Fur, in Commerce, signifies the skins of several species of animals, dressed in alum, with the hair on, and used for the purposes of dress. The kinds mostly made use of are those of the ermine, sable, beaver, hare, rabbit, etc. The fur, properly so called, of various amphibious animals, as the seal and beaver, is protected by a coating of long coarse hair; this hair requires to be removed prior to the short fur being sheared off for the purpose of covering hats. This is generally effected by hand, for which purpose women and children are em-ployed; but a patent has recently been obtained by Mr. A. Bell for a machine for performing the operation, the mechanical arrangements of which appear to be simple and effective. The skin passes round a projecting bed, and is advanced by machinery arranged for that purpose, the tension of the skin being duly maintained by weights. In front of the projecting bed are two cylinders of greater length than the width of the skins, and four or five inches in diameter. Over the circumference of each of these cylinders, but in contrary directions, is wound, in a spiral line, a projecting rib; each of these ribs making only one revolution of the cylinder in spirally traversing its entire length.

These cylinders are driven by means of a rigger on the axis of the lower one, and are placed so near to each other as to occasion the ribs to come in contact and to press whatever hair or fur comes between them. As the skin is drawn forward over the edge of the projecting bed the long hairs stand nearly at right angles to the ribs on the cylinders, which, in their revolution, forcibly seize the hairs, and extract the same. In order that the pressure of the ribs may be somewhat elastic, and take better hold of the hairs, they are covered with leather.