102 THE FUR TRADE OF AMERICA 



to remember one silver fox farm had cleaned up $225,000 before 

 nearest neighbors knew it was not a failure. 



Male mink are very vicious and sometimes canine teeth have 

 to be filed before they are admitted to their mates. The warning 

 is issued by all mink ranchers to wear mitts, and to take the young 

 away from the mothers at the 8th or 10th week, or one may have the 

 blood-thirst awakened in him some night and slake it in the jugular 

 vein of his mother or his brother. Oh, they are a nice domestic 

 little bunch, the minks ; and there is nothing so becoming in a mink 

 to me as its apotheosis into a girl's collar. It is once the scalper's 

 scalp can be worn with beauty, satisfaction and a sense of righteous- 

 ness. 



In summer, vary the diet with milk, bread and mush. 



I do not know the why of it, but feeders all warn not to give 

 salt in any form to mink. 



Prices of breeders run from $30 to $200 a pair. 



Next comes the kolinsky, which in the last ten years has become 

 a favorite fur in America. 



Kolinsky is not a false mink. It is simply a Siberian and Japan- 

 ese mink, which has to be dyed because its native color is something 

 between an orange and the shade of the yolk of an egg. It is known 

 as "the red sable," "the Turkish sable" and "the golden sable." 

 Its body is about 18 inches long and its tail is used for paint brushes. 

 About 80,000 a year are trapped in Siberia. The Japanese kolinsky 

 is a lighter yellow than the Siberian; and the tail of the kolinsky 

 is much fuller than the tail of the American mink. The belly is 

 light, almost white. 



Only a few years ago, kolinsky skins sold at 32 cents. This 

 spring, they sold at #5 to #7 in New York. 



Dyed by hand, a good kolinsky can hardly be detected from 

 Russian sable. It is a favorite lining for the Turkish trade, which 

 explains why it is called "fire marten," or "Tartar sable." It is 

 almost the size of the cat, 14 to 18 inches long, with a tail 4 to 8 

 inches ; and the female is always larger than the male. 



