42 FUR FACTS 



manner and cannot be exported for a number of years. These 

 measures will allow the chinchilla to increase in number, and no 

 doubt we will have a large quantity of them in the future, but for 

 the present the skins are very scarce, and hardly any of them find 



their way to market. 



Viscacha 



Viscacha is similar to chinchilla in color and it also is found in 

 South America. It is a much larger animal, but the fur does not 

 compare with the chinchilla, and there is only a small percentage of 

 the pelts that are fine enough to be used for fur purposes. 



Caracul 



Most caracul in its natural color is gray. The caracul fur comes 

 from India and is really the pelt of a young lamb. Caracul has been 

 dyed in various colors in recent years and has been very popular for 

 evening coats, as it lends itself to a variety of shades, and is dyed 

 gray, tan, platinum, and various colors. 



Krimmer 



Krimmer is one of the natural colored gray furs and comes from 

 the Far East. It was formerly used almost exclusively for child- 

 ren's sets, but is now in vogue as trimming on coats, capes, etc. It 

 is a light gray with a small loose curl. 



American Opossum 



The American Opossum is a very light gray in color. The top of 

 the guard hair, which is the long over hair, is almost black in color , 

 the underground being almost white. The fur is about one inch 

 deep, the long guard hairs being about one and one half to two in- 

 ches long. The finest skins make up very beautifully in their natural 

 color and in recent years have been used very largely for trimming. 

 It lends itself to dye beautifully and can be dyed almost any color, 

 but it is principally dyed black. When dyed black skunk color it 

 is very similar to the skunk; in fact it would require an expert to tell 

 the difference. However the skunk is a natural black color, and the 

 opossum is of course dyed, and the dyed fur never has the real lustre 

 and gloss of the natural. The American opossum is in big demand 

 in Europe and large quantities are shipped to London, Paris and 



Liepsic. 



Lynx 



The lynx is usually sold in retail stores after it has been dyed 

 black, although occassionally the furrier makes it up natural. The 

 natural color of the lynx is gray with a slight brownish tint. The 



