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Tyrone Mink -Farm Raises Furs for Luxury Coats DY RON ABBOTT How would you like a mink bow tie? If you are a friend of B;11 Thiesburger, owner of the Margwill Fur Farm 11,2 miles, florthwest of Tyrone, he ma ' give you one. H-owever, except for a fei,. mink peits used for these novelty ties, ail of thc 800 or more he produces each year go ta make up the mink coats, jackets and stoles wbich practicaiiy every woman has her heart set on. Mink means different things to different people. To maga- zine cartoonists mink coats are the subject for chorus girl gags. To the average woman they are the symbol of bigh fashion and luxury. To M-. Theisburger, however, they are a crop to be harvested and a produet to be produced. He and his wife, Madge, have had sin- gular success in raising this particular crop sînce 1937 when they first started in the business. Have 500 Now On their 80-acre farm at the present time there are 500 mink-the equivaient of 10 mink jackets or neariy six mink coats-leaping about ln their open-air wire pens enjoy- ing life. Foiiowing the mating season in March this number wiii bave increased ta nearly 1.500, whicb means tbat the Thiesburgers will be barves - ing another crop of around 1,000 peits by next November. For their bard wark in raising this unique and delicate crop tbey. should realize between $20 and $35 for each peit. Before rushing out ta buy some brecding stock ta get on the mink gravy train, bowever, tbe prospective.. rancher would do well ta consider some of the factors iuvolved in raising these little fur bearing animais. The miuk is a bad-tcmpered, finicky member of the weasel family. When fuliy grown the female measures about 24 in- ches from the snout to the tip 36 iuches. They ébreed in March and the young, of whor-n there may be from one ta 11, are born in May. The average litten is about three or four, and these new-born mink are' called kits. Fnom the start they are fussy about their food, "You' can bardly feed a mink a nytbing that you wouldn't eat ', yourself", Mr. Tbiesburger said, altbough he added that he did flot include chieken wvaste in bis own diet. The cbicken is a comparatively new type of feed, bowever. and is iucluded along with meat, fish annd cereal. The cbicken waste is obtain- ed from the J. J. Gibson Poul- try Plant in Port Perry andi includes the insides, heart, liv-1 er, feet, head and neck of th-2 broilers wbich that plant pro- duces. Meat fed to the mink is iargeiy horse meat and it muSt be strictly fresh, as must ail the feed which thev eat. The fisb cormes fromn Lake Eri, ground up and frozen into 50- pound blocks. These three in- gredients are mixed, along with prepared cereal, in a large electric mixer and fed ta the mink twice a day in the summer when the youn.- are growing. In the winter they are fed only once a day. The Margwill Fur Farm bhas an d- ton freezer for keeping thp feed fresh, aithough this is not large enough in the summer time and large quantities of ,eed must be trucked in froin Toronto. It took 500 pounds of leed per day for Mr. Thiesbur- ger's 1.200 mink last summer. Fattened Before Khhing It couts S8.00 to feed a mink from birth ta maturity and this is one of the big items of expense, along with labor. The animais are fattened just be- fore killing time in November Io give their peits a nice sheen. The animais which are saved for breeding purposes gd on a diet during the winter, how- ever since a slim mink produ- ces more yaung. The mink are kept in lo\v sbeds wbich are open on the sides. Each animal bas a wire cage four feet long, 14 inch2s wide and 10 inches higb. In it he bas a waten dish and an enciased nesting box at the back which bas a round hale ta enabie the animal ta get in and out. Oat straw or marsh hay are used for bedding. These cages are in raws about 1','2 feet from the ground and stretch ail aioug the 150-foot Iengtb of tbe sheds. The oniy trip whicb the miuk gets fram bis pen once he is placed in it in tbe spring is the one ta th-ý kiiliug pen in the fali. If the animal bas been selected for breeding purposes, however, sbe gets one additional trip ta the mating pens ln Marcb. At that time tbe femaies are brought ta the breeding pens which are placed in tiers in front of a giass-enclosed box wbere someone is stationed ta watcb proceedings. This is ne- cessary because of the fact that the tempers of tbe mink, neyeýr very good at any time, are even worse during tbe matiug period aud tbe animais may