The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-25

II you know where skunks can be
caught II IS a good time to catch them.
Skunk skins have increased in value
during the last two years 200 per cent
and more, says Isaac yeisberg, a fur
trader of Moberly, Mo. Every woman
OF fashion in Paris and Berlin and the
other continental cities now wears one or
more skunk skins on at least one OF her
dresses, as trimming around the bottom,
while many are used for trimming seel-
skin coats. This fashion started the de-
mand. Two years ago the price of skunk
skins suddenly Jumped from 80 cents to 81,
and IT is now averaging 50. As for musk
rat skins. we used to buy all we wanted
at 10 and Is cents a piece. Now they are
fetching 81 apiece. These skins are sold
at auction In London and furriers from
all parts of Europe attend. The demand
for furs of ali kinds Is increasing ennr-
mousiy. I got good view of the reason
at the races in Paris a week ago last
Sunday. I saw one woman wearing a
Russian sable that could not have cost
cent less than $4,000 And I never saw
so much silver fox fur In my life These
furs come from Alaska and British Col
umbia, In spite of a common impression
that they come from Russia, and they
bring fabulous prices. One skin was sold
at sale recently for 1926. and the fin-
ished furs bring from $1,000 to 5000. The
black fox is even higher. We ship over
there between 10000 and 100000 worth
of American animal skins every year. be-
| sides what we sell over here. As for
the skunk. It is an American animal, and
1t has to come from this side.'
F. c. Whitman, who is secretary OF the
| board Of trade OF Annapolis Royal, N. S.,
and president of the Lumbermen's Asso-
citation of Western Nova Scotia. is in
New York. Mr. Whitman said the Ium-
bermen up there had been prepared to
stand pat with regard to the tariff and
| II there had been no settlement OF the
question between Canada and the United
States, SO far as the lumbermen were
concerned. there would have simply been
case of shifting the market.
Canada Is looking to the United States
as consumer of large quantity of her
pine" said Mr.. Whitman. land recently.
though before the tariff question was
settled, the market had been shifting
| from England to the United States. II
the extra duty had been put on. we
/ should have had to go back to England
| for our market. or else Americans would
have paid lot more for their timber.
Our lumberman's association was
formed primarily to fight and prevent
/ forest nT6S. IL Hh5 DeeH III extStenC6
| about six years, and our present meth
DDS of fighting forest fires have been pro-
nounced by some of your authorities the
| best in existence.
1--WE have a chief FIRE ranger IN each
county. who has full authority to APP
point as many sub-rangers as any enncr-
gency calls for and can order out any
body In his county to fight fire. There
is chief ranger for the whole province.
whose service is in charge of the COM
missioner of crown lands.
1.-THE year before the system was es-
Itablished there we're over 10000 acres
burnt over, but since then we have ad
no fires that covered more than 1000 acres
at most.
The lumber cut this year in Nova
Scotia Is about 60 to 75 per cent of a nor.
NAL crop. We had no snow in the win
ter and have had an extremely dry
spring. To make a normal cut We have
to have from two to two and a nall
months of snow
In an interview s. r. Eccles, vice pres
ident OF the American Smelling and Re.
fining company, who has Just returned
from his annual inspection in Mexico
said:
IN general I found business slack II
; Mexico During the last year there was
. shortage In the cotton and wheat crop.
i, owing to the lack of sufficient rain, an6
there was also shortage In many dis
tricts during 1908 Naturally such IN
ditions do not make for a prosperit,
BOOM But the farmers are all busy a
this season of the year and the outlool
| so far for large crop Is excellent. II
February blowing was universal and II
some places planting had been begun, 81
I that the crops are now we'll under way
, The labor situation is good. I visited
: the large lumber districts and at Madcri'
: found a mill In operation that was cut
/ ting 125,00O feet of timber day. Anothe
mill is being constructed and by fall tn
outturn should be 100000 feet day. Tn
coal mines of Mexico are large producer
and make an excellent quality of coke
Naturally the low price OF metals Is bear
ling heavily on many of the low-grad
: mines. As It Is upon the entire meta
trade. but practically all OF our mine
are producing satisfactorily. look TO
the metal situation to right itself befor
many months. As soon as the crop sit
uation is assured there should be
marked Improvement in general business
which, while perhaps not up to enrlic
a expectations is nevertheless excellent q
7 the moment
With a feet Of five steamships avail
liable. the Southern Paciflcs Atlanti
,,,oI,ir limo Ia tn establish a gervic