Fur-bearing Animals Of Maine

1 he valué of the business done n the state of Mainc annually exceeds $100,000. The laígest individual dealer s a man in Brewer, whó handles about $35,000 worth per year. The number of , fur-buyers in the state is not large. Iheir chief sources of supply are in the regions at Ihe !ie;ul waters of the Androscoggin, Kenncbec and Penobscot rivers, and the streams entering into ;hem. Siortsmen and occasional hunters furnishes few pelts, but the bulk of :he fur is furnished by the professional trappers. Therc are many hundreda of men in Maine who earn their living and support their families by huntinff, ;rappmg and fishing, and who do noth_ng else, except, perhaps, act as guuies 'or pleasure-seekers in tho snmmer months, for the wliole year. Every year the fur catch decreases, and the bounds of the trapping-lines are graduaUy béng more limited. While game of' most kinds is retreating further intothe forest and becoming scarce, it is said tiiiit the number of moose and deer, which are protected by law, is increasing. In wmbers the muskrat exceeds any other vind of game trapped for its 'fur. in Maine and handled ín Lewiston. They are caugnt in common rat-trap,and Qfty ii these small traps are sometimes set oy one trapper. Immense quantitiea of them are caught. Eight or ten thonsand of them are shipped from Lewiston anmially. Most of them are exported to Germany and Kaly. wliere the skins are dyed and furnish a popular fur lining Eor ladies' apparel. They are araong the cheapest of furs. A very large quantity of skunk fur is also shipped from this city. It is used for trimmings in tiiis couutry, and is often passed off for Alaska seal. The larsrer Dart of the skunk catch probably goes to Franec and Germany. The otter is onc of the most valuable and rare fur-bearing animáis trapped in Maine. Not more Ihan 1,000 otters are annnally caught in the whole state. The skins make a beautif 11 1 warm fur, which is highly valued by the Russians. Greeks and Chinese.