4 Department Circular 135, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



in raccoon-skin overcoats. The returns from a fox den may easily 

 be worth more to him than the income from a thousand-dollar Gov- 

 ernment bond. 



THE FUR TRADE. 



The commercial history of America begins with fur, and from 

 the early days down to the present this has been an important article 

 in our domestic and foreign trade. There are few commodities in 

 common use which distribute their benefits so widely. From the 

 country boy who traps a few muskrats to the professional trapper 

 patrolling a hundred miles of territory, the money received for pelts 

 goes at once into various channels of circulation. 



For upward of 300 years America furnished raw furs that were 

 dressed and manufactured in EurojDe, many of them to be returned 

 to this country for final use. Since 1914, however, the center of 

 the world's fur trade has been transferred from Europe to the United 

 States. The greatest fur sales in history are now being held here, 

 and all branches of fur dressing, dyeing, and manufacturing are be- 

 ing successfully carried on by American enterprise. The amount of 

 capital invested in the American fur trade is vastly greater than 

 ever before, and many thousands of people derive their support from 

 it. To both capital and labor it yields abundant returns. 



Most of the fur goods produced in America are manufactured in 

 or near New York City, where in 1918 there were about GO dressing 

 and dyeing plants, 500 dealers, 1,200 manufacturers, 18,000 opera- 

 tives, and an investment estimated at between $200,000,000 and 

 $300,000,000. 



The effect of the World War on fur dressing and dyeing in this 

 country is clearly shown by the change in ratios between the dressed 

 and raw skins imported in 1914 and 1919, respectively. (See Pis. 

 I and II.) In 1914 dressed skins imported were worth $3,500,000, 

 while raw-skin imports were worth $7,500,000, the ratio of dressed to 

 raw being about 46 per cent. In 1919 we imported $4,000,000 worth 

 of dressed skins and $69,000,000 worth of raw skins, the ratio be- 

 tween dressed and raw dropping to 6 per cent from the 46 per 

 cent of five years earlier. Members of the Fur Dealers' & Buyers' 

 Association of Greater New York in 1919 dressed $27,000,000 worth 

 of furs and dyed more than $16,000,000 worth. It may be safely 

 assumed that from this time forth America can readily dress, dye, 

 and manufacture all the furs she can possibly produce. 



The most striking fact relating to the fur trade during recent 

 years is the rapidity with which values have advanced and the sur- 

 prising heights they have attained. For many months it seemed as 

 if the pinnacle had been reached, yet each succeeding sale set a 

 new record. Not only did prices advance, but skins formerly re- 



