Conservation Resources Lie-Free® Type I FITRSA ND MYSTERY rs 1061 E6 )opy 1 Published by FRANK W. ENGLISH ,^.^,^>^,,^^^^^^ ,■- ."i M 191922 48 \li^\ •^^liS < pair o£ silver or black foxes represents an invest- ment o£ well into five figures. After securing a pair of fojies it is very possible that they may not survive in captivity. This virould make necessary the securing of another pair at great expense and with much delay. Although foxes and seme few other animals are nov/ being raised in captivity with fair success, it is not likely that their numbers will be so great as to lov^'er present prices when placed on the market. It is fortunate that these animal farms can fur- nish even a limited number of skins, for the news- papers tell us that there is likely to be but little trapping dene in the far North for the next ten years, epidemics of influenza having nearly wiped out whole tribes of Eskimo and Indian trappers. In 1910 to save the rapidly disappearing seals, the United States government took charge of the seal industry on the Pribiloff Islands. Under the watchful eye of the bureau of fisheries, which has charge cf the herds of seals on the islands, their numbers have increased steadily and it is probable that the price of seal will be reduced within the next few years. Until the supply of skins can be increased — either through fur farming or governmental pro- tection — it v/ill be necej:sar3/' for you to select furs v.'ith both eyes open for dishonest fur dealers v/ill continue to gouge the public just as long as they can foster upon it imitations at genuine prices. OPOSSUM The opossum continues to flourish in America and Australia despite the fact that he is hunted early and late in every season except summer. Most of the specimens in general use in the making of ladies' coats, neck pieces, muffs, etc., come from Australia and are large and pure grey, sooty or black in color. They are also better furred than \\ the American specimens, having longer fleece and i; ranking higher in value. ^ j In its arborial travels the opossum uses its '. tail as a hand, not in going up, but in coming down; when it wishes to descend it curls the end of its j tail around a branch and fearlessly swings down i MYSTERY It |iiiiiiiiiitilliiiiliiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiriiiiliiiillliiliiuiiitiiiiliiiiiilittiliiillliiliiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiin!i'iniii:iiiiiiiiiiii) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIillllllllllllllBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIillllllllllinilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll head first to the limb below, to which it could not otherwise reach and to which it dare not jump. The young opossums are not much larger thait) mice at birth. While the young arc developing the mother carries them in a pouch, where they are perfectly safe from harm, and to which they instinc- tively retreat when alarmed. Carrying a litter o£ young seems to be no handicap to Mrs. Opossum, as she swings from branch to branch in the trees. Australia also furnishes millions of rabbit skins annually in black, blue and silvery color. These are' a part of the skins used by deceiving furriers in imitating the more costly furs of sable or seal, and for which you are asked to pay a handsome- price. FISHER The demand for anything and everything furry prior to the start of the war in 1914 had carried the prices of all skins to top notch and would, with out doubt have exterminated most fur bearers,, including the fisher, had not millions of men beenr occupied with the killing of each other. The fisher is the largest member of the marten cr sable family and is found in Canada, the Lake Superior region, northern New York and occasion- ally in Pennsylvania. This animal is slender of body, has a long pointed head, short limbs and a long and very furry tail ; its fur is dense and of good color, but shorter than the fur of the marten. Many variations are noticeable in its fur, which is generally of a blackish hue with a greyish tinge on the head and shoulders; some specimens are brown on the back and grey on the sides; others are a paler shade of brown, and a few have a white spot at the throat. The fur of the fisher, aside from being in fashion in America and Paris, found a ready market in Russia, where it was used for the making of costly^ robes, ladies' hats, etc. Fisher tail trimming is also very popular at times. Fashion quite naturally determines the price of these skins and in 1906, when fisher was only mod- erately fashionable, dark raw skins brought six ta- 12 FUT?S AND ten dollars ; since that time they have steadily risen in price, until today a first-class skin will bring many times that amount. However, the £ur o£ the lisher is often imitated with raccoon and is also subject to one of the "tricks of the trade" — that of enlarging the natural skin by cutting small slits in the edges and