The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-10-25
HUMAN HAIR.
Where French Maidens Sell
Their Luxurious Tresses.
Relative Value Of the Various
Types of HIrsute Growth.

Relative Value Of the Various
Types of Hlrsute Growth.
There is human hair market at Nor
lans, in the department Of the Lower
French Pyreness It Is little known
except perhaps in Plris, where it has q
high reputation. The market is held
every other Friday. Hundreds Of
traficking hair dressers throng to the
little place from far and near to buy up
tho hair Of the young peasant girls.
The dealers wander up and down tho
loag narrow street Of the town, each
with huge pair of bright shears hang.
ing from black leather
strap around his waist, while
the young girls who wish to part with
their hair stand about IN the doorways,
usually in couples. The transaction is
carried on in tho best room of the
house. The hair is let down, the tresses
combed out, and the. dealer names the
price. This varies from three to 20
francs. If a bargain is struck tho dealer
lays the m oney ia the oren palm Of the
seller, applies his shears. and in min.
ute the long tresses fall on the floor.
The purchaser rolls up tho trcsses,
places them in paper. and thrusts them
into his pocket. OF course q maiden
can rarely see her fallen trosses disap-
pear into tbs dealers pocket without
crying, but she consoles herself with
the thought that it will grow again and
by looking at tho m money in her hand.
There is at present scarcity of fancy
human hair in the market. The scarcest
hair is pure white, and its value Is con-
stant.y increasing; and if it is unusually
long-that il, from four feet to five feet
1.-The dealer can get almost his own
price, while if it is of ordinary length it
is worth from 375 to 500 francs ($75 to
5000 an ounce. The fact that pure
white hair is the court coiffuro through
out Europe keeps the demand for it very
high. 1t Is much priced by American
women whose own hair is white and
who desire to enrich its folds, for white
hair is held to give certain distinction
to the wearer. There is no fancy mar
ket for gray hair; 1t is too common. 1t
is used to work into wigs of persons
who are growing old.
What is described as golden hair is
either washed out pale red or q dull
blond. Tho goll color so much val
ued has no relation to red hair, except
in the yividness of its coloring. The
demand for the virgin gold color is
great in the capitals Of Europe. A
woman who gets coiffure OF it is con-
sidered fortunate. There are four
type colors of hair-white, blond, black
and brown-and each of these has been
subdiviied into sixteen different shades.
Tho commone,t types ara black and
brown, and these are cheap. Colder
brown is much in favor, a,
is pure black, or what j.
called blue black. Next to pure white
hair ths demand is for hair of the colol
of virgin gold. There are many braidt
made Of hair colored to meet tho dc.
mand with certain preparations, but
they prove unsatisfactory. Many foolist
women havo sought to change the col ol
Of their own trcsses, but they have uni
formly rcpcntod the attempt. A fine
suit of hair of the purest blond typ,
will sell for from 1000 francs to 250t
franc, (s2OO to 5000. 1t is said thai
the Empress Eu,enie paid 1000 francs
$4,000 an oun CO for braid Of colder
hair that exactly matched her own.
The largest supply of hair comes from
Switzerland and Germany, and espe
cially from the French provinces. Th'
country fairs arc attended by rents o
merchants ia London, Paris and Vienns
Only at intervals. however, is priz
like perfect suit of golden hair OBJ
tuined, and l am told that there ar,
orders ahead in the shops of Paris ant
London for all the golden hair that car
be obtained in tho next five years
When a stock of hair is collected b.
travelling agents it Is assorted, washet
and cleaned. Then each hair is draw
through tha eyo of needle and pol
ished. When the stock is ready for tn
market here the nobility is permitted t.
make the first choice.
A woman's hair may grow to tn
length of six feet. Mime. Hess of Pari
refused $1,000 for her "cranial cover
ing" which was about that measurement
Four hundred hair, Of average thick
ness woulI cover an inch of space. Tn
blond belle has about 140, 900 filament
to comb and brush, while the rcd-hairct
beauty has to be satisfied with SO. 900
the brown-haired damsel may have 109,
900; the black haired but 102. 900. Fe,
ladies consider that they carry some 4
or SO miles of hair on their head; tn
fair haired may even have to dress z
miles of threads of gold every morning
A German experimentalist has preve
that single hair will suspend lou
ounces without breaking, stretchin
under the process and contractin
again. But the hair thus heavil
. weighted must be dark brown, 70
blond hair breaks down under two an
a half ounces.
As regards the wig trade. the mos