324 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



or otherwise protected. In skinning, a cross slit is made down the 

 liind legs and a longitudinal cut made along the under side of the tail 

 throughout its length, and the pelt drawn flesh side out over the bod}^ 

 and head without cutting along the abdomen. No fur whatever is left 

 on the carcass — tail, legs, and head being carefully stripped of their 

 covering, though the fur on the legs and head is of relatively little value. 

 The pelt, with the fur inside, is then tightly stretched on a stretching 

 board. The fat adhering to the flesh side is carefully removed, the 

 holes made by spears, or otherwise, carefully sewed up, and the pelt 

 placed in the open air, protected from the sun, to dr3\ When quite 

 dry, the fur is combed and the pelt rolled up and stored in a safe place, 

 whence it is occasionally removed and examined for moths, etc. 



The present method of dressing sea-otter pelts is much less com- 

 plicated than the treatment of beaver or mink, but, owing to the great 

 value of the fur, extreme care is taken at all stages. The flesh side is 

 first dampened over night with salt water, and then greased with choice 

 butter, and several skins at a time tramped in a foot tub for four or 

 five hours. Fine hard-wood sawdust is then added, and the tramping 

 continued for two or three hours longer. On removal they are mois- 

 tened with soap water over night and then shaved to thin the pelt, the 

 same as in dressing beavers. Next the}^ are worked in a tramping tub 

 with fresh sawdust for two or three hours, and on removal are cleaned 

 of sawdust, either in a beating drum or by striking with rattan sticks. 

 After combing with a fine steel comb, the skins are read}^ for deliver}'. 

 Owing to the care necessary in the process, the cost of dressing sea- 

 otter skins is about $2 each, compared with 50 cents each for those of 

 beaver and otter. Unlike other cased pelts, sea-otters are rarely ever 

 cut open at the fur-dresser's. 



MINK FURS. 



The pelage of the mink consists of dense soft fur, of excellent qual- 

 ity and nearly uniform on all parts of the body, overtopped by stiff, 

 lustrous hairs about three-fourths inch long. The color shows marked 

 variations, ranging from a light dull-yellowish brown to a dark brown- 

 ish black, but is ordinarily of a rich dark brown or chestnut brown 

 glossed with black. It is usually slightly darker on the upper parts 

 than below, the back and tail being the darkest, and the gloss is also 

 most marked in the fur of the upper parts. The choicest are nearlv 

 black, approximating the desiral)le hues of sal)le, these being generally 

 from New England, the wooded districts of Nova Scotia, and the 

 Province of Ontario. The lighter colored are of less value, and are 

 usually dyed or blended to the desired dark shade. All)inos, as well 

 as mottled and dra])-colorcd pelts, are occasionally secured. Some- 

 times skins with white hairs sprinkled in the brown fur are o))tained. 

 Often there is a white spot on the throat similar to that of the marten, 

 and a white spot or line of varying length sometimes occurs undei- 



