The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1898-02-26
WHAT SKINS ARE WORTH
ACTIVE DEMAND FOR THE PELTS OF
FUR.BEARINC ANIMALS.

n
Duties of the Collector - The BLACK
Fox's Pelt Fetches as Much as $500
The Value of Various Other Skins.
A phase of the fur business that
dealers say promises we'll for the trade
is the active marketfor skins. There's
lot of difference between fur and
skins. To the uninitiated it 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 q 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
representatives told Press reporter
the other day, is that, as London is
the clearing house Of the world for
furs, the pick of skins caught every
where 60 to London for fancy prices.
With the worlds supply at their
command the London skin merchants
can supply q thousand skins, or per-
haps 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
:aught or shot until its skin appears
on the person of grand dame it
passes through many hands. The
trapper and hunter do not as rule
ship their products. Most of them
prefer to sell to the "collector," an
individual who pays cash and makes
business of travelling through the sec
lions where wild animals abound,
picking up all sorts of quantities, from
half dozen skins to thousand or
sven more. He ships direct to the
commission merchant, who is his
agent and who may be doing business
either in New York, Boston or Lon
don.
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 skius 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
lox. 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 $500.
There is big drop in prices in other
kinds of fox skins. Those next to the
black ones fetch from 50 all the way
down to 20 cents. The SO and 80 kind
ere found in Canada and Labrador.
The New York state and New England
lox skins bring from $1.30 to $1.85.
Marten, mink, muskrat and skunk
ire the best sellers. Marten from
Quebec and Labrador fetch $40. 90,
down to $3.50. New York aud
Canada skins run all the way from
$3.50 to $1.4O. In the latter class
size determines the price more than
:olor.
Mink is variously quoted from 81. 20
tor Halifax, Labrador and Nova
Scotia skins to Csc. and soc. for the
Inferior qualities caught in New York.
For prime mink in New York and
New England of choice colors the
prices are $1.85 and $l.75.
There seems to be a big demand for
skunks. The black ones fetch the
oest prices;then come the half-striped.
The quotations are 81 and 90c. for the
olack ones, and Soc. and Goo. to 12c.
The 12c. ones are the common white
fellows that most OF US fear on dark
night in the country.
Racoons, many Of which are caught
in this section, fetch from 75c. down
to 25c. and SOC. A trappar must catch
sgood many muskrat to earn living,
Tor the best of these skins, although
there always is a demand for them,
fetch only soc. and dc. For the
smaller ones only from Sc. to &c., and
even less, is paid.
When yourecall that for the smallest
good fur scarf one has to pay from IS
20 $15 it makes you think that there
must be an enormous profit some
where, or else the process of making
the skins ready for wear must be ter
'ibly expensive.
Bear, beaver and otter come chiefly
from Canada and the Provinces. A
One, large, dark otter skin is easily
worth SO to $40. Even the second
and third best fetch from $3.50 and
$3.50. Beaver, while not much in de-
mand of late years, sells readily at
from $3.50 to IS for the best and from
b to 81 for the other grades.
Bear skins have been more active
shan usual this year, and one manu-
'acturer accounts for it by the num-
Ger of men who are fitting out for the