FUR DYEING. 51 



Cased skins should be stretched on boards, tapering from 

 four and one-half inches in width down to three inches for 

 mink, and from six to five inches for foxes. The boards 

 for the mink skins should be three feet long and those for 

 foxes four feet. Stretching boards should be rounded at 

 the small end, smooth and even on the edges, and not more 

 than three-eights of an inch thick; and the boards for the 

 mink should taper slightly down to within four or five 

 inches of the point, and the fox boards to within eight 

 inches of the rounded end. Stretching boards for other 

 animals should be made in proportion, according to the 

 size and shape of the animal. 



All the fat and flesh should always be removed from the 

 skin immediately after the skin is on the board. If a skin 

 is wet when taken from the animal it should be drawn 

 lightly on a board, flesh side in, until the fur is quite dry, 

 then the skin should be turned flesh side out and stretched. 

 Skins should never be dried in smoke or at a fire, nor in 

 the sun, as they are liable to become scorched or hard, 

 when they will not dress properly and are of no value. 

 They should be dried in a well covered shed or tent where 

 there is a free circulation of air ; and no preparation such 

 as alum and salt should be used, as it only injures them for 

 the market. The noses must never be stretched out long, 

 as fur buyers and dealers are inclined to class long-nosed 

 skins as "southern" and to pay a small price for them, as 

 all southern skins are much lighter in fur than those of 

 the north. 



Foxes of the various kinds should be cased and put on 

 boards, fur side in, for a few days, or until dry. As the 

 pelt is thin, they dry soon, when they must be taken off 

 and turned fur side out. In shipping, care should be taken 

 that they are not packed against furs with the flesh side out. 



Skunks should be cased fur side in, and stretched on 

 boards for several days. If the white stripe is cut out or 

 blackened it reduces the value of the skins. 



Minks should be cased fur side in and stretched on 

 boards for several days, or until dry, and left with the fur 

 side in when removed from the board. 



