The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1905-04-15
AS TO HAIR BRUSHES.

1t is a matter oy wonder to wo-
men that they can't get a good brush,
particularly a hair brush 1t may be
that good price is paid for the arti-
Gle and it possesses beautiful silver
mounting, but the brstles come out,
and even if they stay in they are so
soft as to be absolutely useless.
The reason of the frailties of the
average brush on the market are Gu
rious and interesting. As matter
of fact, good brush costs money
nowadays. Prices lave increased
enormously in the last five years. A
good hair brush cannot be obtained
for less than $3.50, and this not with
4 filigree silver mounting, but a sea-
I sOned hardwood backing. To many
persons this would seem like the
widest sort OF extravaganza. But
it is quite the reverse.
A man who deals in hair brushes
recently told some interesting facts
! relative to their quality and manu-
! facturc. How to know a good brush
is, lie AYERS, as difficult for the aver
! age customer as to tell of the habits
and customs of the North Sea island
erS.
"In selecting brush buy nothing
but the real Russian bristlcs or those
coming from the north Of Germany
says he, "for the finest quality of bris-
ties come from the wild b,ar which is
found in these localities. Anyone
that knows anything about the trade
is keenly aware OF the rise in price.
1t has increased from 10 to 90 per
cent, and the reason f:r this is that
as the country become:, more thiclily
settled the boar is driven further
and further away, and also is being
quickly decimated, as are our buf-
faloes.
"The brist.es of the domestic boar
can and are being used. but they lack
the quality and stiffness of the wild
variety. In the .lathr case nature has
provided a hard coating. One might
we'll wonder how tlivse 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 a dowry, for their eldest
daughter upon her marriage. They
gather them in small bundles and tic
them. To buy the blistlas costs a
penny each. OF course. they are
much longer than one secs them in
the brushes.
French manufacturers use only
the finest bristles in their brushes. a
fact which some persons object to.
The best brushes arc made in Eng
land, Americans have not yet begun
to compete with the English in this
industry. which is yet in its infancy
backed brushes are manufactured
here and the bristlcs are exceedingly |
poor
ITO show YOU the scarcity Of the j
real Russian bristles an agent of ono /
Of the largest English brush manu- !
facturers recently told me that their |
entire stock of bristles amounted to |
not more than $4,000. And it was all ,
they could get at the time for love or
money.
cts not fancy what material shall |
be used as 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
,an be more securely fastened in
Turtleback ebony is perhaps the best
If all. 1t comes from South America
md Madagascar also. Is more expen-
sive than ordinary ebony, although
he cost of transportation is the
same. A big tree, perhaps, will yield
only small quantity, because of the
act that the heart of the wood is
Tery apt to be decayed. Turtle back
ebony shows faint grain, while the
,ther is dead black-New Haven Reg
ster.