2 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
FUR TRADE STATISTICS 
While statistics are wearisome and are generally taken with mental 
reservation, yet they serve in helping one form an opinion of the propo- 
sition in question. Statistics compiled by the United States Bureau 
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce show that imports of furs and 
undressed fur skins during the calendar year 1920 were valued at 
$84,427,592 as compared with $69,289,909 in 1919 and $32,158,939 in 
1918. The value of imports for the calendar year 1920 shows an in- 
crease of approximately 22 per cent. Imports of dressed furs and manu- 
factures of all kinds for the calendar year 1920 aggregated $9,131,348 
as compared with $7,472,336 in 1919 and $2,491,278 in 1918. The in- 
crease for the calendar year 1920 amounted to approximately 22 per 
cent, or about the same as for the imports of raw furs. 
Exports and manufactures of domestic furs for the calendar year 
1920 were valued at $32,886,995 as compared with $23,788,599 in 1919 
and $11,374,174 in 1918. 
The Fur Dressers^ and Fur Dyers’ Association dressed, during the 
year 1918, $35,212,230.28 worth of skins; in 1919, $51,366,253.14 
worth; and in 1920, $52,910,589.43 worth. 
The Board of Trade of the Fur Industry of the United States esti- 
mates the annual turn-over in the fur business for the year 1918 at 
$232,748,201.86; for 1919, $342,441,687.60; and for 1920, $352,605- 
927.18. It is interesting to note here that the revenue accruing to the 
Federal Government from articles made of fur during 1920, on which 
there is a 10 per cent revenue tax, amounted to $15,311,214.24. 
The statistics which, have just been enumerated furnish a fair esti- 
mate of the volume of the fur industry in the United States. It will 
be understood, however, that these figures are not immune to criti- 
cism; yet they are as correct a representation of the financial phase 
of the fur industry as it is possible to obtain under existing conditions. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUR TRADE 
The modern fur trade has developed in the past twenty-five years 
from a neglected, unimportant industry into one of the largest and most 
important in existence. The United States has grown to be the largest 
fur market and fur-consuming country in the world. The fur industry 
employs many thousands of men and women who make their living 
from furs and in turn contribute to the comfort of a great number of 
people. 
