The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1905-02-10
AS TO HAIR BRUSHES.


men that they can't get good brush,
PARTICULARLY hair brush. 1t may be
hat good price is paid for the arti-
lie and it possesses beautiful silver
mounting, but the bristles come out,
md even If they stay In they are so
oft as to be absolutely useless.
The reason of the frailties of the
Werage brush on the market are GU
,ious and interesting. AS a matter
If fact, a good brush costs money
nowadays. Prices have increased
enormously in the last five years. \
good hair brush cannot be obtained
or less than $3.50, and this not With
{ filigree silver mounting, but a sea-
,oned hardwood backing. To many
PERSONS this would seem like the
widest sort Of extravaganza. But
is quite the reverse.
A man who deals in hair brushes
.ecently told some interesting facts
,elative to their quality and manu-
.acture. How to know good brn9a
s, he AYERS, as difficult for the aver
,ge customer as to tell of the habits
md customs of the North Sea island
RS.
I'm selecting brush buy nothing
,ut the real Russian br;s.les or those
coming from the north of Germany"
,ays he, "for the finest quality of bris-
les come from the wild boar which Is
.ound in these localities. Anyone
hat knows anything about the trade
8 keenly aware Of the rise in price.
t has increased from 10 to 20 per
cent, and the reason for this is that
IS the country becomes more thickly
settled the boar Is driven further
ind further away, and also is being
quickly decimated, as are our buff
aloes.
THE brist!es of the domestic boar
IAN and are being used. but they lack
he quality and stiffness of the wild
variety. In the latter case nature has
provided hard coating. One might
well wonder how these bristls are Sc
cured. The peasants pick them up
strand by strand and store them
away. 1t is an interesting custom in
Russia for the parents to keep the
bristles as dowry, for their eldest
daughter upon her marriage. They
gather them in small bundles and tie
them. To buy the bristles costs a
penny each. OF course, they are
much longer than one sees them in
The brushes.
French manufacturers use only
the finest bristles in their brushes. a
tact which some persons object to.
The best brushes are made in Eng
land, Americans have not yet begun
20 compete with the English in this
Industry, which is yet in its infancy
here. As rule the fancy silver
backed brushes are manufactured
here and the brist,es are exceedingly
poor
ITO show you the scarcity of the
real Russian bristles an agent OF one
Of the largest English brush manu-
tacturers recently told me that their
entire stock of bristles amounted to
not mOTe Iildu $lV,UVV. Auu ~ Was GA
they could get at the time for love or
money.
'Its not fancy what material shall
be used as a backing, to brushes. For
nothing equals in durability season
ed hardwood. Neither moisture, heat
nor cold affects it, and owing to the
nature of the material the bristles
can be more securely fastened in.
Turtleback ebony is perhaps the best
Of all. It comes from South America
and Madagascar also. Is more expen-
slve than ordinary ebony. although
the cost of transportation is the
same. A big tree, perhaps. will yield
only small quantity. because Of the
fact that the heart of the wood Is
very apt to be decayed. Turtle-back
ebony shows a faint grain. while the
other is dead black-New Haven Reg.
lister.