The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-10-04
BRIS TIE CULTURE.
a Unique Industry Carried on by the Ma
tiyes of Russia.

Il saw it stated in Il newspaper the
other day." said brush manufacturer,
s.that most of the bristlcs used in
brush-making in this country came
from England, the natural inference
being that the bristles were the pro-
duct of English hogs. Such is not the
ease 10y any means. English hogs do
not grow bristles that the brush-mak-
ers can use with any profit or econo-
my. Russian swine provide nearly all
of the bristles that are used i'll the
business, and they are imported into
this country from England. But there
are not as many Russian bristles used
here as formerly, for the great western
hog market of our own country sup
plies all that are necessary for the
commoner kinds of brushes.
The best bristles in the world, ex-
cept those supplied in limited quantity
by France, come from the vast forests
of northern Russia, those of the Tx
raine being superior to others of that
country. In no part of the world are
there such endless supplies of mast,
conal, berry, and acoIn-bearing trees.
Their area covers thousands of miles,
which are unbroken forests of oak,
larch, beech, pine, and other trees
that bear and drop the richest food for
swine. which swarm in the woods, in a
half-wild state, guarded and looked
after by swine-herders as wild as the
hogs themselves. 1t is not there, and
in that state of sayagery, that the hogs
give up their bristles to commerce, but
from these great drovcs the swine are
selected for tho culture of the bristle
crop, for the hogs that are to furnish
it are treated and cared for with that
end in view. They are brought from
the northern wilds and 'pastured' near
the great tallow factories of Russia.
They are fed at certain seasons on the
refuse of the talloW factories. which in
a short time puts them in fine condi-
ton. The bristle crop is gathered in
the summer time. after the hogs have
been fed for months on the tallow re-
fuse and are enormously fat and in the
desired condition for plucking-for
Russian bristles are not the Weld of
dead hogs, but are live like live-goose
feathers. The swine are driven into
Enclosures until they are packed in like
sardines in box. They plunge and
kick and squeal in their close quarters
until they are heated to Il feverish con-
dition of blood. That, together with
the condition of fatness they are in,
seems to loosen the roots of the brist-
les and the bristle-pluckers pull them
out more easily than Il woman can re-
move the feathers from goose. APP
parently the pulling out of the bristles
is attended with no pain whatever to
the hog. When the hogs are all pluck
ed they are turned loose and are at
liberty to run at large in their pastures
until they grow new crop of the
material for which they are kept and
the time arrives for tallow-fattening
them again for the next plucking.
Bristles from hogs of northern Russia
always have at the roots little tufts of
soft wool, which undcrlicS the ROOTS IN
the hogs neck. it is supposed, for the
purpose of protecting them from the
rigorous weather of that region.
France and Germany supply a
small but valuable share of the brist-
les used in the trade The German
peasants save every bristle that falls
from their hogs, and their herds are
watched carefully, so that none of the
valuable shedding is lost. They do not
pluck their hogs alive, but when a pig
is killed the first thing done is to Sc
cure the bristles. Collectors go about
the country at regular intervals pur-
chasing the bristle hoardings of the
peasants. Germany produces more
bristles than France, but those of the
latter country exceed all others in
value, although it has long been con-
tjon of the bristles sold as French are
really the Russian article, manipulated
by processes known only to French
bristle dealers. French bristles are
the white. beautifully dressed ones of
which choice brushes for artists and
painters are made. Many so-called
camel s-hair brushes are simple fine
French bristles, which possess all the
softness at the eNtremities and the
peculiar springiness that make the
camel's hair so valuable.
"'Whenever n shoemaker is choosing
his bristles he never wants them over
six inches i'll length - the Russian
bristles grow as long as ten inches
for over that length they do not have
the toughness and tirmness necessary
for his tIse. Color is the chief thing
TO be looked for in determining the
value of bristles for fine brushes. White
briStlcs bring the highest price. This
is not their natural color. Whiteness
is produced by much washing, comb
inc, and skillful bleaching with sui
phur. Some bristles will not become
any nearer white than n cream color,
and they are the next in value. 9th
ers-and many others at that-will not
consent to change from dirty brown
or blueish gray. Such are disposed of
by dying them black"