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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1913)
nePag 10 Copyright; Tr the lUr Company. Oreat Britain Rights Reserved, The Omaha Sunday Bee i pr JL jjjl A Set of Wkke Raccoon Furs from Animals Grown in Captivity. By RENE BACHE. WITH the rapid extinction of so many of the fur-bearing animals to supply the con etantly Increasing demands of the market, the problem of domesticat ing as many species as possible has been taken up by the United States Government. The plan of the Government Biological Survey for establishing a fur farming Industry In this coun- HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS Many otherwise good housekeepers aro very Indifferent about labelling-. They trust to their memories as to what is In each Jar or package, and sometimes with disastrous results. All tores should be plainly labeled. Box springs mar be protected from Insects by opening the ticking at one end and pouring Inside a handful of naptha mothballs. When the ticking Is replaced little or no odor will escape from tho mothballs. When doing washing, before you go out In the cold to hang up your c othes, wipe your hands dry and rub them well with cornstarch. Your hands will not suffer with the cold. One and ,.one-half teaapoonfyls of baiting powder to. one pint of sifted llour is a good rule to follow for bis. vuits and shortcakes. Po not throw away and!e ends which are no longer fit for burning, b. t collect thum all and put In a Jar. Stand It on the side of the stove till melted, then mix a little paraffin oil untl it becomes the thickness of i ream. Applied to oilcloths, etc- It will make art excellent polish, being bright, but not "dangerous and slip. pr - children. Sheep Being Used in Breeding Experiments by the Govern ment to Offset tho Do create in Wild Fur-Bear-ing Animals. try contemplates, to begin with, the rearing of that valuable animal, the mink, undor conditions of semi domestication. Mink skins of good quality are worth from ?3 to 8, ac cording to size and condition, In tho market to-day. (With this Idea In view, the Gov ernment experts are starting In to make a series of experiments, in co-operation with tho National Zo ological Park at Washington, tor the purpose of finding out what kind of pens are best, and what methods of feeding the animals and rearing the young may be adopted to greatest advantage. Later on, tho results of the ex periment will be embodied in a bulletin on mink farming, to be pub lished for the information of every body who is Interested In the sub ject The Biological Survey Is of the opinion that mink tannine on a . considerable scale in ' tho United i-.Hfi,.?!"" U1VU$U IJUDOUUUD 1U 1C1U' tion to it remain to be studied out,' How Important the matter la may Interesting Experiments by the United States Government in Do mesticating Wild Fur-Bearing Animals to Save Whole Species Now Being Exterminated for Women's Wardrobe bo Judged from the fact that sine 1890 tho mink has taken tho place previously held by tho fur soal as the greatest fur producer In tho world, reckoned In terms of value. Few furs surpass that of this Httlo amphibious animal (two feet long, dark above and white underneath), In richness of coloring, quality and durability. The Biological Sorvoy gives the following directions for breeding and rearing minks: "Thoro should be only one male to five or six females, and each of the latter should havo a soparate pen at breeding time. It this pre caution bo not taken, the females aro llablo to kill each other's young. The malo would also kill them It ho had a chance. Henco tho male should bo kept by hlmsolf except at mating tlmo. Tho breeding season begins nbout tho mlddlo of Feb ruary, and tho young aro born about tlip mlddlo of April. "Tho minks should bo fed on bread and sweet milk, or corn mush with bits of meat In it, supple mented by meat or fish twlco a week. Feed once a day; but fe males suckling young should have two meals daily. Do not salt the food; keep tho pons clean, and pro vldo plonty of fresh water. ."Pens should be five1 or six feet square, tho sides of smooth, wide boards cut four feot long and sot up with tho lowor end resting on a footing lot Btono or concrete. Heavy wire nattlng may 'bo used instead of boards, but in that case tho top must bo netted to prevent tho animals from climbing out. Tho floor of tho pen should be bare ground. "Boxes two feet square should be provldod for neats, with hinged lids to allow their being opened and ex amined, Thoy should be three or four Inches above the" ground, and as dark as pos sible, with a hole four Inches In dlametor for entrance. Flno straw or hay should be furnished." Meanwhile the production of superior grades of a kind of fur known as "astrakhan" is to bo soon established as on Industry In this country by the Bureau of Animal Industry, -which has already ac quired for tho purpose a number of superior animals to serve as breeding stock. As a result, we shall havo boforo long astrakhan much more beautiful than any now on the maTket, by crossing the ArabI sheep with other varieties possessing fleeces with, a high lustre. The principal difficulty in this case was to get hold err pure-bred Arabl rams. This Is ri kind of sheep found only in Bokhara (Central Asia), and the natives of that re gion are bo reluctant to permit their Tne Lamb from Which We Get . the Astrakhan Wool Now r r J I. .1.