September, 1943 
doubtedly below average, because of low 
raw fur prices. 
15. Fur quality, fundamentally in- 
fluenced by food, injury, age and season, 
was studied in some detail during the sur- 
vey, which revealed that about 11 per cent 
of Illinois furs were damaged, mainly 
by dogs and improper handling. Kits, of 
little value in the fur trade, constituted, 
for muskrat, 8.5 per cent; opossum, 15 
per cent; raccoon, 10 per cent; skunk, 
+ per cent; and mink, 2.5 per cent. The 
species showing the highest percentage 
of No. 1 furs were, in descending order, 
weasel, mink, skunk, raccoon, gray fox, 
muskrat, red fox and opossum. Foxes were 
damaged mainly by dogs, and opossums by 
both dogs and carelessness in handling 
this low-priced fur. From 0.3 to 4.0 per 
cent of the mink pelts had white or ‘‘cot- 
ton” underfur, and such pelts, size for 
size, averaged only about one-half the 
value of normal-colored pelts. Less than 
10 per cent of Illinois skunks graded 
Pplack’ and ‘star,’ the most valuable 
classifications, while about two-thirds 
graded “narrow stripe’ and _ ‘‘broad 
stripe,’ the least valuable classifications. 
Mange was observed on red fox, raccoon, 
opossum and skunk pelts, and lice infesta- 
tions were reported in those of mink, but 
in all cases much less than 1 per cent 
of the skins or animals were involved. 
16. Skill in skinning and stretching 
pelts was directly proportional to trappers’ 
experience. he best handled pelts came 
from professional and the poorest handled 
from inexperienced and boy trappers. The 
loss due to poor handling is unknown, 
Brown & YEAGER: SURVEY OF FuR ReEsouRcCE 
503 
but probably amounted to at least 10 per 
cent of the total annual fur income. No 
adequate market has been developed for 
fur-animal meat or other by-products. 
17. About 40 per cent of the annual 
fur catch was shipped directly to large 
fur houses, 50 per cent was sold to local 
dealers and 10 per cent was picked up 
at trappers’ residences by traveling buy- 
ers. The ultimate selling destination of 
Illinois furs was St. Louis, Chicago and 
eastern fur centers. Of 43 dealers inter- 
viewed, about 65 per cent preferred to buy 
dried pelts, 25 per cent freshly skinned 
but unstretched pelts and the remainder 
preferred unskinned animals or had no 
preference. Raw furs were found to be 
always readily salable. It was found that 
pelts taken illegally, whether before or 
after the open season, were usually dis- 
posed of; those taken before the season by 
being held until after the season opened, 
and those taken after the season by being 
sold in Illinois before the end of the 10-day 
period during which raw furs might be 
legally held, or by being transported to 
and sold in a neighboring state having 
a season with a later closing date. 
18. The average annual income of 
over $1,200,000 yielded by the fur re- 
source in Illinois was found to be derived 
practically without management and with 
no investment except time for harvesting 
the crop and the small cost of trappers’ 
and hunters’ supplies. Practical manage- 
ment measures, correlated with agricul- 
tural and other land use, would undoubt- 
edly result in a material increase in the 
annual income. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Anthony, H. E. 
1928. Field book of North American mam- 
mals. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New 
York. 625 pp., illus. 
Bailey, Vernon 
1936. The red fox in America. Nat. Mag. 
9505 269-72, 317. 
Bennitt, Rudolf, and Werner O. Nagel 
1937. A survey of the resident game and 
furbearers of Missouri. Mo. Univ. 
Studies 12(2) : 1-215. 
Cory, Charles B. 
1912. ‘The mammals of Illinois and Wis- 
consin. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Zool. 
Ser. 153(11): 1-505. Illus. 
Dearborn, Ned 
1932. Foods of some predatory fur-bearing 
animals in Michigan. Mich. Univ. 
School of Forestry and Cons. Bul. 
Li-52, situs: 
Driver, E. C. 
1930. The fur yield of Illinois. Unpub- 
lished manuscript. Ill. Nat. Hist. 
Surv. 
Errington, Paul L. 
1937a. Management of the red fox in Iowa. 
Am. Wildlife 26(2) :24, 30-1. 
1937b. Drowning as a cause of mortality in 
muskrats. Jour. Mammal. 18(4) : 497- 
500. 
