FUR FACTS 249 



ship them or take them to the fur house — the very same place to which 

 the original owner could have shipped them himself. Therefore, the 

 road buyer does not serve any economic purpose. The ideal way 

 to handle any merchandise, or any product, is to sell it as nearly 

 direct to the consumer as the nature of the business allows. 

 Therefore, the time has come when the Store Buyer and the 

 producer of furs, market their furs by shipping direct to Funs- 

 ten Bros. & Co., in St. Louis. The proper packing and shipping of 

 furs is a very simple matter, arid it is just as easy to do it right, as it 

 is to do it in a slipshod and haphazard manner. Today the parcel 

 post is a great boon to the small shipper. He can send one or two 

 skins just as well as he can a hundred and send them safely and 

 quickly by using the parcel post; or if he has easy access to the ex- 

 press office he can send larger quantities by express, especially any 

 wet, heavy skins, which he wants to get to market quickly; and it 

 is always advisable to ship wet and greasy skins by express. Before 

 packing see that the skins are free of superfluous meat and fat. Do 

 not scrape them too closely, but have them in good clean condition. 

 Remove all mud, burrs, etc., from the fur. Comb it out and clean it 

 well. When shipping greasy skins, do not put fur side out mink 

 in between them. If you are shipping furs such as raccoon lay them 

 pelt side to pelt side and put any mink you may have in between the 

 coon, — that is, in between the fur sides of the coon. Never place one 

 cased skin inside of another. Oftentimes a man will place a mink 

 inside of a greasy opossum, or will place a small ermine inside of a 

 muskrat. Never place one skin inside of another. Lay each skin 

 folded but do not crumple them up. Put the small skins on the 

 inside and the large skins on the outside. Tie them together securely 

 with a strong string — ^never use wire. When you have the furs 

 securely tied together wrap them in a piece of burlap or place them 

 in a burlap sack. If you use a sack see that it is free of holes and 

 cuts. Sew the sack up tightly so that it cannot be tampered with. 

 Before finally closing the sack be sure that you have placed your 

 invoice tag on the inside with the fur. Always write your name and 

 address on the inside count tag and write the contents of the ship- 

 ment, so that if by any chance the outside address should be des- 

 troyed, the inside tag will serve to identify the shipper. This is very 

 important. An inside address should always be placed on any ship- 

 ment of fur or anything else that is sent by parcel post or express. 

 If you ship by parcel post be sure that it is insured parcel post. 

 After the inside tag has been securely fastened to the furs, sew up 



