New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-25

xurE SKUNK or THE COUNTRY rEooMEs THE
BLACK MAHTEN oF rlITu-NtE SOME
erpr,.,,s or THE .rutprt.t,s

kJlE SKUNK or THE ''l - tl ii+ '"''''' '''''
BLACK MAHTEN OF FIFTH AVE SOME
TRICKS or TIE rH,rrEns
.Do You know what is one OF the most important
fur animals thai We have SAID a Ffth-a'" far
dealer "Weu. r. is the common. maol or1us
skunk. but You never hear OF skunk flr n "a retail
store. W. sell II as black martcn. and 1t enters
largely into the trimming OF colks. the makin;
Of chlllreu's NUTS. muil"rs aud such articles.
II IS really fine. soft long FUR and rather costly
There ought really. 10 De- uo prcjuIic" against
skunk fur as such. as 10 ls thoroughly d"odoriz"d
and perfectly ,l.auIy ana h.alihful % wear Skunk
is Il disagrc,ahlc word. simply because ia" animal
IS capable Of making an extremely dis'sr''ahr
odor But Il Il skunk b. not mol"st"'l. b" viii not
use his powerful and uniqu" means Of defence.
TT ls q fact that some trappers have success
fully started skunk stock farms. The wholly black
animals are most valuable. a pur" black skin
of good size viii bring 81 80. while those striped
with white sell Hs low as 70 cents. or course the
fur be- dyed. and is dyed. but the rapp"rs nav"
generally lost this difference la price on ia" striped
skins. Lately. however. SOM OF the country boys
have taken to fooling the FUR buyers by dyeug The
furs themselves with mustache dye or other con-
coctons. Great is the wrath Of TIA" dealers when
they detect such tricks. There is story up IN
Connecticut that on" trapIrr passed OF a lot Of
imitation skunk skins On buyer who was too
upsy To the deception until II was too late
trace H. The trapper had the skin of JET black
iIolstcin that mad grown hnc. long FUR by
the animals previous exposure to the blasts OF viii
ter This cowhidc h. carefully cut nap 10 initiate
skunk skins, tails and ALL and counting them out
rapidly to the dealer, along with the genuine skins.
h. madr them pass Tho bcfuddled INSPECTION of the
buyer and got about so FOR the COWS hide. all the
whole animal was worth. Tn" skins were ha'l and
sent New York. After that TINS laitio ular
dealer never bought skunk skins when he was tight.
"One Of the ways of trapping the skunk is 10 prop
up "A heavy fiat stou" hA series oi sticks bent
and joined together 70 represent Il ngurc I
ON ia" horizontal bar OF the ngGI' piece of
mrit-g generally skunk flesh Is placed, and
slight disturbance OF this bait springs the ~p and
the heavy stone falls on the animal When the
skunk IS caught In common steel traps they are
shot by "A bullet through the head. a performance
that requires caution and good markSmanship.
AT a recent large sale of furs IN London. the
kind that exceeded all others In aggregate value
was the ordinary muskrat. These Willy dcniZcus Of
brooks and ponds are trapped in great numbers IN
this country. They can be- easily traced bN their
pat leading the waters edge. but tn" trap must
be- placed under water. in the mud. ms they are
too wise get into any trap set on shore. Though
muskrat skins sell low 10 cents apiece. IN"
value OF the fur caught every year amounts 10
millions Of dollars. The red and silver foxes. how
ever. furnish the most sport for the hunter
The skins bring from 81 ~ To s., and succcssid
days sport has both IT'S pecunary proht ana iund
OF enjoyment Many hunters carefully protect III"
female foxes and their young. 80 far a. possible
To insure plenty of sport and furs IN the fall
and winter.