care- fully pulling lengthwise till the notches are drawn out and the edges of the skin are again straight. BROADTAIL AND CARACUL Enormous quantities of lamb skins of various kinds are regularly used in the manufacture of wearing apparel in this and other countries. While most of the skins are white, many are light or mix- ed grey, and a few are black. Persian lamb finds large use in the manufacture of ladies' and children's apparel and in addition to being an excellent mourning fur, it is considered by seme as being superior in beauty to any fur with the possible exception of sable. Broadtail lamb skins have been taken from un- born Iambs, but are usually taken from lambs a few days old. The tight curl and the wave of the fleece show a handsome weave effect similar to that in moire silk. In fact, a garment of broad- tail, properly fitted, will show the lines of the figure equally as well as a garment of moire silk. Caracul is a handsomely figured, beautifully curled skin taken from young lambs before its excellent black color begins to change. Space does not permit us to describe the various gracies of lamb skins, but we have described the three most sought after. The others are lower in quality and should be, and generally are used in the making of cheaper garments than milady's apparel. While the demand for the various lamb skins is small in comparison to the demand for the skins of many other fur bearing animals, yet it is well to know these things and always select a furrier whose integrity is unquestioned. MYSTERY 13 THE SKINNERS OF LONDON Deceiving the public as to furs is a trait by no means peculiar to twentieth century merchants alone, for in olden times there existed in England an association o£ furriers and skin dressers known as the Skinners Company of London. This association was established under a royal charter granted by Edward III and evidently the substitution of one fur for that of far greater value and other tricks were practised in those days as much as they are today by some merchants, for history tells us that the chief concern of this association was to prevent buyers from being im- posed upon. That this association was long lived and much needed is evidenced by the fact that a century later the members of the Skinner's Company re- ceived another charter giving them the right to inspect not warehouses and open markets alone, but workrooms as well. From this series of talks upon furs and fur dealers we do not want you to gain the impression that the majority of fur dealers are dishonest, unscrupulous or devoid of a thorough knowledge of the fur business. That is far from being the case — cur purpose in publishing these talks is to tell the prospective purchaser of furs what he or she should know, the better to distinguish between the reliable and the unreliable furrier. Nearly every concern dealing in furs occasionally advertises its stock or parts of it at reduced prices. But some concerns are dishonest enough to mark up the prices on a garment from twenty-five to one hunderd per cent, then cut the marked price to the original selling price and advertise "Great Price Reduction. There are conditions which make price reduc- tions perfectly legitimate — one, for instance, is the weather. In order to show a steady volume of business month by month and in order to keep its workers busy the year around, the inducement of reduced prices is afforded during the warmer weather. 14 FURS AND iiijiiiiiiiiiiijiijiimiiiiiiiiiiHiii CIVET AND RINGTAIL CATS The ringtail and civet cats each have excuses for occupying a niche in the world's fur market. The former, after being dyed, very closely re- sembles sable and is used to imitate that fur- Frequenting the western slopes and Pacific Coast, from Canada to Mexico, the ringtail, rightly aiamed, for it has eight black and seven white rings of fur on its tail, is of light grayish brown •color and not at all handsome in its natural state. The civet is not often used as a substitute, but is very popular with people of pronounced bizarre taste, for it is so strikingly marked, with its large number of broad and narrow lines of white Tunning irregularly through the otherwise black fur that the wearer is destined to be the cynosure for many eyes. Reiterating how necessary it is to protect one's interests by dealing with people of experience, the following incident occurred some time ago. A customer entered a store and asked to be shown a Kolinsky coatee, and the clerk immediately laid before her a garment of stone marten, v/hich was recognized at once by the customer. Upon inquiring of the clerk as to the length of time she liad been employed selling furs, the clerk replied. "Four v^eeks, but you can learn ail about fur in that time." CHINCHILLA Far up in the Andes Mountains in Chili and Bolivia are the native haunts of the chinchilla. This little animal furnishes the most beautiful fur found in Sout^ America, or, according to