This is an assortment of haphazardly compiled information, news and facts, all related to fur in one way or another.

* Fur Care Terms: Drumming is a process to clean furs using abrasion. It is required that you tumble the fur with sawdust soaked in a special solution. The sawdust absorbs dirt and oil and the abrasive action fluffs the fur. Fur should be cleaned professionally once a year, if you use it and it needs cleaning.

- Flat Furs are furs that have only one type of hair or fur like Seal and Persian Lamb, for example.

- Shearing is the act -actually, the technique- of trimming fur to reduce weight and bulkiness, while also creating designs and patterns in the fur pile. Shearing is but one way to refurbish your fur cost into a lighter, more fashionable garment.

- Grooving is a way of shearing which then makes a stripe design. The stripes or grooves are different in width and depth, and the end-result resembles corduroy. Grooving is also known as cording.

- Shearling is natural lamb fur. The fur is worn on the inside for warmth while the leather is worn on the outside, with the sueded side showing. The suede leather may be dyed and advanced tanning methods mean that a Shearling coat or jacket is much lighter-weight than it once was.

- Fur yarn is the material that makes up knitted fur. The technique for manufacturing this knittable yarn is to combine thin cut-outs of fur with cotton yarn or silk. Fur yarn can also be crocheted or weaved to produce all sorts of objects. Surprisingly enough there are some knitted fur products that can actually be washed in the washing machine.

* Facts about Fur that is sheared will in fact keep you as warm as fur that has not been sheared. Fur typically consists of two main layers; the underfur or Ground hair -bottom layer-, closest to the skin, made of shorter and denser wool hairs and the Guard hair -top layer made of longer straighter hairs-. Shearing just cuts some of the Guard hair, however the insulating Ground hair accounts for the fur's warm thickness. Guard Hair gives the various furs their different characteristics and contains most of a furs pigmentation. Awn hair is the name for the middle layer contained on some furs.

- Generally, long hair furs do not provide any more warmth than short hair furs. Ground hair determines the warmth of a fur.

- Furs from female minks are generally more lightweight, softer, sleeker, glossier and more pliant than those from the male of the species. Female mink is more often used in styles that have draping and soft tailoring. Male mink is used for different, less supple styling. Male mink garments are not automatically cheaper than female mink garments.

- The best fur pieces are made totally without leather. The more leather is used to hold together the strips of fur, the less valuable a fur garment is.

* Up to date Fur Industry and Market Trends - In the 1980's and 1990's the anti fur campaign damaged the fur industry with negativity. The fur industry is recovering fast.

- Three main factors have contributed to the renewed growth of the industry: an unprecedented increase in demand for fur products by the growing middle class, or nouveaux riches. In China and Russia the downward slop of the Russian fur industry which used to produce about 15% of the USSR's yearly income and the western fashion industry's new findings of fur garments.

- Russian manufactured fur production today is seven times less than it was in the 1980s. Lacking governmental support, Russia now trails severely in the international manufacturing of fur. Both American and European manufacturers have outpaced the former giant. Russias share in fur production worldwide has dropped from the 35% provided by Soviet Russian breeders in the late 1980s to no more than 3 or 4 %. Russia is responsible for manufacturing 30% of furs world wide. This is partly due to the drop in domestic production, but high domestic demand for quality furs.

- China has been purchasing large amounts of wild pelts from North America, after which they turn them into garments and then ship them back to North America and Russia, making China one of the largest importers of furs. Mass production in Chinese fur farms, supported by the state, negatively affects Russian fur production. A lot of fur farms in Russia disbanded at the same time as the Soviet Union. Due to high cost of production the Russian is no competition to the western fur producers.

- The fur trade in Russia may have their struggle intensified further by recent happenings in Georgia. Due to Russia's intervention in Georgia, the economy suffered billions of dollars being withheld for commerce. The places involved in this situation are considered some of the biggest fur purchasers worldwide.

- The best marketplaces that sell luxury fur garments nowadays are Dubai, Shanghai and Moscow.