10 INTRODUCTION. 



New York is the great fur-mart in this country, and is the 

 main depot of the shipping trade. There are no organized 

 fur-companies at the present time. The business is carried 

 on by private firms of large means and long experience. The 

 New York Directory gives the names of more than one hun- 

 dred furriers and fur-merchants, thirty of whom are wholesale 

 dealers. 



The leading fashionable fur for this country is the Mink ; 

 but the furs that are within the reach of the masses, and most 

 worn, are the Muskrat and the Opossum. 



The wearing of furs in this country is very little affected by 

 climate, but is regulated almost entirely by fashion. In Eu- 

 rope, on the other hand, the state of the elements determines 

 the extent of the call for furs as articles of clothing. Hence, 

 notwithstanding the winters on both continents are growing 

 milder, the demand for furs is continually increasing in this 

 country, while in Europe it is falling off. 



The more thickly settled parts of the United States show 

 a large decrease in the " catch " of furs ; but new territories 

 are continually opening to the trapper ; and though he moves 

 from year to year farther north and west, the supply steadily 

 keeps pace with the demand. 



SEASON FOR TRAPPING. 



All furs are best in winter ; but trapping may be carried 

 on to advantage for at least six months in the year, i. e. any 

 time between the first of October and the middle of April. 

 There is a period in the warm season, say from the first of 

 May to the middle of September, when trapping is out of the 

 question, as furs are worthless. The most trapping is done 

 late in the fall and early in the spring. 



The reason why furs become worthless in summer is, that 

 all fur-bearing animals shed their coats, or at least lose the 

 finest and thickest part of their fur as warm weather ap- 

 proaches ; and have a new growth of it in the fall to protect 

 them in winter. This whole process is indicated in the case 

 of the Muskrat, and some other animals, by the color of the 

 inside part of the skin. As summer approaches, it becomes 