many, in the whole world. The genuine chinchilla fur (we say genuine chinchilla fur because there are several cross breeds of the chinchilla whose fur does not compare with the genuine in density or softness) is as soft and delicate as purified down and its exquisite color- ing embraces every sh^de of grey from the light- est to the darkest. The chinchilla is a very small animal, being from ten to fourteen inches in length, including MYSTERY 15 the tail, and until some twenty-five years ago the annual coliection of skins amounted to more than four hundred thousand. A few years ago, however, the Chilian government enacted a law prohibiting the catching, selling and exporting of these skins. After March 1922, they may be caught in limited numbers during but four months of the year. Because the majority of chinchilla skins came from Chili, the price of this fur has risen steadily since the enactment of this drastic protective measure till today only these of us possessing ample means can afford to adorn ourselves with this beautiful fur. In addition to the chinchilla. South America annually furnishes us with skins of the otter, wolf, skunk, weasel, puma, coypu. fox, wild cat, jaguar, paco and rabbit, as well as deer, elk, goat and sheep skins. Your preference in furs may or may not be chinchilla, but v/hatever i': may be, select it much as you v/ould a diamond — from a dealer whose reliability is assured and whose guarantee is de- pendable. AS A FURRIER BUYS— Fur buying is a side to the fur business equally as important to the prospective purchaser as the selling of furs, whether they be sold honestly or dishonestly. To deal honestly with the customers of his con- cern, the fur buyer must know furs from A to Z — he must know elxactly what he is buying and must sell them for exactly what they are. Then, too, he must know just v/hat constitutes a reasonable buy- ing price and a legitimate selling price. Unless he knows these things and unless he deals honestly with the public, most of whom know really little regarding furs, it will not take long for his con- cern to establish a reputation not at all envied by its more honest competitors. A dealer who v/ishes to deliberately deceive his patrons may, easily enough, offer imitations upon which the workmanship is so skillful that it is hard to distinguish between them and the genuine. Of course it is easy to detect badly or heavily dyed imitations for the under hiv is darkened be- 16 _^^_^ £.H,5.lual!ll? yond its natural state and the skin itself is stained, but a cleverly dyed skin will deceive all but an expert. In imitation of the more or less expensive furs the domestic cat provides a wide variety of furs. White rabbit is sometimes sold as ermine, chin- chilla or even fox; the fur of the muskrat readily lends itself to imitations of seal, mink, sable and otter; hare skins dyed have been sold as sable, fox or lynx, and common red fox skins are dyed in imitation of black fox and with white hairs added are sold as silver fox, one of the most expensive furs on the market. The price of furs varies perhaps more than that of any other commodity of changeable value, and, as shown, substitution of one fur for another is comparatively easy. WOLVERINE It may seem like a small thing to the purchaser of furs, but nevertheless a few weeks' difference in the time a pelt is taken makes a tremendous difference in the finished fur piece. If you were selecting a fur could you tell whether the animal from which the pelt was taken was captured at the right time of the year or whether it was caught too early or too late? Probably not. A pelt captured early in the fall, before the temp- erature settles down below the freezing point, is unprime and is known as a "blue pelt." The fur of a blue pelt is invariably immature and the leather is weak. Had the animal been taken but a few weeks later the fur would have been far more valuable and would give immeasurably more wear. Pelts taken a few weeks late, that is, after the temperature has risen to above freezing, are known as "shedders." This is because the animal when taken was about to shed its heavy winter coat. Even after the skin has been taken from the animal, dressed, dyed and made up into the finished fur it will continue to shed. TJfiis makes it poor in wearing qualities. Any furrier who knows his business knows that shedders and blue pelts are almost worthless and ^^ MYSTERY 17 ■liiiiiMiHiiiMiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nil iiiiniiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiitiiiiiiiiiniiii injiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiui nfliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiii 11 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii nil iiiiiiiiiiii I iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiixi if he is at all honest with his patrons he will not buy them at any price. Until laws are enacted prohibiting the capture