev- enty-acre spot of land, history was made that will never be erased from the annals of our Province. With a fixed thought ‘in his mind and undergoing disappointments that would have deterred anyone but a person of the strongest con- victions and character, Charles Dalton persevered over twenty years before his dream of breeding fokes in captivity found its fulfill- ment. ft was largely due to the co- operation of that grand ITIJH, Rob- ert Oulton, that this was eilectcd.

speaking of the quality of thl foxes Mr. Dalton said that wher they were bred from pure Island strains there never was an off-col- ored fox. They were beautifully {urred with a bluish cast and would not lose this cast even at shedding time. The only time off-colored foxes were in evidence was when imported strains were mixed with Island blood.

This great eonferi j II have referred to will bring together men from Norway. Sweden. Y-h! United States — in fact from sev- eral countries-all of whom will work together to study some nie- thod of bringing back silver foxes to something like their pristine glory and popularity. Prom Nor- way will come Omar Braver-Mm" and the President of the Norwegian Fur Breeders‘ Association. The swedish representative will be equally eminent while from the United States will be the mighty giants of fur fsrminl. Edward Fromm of Fromm Broa, largest breeds s of fox pelts in the world. and Robert Stevenson, general manager of John Nlemen and Company, second only to Frotnms in the production of silver fox.

These men rested with Canadians will discuss vsrious aspects of fur farming and fur producing and we hope that from their deliberations much can be accomplished. A very fine program occupying three days is on the agenda and to Da). Stew- art of Burnmerside must go the principal credit for having com- piled it. He has been active for months organising and correspond- ing with- the principal fur breeding organizations. Credit must also be given to Premier J. Walter Jones. the Canadian National Silver Fox Breeders’ Association. The Sliver

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- NEWSY

TIE xmmau

The Kllldeer (or Killdeer Plover as it is sometimes called.) gets l‘ name from its plaintive and inees sant cry, which sounds like "Kl.- dee, Kll-deel" The Killdeer is an exllfldlllllly active and grsceJul bird. “more apt to run than fly, if not too closely approached," says Nash. in his Birds of Ontario. When suspicious of a close intruder ll. rises and dashes off on its pom.- ful wings. at the same time utter- ing an alarm call that puts every wild thing at once on guard.

This is the one plover that is found as regularly inland as on the, coast. and may appear on any open ground, as s pasture, a river oar,‘ a campus, or even a race course! Usually they are seen in pairs or associated in flocks. Their food

consists of earthworms and in- sectspof which bugs form the, greater part, Ornithologists have

examined stomachs of these birds which were crammed with weevils from orchards supposed to be free of those pests. They are thus of great economic importance to the farmer. .

They are, however, not very numerous here: my notes say "oc- casionally observed." "It stays late. being here the last of October." - Baln.

Killdeer. AOU 273. Migrant, occa- sional. Upper parts in general, grayish brown with a greenish lus- tre, most of the feathers tipped tawny; forehead white, crown crossed by a black bar; a black band round the neck, below a white "collar"; another black baud across the breast, and the rest of the underparts white. Rump bright rufous, inner tall feathers grayish brown, outer ones rufous and white, but the tips black and white. Wings with secondaries mostly white, primaries with awhlte space. toes three. Length of adult bird a- bout 10 inches.

Just a few words

The British House of Commons has passed a law that no subject shall be hanged during the next five years, traitors excepted. Notice the word "hanged?" “A human oe- ing is not "hung" as punishment. Jack Ketch may hang a man, out when it is done, he is hanged. For anything else you may use “hu::g" as past tense and past participle.

How often one is offended by the

misuse of "lie" and "lay!" "Lay down!" says the owner of the dog: he means it to "lie down" now. fo: "lay" refers to the past-it is the past tense of “lie." You don't "lay low" when you keep out of the way: you lie low. But don't forgot that other word “lay." It means to place, deposit, or produce. and iii the past tense it is “laid." "Tlla: hen laid an egg yesterday." "Did she lay one today?" Refer to "lay" and "lie" in the dictionary, for further study. The trouble with these words seems to have arisen from an unwillingness to use the word "lie" - since it means c falsehood also. and is therefore un- parliamentary! For the last pair of words let us examine “set” and "sit." Set de- notes actlon; sit denotes rest rile gardener sets out his plants; tile farmer sets the hen. that is, fur- nishes it with a “setting" of eggs. The hen, on its part, sits on the eggs: it is a sitting hen, not a setting henl ‘There are lots of pit- falls in the English language!

Midsummer Day, 194B.

Today is June 24th., the Feast of St. John Baptist in the Church Calendar, and Midsummer Day ac- cording to “the old folks at home." How they got the idea of Midsum- mer, it is hard to say: perhaps they had some hazy idea connecting it. with "mid-year?" The astronom- ers are not responsible for they have aways held that the summer began on the Solstice only three days before-i. e.. on June 2lst.

There were certain superstitious practices canted out on "Midsum- mer Day" which may have come down from the clays of the Druids. It is not more than a century ago that the people of Northumbcrland frolicked by the light of outdoor fires that were once first lighted m honor of some heathen god. And the reader will remember the’. Shakespeare wrote a fairy tale called the "Midsummer Night's Dream."

