This is its mode of defense against its enemies, and a very good one it is, for no animalcan endure the nauseous stench. In preparing the skin for the market great care is necessary to avoid breaking the bag, and to ensure the rest of the fur being fit for use, a narrowstrip is cut out along the middle line of the back.
The weasel family is a numerous one, its members being small animals very similar to the polecat. Among theweasels the stoat or ermine is highly prized for its fur. In summer the fur is a bright, reddish-brown, but it changes to a pure white a s wintercomes on. This fur is much in demand for state purposes, for it has been adopted from very early times by royalty andnobility to adorn their robes of state. It is this fact alone which has given to ermine a value considerably above its merits as compared with many other kinds of fur.
The martens are closely allied to the weasels, and they too form a numerous and widely distributed family. The most valuable of them as regards its fur is the Siberian sable. In the summer the fur is reddish-brown with grayspots, but in the winter it changes to a full, dark brown. Its fineness and the soft rich lustre of its surface render it one of the most costly and beautiful of the furs. It can rarely be worn except by wealthy persons, because, in addition to its beauty, the difficulty of procuring it adds to its value. The animal is only to be met with in the coldest and most out-of-the-way, rugged places, and the trappers have to endure every hardship of hunger and cold, and at the same time to be constantly on their guard against wild beasts. No less than ?20, ?30, and even ?40 must often be given for a single skin.
The mink is a North American animal whose fur is unrivalled for its beauty and durability. It is of a chocolatebrown color, very fine, short, and dense, with strong, stiff overhairs. It is rapidly rising in estimation, and it is not so expensive as many skins are. A very fine specimen may often be bought for ?1.
The sea-otter was formerly to be met with on the Pacific shores of North America in thousands, but the numbers have decreased considerably. The fur is jetty black and soft as velvet, the skin of the male being immeasurably superiorto that of the female. A single skin has been known to fetch as much as ?60, ?80, and even ?100, but the value has declined of late years. Still the animal is scarce, and consequently the fur is only within reach of the wealthiest.
The seal is undoubtedly, from a commercial point of view, the most important among the Carnivora. There are several varieties of the animal to be met with in almost every part of the world. The flesh of one kind is used as food, another yields seal-oil from its blubber, and another is the fur-seal. We have to concern ourselves now only with the last-named variety.
They live in millions on the rocky islands of the seas which they frequent. A seal breeding-ground, or rookery, as it is called, is a sight worth seeing. About June the bull seals begin to arrive thousands strong, and shortly after they are followed by the females. In many places, owing to the indiscriminate slaughter that was allowed to go on,the animals have entirely disappeared, and now the annual take is strictly limited by international law.
All the skins we have mentioned, and many other varieties, are known as fancy furs, or dressed furs. The skins or pelts are dressed and prepared by a sort of tawingprocess with the fur on them. The alum and salt used in the tawing convert the skin itself into a kind of kid leather, thereby arresting all tendency to putrefaction, and at the same time fixing the hairs.
Some of the commoner kinds of furs, such as those of the rabbit, hare, coypus, cat, and musk-rat, are used for felting. For this purpose the fur is removed from the skin, and beaten and pressed till it becomes matted or felted together. This is the material of which felt hats are made.
As a branch of the fur trade it forms a thriving industry, not only in England, but also in France, Belgium, and Germany.