of animals before their skins are prime, some furriers will continue to buy these furs because of their cheapness, selling them at prices asked for prime skins at more re- liable fur stores. AN EXPLANATION There may be those who have gained the im- pression that we believe this store is the only store dealing honestly with the public in the matter of furs. We are glad to say that this is not the case — there are concerns v/ho feel about the fur business just as we do — that the public should be told just what each particular fur is even though it be an imitation. These firms are glad to see an ex- pose made of the tricks of the unscrupulous fur dealer, and never willingly mislead the public re- garding furs either in their advertisements or in the selling of the garments. Occasionally, how- ever, the honest fur dealer is compromised through the ignorance of some of his salespeople. Aside from the determination to be strictly honest, these fur dealers know that to remain in business for long it is absolutely necessary that the public get exactly what it pays for and that while for the time being sales and profits might be larger if they resorted to deception — in the end they will profit far more if they treat the public honestly. If you are buying a substitute, or imitation fur, what interests you most is what you pay for it. In good fur shops you pay its real worth. It is of real value for its own sake. But if the dealer begins to refer to it as some especial kind of seal, or other costly skin, put it down in your little book that there are furs in the same collection being offered for what they are not. It's like "Japanese crab meat," which is a good quality of cod-fish. Of course there are many concerns, both large and small, which will never be entirely honest till compelled to be by law. These same firms prefer to sell their garments by deception whenever 18 FURS AND UIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIItllllllllllllllllllKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII necessary to make the sale, either making an ad- justment or taking back the garments should the purchaser ever learn of the deception. We can suggest but one way to avoid this latter class of fur dealers — when you start out to shop for furs, choose your fur dealer much as you would a security for the safe investment of your money. PLUCKING AND UNHAIRING Most every one knows that rav/ furs must be dressed and dj'^ed before they can be rendered nt to wear. There is another process about which most people know nothing — that of plucking and unhairing. Nearly all fur-bearers have a coat of long, coarse hairs scattered over their coat of more abundant soft hairs. This under coat is what is known as fur. While in most animals the under coat is by far the more beautiful, there are a few animals whose skins are equally beautiful v/hen made up natural. To the latter class belong the muskrat, otter and beaver. Skins v/hich are to be plucked are soaked in v/ater till the leather is softened and the pores crc.ned the r!:ins are then v/armcd arjd the leather ?ide cf the pelt ic fihaved to cut ci'f the roots of the long hairs. Plucking is then comparatively easy. Some other skins, principally seal, are plucked by a different process. For this purpose a machine was perfected late in the nineteenth century which m.akes possible the plucking of a pelt more rapidly and with better results. It is in this process of plucking or unhairing that certain skins take their first step toward im- itating more valuable furs. For instance: muskrat and coney skins are sheared till the surface is of uniform depth. After this they are either made up natural or dyed to resemble some costlier fur. Whether sold under its own name or som.e other name, there is a great deal of work to the pre- paring of furs for the adornment or comfort of their future wearers. The practical and reliable fur dealer knows and understands each operation as well as the "tricks of the trade." MYSTERY 19 STONE MARTEN The Stone Marten substitutes are opossum and raccoon. Unfortunate, indeed, is the p^'rchaser v;ho pays the price cf stone marten and is given a substitute, for genuine stone marten is one of the costliest and most durable of furs. The skins must all be imported, either from Europe, Asia or India. Those coming from Turkey^ Bosnia. Hungary and Greece being the most beauti- ful, Vvrhile in Russia, Germany, Greece, Turkey and. Asia Minor they are caught in greatest numbers. Though resembling the common weasel in con- tour and action, they are brown in color and some- times called tlie white-throated marten because o£ the marking on that nortion of the animal. Another species of this little carnivorous animal' is the pine marten, a native of that part of North America wherein the pine trees grow over large areas, as it is in those trees that it obtains its chief.: source of food of birds, birds' eggs and squirrels. The color of