54 GRADING. 



Silver Foxes bring from one thousand to twenty-five 

 hundred dollars, according to size, quality and color. 



The best American Lynx skins come from Canada, 

 Maine and Nova Scotia, and are graded as No. 1 Large, 

 Medium and Small ; No. 2 Large, Medium and Small ; No. 

 3, and No. 4; the prices ranging from three dollars to 

 twenty-five dollars and upward each. 



Minks are graded closer than any other skins ; first they 

 are sorted with reference to locality, then they are graded 

 according to quality and color into dark and brown and 

 No. 1, No. 2. No. 3 and No. 4 skins, after which the No. 1 

 and No. 2 skins are again sorted into Large, Me- 

 dium and Small before a valuation is placed on them ; 

 No. 3 skins are out of season skins of little value, and those 

 finally graded as No. 4 are small and stagy, or damaged 

 to such an extent that they are comparatively worthless. 



Maine, Labrador, Nova Scotia and Eastern Canada 

 skins are known as "North Eastern" Mink; those from 

 Northern New York and New England are called "Eastern 

 Minks ; ' ' the Central and Southern New York and Michi- 

 gan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, 

 West Virginia, North Carolina, Virginia, Northern Ken- 

 tucky, Delaware and Maryland Minks grade between the 

 "'Eastern" and the "Western" Minks, as the skins from 

 Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska are called. 

 "Southern" and "South Western" Minks are the lightest 

 in color and poorest in quality; but the "North Western" 

 skins from Wisconsin, Northern Michigan, Minnesota and 

 the regions beyond, are of good color, and while the fur 

 is not as soft or rich as that on the "Eastern" Minks, the 

 skins are so much larger that they often bring almost as 

 high prices as the "Eastern" skins although the general 

 average is considerably less. 



Muskrats Raw skin buyers pay from five to fifteen 

 cents more for "Large Winter" than they do for "Large 

 Fall" rats, and the "Small" skins are worth from fifteen 

 to twenty-five cents less than the large ones of the same 

 grade; when the price for perfect "Large Winter" skins 

 is fifty-five cents, "Kitts" are valued at about eight cents. 



New York State, New England, Canada, New Bruns- 

 wick, Northern Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey, Ohio, 

 Indiana, Michigan and Illinois Muskrats are worth from 



