Page:EB1911 - Volume 11.djvu/362

Rh rugs. Inferior sorts, almost grizzly in effect and some very pale, are found in Europe and Asia and are mostly used locally. In India there is a species called Isabelline bear, which was formerly imported to Great Britain, but does not now arrive in any quantity worth mentioning. Value 10s. 6d. to 60s., Isabelline sort 10s. 6d. to 78s.

—Size 8 × 4 ft. Coarse hair, heavy pelt, mostly dark yellowish and brown colours, only found in western parts of United States, Russia and Siberia. Used as carriage rugs and floor rugs, most durable for latter purpose and of fine effect. They are about half the value of brown bear. Value 15s. to 54s.

—See Bear, Brown, above.

—Size 10 × 5 ft. The largest of all bears. Short close hair except on flanks, colour white to yellow. An inhabitant of the Arctic circle, best from Greenland. Used for floor rugs, very durable; and very white specimens are valuable. Value 20s. to 520s.

Size 3 × 2 ft. The largest of rodents, it possesses a close underwool of bluish-brown hue, nearly an inch in depth, with coarse, bright, black or reddish-brown top hair, 3 in. long. Found widely in North America. After being unhaired the darkest wools are the most valuable, although many people prefer the bright, lighter brown tones. Used for collars, cuffs, boas, muffs, trimmings, coat linings and carriage aprons, and is of a most durable nature, in addition to having a rich and good appearance. Value 10s. to 39s. 6d.

—See Lambs, below.

—A small lynx from India, the fur very poor, seldom imported.

—See Goats and Lambs, below.

—Size 9 × 4 in., short, thick and dark underwool with silky black top hair with irregular and unique white markings. It is similar to skunk, but is much lighter in weight, softer and less full, without any disagreeable odour. Used for coat linings it is very warm and durable. A few come from China, but the fur is yellowish-grey, slightly spotted and worth little. Value 1s. 1d. to 1s. 11d.

—18 × 9 in., mostly black and dark brown, imported from Holland, Bavaria, America and Russia, where they are reared for their coats. The best, from Holland, are used for coat linings. Although in colour, weight and warmth they are excellent, the fur is apt to become loose and to fall off with friction of wear. The black are known as genet, although the true genet is a spotted wild cat. Wild sorts of the tabby order are coarser, and not so good and silky in effect as when domestically reared. Value of the black sorts 2d. to 3s. Wild 9d. to 14s. Some small wild cats, very poor flat fur of a pale fawn colour with yellow spots, are imported from Australia and used for linings. Value 5d. to 1s. 1d.

—Size of a small leopard and similar in colour, but has black spots in lieu of rings. Only a few are now imported, which are used for mats. Value 2s. 6d. to 18s.

and —Size 12 × 7 in., fur 1 to 1 in. deep. Delicate blue-grey with black shadings, one of nature’s most beautiful productions, though not a durable one. Used for ladies’ coats, stoles, muffs, hats and trimmings. Yearly becoming scarcer and most costly. Value 8s. 6d. to 56s. 8d.

, incorrectly named and known in the trade as “bastard chinchilla,” size 9 × 4 in., in a similar species, but owing to lower altitudes and warmer climatic conditions of habitation is smaller, with shorter and less beautiful fur, the underwool colour being darker and the top colour less pure. Used exactly as the better kind, and the picked skins are most effective. As with the best sort it is not serviceable for constant wear. Value 4s. 2d. to 27s. 6d.

—Size 13 × 8 in., obtained also from South America. Fur is longer and weaker and poorer and yellower than chinchilla. Probably a crossbred animal, very limited importation. Value 3s. 6d. to 16s. 8d.

and —Small, light, pelted skins, the majority of which are used for mats. Reindeer and other varieties are of little interest for use other than trophy mats. Thousands are taken for the leather trade. Value of Chinese 1s. 2d. to 1s. 6d. each.

—The only dogs that are used in the fur trade in civilized countries are those imported from China, which are heavy and coarse, and only used in the cheaper trade, chiefly for rugs. Value 6d. to 1s.

—See Wolf, below.

—Size 12 × 2 in. Underwool short and even, with a shade longer top hair. Pelt light and close in texture, and durable. In the height of winter the colour is pure white with exception of the tip of tail, which is quite black. Supplies are obtained from Siberia and America. Best are from Ishim in Siberia. Used for cloak linings, stoles, muffs and trimmings, also for embellishment of British state, parliamentary and legal robes. When this fur is symmetrically spotted with black lamb pieces it is styled miniver, in which form it is used at the grand coronation functions of British sovereigns. Value 1s. 3d. to 8s. 6d.

