MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 447 



at a moderate price, necessitate the extension of lamb-fur 

 production. 



Although a good many skins are treated in the United 

 States and Canada, Leipzig is the chief world's centre 

 where lamb-skins are dressed and dyed for the market. 

 It was claimed that, just as the atmosphere of Manchester 

 or Lancashire is suited for the production of certain 

 classes of cotton goods, so the climate, water, or other 

 natural conditions, apart from the skill of the workers, 

 put Leipzig before all other competing centres. This 

 idea has now been upset by American results on an exten- 

 sive scale. The European trade is in the hands of a few 

 large firms, several of which possess a preparing factory 

 and dye-works and capital to deal with sufficient quan- 

 tities of skins to permit of proper sorting according to 

 the country of their destination. Many skins intended 

 for Russia are first sent to Leipzig in their raw condition, 

 and the manufactured article is returned to Russia in spite 

 of a high tariff. Skins are now treated in Moscow with 

 most satisfactory results. 



Instance may be given in which places become noted 

 for specialities in the skin trade. Prague and Budapest 

 take a foremost place in the trade in furriers' sheep and 

 furriers' lamb-skins through the long-established firm of 

 N. Troller Sons, who handle 400,000 skins each year. 

 On the other hand, Vienna is the chief place for dressing 

 lamb-skins for glove work. There exist many local 

 markets in Germany for sheep- and lamb-skins which 

 mostly handle German produce, but many Berlin firms 

 carry large stocks of Oriental and imported lamb- skins. 

 The suburbs of Gesundbrunnen is the centre of the white- 

 dressing of lamb- and kid-skins for glove work, whereas 

 the dressing of sheep-skins is chiefly found in Saxony 

 and South Germany. Imported sheep-skins, such as those 

 from Australia, The Cape, South America, India, North 

 Africa, and Arabia, mostly come to auction in London. 

 Although Germany and Austria take the lead in the dress- 

 ing of sheep-skins exported as prepared leather as well 

 as furriers' sheep-skins, the chief market for goat-skins 

 is New York, and next to it France. Germany is far 

 behind in the dressing of goat-skins, although chrome- 



