Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/544

 DRESS 520 and that its frantic struggles to escape are useless. One can only hope that the hunter puts the poor creature at once out of its misery. Ermine skins are imported from Norway, Lapland, Siberia, and the Hudson Bay Territory, but the best skins come from Siberia. The choicest ermine is soft and pure white, and a fine skin costs from {1 upwards. The skins that have a yellowish tinge are far less valuable. In fact, the price depends on colour and quality, and therefore fluctu- ates considerably. The Value of the Fur Good ermine rose to a high price in 1902, and is likely to be valuable again in 191 1. A long coat of the best ermine now costs from £1^0 to ;^3oo ; a long stole, about ;^ioo ; a short tie, from £% to lAf ; and a big muff, from £^ to £2^. Real tails are used to trim the best ermine, but for the cheaper sort the tails are imitated by means of bits of dark fur taken from the skunk or the squirrel. Ermine has been the Royal fur of England since the time of Edward III., who forbade its use by anyone who was not of blood royal. And there was a law in Austria to the same effect, which has remained in force up to the present period. Our Royal ermine, known as miniver, must have a Word of explanation. Strictly speaking, this fur is the pure white skin of the Siberian miniver squirrel, but the name is also applied to ermine when unvaried by the usual black tail tips. In either case, the spots required are made from Persian lamb or from sealskin. If from the former, they are tiny morsels of silky fur obtained from be- tween the toes of the black lamb ; but seal- skin is invariably used for the best miniver. For instance, an expert declares that ten thousand small bits of sealskin will be Worked into the miniver which will line the cloak of King George V. on the day of his Coronation. Ermine as the Emblem of Rank Again, the Royal crown is bordered with a band of ermine, with one row of black spots. Ermine, moreover, plays a big part in the robes and coronets of peers and peeresses. Their coronets have a band of spotted ermine, and ermine appears on their robes according to their place in the peerage. A duke's crimson velvet mantle is edged with miniver, and the cape is furred with miniver, having four rows of dark spots on each shoulder. A duchess will have the cape of her crimson velvet mantle furred with miniver, five inches in breadth, and varied (" powdered " is the correct term) by four bars or rows of ermine. A marquis's robes have but three and a half bars of ermine, and a marchioness has but three and a half bars of ermine and a miniver edging, which is reduced to four inches in breadth. An earl's mantle is distinguished from the pre- ceding by having but three bars of ermine, and his countess has on her cape only three inches of miniver. And the scale descends, as a viscount and viscountess have only two and a half rows of ermine ; and a baron and baroness must content themselves with only two bars of this fur, and with but a bare two inches of miniver edging. Ermine is light in weight, wears well, and will stand repeated cleanings, but it has one grave fault : it is fatally easy to imitate. There is no material used in articles of dress ill which fraud is so frequent as in furs, nor in which there is such ample scope *f or cheating. Unless a woman has special knowledge, she is entirely at the mercy of her furrier. Sham ermine is made from shorn and pre- pared white rabbit skins, or from white fur taken from the lower part of the squirrel. But the fraud can be easily detected, as the best rabbit skin will not bear comparison with the poorest ermine. In the case of imitation fur the hair is soft, and will soon wear at the edges, and it has none of the fineness and gloss of real ermine. And tails are .'j^en as mere strips of curled black fur upon even a slight examination. An Unbecoming: Fur In this relation it may be said that the Chainber of Commerce issued a warning to the public, through the Press, as to the misnaming of furs, giving the names of certain furs and their incorrect descriptions. At the same time the chamber sent out to the wholesale and retail fur warehouses a list of " permissible descriptions." In this list sham ermine appears as follows : " Proper name — white rabbit. Incorrect — ermine. Permissible — mock ermine." But the " permissible descriptions " have few defenders, as the actual name of the animal is, in most cases, not mentioned. Ermine has beauty, but it is one of the most unbecoming furs in existence. The effect is hard and crude, and the dead white proves a trial even to the fairest complexion. Ermine is much worn by smart Parisians, especially in the spring and early autumn. But Frenchwomen are artists, and tone down the effect by means of lace, tulle, or chiffon. Ermine is at its best when worn with dark-coloured velvets. The contrast of a black velvet or deep violet velvet gown with ermine makes a perfect ensemble.. Suitable for Evening Wear Ermine looks well in the evening. It can be worn as a stole for the shoulders, or as a long cloak, which has a regal effect; or else to line a cloak of satin or velvet. Ermine, however, has a third fault, it does not combine well with other furs, but stands aloof in its proud purity. One often' sees it mixed with musquash or sealskin, but a woman of fine taste finds the sharp colour contrast a trifle hard and aggressive. Ermine mates best with moleskin, and an ermine tie and muff worn with a moleskin coat will show to immense advantage. Ermine is a fur that adapts itself well to small articles and trimmings. In fact, one wonders that it is not more often used to