From January to December; A Book for Children

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874. Excerpt: ... 289 DECEMBER. This is one of the cold months of the year, yet in our island home it is certainly preferable to November. The trees have completely lost their leaves, but the air is less humid, the atmosphere is clearer and brighter. Good fires at home, and soft furs out of doors, cause the inclement weather to be quite enjoyable. All divisions of the globe contribute furs to our comfort in the winter, though the colder zones of Europe, Asia, and America are, of course, our best purveyors, and they supply the lining and trimming of shoes and boots, as well as entire tippets, cloaks, and muffs to ward off snow and ice and piercing winds. Canada sends us great varieties of warm and useful furs for winter clothing, such as the skins of grey squirrels, and of many species of foxes and racoons. In North America, and, indeed, in all northern latitudes, the red fox, during the colder months of the year, becomes as white as snow. Its skin is much used for carriage rugs, which look well when ornamented with the stuffed head of the animal and its bushy tail. Sometimes a single wrapper is edged with five or six tails. The fur of the blue fox, and of the silver fox, is much prized, and much worn in Russia. However, the numerous varieties of the small quadru U peds belonging to the great marten family yield, by common consent, the most durable and most precious skins, namely the sables. By far the finest come from Siberia. The Canadian fur is less dark, less warm, and less agreeable to the touch. The ermine is a species of weasel or marten. It turns brilliantly white during the winter--all but the tail, which is black; is often mentioned as an emblem of purity, and furnishes the distinctive mantles of royalty; yet humbler mortals wear ermine, and the so-called miniver ...