Wichita eagle., 1888-11-01
THE FEATHER TRADE,
THE OSTRICH, OF COURSE, Is THE
PRIME FAvORiTE.

THE OSTRICH, OF COURSE, Is THE
PRIME FAvoRITE.
Not the Only Bird Under Contribution
| Annual Production Of '.Lve~ Goose
Feathers-No Good Substitute.
The ostrich is now, as it ever has been
! where known, prime favorite. The best of
| these come from Magadore, those nert best
| from Egypt and Barbary: bu. the South
African are lot much inferior in quality,
and it Is these wha. are known as the Cape
OF Good Hope, that are most used in Amer
lea There is the vulrure plume or bustard
ostrich feather, also; but being greatly in
ferior in beauty, It deceives only those who
have not seen and examined the genuine arIi-
Gle The ostrich Of Califoruis IS said to be
inferior to the South African oird, and being
subject TO fatal attacks Of diseases OF the
liver, which have reduced its numbers, It has
not as yet 70 any great extent entered the
market. The number OF African feathers
used is enormous, enc firm in this citv en-
pIOyInE GOO girls IN their manufacture, and
there are several other houses engaged ex-
cIUsiveiy II this industry. The larger NUM-
Der are used on hats and bonnets worn by
the ladiSs, and yet no inc0nsiderable number
OF the larger and more expensive feathers
crown the cooked hats wcrn oy members OF
secret societies The narrower and lighter
feathers near to and on the legs Of the great
bird are made into ponpons which surmount
the caps Of the military.
FEATHERS OF ALL KINDS
Yet the ostrich is not the only bird under
contribution Although trade IN other pIu-
mage has been greatly abridged because Of
the many voices and pens directed against
the slaughter Of the innocent, yet useful song
and other birds for the qualification OF Eo-
mans vanity only, yet tho house already re-
ferred to shows feathers from, it would seem.
nearly every bird that flies, from the tIny
humming bird 20 the ma jestic eagle There
are the long, slender tail fiarneuts Of the
bird OF paradise, the bright feathers OF the
red Ibis, Of the ptarmiSan, peacock. t-o-
gan, paroquet, argus, pheasant, white VII
ture- owl, heron, gull and pigeon The
groupings OF these feathers into single hat
adornInent, such as is seen occasionally,
would set naturallss Wild With rage is being
no uncommon thing TO see such combine
wings Of gull and the tail feathers OF a pea
cock and heron. So, too, the coio-ing OF IA
lures own IS lost il the multiple dyes Of the
chemist.
Nor do the interest aud importance of the
feather end here, its utility being fully equal
TO its beauty. Daily, or nightly rather, does
it minister TO mans comfort, and it is the
object upon which he lays his head when the
vital spark is leaving us clayey teasnant.
OF late years there have been many substi-
tUtes offered for the feather bed. but il roy
ally holdsit own in popular demand, despite
the wiEe wovs, horsehair, WOODEN and the
numerous vegetable mattresses that are made.
Mans ingenuity finds no substitute for feath-
ers IN pillows and bcistsrs, SO That with the
demand for their Csc III beds for the tbouandS
who viii have no other, and for the head
rests named, the trade ia these. as a ulanufac-
turer declares, is constantly on the increase.
some idea OF The magnitude OF this industry
may be had when it is stated that two manu-
factureFs IN Chicago sell nearly three millions
of pounds annually.
Most Of the feathers used In this way, say
from 30 10 20 Per cent, are plucked from live
geese Of the gray and white varieties They
come mainly from kentucky Tennessee and
points farther south, and from portions Of
Ohio, Indiana. Illinois and Missouri Feathers
plucked from dead geese have no value, and
are not purchased. In soma localities the in
dustry is very large indeed, there being in
dlvidual farmers who own as many as 1900
birds. The piucking process might be hu-
Clane but for the avarice OF the growers.
who insist on picking the feathers and
down from four to SIX times q year, often be-
fore they are ripe" Al feathers received
by the maqufacturers contain a number
with the lower parts Of the quiiIs filed with
blood, a sign that their withdrawal entailed
suffering upon Ese birds STU, it is not
taken much TO heart, for it does not abridre
life, there beng famous old geese which have
undergone this oTdeal for a full score Of
years, and that yet can pasture Is lively as
those that have lived bat two seasons The
average Of goose life, however, is scarcely
more than FROM eight to ten years
YIELD OF EACH BIRD
The quantity of feathers yielded in year
varies somewhat. Some have given as much
as two pounds; the average Is fully . pound
TO each bird. Nasnvllls and Louisville arg
chat hAainuarra-l for e-ncss,