September, 1943 Brown & YEAGER: 
aged furs amounted to 7, 13 and 14 per 
cent for the northern, central and south- 
ern zones, respectively. Damage was prob- 
ably most often caused by dogs, and was 
common among pelts taken by night hunt- 
ers. The percentage of damaged furs 
showed a correlation by zones with the 
amount of night hunting. Other causes of 
damage were carelessness in skinning and 
stretching, wherein pelts were cut or torn; 
fighting by the animals before or after 
they were taken in traps; and spoilage. 
Damage from fighting, which in some 
species shortly precedes mating activity, 
was common late in the season. Minor 
types of damage, from the standpoint of 
volume, were “curling,” “singeing,” “rub- 
bing’ and “fading,” all usually a result 
of wear or mechanical injury and not 
apparent until late in the season. Musk- 
7A ime 
3 | ae ye Nane 
WARREN | LIVINGSTON 
PEORIA > 
Bie 
aa 
7 Fr: | | IROQUOIS 
are: | 
TAZEWELL u@cean Foro |_ Sonat 
| ree 
ees: 
CHamPaich | VERMILION 
e \ 
\ 
Nd 
® 
SKMACOUBIN " MONTGOMERY | 
CLARK 
Eomeeauano 
EFFINGHAM 
ate eet vAgpER 
CRAWFORD 
LOCAL FUR BUYER 
O MAJOR FUR COMPANY 
ON 
ate SON ae GALLATIN 
Fig. 32.—Location of major fur companies 
and local fur buyers interviewed in determin- 
ing quality of Illinois furs and practices em- 
ployed in the state’s fur trade. One major 
company in Chicago and four in St. Louis, 
Mo., are represented. 
SURVEY OF Fur RESOURCE 
497 
rats showed by far the largest volume of 
damaged fur. Opossums showed the high- 
est percentage. This was due probably 
to the large volume of opossum. furs taken 
with dogs and to carelessness in skinning 
and stretching these low-priced pelts. 
Other species such as raccoons and red 
foxes were occasionally damaged at the 
time of capture or in handling. A large 
part of damage in all species is prevent- 
able. 
In Illinois minks, an inferior grade 
known as “cotton” is found. “Cotton” 
minks are usually detected by blowing into 
the fur side of the pelt, which discloses the 
grayish color of the under fur; some skins 
are so white that the defect is discernible 
from a distance. here appeared to be a 
distinct increase in the per cent of “‘cot- 
ton” minks for 1939-40 over the preceding 
season. Dealers reported that in the north- 
ern zone 3.9 per cent, in the central zone 
4 per cent and in the southern zone 0.3 
per cent of the pelts were of “cotton” 
quality. The greatest number was re- 
ported from the central Illinois River 
valley, particularly from the vicinity of 
Havana. Here, one dealer stated that 
“cotton” minks made up 20 per cent of 
the catch, but this estimate may be too 
high. A large fur company, which re- 
ceives a great deal of Illinois fur, reported 
that of this state’s mink catch 1.46 per 
cent in 1938-39 and 5.5 per cent in 1939- 
40 were “cotton” skins. The cause of the 
defect and the reasons for its increase in 
1939-40 are not known. Reduction in 
value varies with the amount of white, 
but averages about 50 per cent. 
Illinois skunks, which prime early, 
grade largely to No. 1’s and No. 2’s; they 
are further classified according to the 
length and width of the two white dorsal 
stripes. “These classifications are given in 
table 21. Pelts containing the smallest 
amount of white are the most valuable. 
As shown in table 21, the highest per- 
centage of dark skunks in Illinois came 
from the southern zone, although by far 
the largest skunk catches were made in 
the northwestern regions of the state. 
The northern zone produced the highest 
percentage of broad and narrow stripe 
pelts. 
Mange was observed on red fox, rac- 
coon, opossum and skunk pelts. It prob- 
ably occurred on others. The infestation 
