The Fur Animals of Louisiana 61 



ing mammals, represented by squirrels, chipmunk, beaver, 

 muskrat, native rats, hares, and field mice. 



The Ungulata, or hoofed mammals, have but one repre- 

 sentative in Louisiana, the Louisiana white-tailed deer, 

 while the MarsupUia, or pouched mammals, have a single 

 representative, the opossum, by no means an unimportant 

 pelt in the fur marts today. 



The Insectivora, or insect eaters, are represented by the 

 common mole and several species of shrews, but they form 

 an inconsequential group as far as fur trade is concerned. 



What Makes Fur Beautiful? 



It has been frequently pointed out that there are two 

 prime requisites for furs which make them, in our phrase- 

 ology, beautiful — health and youth. 



Health of the animal determines the lustre, and youth 

 gives the fur its texture, or that "smooth, silky quality," 

 as it is frequently termed. 



A third element (that of cold) is not necessary for the 

 creation of fine furs with such quadrupeds as raccoons, 

 opossums, otters, minks and muskrats. This is very evi- 

 dent from amphibious mammals. Other species of mammals 

 do need cold to give them a firm and prime pelt; in this 

 category can be placed such prized furs as those from the 

 silver fox, marten, fisher, and weasel (ermine) as they, to 

 combat the rigors of a long and freezing winter, put on a 

 thicker coat of fur, but sometimes this is done at a sacrifice 

 of quality. 



Therefore, good furs from the sub-tropics are not to be 

 looked upon as strange, unnatural or impossible. The 

 strange thing is that furs can come from too far north, for 

 they are without the quality possessed by pelts taken in 

 more temperate localities. 



And, too, it must not be forgotten that in winter, in 

 Louisiana, when the temperature falls to 32 degrees above 

 zero, that the water of the marsh lands is just as cold as 

 the waters of the northern tier of states. If the water 

 would be any colder it would freeze solid and muskrats 



