COMMERCE IN RAW FURS 129 



7,379,960. Of the undressed seal skins imported in that year the United 

 States furnished 24,556; Russia, 27,980; Norway, 60,694; Japan 

 (including Formosa), 11,398; Cape of Good Hope, 15,061; Newfound- 

 land and Labrador, 126,796; the total imports amounting to 288,055 

 skins, valued at $1,328,219. Undressed, unclassified skins aggregated 

 17,960,661, and had an import value of $11,285,180; of these the United 

 States supplied 6,426,851; Russia, 750,868; Germany, 3,370,525 

 China (exclusive of Hong Kong, Macao, and Wei-hai-wei) , 507,637 

 Japan (including Formosa), 85,692; Chili, 46,558; France, 47,754 

 Australia, 5,499,814 and Canada, 987,321. Dressed rabbit skins num- 

 bering 537,051 and valued at $80,098; 18,608 dressed seal skins, value 

 $490,339; and 4,856,818 dressed skins, not classified in the customs 

 returns but having a value of $4,318,688, were also imported into the 

 United Kingdom during 1909, as well as manufactures of skins and furs 

 (including skin rugs) worth $5,005,122, thus giving a grand total for 

 the 1909 imports of dressed and undressed furs and manufactures of 

 furs and skins of $25,056,183. 



"Of late years some big firms, notably one French house, 

 Competition with branches in London and the United States, and sev- 

 eral American houses located in Philadelphia and else- 

 where, have been dealing direct with the trappers, thus avoiding the 

 London auction sales altogether. The French firm is a determined 

 competitor of the great Hudson's Bay Co. in its own territory, and with 

 ships and frontier stores is making a serious effort to obtain a portion of 

 the Canadian fur trade. This firm does a wholesale and retail busi- 

 ness, but offers no skins at auction. The Hudson's Bay Co. sells all 



"Figures from the London sales are now not safe. Frequently of late years 

 consignments of some sorts of skins liave been eitiier withdrawn from these sales 

 or bought back by the owners, and offered again in the next sale. This feature 

 was very noticeable in the January (1914) sales just held. I only wish some means 

 could be devised for obtaining reliable statistics. Before 1845 there used to be a 

 duty on all raw fur skins coming into Great Britain, and, as nearly the whole of 

 the production of United States and Canada was shipped to London, the figures 

 thus obtained were of great value. Subsequent to that year, the London sales 

 formed a fair index. But for some years past the practices I have referred to, 

 combined with the fact that many skins of certain kinds are either shipped to other 

 European countries direct, without the intervention of the London sales, or are 

 used by the American and Canadian fur trade without export, have made the 

 London public sale quantities of httle use in computing the total numbers 

 produced. 



"In the words of Mr. Mills (formerly Editor of the Fur Trade Review of New 

 York), who wrote me a long letter on the subject of figures, and whose word I en- 

 tirely endorse: he said, referring to a certain book on Furs and the Fur Trade: 

 'I have no patience with literature of that kind. Its errors are perpetuated and 

 magnified through the ages.' _ . ^, .,i. 



"The Provincial Game Warden of British Columbia writes me tnat he nas 

 succeeded in getting his government to introduce new measures, whereby a know- 

 ledge of the value of the fur trade there and the number of skins of each animal 

 taken may be accurately obtained. Perhaps this may lead to useful statistics in 

 the future." — From Correspondence of Mr. Ernest Poland, 110 Queen Victoria Street, 

 London, Eng., February 10, 1914. 



