THE FUR, LEATHER AND HIDE TRADES 57 



forest lands, the draining of swamps, together with local extermination 

 of many species in large areas by unregulated trapping, is seriously 

 threatening the future supply of furs. 6 A few species, like the muskrat, 

 are still common, "but the remnants of the once rich fur resources of 

 the country are fast dwindling under the conditions that have pre- 

 vailed." 7 



The following figures by Eraser, condensed from tables published 

 by Jones, 8 show that most of the species enumerated decreased in num- 

 bers from 1882 to 1911, while increasing in price. The increase in 

 skunk furs handled, is perhaps due to better methods of deodorizing. 

 Though the muskrat, lynx, white fox and land otter show a marked 

 increase, it was accomplished during the first decade of the period, and 

 there was an actual decrease after the first decade. The sales of blue 

 fox, marten and fisher also increased during the first decade, but lost 

 all that they had gained and much more thereafter. 



Per cent Per cent Per cent 



Increase in Decrease in Increase in 



Name of Animal Price Numbers Numbers 



Fox, silver 300 50 



Fox, cross 125 70 



Fox, red 245 55 



Fox, blue 100 23 



Fox, white 35O 5 



Marten, pine 580 20 



Fisher or pekan 430 95 



Mink 300 2 



Skunk 150 no 



Muskrat 230 215 



Lynx 200 700 



Otter, land 80 5 



Otter, sea 240 85 



Increase of lynx for first decade, 3800 per cent, of muskrat, 250 per cent, of white 

 fox, 750 per cent, of land otter, 45 per cent, showing that there was a marked decrease 

 after the first decade. 



That the soaring of prices of furs has not been confined to the period 

 since the World War, as seems to be believed by many people, is shown 

 also by the following comparative figures of maximum prices of certain 

 furs presented by Brass, the great German fur statistician: 9 



* Lantz, Farmers' Bull., No. 396, p. 9, 1910. Hornaday, The fur trade and the wild 

 animals, Bull N.Y. Zool. Soc., 1921. Osborn and Anthony, Can we save the mam- 

 mals?, Nat. Hist, xxii, 289-405, 1922. Close of the age of mammals, Journ. Mam- 

 malogy, in, 219-237, 1922. 



T Ashbrook, Fur farming for profit, pp. 5-6, 1928. 



8 Jones, Fur farming in Canada, p. 4, 1913. 



"Brass, Statistics of fur prices, in Jones, Fur farming in Canada, p. 146-147, 1913. 



