27 X 



KNOWLEDGE 



[December 1, 1896. 



thousand robes and skins imported into London, the trade, 

 owing to the practical extermination of this fine animal, 

 has entirely come to an end. From their warmth — greater 

 tliiiu that of any other fur — 

 buU"iilo robes proved by far the 

 best of all sleigh wraps. An 

 excellent substitute is, however, 

 now found in the skin of the 

 musk-ox (I >riliiis moscJidtKs) of 

 Arctic America. Although 

 there is a very large trade in 

 antelope skins for leather, but 

 few of these are used as fur. 

 Handsome rugs are, however, 

 made of sprinbuck pelts, the 

 line of long erectile white hairs 

 down the middle of the back 

 forming a pleasing contrast to 

 the general chestnut tint of the 

 fur. Of late years a consider- 

 able trade has sprung up in 

 rugs made of grey goats' skin, 

 which come from China ; and 

 the pelts of the long-haired 

 Russian goat, when dyed, are 

 employed for a similar purpose. 

 More valuable are those of the 

 Angora goat, in which the 

 pellage is still longer and 

 softer. The trade in China 



goatskin rugs is, however, still more extensive, four 

 hundred thousand having been imported in a single year, 

 and these representing more than double that number 

 of animals. Mongolian goat-skins exceed even these in 

 number, the import reaching to between thirty and eighty 

 thousand. 



To give any adequate account of the use of the pellage 

 of the various breeds of sheep in the fur trade would far 

 exceed our limits, and a few words must accordingly 

 suffice. Those skins with the longest and curliest wool are 

 used, when dyed, for fringes and tassels ; such as have a 

 shorter staple are made into mats and rugs ; whilst the 

 shortest of all are made into saddle-cloths for our cavalry. 

 Even more extensive is the use of lambskins — especially 

 those of newly-born animals — these being employed for 

 glove-linings, the trimmings of coats, and the lining of 

 those Eastern coatlike garments known as postins. The 

 finest of all are the Persian and Astracan skins, both of 

 which take a brilliant black dye, and are soft, short, and 

 beautifully curled. Canada and the I'nited States are now 

 the great marts for astracan, this fur not being in fashion 

 at home. 



Of the deer family, the only one of much importance 

 from our present point of view is the reindeer, the skins 

 of which furnish the entire dress of the Lapps and 

 Eskimo. Some eight hundred skins of the American 

 variety are yearly imported into London, and are sent to 

 be dressed in Germany. Of these the youngest and finest 

 find much favour in Eussia as linings. The other fur- 

 bearing ungulates are all South American, and include the 

 domesticated llama and alpaca, and their wild allies the 

 guanaco and vicuna ; all being near relatives of the camels 

 of the Old World. The domesticated kinds are mainly 

 kept as beasts of burden, and for their wool ; but the 

 guanaco and vicuna yield a beautiful pale fawn-coloured 

 fur, much esteemed as rugs. 



But few lines remain for the consideration of marsupials 

 as fur producers. Most important of all are the so-called 

 opossums of Australia, which, as our zoological readers 



are doubtless aware, are not opossums at all, but 

 phalangers {Trlrliosurux). The Ijoautiful soft grey fur of 

 an opossum rug is too familiar to need any description, 



Koala. Onc-sixtli natural size. 



and it must suffice that the total import of opossum 

 skins into London in 1891 reached the enormous total 

 of three millions. These comprise varieties from different 

 districts. 



Although the name of opossum has been usurped in 

 the fur trade by phalanger skins, the true American 

 opossums (DiiU'lji/ii/s) are by no means unknown. Of 

 the common opossum, between two hundred thousand and 

 three hundred thousand skins are annually imported. 

 Although somewhat coarse, the fur is thick and durable ; 

 and, either in the natural state or dyed of some dark hue, 

 or grey, is largely employed for such articles as muffs 

 and capes. 



Of the other Australian marsupials, the most important 

 in the trade is the koala, or native bear (Phascolairtus), 

 a climbing creature with greyish fur, and the longer hairs 

 tipped with white. In 18h9 no less than three hundred 

 thousand skins were imported, although the number is 

 generally considerably less. Next to the koala comes the 

 carnivorous spotted dasyure {Ihi.sijurus rirerrini(s). The 

 chief use of this fur is for linings. Another group of 

 Australian fur-yielders are the ring-tailed phalangers 

 {Pseudochinis}, of which from two to three thousand pelts 

 are imported. Of the various kinds of kangaroos and 

 wallabies an enormous number of skins are collected, but 

 as a very large proportion of these are consigned to the 

 tanner, it would be useless to give any numerical details. 

 Of the younger and smaller kinds the fur is employed for 

 rugs and coats. 



Had we more space at our disposal much fuller details 

 concerning the fur trade might have been given. Sufficient 

 has, however, been stated to show how the earth is 

 ransacked from Pole to Pole in order to obtain the most 

 beautiful of these lovely products, and also to indicate how 

 enormous is the destruction of animal life due to this 

 trade alone. May we hope that, while there is yet time, 

 civilized Governments may unite in taking measures to 

 prevent the extermination of any more species by a foolish 

 greed ? 



