Hamster (Cricetus vulgare [MIAs cricetus]).-Europe, 200,000. Size, 3 in. x 5 in.; hair, short and close; back, grey ; sides, yellow ; sometimes nearly black. Abundant in Germany. Value, nominal. Use, for linings.
Hare (Lepus sp. div.)-Europe and Asia, 4,500,000. Size, various; overhair, fine; fur, fine, abundant, strong and very long ; colour, grey and white; skin, weak. Best from Arctic Russia. Shanghae exported 29,175 (including rabbit) in 1878. Value, 5d.-13. Used largely for linings, cloaks, &o., and about the best hair fir hat-makers' purposes.
IColinski or Tartar Sable (Mustela siberica).-Siberia and Tartary, 80,000. Size, 5 in. x 15 in. to 8 in. x 20 in. ; overhair, in. long; golden-red colour. Value, 2-4s. Uses, dyed to imitate dearer sables, and tails for artists' brushes.
Lion (Leo africanus, L. asiaticus, &c.).-Found throughout the greater part of Africa, and in some parts of Asia. Total, about 500. Best from Asia. Value varies much. Use, ornamental.
Lynx.-Europe and America, 50,000. size, 2 ft. x 3} ft.; overhair, 3-4 in. long, fine and flowing, clear silver-blue, sprinkled with black. In Europe, Fells Lynx (Lyncus virgatus), and L. pardinus further south, cheap and abundant at Tiflis. Fur, dark-grey, tinged with red, and having dark spots and patches. The winter rube is variously employed. The American Bay Lynx or Wild Cat (Lyncus rufus [Fells canleasis]) has shorter fur, and longer ear tips; and the fur of a variety (L. maculatus) is spotted with brown. The pelts of Bay Lynxes from the Columbia River go mostly direct to China. The fur is light but warm ; grey or rusty-hrown, spotted with dark and rufous. When dyed, it is much used by the Chinese, Greeks, Persians, &a., for cloak linings, robes, and muffs. Best from Sweden and Labrador. Values, 11-21s. for 1st large, 9-12s. for 2ud and middling, 6-9s. for 3rd and small.
Marten.-American or Pine Marten or Common Sable (Mustela leucopus): America, 130,000. Size, 5 in. x 15 in. to 8 in. x 20 in.; overhair, 1-2 in. long, fine and flowing; fur, close and thick; colour, dark ooffee-brown to pale-yellow. Fiuest from Great Whale River and Labrador. Values, 30-110s. for dark selected, 15-30s. for lsts, 10-30s. for small, 7-18s. for pale and seconds, 3-13s. for small pale and 3rds. Use, for ornament ; tips of tail valued for artists' brushes. Beech or Stone Marten, or French Sable (Mustela saxorum [Mattes albogularis]) : Europe, 150,000. Overhair,
coarse; fur, woolly ; colour, dull-grey. Throughout Europe; best from Hungary and Turkey ; common at Tiflis. Cleverly dyed by the French to imitate real sable. Value, 8-12s. for best prime. Baum or Wood Marten (Mustela abietum): Europe and Asia, 60,000. Overhair, fine; fur, woolly ; colour, brownish ; tail, long and bushy. Value, 20-40s. True Marten or Russian Sable (Mattes zibellina): Russian Empire, 100,000. Size, 5 in. x 15 in. to 8 in. x 20 in. ; overhair, very fine and flowing, of rich bluish tint, and li-21 in. long ; pelt, very soft, tough and durable. Best from Yakutsk (Siberia), next from the Lens, worst from the Lower Amoor ; while very choice specimens, of browner hue, are obtained from Kamschatka. Values, from 600s. for darkest from Okotsk, to 4-88. for poor Saghalien. Uses, ornamental trimmings.
Mink (Putorius visors [Fison lutreola] P. ingrescens, P. Cicogn«nii, and P. Richa,.dsonii): America, 250,000 ; Russia, 50,000. American mink : size, about 6 in. x 18 in.; overhair, shorter and more rigid than that of the pine marten, but having almost the same degree of bluish lustre. Most abundant in Middle and N.-W. States; best from Nova S.., Maine, and Labrador. Value, 12-40s, for lsts, 5-108. for 2nds and small, 1-5s. for 3rds. The Russian mink is smaller, and in all respects inferior. Value, 2-6s. for lsts. Uses, ladies' victorines, capes, &c.
Monkey.-Africa, 40,000. The fur of the White-thighed Colobus, from Gaboon (W. Africa), is almost the only kind utilized. The hair is long, thin, and flowing, chiefly black and dun-grey. Value, 2-6s. Used for ladies' rants.
Musk-Rat or Musquash Fiber zibethicus).-America, 3,000,000 ; Russia, 100,000. Size, 8 in. x 12 in. ; overhair, coarse and light-brown ; fur, fine, thick, and silky. The American animal is very prolific in cultivated places ; the best skins come from New England and New York, and a highly prized black variety from Delaware and Maryland. The European is most numerous about the Volga, and the adjacent lakes, from Novgorod to Saratov. Values (subject to great fluctuations), ls. 6d.-2s. for black lsts, ls. 3d.-1s. 9d. for ditto 2nds, 4-10d. for ditto 3rds and kitty; 7d.-1s. 4d. for ordinary lets, 5-10d. for 2nds, 2-5d. for 3rds and kitts. Used for cloaks, &c.; dyed and plucked, it closely resembles fur seal.