The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-09-30
The Nails Of Them, and How They
are Made to Blush and Shine.

The idle, fashionable woman has taken to
a new diversion. She polishes her nails.
She extends her hand to you with great
frequency now adays, and always with the
back upward and the fingers Strengthened
out. This is because she wishes you to OBJ
serve the nails, which shine like glass, and
of delicate pink blue. Who knows who
started this mania? Nobody can ever dis
cover the origin of such things. The dis
temper breaks out somehow and then ex
tends from person to person. The New
York woman OF leisure, whether she be left
in the city, or is to be found at some near
resort, now spends about four hours a day
at work on her nails Her tool is an article
somewhat like the wooden handles Of hol-
ders for blotting paper---a narrow strip Of
ebony, ivory or India rubber with knob
on one side and surface of charmois skin
on the other Some of these publishers are
fancifully made, and $40 is not an unusual
price, but cheap ones do the work as we'll,
and home made article answers he pur-
pose. The best Of them have device for
handily fastening in chamois skin, but tacks
will do. The essentials are polishidg sur
face and plenty of industry A mixture is
sold in the stores at pretty higi. Price, and
it has a beautiful name and label, but il is
simple composition of rotten stone, oil
and rouge Anybody can mix it for her
self. 1t is we'll to give these directions
plainly, because nailpolishiug will be sure
to reach the West before many weeks, and
then the fair readers of the Enquirer will
know how - DO it. The stuff is daubed
on the rubber, and siducus friction does
the rest. The rotten stone and oil polish
the nails just as metal, bone and ivory are
made to shine by the workmen, and the
rouge imparts pinklsh color. The cnthu-
siastic industry displayed by the women
IN this summer amusement is Wonderful
They rub, rub, by the hour, usually in par
ties, making this employment take the
place of needle-work. There was once an
old woman VINO scrubbed her kitchen floor
until she wore her way through and fell in
to the cellar, breaking her back Some
thing like that will happen to these nail
poishers, for nails cannot thicker. by growth
as fast as they are now being secured away.
The polishing is not all done on finger nails.
Oh, no! The toe nails of the bellies are
bcautitied, too What is the use Of spending
time and labor in making their toe nails
pink and glossy? Well, some ofthem have
husbands bear in mind. But more than
that, tins is the season, when most metro
poltan women battle more or less at the
seashorc, and show their feet in doing So
This was when the female bather hid the
corns, buniOns and little unshapeliness of
her feet in slippers, or sight in;o the sand
when not into the water The attractive
ness OF the FURNISHED nails are deemed by
her TO more than compensate for any blem-
lshes, end so she takes pains to show her
feet. The change if market feauture in
the surf scenes at Coney Island, where theu
sands Of women are In the water every af-
terroen. Many Of them may now he seen
sitting OH the sand. with their toe nails
proudly glistenirg in the sun. .-Correspou
deEce CmcHn0tt Enquirer.