Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/660

 634 WOMAN'S DRESS Conducted by the Editress of " Fashions for All " In this important section of Every Woman's Encyclopaedia every aspect of dress will be dealt with by practical and experienced writers. The history of dress from earliest times will be told, and j practical and useful information ili be given in : Home Dressmaking Millinery How to Ctit Patterns Home Tailoring Lessons in Hat Trimming Methods of Self-measure- Representative Fashions How to Make a Shape ment Fancy Dress Hotu to Curl Feathers Colour Contj-asts Alteration of Clothes, etc Flowers, Hat-pins, Colours, etc. Boots and Shoes j Furs Gloves Choice Choice Choice How to Keep in Good Condition j How to Preserve, etc. 1 Cleaning, etc. How to Soften Leather, etc. How to Detect Fraud c 1 Jewellery, etc. PRACTICAL ADVICE ©M THE, CHOICE OF FUIRS By The Hon. Mrs. FITZROY STEWART Continued frovi pat^e jig. Part 4 No. 5. CHINCHILLA, SEA-OTTER, AND OTHER FURS (^HiNCHiLLA ranks among the six precious furs, and, at the present moment, has reached a price which may be called pro- hibitive. The chinchilla is a small rodent of the squirrel species, and comes from South America, It is found chiefly in Peru and Chili, and has its home far up in the Andes. The best skins are impc«rted from Buenos Ayres and Valparaiso. Chinchilla fur is exquisite in texture, and delicate beyond expression. It is fine and soft to the touch, and of a clear, bluish grey colour above, passing almost into white on the under parts of the body. Skins such as these come from the pure-bred chinchilla, and the cheaper sort from the cross-bred animal. Chinchilla fur shows a strange mixture of qualities. Cost of Furs Furriers classify the fur as follows : The best skins come from Peru, the next quality from La Plata, and the third and poorest from Bolivia. The finest Peru skins cost from ;^20 to £2^ a piece ; those from La Plata about £i^ -, and skins from Bolivia are worth from ^8 to £12. The high price which the finest chinchilla has attained may be seen from the following figures. A long, wide stole and a big muff of Peru skins recently made to order were priced at no less a sum than ;^2,ooo. This triumph of the furrier's art came from one of the best shops in London. A three-quarter length coat of the same fur would cost over 2650. A coat of La Plata fur could be secured from £^^0 to ;^500. But skins of fair quality can be procured at a more reasonable rate. I who write have seen a good chinchilla muff at £^0 and a stole from £60 to /So. The Chinchilla Chinchilla, also, is a costly lur on account of its bad-wearing qualities. The colour soon fades, and a London winter means ruin to our cherished chinchilla. Then the skins are thin and tender, and need the most careful manipulation. In fact, the high price of chinchilla, its fragile nature, and the small size of the skins make it one of the most expensive furs in existence. The chinchilla in form and charactei approaches nearly to the hare and rabbit. Its body is from nine to twelve inches in length, and its tail is usually six inches. It has big, soft, black eyes, large roundish ears, a bushy tail, long hind-legs, and long moustaches. It is subterranean in its habits, hves chiefly in holes among the rocks
 * ^i,ooo, and a muff might run from ;^500 to