The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-04-15
RARBIT-sXlNs FOR HAT-MAKlNG.
The Growth Of an Enormous Industry
Tho business in France and England.

The Growth Of an Enormous Industry
Tho Business in France and England.
The trade in rabbit skins for hat-mak-
ing is now an enormous industry. The
skius are doubly valuable, the hair being
used for felt-making and the pelts to boil
down into glue. The present statistics
of the industry in Europe may be figured
from the fact that SO,000,0O0 of skins are
collected in France, 25,000,00O to 30,000,-
900 in England, almost entirely from the
warrens of the sand-hills and woods;
1e. 900, 900 to 100000 in Belgium, al
most wholly of domestic breed (as are
nine out of ten of the S0,000000 of
French skins): 100000 to 100000 in
Russia, Sweden and Norway, and 4,0I0.-
900 in northern Germany, yearly. In
Austria and Hungary there are about
12,OOO, 900 collected, but retained for
home manufacture. Spain and Portu-
gal have skins of inferior quality, which
are kept for the hat factories of these
countries. France occupies the chief
place in the commerce of rabbit-skins,
not only in regard to quantity but to
quality. There is no rabbit comparable
to the French rabbits, either to eat or to
make hats of. Both to Belgium and to
England large quantities are exported.
The supremacy of France did not ex-
ist at the start in the rabbit-skin trade.
In the early part of this century the Ger
mans and English took the lead in the
preparation of the skins. France was
oppressed, and was unable to take ad-
vantage of this new industry till 1647.
From that date we reckon The rise of
trade which has attained to gigantic di-
mentions. Paris, which is the CEN
ter of the preparation of the
material, dispatched agents in
every direction to employ brokers, chif-
foniers and other collectors of skins of
rabbits and hares, which had before been
seldom preserved forany use. The most
energetic and successful purveyors in
this industry were the Auvergnats, who
still remain the chief agents in the col
lection. In 1S47 the couperies de potts
worked up 2,50O,0 900 of skins; the estab-
lishments in the provinces consumed
about an equal quantity. s".
At first the manufacturer collected and
stored rabbit SKINS. and transformed
them into hats with very rude machin-
cry. 1t is only recently, by the distri-
button of labor, always advantageous,
that the preparation of the stuff has
been separated from the manufacture of
hats, and the collection of the skins is
organized Us a distinct industry. In
England there are now some tweaty
firms engaged in preparing and cutting
the skins, the largest of which firms are
in Southwark, and others in Manchester
and Leeds. The industry altogether is
very interesting one in many respects,
and it represents living to large num-
bers of people, including the collection Of
skins in the towns and villages through
out the country, and the hundreds of
women and girls occupied in pulling"
and in other operations preparatory to
the felting, when the hat manufacturer
enters upon the mysteries of his special
trade.
The value of the rabbit skin trade-in
England alone last year was over S., ,00O,-
600. There are no statistics at hand of
the trade in this country, but it is very
important and there are even places
where rabbits are bred in order to pro-
vide skins for the market. This is, how
ever, perilous experiment, as the ex-
perience of Australia and New Zealand
with their rabbit plaques will demon
strate. Cincinnati Enquirer.