Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-10-19
ENTERPRISE
FLORENCE. OCTOBER 19, 1889
MAKING MY LADY'S MUFF.
THE BUSY FURRlrRS IN AN OLD
 QUARTER OF NEW YORK CITY.

Cutter. Sewer, Blocker and Finisher Turn
 Out Three Dozen NIuffs in a Day-Curi-
 ous Details of the Business--The Native i
 Hare and the Foreign Ermine.
 Furs in summer? Yes, they're not so uncommon as to attract undue attention, but these are not worn over fair shoul- ders clad in lawn. They are heaped in various shapes of manufacture in the quarter. At least one thousand men and women in New York are busted in mak- ing fur garments There are factories employing many scores of workmen, and there are dingy little shops where few journeymen work together, with small capital, low rent and moderate profits. In this particular shop there are only four men at work-just the number re- Quired to complete garment under the division of labor usual in the fur busi- ness.
 One man stands at counter with pile of muskrat skins at his left hand, and in his right keen little knife, shaped almost exactly like the outstretched wing of a bird. The skin of the furs has been dampened so that it is pliant. The cut ter, as he is called, seizes a skin, turns the fur down and rapidly cuts out de- fects with his birds wing knife.
 SCARCITY OF PERFECT SKINS.
 Scarcely one skin ill hundred is per feet. There are shot holes, scars from bites and scratches, tears and other dam age, the result of careless curing. By the time all defects have been cut out it may have been necessary to divide the skin into twenty strips and squares. About 20 per cent of the fur is lost by the process of cutting; though the small est pieces, even those not more than an inch square, are carefully saved, so long as they are well covered with hair.
 As the knife slips through the leather you notice that the under side of the fur is rich, golden brown, while the outer surface is black. The fur has been dyed, but the dye has not penetrated to the skin. The dyeing and curing are done elsewhere at factories which receive the raw skins by the thousand from the west and south. They come turned | wrong Slu6 out dllo lOOh1LS lLNS SA CeS' Japanese slippers from having been stretched and dried by the trapper or
 pointed shingles.
 From the cutters table the skins gc
 to the sewer. He sits in a corner anC
 works a strong sewing machine, whose
 needle is easily driven through the skin
 Ordinary, stout thread is used, and th'
 sewer manages to piece together the va
 rious scraps in such way that no sean
 shows on the hairy side. The seams O.
 the under side appear like straight ridge
 or cords. The skin comes from the sewe
 a patchwork of leather almost as strong
 ly held together as an uncut pclt.
 From the sewer the material goes t
 the blocker. In this instance it is a nut that they are making. The ''block" in seven pieces that fit together and forr an implement that looks almost exactl like big wheel hub. The skin, whic : has been sewn end to end SO as to form ; hollow cylinder, is placed on the bloc : form. It extends a little beyond tn block, and little wooden disk is place . in each end of the latter. To these dish
 the ends of the skin are nailed, and til n whole thing is then placed in the windo' , to dry.
 f When the skin is partly dried it is r d moved from the block and turned ovC
 to the finisher. He puts in wadding an # lining and sews on the cord and tassel Il if the huff is to be thus ornamente,
 Finally the fur is carefully brushed unt
 it is smooth and glossy. Then it is pl D. into a round pasteboard box, ready to !, shipped to the merchant, through who 11- it is distributed to the retail dealers he h and elsewhere.
 rl WAGES or THE WORKERS. d Four men working together thus t fl hours day can make three dozen mutl h Cutters earn from $15 to SIS q week ai n T blockers and finishers from $10 to SIP l8 week. Women are sometimes employ C as finishers at about the same wage
 The busy season is from June to Decel - Der. September, October and Novemb
 are perhaps the most active months 5- 55 the season. In the spring and wint al business is dull, and the few men e ,n ployed are at work upon inferior IT CT terial, which cannot be worked prof D, bly, in the busy season.
 ,it Fashion in furs changes slightly frC ht year to year, and the growing taste
 summer furs now has to be taken il - account. Boas, capes and muffs are n
 being made for next winter. The chei Dr. est and most abundant skin is that nv the hare; the costliest are those of ? Ii beaver, sable, seal, black fox and ea 'sa mine. The last named is extremely ra 1t The dispised polecat contributes fur r3e 3e the comfort and ornamentation of be
 ty, and nobody turns up their nose V, him.
 IL His unpleasant characteristics dis fla pear in the curing. Pretty boas are m les les of the hare's skin, and costly capes ,st, lynx, sable and beaver fur. Some Of or- costliest furs are imported, but the g '"' mass of fur garments are made from EN- tive skins.
 Foreigners have been pioneers in n fancy fur business of New York,
 there are still many Frenchmen, { mans and Italians employed in the w irI but native Americans are taking to al trade more and more. It requires fl one to five years to become an ex
 cutter, but other branches of the u Ifx arc moro quickly learned. The cost ,o-. furs are made up in large factories cause it takes considerable capital to Q a stock of raw material on hand. Y of business is rather dirty. but It IS ,o specially urtwholesome.-New York