Januaky 1, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



11 



acquisition of birds' plumes is not equalled, or even 

 exceeded, in procuring; the pelts of mammals. Possibly this 

 apathy is largely due to the fact that, whereas mammals, 

 fi-om the nocturnal habits of the majority of the fur -yielding 

 kinds, are but seldom seen, birds are always with us. 



Much might be written as to the various modes of 

 dressing and preparing the raw pelts for use, but as this 

 would entail too much space, we proceed at once to notic? 

 the chief groups of fur-producing mammals. Here a strict 

 zoological arrangement will not be followed, as it seems 

 preferable to deal first with such groups as either contain 

 the greatest number of fur -bearing species, or comprise 

 forms whose pelts are remarl^able for their extreme beauty 

 or high commercial 

 value. 



We take then, 

 first, the weasel tribe 

 (Mustelidce), which in- 

 cludes the sea-otter, 

 true otters, badgers, 

 gluttons, ermines, 

 martens, skunks, and 

 others, among which 

 the sea-otter [Lata.v 

 hurts) stands pre- 

 eminent here, having 

 the most valuable 

 pelt of any mammal. 

 It will be unnecessary 

 here to point out the 

 characteristics of the 

 family, but it may be 

 mentioned that all 

 its members agree in 

 having only a single 

 pair of molar teeth 

 in the upper jaw, and 

 never more than two 

 pairs of such teeth in 

 the lower jaw ; the 

 upper molars being 

 remarkable in that 

 they are generally 

 wider on the inner 

 than on the outer, 

 whereas in the 

 majority of the Carni- 

 vora the reverse is 

 the case. The great 

 majority of the mem- 

 bers of this family are 

 inhabitants of the 

 northern hemisphere, 

 where, with the ex- 

 ception of certain 

 otters and skunks, all 

 the species whose pelts 

 And it may be 



The Cape Polecat. (Ouc-sixtli uatiirul size.) 



are valued in commerce occur, 

 mentioned that, as a rule, the further 

 north we go the more valuable do the pelts become, while 

 it is only in northern regions that certain species are 

 white for a portion or the whole of the year. 



Although presenting many structural features in 

 common with the freshwater otter, the sea-otter stands 

 apart from all in the peculiar structure of its hinder 

 grinding teeth, which, in place of being surmounted by sharp 

 cusps and ridges suited to holding the slippery skins of 

 fishes, have blunted, manniiillated crowns, admirably 

 adapted for crushing the shells of the crabs on which this 

 animal feeds. It is also peculiar in having only two pairs 



of front, or incisor, teeth, in place of the usual three. But 

 its most remarkable feature is to be found in the structure 

 of the hind feet, which form webbed flippers, with the 

 toes much elongated. It has been usually considered 

 that when on land the sea-otter stands with its hind feet 

 bent forward under the body like an ordinary mammal ; 

 but according to the observations of Mr. Snow, who has 

 hunted and killed these animals on the shores of the 

 Kurile Islands, this is incorrect, the flippers, both when 

 walking and swimming, being turned backwards, in the 

 same manner as are those of an ordinary seal. In 

 appearance, the sea-otter may be compared to a very large 

 freshwater otter, with a shorter body and legs, a short and 



blunt face, bearing 

 whiskers somewhat 

 like those of a cat, 

 and a short, flattish, 

 and somewhat 

 bushy tail, ending 

 suddenlyin a bluntish 

 point. The fur is 

 generally some shade 

 of dark brown, al- 

 though occasionally 

 lighter, and among it 

 are a certain number 

 of longer white hairs, 

 which are not removed 

 in dressing, and form 

 its chief beauty. Sea- 

 otters, which are now 

 rare animals, and 

 never appear to have 

 been abundant, are 

 found on both sides 

 of the Pacific, ranging 

 in America as far 

 south as Mexico and 

 California, and on 

 the Asiatic side to 

 Kamschatka and the 

 Kurile Islands ; the 

 Aleutian and Kurile 

 Islands being the 

 localities where they 

 are least uncommon. 

 A few years ago, be- 

 tween £sO and tilO 

 was a high price for 

 the pelt ot a sea-otter, 

 but by 1892 £100 was 

 no uncommon price, 

 while as much as 

 £200 had been given 

 for an unusually fine 

 example. At a sale 

 in London in the spring of 1805, the hitherto unhoard-of 

 price of t'22o was paid for one by a Russian nobleman. This 

 splendid specimen had been stripped off the animal entire, 

 glove-fashion, without the usual slit up the lower surface, 

 thus preserving both upper and lower surfaces intact. 

 Such a price has, we believe, never before been gi\4?n for a 

 single pelt of this or any other animal. Sea-otters are 

 either hunted by men in boats and shot, or caught in nets, 

 when they meet their death by drowning. 



True otters {fAtini), of which there are a considerable 

 number of species scattered over all parts of the world, 

 except Australasia, Madagascar, and the Polar regions, are 

 too well known to need anything in the way of description ; 



