Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1866-01-03
The Market for False Hair-Whsre the "Wa-
terfalls" Come From,


A PLEASANT writer in the London Review
gives an account Of the sources Of supply Of
false hair for which the artificial curls and
a waterfall" of the prevailing fashion create
market. The stoolscomes chiefly from ger-
many, Holland, Brittany, Spain, Italy and
Catholic converts. The peasant girls Of Brit
tany cover, the head with picturesque white
cap, which wholly hides the hair; hence rom
quarter the sale of the article has been for a
long time openly carried or. Spain and the
north of Italy also furnish considerable con-
tribu,ions to the collectors of jet-blacI1 locks.
The main crops Of the golden hair now so
much priced come from Germany, and the
yellow hair from Holland In all Catholic
countries one great source Of supply is the
convent. This hair is known in the trade as
the church hair. {" In visiting a wholesale
hair warehouse and mandatory lately" says
the Review, we were shown some Of these
veslaI tresses fresh from an English convent.
Vanity. Of vanities-its next appearance in ali
probability will be on the head Of some maid
en- of Belsrava"
Hair merchants, by long experience, have
acquired great proficiency in Judging Of the
nationality Of this article One of the larg-
est dealers IN the trade in England declares
that he could tell in the dark that the nation
ality of any piece of hair. This is done eth
er by the sense Of touch or smell. Some ma
tons have much coarser hair than others; in
deed, there is a constant difference both in
respect to length and weight. The average
weight Of a French head of hair by which
forms the knot at the back Of the head is
five ounces of Italian, six ounces; Of Ger
man, ten. This difference has much to do
with It's color.
Phifouniers who go about in Paris, morn
ing and evening, picking out prizes from the
gutter, have not overlooked human hair. By
their. agencyrthe combings of the fair Pari-
sieune are returned once more to the human
head ;auo doubt there is a dust-heap odor the
hair merchant knows we'll +nr 2
But Still there is another kind Of hair about
which there is a deep mystery. A grim smile
passes over the features of the hair merchant
as he tells you that the long leeoh of hail
ffor that is the trade name for small parcels
in which they are done up fOrsale, after be.
ing prepared and cleansed J IS known as the
churchyard hairl As be draws, attention
with certain subdusd. manner, to. the seHaF
ed end of the = leechii you perceive tina
they have not been cut; but pulled out 0
the head with the bulb sdherent; sometime
this class Of hair comes to the market witt
pieces of the scaIp-skin at the end How
this hair is obtained is mystery which tn,
trade does not care 10 fathom.
When we so often hear Of the desecratiol
of chuTchyards, and the shoveling away 0
the old bones and decayed collins, we MAJ
perhaps make a shrewd guess at the sourc
from which this hair comes. 1t must be re
membered that hair is almost understandable
The beautiful wig of auburn hair now in tn
British Museum, had lain in the tomb of
Theban. mummy for upwards Of two thous
and years before it found its way to the ia
/ tional collection, yet that hair is as fresh a
l though it had just. come from the hands q
/ the hair-dresser, and the curl is 50 strong i
it that it cannot be taken out even by tn
application Of heat Churchyard hair j
brought into the market by home as well a
foreign collectors and we cannot help sua
: peoting that the graye-digget is no msa
member of that craft.
e The Englishwoman very rarely sells he
l. hair--she must be reduced to the last con
9 dition Of poverty before she would COnser