Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-05-24


annual export value alone now reaches over
500 0OO. 900. the trade in horns hoofs and
hair has become uu important factor in the
growing commerce Of the country. In fact,
there is Il good deal Of artistic, If not poetic
importance. attached 90 the manipulation aud
industrial features associated with the trade
in hoofs hair aud horns. After beef crca-
ture is slaughtered, and It's meat hung up in
the market place on sale, the honcly features
Of that creature now lying in salt, as it were.
to be transformed into leather under the cum
ming hand of the artisan, represent large ac-
tive capital while the oil expressed from GER
tain parts Of the animal has also become an
almost Indispensable article in various indus
trial callings. The hair, too has certain func-
tious to perform so have the horns and the
Loofs. especially the hoofs Of cattle
1t is really wonderful to what great ex-
tent have become the uses to which the home
ly features Of the intelligent brute creation are
applied Take hair manufactures. for i'll
stance The different kinds Of hair serve
variety Of useful purposes. The short hair Of
cattle is an ingredient in mortar. The long
hair Of the tails and names Of horses and of
cattle is largely employed rs tie wool Of the
fabric known as hair cloth, the warp of which
is a black yarn Of wooden. cotton or worsied.
1t is also used for sleeves. for strings for fiddle
bows. and for fishing lines; and the short
qualities prepared by the curling process.
are the best material for stufliug mattresses,
sofas. etc. Horse and other hair used for
weaving into cloth. is collected at the factories
from various sources. much Of il being i'm
ported from South America. 1t is assorted
for manufacture according to its qualities and
length, and its manufacture affords a pleasing
and instructive subject for study. The curl
ed character given animal hair Is reached by
sleeping the bundles q few hours ia cold wa
ter. then drying them in very hot oven.
There are some kinds Of hair which are Of no
use in manufactures. Shakespeare has hint
ed that the quilts of the fretful porcupine are
only modified hairs and even the horn of the
rhnoceros is only a combination Of compact
hairs. and does not differ in its essential
structure from the finest wool.
The horn is also adapted to various mechau-
ical and domestic uses, and the demand for it
is on the increase. Occasionally there is
scarcity of horns in the market Sections of
horn under the microscope are very beautiful
when seen by polarized light but the high
polish given to it by manufacturers, brings
out its fine qualities. The horn of the OK and
the sheep are the most valuable for CONNER
cal uses. The horns and hoofs of the cattle
mostly used in the United States come from
South America, southern Africa and Russia.
The horns of the buffalo are imported from
the East Indies. The long horns Of the deer
are used only in their natural form. and are
sawn into the shape required for handles Of
knives, umbrellas razors, etc. Recently-de-
vised methods render the horn soft and elias
tic. like whalebone. The horn-bu is not
made from horn, as the name indicates, but
from the hoofs Of horned cattle.
The hoofs of each animal will weigh about
two pounds The hoofs Of horses are not
suitable for buttons. Long before metal but
tons were made for general wear, the horn
button shared with the bone button the pa
tronage of the poor. The Paris makers Of
horn buttons are celebrated for employing the
best die sinkers. The fine classical heads up
on some of the French buttons, in alto relieve,
evince great skill i'll execution.
The horny substance Of which the horses
hoof is composed gives to it an important
commercial value. Probably there are $500
600. 600 invested in the horse stock of the
United States. This value is exceeded only
by that of cattle by small percentage. The
average value per animal is not less than : -;
and the millions of hoofs owned by the ami
mails themselves are, under certain processes,
capable of being rendered one-half as&aluablc
as the horses themselves, reckoned at an av-
erage of SO. The hoof of the horse is the
dense horny envelope which constitutes the
outside anatomy of the foot, and it is at once
one of the toughest materials from which GER
tain articles for daily use are manufactured.
On Spectacle Island, Boston harbor. there
| is one of the most extensive rendering estab-
| lishments in the country. In one respect il is
| a horse-cremation concern. Here all the
| dead horses of Boston and its vicinity are
| sent and resolved into their original parts. 30
4. I 1
ed. After the hair and hoofs have been pre-
| served. the carcasses are boiled and the
bones of the same, together with the hair and
hoofs, sold for commercial purposes. Quite a
| large business is done in this line, and there
! is steady and comparatively remuueratiye
market for those adjuncts of the dead horse
| that can be utilized. in the manner already
mentioned.
Respecting the value of the capital invested
! in the manufacture of goods from the basic
| qualities Of the horn, hoof and hair. in the
| United States, there are no reliable data but
the business is enormous in ordinarily good
times IN Massachusetts, alone there is a large
| capital invested in the business and perhaps
this is the only State which affords approx.
mate figures pertaining to the calling. per-
force the unusually thorough and systematic
census of 1870. The value of hair brushes in
that year was Sl3S. 900: curled hair S2sl -
900; horn and shell combs, jewelry, etc.
| 81 900, 900; toilet combs. Slj2, 900 The
manufacture of toilet combs in this State i.
practically monopolized by two establish
ments of hair brushes by one; and of horn
and shell combs, jewelry, etc, there are TWEEN.
ty-twO concerns The city of New York does
most of the jobbing business in horn goods
Ii also controls two-thirds of the trade in
| horns. by virtue of its overwhelming com.
mercial relations with the principal South
American ports. All ships arriving from for.
eign hide ports bring more or less horns
sometimes 10, 600 in number III single YES
sci. A few days ago vessel arrived at Bos
ton from Rosario with 1000 horns but this
is not an unusually large number The large
waste of the horn in the course Of its manipu.
lation for goods renders the necessity for q
large stock in order to prosecute business sue
cessfully. The same is true of the hoof.
The demand for horns, hoofs, and hair i.
somewhat limited at the present time. We
quote wet slaughter hair, at ten cents pei
bushel dry do, at one and two cents pei
pound washed and widowed slaughter hail
No. l, - cents do No ?, y cents dry for
eigu hair, / aud | J cents per pound goats
hair wet. ten cents per bushel do. dry, two
cents per pound saddlers' hair, best, sil
cents second quality four and five cents pei
pound
| bhl'le Iulls are worm from Ten 10 Iouttcel
cents apiece, and horse tails and names tel
and twelve cents each. The best OK horns are
the Rio Grande, on account of their tough
ness, fine texture and susceptibility of fine
polish. They are quoted at thirteen cent,
each Buenos Ayres do, ten cents each
Bucnos Ayres COW horns, two cents each
Texas and Northern OK, ten cents; Texas anC
Northern small steers and cows, half cen
apiece. Bones, SIG to $40 per ton, rs t.
quality, Cattle hoofs sell at $50 and So pei
ton, and horse at $50 and So per ton. Their,
is no duty on imported horns, hair and hoofs
Every horn, hoof, on tail and horses man,
is worth saving on account Of its commercial
yalue.-AHdreto d. LairsOH IN Americaa Cul