Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/551

 FUR 539 in the United States has greatly diminished. Less costly furs used for general purposes are those of the raccoon, rabbit, skunk, squir- rel, wild cat, and muskrat. The skins of the raccoon (procyon lotor) are obtained from North America, and sent chiefly to Russia and Germany, where they are the great popular fur for lining coats, &c. The average price of raw skins is about 50 cts., though the choicest black specimens sell for $8. This fur has also been used in the manufacture of hats. Rabbit skins are used in the natural condition and dyed for articles where cheapness is essential. They are extensively used by hatters. The Siberian squirrel has a short silky fur of a beautiful gray color, which is used chiefly in Europe for linings and small articles worn by ladies and children. The skins are worth from 50 to 75 cts. each. Of about the same value is the skin of the wild cat, used chiefly in Europe for coat linings and cheap sleigh robes. The musk- rat or musquash (fiber zibetJiicus) is a native of North America, found generally along the banks of streams and in meadows. The skins are worth about 30 cts. each. They are gener- ally dyed, and furnish a popular fur in Germany and Italy for linings and ladies' apparel. The skin of the skunk is an American production, valued at from 50 cts. to $1. It has been used in this country for linings and small articles of apparel, often under the name of Alaska sable. The demand for it is rapidly decreasing, and it is now chiefly used in France and Germany. The fur of the beaver (castor Americanus) is fine, thick, and of a uniform reddish brown. The skins are obtained chiefly in British Amer- ica and exported to England. The price of an average dressed skin is about $3 50, and of the best about $8. Formerly this fur was much used in the manufacture of hats, and was the leading article in the fur trade ; but its use for this purpose greatly diminished in conse- quence of the employment of silk and other less expensive materials. It has, however, again been brought into extensive use by the introduction of a process of preparing the skins by which a handsome fur for trimmings and for gentlemen's collars and gloves is obtained. The fine silky wool of the beaver has also been successfully woven. The white wool from the belly of the animal is still used in France for bonnets. Sleigh robes are often made of beaver skins. Much resembling the fur of the beaver is the nutria fur of the coypu, obtained from South America. The skins are worth from 12 to 25 cents each, and are chiefly used in America in the manufacture of hats. The above constitute the leading furs used as ar- of apparel for comfort or ornament. There are valuable skins of other animals which are extensively used for special purposes. Among these are the bear, buffalo, wolf, and wolverene. In northern regions bear skins .afford the most useful and comfortable mate- rial for beds, caps, gloves, and other articles of clothing. Further south, in Europe and America, they are used for sleigh robes and mats. The most valuable of the bear skins is that of the white or polar bear, which has a fine, long, soft fur, silvery white tinged wilh yellow. The average value of a dressed skin is about $60, while a skin of the best quality is worth about $150. The skins of the black bear (ursus Americanus) and grisly bear (U. horri- bilis) are used for military purposes, while articles of ladies' apparel are sometimes made of the fur of the brown bear. The skins of the black and the brown bear sell for from $20 to $40 each, while that of the grisly bear commands a somewhat lower price. The skins of the wolf and the wolverene are gen- erally used for sleigh robes and- mats, though cloak linings are sometimes made of the latter in Germany. The average value of wolf skins is about $2 ; the finest specimens from the Hudson bay region are worth about $6. The skins of the wolverene are valued at from $3 to $7. Valuable furs are supplied from many other animals besides those enumerated, as the badger, whose long wiry hairs are also used for shaving brushes. The domestic cat is bred in Holland for its fur, and the skins are merchant- able in the United States, being worth from 10 to 50 cts. each. Mention has been made of the paws of the black Astrakhan lamb. This animal is covered with the most rich and glossy silk-like fur, all the more delicate, it is said, when obtained, as is not unusual, by slaughter- ing the mother before the birth of the lamb. The fur of the Persian gray and black lambs is made the better to retain its curliness by the practice of sewing the animal tightly in leather immediately after its birth. The furs of the leopard, tiger, lion, &c., find uses as sleigh robes, mats, &c. The most valuable furs are generally obtained from small animals inhabit- ing cold countries. Land fur-bearing animals are taken by means of the dead-fall, poisoning, shooting, and steel traps. The last named method is the best and the one most generally practised, as the fur of the animal if captured in any of the other ways is likely to be injured. All furs, at least of the land animals, are in the best condition in the winter; the trapping, therefore, is generally carried on between the first of October and the middle of April. Du- ring the summer the fur-bearing animals gener- ally shed their coats, or at least lose the finest and thickest part of their fur. At the ap- proach of winter the fur becomes glossy, thick, and of the richest color, and the inside part of the skin, or pelt, when taken from the animal and dried, has a clean, white appearance. The fur seal, however, is taken between May and November. As a rule, furs, except those of the highest class, are not regarded with the most favor in the country where they are obtained. The price of the fur is regulated more by faslnn than by its intrinsic value, and is therefore subject to marked fluctuations. The handsome fur of the black skunk was fashion abje 1 many years before it was worn in the Unit*