The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-11-10
THE TRADE IN HAIR.
PREPARING HORSE, OK AND HOG
HAIR FOR UPHOLSTERlNe.

Dye Ioom-sIixinE-Tho Frocess of
"Curlins" - Manufacture of Brushes
and Fishing Lines.
The trade in hair is OF no mconsidcrablo
magnitude. Its length, strength and clas-
ticity renders it useful for many purposes,
varying according to its nature and origin
Since the beginning Of the present century,
hair, as distinguished from wool, has been
largely lna.luf" turcd. The chief sources of
s,lp,,ly of this lass of fiber are the group OF
animals represented hy the alpaca, the cap
rine tribe, the camel, The horse, the OK and
the hoS. But il is only necessary to notice
those of the horse, OK anu tho hog, which arc
manufactured in Brooklyn, n. Y. The bulk
of hair obtained from Theses osonrccS Is used for
upholstery purposes. being manufactured into
trrlcd hair for st,iiling or hair cloth for seat
ing.
Tho raw material is divided into several
qualities. according to the purpose for which
it is destined. The best is that dcnoninatcd
Hha-L hair chiefly obtained from ostlcrs and
stablrmc,l, being tail hair procured i'll comb
Inc. That similarly got from the rnanc is of
a different quality, being termed soft"
Enackcr,; hair, or that obtained from dead
not h, ing more than equal to Give" soft hair.
The Ioprc, ,tion which hair undcrSoes Oil the
tsat!, of an animal is such that when worn
out horses arc scnt to hc slaughtered the
knackcr always cuts off the manc and tail
previous TO tbc operation.
FOR UPHOLSTERY PURPOSES.
Horse hair makes b. far the best curled
hair but i; not the only sort employed. Cow
and hog hair constitute large portion of
that which is manufactured into the curlel
article for upholstery purposes These arc
chiefly procured from homo sources Hogs
which have high feeding do not yicll h2lr
either il quantity or quality sufficient to rcn-
der its collection worth tho cost. That
yielded by lean animals is always the
strongest ar,l most elastic. a.,
The raw material, having been supplied TO
the workers, is first separated into long ard
short hair, tho former being carefully re-
served for tho manufacture OF hair seating,
fishing lines, brushes, etc, and the after for
curling or <tl!fing Tho sorting is NEXT re-
pcattsl for The purpose of separating the
co,ors. White hair is esteemed tho most
valuable, being used for special purposes and
the supply being small \ third time this pro
cess taxes place, this last bcinG FOR assortment
in two GuslticS. Thi; is very important ard
rcouirxs ri2c discrimination and scnSiu"cicss
of touch in the sOrter, IL order to perform the
PROCESS ctii'icAtiy. Each quality OF hair IS
next subjected 10 thorough washing III cold
watcr to remove dirt, dust. ctc. 1t Is then
scmt to the dye room ami immersed for
sayercl hour, il a dye bath chiefly composed
of q ,ls,,xiion OF logwool Nhc!l removed
il !: Of q dill black colo: Further washing
and cl>:ii4:::,S tIcn take Place, the hair being
nut TO large yats .c'';itaiGing aSitators.
fhrcn~:l which flows a stream of lot water.
Thii rx:tm:;.t removes the sllDer!laoas dye
anl fa:;A2r p:l:i:ics the hair.
Following TIC short hair, we find that tho
next process is mixing-:na!iag bicad OF
certain proportions OF Eo!.sc, COW and p!5
l,air, ac,or.i.y 10 tic quality of the article
i.itc;.,cl t. bc produced. When the blends
have l,gaa properly lail down, the material Ii
passed. t.:roagh q series of Willows" by
whi;k thc different sorts arc thoroughly incor-
porate.l. becoming homogeneous as f"r as
mechanical G.!iiIiz..u-o can produce such q
state
IL TIE "CUlLING" RcoL
After passing through the third OF these
machines it is beaten and screened to clear
away the dust created by this treatment. aild
j. t.u.:l rra:,,v for the curling process. Carl
ing'' is carried on in q separate roo-l cSuet!
the curling room Tho curriers' spin the hair
into ro,,ss or strands by the aid of machine
similar 10 that employed il rope spinning.
The ro,,o il further twisted i'll . second opera
ton. hy win Il lnears it Is reduced to half It's
first length. By u third process it Is turned
until it assumes u convolute form, when it Is
secured e; 4 coil These processes give to tho
hair i.; peculiar curl, which fits it for tho
purpose to which it l.; applic;l-stuliing for
the sat; Of chairs, sofas, etc II requires to
lyc {i:;ul in this condition, which is accom-.
plislel b. the following treatment: The coils
arr i::i:.cr.ea in cold water and allowed to
stam! !o.. several hours On removal from
thi; tic: ::.r paced i'll specially constructed
Oven. which arc treated to very high teni-
,,cra:..ra. After subsection to this heat for q
SUI :>.:ta tim, tho curl is permanently fixed,
AL! 80 c.,T!ns of al parasitic life arc &C.
ytco-,.;. When the process Of baking is fin
i,hef tie lra:r has become q marketable
Eiti :, :.!l il sold either in form Of hard curl
nsrA..!p:cl from tae ovens or soft curl IL
syh; q j: is partly UNFINISHED and the GlamcntG
arc "eIa,ited ready for Eso.
t. ioAS hair is applied to The manufacture
Of br;,5Jci and fishing lines, chiefly to that OF
hair cio,h for upholstery purposes. Afte
ha;iA:; bccn thoroughly clcanscd, as STATE.
b2ro.", ii i; colnhcd b. drawing the punches
through fixed combs. like flax hccElcs, which
worl; is done by boys. 1t is next drawn into
different lengths and thickncsses, which Is an
important and tcdiou; operation, requiring
both delicacy Of touch and quicllncss Of eye.
These lengths range from fourteen inches TO
tilirty-iivc inches. This work is performed
by hand, though attempts have recently hccn
nladc to accomplish the drawing automati"al-
l.. Black hair is subjected to further tlsit'
mcnt, il order to obtain 81 full, glossy black.
ness. White is blcached, il order to diminih
tho ycllowisi ti3t. which is its natural hus:.
hut this is never perfectly reinovcd.-Brook'
lyn Eagle.