FURS are articles made from the skins of fur-bearing animals prepared with the hair left on. A fur-bearer, in the language and prac tice of the fur-trade, is an animal that has a short, fine, soft coat through which grow longer hairs. (For a list of fur-bearing animals and their residence, see FUR-TRADE) . This over hair is straight, smooth, somewhat stiff and serves as a protection against cold and wet. The beauty of such pelts as those of foxes and the weasel tribe is due largely to this long overhair, and when it is at its best, in prepara tion for winter, the animal is said to be *prime.' In some, however, as the otter, beaver and sometimes the skunk the pelt is improved for use by pulling or *plucking' out these long hairs. Conversely, long hairs are sometimes in serted, or "pointed,* into manufactured skins, as in making a fraudulent silver-fox.
The underfur, or ((fur* proper, consists of soft, silky, curly filaments. It is usually short and thick, and toward the skin it grows lighter in color. It is barbed lengthwise and hence is capable of felting— whence the value of rab bit-fur in hat-molding. *In a prime pelt,* says Jones, underfur is hardly discernible unless the overhair is blown apart. Then the light color of the underfur appears. If it were generally known that the undyed skin is whitish, and that the underfur close to the skin is a light drab, or pale blue color, it would not be so easy to sell dyed skins as (natural)* Two methods are used in taking the pelt off the animal's body and saving it for market. The larger animals, as bear, wolf, wolverine, beaver and others, are regularly skinned and the hides are scraped clean of flesh, stretched on a flat surface and dried in a cool place. Small skins are opened by slitting inside the hind legs, the bones of which are removed, clipping and taking out the tail-bones and then stripping the skin from the body. The pelt, then wrong side out, is stretched by means of hoops or wedged boards fitted to each kind, cleaned and permitted to dry in this stretched form. This is called *casing.' Much of the
value of the pelt depends on the care of this original preparation and the subsequent packing for shipment. Sealskins are packed with salt in barrels as soon as flayed.
Dressing and Until the modern introduction of machinery, the dressing of the *raw* pelt began with the placing of them in a bath of lye. *When the ugh has become soft,* it was prescribed, *the skins are tubbed and then shaved, by passing them over a large knife, and placed in an upright position; they are next buttered, and put in a large tub of sawdust by men half naked, who tread on them for some time .. • rendering the leather soft and supple; they are then beaten out and fin ished.' The complicated operations of the art, varying with different pelts, are now performed mainly in great factories, and by special ma chinery. The process in general is as follows: The skins are first dampened on the flesh side and left all night to soften. In the morning they are placed, perhaps 2,000 at once, in a tramping-machine and kneaded for 8 or 10 hours, then taken out and left to soak over night in a mixture of brine and sawdust. The next morning they are fleshed by hand, then stretched and hung up to dry. When thoroughly dry they are again moistened with salt water and left over night. Brushed on the leather side with some animal oil or fat, they are then laid together in pairs, hair side out, and the next day are kneaded again in a tramping machine until perfectly soft and supple. after which they are stretched in every direction.
The next process is cleaning, 300 or 400 skins being placed in revolving drums exposed to steam heat, with sawdust which in time absorbs all their grease. The skins are next incased in a beating-drum, where they are revolved and hammered for two or three hours. On removal they are beaten by hand with rattans, and finally the hair is combed.