SIZE: There are three sizes of pelts, namely, large, medium and small; but dealers in raw furs find it necessary to quote a special grade for the very small or undersize skins. These kitts, as they are termed, are the skins of the young of late litters. They are not mature in pelt and the fur is of poor quality, hence of little value. A No. 1 large pelt is usually worth about twice as much as one of the same quality in the small size. From this the reader may gather that the large grade pelt must be twice the size of the small, but this is erroneous. The fact is, that in most species of fur bearers the variation in the large, medium and small size is but a difference of two or three inches in the length of the pelt. Just why there is such a radical difference in price is a mysterious prank of the fur trade, for which no one person is responsible. On the other hand, a small size pelt which is of good color and possesses a lustrous and dense coat of fur, is often worth as much or more than a large pelt of poor color. Remember that dimensions of the skin and primeness of pelt are of little consideration when the fur lacks quality.
GRADING MUSKRATS: Muskrats, unlike most other furs, are not strictly prime in pelt until early spring. For that reason they are assorted under three headings, as follows: Fall, winter and spring. The pelt of the fall muskrat displays very little primeness, but is endowed with a fairly dense growth of fur, and therefore is in good demand. The degree of primeness increases as the season advances, and when fifty per cent or more of the pelt is prime they are quoted as "Winter." When they are fully prime, which occurs during the latter part of February or early March, they are termed "Spring 'rats" and command the best prices.
Abnormally thin pelts are not uncommon among fur bearers, but this defect is most frequently found on muskrats. Just what causes this imperfection is not definitely known. The writer while trapping in the prairie region of Dakota caught both river and marsh 'rats, and discovered that the pelts of the latter were very thin, and when dry rattled like paper when handled; the color of the fur was a pale, rusty red and very dull compared with that of the pelts of the river 'rats in the same district. I believe the inferior quality of the fur of these marsh 'rats is due to the excessive amount of alkali present in the marshy waters of the Northwest. Papery peltries are discounted from ten to twenty-five per cent, because the leather of such thin pelted fur is delicate and not very lasting.
There is a larger percentage of kitts found in the average collection of fall muskrat pelts than among any other kind of fur. These pelts are poorly furred and very small compared with those of mature animals, and are of little value.
In the spring muskrats fight a great deal, especially the males. As a result, the pelts of these are often damaged considerably. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find entrapped muskrats so badly chewed and torn, by their own kind, that it does not pay to skin them.
In assorting muskrats, buyers usually pay more attention to size and primeness of pelt than they do to the fur, because it is generally conceded that the average run of 'rat fur is good. Nature endows the muskrat with a dense coat of fur, which, in fact, is a necessity to further its welfare in the icy waters in which it lives.
As before stated, 'rats, like most of the other fur bearers, vary considerably in size in various parts of the country. For example the pelt of a large Southwestern muskrat is no larger than that of an Atlantic coast 'rat of the small grade. The districts which show a marked difference in the value and size of 'rat pelts may be divided into four groups, as follows: First, Eastern Canada, New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and West Virginia; second, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas; third, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Northwest; fourth, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, to the Pacific and Southern.
The pelts of the first district are of the best quality and therefore command the best prices. Those of the second average about ten per cent less per pelt, and those of the third and last district average about twenty and thirty-five per cent less, respectively, than those of the first named district.