The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-25

are thousands of dogskin mats and dog skin rugs, as well as bales of squirrel tails and fox tails for muffs and hat decoration.
 Some of the furs are fine There are tiger skins, which bring as high as s4OO, and leopard skins at from $O to $6O apiece. Something like 50o0 sables are annually exported the best of them yielding $45 a skin Last year about 2000 silver foxes were sold. some of which netted $50 skin. Over 300O0 red FOX furs brought from BIO to $50 each, and as to the skins of wolves. badgers. goats and lambs, they were sold by the tens of thousands
 Manchuria's Dog Farm.
 The biggest part of the fur trade with America is in dog skins. The country is so cold that this animal grows a long thick coat worth so much that dogs are raised for their skins. The best skins bring $4 apiece, and they make beautiful rugs. I am told there are many dog farms between here and Siberia, where the animals are bred for this purpose. They are killed just before spring, while their coats are still long and warm. The killing is done by strangulation, for the reason that knife might injure the fur. The dogs of the cities are treated in the same way. I see many in Mukden today which I doubt not will be turned into
 
 A Japanese Speculation in Dogs.
 The people here look upon dogs as so much live stock, and bitterly resent their being killed on the ground of hydropho- bia or for sanitary reasons. At the close of the Russian war when the Japanese took possession of Mullden, they cornered the dog market, and made something like $50, GOO in selling the skins. The scheme was originated by party of Japanese traders who are charged with bribing cer- tain of their military officials into passing an order that all the dogs of the city should be destroyed on the grounds of hydrophoba This order enabled their own killers to accompany them. and thus they got possession of the skins which numbered some 600 or so Among these were many pet dogs The people would not stand such an outrage today.
 Dogs for Dowries.
 In the northern parts of Manchuria 1t is said that dog farming Is carried on much after the manner of sheep farming in Australia. In some places the dogs are reared in connection with goats, and a single farm may have hundred or so. In such regions dogs are often given al wedding presents, and a girl may receive a half dozen as her dowry. Inasmuch as a dog is ready to breed in eight months
  arise from such a beginning. Such dogs are fed upon millet; and they have also what they can get by foraging outside. The flesh of the animal is used for food, dog meat being largely eaten in both Manchuria and Corea. In Seoul there are certain seasons when the flesh of these animals Is considered the sweetest. l have tasted dog roast in Seoul and iu Canton I once visited restaurant where Q dog stew was cooking
 Connected with the fur business are certain drugs which come in as a by product Among these are tigers bones and claws. Several thousand pounds of tigers bones are annually exported from Manchuria to China, and the deer horns used for the same purpose numbered 1900 pairs in one year. A good pair of such horns is worth $25. and one with many antlers will bring as much as $200.