FURRY FRIENDS WITH FINE SKINS. 



121 



half. Excepting that of the two otters, the fisher's 

 fur is the most expensive of any belonging to the 

 members of the Mustelidoe family. Its prevailing 

 color is an admixture of brownish and grayish tints, 

 gradually darkening into blackish brown at the hind 

 quarters, tail, and legs. The real beauty of the skin 

 lies in its rich, smoky brown tone. 



American Sable. 



The fur of the other, smaller marten, sometimes 

 called the pine marten or American sable {Mustela 

 amerioana), is almost as expensive as that of the 

 larger species. It is by far the commoner fur of the 

 two, and in many respects is quite as handsome. This 

 smaller marten is one of the most beautiful of our 

 little American animals, and is common yet among 

 the evergreen forests of the North. His environment 

 is properly the trackless mountain wilderness where 

 the fir and the spruce cast their mingled shade over 

 the tangled undergrowth of ferns, lycopodiums, shiny 



