Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1890-05-02
HUMAN HAIR
a.
Where Crops Of ItaAref Grown,
Bought andy Sold.
1t Is Recognized as a,ReguIar
Article of Commerce.

In remote SWISS, Ger man andj French
villages, traffic in human hair is as re-
cognized portion of the commerce as
the sale of butter and eggs, and is, to
th oung peasant girls, a very inn
portant matter. They grow their hair
with view to selling it, just as their
fathers and brothers grow their cereals
and raise, their cattle for the same pur-
pose. In, many cases, where they are
fortunate enough to have it of a good
marke ia able,color and fine texture, they
get for their ware more than their male
relatives could hope to clear after many
years of hardi toll.
The great drawback to the lucrative
ness of hal rfarming is the slowness OF
growth and't the fact that the same head
is rarely known to produce remarka-
BILE fine crop twice. An objection to it
is di islike, nataial to woman, to
part with what ista nature-given orna'
mont. We,may feel positive that in
the districts where hair is sold it is o
proud distinctlon,to be lin constant pos
sess ion of good crop which is def
nitely understood to be 'not for sale,
and which argues we'll for the amount
of worldly goods enjoyed by its pos
scssor
Here, where there is no recognized
co ommerclaIsyalue placed on luxuriant
locks, it was)a year or two ago quite
fashionable to.have hair short and wavy,
like mans. There, owever, the con-
ISOLATION has to be administered in the
shape of hard cash, and even with that
great cons oler in their hands the peas
ant hair growers can seldom see theiI
shorn tresses gathered up by the in
different purchaser with cquan unity.
One village market is held every Sec
ond Friday, and is attended by buyers
from Paris only. These walk about
the street.-The village boasts but one
long narr ow one-while the girls stand
about in couples so that they may give
each other moral support. The busi-
ness is ira nsacted in large room. The
sellers, having had their hair combcd
out and examined. wait for an offer.
If this be satisfactory the buyer takes
up bright pair of shears fastened to
his waist, and cuts the treasured tresses,
papering and pocketing them quickly
so that the denuded girl may see as lit
tie of them as possible once they have
passed out of her possession. She then
goes off and uses all the means she
knows of to cultivate new crop, which
occasionally is successful up to the
third and even fourth transactions,
though rarely is the first bargain bet
tered. The crop, however, is capri
cious; occ asionally second growth
and third have been known to exceed
tn first in length and fineness to sur
prising degree, though, if the color be
fair and particularly of golden sheen,
the second crop even is almost invaria-
bly, not satisfactory in this one particu-
lar.
Purely white hair, if long and fine,
may be converted into a little fortune
by its possessor, supposing she be SO
minded. Albino women have been
known to obtain for crop of hair
white as snow and fine as spun silk the
nice little sum of $3.50, which certainly
wo uld make hair farming remunera-
tive occupation, supposing that only
two such crops could be raised and dis
posed of in lifetime.
1t is said that the French ex.empress
Eugenie paid 5000 an oun CO for h air to
match her own, which was, in her
youth, that much prizsd hue which is
the same as virgin gold. The difficulty
of exactly matching hair is much
greater than might be supposed by the
casual observer, who sees only the four
colors known by hair experts as type
colors = white, black, brown and
blonde. Each of these produce
numerous shades, not less than sixteen
of every type, aud the subtitle differen &C
in these shad es of hair is wonderfully
perceptible, as those who have little
and want to match it speedily find out.
Hair which is artifcially colored to
match is most unsatisfactory, as the
| hue is not stationary.
Hair died on the head is a far moro
enviabe possession, as it requires fire.
quent redippings, and its owner Qhe
waves of hair dye being inscrutable) has
usually to disappear from soci al ken