UTILIZATION OF THK SKINS OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 297 



When dried in the open air the fur becomes whitish, and when dried 

 by subjection to steam or other artificial heat it assumes a yellow, 

 carrot-lilce hue. This explains the abbreviations W. C. (white carrot) 

 and Y. C (yellow carrot) always given in connection with the designa- 

 tion of each kind of felting fur. In the preparation of beaver and some 

 other furs, the carroting is occasionally omitted, but this raw stock 

 does not felt so readily and is usually mixed with properly carroted fur. 



After drying, the carroted skins are brushed })y holding each one 

 for a few seconds against a revolving wheel studded with quills. 

 This is for the purpose of removing all dust and to straighten the fur 

 so that it may l)e readil}- cut from the skin. Originally the cutting 

 was done bv manual labor, a pair of shears being used, and later by 

 means of an ingenious mechanism giving a chopping motion to a ver- 

 tically mounted knife. At present a much better machine is used, 

 which with great rapidity cuts the pelt from the fur in little narrow 

 strips about one-sixteenth of an inch in width and equaling in length 

 the width of the skin. These strips of coriaceous membrane fall into 

 a receptacle and go to the w^aste heap or to the manufacturers of 

 certain oleaginous compounds. An endless apron carries the fur for- 

 ward without disarranging it or changing its natural formation, where 

 it is properly assorted ))y experienced operators. 



Each assortment consists of the fur from a particular part of the 

 skin, the chief divisions being the back, the sides, and the belly. Fur 

 cut from the back is the darkest in color; that from the sides is 

 lighter, and somewhat lower in quality. The belly fur is nearly 

 always the lightest in color. It varies in quality, however, being the 

 finest of the principal grades when cut from the beaver, nutria, or 

 muskrat skins, and the lowest when obtained from the skins of land 

 animals, such as the cony and rabbit. Minor assortments consist of 

 the fur cut from the tails of various animals and from the cheeks of 

 the beaver, the latter being the choicest felting furol)tainable. Belly 

 fur is used in making light-colored hats; that from other portions is 

 availalile for the production of felt hats of every desirable color. All 

 of these assorted furs are placed separately in paper bags, contain- 

 ing 5 pounds each in America and England and ii- kilograms each in 

 France, in which they are stored or marketed. 



The blown furs are those obtained from fur-cutters' waste, which 

 every furrier establishment saves carefully. These pieces are assorted 

 and sold to the cutters of hatters' furs at prices ranging from $1.25 per 

 pound for beaver to 15 cents per pound for mink clippings. The fur- 

 cutter runs them through a chopping machine, where they are cut into 

 minute pieces, and afterwards are repeatedly blown to separate the 

 fur from the overhairs and pieces of skin. Blown fur is not usually 

 carroted, and since it is short and is not readily assorted into various 

 grades it sells for considerably less than cut fur. 



