34 THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 



the great fur auction. Fisher is never made up into other furs. It 

 is used by itself as a one piece skin for the neck, or fur muffs ; and 

 the depth of its long hairs and pelage is such, a woman can bury her 

 hands or her face in them. It is the most durable of all the long- 

 haired furs ; and it is always high priced and holds its own on the 

 market, where mink in twenty years has fluctuated all the way from 

 90 cents, at which I have been offered good mink in the Rockies, 

 to #19 and #25 a skin, at which it recently sold. Fisher to-day 

 ranks in the same class as Russian sable. The highest Russian sable 

 in the auction of 1920 brought $790, the lowest $145; the highest 

 fisher #345, the lowest $29 ; the highest silver fox $1225, the lowest 

 #1.50 for a spoiled pelt. 



In point of durability, the fur traders universally accept this table 

 which was prepared by Marcus Petersen ; and it should be as care- 

 fully studied by every woman buying furs as a stock broker studies 

 the basic resources of the stock he buys outright. We buy furs 

 for keeps, not to sell. Here is how they keep for everyday wear. 



Taking the otter at 100 as the standard, the relative durability 

 of some of the best known furs is shown in the following table : 



Otter — Natural 100 Sable — Natural 60 



Wolverine 100 Wolf — Natural 50 



Otter — Plucked 95 Skunk — Tipped 50 



Bear — Black or Brown ... 94 Raccoon — Dyed 50 



Beaver — Natural 90 Marten — Baum — Blended . . 45 



Beaver — Plucked 85 Marten — Stone 45 



Seal — (Hair) 80 Sable — Blended 45 



Seal — (Fur) 80 Muskrat — Natural 45 



Seal — (Hair) Dyed 75 Opossum — Australian .... 40 



Leopard 75 Civet Cat 40 



Seal — (Fur, Dyed) 70 Fox — Natural 40 



Mink — Natural 70 Opossum — Natural 37 



Skunk — Natural 70 Pony — Russian 35 



Marten — Baum 65 Mink — Dyed 35 



Persian 65 Marten — Stone — Dyed ... 35 



Raccoon — Natural 65 Muskrat — Seal ...... 33 



Krimmer 60 Wolf — Dyed 30 



