through and the skin pulled back 

 peeling easily to the front feet 

 (fig, 40). Strong pressure by the 

 thumb and a quick yank pulls the 

 skin loose from the front feet, leav- 

 ing the fur side turned inward. 

 While this method is fast, it can re- 

 sult in badly torn pelts. The skin 

 should be carefully cut around the 

 ears, eyes, nose, and lips to free it 

 without tearing. 



Preparing the Pelts 



After the daily catch has been 

 skinned, the pelts are usually too 

 moist to stretch immediately. If a 

 skin is stretched when wet the dried 

 fur is thin and straggly in appear- 

 ance and the pelt is graded down by 

 the fur buyer. The skins should be 

 suspended on nails or hooks over- 

 night by the nose tip, fur side out. 

 The following morning they are 

 placed on fur stretchers fur side in, 



Figure 37. — The muskrat may be sus- 

 • pended for skinning by means of a -"H^ 

 looped cord about its tail. 



the feet and tail removed. One of 

 the quicker and better ways of 

 skinning a muskrat is to pass the 

 knife around the hind leg just above 

 the hock in a circular cut, make a 

 slit from that point up the middle 

 of the leg to the base of the tail, 

 around or across it, and down the 

 other leg to the heel in reverse man- 

 ner. The body is then pushed 



Figure 38. — This New York trapper uses 

 a swivel-type No. 1 jump trap, nailed 

 to a board, to hold the muskrat firmly 

 by its tail while he peels off the skin. 



29 



