FISHERIES AND GAME 
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them. The purchase and shipment of furs taken out of season are pre- 
vented by making it compulsory to have the contents of all shipments of 
either game of skins of any kind whatsoever plainly marked on the out- 
side. Trappers must take a license of five dollars. 
The license for tanning, dyeing and glossing fur is $1 annually and 
the holder of every such license must make a yearly return of the number 
and species of the animals he has treated together with the names and 
addresses of all persons who have entrusted him with such animals. 
During the season 1926-27 the fur trade licenses issued by the Depart- 
ment of Colonization, Mines and Fisheries amounted to $19,375, and the 
royalties on furs realized $107,484, During the season 1926 to 1927, 
307 123 pelts of different sorts were produced to the value of $3.065.323. 
Fur Farming.—The rapid rise in the price of furs during recent 
years led to artificial breeding of fur-bearing animals, an industry requiring 
suitable climate and latitude. The placing of fur-farming on a commercial 
oasis was originated in Prince Edward Island in 1887. By 1914 the breed- 
ing of fur-bearing animals in captivity had attained such large proportions 
and importance in this province that its fame had spread far and wide. 
Though speculators have done much to discredit the industry, it is now 
an established fact that in the domestic breeding of such fur-bearing 
animals as the fox, beaver, mink, lynx and muskrat, Canada possesses a 
resource which, if developed scientifically and on sound lines. is capable 
of great expansion. 
In 1926 there were 617 breeding farms in the province of Quebec, 
of which 586 were used exclusively for the raising of foxes. The value 
of the animals in captivity on these farms amounted to $1,569,342 and the 
value of lands and buildings was $636,563. The number of animals on 
fox farms in the province at date of December 31, 1926, was 6,735 valued 
at $1,550,278. The total number of animals killed for pelts on the farms 
in 1026 was 2,144 and the total value of pelts sold was $141,008. 
Permits to catch, keep and breed in captivity all the small fur-bearing 
animals are issued by the Department of Colonization, Mines and Fisheries, 
Quebec. The annual fee for these permits is fixed by the Minister of the 
Department and each holder of such permit must report to the Minister 
on or before November 15 in each year the number of animals held in 
captivity, the number sold and the number which died during the year, 
and also the number and value of animals or pelts exported out of the 
province.