X IV. Preparing Skins for Manufacture 



MAMMALS which have a short, fine, soft coat of fur through which 

 grows hair, usually of greater length, variously called overfur, 

 water-fur, guard-hair, are known as fur-bearers. To provide more warmth 

 for the animal, the coat of fur and over-hair is usually thicker and 

 longer in the winter; hence, furs taken in winter, or when prime, are 

 more valuable than those taken in warmer weather. 



When the skin is unprime, it has a bluish appearance on 

 Fur-bearer the flesh side down the back and sides; when prime, it is 

 of a whitish or creamy colour. An experienced furrier 

 can, by the appearance of the skin and of the overhair, determine the 

 season at which it was taken. It is desirable to capture fur-bearers 

 when prime, because the fur and overhair are fuller and heavier and 

 will not fall out easily, as commonly occurs in ' springy ' pelts. It is 

 also desirable to take skins shortly after becoming prime, which is 

 usually about the first of December, immediately after the first winter 

 weather. When taken then, the pelt is better coloured and less worn. 

 In a climate like that of Prince Edward Island, where winter sets in 

 about Christmas, the last week of the year is chosen for killing the 

 fox. The pelts of the majority of animals become prime late in Novem- 

 ber. 



The fur, or, as it is called in relation to the hair, the underfur, 

 consists of soft, silky, downy, curly filaments. It is usually short and 

 thick, and towards the skin it grows lighter in colour. It is barbed 

 lengthwise and hence is capable of felting — a quality not possessed to so 

 great a degree by wool or silk, which is best handled by spinning and 

 weaving. In a prime pelt the underfur is hardly discernible unless 

 the overhair is blown apart. Then the light colour of the underfur 

 appears. If it were generally known that the undyed skin is whitish 

 and that the underfur close to the skin is a light drab, or pale blue 

 colour, it would not be so easy to sell dyed skins as ' natural '. 



The overhair is straight, smooth, and, usually, comparatively rigid. 

 It is scattered throughout the fur and, on the living animal, prevents 

 the fur from felting. It serves as a protection against cold and storm 

 as well as against injury. In the case of the fox, which lies out in 

 the open, exposed to the coldest northern weather, the dense overhair, 

 sometimes over six inches in length, protects the body, while the toes 

 and face are protected by the immense tail, which covers them when 

 the fox lies down. The beauty of a pelt is due largely to the overhair. 

 It is the glossy black or the amphimaculated silver-back overhair . that 

 makes the silver fox one hundred times more valuable than his red 



