New-York tribune., 1909-01-24
FURS AND INVITATIONS
Adrice to Prospective Buyers by an
ErperieRced FUrrier.

[LL DcF u Ht tU 4 HfftS''
Few women can be made to understand the d'I-
ference between frs of the first quality ana tn"Se
of lower grades" declared well known Ne" f0iA
fu-rier WHO has been a fuTrier for nearly quaI.
ter Of a century. Let a dealer assure the aVeEase
woman that a fur is genuine. and she is perfectly
satisfied and entirely oblivous Of the fact tha'
often good imitation is of more commercial NaIue'
There are several points that determine 'he
grading of flrs The first is the texture and BODY
of the fur, which varies according to the time OF
wear the animal is killed AS all animals shed thei!
fur heavily in the summer. pelts taken IN the "u-
tumn neither thick nor so beautiful as these
taken in the spring This may be detected by the
lack of density OF the hair and also by the ia't
that II Is neither so glossy nor soft. The next
point to be considered is the pliablity OF the skin
This depends on the manner in which the pelt Has
been cured Trappers simply salt the SKINS ullu
they have quantity to take to the trading sta
tions. II the skins DELAYED, the "earer VIII os
troubled by the hair falling out, Or IL sught
quantity OF the fat has been left on the peit 0e
cay will begin that will eventually cause the SKIN
TO crack in spite OF all that furrier can do The
hest way for a buyer detect this fault Is by
pnching up the skin 10 make sure that 1t Is sort
and pIiahe.
Faulty dyeing is another thing that has TO be
guarded against The buyer should beware OF what
is Known as burnt furs Such furs have been over
dyed and the hair will soon become rusty and fall
cut. There are processes by which such fnrs are
temporarily restored TO their natural sickness.
About the best way 70 detect bad dyetns Is to
breathe into the fur until it becomes humid and
then to rub it persistently with white velvet or
white broadcloth, If the color comes OF 10 an un-
rea sonabe extent il Is well let il alone. At the
same time II should be remembered that all black
furs are dyed. and it is wellnigh impossible 10
make the color fast even in the finest grades, so
after ALL the question is just how much color should
come off.
HOW TO TELL COUNTERFETTs.
Very often fur garment is offered at what sp-
pears TO be q surprisingly low price. and the dealer
you that it is genuine and the fur is Of ex-
ceent grade. Ask him about the pectng, and he
may not answer so readily. Any observing buyer
should be able to detect such garments, as the
seams viii reveal themselves close scrutiny. and
the rubber backing which is usually added VIII
LEND perceptible weight On the other hand. all
pieced furs are not inferior. There furs which
are rendered doubly value ole by iudlcious piecng.
II YOU will notice the finest grade Of mink mufrs,
you Will Invariably find stripe of dark brown hair
on each side of the wide lighter stripe. Now. the
mink has only one dark stripe, but the furrter. 10
add the beauty Of the fur. makes double stripe
by cutting the peit into what, to the uninitiated.
seem most puzzling pieces.
limitations OF popular furs numerous and
so persistently the increase that II sometimes
gives the best informed turrier all he can do to
keep up with them. The most popular high priced
fur is Russian sable, and when genuine and OF the
nrst grade 1t six times much as ermipe.
The best limitations Of this costly fur the Hud-
son Bav sables and the dyed baum marten neither
OF which is cheap Both look well and wear well.
There is also what is known the Southern sable
This is cheap but not handsome. II Is made from
the fur of a species OF cat common in the South.
Black lynx, which Is fashionable just now
has several limitations. Among the best the
lynx cat and the Russian lynx. Good specimens of
these limitations are difficult TO detect except by
comparison. when they will be found TO he neither
so soft nor so glossy the genuine lynx. Mink
also has numerous limitations. Russian mink is
nsrmot fur dyed and the dark stripes applied with
q brush. This can be detected by opening the hair
Of the stripes when II win be that the color
does not extend to the skin, Then there the
brook or water mink and the japanese mink. They
are dyed ruskrat but deceptive that experienced
dealers are sometimes taken in As a rule the hair
of the n7uskrat is shorter than that OF the mink,
in buying mink II is we'll to insist on getting
good deep fur. Blended mink Is real mink. which
looks as well the standard. though il will not
wear as well and is worth about half as much. II
is dyed and may be detected by blowing the hair
apart. when It is that the skin itself has been
dy ed.
BUY FURs JUST LAUNCHED
White weasel is the popular Imitation OF eTmine
II is so hard to tell from the real ermine that do
not believe one amateur in a hundred can detect
the difference. The cheaper limitations of ermine
are seldom Offered the genuine fur. AS the sup
ply Of white fox does not meet the demand. one
must be cautious when buying it The best imita-
tian is made from the comhed hair OF the Tibet
sheep When the hair of this animal has been
bleached and Strengthened out il is very beautiful
but should not be worn In damp weather, II IL be-
g, mes wet IL viii crinkie back 10 natural curl
and have tn he carefully recomoed The vast ma
jori,y of the silver fox sold is in reality ima
ton made from the Belgian hare. The silver fox
Is a freak of nature, and when one is really caught
It is snapped UP Il fabulous sum, More real
silver foxes are TO be found in museums, where
they are exhibited as curios. than are sold for
wearing. The Belgian hare imitation is often sold
for fifty times its true value.
''Per.an lamb ia about the only fur that is never
initiated Though Persian lamb garments may
be peced they are of the real fur, and these made
of seraps are easily detected The paws of the ,
Persian lamb are often used as broadta. The fur
&c short and has noire effect much Hike the
broadtau If { dealer is honest he will sell It as
persian paw and explain that the costlinsss of the
garment caused by the amount of work neces-