Ogden Evening Standard | 1912-12-09 | Page 7 | Why Ermine Fur is Costly

oo WHY ERMINE FUR IS COSTLY Process of Trapping the Animal lo Peculiar Ono, and Entails Hardship Hard-ship on tho Trapper. "ThiB stole of Imperial ermine is worth $1,000," said the dealer. "Dear? Nix. JuBt consider how the animals comprised in it were caught! "In the first place, they were caught In a wlntor of extreme cold, for It la only In such a winter that the weasel, or ermine, turns from tawny to snow white In normal winters the ormlno only turns to a grconish white like this $400 greenish whlto stolo hers. "In tho second place, the ermine wore caught young; for, when fully developed, de-veloped, their coat is coarso and stiff as In this $250 stole and to catch them young, the tongue trap muBt bo used. Any other trap would tear the dellcato fur "The tongue trap is a knife, an ordinary or-dinary hunting-knlfo smeared vIth groase, that the hunter lays in tho snow The little ermine sees tho blade, which It mistakes for ice Ice It loves to lick and so it licks the knifo blade and is caught faBt, its tongue, In tbiit zero weather, frozen to the steel. "Yes, sir, when you see a stole Hko this, don't begrudge a good price for it; for every ermine In it was tongue-trapped tongue-trapped in subzoro weather, a mighty Blow and painful hand process."