the American Marten is also of as deep brown shade, almost black in some cases,. though some specimens are quite light with yellow- ish, tinted throat and breast. While ordinarily somewhat higher prices are paid for the darker shades, yet many people prefer the fur of the lighter hue; and it is but a matter o£ choice. The handsome color and densit7/ of fur of the marter. caught in the regions of the Hudson's Bay so closely resembles sable that it is often sold as Hudscn Bay Sable, but you will find that the reliable furrier will apprise you of this fact when you are shopping for fur apparel. SQUIRRELS There are so many species of squirrels and "near- squirrels" climbing trees, cracking nuts and "meow- ing" in all parts of the world, that Milady's squirrel coat, when bought in an unreliable store is indeed a mystery. The fur of the American squirrel is of no greater value than that of the common house cat, and yet even the latter is used to imitate the genuine. 20 FURS AND The species that ere valuable come £rcm Russia and Siberia, those from the Amoor district in East- ern Siberia being the finest. These are known as Saccamania squirrels. The seccnd class is known as Yalrjtsky squirrels, which arc divided into tvv'o kinds. Then come the Lensky squirrels in four assortments according to color. Next the Yeniseiky class in three grades. Then Obskoy, Beisky, Kasan and so on down the line to poor old "Tabby" or "Tommy". The full meaning of this is that you must de- pend entirely upon the integrity of your dealer for honest value at v/hatever price you pay. Suppose, for instance, you pay for Saccamania and get Yatkutsky, or even Lensky — who knov/s, but the dealer? Most people do not have sufficient time these busy days to even stop to learn the pro- nunciation of the various names, much less their relative value. And what if they DID know the entire list? The dealer who plans to increase his profits by substitution v/ould just as soon tell you the piece in your hand v/as first grade Yakutsky, even though it be but fourth grade Lensky, knowing that none but an exoerienced furrier could catch him in the lie. It is vitauv imrrort.mt, too, to remesiber that the grcstcst field for deceit is in the cla^s that is most in demand — tiie good medium grade. ^ MARMOT A fur bearing animal which runs the muskrat a good second for diversity of service and dur- ability is the Marmot, a little burrowing fellow of northern Europe. When alive its color is grey blended v/ith yel- low on the back and sides and greyish-bro^vn on the balance of the body. Along in the latter part of September it seeks its home in the earth and from then on till spring it is "not in" to visitors. The discovery of the marmot as a fur apparel possibility gave to people of moderate means the opportunity to obtain a handsome, lustrous durable fur. For the fur manufacturer by treatment and dyeing, brought forth the marmot skin so close in MYSTERY 21 resemblance to the mink, even to the extent of producing the brilliancy of the December and January caught mink, that detection is difficult except by the experienced handler of furs. It is also used as a substitute for Jap mink. As before stated imitation" furs when sold as such are honest business transactionc which no one de- plores, but it is well to protect yourself against substitution by requesting a written guarantee that the article you purchase is just what the ticket calls for. At a fur sale in St. Louis some time ago, twenty- siv thousand house cat skins were offered. Are you sure that you would know old Tabby's skin if it were dressed in another color and name? FURS AND V/ARS The fur business has always felt the paralyzing effect of war as much as any other business and far more than some other lines of business. This is probably due to the fact that America, almost since its discovery, has been a fur exporting country. When the war of 1812 broke out, fur conditions in this country v/ere quite different from those of a hundred year later. At that time the annual col- lection of skins v/as far in excess of their domestic consumption and most of the furs exported v/ere sold at the fur markets in London. With the war on the market value of skins dropped till trapping was unprofitable. During our war of 1860-65 thousands cf former hunters and trappers joined the colors. As a con- sequence, prices of skins were high and the collec- tion far belov/ the demand. The havoc created by the v/orld war resulted in far greater loss to the fur business than did the earlier conflicts. Practically all of the countries at war were heavy consumers of furs from this country. When their ports were closed to Amer- ican shipping the prices of skins began to tumble. Merchants, in the face of rapidly changing condi- tions, bought but in small lots, a fact which fur- ther depressed the fur market. Many trappers, too, used to receiving far higher prices for their pelts, refused to accept the low 22 