TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PART I. 



The Fur Traders — Their work as Empire Builders. 

 First charter granted the Skinners Guild of 

 London in 1327 — History of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company and the Great French Fur Merchants 

 — The Rise and Fall of the Northwest Com- 

 pany — The Struggle for the Mastery — Lewis 

 and Clark Expedition — John Jacob Astor's 

 attempt to control the Fur Trade of North 

 America — The Voyage of the Tonquin — The 

 Overland Journey to the Columbia — The Sur- 

 render of Astoria — Lord Strathcona — The 

 Passing of the Russian Traders — ^Under the 

 American Flag — The Fur Traders of Today. . 1-28 



Fur Farming— Its Past, Present and Future— Suc- 

 cessful Experiments — General Information — 

 Fox Raising on Prince Edward Island — ^What 

 can be done with other animals — Skunk Breed- 

 ing — The Possibilities of the Industry — Mink 

 Raising — The Obstacles to Success — Govern- 

 ment Experiments with the Persian Lamb .... 29-40 



The Furriers — Relations to other Branches of the 

 Fur Trade — The Old New York Houses, "Where 

 are they? — Old and New Methods of Merchan- 

 dising — Increase in Number of Small Factories 

 — The place of the Specialty Man — Fur Dealers 

 and Fur Fakirs 41-44 



Fur Markets — Seal Sales at St. Louis — ^Leipzig Fur 

 Mart — The Fairs at Irbit and Nijni Novgorod 

 in Russia — New York as a Fur Market — The 

 London Sales — The Offerings — Moscow, Tien- 

 tsin and other Fur Centers 45-46 



Dressing, Dyeing, Improving and Grading — The 

 Dressers — The Evolution of the Dyer's Art — 

 Plucking, Pulling and Machining — Imitations 

 and Substitutes — ^Hbw to Remove the Skins 

 from the Carcasses — Stuffed Animals versus 

 Scientific Taxidermy 47-56 



Size, Color and Quality — Largest Species near the 

 Poles — Females smaller than the Males — In- 

 breeding makes the stock become smaller — 

 Larger Animals produced by Crossing — Most 

 Powerful Animals on the Barren "Wastes — 

 Predominating Color — "White as a Mark of Dis- 

 tinction — The Influence of Cold on Color — Fur 

 becomes lighter with Age — When Fur has its 

 full Growth — Best at from One to Two Years 

 of Age — Finest Specimens found in High Lati- 

 tudes—The Effect of Climate 57-58 



