The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-07-22
FACTS ABOUT FEATHERS.
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nHD I'D ron ever ses cloth that
- IVES msds out Of feathens''
said "a Supholsterer to Z
writsr .sert the Warrington
Star. Very bSsse3 Sabrics ara com
posed Of such rnateffalH One method II
to clip the bsrbs from ths feathers with
ordinary scissors, putting them into .
bag and kneading them fqr awhile. A
result they are trsnsforDed into mass
OF very light and homogeneous down.
Thus prepared they ard manufactured
into felt by the same prodesses as are ap-
piled to wool. One poutd and half Of
feathers make one squate yard Of .
fabric which Is warm, light and durable
and will take any dye. BY weaving tho
feather down with cotton or wooden yarn
soft and beautiful clIh Ii produced,
with a feather 'fur' on both sides.
"The most expensive down, utilized
for making quilts and pillows, Is OBJ
tanned from the elder duck. In Norway
and Iceland the business Of gstherfNS Il
constitutes a regular forming indH4sy.
The pursuit IS very remunerative, and IL
is governed by special legislation re-
specting the collecting OF the crop on
islands of tho sea and along the margins
Of cstusries. These birds arc found
throughout the waters OF the Arctic
Ocean, and they resort in great numbers
YEARLY for breeding purposes to Nova
zembla, Spitzbergen, Lapland, Green
land, Labrador and other far northern
shores. Sometimes they appesr on the
coast of Maine aud even as far south as
Massachusetts Bay, but the down yielded
in such low latitudes Is inferior In
quality.
Zone of the sights OF Norway Is an
island that is one great rock rising out
of the sea between Tronso and Hammer.
fest. The nests of cider dncks are 80
thick upon it that its entire SUI face
seems to be occupied by them, each ono
at the breeding season its
Of young ones. SO closely
do the nests initiate the gray tint Of the
rock that one would not notice them
save for the countless heads of the birds
looking out of them. When steamer
goes by the custom is to fire small can
non, which so frightens the birds that
all those that can fly rise into the air
with mighty whirr of wings, literally
the sky with their myriads,
while the nestlings squawk pitifully in
chorus.
"The nest building Is done in May and
lasts about seven weeks. From four to
six eggs are laid, the nest being lined
with down plucked by the mother duck
from her own breast. Those who pur-
sue the business described remove tho
eggs and down, whereupon further sup.
plies Of the latter are furnished by the
bird, which lays a second
clutch of eggs. These are removed to.
gether with the down, as before aud
like robbery is committed third time.
After this theft has been accomplished
thrice the drake contributes down from
his own body and more eggs are laid;
but if these last are stolen the birds in
variably give it up and fly away. One
nest is made in this manner to supply
during each season about three ounces
of dirty looking brown down. That
which the male supplies is somewhat
whittier.
"The down, after being gathered, is
separated into different qualities and
roughly cleaned, the process resulting in
A loss of about half its original
weight. 1t is then sewn in small bags
for export, the best being worth Us a
pound where it is collected. The down
from dead birds, not being
elastic, is Of small value comparatively.
King ducks, which are vastly abundant
on the coasts OF Spitzbergen, Greenland
and Newfoundland, yield a soft down
that is almost equal to that of the cider
duck. In fact this latter product is
ordinarily sold under the name of elder
down. So wonderfully light is the real
article that pound and a half of it is
enough for large bed quilt. Cheap
substitutes are very much heavier.
"Few people have any notion of the
enormous value Of the feathers yielded
annually by domestic poultry. In Eu-
rope especially sle farmers wives make
q business of collecting and selling the
pluma2e Of chickens, geese and ducks.
A machine has been devised which
plucks dead fowl at the rate Of two
minute. The bird is laid on table and
a wheel bearing india rubber pickers
tackles it, the pickers pinching what
ever they meet as they pass across the
top of the table and releasing what they
hold as they pass beneath. The plucked
feathers are sorted roughly by a current
Of air, which blows the light ones into
while the heavier ones fall
!nto trough beneath. Feathers cast
during the moulting season might be
very profitably utilized if women on the
farm. would remove them by hand from
the living birds, as might be done with
out occasionino much discomfort to the
fowls BY ncglecting the opportunity
thus afforded tens Of thousands of dol
lars are lost yearly in this country.
"Perhaps yOu never heard of artificial
feathers. They are Yankee
invention. The quilts are made of
and the barbs of silk waste.
In speaking Of the usefulness Of bird
Pinmes one must not forget the quilts.
4.