The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-10
BIRDS THAT GO ON HATS.

An Explanation of Some of the Mysterious
Creations that Are Seen.
New York sun.
A great heap of wide spread anters in The
window, with simple black and white sign
above them which reads, "Taxidernst," is the
only street display of down. town place of bnsi-
ness where hundreds of thousands of birds have
been flayed and their skins dressed for the orna-
menting of hats and bonnets, and hundreds of
hides of all sorts of animals, from mouse to
cinnamon bear or an African tiger have been
mounted for the use of dealers in furs and the.
decoration of parlors and studies. The chief
part OF the business is the preparation of birds
for milliners. A pretty black-eyed girl behind
the counter in the front room said that the bust
ness is not very brisk in winter, but with the
coming of the birds in spring it would become
very lively.
"What kind of birds do you use mostq'
''The common sorts-red- winged hlackbirds,
snipes turtle-dov orioles, yellow-birds,
thrushes. ANY small bird can be used"
How do you get them2"
1--WE buy them of men who make o business of
supplying US. Most of the birds we handle are
from New Jersey, but good many come from
Long Island, and we receive some from the
West and South. A few are imported"
"What do you pay for themp
THAT depends on the fashions entirely. Two
years ago the demand of the miliners was for
red wings and yellow birds We paid from
twenty-five to thirty-6ve cents apiece, and at
one time we had to pay as high as forty-sey
wanted at from seven to eight cents each.
When the hunters have to supply brisk de.
mand they can get more, of course because the
supply of birds of each variety does not vary
greatly from year to year"
do the hunters shoot the birds?'
II guess not. do not find any shot in fay
ing those bought from regular customers"
How do they catch them uhenl'
Il guess you could not get them to tell you.
There is one man who brings us from 1900 to
1000 week during the warm months He says
he has partner and no other help He lives in
Red Bank. One would think the woods would
be depopulated, or else that he would get rich
enough to retire, but he has been working away
for years now"
'Where do all these fancy birds that look like
pictures of tropical rarities come from 2"
"All from Jersey By inserting a snipe's bill
in the place of the bill of crow blackbird and
then combining parts of the skin of other
common birds, we produce monstrosity, but
if the colors are we'll matched the result is att
tractive to the common eye, however grotesque
it may appear to one who knows all about the
appearance of birds. 1t is not uncommon to see
in the Grand-street windows hats that have half
dozen bird heads projecting from one mass of
feathers that might be the breast of swan or
the pickings from a second hand pillow The
wings that adorn some hats are about as much
like wings as q stovepipe is like lead-pencl.
But those queer tastes are the making of our
business. The portions of the birds skin which
are cut away when mounting bird naturally
for hat can all be used up in wings by gluing
them on model. / read in the Sun the other
day about Ohio young woman whose nerves
were wholly shattered in a millinery store be-
cause, as the article said, of her sympathy Tor
the poor little birds she had to handle. guess
there was some error about that. | think the
shock must have come from contemplation of
some of our combination birds She has my
sympathy.