Breeding Minks in Louisiana FOR THEIR FUR A Profitable Industry [Illustration] BY WILLIAM ANDRÉ ELFER FOR SALE BY THE GESSNER CO., 611 CANAL ST., NEW ORLEANS, LA. COPYRIGHTED BY W. A. ELFER 1909 Press of J. G. Hauser "The Legal Printer" 620-622 Poydras St. New Orleans PREFACE This little volume is issued in illustration of the feasibility of breeding minks in Louisiana for their fur. It is the result of experiments conducted by the author himself, and he feels that it should be of interest to many and of value to the few who are looking for fields for profitable investment. It is the author's aim to issue a more elaborate work on the same subject sometime during the early part of next year. W. A. E. [Illustration: A Louisiana Mink. Notice the Small Eyes, and the Low, Rounded Ears, Scarcely Projecting Beyond the Adjacent Fur.] For the following description of the American mink I am indebted to the Encyclopædia Britannica: "In size it much resembles the English polecat--the length of the head and body being usually from fifteen to eighteen inches; that of the tail to the end of the hair about nine inches. The female is considerably smaller than the male. The tail is bushy, but tapering at the end. The ears are small, low, rounded, and scarcely project beyond the adjacent fur. The pelage consists of a dense, soft, matted under-fur, mixed with long, stiff, lustrous hairs on all parts of the body and tail. The gloss is greatest on the upper parts; on the tail the bristly hairs predominate. Northern specimens have the finest and most glistening pelage; in those from the southern regions there is less difference between the under- and over-fur, and the whole pelage is coarser and harsher. In color, different specimens present a considerable range of variation, but the animal is ordinarily of a rich, dark brown, scarcely or not paler below than on the general upper parts; but the back is usually the darkest, and the tail is nearly black. The under jaw, from the chin about as far back as the angle of the mouth, is generally white. In the European mink the upper lip is also white, but, as this occasionally occurs in American specimens, it fails as an absolutely distinguishing character. Besides the white on the chin, there are often other irregular white patches on the under parts of the body. In very rare instances the tail is tipped with white. The fur, like that of most of the animals of the group to which it belongs, is an important article of commerce."