Page:Fur and the Fur Trade.djvu/14

10 Kolinsky.—Found only in Asia, and attains the size of the American mink; overhair a golden red, 1½ inches long. The tails make excellent pencils for painters. Value from 2 s. to 4 s.

Lamb.—The finest, dark, close curled skins come from Persia; the next grade from the Crimea, and are grey in colour; inferior skins from Astrakhan. All these are used by furriers for caps, borders, and garments. The finest Persian are worth 12 s. to £1, the Crimean 6 s., and the Astrakhan from 1 s. to 2 s. The lamb-skins of western Europe are used for lining gloves. Angora sheep are sometimes in demand, and are coloured red, blue, grey, and orange to suit the fashion for fringes and borders. Their value is from 12 s. to £2.

Lion.—The finest from Asia. Specimens are rare, and price variable.

Lynx.—Size, 2 by 3½ feet; overhair fine and flowing, of a clear silver blue shade, sprinkled with black; length of overhair 3 to 4 inches. Beet are from Sweden and Labrador. Value from 8 s. to £1.

Marten, American.—Size from 5 by 15 inches to 8 by 20 inches; overhair fine and flowing, 1 to 2 inches long; fur close and thick; colour of best a dark coffee brown, of poorest a pale yellow. The finest are from the Great Whale River and Labrador. Always a choice and valued pelt. Price of best £5, of poorest 2 s. The tips of the tails are highly prized for artists' brushes.

Marten, Stone.—Found in Europe; the best from Hungary and Turkey. Colour a dull grey, overhair coarse, and fur woolly. Value of best prime, 8 s. to 12 s.

Marten, Baum.—Found in Europe and Asia, of fine overhair, but woolly fur, of a brownish colour, approaching that of the American marten, and furnished with a long and bushy tail. Value from £1 to £2.

Marten, Russian Sable.—These skins are in the highest estimation with furriers. Size about the same as the American marten, but the overhair is much more fine and flowing, of a rich bluish dark shade, and from 1½ to 2½ inches long; the pelt is very soft, tough, and durable. The best are from Yakutsk in Siberia, the next from the Lena river, and the poorest from the lower Amoor. Very choice grades, but of a browner shade, are furnished by Kamchatka. Value of the poor Saghalien from 4 s. to 8 s.; while the darkest from Okhotsk will command £30.

Mink, American.—This valuable skin has nearly the size of the size of the marten, with an overhair that is shorter and slightly more rigid, but vies with the marten in elegance of lustre, the choicest having a dark blue shade that is always admired in furs. The best are from Nova Scotia, the State of Maine, and the Labrador coast. It is most abundant in the middle and north-western States. Value of the best, from 12 s. to £2.

Mink, Russian.—Of smaller size than the American, and inferior in all other respects, but still a valuable pelt. Price of prime, from 2 s. to 6 s.

Monkey.—From the west coast of Africa; has a long, thin,