The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-11-08
THE FEATHER TRADE.
THE OSTRICH, OF COURSE, is THE
PRIME FAVoRITE.

|
Annual Production of Tive" Coos,
Feathers-No Good Substitute.
The ostrich is now, as it ever has beer
where known, prime favorite. The best Of
these come from Magadore, those next best
from Egypt and Barbary; but the South
African are not much inferior in quality
and it is these, what are known as the CAM
of Good Hope, that are most used In Amer.
lea. There is the vulture 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 arti.
Gle The ostrich of California is said TO he
inferior to the South African bird, and being
subject to fatal attacks of diseases of the
liver, which have reduced its numbers, it has
not as yet to any great extent entered the
market The number Of African feathers
used Is enormous, one firm in this city EN-
ploylng LOCO girls in their manufacture, and
there are several other houses engaged ex
clusively in this industry. The larger mum
Der are used ON hats and bonnets worn by
the ladies, and yet no inconsiderable number
Oh the larger and more expensive feathers
crown the cooked hats worn by members OF
secret societies. The narrower and lighter
feathers near to and on the legs Of the great
bird are made into pompons 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 plu.
mage has been greatly abridged because of
the many voices and pens directed against
| Ine slaughter of the innocent, yet useful song
ana other birds for the qualification of wo
| mans vanity only, yet the house already re-
terred TO shows feathers from, it would SEEM
nearly every bird that flies, from the tiny
humming bird to the majestic eagle. There
are the long, slender tail filaments Of the
ord OF paradise, the bright feathers Of the
red ibis, of the ptarmigan, peacock, tro.
gan, paroquet, argus, pheasant, white vul.
tIlre, owl, heron, gull and pigeon. Tho
| groupings OF these feathers into a single hat
adornment, such as is seen occasionally.
would set a naturalist wild with rage, it being
no uncommon thing to see such a combina.
tion as the head and neck of tanager. the
wings Of a gull and the tail feathers of a pea.
cock and heron. So, too, the coloring of ma.
lures own is lost in the multiple dyes OF, the
chemist ~
Nor do the interest and Importance OF the
feather end here, its utility being fully equal
to its beauty. Daily, or nightly rather, does
1t minister to mans comfort, and it is the
OBJECT upon which he lays his head when the
VITAL spark is leaving its clayey tenament.
VI late years there have been many substi-
tutes offered for the feather bed, but It roy.
ally holds its own in popular demand, despite
the wire wove, horsehair, wooden and the
numerous vegetable mattresses that are made.
Mans ingenuity finds no substitute for feath-
ers in pillows and holsters, SO that with the
demand for their use in beds for the thouands
who will have no other, and for the head
rests named, the trade in these, as a manufac-
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-
facturers in Chicago sell nearly three millions
of pounds annually.
Most of the feathers used In this way, saw
from 6O to 70 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 some localities the in
dustry is very largo indeed, there being In
dividual farmers who own as many as TO- 900
birds. The plucking process might be hui
mane but for tho avarice Of the growers.
who insist on picking the feathers and
down from four to six times year, often be-
fore they are ''ripe." All feathers received
by the manufacturers contain number
with the lower parts of the quilts filed with
blood, a sign that their withdrawal entailed
suffering upon the birds. Still, it is not
taken much to heart, for 1t does not abridpe
life, there being famous old geese which have |
undergone this ordeal for a full score of |
years, and that yet can pasture as lively as |
those that have lived but 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 a year
varies somewhat. Some have given as much
as two pounds; the average is fully pound
to each bird. Nashville and Louisville are
the chief headquarters for goose feathers.
which are shipped there to commission mer-
chants and sold by them to manufacturers
here and all over the country. They arrive
In somewhat bad shape, but Of late their con-
dition has been greatly improved. When re-
ceived at the factories they are steamed and
deodorized and the unripe separated from the
ripe feathers.
Besides the goose, the domestic chicken,
turkey and duck furnish material for beds.
bolster and pillow. These, differing from the
goose, come invariably from dead birds,
which are picked In a dry state. Illinois,
Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin supply the
Chicago factories in great part. These
feathers are much inferior to those Of the
goose, and are sold largely to boarding. houses
On the frontier and to those whose circum-
stances will not permit investment In the
more desirable. 1t is Just possible, as a Chi
ago dealer said, that some boarding house
keepers nearer homo buy the inferior goods.
Besides being subject to the same treatment
Is the goose feathers, they are "crushedn to
i'd to their elasticity.
The total Of trade In these feathers can
carcely be estimated, but 1t Is very large
md growing. The older manufacturers
how constant increase in business. while
lew ones are coming in from time to timo.
1t the south and among the Germans the
Gather bed is preferred before any other.
dany of the latter sleep under as well as
lpon one, the upper one, however, being less
leavy. Down, which Is very fine, Is not
Ised for beds. Whether of the goose or Of
ider, 1t Is imported 1t has much greater
'ower to retain heat than tho feathers, and
ence Is used mainly in comforts for tho bed.
Chicago Herald
Why He Looked Blue.