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Show HOW WE GETOUR FURS The Eoute of a Pelt from Its Owneri to the Delicate Shoulders of a Society Ecauty. ., CONTEIBTITIOirS FE0M ALL CLIME3 The Great Seal Grounds of Alaskan Waters History of the Famous London Dye. ! tu a mg rnrtore one may see at this geason of the year prepared pelts from almost every section of the globe. The remote regions of North America contribute con-tribute the skins of the seal, sable, beaver, ermine, badger, mink, otter, and the white, black, brown and silver tip bears. The furs of the blue fox, block fox, strong muscles and some brain power. Furs gain in value by manipulation from 85 to 60 per cent., and a very slight mistake on the part of the workmen will cause a very serious deterioration in value. The proper curing of the fur consists merely in' exposing the skin to the air. The first process is known as fleshing. The skin is stretched on it sort of bench, and gone over with the fleshing knife, which removes the flesh and grease. The skin is next soaked in a tub of clear water for eighteen hours, or until sufficiently softened. Then follows fol-lows another fleshing. During these operations the fur loses" much of its gloss, which is restored by a thorough treatment treat-ment with oleaginous substances. Next comes the tanning. A mixture of mahogany, rosewood, ebony and cedar sawdust is sprinkled over these Skins, and pressed in by being trod upon. This is called the foot process. In the case of the coarser furs small beams the ends of which ure wrapped with skins-operated skins-operated by machinery do service. Then the fur is tacked on aboard, and combed over and over nntil each individual hair stands smooth and straight The long hairs are plucked out, except in cases where fashion demands that a few be left to indicate the genuineness of the article. Imitation seal is made from the skins of cats, muakrats or foxes. It is colored col-ored and trimmed in such a manner as to deceive any but an expert Sometimes Some-times the deception is carried so far as to sew in the long hairs to allay the suspicions sus-picions of the skeptical. Now comes the dyeing. Formerly the pelt was dipped into a vat, but as the dye quickly rotted the skin other , Jit THE SEAL AT ROME. white bear, sable, sea otter, chinchilla, martin and ermine come from Russia and her Siberian possessions. But these regions do not supply all that fashion craves for. In every furrier's store are skins from South America, Australasia, China, India, Africa. Thibet and the world famed vale of Cashmere. The fur trade of the far eastern conn-tries conn-tries is a peculiar one. The fair at Kizhnee Novgorod is the mecca toward which many caravans wend their way. It Is held during the month of August, and while ulmost every conceivable article ar-ticle of merchandise is dealt in, furs form the great bulk of the trade. At last year's fair the whole offering of 720,000 Bokhara ox skins was taken for the American market at advanced fig-tires. fig-tires. Novgorod, too, is the mart for Astrakhan. The great European center of the trade is London, whither nearly all the furs go at some stage of their existence. The busy season reaches its height during ilarch, and at that time dealers from all parts of the world are to be found in the English capital. The aggregate of the trade is enormous, one house alone being credited, with doing a business of $25,- 000,000 a year. Next to London comes Leipsio, which is tho chief depot for the Bnssian trade. The fur seal is now found in but few localities. Alaska furnishes the greater portion by far of the world's product, and London dyed Alaska sealskin is beauty's pride. ; Early in June the shores of the Pribylov islunds resound with -thet vpioes of tho seals, which "gather during the breeding season. s The history of the discovery of these islands reads like a romance. For years Russiun vessels had searched for thorn, Capt. Pribylov spent five sum- THE PELT OF COMMERCE. means had to be resorted to. At present pres-ent the dye is applied with a stiff brush, which goes to the root of the hair, but not further. The making of the fine seal brown color is a monopoly. The shade is known to the trade as "old Apple Ap-ple dye." Its history is said to be as follows: fol-lows: About 1831 u man named Apple worked in a London refinery as a sugar baker. Ouo day two fellow workmen an Austrian named Philip Danowitz, the other a Frenchman came to him. At home Danowita had been a dyer, while the Frenchman had been a weaver. Together To-gether they had made some experiments with dyes, and had by accident stumbled npon a beautiful seal brown. Neither, however, had any