Curing Skins

Category: THE TRAPPER'S MISCELLANY.

This department of the trapper's art is one of the most important
and necessary, as affecting pecuniary profits. The value of a skin
in the fur market depends entirely upon the care with which it
is taken from the animal and afterward prepared, and without a
knowledge on this subject the young trapper will in vain seek for
high prices for his furs. Large quantities of valuable skins are
sent to our markets annually by inexperienced amateur trappers,

and in many cases rare and beautiful furs have been almost spoiled
by want of care in skinning and curing. The rules are simple and
easily followed, a little care being all that is necessary to insure
most perfect success. In every case the skin should be removed
shortly after death, or at least before it has become tainted with
decay. Great pains should be taken in skinning. Avoid the adherence
of flesh or fat to the skin, and guard against cutting through the
hide, as a pierced skin is much injured in value. The parts about
the eyes, legs and ears should be carefully removed. The various
methods of skinning are described in our section on trapping, and
in all cases the furs should be allowed to dry in a cool, airy
place, free from the rays of the sun or the heat of a fire, and
protected from rain.

Astringent preparations of various kinds are used by many trappers,
but they are by no means necessary. The most common dressing consists
of equal parts of rock salt and alum dissolved in water. Into this
a sufficient amount of coarse flour or wheat bran is stirred to give

the mixture the consistency of batter, after which it is spread
thickly over the skin and allowed to dry.

It is afterwards scraped off, and in some cases a second application
is made. This preparation is much used in dressing beaver, otter,
mink and muskrat skins, but as many of our most successful and
experienced trappers do without it, we fail to see the advantage of
using it, as it is only an extra trouble. The simplest and surest
way is to stretch the skin and to submit it to a gradual process
of natural drying without any artificial heat or application of
astringents to hasten the result.

A very common mode of stretching skins consists in tacking them to
a board, with the fur inwards, and allowing them to dry as already
described.

This method does very well for small skins, but for general purposes
the stretchers are the only means by which a pelt may be properly
cured and prepared.

Next: Stretchers
Previous: The Toboggan Or Indian Sledge

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