Harc (Lepus europaeus).—The ordinary gray are from all parts of Europe and largely used for felting purposes; in high latitudes the fur becomes a pure white in winter-time, and a large quantity of this sort is exported from Russia, some of which are dyed to imitate other more valuable furs.
Koala or Australian Bear (Phaseolarctus cinereus), a common woolly fur, used for rugs, &c.
Kolinsky (Mustela sibiricus), a species of marten from Siberia, the tails of which are very valuable for artists' brushes (known as red sable). The colour of the fur is light yellow.
Lambs (Ovis aries).—Persian lamb, naturally black, but dyed the same colour to hide the white leather underneath, is worn by ladies and on gentlemen's coat collars, and often wrongly termed Astrakhan, which is a greatly inferior sort of lamb, chiefly worn in Canada, worth only from 1s. to 2s. 6d., whereas a Persian lamb fetches from 7s. to 22s. when dyed. The collection of the latter is about 200,000, and is imported from Persia; the Astrakhan is from Astrakhan in Russia; a similar skin to the Persian lamb, though commoner, is called Shiraz, from Shiraz in South Persia; Bokharens come from Bokhara, Ukrainer lambs from the Ukraine district, and gray Crimmers from the Crimea. Large numbers of white lambs from western Europe and Buenos Ayres are used for glove and boot linings; the white Iceland lamb as a children's fur.
Leopards (Felis pardus) are imported from Africa and India for rugs, &c. (value, 10s. to 35s.); tigers too from India (a good skin worth about £1); more valuable and thicker furred varieties of both animals are found in China, values about £7 to £12 and £10 to £60 respectively.
Lynx (F. canadensis).—The fur is of a light-brown colour, with a light silvery top on the back, that on the under part, long, soft, and spotted; about 30,000 to 80,000 are imported yearly from the Dominion of Canada, California, and Alaska. Both the annual importation and market price fluctuate considerably. Value, from 10s. to 34s.
Marten (Martes americanus).—A good and old-fashioned fur, now slowly recovering its value. The general colour is a rich brown, some skins nearly black, others again quite pale; the fur is light and soft, and generally considered one of the best for wear, appearance, price, and durability; the tails are bushy and much used for muffs, &c., a few utilised for fine artists' brushes. About 100,000 are trapped in North America, the finest in Labrador, East Maine, &c. Prices vary from 6s. to 70s. for very choice; an average price is about 20s. to 30s. Large quantities of Stone Martens (Mustela foina) and Baum or Pine Martens (M. martes) are collected in Europe.
Mink (Mustela Vison), a water animal inhabiting Canada, the United States, and Alaska; its fur is brown and short, though quite dark in colour and fine in some districts, such as Labrador, Nova Scotia, &c., but light brown and coarse in others. Annual importation, about 300,000 to 400,000; value, from 1s. to 26s. for very prime.
Black Monkey (Colobus vellorosus) possesses a long, black, silky fur, its present value being from 3s. to 10s., a fairly high price compared with its usual worth. About 50,000 to 100,000 are imported every year from the west coast of Africa. The Gray Monkey (Cercopithecus diana) and a few others come as well from Africa.
Musk-rat or Musquash (Fiber zibethicus), a North American fur, about three millions of which are imported yearly, and used in nearly all countries, either 'natural' or 'plucked' and dyed, when it makes a common imitation of seal. The fur was formerly used for felting purposes. A black variety found in Delaware is also used as a fur, but in smaller quantities. Value of former, 6d. to 1s. 9d.
Nutria or Coypu Rat (Myopotamus coypus), from South America; the fur, when 'unhaired,' forms a cheap substitute for beaver. Value, 8d. to 1s. 9d.
Australian Opossum (Phalangista vulpina), a fur much in vogue on account of its cheapness and bluish-gray natural tint; many are manufactured when dyed various shades. Some 2,000,000 are imported every year. Price from 6d. to 2s. 3d.
American Opossum (Didelphys virginiana), an entirely different fur from the foregoing, with longer upper hairs of a silver-gray colour. Importation, 200,000 to 300,000; value 1d. to 2s. 5d.
Sea Otter (Enhydra Lutriss), so abundant some years ago, has now sadly diminished in numbers owing to indiscriminate slaughter in former years, only a thousand or two being now taken annually at or near the Aleutian Islands. Its skin brings the highest individual price of all furs, and even as much as £225 has been paid for a single skin; ordinary values are from £20 to £70. The fur is dense, rich, rather long, and fine, of a dark-brown colour, the most highly valued skins possessing silvery hairs. Chiefly worn in Russia.
Otter (Lutra canadensis) is characterised by the stoutness and density of its fur, which is somewhat short like seal; used in most countries either in the natural state or 'unhaired,' and sometimes dyed. The general colour is from light to dark brown or almost black; the finest skins come from Nova Scotia and Labrador; about 16,000 are imported annually from North America, though otters are found nearly all over the world. Prices range from 9s. to 95s. for best.
