360 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



It is probable, although Mr. Poland does not mention it, that 

 another reason for the increased number of skins, of such pre- 

 datory animals as the Wolf, Wolverine, Lynx, and Fox, is the 

 Government reward offered for their destruction. As regards 

 the skins of Fur-seals received from America in 1881 (according 

 to Mr. Poland's tables), the number was 210,745, and in 1891 

 (the last year for which the returns are tabulated) 725,731, a very 

 considerable reduction. 



Fashion, it would seem, exercises a great influence upon the 

 prices of furs : — 



" Skins that for some years have been neglected and almost unsaleable, 

 owing to the vagaries of fashion, suddenly assume a high value, an advance 

 of 50 or 100 per cent, in these days of quick communication and transit not 

 being thought much of, although a rise of 30 or 40 per cent, was considered 

 sufficient a few years ago. Any fashion, if constantly kept up, would 

 probably lead to the extinction of many species, but its frequent changes 

 give the animals time to increase. The Hudson's Bay Company have a 

 good plan of passing over for a time any district that is exhausted. 



"The furs of a country are, as a rule, only used to a minor extent 

 there, a great number being exported, and, on the other hand, many foreign 

 ones are imported, the want of one country being supplied by the abundance 

 of another, thus stimulating and promoting commerce." 



In addition to the English names of the fur-bearing animals, 

 which in most cases are followed by their scientific appellations, 

 although some are not specifically identified (see pp. 145, 155, 

 171, 199, 304, 367—369), Mr. Poland gives the French and 

 German names, where known, and text cuts are furnished of 

 sixteen species. Considering the large number of species to 

 select from, it would have been better to have dispensed with 

 such very familiar illustrations as those of the Polar Bear, 

 American Bison, and Kangaroo, and to have substituted figures 

 of some less known animals. Wearers of furs, probably, would 

 have preferred to gain some idea of the general appearance of a 

 Chinchilla, a Mink, and a Musquash, or view the portraits of a 

 Nandine, a Paguma, and a Pernitsky. 



