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changed their manufactures for the richest furs of the north, with which they ornamented their dresses. The ancient Greeks and Romans were never partial to furs, associating them with "those sons of rapine who invaded their frontiers, set fire to the houses, drove off the cattle, and either massacred, or made captives of the inhabitants." But when these " sons of rapine" became the conquerors of Rome, they brought with them their hereditary taste for furs; and although the climate was too warm for the coarse skins which had been essential to protect them from the cold of Germany and Scythia, yet they still retained their love for the fine and costly furs, which were employed for ostentation. In the 6th century, furs were brought to Rome from the countries near the Baltic, and from the mountains near the headwaters of the river Euphrates. Tlie sable was found as far south as Poland, and the ermine was taken among the mountains of Armenia, from whence it derived its name. This hereditary taste for furs was continued by all the nations south of the North sea; and the use of them was regulated by sumptuary laws for many centuries. They were denied to the common people, and to wear them was the privilege only of the monarch and his favorites. The noble furs were the ermine, the sable, the vair, and the gris; of which the three first were admitted into armorial bearings. The vair was a squirrel with a dove colored back, and the gris was also some undetermined species of that animal. The rich furs are associated with the chivalry of the middle ages, being then considered as insignia of royalty, and as marks of the high rank of the wearer. And until the introduction of fire-arms, and the greater assimilation of the different grades of society, caused by the progress of knowledge and arts, they were tokens of the valorous achievements of the warrior, or the presence of high state dignities. 'Silk and other fabrics also began to gain an ascendancy over furs, as they were more readily and gracefully accommodated to the capricious vagaries of fashion, and better adapted to the light and flowing draperies of dress and furniture than furs, which though rich, were often too heavy for all climes and seasons.' It is probable that silken plush and velvet were made in imitation of furs.

The trade in furs was carried on for a long time by the Hanse merchants, who obtained them from the countries north and east of the Baltic. In 1553, a passage was discovered by sea to Archangel, and a factory established there by the English under the patronage of the czar of Russia. They obtained black, dun, red, and white foxes, sables, luzernes, martrones, gurnestalles or armines, minevers (mink), beavers, wolverenes, gray and red squirrels, and water rats, which were procured from the country lying between the rivers Dwina and Oby. The forests of Siberia, from very remote times, have furnished the richest and most valuable furs for the inhabitants of Europe and Asia. Since its conquest by the Russians in 1640, the inhabitants pay an annual tribute to the emperor of one skin in every forty. The quantities of the common kinds sent to China are great, but the choicest are carried to Novogorod for the use of the wealthy classes of Russia and Turkey.

The discovery of the river St. Lawrence, and the vast extent of country lying west of the great lakes, opened a field almost boundless for the trade in furs. The French in Canada seized it with such avidity and success that the supply exceeded the demand, and their peltries could not find a market. The English also established themselves near Hudson's Bay, and carried on a great trade with the Indians. The Hudson's Bay Company was formed in 1670, and prosecuted a lucrative trade in furs for more than a century. Another association, called the Northwest Company, was established at Montreal in 1783, and for some time was an active competitor of the Hudson's Bay Company. These two Companies trapped for skins throughout all the country lying north of the Missouri as far west as the Pacific, their hunters sometimes traveling as far as 4000 miles from the posts. They were united in 1821, and now engross the greatest portion of the fur trade in America. They formerly occupied the post of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River, which, after their coalescence they abandoned, and removed to Fort Vancouver, where an active and prosperous trade is now carried on. The Hudson's Bay Company ship all their furs to England, from their several posts of York Fort and Moose River on Hudson's Bay, and Montreal, and on the Pacific coast. We extract the following table from McCulloch, showing the amount and value of the furs exported from the Britsh possessions in the year 1831, which would show that the number of fur bearing animals still remaining in North America was considerable.

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The North American Fur Company, the leading members of which reside in New York, has long enjoyed the principal part of the Indian trade of the great lakes and headwaters of the Mississippi. The country east of the Rocky Mountains is not, at present, very productive in fur clad animals. The region west of those mountains is now occupied (exclusive of private combination and individuals,) by the Russians on the northwest as far south as lat. 53° N, and by the Hudson's Bay Company from thence to the Columbia river; from which place, trapping companies from the United States take the remain

der of the region to the coast of California. The whole country, from the great lakes to the Pacific, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, is searched for furs. The further north the furs are taken, the better is their quality. There is also a Russian American company established in Moscow, which draws its supplies from the Russian possessions on the northwest coast of America; the furs are chiefly consumed in Russia. The Danish Greenland Company in Copenhagen carry on a limited business, exposing their furs for sale once a year.