Rabbit (Lepus cuniculus), from its vast quantities (probably about ten to twenty million skins are used annually), is the most widely known fur in all countries, in all shapes and forms, both 'natural' and dyed; when clipped and dyed it forms an inferior imitation of fur-seal. The greater portion of the Australian importation (about 6000 bales, containing each about 200 dozen) is used for felting in the manufacture of hats, &c.; the fur when cut off for this purpose is termed 'coney-wool.'
Raccoon (Procyon lotor) yields a serviceable fur; price from 1s. 6d. to 7s. per skin, the best dark coloured from 10s. to 20s. The colour is gray or dark gray, often with a brownish-yellow tinge; the fur is widely used in both 'natural' and dyed states. About 400,000 to 500,000 skins are yearly imported from the United States.
Russian Sable (Mustela zibellina), the most costly of all furs, considering the small size of the skin; the quality extremely fine. The darkest are the most valuable; the usual colour an amber brown and less red than marten fur. Some of the finest Yakutsk skins have realised up to £45 apiece (wholesale price), but a more ordinary value is from 40s. to 90s. About 5000 to 6000 are sold every year in London, of which many come from Kamchatka and Okhotsk.
Fur-seal (Callorhinus ursinus).—The chief supply of the Alaska seal is from the Pribylov Islands in the Behring Sea, and the take is now regulated by a treaty of 1894 between Britain and the United States, which, after years of acrid disputing, settled a close time and the number of seals to be taken by either party to the arrangement. Japan and the adjacent seas produce fur-seals; many are also taken at Cape Horn and Lobos Island, but the former great fisheries in the South Seas are nearly exhausted; the Antarctic skins (of which 834 came to London in 1892, 45 in 1893, and none in 1894) are still reckoned the best (see SEAL). In the salted state they are very unsightly and dirty; the first process in their preparation, which is almost entirely carried on in London, is 'blubbing' (removing superfluous fat, &c.), and the subsequent ones, washing, 'unhairing' (i.e. removing the long, coarse, or 'water' hairs), leathering, dyeing, shaving the pelt, and machining, which last takes away all trace of the 'water' hairs, leaving the soft velvety under-fur so well known and justly appreciated.
Various other seals, such as the Common Seal (Phoca vitulina), Greenland Seal (P. grlandica), Fetid Seal (P. fetida), and Hooded Seal (Cystophora cristata), though chiefly caught for the sake of their oil and hides, are made use of in the fur-trade, under the names of Spotted Hair Seals, Bluebacks, and Whitecoats, the two last named when dyed. The Greenland, Fetid, and Hooded seals are taken in large numbers by the Dundee whalers on the ice-floes near Greenland and Newfoundland, and it has been a common delusion that these are fur-seals, which are, however, generally killed on land.
Skunk (Mephitis mephiticus) has greatly increased as an article of commerce in the trade since 1880, whereas forty years before it was hardly known to fur-traders, being considered of little or no value from the great drawback in its powerful odour, but this has now to a great extent been overcome. The colour varies from almost white to a rich black, according as the two white stripes are more or less pronounced. About 500,000 to 600,000 skins are trapped in the central parts of the United States, a small quantity in the Dominion of Canada. Value, 6d. to 11s. 6d.
Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).—About three millions are collected yearly in Siberia and in part of Russia in Europe; the chief trade for dressing the skins and making them into the well-known cloak linings is at Weissenfels in Germany. The tails fetch an enormous price for making into boas; a few too are used for artists' brushes. Values vary from a few pence to about 1s., though the skins are sold in the trade by the hundred.
Wolf.—The finest and largest (Canis lupus occidentalis) come from Labrador and the Churchill district; the colour of these is sometimes white or blue, besides the ordinary grizzled colour. Value, 7s. 6d. to 105s., and much esteemed for sleigh robes. A smaller species, the Prairie Wolf (C. latrans), is found in larger quantities in the United States; worth only 4s. 6d. to 8s. A large number of the large, coarse Russian Wolf (C. lupus) are used as well in the fur-trade.
Wolverine (Gulo luscus), a good fur, from Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, of a rather long, coarse description, with a large more or less deep brown 'saddle' mark on its back in the centre of a paler band, with deep brown again beyond. Value, 8s. 6d. to 36s.; quantity annually imported, about 3000.
The usual mode of dressing furs is by steeping them in liquor for a short time, after which the pelts are 'fleshed' over a sharp knife (to get rid of the excess of fat, &c.), and subsequently dried off; they are next trodden by the feet in tubs of warm sawdust and common butter, by which means the pelt or leather is rendered supple; the skin is finished in dry sawdust, and beaten out.
Certain furs, such as beaver (now to a limited extent), nutria, hare, and rabbit, are used in the manufacture of hats and other felted fabrics, for which purposes the under-fur alone is retained; it is cut off from the pelt, separated from the upper hair, and felted together by means of various machinery (see HAT).