CHAPTER XIX. 



FERRETS AS FUR BEARERS. 



TEW buyers of American raw furs, so far, 

 have quoted ferret skins on their price 

 lists of furs. Some dealers quote the 

 brown weasel 2 to 5 cents ; rabbits, whole 

 skins, 1 cent each. Squirrels, moles and wood- 

 chucks (groundhogs) worthless. Squirrels, the 

 American kind, have no fur — only hair — and 

 same applies to the woodchuck. Moles have nice, 

 soft fur but being such a small animal have here- 

 tofore had no fur value although thousands have 

 been yearly imported from Europe that appar- 

 ently are no better than those inhabiting the 

 United States. No doubt the American variety 

 will in time have a fur value. 



In the early days beaver was the staple fur 

 although bear, otter, fisher, marten, wolf, lynx, 

 fox, mink, raccoon and muskrat were all ex- 

 ported in quantities as early as 1750 but not un- 

 til the year 1843 do records show that the com- 

 mon house cat and chinchilla (a South American 

 animal) were exported. American opossum and 

 fur seal were added a few years later, but not 

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