Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/404

 DRESS 382 entirely wanting ; and another, that they have the strange habit of swallowing large stones, for which no reason has as yet been discovered. They take kindly to the water, and a seal has been known to stay under for quite twenty minutes. But seals possess all the five senses to great perfection. Their hearing seems to be acute, and they are much affected by the sound of music. A flute is said to attract them to a boat, when they have not learned caution by experience. The ringing of church bells at Hoy, in Orkney, often causes their appearance in the little bay, which is almost landlocked. In a word, travellers who have spent much time in observing the ways and manners of these creatures, declare that they exhibit a high order of instinct, even of intelligence. The season for seals begins in March, and lasts for about three months. The vessels engaged in this trade belong, in most cases, to Newfoundland. The crews land on the ice, and drive the herds to the " killing grounds," which are situated close to the villages. Here they are allowed to rest until they become cool. If killed while heated, the hair comes off in the skinning process, and the pelt is thereby ruined. The seals are killed by club, knife, or rifle. The pelagic sealers, of course, have a different method. These hunters go from their ships in boats, paddle up to the seals, and spear them as they sleep on the surface of the water. The fur of the seal is found to be finest and thickest in its third or fourth year, and in their work the hunters employ great skill and discrimination. With regard to the fur, anyone who has seen the seals at the Zoological Gardens will have noticed that their coat is long and hairy, ' " ^"" not short and close as in sealskin. In real fact, the seal has two coats, one long and one short, and it is the under coat that fur- nishes the fine, silky pile which is seen in our sealskins. One word as to the killing. It has often been said that these animals are killed in a cruel fashion. But, in a Government report. Professor Thompson . He said, " I could not detect in the whole process any cruelty, either intentional or accidental. With respect to the driving and killing. I, at least, have no recommendation to suggest for their improvement." By the wa, it is amusing to note that in the seal trade there is much eccentricity in ncmenclature. It seems strange, for example, that a " bull " and a " cow " should occupy a " harem " on a " rookery," and bear a The male seal when fu and weighs at least foui testified as follows : the first four years of his life ; and also that the business of killing and skinning these animals should be known as a " fishery." The curing of sealskin has risen to a fine art, and the best curing is now done in London. The American dressers have used every effort to handle sealskin with success, and have had to assist them a protective tariff. Yet, with every possible handicap, the London trade still excels in this branch of industry. Experts believe that the quality of our air and water may give an advantage to English dressers. In fact, the United Kingdom scores in several directions. Those who know declare that the excellence of Guinness's stout is due to the curious nature of the waters of the River Liffey ; and the superfine texture of the paper of which our Bank of England notes are made is said to owe its origin to the water of the River Test, near the Laverstoke mills, in Hampshire. The process of dressing sealskin takes from one to three months, and the dyeing process is almost as intricate as the dressing. This latter seems to be the secret of success with our English seal furriers. They alone are able to dye the skins the deep, dark, rich brown which is now reckoned as a necessity. At the same time, no injury must be done to the skins, and the dye must be thoroughly fixed, and to accomplish all this means skilful work, great patience, and much scientific experience. Every hair of a seal is, in reality, a tube which contains a minute quantity of oil, and for this reason the utmost care must be taken in preparing the skins, also the garments made from them should be treated with many precautions. For instance, sealskin should never be exposed to too great heat, such as drying before a fire, or the use of a hot iron, as the lustre of the fine fur ,_,_,„_ ^vould be thereby damaged. And if seal- skin has been rained upon, it should be shaken and lightly beaten with a small cane, or, if much mis- chief has been done, it should be sent to a first-rate furrier. The actual process of dyeing sealskin is as follows : The skins are first limed, and then packed back to back, with a layer of brown paper over the fur holes, in order to prevent the dye from penetrating the pelt, and thus damaging the skin. A coat of dye is then applied cold, and trodden in, after which the" skins are dyed gradually. They have from nine to fourteen coats of colour brushed in, each coat drying before the next is applied. By a new process, a darker top is acquired by dipping the skin in the liquid, which in this case must be warm, and, as a result, not so many coats of colour are required. Next comes the important matter of the 'grown measures six feet -~r more in length, hundred pounds. The female is smaller in size Photo: Be.rridge
 * ' pup." which, if a male, is a " bachelor " for