London is the chief emporium for furs; they are carried to that city from all parts of the world, and then distributed to those countries where they are consumed. A London fur dealer, quoted in McCulloch, divides furs into three classes; as they are used either for dresses in cold climates, where they may be considered as articles of actual necessity; for hats; or for ornament. Lamb and other skins are comprised in the first class; the beaver, nutria, musk-rat, otter, hare, and others which are almost exclusively consumed in hatting, are in the second; and under the denomination of ornamental skins, are included the sable, fox, tiger, &c. The same author further observes: "Furs being entirely the produce of nature, which can neither be cultivated nor increased, their value is not influenced by fashion alone, but depends materially on the larger or smaller supplies received. The weather has great influence on the quality of furs imported from all quarters of the world; and this circumstance renders the fur trade more difficult, perhaps, and precarious, than any other. The quality, and consequently the price of many furs, will differ every year. It would be completely impossible to state the value of the different furs, the trade being the most fluctuating imaginable. I have often seen the same article rise and fall, 100, 200, or 300 per cent. in the course of a twelvemonth-nay, in several instances, in the space of one month." To enable the reader to form some idea of the fur trade, we extract the following table from McCulloch's Dictionary.

Account of the principal furs imported into London in 1831, the countries whence they were brought, and the quantity furnished by each country.

Countries.

Prussia,

Bear. Beav'r. Fitch. Marten Mink. Muskrat Nutria Otter.

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Germany,

Netherlands,

France,

688 7,028

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British America 3,994 93,199

United States, 13,480 7,459

Buenos Ayres,

All other places
Total.

128

......

118

112,038 30,742 737,746

50,083 70,120 27,000 52,130 1,401

429,966

2,354 2,011 157 9,971 117 17,602|100,944/243,705 214,107|103,561|772,693|494,067|23,198

In commerce, the skins of animals are termed peltry until they have been dressed, when they are called furs. The principal consumers of furs comprised under the ornamental class are the Chinese, Turks, Russians, Germans and English. The Egyptians use furs to a limited extent. The Americans consume comparatively few in this manner, and re-import the dressed furs from Loudon which were exported there as peltries. In 1831, out of 764,746 musk-rat skins imported into London from North America, 592,117 were exported to the United States. New York, Leipsic, Kiakhta, and Novogorod are the principal marts of furs after London. "It is a remarkable feature of the fur trade," observes McCulloch, "that almost every country or town which produces and exports furs, imports and consumes that of some other place, frequently the most distant. It is but seldom that an article is consumed in the country where it is produced, though that country may consume furs to a considerable extent."

The consumption of furs in China is very great. The necessity of restricting the use of fuel to culinary operations and the arts, compels the Chinese to load themselves with garments in the winter. To limit the number as much as possible, the outer one is lined with fur, or stuffed with cotton, and the former is obtained by the people whenever their means will permit. All kinds of fur are used for this purpose, and the cost of a garment lined with fur, varies from $20 to several hundreds. These dresses are carefully preserved, and often handed down from father to son: but the usual length of time they are worn before being spoiled is not far from twelve years. Cat, fox, deer, otter, seal, rabbit, hare, beaver, leopard, and others, are worn by the inhabitants of this province. Kiakhta and Canton are their principal, if not the only, emporia of furs. Those sold at Kiakhta are brought there by the Russians from their possessions in Asia and America, and exchanged for teas, silk, porcelain, and other commodities of China. We have no data from which to form any idea of the amount of furs imported into China through that place, but we should suppose the supply inadequate from the fact that dealers even from the province of Shanse come to Canton to purchase furs. Lamb and sheep skins, and the inferior kinds of fur, are said to form the bulk of those imported at Kiakhta. The importation of furs into Canton has, for the most part been carried on by the Americans, although the English have every year brought more or less to this port. Seal is the only fur brought from the South Seas; sea-otter skins are procured from Russian America, and the others mostly from New York. The imports of furs by the Americans from the year 1805 to 1834, will appear by the accompanying table.

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TABLE, showing the Importations of PURS into Canton in American Vessels from the year 1805 to 1834.

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