—Size 30 × 12 in., tail 12 to 18 in. long, the largest of the martens; has a dark shaded deep underwool with fine, glossy, dark and strong top hair 2 in. or more long. Best obtained from British America. The tails are almost black and make up most handsomely into trimmings, muffs, &c. Tails worked separately in these forms are as rich and fine and more durable than any other fur suitable for a like purpose. The fur of the skin itself is something like a dark silky raccoon, but is not as attractive as the tails. Value 12s. to 46s.

—Size 12 × 3 in., of the marten species, also known as the pole cat. Yellow underwool 1/3 in. deep, black top hair, 1 to 1 in. long, very fine and open in growth, and not close as in martens. Largest skins come from Denmark, Holland and Germany. The Russian are smaller, but more silky and, as now dyed, make a cheap and fair substitute for sable. They are excellent for linings of ladies’ coats, being of light weight and fairly strong in the pelt. English mayors’ and civic officials’ robes are frequently trimmed with this fur in lieu of sable. Value of the German variety 2s. to 5s. 6d. and of the Russian 7d. to 1s. 4d.

—Size 24 × 8 in. Underwool thick and long. Top hair fine and not so plentiful as in other foxes. Found in Alaska, Hudson Bay territory, Archangel and Greenland. Although called blue, the colour is a slaty or drab tone. Those from Archangel are more silky and of a smoky bluish colour and are the most valuable. These are scarce and consequently dear. The white foxes that are dyed smoke and celestial blue are brilliant and totally unlike the browner shades of this fox. Value 34s. to 195s.

—The variation of size and quality is considerable, and the colour is anything from grey to red. In Great Britain the animal is now only regarded for the sport it provides. On the European continent, however, some hundreds of thousands of skins, principally German, Russian and Norwegian, are sold annually, for home use, and for dyeing and exportation, chiefly to the United States. The qualities do not compare with those species found in North America and the Arctic circle. The Asiatic, African and South American varieties are, with the exception of those taken in the mountains, poorly furred and usually brittle and therefore of no great service. No commercial value can be quoted.

—Size 20 × 7 in., are about as large as the silver and generally have a pale yellowish or orange tone with some silvery points and a darkish cross marking on the shoulders. Some are very similar to the pale red fox from the North-West of America and a few are exceptionally large. The darkest and best come from Labrador and Hudson Bay, and the ordinary sorts from the north-west of the United States and, as with silver and other kinds, the quality is inferior when taken from warmer latitudes. Value 10s. 6d. to 60s.

—Size 27 × 10 in. Has a close dark drab underwool with yellowish grizzly, grey, regular and coarse top hair. The majority used for the trade come from Virginia and the southern and western parts of the United States. Those from the west are larger than the average, with more fur of a brighter tone. The fur is fairly serviceable for carriage rugs, the leather being stout, but its harshness of quality and nondescript colour does not contribute to make it a favourite. Value 9d. to 4s. 9d.

—See Fox, Red, and Raccoon, below.

—Size 20 × 6 in. The underwool is short and soft, as is also the top hair, which is of very pale grey mixed with some yellowish-white hair. It is the smallest of foxes, and is found in Canada and the northern section of the United States. It is similar in colour and quality to the prairie fox and to many kinds from the warmer zones, such as from Turkey, eastern Asia and elsewhere. Value 1s. 3d. to 5s. 6d.

—Size 24 × 8 in., though a few kinds are much larger. The underwool is long and soft and the hair plentiful and strong. It is found widely in the northern parts of America and in smaller numbers south of the United States, also in China, Japan and Australia. The colours vary from pale yellowish to a dark red, some being very brilliant. Those of Kamschatka are rich and fine in quality. Farther north, especially near the sea, the fur is coarse. Where the best coloured skins are not used for carriage rugs they are extensively dyed, and badger and other white hairs are inserted to resemble silver fox. They are also dyed a sable colour. The skins, being the strongest of foxes’, both in the fur and pelt, are serviceable. The preparations in imitation of the natural black and silver sorts are very good and attractive. Value 1s. to 41s.

Size 30 × 10 in. Underwool close and fine. Top hair black to silvery, 3 in. long. The fur upon the necks usually runs dark, almost black, and in some cases the fur is black half-way down the length of the skin, in rarer cases three-quarters of the length and, in the most exceptional instances, the whole length, and when this is the case they are known as “Natural Black Foxes” and fetch enormous prices. The even silvery sorts are highly esteemed, and the fur is one of the most effective and precious. The finest are taken in Labrador. The farther south they are found, the poorer and coarser the fur. The brush has invariably a white tip. Value £1 to £320.

—Size 20 × 7 in. Animals of this species are generally small in size and inhabit the extreme northern sections of Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, Greenland, Labrador and Siberia. The Canadian are silky in nature and inclined to a creamy colour, while the Siberian are more woolly and rather whiter. Those taken in central Asia near or in Chinese territory are poorer and yellowish. The underwool in all sorts is generally of a bluish-grey tone, but the top hair in the depth of winter is usually full enough in quantity to