The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-08-30
luxurious TO ths hair.

An inquiry by reporter among some
of the leading dealers in hair goods led
to the revelation that the alarming fact
was generally recognized among those
who cater to the demands of fashion
in the matter of false hair, that the
growth of the hair was injured by the
climate of this country.
"Yes," said an extensive importer,
''this weather is snatching us bald
headed just as fast as it knows how,
and hate to think what will be the
fate of the native American hundred
thousand years hence. The noble red
man, If he has not been exterminated
by that time, will have to skirmish
around pretty lively to get scalp,
mo, cannot say how it is that the
climate has such an effect on the hair.
1t may be that the Anglo-Saxon race
is not yet thoroughly accllmated. At
any rate, American women as a class
have not the luxuriant hair European
women have. Emigrants, too, who
rive with splendid heads of hair, in
from FIVE to ten years have but a few
rat tails, 6guratively speaking to boast
of. A proof of the destructive influ-
ence on the hair is furnished by the in.
creasing sale of wigs. There was new
er such demand for wigs as at pres
ent. Human beings are not alone af-
fected in this way, The sheep that
bear the finest grades of wool are also
injuriously affected in this climate.
The wool loses its lustre, and in time
becomes diminished in quantity, so
that the animals, after a few years resi-
dence in America, find their way into the
butcher shop before they have an OPP
portunlty OF getting tough enough for
boarding house table. 1t is an i'll
wind that blows nobody good"
"Where then. do you get the hair
from that forms the head pieces,
switches, ETC., that are the staples of
your business P"asked the reporter.
Europe and China"
"China2 Why, thought the eccle-
aastical laws of that country forbade
the Mongolian to part with his hirsute
.adornments. The queue there is sup
posed to be as sacred as the cat in
Egypt or the monkey in India--or the
pig in Cincinnati.
"Young man," said the merchant in
hair, 81 will gladly give you any infor-
nation l can in relation to my business;
but if you persist in firing scientific
problems at me shall have to plead
another engagement.
well, then, to what base uses do
you apply the sacred Chinese pig
tail ?"
''If by that you mean the Chinese
hair, it Is coarse article from which
we fabricate the cheapest headpieces,
switches, etc. Langtry bangs made
from Chinese hair will retail for seven
ty-five cents and upward, and Chinese
hair switches realize from two to four
dollars. They are not however very
substantial, as the process the hair has
to undergo in order to render it salable
makes it brittle"
sis there any danger of importing
leprOsy or other contagious diseases in
the hair from China Pn
81 cannot say that there is no dan
ger to the importer of the raw material,
so to speak the manufactured article
passes through chemical process be-
fore it is made up that destroys all
the germs of disease. No, there is 10
danger to the consumer"
"Where do you get your better quail.
lty of capillary tissue from ?"
"From Europe principally. The
dark hair from France and Spain, light
brown and aburn hair from Germany
and all colors from England. The
Anglo-Saxon mixture of races pro
duce crop heterogeneous in color"
"How do merchants in Europe gel
possession of the hair ?''
"They have travelling agents who
go from village TO village and bargain
for their tresses. Peasant maidens.
with wealth Of hair, are in the habit
of selling 1t and purchasing arti,
cles of fineTy dear to the female heart
Of course with shorn heads they have
"A tom-boy appearance for time, but
nature soon supplies the deficiency.
"Do American girls ever sell theii
hair when in need of money will
which to buy fictitious aids to adorn.
ment ?"
Every seldom. During an experience
of twenty years 1 have not purchased
more than dozen heads of hair direc
from women upon whose heads the hal
has grown. The only portion of tni'
continent where women sell their hal
is in the Canadian Province of Quebec
There the rural population is mostly
made up of French inhabitants, anC
the customs of old France are strictly
observed by those people. The hal
dealer still plies his trade there. Amer
lean women will not sell this elemen
of female beauty. They must be re
duced to abject poverty before thel
will barter this inheritance of ma
ture."
"IIow much can "A woman procur
for good head Of hair.
THE prices vary according to color
Red hair is worth very little, and darl
brown hair and black are very valuabl,
) Light auburn is IA rare commodity.
a good head OF auburn or black hair
t worth from ten to twenty-five dollar
the texture and quality regulate IL
= price.
: "Is hair cut from person in the d
i iirium of an infectious fever vail
able ~
8 son Vp3. Int Whsueypr hair