Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 4.djvu/156

144 untouched. The object of the tinting appears to be, to make all parts of the fur on a skin of the same color; to make an inferior fur appear like a superior one of the same kind; or to make the fur of one animal pass for that of another; as, for instance, the marten for the sable. Dyed furs are generally not durable—soon fade, and apppear



as if old and worn. Hair and fur frequently grow together on fur-bearing animals; and, if the fur alone be wanted, the hair, which is usually longer than the fur, must be plucked or otherwise removed. During the spring and summer the fur of many land animals fades, and is shed for the season; leaving nothing but hair remaining, or perhaps



fur inferior in color and fineness. In the autumn, a new coat of the animal's finest fur is grown, which has comparative freshness and brilliancy of color. Furs, taken in the best season in the higher latitudes,