240 FUR FACTS 



The best colored raccoon are dark over almost the entire surface 

 of the pelt. Some coon are prime pelted, but they lose their color 

 from lying out on the limb of a tree in the hot sun and the fur becomes 

 faded and spotted yellow in color. They may be full in fur, but the 

 color is so bad that they cannot be classed with the rich dark colored 

 skins, and therefore must be graded accordingly. 



In some sections of the south many raccoon skins are taken off 

 and nailed up on the side of the barn and are not properly stretched. 

 These skins may be well furred, but when they are received in the 

 market, they look like the rough handled skin shown in the illustration. 

 Such skins are not as valuable as they would be if they were 

 stretched square as illustrated. All of the small pieces around the 

 edge must be cut off and this is a total waste, where if the skin is 

 stretched square the manufacturer can utilize these ends and it is, 

 therefore, advisable to stretch all raccoon as nearly square as possible. 

 Some heavy raccoon that are trapped in the north section can be 

 stretched in Indian style; that is the skins are stretched to the natural 

 shape of the skin, but even then they try to get them as near square 

 as the shape of the skin will allow. 



In some sections the raccoon are heavier furred than in others. 

 This is especially true in most of the northern states. Raccoon that 

 are full grown, fat and heavy, develop an extra heavy coat of fur in 

 real cold weather and the texture of this fur is usually very fine and 

 the under fur extremely dense. These extra heavy skins are used 

 for trimmings on fine coats and are usually dyed. For this reason, 

 most fur houses quote prices on extra heavy raccoon as well as 

 average raccoon. 



In the late spring of the year, raccoon begin to show signs of 

 the warm weather and start to shed and rub. This happens some- 

 times in the midst of winter in some states when the weather 

 turns suddenly warm. Such skins are classed as springy or shedded 

 furs. As this shedding and rubbing usually starts back of the head, 

 it is well to examine raccoon for rubbed or damaged spots. 



MUSKRAT 



Muskrat are found throughout the United States and Canada, 

 but they vary considerably in size and quality and, strange as it 

 may seem, the muskrat from Alaska are not as valuable as those 

 from the central states like Illinois or Michigan. For instance, a 

 large Illinois muskrat is much larger than a muskrat that would be 

 classified or graded as large trapped in the northern part of Canada. 



