222 



KNOWLEDGE, 



[October 1, 189G. 



More important than all other members of the family 

 are the lynxes, the beautifully spotted or uniformly 

 tawny skins boinj;; employed largely as what may bo called 

 personal fur — that is, fur used in drem. Of the number of 

 species of true lynxes— that is, those in which the tail is 

 very short, while the ears are each surmounted by a pencil 

 of long hairs — there is much difference of opinion among 

 naturalists. It will, however, sulllce for our present 

 purpose to say that there is the European lynx (/•'. h/n.r), 

 which ranges over Northern Europe and Asia, and the 

 closely allied North American lynx (/•'. cKnuilirn-iis) ; while 

 there is a more Southern American type termed the red 

 lynx (/•'. /»/'.(), and likewise a South I'iUropean form known 

 as the pardine lynx (/•'. purdiiui). Of the European 

 lynxes it does not appear that many skins come into the 

 market. On the other hand, American pelts form a very 

 large item in the trade, the number sold yearly by the 

 Hudson Bay Company usually varying between eight 

 thousand and forty thousand, although in 1H87 as many as 

 seventy thousand were disposed of. Lynx fur may be used 

 either of the natural colour, or dyed black, brown, " blue," 

 or silvered. The longest fur is that on the under surface 



civet ( Viverm civHtn), not more than filty skins are anauitlly 

 imported into this country. 



The Indian species (I', -.ihcthit), which has a nearly 

 similar grey fur, marked with black streaks and blotches, 

 seems to be still rarer. Much the same applies to the 

 different species of the genets ((li'tifita), all of which have 

 short, harsh fur. At a time when "pointing" furs (that 

 is, introducing white-tipped hairs) was in fashion, there was 

 some demand for the pellago of the Egyptian mungoose 

 (llerpentcs ichneumon). Even now a few hundred skins are 

 imported. 



Passing on to the monkey tribe {Primates), we find that 

 all the skins used in the fur trade are obtained from 

 various species of the Old World family ('cn'ojiitheridm, not 

 a single one of the numerous species of South American 

 monkeys being even mentioned in commercial lists. 



The species that yields the greater quantity of the pelts 

 used in the fur trade seems to be the West African white- 

 thighed thumbless monkey (Colohm rdlemsus), which is 

 abundant on the Oold Ooast, and has the body clothed 

 with a mantle of silky black hair measuring from two to 

 four inches in length. Of this (and perhaps some allied) 



The Malay Palm Civet. 



of the body ; this being employed for boas, muffs, and 

 trimmings. Lynx fur dyed brown is also the material 

 employed in the busbies of the officers of the British 

 Hussar regiments. Usually only the long winter fur shows 

 the small black spots, the summer coat being shore and 

 uniformly coloured. Less common and of inferior value 

 are the skins of the American red lynx. The bulk of this 

 fur is stated to be exported to Eastern Europe. Of still 

 less value is the skin of the uniformly red and longer 

 tailed caracal of Africa, India, and Persia. 



Of the hunting leopard, or, as it is commonly called, 

 chita (Ci/ncElunis juluitus), the black-spotted skins too 

 seldom come into the market to be of any importance. 

 This animal, which is one of the few species of carnivora 

 common to India and Africa,, is separated from the 

 genus Fells on account of the claws being only partially 

 retractile. Unlike those of the true leopirds and jaguar, 

 the black spots on the fur are solid, instead of forming 

 rosettes with light centres. 



The various species of the civet family (Virerrida) occupy 

 an unimportant position among the list of fur producei's, 

 the pellage bsing generally harsh, while many of the 

 species are comparatively scarce animals. Of the African 



species as many as ninety thousand skins are annually 

 brought to the London market. Considerable difference 

 is stated to exist in regard to the texture of the fur of 

 skins from different localities, which suggests that more 

 than one species are included under the name of " bh.ck 

 monkey." They are mostly brought down from the interior 

 by native convoys, and exchanged at the coast for British 

 produce. A large proportion find their way to Germany, 

 although some are exported to Italy and America. 



Most valuable of all are the skins of the beautiful 

 guereza monkey (C^ giierezo) of Abyssinia and East Africa; 

 a species characterized by the flowing mantle of elongated 

 silky white hair depending from the black back down the 

 flanks and hind-quarters. 



Under the title of " common monkey " are imported skins 

 of various species of another African genus [Cercopltheciis), 

 the most numerous of these forms being probably 

 Campbell's guenon [C. camplielll) of West Africa. The 

 importations of other African skins are too unimportant 

 for mention ; and we may conclude this section by 

 adding that of the long-haired grey langur (Semnopitlunia 

 s(hinareu)s) of the Himalaya, from two to three hundred 

 skins are annuilly received into this country. 



