CHAPTER II 



AMERICAN FURS ARE POPULAR ALL OVER THE WORLD 



Fur bearing animals were created by a wise Providence for the 

 use and benefit of mankind, and there is nothing that can take the 

 place of furs for warmth, comfort and pleasure. No woman con- 

 siders herself well dressed today without a piece of fur, and no woman 

 can be really comfortable during the winter season without fur. 



It is a fact, not generally known, that out of the forty-eight 

 states, there is in all, except the state of Florida, a record of zero 

 weather during the winter season. 



American furs are not only in demand by Americans, but Euro- 

 peans also prefer the American skunk, opossum, muskrat, mink, 

 wolf and other American furs to the furs produced in any other 

 country. 



China, while one of the oldest and most densely populated 

 countries in the world, is still a big producer of furs. Siberia, which 

 most of us think of as a land of ice and snow, is also a great pro- 

 ducer of furs, the principal kind being the Russian squirrels. Siberia 

 is a delightful country in the summer, with its ponds and lakes. 

 It is virtually a fur paradise, and one of the richest undeveloped 

 countries in the world. The supply of furs from Siberia will in- 

 crease as the country develops and becomes more thickly populated. 



Strange as it may seem, the small fur bearers, which go to make 

 up the bulk of the fur supply of the world, follow the small farmer. 

 New York state is one of the largest fur producing states in the union, 

 and the supply of skunk, muskrat and fox continues year after year. 



The professional trapper, the amateur trapper, the man and boy 

 in the country has come to realize that the fur bearing animals in his 

 district are his friends that they are a source of profit and that they 

 are just as valuable to him as other live stock on his farm, such as 

 his pigs and chickens. The old raccoon may eat a little of his corn 

 and the muskrat may gnaw his carrots and the mink kill a chicken 

 occasionally, but the fur bearers around his farm are fully worth all 

 they take, because their pelts are very valuable, if he takes the pelt 

 at the right time of the year. Therefore, the farmer has come to the 

 point where he realizes the importance of protecting his fur bearing 



