The Opelousas courier., 1896-10-03
PAMPAS PLUMES.
RAISING THEM HAS BECOME A
THRIVING BUSINESS.
How the Beautiful Plumes Are
Grown From Pampas Grass
Their Use by Political Con-
y%entiOns and Parties.
RS. FL. W. r. STRONG, of

Viz "a co oh pto
. southern slope Of the Pu-
ente Hills, which was purchased some
years ago from Elk Governor Pho Pico.
-Four years ago, says the Chicago
Times-iIerald, Mrs. Strong decided to
plant pampas grass between her rows
of young walnut trees, and procured
choice stock from MI. Stewart, of Los
Angeles. In 1890 she marketed 1884,
600 plumes in Philadelphia, at from
$50 to S65 q thousand. In 1892 her
crop amounted to nearly 800, COO
plumes, and a harvesting force of over
sixty hands was employed nearly a
month. beginning the last of August.
From early in May until the middle
of August the plants are irrigated
every fourteen days. After the keen
edged grass has been cut away by men
who wear masks and gloves for protec-
ton, the plumes are removed as. fast
us they show signs of maturity to
shaded places, where they are shucked
at the rate of 5000 a day by expert
enced hands, many of whom are wo
men. The plumes are then Of a soft
green color, but after lying a few
hours on the smoothly rolled earth,
they become white and fluffy and are
carried to the curing house. Here
women aHI girls with expert touch
manipulate them in a way that de-
velops a superior silky finish and
richer tone. The process is an inven-
ton of Mrs. Strong's and the secret Of
II lS mot trrorfnl 70 4lo ,-t1;, E,2,,
first TO last the plumes are handled
thirteen times.
Prices reached their lowest notch in
1891, and Mrs. Strong, having q large
crop on hand, surveyed the situation
with a comprehensive eye, and set
herself to work to improve it. She
spent four months in the largest cities
of the Eastern States working up the
United States markets. One of her
first steps was to decorate Wanamak-
er's great store in Philadelphia with
the plumes, thereby illustrating their
effectiveness when artistically used,
and attracting the attention of thou
sands of people to the beautiful grass.
She followed up this polite movement
"IUA uAlllluS HUI f1ChS "lGu ll6 ne" |
publican National Committee at New
York, having with he1 a device of her
W invention for the use OF the Re-
pubIicans in the Presidential cam
paign.
1t consisted of three pampas plumes,
one of the original creamy white, the
others dyed red and blue, all mounted
in fan. shape on a staff of polished
wood similar to a torch stick. The
National Committee finally recon-
mended the adoption OF this highly
ornamental emblem by the Republican
clubs throughout the country. The
'9lhlem wa carried to the Minneapo-
lis e. Invention in 1892 by the Califor-
MIA oslegates, and was used in the
ratification procession by Los Angeles
Republicans.
Mrs. Strong had not yet exhausted
her resources. She invented an en-
blem for the Democratic parts aag
three white plumes bunclserest gu
3SrIy on s,h a red staff FAM and $ P. Ded BY
colors were presented in a different
but equally beautiful caY' nation.
This patriotic lady als Wv, W.ded the
Prohibitionists with plu- IS enough to
decorate their convention Fall at Gin
c%innati. Thus the gracef i pampas
plume waved across the BREADTH of the
continents distinctly American EN-.
blem of more than political sign1f-
canoe. Mrs. Strong named it the
Columbian plume, in token of its Ma.
tional character, and it was displayed
at the Columbian Exposition.
California has, among other ~laurels,
the distinction of being the only State
in the Union that cultivates pampas
grass on a large scale, and of creating
through one of her intelligent resi-
dents q new and extremely graceful :
emblem for the Nation. 1t is a curl. :
GUS thing that in the illustrated volume ,
On Pacific slope grasses, by United ,
Botanist George Massey, pub .
lished by the Department of Agricul. .
ture, no mention whatever is made of :
pampas grass. .
The gynerium argenteum, as pampas :,
is botanically termed, is a native .
the plains of Southern Brazil and .
of those bordering the La Plata River :
in South America. It derives it's =
generic nam from the fact that the :
of the female flowers arc fur. .
with long hairs. 1t was first .
in England from seed OBJ =
bained at Buenos Ayres in 1S43. The :
plants were introduced in this country =
about 1913, and for many years there
after were valued as much for the
of their long, narrow, grace
FULLY curving leaves as for their bios
They could not endure severe 6
Northern winters. ..and the few planted 7
lawns during the summer were i
taken up and carried iRtubs into the a
with the first f1>sty breath of I
autumn. They grew Aom four to six c
'eet in height, a.. threw up forty or ,
fifty plumes or flower stalks on each {
plant. q
The homer of Introducing the
industry to the Pacific coast t
belongs to a resident Of Santa Barbara. t
Joseph Sexton. a florist and nursery 5
nan, who planted seed in 1872, and in C
years had several hundred pampas t
plants that bore plumes. The varia- t
ion in shades and fineness was marked, b
or the seeding growths of pampas I
re as uncertain as those ofpeaches or t
and many of the plants were t
old to Callfornians for purely orna- c
mental purposes. In 1874 it was dis j.
that if the plumes were not il