The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-05-29
DRESSING sEALsKINs.
The Supply of Seals Not Likely to Be-
come Exhausted.

Lne supply OF seas MOI Likely " D~~ /
come Exhausted.
Immediately after the count is con-
Guided the skins are shipped to London,
TO be dyed and in some instances to be
made up. Frequent attempts have been
made to do this part of the work here,
but it has never met with any real sue
cess. The company says it is on ac-
count of the cheap labor to be had
abroad that it is profitable to them to
pay for the transportation back ana
forth and the duty of thirty per cent.
upon re-entering the country manufac-
tured, but some unkind persons think it
is better to have every thing done out OF
range of Uncle Sam s inspectors. How
ever, whatever the reason, it is certain
that they are shipped Immediately from
San Francisco to London. There, seven
or eight great firms, and as many more
in Paris, take charge of the skins, dye,
dress and occasionally make them up.
The color and style of the garments are
decided in Paris, and the English fur
riers say the dark brown, approaching
black, now brought in style by the
French furriers, is injurious to the skins,
and prevents them from lasting so well
as formerly. The fashion, however,
has been set, and the protest is in vain.
Then, after the the skins are prepared
for the garments, they are reshipped to
the United States, and the thirty per
cent. duty on manufactured goods is
paid. Thus the treasury profits at both
sides of the line. 1t explains, however,
the great cost of sealskin garments. The
skins, as they come from the animal,
are worth from $40 to $780, this includes
the 40 cents paid the natives for
every seal they kill. The dyeing
and dressing, from Sc to So; the duty
of thirty per cent; the cost OF trans
portation and the insurance have to be
added to this, and then the final cost of
making up and handling. Not less
than three skins are required for an
ordinary wrap, and four or five for a
paletot or ulster. No wonder a seal
skin costs money. The Alaska Com
pany also has a contract with the Rus
sian Government for collecting seals on
the Kamschatka coast and islands. Ac-
cording to this contract two OF their
fleet of twelve vessels must fly the Rus
sian flag. The company claims that SO
far from their contract being injurious
to the value of the seal islands of the
United States, it is their greatest safe
guard-that many more than 100000
seals could be killed on the islands, and
they are increasing rapidly, owing to
the precautions taken to kill only the
seal calves between and years old.
They estimate that over 100000 seals
congregate on the islands in the sea-
son, and their roaring, heard above the
thunder of the waves, guides the sailors
toward them through the fOgs and mists
in which the seas are forever wrapped.
Regularly, once a year, a rumor is
started about the scarcity of sealskins
and that dreary time approaching when
the seal will be extinct like the me-
gatherium. This gives the market a
boost. There is not, and has not been,
any material change in the supply OF
sealskins since 1901. There will not
be until 1890. Even then a similar ar.
rangement to that by which the Alaska
Company controls the Pribylof Islands
will be entered into, no doubt with
other companies, but the Government
probably taking the highest responsible
bidder, the price of sealskins will be
maintained. This argument will un
horse that part of the masculine seq
that would persuade the feminine con
, tingent to wait until 1890 for a seal
SKIM Y. Mail and Express.