Tonight the fir» Illdwfl II N" attraction. Outside, the rain ll foll- ing, and the temperature ll about 55 deg. l". The garden stuff is at a standstill for when sunshine does appear it seems of poor quality. (I recollect that, about 30 years ago, an astronomer gave us to undel- stand that sunlight might very to the extent of 5 per cent. The‘. year is was "down." end it my have been only a coincidence, but the butter-fat content of cream was down too. that summer.) For the lust two months the sunspot; have "got in" a lot of dirty vnrk‘

Before leaving the subiect it may

be well to point out that the pree-

Col. W.W. Reid, DAD. who will have considerable to do with the arrangements for entertaining and caring for the guests.

ft will not be all work. ther‘ will be en endeavor to have s certain amount of relaxation each day and perhaps one of the most in- meeting features will be a dinner followed by a dazsling fur style show open to the public, with mod- els displaying beautiful garments shown at the International Fur

ly Agricola

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NOTES -

eat untoward weather gives the human frame (and spirits too) no chance to recover from the long, hard winter of 1047-8. In a way we are running out of one winter into another; and this is likely tc bear hardly on elderly people next. fall and winter.

Nature Notes

I have just had the opportunity of examining the plumage of s Great Horned Owl,- shot by a resi- dent of the Winsloe Read. it was the largest I'd seen, but I was more interested in its coloring which shall be described in due season. lt is the only owl that dc- serves its fate, for the others hunt mice and rats: and they do it at night (when all the chicks are "in bed”) and sleep in the daytime, ‘.1 the crows allow them! These harm- less owls are the farmer's friends and deserve his protection.

I have examined, in all, about two-thirds of the birds on our list: and many of them were sent in by readers to whom my thanks are due.

Last week I wrote of dandelion greens and the method of cooking them. There is s great diversity Li the leaves themselves: some are so narrow and Jagged in the blade that they are not worth gathering, while others are thin and papery. The plant-breeders have taken a hand however, and have produced dandelions with thick, rather fleshy leaves of good size. The seed of such dandelions is now offered in the seed lists, and as the plants are perennials and very early. tiisy are the first of the greens to up pear at table!

There is a Martagon Lily Just coming into boom in the garden. It is a. true Lilium and grows wild in a few localities in Surrey, Eng- land. It presents some peculiarities. The leaves are ovate, pointed, up to 8 inches long, in a few whorls of six or eight leaves. The flowezs are pale purple, about 2 inches a- cross, drooping, in an erect raceme, and are odorous at night. There is a white variety also, but this is rare. This is the first time this ‘.ly has bloomed. I raised it from seed.

A note, just received from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Eng-

land. states that the specimen Just

received, "is undoubtedly the Bux- us sempcrvireus, the Box tree of Europe." I think I can detect i1. it surprise that a European broad- leaved evergreen is able to stand the cold of a Canadian winter, ‘l ill: plant from which the specimcn was taken, is growing ln the gar- den of Mr. George F, Ferguson. New London, P. E. l, where it. was planted as a "cutting" many years a o.

gOlll‘ weather is freakish just now. The wind, in any direction between SW and NE, brings dark cool weather and rain; when it gets to the N, the sVy clears, the tempera» ture rises in the daytime, but is low at night. Compared with June i047, the temperature, both night and day, is uniformly lower. Our well went dry in the early months of 1047 and i948: it is not likely to do so in 1949i

“Auld Ayr."

I have come across a book of Scottish anecdotes. which bears the above title. Ayi’. 1 may I9- mark, is s. County in the south- east of Scotlind, facing the Firth o! Clyde. The County-town, or capital of the district. I! i1" "II" Ayr, and it is the peorlle of the ancient burgh and their whimsical or comical doings that the boos commemorates. It takes up m! @519 where Dean Ramseys "Reminiscen- ces" leave off: it is a sequel Unit-d about 1850. The old hard-drinking generation had disappeared but f0- all that the Ayrians did not take their pleasures sadly. as the Eng- lish were supposed to do. It ‘is ‘l libel to say that the Scottish ‘Joni? wi’ dlffeeculty" even tho“!!! l_ Scotsman said it. The burgesses o. Ayr were always iokhls. l! y" M‘ lleve the historian.

It was the duty of the Officlalv of the "Toon” to go to London on business perhaps 0m! l 89"» "NI they generally slgnalized the tr-D by something of which these wor- thies would never have been Kill-W at home. On one such occlSIO-l the entire officielism of Ayr trout! ed into an under-takers cstebisil- ment on whose door were the word; "Funerals Performed. Down Qhgy "t, in a row, with faces as long as fiddles. The undertaker

thought they were in I'M f“ waited i.lll the sorrow of the Bil-SI;

srchs would abate. But they on, like a row of sphinxes waiting. each man I111"! find“ ‘wikrfij. before him. ti" W‘, "m" ,°' ventured to remark-‘Well. Inf-I’; men‘... "oh, ehereu nae hurry.

mu Baillie Johnswne. "we'll "III till you're ready to commence. "to commence! Commence whit-f

"why, the performance to be sure We saw on the door that funerals are performed here, and we thought We‘d but step 1n and m?‘ whereupon the undertaker got vgfy. angry and drove them out un- der s. shower of elmletlvep.

I _-.¢___-_____-

Answers To Questions About Ladlng Glover

(Experimental Iarnu News)

Many farmers have written to the Forage Crops Division, Central Experimental Farm asking several questions about Ladlno clover. Following are the answers to several questions prepared by I‘. S. Nowosad of the Division: What ls hdlno Clover? Ladino clover is ei giant variety of per- ennial white clover. Under good growing conditions It will grow i2 to i8 in ches tall and the leaflets may become g! large as those of common’ red clover.