Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-29

| ally he gave up the attempt and out
fitted t spend the winter in ms Will
derness. He lust wanted to see the
| country" he told his disappearing
friends, who tried their best to ar
que him out of the idea. That was
in the fall. and they did not see
him again until February. But when
he appeared he caused the sensa-
ton of the year by bringing twenty
three pelts of silver black foxes with
him. He made $4,000 on thai
trapping expedition.
YES" unused the fur dealer sad
ly, "if I were only a young mai<
you wouldn't find me here in New
York. I would be up in the north
country making a new fortune. Furs
have never been anywhere nearly
worth what they are today-why,
only a fair silver fox pelt will bring
from $3.50 to $500 on the edge or
the trapping country-and the de-
mand Is simply immense. There has
never been anything like ii before.
Years ago, the Eudson's Bay
Company thought it was doing a
fine business II it made $500.00O In
a year. Today, ever a little fox
ranch on Prince Edward Island will
sell for $780, 900. In the height of
the boom. $27, 000,0 900 worth of pelts
were sold in ten days at the st.
Louis auction, and millions of dol
lars worth of furs are sold every
time we have an auction In New
York, which is about three times a
year."
II was not until the time of the
Worlds Columbian Exposition in
Chicago that the great demand for
furs started in this country. Before
that. they had been worn only by
the very wealthy. In that year,
however, came the vogue OF the
pufted sleeve. and with it the first
widespread use of fur trimming.
Since then, the demand has grown
by leaps and bounds until today
practically every ~fur-bearing animal
on the earth is being called upon
to supply it. Rabbits are being
slaughtered by the millions for
"coney'' and French seal; Russia's
shaggy little horses are being turn
ed into pony coats, and eve the al
ley cat is disappearing at a rapid
rate as the furriers become more
and more proficient in their art.
Even Use Cats and Goats
1--WE have learned from Europe to
initiate" said our friend. the fur
dealer, $50 that the furs of the ami
mails OF warmer climates, which are
less difficult to procure than those OF
the North, can be used 10 great prof
1t. Remodeled rabbit can be sold
for ermine, or remodeled muskrat
as seal at ten times the original
value. In our laboratories (for the
modern fur shop is really a labora-
tory) the opossum, the marmot, rae
coon. Manchurian dog-aye. even
the goat a be worked UP into pro-
ducts that look nothing like the orig
inal. People, as a rule, do not know
much about furs. and II Is easy TO
sell dyed hare for sable or fox: mar
as bear OF various kinds.
THE manufacturing processes. in
fact. are now as important TO the
business as the raw materials. The
New York trade is spending hun
dreds of thousands of dollars and
using raw furs by the thousands In
experiments. Some of these have
failed, but others have brought fine
results-beautiful. silky peltries that
can't be equaled in Europe. Raw
fur may be fine enough. but its true
beauty is brought put only in skill
full dyeing and dressing. In making
a mole coat for instance. the skins
are subjected 20 $500 processes.
Before the war our American
furriers had much to learn concern
ing the treatment of skins. Well,
they have learned it. We no longer
stand in awe Of the greater genius
of Europe. Let Leipsic do its best.
the headquarters Of the fur industry
will remain here in New York. You
will aaao