CHAPTER XIII 



THE OTHER GREAT STAPLE FURS. SKUNK, RACCOON, BADGER, 

 WOLVERINE, CAT, COUGAR, LYNX, RED AND WHITE FOX, BEAR, 

 WOLF, ERMINE, CHINCHILLA, MOLE, RABBIT, FITCH, OPOSSUM 



While the rare furs are so spectacular that they catch the 

 public eye first, in the great volume of the world's fur trade, it is 

 what might be called the lesser furs and the commoner furs that 

 swell the aggregate and protect the most of people from cold weather. 



Skunk 



Skunk may truthfully be classified as both a common fur and 

 one of the best furs of the trade. 



For years, the public would not buy skunk as skunk. It had 

 to be given such fake names as "black sable" to get it across to the 

 trade. That day is past. The beauty of a perfect black skunk 

 combined with the durability of the fur has increased it in public 

 favor and sent prices up ; and to-day skunk is skunk. 



The catch of skunk in America alone is given as from 1,500,000 

 to 1,600,000; and the catch shows no signs of diminishing; and the 

 demand could consume twice the catch. It is both trapped and 

 farmed, the farming ventures being chiefly located in Wisconsin 

 and Michigan and Prince Edward Island, from which the best pelts 

 come, the trapped pelts coming from every part of America from 

 the Southern Sections of Manitoba to the Rio Grande. As always 

 with fur bearers, the finest fur comes from the North in proximity 

 to fresh water, that seems to give sheen to the fur, and in wooded 

 areas, which protect the lustre from fading. 



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