Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-10-04
How sealskins Are Prepared.

A peep into a fur mandatory in not weather
reveals busy scene. The fur that commands
the widest sale now is that of the seal, after 1t
has been made into handsome cloaks and boas
for ladies, and into hats and gloves for men.
The. skin Is usually imported from England al
ready dyed. Only one firm in the city dyes the
skim changing it from its natural tawny yellow
color into the lustrouS yelvety brown seen in
the finished articles of apparel. The natural
skin is moistened after the greasy integuments
are scraped from the pelt, and then put into an
oven to hasten slight decomposition This Is
preparatory to removing the old, coarse hairs
that stick out from the fine thick underground.
The coarse hairs are to be removed and the I'M
dergrOwth Is to be retained. The skins In the
oven are closely watched lest they should be-
come too soft, and thus entirely ruined. When
they are at proper stage they are taken out
and laid on board and scraped with blunt
iron knife that pulls out the long hairs and
leaves the underground. If the short growth
comes out with the coarse tGen the skin is of
course ruined.
Then comes the dyelng. The skin is painted
with solution, consisting principally of nut
gals from Smyrna and allowed to dry. 1t is
then shaken and beaten, and painted another
coat-oftentimes eighteen or twenty coats. At
this stage the skins are packed and sent to this
country. AS they are unpacke1 In bundles and
stacked on the shelves In the fur house they
look not unlike the big bundles of overcoats that
seamSuesseS may be seen in street cars carry
ing to their taSkmakerS. When q skin Is un-
folded 1t is oval, and has at each side two mar
row, oblong Sits. The skin looks as though it
might be fitted TO child eight years old BY
thrusting the chld's arms through the two Sits
in the skin and letting the tail hang down TO the
childS heels, while the upper part projects
above It's head like an ultra fashionable collar.
The skins are always cleaned before using by
putting them motstened into wooden cylin-
der, like those used In a court room for the Jury
ballots, only larger, with Sawdust. The skin is
cleaned by being revolved In the cylinder It is
taken out and nailed upon fiat table to dry
being stretched as far as it will go. This was
formerly all that the skin was subjected to be-
fore being cut for garments, but within win
ter or two 1t has been customary to take out the
coarse hairs that are broken off by the process
OF removing them with knife after heating,
and also those hairs that are too short to be
reached by the process. The result is to make
the fur 'freer,' as the furrler would say. That
1t Is softer and finer to the touch after the second
operation, any one may detect by rubbing the
hand over it.
TO do this. girl is given skin in the morn
ing, and seated at table with dozen other
girls all with skins. Her left forehnger is put
under the pelt side of the skin and the fur side
bent over the finger. The girl blows the soft fur
to one side and leaves the stiff, coarse hair ex-
posed. Then she clips the coarse hair with
scissors. The operation Is tedious and requires
day or longer to finish a skin. The blowing
and clipping OF a tableful of girls makes a curl
The. the skin is looked over for any imper-
fect1ons. The slightest hole is sewed up. The
sew Ing is commonly done by hand, but glove.
the cutter receives the skin. Hemust be man
OF experience: The EXTREMIST economy is used
In selecting different parts Of the skin for yarI,
GUS purposes. Even the bits OF fur are saved
and sold for felting fur hats. Around long, low
tables sit women who rapidly make up Sc llskin
cloakS from the pieces furnished by the cutter
The sewing is entirely done by hand. The
stoutest OF needles are used In separate
room another bevy Of women quilt Innings for
the cloaks, and when they are fitted the C oaSS
are hung within thick curtain at the side o
the wall and afterward taken to a storeroom
and packed In paSteboard boxes.
These operations were witnessed yesterday in
wholesale mandatory in Mercer street. Be
sides the sealskin, cheaper fur, the mink, was
being made into bOas and muff5 for those VIII ,
cannot afford sealsktn. These two flIrs are now
most in demand. For trimmings for silk gar
ments, however, the fur OF the chtnchilla, a
little white and black animal found on the Cor
dilleras, South America, was being cut up.-[N
7. Sun.