Determination of Hair Density in the Mink

Hair density estimations were made from microscopic cross sectional preparations of hair samples taken from dressed mink pelts and living animals. A cork borer was used to delineate an area of skin bearing a hair sample in pelts and an instrument originally developed to measure hair density in sheep and rabbits was used to remove hair from living animals. The estimated average hair density for five dressed female mink pelts was 24,163 underfur fibers per square centimeter and 380 guard hairs per square centimeter. The values determined for these hair types in 20 dressed male pelts were 20,803 and 295 fibers per square centimeter, respectively. Average underfur density per square centimeter in nine living mink was 14,712, or 34 per cent less than the average for dressed pelts.