Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-02-17
What Furs Are Worth.

dealers say promises WeII IoT Tue tIdue
is the active market for skins. There 8
lot of difference between fur and
skins. To the uninitiated 1t seems
more of difference of terms. Gen
orally speaking, one could describe
the skin side of the fur business as the
wholesale end and the fur side as the
retail end. Strictly speaking, that
would not be true, of course,
Most of the houses in New York
that sell furs do buy skins, as rule,
from the trappers or from the ship
pers, who deal with the trappers.
Several of the best known houses in
the trade go to London for most all Of
their skins-even for American skins.
Their reason for this, one Of their rep
resentatives told a Press reporter the
other day, is that, as London Is the
clearing house of the world for furs
the pick of skins caught everywhere
90 to London for fancy prices. With
the worlds supply at their command
the London skin merchants can sup
ply thousand skins, or perhaps ten
thousand skins, of any grade or any
shade, of any animal whose fur IS
brought to market.
From the time that the animal Is
caught or shot until its skin appears
on the person of grand dame it
passes through many hands. The
trapper and hunter do not as a rule
ship their products. Most of them
prefer to sell to the collector, an IN
divldual who pays cash and makes a
business of travelling through the Sec
tions where wild animals abound, pick
ing up all sorts of quantities, from
a-half dozen skins to a thousand or
even more. He ships direct to the
commission merchant, who is his agent
and who may be doing business either
in New York, Boston or London
When the skins reach New York
they are sorted for color and size and
sold to the manufacturer in lots as
wanted. Most skins come here dried,
but some, such as racoons and beaver,
come with the fat on. These either
have to be disposed OF soon or dried.
The treatment of the skins to make
them ready for the manufacturer IS a
business by itself.
The most valuable skin that comes
into the market raw is the black
fox. The quotation on this skin this
fall ranges from 5000 down to $45.
Yet some black fox skins have been
known to bring as much as $4OO.
There is a big drop in prices in other
kinds of fox skins. Those next to the
black ones fetch from 50 all the way
down to 90 cents. The s. and 50 kind
are found in Canada and Labrador.
The New York State and New Eng
land fox skins bring from Sl30 tc
$l.85.
Marten, mink, muskrat and skunk
are the best sellers. Marten from
Quebec and Labrador fetch $40, S.,
81 down to $3.50. New York and
Canada skins run all the way from
$3.50 to $1.4O. In the latter class
size determines the price more than
color.
Mink is variously quoted from $3.50
for Halifax, Labrador and Nova Scotia
skins to % cents and 80 cents for the
inferior qualities caught in New York.
For prime mink in New York and
New England of choice colors the prices
are Sl.85 and $I.75.
There seems to be big demand for
skunks. The black ones fetch the best
prices; then come the half-striped.
The quotations are 81 and 80 cents for
the black ones, and 50 cents and 60
cents to II cents. The y cent ones
are the common white fellows that most
of US fear on a dark night in the cOun-
try.
Racoons, many Of which are caught
in this section, fetch from IS cents
down to % cents and 80 cents. a
trapper must catch good many musk
rats to earn living, for the best of
these skins, although there always is
a demand for them, fetch only so cents
and q cents. For the smaller ones
only from 5 cents to 6 cents, and even
less, Is paid
When you recall that for the smallest
good fur scarf one has to pay from s.
to $l5 it makes you think that there
must be an enormous profit somewhere,
or else the process OF making the skins
ready for wear must be terribly ex-