Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1866-02-10
THE MARKET FOR FALSE HAIR.

| gives an account OF the source OF supply
Of the false hair for which the artificial
curls and waterfalls of the prevailing
fashion create such a market. The
stock comes chiefly from Germany, Hol-
land, Brittany, Spain, Italy and the Catho-
lic converts. The peasant girls of Brit
tany cover the head with a picturesque
white cap, which hides all the hair from
this quarter the sale Of the article has
been for q time openly carried On. Spain
and the north of Italy also furnish con-
siderable contributions to the collectors
| of jet-black locks. The man crops the
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 in the trade is known as church
bair. IN visiting wholesale hair ware,
house and manufactory lately" says the
Review" I'VE were shown some OF
these vestal tresses from an English con-
vent. Vanity of vanities-its next ap.
pearance in all probability will be on the
head of some maiden of Belgravia.
Hair merchants, by long experience,
have acquired great proficiency in jadg-
ing of the nationality of this article. One
of the largest dealers in the trade in
England declares that he could tell in the
dark the nationality of any piece Of hair.
This is done either by the sense OF touch
or smell Some nations have much coar-
ser hair than others indeed there is
n hrf %rs
length and weight. The average weight
Of a French head of hair {by which is
meant the piece of long hair which forms
the knot at the back of the head is five
ounces of Italian, six ounces Of Ger
man, ten. This differance has much to do
with its color
The chifoniers who go about in Paris,
morning and evening, picking out prizes
from the gutter, have not overlooked hui
man hair. By their agency to the comb
ings Of the Parisienne are returned once
more to the human head ; no doub. there
is dust heap odor the hair merchant
knows we'll.
But there is still another kind of hair
about which there is deep mystery. A
grim smile passes over the features of the
hair merchant as he tells you that the
long "Ieech" of hair (for that is the
trade name for the small parcels ~
which they are done up for sale. As he
draws attention with certain subdned
manner, to the squared end of the "leech, !"
you perceive that they have not been cut,
but pulled out Of the head with the bulb
adherent sometimes that class Of hair
comes to market with pieces OF the scalp.
skin at the end. How this hair is obtain
ed is mystery which the trade does not
care to fathom When we SO often hear
of the desecration of churchyards, and the
shoyeling away of the old bones and de
cayed coffins, we may perhaps make
shrewd guess at the source from which
this comes. 1t must be remembered that
hair is almost indestructable. The beau
tiful wig Of auburn hair now in the Brit
ish Museum had lain in the tomb of a
Theban mummy for upwards Of two thou
sand years before 1t found it's way to the
national collection, yet that hair is fresh as
though it had just come from the hands
of hair-dresser, and the curl is sostrong
in it that it cannot be taken out even By
the application Of heat. Ghurchyard hair
is bought into the market by home as well
as foreign collectors, and we cannot help
suspecting that the grave digger is no
mean member of that craft
The Englishwomen very rarely sells
her hair, she must be reduced to the last
condition of poverty before she would
consent to such sacrifice. But there is
class who are compelled to do so.--
There can be little doubt that the majori-
ty of the long English tresses come from
the heads of criminals.
Raw hair comes from abroad IN bales
tied up in leeches,'. land containg hair Of
various lengths. The first step in It's
preparation is to cleanse it Of its oily mat
ter. Shis is done by rubbing it in fine
sand, which completely absorbs all the
fatty matter it contains. It is then card.
ed " hand-the workman throwing the
lock with great rapidity over the iron
teeth of the card, and speedily reducing
| it to regular smoothness. The next
step in the process is to select from the
different "leechesD the different lengths
of hair they contain these lengths are
then matched with others and IN this
manner the leech' as it is offered for
sale, is perhaps the product OF a dozen
heads. The manufacturer has two mar.