September, 1943 
Drying or curing is highly important in 
preparing raw furs for the market. A cool, 
airy, dry room or attic is the best type 
of drying place. Muskrats require only 
two or three days to dry sufficiently for 
shipping; foxes may require a week or 
more. Raw furs should never be dried in 
the sun, before a fire or stove, or treated 
with salt or other curing preparations. 
‘Trappers operating on a large scale 
sometimes market their catch unskinned. 
This is convenient and allows more time 
for trapping. The catch of the average 
trapper in Illinois, however, does not war- 
rant such practice. Prompt skinning is 
necessary since animals left to freeze and 
thaw quickly deteriorate, thereby greatly 
reducing fur quality. 
Too much emphasis cannot be placed 
on the need for proper handling of furs. 
Brown & YEAGER: SURVEY OF Fur REsouRCE 
499 
Dealers and large fur companies have 
emphasized the need for care in skinning, 
stretching and fleshing, and have pro- 
moted such care by awarding daily and 
weekly cash prizes for the best handled 
pelts of all important species. Most large 
companies provide detailed handling in- 
structions, free for the asking. 
Very little use is now made of the 
skinned carcasses of fur animals, although 
efforts are being made to develop markets 
for Illinois muskrat meat. Such develop- 
ment would provide annually about 
1,000,000 pounds of food now almost en- 
tirely wasted. Fox farmers in northern 
Illinois find limited use for skinned ani- 
mals in the preparation of feed. There is 
a slight demand, especially in southern 
Illinois, for opossum and raccoon meat at 
low prices. Most of the carcasses are fed 
Fig. 33—An early season catch of well-handled muskrat skins from Vermilion County. 
The freshly skinned pelts have been stretched and are being dried on wire frames. 