-. 1 l.ilaJ Being Bred by the States Government. exportation that It Is almost im possible to secure a specimen. Thoy have enormous tails, sometimes weighing as much as fifty pounds. At birth, tho lambs are Intensely black, with a brilliant lustre, their wool being distributed over their bodies in tight little curls. Before long, however, the wool turns gray, But the puro-bred Arabl lambs aro never killed, because they are too valuable. Tho rams are crossod with common native sheep, the off spring being Invariably black. Lest tho fur turn gray, these half-bred lambs aro killed when they are less than five days old. Such Is tho source of tho familiar "Persian lamb" of the fur market which does not corao from Persia at all. Astrakhan Is merely another namo for it. Tho quarter-bred lambs (one-fourth Arabl) furnish tho gray astrakhan of commerco, which is very i,Totty, though less highly esteemed than the black. It ought to bo Bald here, by tho way, that the popular notion that this kind of fur is derivod from unborn lambs is Incorrect. Indeed, the Idea Is an absurdity, Inasmuch as It im IDy Secrets J Beauty- the n)o& lamour Living ueaaty. No. 2 1 5-The Battle with the Air By Mme. Lina Cavalleri. N O, my dear readers, this Is not be an essay on aviation, though the women of Franco are Intensely "'interested lnlhe sub ject The battle Is one of beauty, and it is against Its enemies of the air. You had thought that air is an ally of beauty, and so It is in so far as sweeping the lungs and IntoB tlnos with generous draughts of it is concerned. But air Is a furtlvo thing, a robber that should be watched. His sins are to rob the skin and hair of Its beauty-making oils. Permit me to explain and I can best explain by first telling a story. Since I havo returned to your country I met a most Interesting woman, one reared In your big, grand West "She looks so young to have done all that she has accomplished. She is famous," I mused a little sadly, "at twenty-five." The woman from the West heard mo, and with the fine fascinating spontaneity of her part of tho country sho came to me and said: "Dearest Madamo, thank you. "But I am qulto twelve years older than you think. I am . thirty sovenl" I looked at the vivid face, smooth skinned as a child's, and was silent Sho laughed, the bubbling laughtoi of freedom from restraint. "You do not believe mo," she said. "I will call upon my husband to prove ltl" He came, a thin-stooped, scholarly looking man, who looked forty-five years old. "Wo are the same age, aren't we, dear!" sho asked, and ho confirmed her story, Amarlng," said I, my Journallstlo thirst for Information tormenting me. "Will you tell me how?" "With pleasure," she answered. "I can answer In one word 'suet' I lived on the plains and was always In the saddle. The hot Summer sun and the cold Winter Wind of the West would havo blistered my skin In one instanco and shrivelled It Into Innumerable wrinkles In the other had It not been for my dear, wise mother. She never washed my face with soap. She cleaned it al ways with suet And as I grew up I kept on feeding and washing the skin of my face wKh suet" There you have It That wise mother of tho Western plains knew that the air, especially when tt is moving In the form of cold wind, robs the tace of Us oils. It bur rows Its way into the pores and steals the oil that softens and freshens the skin. It leaves it dry and withered and In tho preparatory stage for wrinkles. When tho skin is much exposed to very cold or very hot air we muBt make good these thefts of the air. The more It is. exposed to such air the more oil or oily substance we must feed the empty, hungry pores. Remember the suet story and keep your skin well fed. The hair also grows dry in cold weather. The eold winds draw the oil from the scalp and the hair grows brittle. The scalp, too. needs at such times to be fed. But be sure to rub the scalp food wellilnto plies the killing of the mothers, which aro much more valuable than their young. Tho fur of pure-bred Arabl lambs is so costly that articles made of it are owned only by a fow royal per sonages, In Russia and elsewhere. A few of the ramB have been smuggled from time to time into Afghanistan, and there crossed with common native shoep. It is from Afghanistan that practically all of tho astrakhan which comes to the United States Is derived. But in that country thoro Is litle knowl edge of tho art