FUR DYEING. 49 



The dyeing of fur skins is an ancient art, but the pres- 

 ent generation has brought it to such a state of perfection 

 that, in many cases, no one but an expert can tell when 

 skins have been touched to deepen or change their color. 

 The English have long excelled in dyeing seal skins. They 

 first use a mordant of lime; and then, after the ground 

 color has been trodden in with booted feet, a dye com- 

 posed of copper dust, antimony, camphor, verdigris, and 

 roasted gall nuts is applied to the top of the fur with a 

 brush. Formerly twelve to fourteen coats of this dye were 

 applied, but at present the same results are obtained with 

 fewer applications, and some dyers now heat the dye and 

 dip the skins into the mixture. In fact the art of dyeing 

 with the brush has been largely superseded by the dipping 

 process, especially where vegetable dyes that will not injure 

 the leather are used. The Germans are unsurpassed in 

 dyeing black. Leipzig-dyed Persian, Astrachan and Ukrainer 

 lamb and Lynx skins have a brilliancy of color and 

 pliability of pelt that cannot be found in others. Whether 

 this is due to the nature of the water and the climate, or 

 the ingredients used and methods employed, is a disputed 

 question ; but American dyers are so rapidly improving in 

 seal and black dyeing that they will doubtless soon obtain 

 in these, as they have in so many other cases, results equal 

 to the best foreign products. 



The art of imitating, changing and improving furs, is 

 carried on with very great success. By means of certain 

 operations and dyes, the leopard skin is imitated ; muskrats, 

 susliks and marmots are striped like mink ; wolves are made 

 to appear like foxes; martens, minks and sables are dark- 

 ened ; raccoons, opossums and white skunks are dyed black 

 or natural skunk color; silver foxes are successfully imi- 

 tated by dyeing the red fox skins and pointing them with 

 badger hairs; off color white foxes have the top hair dyed 

 so they look like the natural blue foxes ; and this year, we 

 even have bright yellow, sky blue and pink Belgian hares. 



The seals, otters, beavers, conies, muskrats, and a number 

 of other animals have a soft, thick under fur, which is bet- 

 ter adapted for the purposes of the furrier's art when the 

 long stiff hairs which form the top skin have been removed. 

 These skins were formerly sheared, and later the long top 

 hairs were plucked out by hand; now the desired result is 