FURS AND prices offered and trapping was almost at a stand- still until the demand for skins for military use somewhat strengthened the fur market. With the close cf the war the demand for furs for consumption both at home and abroad increased to a point far beyond that of pre-war days, and far beyond the supply. As the demand increased substitution likewise increased. Make sure of the furs you are buying by seeking a reliable fur- rier, for the immense amount of substitution makes a rich harvest for the unscrupulous dealer. FOX Foxes of every imaginable size, color and quality -of fur are found in every continent and country on the face of the globe. They range from skins tscarccly worthy of removel from the carcass to those which bring higher than three hundred dollars •in their raw state. Such being the case, it is unnecessary to go outside the Fox family itself to find room for enough substitution to make one's head swim. And unfortunately, it is true that no stone has been left unturned, or, to use a more apt expression — no fox has been left untampered, by unreliable furriers in their efforts to sell clever imitations at the price of the genuine. It seems v/ell right here to give a general idea of the relative values of the better known classes of fox skins, even though the average buyer has no way cf knov/ing that the skins she purchases are not masquerading in the class in which they have been placed. First comes the black fox, a native of Siberia, Canada and Alaska. Then, the silver fox, also , found in the same places, in Greenland and the northern parts of the United States as well; the blue fox from Alaska, Greenland, Iceland and Can- ada; the cross fox (bearing a dark stripe across its shoulders and down its back), found in Canada, northern New York, Wisconsin and Michigan. After these comes the white fox, which, strangely is either in strong demand or almost neglected. In the latter case the skin is skillfully dyed to imitate the black or the bhie fox — an imitation that MYSTERY 23 would seem quite legitimate i£ ALL furriers would sell the skins as good imitation, and NOT as the genuine. The red fox is next in value, and following this the gray fox, a skin, with few exceptions, of little merit. There are other species beyond number, running lower and lov/er in valuation as the list lengthens, but you have read enough to see that fox skins may easily "jump" from one grade to another and that it is absolutely imperative to deal with a reliable furrier if you would get what you pay for. BEAVER Beaver is a fur which has been in great demand ever since the discovery of America; even before the arrival of the white man, the beaver was hunted and trapped by the Indian for its fur and as an ar- ticle of food. Owing to the ease with which they could be captured a quarter million pelts was an average year's catch up until late in the nineteenth century, but during the past thirty years the beaver has been growing scarcer unil today the annual catch is far under one hundred thousand peits. The fur of the beaver is remarkably soft and dense and varies in color from a beautiful golden brown to darker chestnut hues — some are reddish brown and others nearly black. Occasionally a pure white beaver is caught. The woman who has set her heart upon possess- ing a beaver coat or fur will do well to investigate carefully the reputation of the furrier from when* 24 FURS AND she intends to buy, for the skin of the rabbit is sometimes plucked and dyed as a substitute for beaver, to which it corresponds in appearance, but not in durability. Nutria is another fur closely resembling beaver and is often sold as such. While any genuine beaver fur is very beautiful and very desirable, the cheeks of the beaver fur- nish a superior grade of fur which is largely used for trimmings and in the making cf the smaller fur pieces. It is estimated that the combined salaries of our school teachers, policemen and firemen do not total much more than one half the amount of money spent, and mis-spent, in furs. How greatly our educational and protection sys- tems could be improved if the mone}^ wasted in the unreliable fur store could be directed to that cause. Then, too, you would get real value for your money and your satisfaction would be two-fold. Before buying a beaver or any other fur, be sure your furrier is not only honest, but that he knows his business as well. PRICE VS. QUALITY A lady recently looked at a fur coat in the store or a certain furrier and considered his price fori the garment was too high; a few days later she vis- 5 ited another store, finding a coat of the same fur i| and looking identically like the coat shown her: by the other furrier. She had almost decided to take the coat at the ; lower price, but, out of curiosity, she decided to ascertain, if possible, why there was such a vast , difference in price on these two coats appearing to | her to be identical. Possibly you have met