The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1907-09-19
VOGUE OF OSTRICH PLUMEs.
FASHION SENDS PRICES UP 800 PER CENT
THIS SEASON.
The Feather Which Off wOman Face Best in Great Demand
for nlIlnery-Wby New York Women Pay Higher
Prices for Their Hats Than Formerly

be Of her party at the races next day.
What she told me was this:
"trhe wear and tear Of New York
is playing havoc with my cousins hats
and want her to have a fresh one for
tomorrow, something with plumes It
seems to me would suit her
Il knew from the way she spoke
that there would be no trouble about
price. The young woman picked a
brown, which was all right, as her
eyes were brown, but she let me Sc
Iect the shape and trimmings, which
included some beautiful ostrich feath-
ers, shading from brown TO tan. The
hat was broad brimmed atfair and
the girl looked like another person
when she put it on"
"And the bachelor?' the woman lis
tener asked.
81 hear that he is very attentive.
The young woman's wealthy cousin
told me about 1t when she came to
pay the bill and she gave good deal
Of credit to the hat"
The wholesale dealer referred to
said that ostrich feathers now cost
about 800 percent more than five years
ago on account of their scarceness.
Ninety percent or more of the os-
trich feathers used in this country
come from Africa" said he, "and they
are sold at auction In the London mar
ket to the highest bidders before
crossing the ocean.
There. is no fixed market price for
ostrich feathers, the price varying
with the demand. This year we are
using twice as many feathers as we
used last year.
There are about 100000 birds in
Africa, and from $4,000 to 1900 in
this country, and of the whole supply
which reaches the United States it is
safe to say that New York City alone
uses one-half.
Raise more birds? Easier said than
done Iucubators have been put into
commission, but with little success.
And the Cape Colony owners Of os-
trich farms are dead set against the
exporting of ostriches to this country
But what the New York woman
doesn't know about ostrich feathers is
wonderful. One of them who visited
my factory last year read me lee
ture about the cruelty of deprlvlng the
birds of their feathers to minister to
woman's vanity.
"Cha Mould barfiI,, hotio,-o - -.
/ assured her that If the feathers were
not plucked every eight months or SO
they would soon fall out of their own
accord. and that they were never
plucked unless ripe to be plucked.
There are women, too, who don't
know that the long feathers are con-
fined to the end Of the wings. Any
length of feather can Of course by
made by pieclng short feathers togeth-
er, but the choicest long ones have an
unbroken quill, the maximum length
of which Is about "a inches.
But the beauty Of a feather and its
cost depend more on its width, on the
length and thickness Of its fue or
strands than on the length of its qN!ll
To some extent every feather is
made, even the handsomest being for-
tined with two additional feathers un-
derneath making three layers in all;
and five or six layers are sometimes
needed to give the tip the very thick,
luxuriant effect so much admired
"A single ostrich feather is very
scant and slim, indeed, and no woman
would look twice at one. Preparing
the feather is everything.
From FIRST to last an ostrich feath-
er passes through nearly 100 different
hands before being delivered to the
retailers.
"A profitable business to the ostrich
farmer? Yes, indeed. The middle
man and retailer don't make an the
money by long sight.
The average matured bird Yields
from $50 to $50 in feathers year and
his keep doesn't amount to much. Az
erage this sum at $40 per head and
Africa's $4,000 birds will give some
thing like sl45Oo,OOO a year."-New
York SIM