CHAPTER VII. 



FUR BEARING MAMMALS. 



As most people are more or less interested in furs, it is not un- 

 natural that they should wish to know something of the animals from 

 which they are taken. One is often asked questions concerning the 

 furs that people are wearing, and not infrequently, to avoid giving, of- 

 fence, one has either to dissemble in naming them, or profess ignorance 

 on the subject. As a matter of fact in no line of goods is so 

 much deception practised as in furs. There are, of course, plenty of 

 reputable retailers, who can be trusted to supply the genuine article. 

 As a> rule the more expensive furs offered for sale are genuine enough, 

 for a person who proposes laying out a large sum in this manner, is 

 usually pretty careful what he buys. It is when one comes down 

 to the cheaper furs that the most flagrant, frauds are encountered, as 

 for instance the threading of white hairs into the skin of an ordinary 

 red fox dyed black to imitate that of the silver fox, or the passing off 

 of furs made up from the skins of common animals as mink, martan 

 and even sable. 



I do not, however, propose to go into these deceptions, but rather 

 intend to describe the real animals, and leave my fair readers to draw 

 their own conclusions as to the genuineness of their furs and muffs. 



It would be much too lengthy a task to describe all the fur pro- 

 ducing animals of the world, so I am going to limit my subjectj to 

 the fur bearing animals of North China and the adjoining territories. 



These come under two headings; namely, those whose skins are 

 used for rugs, and those whose pelts, as they are usually called by 

 the trapper, are used for articles of apparel. 



The first heading includes mostly large and well known animals, 

 chief amongst which is the Siberian tiger (Felts tigris longipilis). This 

 animal is probably the largest of its kind, some really enormous skins 

 having been secured itoin Manchuria, its true home. It is a very 



