BLUE-FOX FARMING IX ALASKA 
27 
from the root of the tail about half its length and all of the tail 
bone is pulled out of the brush. 
The carcass is then hung on a hook or nail by the tendons of the 
hock joints and the pelt is pulled down, the knife being used when- 
ever necessary to free it, until it is removed as far as the neck. 
Careful work is necessary to cut around the base of the ears, in- 
cluding them in the pelt, then around the eyes, and around the 
mouth and lips in such way as not 
to injure their margins. Car- 
casses should be disposed of im- 
mediately by burying or burning. 
DRYING PELTS 
As soon as it is taken from the 
carcass the pelt is placed flesh 
side out on a wooden frame for 
drying. This may be made of soft- 
wood one-half to five-eighths of 
an inch thick. Soft material will 
facilitate drying and the drawing 
of tacks. A board 45 inches long 
and approximately 7 inches wide 
should be used, tapering at the 
end so as to enter the nose. At a 
distance of 12 inches from the nose 
the board should be 6 inches wide, 
and at the base 7 inches. Cut the 
board in halves, lengthwise, and 
on the sides of one of the pieces 
fasten two cleats extending at right 
angles at the base, so that when 
the frame is inserted into a pelt 
and a wedge is forced in to stretch 
it tight there will be no overlap- 
ping of the boards (fig. 26). By 
varying the size of the wedge any 
frame may be used for both large 
and small pelts. Xo more stretch- 
ing should be done than is re- 
quired to bring the skin into natu- 
ral shape, for undue stretching detracts from the value of the pelt. 
To allow the skin to dry, the hind legs and tail are fastened to the 
frame by means of tacks and small strips of wood, and the front legs 
are tacked to small pieces of wood, as illustrated in Figure 27. 
A tablespoon is used as a scraper to flesh the skin and remove any 
excess fat. Scraping should not be so close as to remove all the fat 
and part of the membrane, for this will make the skin shrink from 
the roots of the g'uard hairs, permitting them to be pulled out, thus 
limiting the life of the pelt. Fur buyers look for this defect, and 
skins having it are severely cut in price. 
After the skin has been fleshed and dried on the frame for a day 
or so, depending on conditions, it should be taken off, turned fur 
B2I64S 
Fig. 26. — Frame for drying pelts. In- 
stead of having a middle wedge, some 
frames are made in one piece and 
serve the purpose equally well 
