The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-10-20

Il Ill UDlu. IAlC ObSOA 10 a
thing entirely, and their skins are only
worth at best five dollars; but about forty
five thousand are used every year by the
trade, to about forty-eight thousand of the
sea otter, the latter being rarer.
''The marten. or Russian sable, is also a
fancy fur and the trade uses over hun
dred thousand skins year, that, if all were
first class, would be worth to first hands
S12,000,000, supposing that each skin
brings S120 or SO, which is the best price.
But they don't Still, at one-third of this
there is money in them. The Oyerhair is
exceedingly fine, rich and flowing, often
three inches long and of dark metallic
blue tint They are all trapped in Siberia,
the best coming from the localities about
Yakutsk The Lena, the Amoor, KAN
schatka and Saghalien furnish others of a
more or less marketable quality. There
are several kinds of marten. Here is what
we cali baum The fur is rather woolly.
They come from Europe and Asia and are
not, at the best, valued over ten dollars a
skin. About sixty thousand, however, are
used yearly by the trade One hundred
and fifty thousand stone martens are used
and about one hundred and forty thousand
of the American marten. The latter has
a fine overhair, often two and halfinches
long. The color ranges between rich cof-
fee-brown and tawny yellow. The Al skins
bring about S25, while the long hairs are
in great demand for painters brushes.
''The silver fox is in great demand as
fashionable fur. They are beautiful and
hard to get, although by skirmishing around
the trappers get together in Europe and
Asia about two thousand every year, that
are taken by the dealers like hot cakes, and
might be said as of the Russian sable and
otter, that they rank with diamonds and
precious stones. A good, frst-class skin,
about two by four feet, ought to be worth
two hundred and fifty dollars. l sold set
once that was made into gfor gentle
man in Colorado that | understood cost him
made up ten thousand dollars. There were
about twenty-five skins in it, with the tails
on the outside Here is one. You see,
they are silvery-blue and range in tints
just like sapphire. The best are trapped
in Labrador; some come from Russia, but
are poor and rarely worth over forty or fifty
dollars per skin These animals are un-
doubtedly doomed to extinction, as are blue
foxes. Now only about sixty-fve hundred
of the latter can be obtained every year,
but at the time of the Behring Expedition
they were found on the island of that name
Il -..... J.. - CO +o,,,a 4baf fha mon bod
to chase them about like dogs. Ina single
winter. 1748, fourteen hundred and eighty
one were killed on the island; the following
year two thousand; the next year about
seven thousand foxes, white and dark, and
in 1853 twelve hundred were taken; SO it
is no wonder that the animals are threat
ened with determination. We value the
best blue fox skins at about S25. Other
foxes are used more or less, and this year
about II 900 cross fox skins, rs 900 white
fox, $4,000 red fox, $4,000 gray and 49,,
900 kit were bought and placed in the
market. The best cross fox skin has fine
overhair and sells readily for $40 and is
used in trimming muffs, etc. Red fox
brings only about 81 skin, depending
upon the demand.
ODD FURS.
eyes. there is a demand for odd furs.
Certain ultra-fashionables want to make a
splurge and start fashion that spreads
like wildfre and we are utterly unable to
meet the demand. A few years ago New
York fashionable woman came out With
set of leopard skin furs, and the prices went
up Immediately, SO that there is fair de
mand for them. Furs are also made of
tiger skin and about six hundred are used
annually by the trade-all that can be got.
They come from Bengal and China and
bring, according to the markings, $100 to
$3.50 per skin that may be fourteen and a
half feet in length. A white tiger skin is
worth about $500. They rarely reach this
country. The rage for tiger claws became
so great year or SO ago that the market
was completely exhausted. | know several
gentleman of sporting tastes, who wear
winter vests made of such skins, who claim
to have killed the tigers Lion skins are
equally in demand, and number of the
wildcats. Our common wildcat presents
the trade with over 1000 skins yearly,
valued at from 80 cents to 81.
CATS AND MONKEYS.
THE Thomas cat =? Well, should say
so. The house cat is one of the most val
liable of fur-bearing animals, and when they
mysteriously disappear from the back fence
they often find their way to the furrier.
1t is an actual fact that in 1882 over ], )
100000 house cats were used by the fur
trade. Black, white, Maltese and tortoise
shell skins are most in demand. They are
made into Innings and used in philosophical
apparatus. As for skunks, $4,000 were
used in this country last season, valued from
80 cents to S1.20. They come from Ohio
and New York principally and, as in pursuit
of the tiger and lion, the bravest men are
required,
'There is a fair demand for monkey
skins, and $4,000 are used annually by
furriers, principally the Diana, black and
Abyssinian monkeys They are used in
trimmings. Yes, you don't know what fur
YOU wear sometimes. The same garment
may be trimmed with equal parts of mon
KEY, skunk and cat and sold to the cheap
buyer as Hoang Ho seal. The skin of the
bay lynx is much used for mufs and boas.
The skin of the dog is saleable; so is that
of rats, mice, the opossum, kangaroo and
ornithorynchus. Bat hair is largely used
in felting and in plating ropes. Immense
quantities of coon hair is sent to Germany
and made into hats Ok and calf hair is
used in the imitation of wooden goods and
a great many skins are valued merely to
initiate other articles with, thus the white
backed, common and striped skunks dyed
are made into muffs and boas and sold gen.
orally under the name of Alaska sable.
Bearded sealskin is used to initiate leopard
skin, Tartar sadie is dyed and made into
muffs and sold as Russian sable the beach
marten is also made to initiate sable and
fox skins to initiate lynx.
THE ROYAL ERNFINE.
GIn old time ermine was the fashionable
fur, but there is not so much demand for it
now, though last season about 375, 600
skins were used altogether. A dollar a
skin is a fair price. The best come from
Siberia, and the demand for them is greater
in Europe than here. Chinchilla was a
favorite at one time; they bring about
fifty cents skin, and Peru and Chill send
n