money to continue ' investigations. Apple had saved a few pounds. He bought oft the Frenchman, and together with Danowitz Dano-witz set about trying experiment with a fow sealskins. They were -eminently sud'eessful. The furriers were quick to see the commercial value of the secret, and soon ''. arrangements were made whereby a factory was erected and business busi-ness begun in earnest. Apple was a shrewd fellow and secured an interest in ( the business. Dan6witz was made foreman. fore-man. He gave the secret to a fellow workman named Hyes. By him it was imparted to one George Simmons, who revealed it to a man named Winchelow, With Winchelow its spread ceased, and the closest of corporations was formed. I Bo well guarded is the secret that the present owners do hot hesitate to sell the dye at a guinea a gallon. After the dyeing comes a curious operation oper-ation on the garments not yet made up the patching. An expert carefully goes over every skin, cutting out each defective part. To fill these holes wHi putches that cannot be detected is by no means the work of an amateur. Deft fingers have heretofore been required to CLUBBED TO DEATH. mere trying to find the home of the seals. Daring the sixth he was at one time driven from his course by a violent storm. As the tempest subsided he heard a most welcome sound the roaring of the seals.' fie returned with his ship loaded to the gunwales. Ho tried to keep" hia secret, but other captains followed him and , were soon sharing the furry treasures.' ; " . i The islands are about fifty miles off Alaska Cape, and in summer, are wrapped wrap-ped in a dense fog, which probably ao-counts ao-counts for the . fact that they were so long undiscovered. They are rocky and barren aud surrounded by shoals. During Dur-ing the breeding season the seals congregate congre-gate there in countless numbers. It is said that no less than 8,000,000 have been Been on St Paul's Island at onetime. The breeding season begins about the 1st of June and continues until August. The pups are brought forth singly, and when a few days old are loft on shore in charge of the fisthers, while the mothers go a-visiting. They return in about , three days, and bellow about until they ' find their husbands and children. They remain long enough to nurse the young, and then are off again for another three days' gossip. The sealors' go down to the shore early in the morning, cautiously cau-tiously get between the seals and the open sea, and drive the victims inland a half mile or so. Great care has to be taken not to alarm the seals, for should thoy get heated the skin is of no value. Only the males between two and four years of age should be slain, but often great numbers of younger ones are killed. One blow on the head is sufficient to cause death, and almost before the animals are done breathing their skins are off. An expert will remove a pelt in from three to five minutes. The skins are taken to the salting house, salted, laid in piles and counted by the United States government officials before shipment to San Francisco, where they are again counted by the collector of customs, and the tax collected before they can be k ' shipped to London. In London they are i plucked, dyed and made ready for the manufacturer. A cargo of sealskins is very valuable. Th steamship St. Paul on one trip took 100,000, rated at $1,000,-000, $1,000,-000, making the average worth of each akin $10. The process of preparing the skin for market is a difficult and delicate one, re-. ' Quiring long experience, cunning hands, j THK CLOAK OF FASHION. do tie sewing, but now the expert matches the patch, and the sewing is done by an ingoniously contrived ma- chine. Fox, ruccoon, bear, monkey, ' chinchilla, beaver, coney, lynx, squirrel j and any long fluffy fur can be sewed 'at I will. The pretty effect of the tipped i furs is obtained by Hewing in long white : hnire at regular intervals throughout the : oelt ' Avari Moore. 1 The long time problem of how a lady I may prominently yet safely carry her j watch is solved by the new leather brace- let, which has a fancy watch pocket at the wrist. . To drive away ants scrnb the shelves or drawers that thoy frequent with car-I car-I bolio soap, after which sprinkle red pep-! pep-! per in every crevice. Tho dress buckle which started at the j front of the belt is moving about, and : makes short stops at the hip, shoulder, j heart and thigh. f j Politeness is the natural expression of a refined nature. The counterfeit is al-wayj al-wayj easily distinguishable from the j genuine article. Eighteen out of twenty women walk on their heels, and nineteen of the score hollow their backs by projecting the s to niacin |