Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/247

 !2 5 DRESS quality would now be worth ;{i 2,000. riie finest black fox fur has become a rarity. There are but two or three quite black skins in a whole year's collection, and some immense districts do not produce one such skin during an entire winter. In fact, the best black and silver fox furs are so costly that most of us wish in vain for luck such as befell Nansen, the famous explorer. Once, when encamped in the Arctic regions, he laid wait f jr foxes which had stolen hams from his stores, and was for- tunate enough to bring to his gun a number of the true silver foxes. Their fur was worth almost its weight in gold, and for such skins as these skilled trappers had searched in vain under conditions of the greatest hard- ship. Blue Fox Blue fox — so- called — ^is brownish grey in colour, or, in the best speci- mens, deep slate. The blue fox is smaller than the silver variety, and has a thick, bushy tail, and black legs, which are longer than those of foxes found in Europe. The fur is of high price and a most delicate beauty. A muff of the finest blue fox would cost from £^0, and a stole from £50 to ;£8o. This rare animal is found in Green- land, the Pribylov Islands, and the Hudson Bay Terri- tory. Blue fox was the favourite fur of Catherine de Medici, and at that time one of the most highly prized furs in existence. It does not, as some writers say, turn white in the vinter. It always remains a blue fox. Several other members of the fox family produce fur which is useful and decorative. There is the Arctic, or white, fox, the red fox, the grey fox, and an iron-yellow fox found in Tartary. The skin of the latter is known in the trade as Cossack fur. Japan sends 6o,ooo fDxes a year to the IxDudon market. These, however, are Silver fox muff and stole Copyright InUrnational h'ur Store small, and used chiefly for collars and trimmings. The Arctic Pox The Arctic fox is a small creature only two feet in length, and its coat, brownish in summer, becomes pure white as winter approaches. The white fox breeds on the sea-coast, and lives chiefly within the Arctic circle. The best and whitest skins come from the shores of Labrador. This species of fox is said to be best for dyeing purposes, as its skin is less liable to change in colour after the process. White fox fur seems to be always in high favour. It is soft, fluffy, and becoming, but looks its best when worn by a blonde, or by a young, fresh girl. This snow-white fur is not suitable for wear under the grey skies and in the smoke and fogs of London. Arctic fox fur frequently needs cleaning, but this can be done at small expense, as the stitches need not be unpicked nor the skins treated in revolving drums full of hot sand and sawdust of a special wood — a method used by furriers when furs need more than a superficial treat- ment. A white fox muff costs about £1, and a stole perhaps £10 ; but the price, of course, depends upon the colour and quality. The cross fox is found in Norway, but the best skins come from the Labrador district. The cross fox is of the same species as the red fox. but its colouring is different. Like the blue fox it is small in size, about two feet long. Its legs and ears are black, and its tail, which is thick and bushy, has a white tip. Its coat is marked wiih yellow streaks, and a longitudinal dark line runs down the centre of the back. This forms a sort of cross, and explains the fox's name. This fur, if dyed,