of scientific breed ing, and tho consequence is that tho fur wo get is inferior. What tho Bureau of Animal Industry pro poses to do is to cross tho pure bred Arabl with selected Shropshlro ewes. The Shropshire has long and beautiful wool,, almost equalling that of the Angora goat in lustre. Tho Arabl rams used as sires were obtained from Dr. C. 0. Young, of Belen, Tex., who imported them. Ho was able to secure possession of fifteen, In Bokhara by the he,p or a letter from Colonel Roosevelt, then President of the United States. the roots of. the hair. Do not care lessly smear It upon the hair. Lanollno la a good scalp food. Vaseline has many advocates. Crude oil ranks high In the class. Cocoa nut oil and olive oil are good scalp providers. There Is no better safe guard against the skin and scalp robbers I have described than a can of olive oil on your toilet shelf. . Beauty Questions Answered . By Mme. Lina Cavalieri. S. N. writes: "I am a young girl and am very large and tall for my age, fifteen, but I am also very thin. Would you advise me to try to make my figure round er? Also, what can I do to make my hair long, thick and wavy? My hair Is quite thick, but Is short and straight" , . No, do not force the growth of the figure at fifteen. Since you are so tall nature has done her best for, you In that way. In time the rounding of the figure will follow. Brushing the hair a hundred strokes a day, massaging the scalp, should promote the growth of the hair. Applying lanollno or vaseline at the roots twice a week will aid" Its growth If the hair be dry. "I am thirty-nine," writes B. M. K., "and have quite a few wrinkles under my eyes. My skin Is loose and flabby. Do ypu think tho lines under the eyes can be removed by a face specialist?" I have known wrinkles to be removed by Injections of vaseline, but, while some operations are success full others have left the face mottled, with lumps be neath It. I advise a general upbuilding of the system by .great care In nourishing diet, more sleep and more exercise out of doors. This regimen should cause the muscles to grow larger and firmer and fill the space left by the loose skin. M. A. P. sends a midget of questions. Will I recom mend a tonic, will I toll her what to eat to make her plump, will I tell her how to develop the bust and plumpen tho cheeks? And what should be done for light hair that Is turning dark at the roots? The first four auestlons can be answered In one name olive oil. I know a thin woman who, with rest and olive oil taken freely, Internally and externally, made herself look like her own younger and healthier sister In three months. You can do nothing for the hair that Is turning dark at the roots except bleach It, and 'I do not recommend that It Is believed by the Government experts that tho silver fox can be successfully farmed for its fur in this country the only difficulty be ing to obtain the requisite breeding stock. This obstacle will doubtless be overcome. At tho present time the bulk of the small markot sup ply of this kind of fur comes from Prlnco Edward Island, off the Cana dian coast, which Is the only place in tho world whero silver foxes aro reared under condition of partial domestication the business being so profitable that up to now its very existence has been kept carefully secret by thr fow persons engaged in it. Already a very profitable kind of fur farming Is being conducted over extensive areas of marshes In the region of tho Chesapeake, which yield actually a greater annual profit than the best farming land, in the shape of muskrat skins. Before very long, it Is believed, this busi ness will bo prosecuted much more systematically than at present, by giving protection to tho animals dur ing certain seasons. The muskrat is nearly as big as BIlllllllllllllllllllHtfBSt vWsjBJ a fair Blzed cat, and breeds at so rapid a rato that It promises easily to outlast all other wild fur-bearing animals on tho earth. How Impor tant it Is from a market standpoint may be judged from the facl that (as estimated by Dr. Charles II. Stovenson, of the United States Fish eries Bureau) if all tho muskrat skins taken last year were sewn to gether in one piece they would equal in area all other kinds of furs put together. MuskratB contributed to tho world'B fur supply about 8,000, 000 skins In 1912, and four-fifths of these came from tho United States. Not only Is muskrat fur handsome and durable, but it is used on a vast scalo to imitate more valuable furs. When it is known that tho fur bearing animals all over the world, especially those most highly valued, aro being so greatly reduced in numbers by persistent hunting, It is rather surprising to find that tho i fur markot Is always well stocked with all kinds of furs, lncludlug ovon the rarest; ond anybody, who wants any sort of skin is sure to bo ablo to got it, if willing to pay ,the price. , By TPme.Xina Cavalier I, Mme. Lina Cavalieri.