53 



GRADING. 



Beaver — Ten dollars is the present quotation for 

 "Large" raw Beaver skins; seven to eight dollars for the 

 "Medium;" five dollars for the "Small," and three dol- 

 lars for the "Cubs." The best American skins come from 

 Canada, Maine and Nova Scotia. 



The "Civet Cat" skins from the Northern portion of 

 the habitat of the Little Striped Skunk are worth about 

 ten cents more than those from the central and southwest- 

 ern states. These skins are graded as "Large," "Me- 

 dium" and "Small;" the relative values of the different 

 grades being seventy-five, fifty and thirty-five cents. 



Domestic or House Cats are graded as "Black," Spot- 

 ted" and "Small;" the price for black being fifty cents, 

 for the spotted twenty cents, and for the small five cents. 



Fishers are graded as "Dark," "Brown" and "Me- 

 dium," and the price is also influenced by the size and 

 quality; prime skins being worth from twelve to thirty 

 dollars and upwards. 



Poxes — The finest Red Foxes come from Labrador, 

 Nova Scotia and Eastern Canada, and are worth raw 

 from four to twelve dollars each and upwards, according 

 to size, color and quality; Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont 

 and Ontario skins are worth a dollar less than the fore- 

 going, and a dollar more than New York, Northern Michi- 

 gan and Connecticut Foxes. Southern and Southwestern 

 skins are the poorest, and are worth less than half what 

 is paid for those secured in Maine and New York. The in- 

 termediate grades are obtained from the Central and West- 

 em States. No. 1 and No. 2 Foxes are also graded accord- 

 ing to size, "Large," "Medium" and "Small;" the No. 

 3 and No. 4 are all small. 



The New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, 

 West Virginia and Northern Indiana and Ohio Grey Fox 

 skins are worth from ten to fifty cents more than those 

 from Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina; 

 which in turn grade somewhat higher than the Southern 

 Ohio and Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Oklahoma 

 skins. 



