Cold storage has been used for the storage of furs for many years; 
however, furs can be held safely in ordinary storage if they are pro- 
tected from insects. Furs are stored by mseums in ordinary storage and 
keep perfectly if they are occasionally fumigated. According to the Fish 
and Wild Life Service, the oils on furs are artificial anyway and should 
be replaced once in a while. Skins that do dry and become brittle do so 
as the result of the tanning process in which certain acids are used. 
Fumigation of fur storage rooms in the United States has been prac- 
ticed commercially for 0 years. 
According to Back and Cottqn, 2/ "fur garments appear to be in 
no way affected by the vapors of the fumigants recommended, and dry stor- 
age has no deleterious effect upon the furs. A few instances of change in 
color of furs stored in fumigable storage have been reported, but in no 
case has this been clearly shown to be the result of fumigation. Thou- 
sands of dollars' worth of furs are being stored annually in fumigable 
storage throughout the country, to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
Fumigation vaults and storage rooms 
"Fumigation of the furs and fur garments is done in gastight cabi- 
nets or vaults such as are shown in figure 1... . These small cabinets 
are of metal construction and can be purchased readymade. 
"The large storage rooms (figures 2 and 3) may be of any type of con-~ 
struction that is sufficiently tight for fumigation purposes, Usually 
they are of concrete or of hollow tile covered with Keen's cement. The 
surface should be finished with two or three coats of good paint. Large; 
shallow evaporating pans are fastened along the walls near the ceiling, or 
are suspended from the celling, but so placed that they are not directly 
over the garments suspended from the racks, These pans are connected by 
pipes to the storage tank (figure )) containing the fumigant .. . The 
fumigant is run into the evaporating pans by gravity or by the use of a 
small compressor . e« e 
"The door of the storage room is usually of the safe or refrigerator 
type, well gasketed so that it will be airtight. An adequate ventilating 
system mist be installed, so that the gas can be quickly removed after 
the fumigation. As in the case of small fumigation vaults, the ventila- 
ting stack should extend well outside the building. 
2/ Back, BE. A., and Cotton, R. T. Industrial Fumigation Against Insects. 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Circular 369, 64 ppe Reve 192. 
