The supply of some of the most valuable, such as sable, silver and natural black fox, sea otter and ermine, which are all taken from animals of a more-or less shy nature, does very gradually decrease with persistent hunting and the encroachment of man upon the districts where they live, but the climate of these vast regions is so cold and inhospitable that the probabilities of man ever permanently inhabiting them in numbers sufficient: to scare away or exterminate the fur-bearing wild animals is unlikely. Besides these, there are many useful, though commonplace, fur-bearing animals, like musquash, skunk, raccoon, opossum, hamster, rabbit, hares and moles, that thrive by depredations upon cultivated land. Some of these are reared upon extensive wild farms. In addition there are domestic fur-bearing animals, such as Persian, Astrakhan and Chinese lambs, and goats, easily bred and available.
Some of the poorer sorts of furs which until recently were neglected on account of their inferiority of colour, by the better class of the trade, are now being deftly dressed or dyed, and good effects are produced, although the lack of quality when compared with the better furs from colder climates which possess full top hair, close underwood and supple leathers, is readily manifest. It is only the pressure of increasing demand that makes marketable hard pelts with harsh brittle hair or nondescript hair, and these would, naturally, be the last to attract the notice of dealers.
Capture and Curing The majority of animals taken for their fur are trapped or snared, the gun being avoided as much as possible in order that the coat may be quite undamaged. Many weary hours are spent in getting baits, traps and wires, and, frequently, when the hunter retraces his steps to collect the quarry it is only to find it gone, devoured by some large animal that has visited his traps before him.
After the skins have been carefully removed—the sooner after death the better for the subsequent condition of the fur—they are lightly tacked out, pelt outwards, and, without being exposed to the sun or close contact with a fire, allowed to dry in a hut or shady pláce where there is some warmth or movement of air. With the exception of sealskins, which are pickled in brine, all raw skins come to the various trade markets simply dried like this.
Furs in Season The best fur is obtained by killing animals when the winter is at its height and the colder the season the better its quality and colour. Fur skins taken out Of season are indifferent, and the hair is liable to shed itself freely; a good furrier will, however, reject such faulty specimens in the manufacturing. The finest furs are obtained from the Arctic and northern regions, and the lower the latitude the less full and silky the fur, till, at the torrid zone, fur gives place to harsh hairs without any underwood.
The finest and closest wools are possessed by the amphibious carnivora and rodentia, viz, seals, otters, beavers, nutrias and musquash, the beauty of which is not seen until after the stiff water or top hairs are pulled out or otherwise removed. In this class of animal the underneath wool of the belly is thicker than that of the back, while the opposite is true of those found on land. The sea otter, one of the richest and rarest of furs, especially for men's wear, is an exception to this unhairing process, which it does not require, the hair being the same length as the wool, silky and bright, quite the reverse of the case of the other aquatic animals.
It is found that in densely-wooded districts furs are darker in colour than in exposed regions, and that the quality of Wool and hair is softer and more silky than those from bare tracts of country, where nature exacts from its creatures greater efforts to secure food, thereby developing stronger limbs and a consequently coarser body covering. ow The Colour Question As regards density of colour the skunk or black marten has the blackest fur, and some cats of the domestic kind, specially reared for their fur, are nearly black. Black bears have occasionally very black coats, but the majority have a brownish undergrowth. The natural black fox is a member of the silver fox family and is very rare, the skins bringing a high price. Most silver foxes have dark necks and in some the dark shade runs a quarter, halfway, or three-quarters, or even the whole length of the skin, but it is rather of a brownish hue.
Some Russian sables are of a very dense bluish brown, almost a black, which is the origin undoubtedly of the term "sables," while some, from one district in particul-lar, have a quantity of silver hairs, evenly interspersed in the fur, a peculiarity which has nothing to do with age.
The best sea otters have very dark coats, which are highly esteemed, a few with' silver hairs in parts; when these are evenly dispersed the skins are very valuable. Otters and beavers that run dark in the hair or wool are more valuable than the paler ones, the wools of which are frequently touched with a chemical to produce a golden shade. This is also done with nutrias after unhairing.
Useful Refresher Hints If you were wise you had your furs cleaned before putting them away in their moth-proof home.
If not, and they are not badly soiled, furs can be given a good refresher by rubbing them in bran made hot in the oven. Leave this in for a few hours, then shake out thoroughly.
Powdered magnesia is a good cleanser for white fur. It is used (without heating) in the same way as bran.
Never keep a fur in a drawer; always hang it so that the pelt does not become crushed. You can buy useful "padded hangers with an extra long hook to allow deep fur collars to set nicely while hanging.
If your fur is caught in the rain, shake it free from surplus moisture, then hang to dry in a warm room—never put it in front of the fire. When dry, beat lightly with a thin cane and it will fluff up nicely.
Dirt particles clinging to fur collars leave a "trade mark" on one's neck. A soft cloth dipped in eau-de-cologne will clean the A tiny trace of brilliantine will give furs a lovely gloss, but be extremely mean with it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.