The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-08-05
SHAVING, The WORLD OYER.
niRBERING YOU CAN FEEL IN
VILLAGES or SPAIN.
Ancient Egyptian Heard Cpses snd Curled
Assyrlan L0cks-siiriis. Minerals and
Grasses Used IN shaving -Delicato
smuggling In Africa -Lathcr Substitutes

Grasses Used IN shaving --tlelieate
smuggling In Africa -Lathcr Substitutes.
ANY traveller In Spain who steps OF the
beaten path mny, like Don Qnixote. find
= Ma nbrino helmet for himself. for II swings
t,on a staff over the door Of every wayside
hayoer. An old and worn out basin does
toy a 4ignboa rd: one less old u necessary to
the sha AYERS art,
These barber basins Of the peninsula-are
slways ma do OF hrasa Some OF the old
ones are very fairly hammered. but In all
the shnpe ia the same, a product OF public
utility answering to unva rying demand.
A half circle Is cut out from one
rim large enough to accommodate the
ratron's gullet and Adams apple. Seen
in profile the effect OF a man being shaved
Is as n st, John the Baptist whose head
has I, rtly slid off tho cha rger. Thus h It
tdspted TO the tonsorisl methods In vogue
in Spain, and with but slight variations
practsed In all OF villa &c Europe.
There are no joke weeklies to while away
the time Of waiting; there are no chairs
with compiled ted gear to raise and lower
the patient, to swing him around into the
light at his most artistic angle, 10 tilt him
nHCK W u IlDIptOIIyuS WOW w az ~
Instead the sufferer il planted bolt upright
in a straight ba cked chair and throughout
the operation his h the sole responsibility
Of holding n be sin OF water at bis throat,
and II he spills the suds down upon tho front
Of his shirt the bla me IL his alone.
Nor does the difference cease here. The
peasant barber Of Europe regard lather
a. merely an orna te incident. He vets his
patrons cheeks and smes rs them with good
hard soa p, we'll rubbed on. Then he uses
his razor to va to this cement Of stifen-
ing soap, moistening 1t only when 1t Ia
found too ha I'd to work.
The soar il dra gRed of with little regard
to the feelings Of the sufferer; the question
Is never put: Does this razor pull?' When
the barber has gone his round from ear to
car the patient Ia kes his bowl and washes
up for himself. When the shat p suds sting
his cheeks he rests content, for he has had
q shav We that he can feel.
Despite attempts at long intervals TO
make hair on the face a fashion, prao-
tically all the world shaves. The most
consistent advocates Of the oleanly shaven
face are the Indians of America. Nature
has helped them out at the beginning, for
hair upon their faces appears only late in
life and then very sparsely. For this
reason it Is not 80 difficult and painful rs 1t
might seem to follow the Indian custom Of
pulling out each hair as soon as it reaches a
length that will permit it to be gripped.
Another stock whose beard is late and
scan:y provides employment for q large
guild Of BARRIERS in shaving high. This
is seen In the blde rim which enciroles The
roots Of any Chinaman's queue.
Being Monaghan, q Chinese razor 10 nat
urally like nc other razor in the world. 1t
hooks like a split half dime mounted on
q stick; but the Chinese find it extremely
effective, and that must serve as a COM
plete test Of It's efficiency.
The RAGS that peopled the valley Of the
Nile whom Egypt was the homo Of all the
worlds enlight eminent shaved SO com
, had adopted the billiard bali as the type
Of beauty. for from the point Of the chin
to the nape of the neck not q hair was
spared. Here. though. crops out the mill
, tary exception.
to have grow n a few struggling hairs on
the chin. At any rate they wore richly
ornamented boxes to cover the boards
which they may or may not. have been
able to grow. So long as nothing showed
but the Eeard box gummed upon the chin,
any utic HhBht wear tb0 SCISlifoihhi. CIV
tymholic box, wen il he could not raise a
leard to fill it.
Their great rivals for the empire CT the
ancient world. the Assyrians, were abund-
antly supplied W it'll boards. That they
held them in high esteem may be inferred
from the fact that they carved them on the
eriiglei of tn cir sacred bulls and other
gods OF a long forgotten theology.
Ii one may accept the statuary OF Mesopo-
tamia as a safe guide to the fashions 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 limitations Of the
art of the ancient sculptor, who could not
carve hair positively unless he made II look
Like rope. 1t seems hardly conceiva bic
would submit to a fashion that involved
putting their heads up In curl papers every
No modern race goes conspicuously and
completely unshorn except the black fellows
Of the Australian bush.
shave wholly or in part the utensils Of the
BARRIERS high calling wf6ely 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 for the most
part the sa &c sha YES dry.
Such of the native tribes along the Anna
zon as sha We at all In preference to pluck
ing out their scanty boards prepare their
cheeks by swabb;ng with the heavy sap OF
the tree which yields the rubber. Intropical
Africa the oil Of the oil palm lie used for the
same purpose.
In the East Indies generally the pulp Of
the ripe banana Ia rubbed to q cream on
the cheeks and chin with the abundant
Juice which may be dra wn from the leaf
stem Of the same plant. Elsewhere In the
same region Of the Eastern seas the green
orange Ia employed.
Many and various are the substitutes for
the razor Of steel. In the uplands Of Africa,
where the natives have developed no little
sklll as workers In metal and produce knives
OF good temper, they seem not to have hit
upon the idea Of true sha wing by the use OF
O cutting edge. Their abundant boards are
removed and their chaps kept smooth by
Engeing.
A plate Of iron an inch In width, three
Inches long and q quarter Of an inch thick
= mounted In a handle Of horn. This is
brought to q white heat in the charcoal
furnace and Is passed evenly over the face
very close to the skin. This glowing plate
Produces q close shave effect with q luxury
OF comfort to the most tender skin that 40
razor yet forged could bring about.
For shore dwellers the opportunities which
several mollusks afford have not been lost
upon the BARRIERS. One such shell has been
Noynooaot,x -