bite one another severely, dras- ically reducing tbe value of the pelts. ti Grow Two Species The Tbiesburgers concen- trate on two lines of mutation mink-tbe blue mink known as Sappbire, wbose fur is cail- ed "Cerulean" when made inta a coat or jacket; and the grey Baby, t's Cold Outside 4' Peering out f rom his pen at the Margivill Fur Farm, as Tyrone, is one of the 500 mink presently being raised by dý Mr. and Mrs. Bill Thieshurger, proprietors of the farrn tc lie will probably have an additional 1,000 brothers and B sisters by the time the breedingr season is over in March. CE mmnk known as Silverblu. whose fur is called "Argenta" when made up. There is an- other type of Silverblu known as Stewart Silverbiu, and wben a maie of this species is bred with a female, about one in 16 of the kits born is 'a homozy- gaus type. These homozygous mink have almost pure white fur with a smoky grey cast and their pelts are used mostiy for evening capes. Because they are so rare. and aiso because these bomozygous mink are steriIe and cannot reproduce, their peits are much more val- nabie than ordinary Silverbl'i. They bring about $80 apiece. which means that the number of1 homozygous mink produced annually at the Margwill farm bas an important bearing on the prof its realized during the year. The maie peit of any species is more valuable than the fe- maie as tbey ýare longer and can be used to make fu1l-length coats, while the female peit can be used oniy for the sleeves. ln making coats, the peits are eut in sucb a wvay that *they form one long strip of fur run- ning the length' of the coat. The female peits are shorter and cannat be used in making-i the body of a full-length coat. Since it takes 85 skins te makie a fuil-length coat and 50 to make a fur jacket, while the cost of labour runs about $10 per peit, it is small wonder thiat mink coats are an expen- sive item. New that more mink jackets are being produced, and tbe fe-' male peit is long enough to e used in the body of these, the price paid for female pelts has increased, cutting down tbe former wide price spread between the two types. Has Delicate Contrast It is the delicate contrast bi- tween the guard hair and tne underfur which gives a mink coat its handsome appearance and makes it such a popular fur. being the second most long- wearing type in existence. A woman may wear a mink coiat during her, lifetime and it will stili be beautiful and well-pre- served enough to pass along ta ber daughter. The Thiesburgers seil al tbeir peits ta the Hudson Bay Company at auctions beld in December in Montreal and New York. There are later auctions in January and February, but tbe couple bave usually sold their peits at the early sale. Tbey attend the sale them- selves. since it net only gives themn a nice trip, but tbey can also buy back their peits at the auction if they do nlot be- lieve they are bringing a higb enough price. The mink are killed only a couple of weeks before the auc- tion is ta take place. Tbey are transfenred from, thein pens ta the killing pens in a small catching box. Under tbe killing pens is *a tnay containing cyan- ide gas, wbich paralyzes the mink's breatbing organs and causes tbem ta die painlessly in a short time. Care must be taken in handling mink at al times since they can tbrow a scent lîke a skunk if tbey be- come very nervous or excited. T'he smell from this scent is about like a skunk's. but not neanly as bad. From the killing pens the lead mink goes ta the sbed wbere it is skinned and the fur is dressed. Tbis is a com- paratively simple process. After, he animal bias been skinned, bhe fur is stretcbed inside out 'n a thin basswood board whicb tapers to a blunt point on one end. The fat is then 1 craped from, the skin and it is tacked ta the board. The skins are dried for one day at atemperature of about 68 de-I rees and tbe fat is wiped :f I1 again. The board is removed 1 nd the skin retains the shap)e ( in wbich tbey have dried. Tbey 1 re graded and bundled an .tored in a coid place for a1fe1 ays until packed in cartons 1 ton the trip ta Montreal or Neve 1. York by express. Tbe Hudson,1t Bay Comnpany takes a 5 p-r'i Genial Mink Ranch Owners For the past il years, Madge and Bill Thiesburger, shown above, have been raising top-quality mink both for pelting and breeding purposes at the Margwill Fur Farm, 1½/ miles northwest of Tyrone. For three years in the mid-forties they raised the Ontario Grand Champion Silverblu maies and females at the farm. In 1946 Mr. Thiesburger