The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-11-06
FINE FEATHERS.
How Ostrich PIumes and TIPS Are
Initiated.

SerVatlon that San francisco ladies
wear feathers on their hats to n greater
extent Than they are worn in any other
city of this size in the world. "
"Ilow's thalp" asked the reporter.
'It's the climate, ! suppose--the
cool even temperature of this peninsu-
Ia, which permits sealskins and Winter
fashioned hats to be worn during the
greater part of the year"
"But the dealers in fancy feathers
don't complain on this accountp'
mot they. lisa very good business
here, except during two or three months
Of the year, when people are well sup
piled or have gone into the country
with their flower and ribbon-trimmed
straw hats. A good deal of my trade
is with ladies who have old feathers to
dye or curl or to cut up into tips"
what is a tip"
"a tip is one of those short, bobbing
feathers so stylish just now. Last year
the fashionable craze was over wild
birds wings and heads for hats and
turbans, but this year it's tips"
care they mostly cut from ostrich
fea1hers?"
"Well, that is the suppositon; but,
bless you, we don't sell more than half
the number Of alsostrch tips that we
do of limitations. It's shame to cut
up nice, long ostrich plume into tips,
and the very short ostrich feathers are
rarely of good texture and iiber-that
is, the African kind are not Many of
the East India importalions of this sort
are very good, however, but they come
very high. So all kinds Of feathers are
fixed up in imitation of those of the os-
trch. There's the rhea, or American
ostrich; the adjutant peacock, pleas
ant, eagle and others. The kind used
here TO a great extent, especially in i'm
itatng ostrich tips, is the South Amer
lean vulturc. ! will show you some of
these limitations and you will see how
they may be distinguished from the
real article. "
Comparisons were then made be-
tween different varieties of feathers,
and the difference between the genuine
and the counterfeit pointed out 1t was
shown how an ostrich" plume of great
length might be made by piercing the
soft, short feathers Of the vuIture on a
framework Of whalebone stiff cloth or
other material, the only way TO detect
the imposition on public credulity with
out direct comparison being by a
glance at the inside of the feather,
which will disclose the framework.
The feathers Of cocks are also placed
together in this manner, and when
curled and colored make handsome
plume, though more easily distin-
guishcd from the ostrich feathers by
the thin and why azure of the iibers.
"What is the difference in price be-
tween imitation and real plumeS and
tips?" was asked.
Real ostrich feathers run from $25 |
up to $40 each. will make you all the
limitations you want at 10 cents up to |
$4 or S. apiece"
Are the long plumes worn to great
extent?"
"Oh, yes; they always will be, too,
rs there is nothing handsomer on hat |
than fnely-colored plume "
"Are all these feathers dyed before
being worm"
Nearly all, Only once in q great
while do we get a feather right of the
ostrich which does not require color
ing. You see, uniform color is always |
desired by ladies, and this is q rare
thing in freshly plucked ostrich feath-
ers. They are generally like this,'
said the feather man, showing some |
long white and brown feathers, the col
ors of which were mixed, like pepper
and salt, over the downy plumes.
"Iere is a rarity" and he uncovered
lovely brown feather, which would have
made fashionable young lady wild
with envy if she had seen it on rival
bellies hat. Then they come in greys
aud sometimes in snowy whites, but the
latter are rare" said the dealer.
The various methods Of dyeing feath-
ers were explained. They are not ma
terially different from the modes OF
coloring straw or dress goods. A feath.
er may be colored hundred different |
shades, beginning with light one and
wears well, if properly cared for.
"Where do the San Francisco feather
dealers get their supplies of the ostrich
articleP' the reporter inquired.
"Chiefly from New York. We used
to import them, but for some reason or
other we find that we can get the same
feather in New York for $4 that we
would have to pay 25 francs for in
Paris. Beside, there is an enormous
customs duty to be paid"
'Do you get many feathers from
Australian"
mo; only few, but they are of good
quality"
flow do the feathers of the ostrches
hatched in this country compare with
the foreign importationP"
Every favorable, those that | have
seen. There is no reason why the os-
trch should not thrive in our southern
countries. | am well acquainted with
the ostrich-growing industry, having
once owned an ostrich farm near Cal
cutta. One thing have noticed about
ostrch-growing in this country which
don't like is the failure to secure rood
stock to start with. The man who Sc
lecls from the best birds, and those va
rictics having the finest plumage, will
be the man who makes the most money
out of the business. In ostrich-raisinc,
as in everything else, a person must