Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-12

late. Many an opposum hide Is abroad
on the street under a similar misrepie-
seutation.
An interesting process IN the preparation
OF certain furs. as for instance. beaver, the
seal. Is the "plucking" Of the coarse hairs
leaving a smooth, dowry, fine nap OF the
under FUR. This IL accomplished by shay
ing the inside OF the hide until the ROOFS
OF the coarse hairs are clipped. These
roots are much deeper than those OF The
under coat OF fur seal and are thus easily
trimmed without touching the finer hairs
when the roots are clipped by the Keen
shaving knife the coarse hairs are entirely
detached and easily shaken out OF the Fur.
This work calls for some OF the most dott
Of workmanship as a single mis-stroke
with the keen-edged knife may seriously
damage q fine sealskin worth a few hum
dreds Of dollars.
Workers In furs arc able TO change tho
shape OF q skin almost at will by simply
stretching It. The fur may be made Wide
and short or long and narrow without ar
fecting its quality, but II the area is in
creased the thickness OF the fur must
suffer. In this way a little fur may be
made to go a long way In the making OF
the lower grades OF fur fittings.
one Of the jokes Of the fur shop is tn,
Belgian lynx This composite name
speaks a bit Of the truth In hiding
the Identity OF the far. Belgian lying IL
simply rabbit skin. the hide OF the Belgian
hare. The idea OF a simple hearted beast
like the hare appearing In the role OF a
flre-spitting demon OF a wildcat like the
"bobcat,' as the lynx Is called, is enough
to make the stuffed owl in the show win
dow smile. 1t would seem almost as
though tho celebrated mad March hare
would be a better creature to furnish the
imitation lynx hide.
4 fur which is assuming particular I'm
portance this season is the Russian pony
skin or carscuI. This is the pelt OF the
young OF a small, thick-haired Siberia.
pony. glossy black and fine in textura.
This material IL much used in the making
Of coats especially.
The growing scarcity OF furs OF the wild
animals, with tho consequent increase In
prices, has made It profitable TO grow the
fur-bearlng animals in preserves. Thus in
the northwest are TO be found bear, mink
and fox farms and establishments for the
breeding Of many other fur-bearlng ami
mails.
Out in the western part Of Nebraska one
venturesome man is making a fortune out
OF the muskrat industry. He took a
plunge and rented an abandoned mill pond
and slough at a price that seemed to be
almost impossible. He sold several hun
dred muskrat skins in Omaha a few weeks
ago for enough to pay for his lease and
leave a handsome profit for his work be-
sides. In the meantime his crop is stil
growing for another harvest and without
any cultivation. All this fur-bearing farmer
needs in the way Of machinery for his
ranch is a Ratchet and a short club. There
is no expense for fences and the deprecia-
ton OF the mill pond will be slight.
Fur styles for the season OF 19O9-10 have
set the mark Of approval on seal for the
long garments and skunk for the smaller
pieces and trimmings. Seal is making It's
appearance in the real fur and all manner
Of limitations that the dyer's art can pro-
duce, and in both tailored and trimmed
models Of unusual grace The use Of the