The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-12

of those early Oriental times 1t would
 appear that the Assyrian beard was worn
 in long ringlets. That may, however, be
 no more than an evidence of the limita-
 tons of the art of ancient sculptor who
 could not carve hair positively unless
 he made it look like rope. It seems hardly
 conceivable that Nebuchadnezzar and As
 surbanipal would submit to a fashion that
 involved putting their heads up in curl
 papers every night
 No modern race goes conspicuously and completely unshorn except the black fel- lows of the Australian bush.
 Utensils Vary.
 Among the peoples of the earth who shave wholly or in part the utensils Of the harber's high calling widely vary. Soap and shaving brush are a triumph of ad- vancing civilization, the sybarite's effort to secure his ease. Some of the lower races wet the cheeks with water or the
 juices of fruits or sap of trees, but Tor the most part the savage slaves dry.
 Such of the native tribes along the Anna zon as shave at all in preference to pluck ing out their scantly boards prepare their
 cheeks by swabbing with the heavy sap or the tree which yields the rubber. In tropi- cal Africa the oil of the oil palm IS useu for the same purpose.
 In the East Indies generally the pulp Of the ripe banana Is rubbed to a cream on the cheeks and chin with the abundant
 juice which may be drawn from the lea stem of the same plant. Elsewhere In the same region of the eastern seas the green | orange Is employed,
 Many and various ar the substitutes TOT
 the razor of steel In the uplands or Africa. where the natives have developed eIrtI metal
 produce knives of good temper, they seem not to have hit upon the Idea of true
 shaving by the use of a cutting edge Their abundant boards are removed and
 their chaps kept smooth by singeing.
 plate of iron an inch in width, three
 inches long and a quarter of an men
 thick is mounted in a handle of horn'
 This Is brought to white heat In the
 charcoal furnace and Is passed evenly
 over the face very close to the skin This glowing plate produces a close shave ef- feet with a luxury of comfort to the most l tender skin that no razor yet forged could l bring about.
 For shore dwellers the opportunities 1 which several mollusks afford have not l been lost upon the barbers. One such ] shell has been commonly designated the I razor clam and while not much of l clam for fritter purposes. 1t will serve 1 excelently well on a pinch for razor | It abounds on the beaches of the north i ern Atlantic coast, but 1t Is not alto 1 f,ther easy to dig up even when the l little spout of water in the sand betrays 1 it's presence. for 1t takes the promptest
 alarm and can dig itself out of sight far
 more quickly than any man can dig 1t l Into view The shell Is in two valves each about half an inch wide and some six Inches long, the shalloWer one being | preferable for shaving.
 To prepare 1t for use all that Is needed l is to press the edge of the shell from | the inner side steadily and evenly with 9 l ehip: this splits off a sheet of the tough
 nurplish green outer rnd and leaves a clean edge of shell that Is sharp enough for comfortable shaving and firm enough to keep the edge at least during the operation While this razor shell Is 1 confined to the North American coast i there are molusks of similar utility in 1 every sea.
 Shark Tooth Razor. 1 Another pelagic razor widely employed 1 Is the tooth of the shark. While this also i has a sharp edge, 1t differs from the l keenness of the shells They present a ] true cutting edge so long as 1t lasts. ] The small tooth of the shark keeps it's heavily enamelled edge much longer. but 1 it is of the saw type and therefore by | no means of smooth action.
 In inland regions, wnere sea razors are | not easily come at. there may be round
 mineral substitutes. The most widely
 found of these mineral razors Is the 1 flint
 l Another mineral of great value to the i primitive folk who shave themselves is | the obsidian or volcanic glass. By careful 1 treatment this may be split into almost l any desired shape and it's edges of frac- 1 ture are found very keen. though quick
 to lose their cutting edge.
 ] Even the herb of the soil as well as 1 the sea and the rocks yield it's razor, | than which there could be none better l This is the rind of the bamboo, which
 owes it's fine polish to the deposit of flint ] When the Joint partitions are cut off from 1 a node of green bamboo the tube may 1 readily be split. Each silver will be found 1 to carry a thin sheet of the flint casing l a sheet so thin that it's edge Will stlil 1 annear sharp under high power of mi- ] croscope. 1 It Is sharper than any razor Of steel l can be whetted-so sharp that It must be used with great care to avoid cu'elns i deen into the skin. It will hold its edge Tor l any operation of shaving and there IS i no need of saving 1t for second time' l since the bamboo grows wild all over the tropics and a new razor may be had With
 out cost of labor whenever wanted. i In hls primitive estate savage man i seems to possess all the necessarles or
 the barber shop except the latner orush
 and the shop. neither of which ne mas 1 learned to need. and therefore ooes not
 miss them.
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