obtained the highest price ever paid for a pair of Silverblu mink, $1,400. He also owned the f irst Silverblu mink ever raised in Canada. Workers Feed Mink at Tyrone Shown feeding some of the 500 mink at the Margwill Fur Farm are the two employees, Peter Singer, lef t, and Alex Nastoff, right. The mink get a carefully balanced diet of chicken waste, meat, fish and prepared cereal. They can be fed only strictly fresh foods, since any which is even slightly spoiled will kili them. At present they get only one meal a day, but in the summer they are fed twice. The mink are fattened before pelting them in.November to give their coats a more luxurious sheen. off the funs for the mink pro- ducers. Operates SIa-ughter-house To eut down aperating ex- penses, Mr. Tbiesbunger open- ates a siaugbter-bouse in con- riectian with bis fur farm. He has twa trucks which be uses ta pick up dead farm animais, nr stock wbicb bas been injur-ý ed sa badiy it must be killeï, nrom farms in a wide anea iu Durham and Ontario Coun- ties. At the siaugbter-house bhey are killed, if not alneady lead, I.be meat is cut from the bories and bath are sbippcd ta aToronto plant which makes fertilizer from the meat and baue meal from the boues. M. ['biesbiirgrer eau feed some of the hanse meat ta bis miuk if t is freshly kilied. Great care muît be taken iu fecding harse- One of 500 Mink At Margwill Fur Farm Mink are king at the Margwiil Fur Farm and here expense at the ranch. Mink are fairly vicious when owner Bill Thiesburger is shown checking with one of hý'is disturbed anid Mr. Thiesburger's hands bear scars from Silverblus to see if the muais are satisfactorv. lie pelted mari- bites he has received over the cears. lie lias been ~800 ini'nk hast November anid the fui-s were sold at ilhe raising mink since 1937, and lias bectn at Tyrono for Ili H-ucdson Bay Compaiiv auction in i\Iontreal, briinging from years. 20 tu $35 each. ïeed and labor are the chie£ itemsa0£ -Potos by Carson Studio, Fort gope flesh, however. He once lost 37 S1,200 in 1942. kits by feeding the flesh of a Bill was born in Germany horse that had been given me- and bis wife is the former dicine a short time before itMagAfec ofKsSat died. The medicine bad nat ]and. He spent six years lu Bra- been absorbed fuliy in the 2ii before coming ta Canada in barse's system, and anc of the 1929.g Mrs. Tbiesburgen grad- poisonaus ingredients in thtý uated with the degree of Mas- medicine remained in Mhe icat ter lu Arts in languages fromn caten by the mnothers and w-ls Ediuburgb and taok a secre- passed ta the kits thnough their taniai and commercial course et miik. Carnegie Tcch in Pittsburgh Mr. Thiesburger got into th-, before maoving ta Canada. Botnl mink-naising business almast worked in Toronto befane they by accident. Shartiy after bie were mnarried in 1937. Tbey was mannied in 1937 bie met a have twa cbildnen; Robent 13, man who owned a mink ranch. who attends Bowmanviiie High He visited the ranch and it oc- Scbooi, and Margaret, Il. "We curred to bim that this mîgi-t have a regulan United Nations be a business bie could get iuta out biere'", Mn. Thicsburger dé.-- withi a smaii capital invest- clarcd. "~My wife is Scotch, 1 meut. '"It Jiad ta be small, be- am German, Peter Singer. w'haI cause I liad darn littie capital works for us. is from Switzer- at thit time", lie recalis. He ]and, and Alex Nastoff, wbc Lzougbt tbree mink at that time looks aftcr the slaugbter-bouse, and a farmer at Langstaff rais- is froni Macedonia." ed tbem for bim. By 1940 hc The Thiesburger "United owned 14 mink and bie bought Nations" could probably set an a haîf-acre piece of pnapentY exampie for the neal U.N. in at West Hill and began WJ New York, as it functions very raise tbem bimseif. Four years smootbly and produces excel- laten the West Hill propcnty lent nesuits iu the farm o f bad become taa small for the some of tbe finest mink peltsi number of miuk lbe bad,sah raised auywbere in Canada. puncbased bis present 80-cr __1______i__ fur farm northwcst f Tno Isolated Location "The main neasan for gettingf sucb a 'big place was for isola' ti on s0 that the mink would bc awvay from people". lie stated. ýThe farmn was fonmcrliv uscd aý; P mink ranch by a man namedi Lundibu, but bad been vacant for five years when Mn. Thlies- burgers bulit their attractive bungen bult their attractive home on the propenty in 194.5. They bave been very suc- cessful at the risky mink-rais-1 ing business since moving ta 1 Tyrone, as proved by the many houons tbey have claimed with their animais. In 1946 they ne- ceived the bîgbest price even paid iu Canada for, Silverbia mnk wben tbey sold a chani- pionship pair for S1,400. Iu 1945. 