with the same experience, ; so we'll tell you what she found : the first coat was , made from whole skins, while the second and ! cheaper coat was but a collection of small pieces or odds and ends of the same kind of fur, pieced to- gether, the density of the fur hiding the cheaper skins used in the piecing. Needless to say, she bought the higher priced' coat, which was far the cheaper in the end. MYSTERY 25 This is by no means an unusual occurrence, for a clever furrier, willing to deceive his patrons for the sake of long profits, by cutting the skins into strips and piecing them together v/ith sheep skin or some other cheaper hide, can turn out a garment as good looking as the garment made from whole skins. The lining and padding of such pieces aid the dishonest furrier in his deception, but if you will grasp the garment firmly and rub it slowly between the hands, the many seams can readily be felt. This only proves that furs, like diamonds, should be bought from a dealer whose reputation for re- liability makes trickery impossible. SKUNK Skunk is a good fur that has had to live down 'its own name. , Before the war, while Europe was buying Amer- can skunk skins under their rightful title, it was Found necessary, to sell it successfully in this coun- ty — to "rechristen" the animal as black marten, American Sable or French Sable. The deception, however, was finally discarded )y most of those who had adopted it, and today he purchaser of skunk fur has a strangely different )roblem on her hands — that of really getting skunk when she asks for it instead of some inferior fur iyed to imitate it. 26 FURS AND aiiiiiiiiii ti riitiiiiiii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiifhiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiMuiiiiiiiiuiu Poor little animal. First it dare not be known under its own real name, and now after the super- iority of its fur has won out over all obstacles, the title previously despised is now falsely used to sell a variety of substitutes. Among the more prominent masqueraders o£ skunk fur are raccoon and opossum, both of which have to be dyed to carry out the deception. Many a good reliable furrier carries in stock imitation skunk to serve those who do not care to pay the price cf the genuine, but where he differs from his imreliable brother is in the fact that he sells it honestly, properly priced, as imitation skunk, and NOT as genuine skunk improperly priced. Like ail other furs, skunk is naturally of many shades, ranging from skins that are almost unworthy of curing, up to truly beautiful peltries rivaling marten in excellence. This then, adds another reason to the long list for shunning the dealer who lacks integrity, for af- ter all, it would probably be better to get a good grade of raccoon or opossum imitation of skunk than the bottom grade of the genuine article. The furrier of established reliability is your one and only protection against fraud. THE INEXPERIENCED CLERK The sublime ignorance displayed by inexperienced clerks in seme stores in answering customers* questions is pathetic, but would be immoderately ludicrous v/cre it not for the fact that it is so often very costly to the customer. For instance, a girl v/as shopping for a beaver collar, and upon being shown one asked if the £ur was genuine beaver, and the clerk said, "Yes, that is genuine Nutria Beaver." Upon being pinned down for an explanation of what Nutria is, the clerk said that it is the fur from a beaver's stom- ach. Now, is it any seven-day wonder why people become dissatisfied when their fur apparel does not wear, or look, as it should. Nutria, the trade name of the South American Coypu, closely re- sembles some grades of North American Beaver, MYSTERY 27 IMIirillllllllllllllllllllllMllllllllllllllll L UU I VM iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I II II inl but there is no reason why it should be sold as "Nutria Beaver", or the more ridiculous explana- tion, "fur from the beaver's stomach". Personal supervision by one of practical exper- ience should be given all transactions in fur. Clerks should have sufficient knowledge of furs that would enable them to be the buyers' assistant, and not merely a selling automaton. The shop of reliable furs will not only represent the merchandise in its true form, but when neces- sary will also open a seam and show what is be- low the beautiful lining and padding. Fur of the wolf makes warm, durable muffs and is highly prized by many owners, but, in view of the fact that a majority of people are but children in the hands of the unscrupulous dealer, it is well to beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing. 28 FURS AND iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiimiiiiiiiiiiiinim LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 018 371 001 1 ♦ Conservation Resource Lig-Free® Type 1 Ph 8.5, Buffered LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS ■■r 018 371 001 1 •