392 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



which are just ordinary 'coons, and the swamp 'coon is 

 always a better animal than the marsh, or "Salt water" 

 coon, as the latter is usually yellowish or "rusty," a 

 pelage condition due largely to the fact that the marsh 

 'coons become 'burnt" from the sun, whereas the swamp 

 raccoons have the shade of the swamp tree growth to 

 protect its fur from the bleaching effects of the sun's 

 rays. 



Opossum Fur 



Good No. 1 opossum skins deep with fur can either be 

 used in the natural state or they can be dyed in splendid 

 imitation of skunk and other kinds of fur, and, therefore, 

 can be sold at a price much under the genuine article 

 that it is made to resemble. 



For this reason it is necessary for a No. 1 'possum to 

 be prime with underfur deep and fully developed, free of 

 so-called "weakspots" and of full size. If the underfur is 

 skimpy, with the long, coase guard hairs predominating, 

 the skin cannot serve any very useful fur purpose, and it 

 is graded a No. 2, 3, or 4, according to condition and size. 



Opossum pelts are never graded as largely by the pelt 

 as are other fur animals, principally because of the large 

 amount of fat that remains on the skin, the depth and 

 quality of the underfur are the principal items to be con- 

 sidered in grading them for the fur market. 'Possums 

 trapped early in the fall or in the spring when they have 

 begun to shed are usually of little value and this fur 

 animal should be trapped in the middle of the winter. 



In preparing the opossum for the fur market it should 

 be skinned so that it can be dried cased with the pelage on 

 the inside and the pelt outside of the stretcher. 



Raccoon Fur 



The raccoon has a skin that has come into such promi- 

 nence in the fur world of late as to cause its value as a 

 raw pelt to mount rapidly and, as this state is the fore- 

 most producer of this fur animal and because it occurs 

 uniformly throughout Louisiana, it has become a factor 

 in the returns earned by trappers here every winter. 