1946 and 1947 tbey bel'i the Ontario Grand Champion- ship for bath maie and fema*ý Silverblu mink. Pictures d tbemseivcs and thç'ir pnize xiu- ners appcared in the For Trade Journal at Canada, the 1-a&' magazine of the miuk industry., and a picture of one of tbenr mink wvas aisa used in the Canada Year Book. Since 1946 the pnice of miuk used for breeding purposes bas dropped cousiderably however, and a good male nov briis .bout S75 afid a female i.boût S50. MNr. Thieshuirger aUo h- thnc dii 4nct 'on of ownîniig t1h first Silvcnbius lu Canada, pur- cliasing tbhre in Wi.âonsia for j New Highway Wouîd Benefit United Cou nties Premier Frost m ay bave dropped a 'hint of what is lu store for the future of the United Counties. Speakiug at a li- election meeting at Renfrew recentlY, the Premier said a direct highwav ta link Toronto and the pravincc's industnial belt with the Ottawa Valley was Piauued by the Ontario Govern- ment. To Serve Industrial Ares He said hie believed a new highwa 'v catibe -throwu direct- ]y across the hcight of land be- tween Renfrew Couintv and thIe Centrai Ontario industriali ., The propused highway WoutlId bave a direct beaning on the die- velopment of the Uinited Couli- tics. according ta the statetncnt, as tbey le lu wbat bias been desiguated as the Central On-. tania Region as mapped out by the Department of Planning and Deveiopment. Mining Areas Mr. Frost noted that the pro- posed highwav would give a short, quick route ta the prov- 1 ie--i centre of population. Heï saidtît wouid serve the niew irani ore fields and the uranium de-, Velopmlent in the Bancroft aiea.1 N New Officers Are Instalîed At Trinity W.A. The regular monthly meet- ing of Trinity W.A. was heid in the Sebool Room, Tuesday. Jan. 10. Devotional was in~ charge of Group 8 with Mrs. R. Merkley presiding. Mrs. L. Goodman read the Seripture and Mrs. Merkiey of- fered prayer. Mrs. S. Black sank sweetly, "God Hath Not Promîsed". Mrs. F. Heylanct. president, presided for the business. Interesting annual re- ports were given by the Circi' secretaries. Rev. T. A. Morgan installed the offîcers for 1956 as follows: Past Pres.-Mrs. C. Johns; Pres.-Mrs. F. Heyiand: Ist vice-Mrs. C. Ives-, 2nd vice- Mrs. W. J. Leask; Rec. Sec.- L. A. PARKER & SONS - PLUMBING , HEATING - Oit BURNERS 47 KING ST. JE. - BOWMANVILLE - MA 3-5651 If Doesn't Cosi - If Pays to breed your herd artificially through the service of the QUINTE DISTRICT CATTLE BREEDING ASSOCIATION Improved type and production means more profit for you. Service is available for the following breeds: Holstein Jersey Guernsey Hereford (polled and horned) fluai P:irpose Shorthorn Scotch Shorthorn Ayrshire Wliether you have one cow or a hundred, pure- bred or grade, you get full value for our $5.00 service fee when you breed artificially. For complete information or service, telephone Our closest representative bêtween 7 and 9 a.ni. MR. DICK WOOD, Bowmanville, MArket 3-3405 Mr. JAAN TAAVET, Clarke, 461R-03 MR. KEITH WOOD, Orono, 171-R-10 %% 9AY, WOCiÈD 'bU LIKE P419 ?"/ Na thanks very much. We know youp rovide for the winter by accuniulating a hoard of nuts, btun sith peo)pie ir's different. They hav'e a more advantagcous way, they îuvest in.. 3V2% GUARANTEED TRUST CERTIFICATES 0 Authorized investment for trust funds " Short term-five years " 3/2% yearly interest, payable half-yearly In juit 5 yecirs, on investment of $420.36 accumnulates $500.00 for you. Write frr fret desriptit e folder ;c'day. THE STERLING TRUSTS CO0R POR ATIO 0N HEAD OFFICE 372 Boy St., Toronto BRANCH OFFICE 1-3 Dunlop Si., Barrie 's PAGE TEN T~E ~ANADTAN STATESMAN EOWMANVTLLE. ONTARIO PAGE TEN { j -s ~ w~. I f. 4. 4. N. A 'i, i. fA 1 Mý 2.3 TEE CANADIAN STATESMAN. BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO THURSDAY, JAN. 19th, 1958_ Mrs. W. B. Reynols; Treas.- Mrs. Ralph Ames; Pianist - Mrs. D. Alldread;, Corr. Sec.- Mrs. A. Lobb; Visiting and Christian Fellowship-,Mrs. A. Hutchinson; Christiân Educa- tion-Mrs. S. James:. Christian Stewardship - Mrs. C. Ive;. Christian Citizenship-Mrs. VV. J. Leask: Convenor Finance Committee-Mrs. C. Ives; Coni- venor Parsonage Committee Mrs. C. Mason; Convenor Pan- try Committee-Mrs. T. Gar- ton: Convenor Nominating Committee-Mrs. W. J. Leask. HIGHLY STYLED rdODERATELY PRICED LADIES' WEAR La Vogue q9a cque/ine Cor. Athol & Celina, Oshava