The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-11
WIGS.
Pretty Much All You Need to Know
 About Them.

Pretty Much All You Need to Know
 About Them.
 In the fall of the year. after the har- vest has been gathered, it is custom ary in France to hold agricultural fairs in the large country towns for trade and amusement. The farmers meet their customers and each other, sell their crops and calves and colts and buy whatever is necessary, while their wives and daughters take advantage of the opportunity to get acquainted and to spend their share of the proceeds for dress goods, household articles and whatever else they may need or fancy. The entire community-men and Wo- men, boys and girls-are thus brought together once a year. The wholesale dealers in human hair send agents called ''coupeurs" to these annual gatherings to buy the tresses of the young women and girls. They take with them trunks full of dress goods, fichus, feather boas, jewelry of all kinds and other ornaments and set up stands in conspicuous places to await their victims. The practice is centu- ries old and the terms and methods by which the trade is carried on are well known to the country people. For six months or year in advance the girls consider and discuss whether they shall sell their hair or not, and con- lecture as to what they can get for it; and if they refuse to sell one season many of them promise the 'coupeur" that they will trade with him the next year. These fairs are mcst common in Brittany Avergne, Limoges and other parts Of central France, from which the largest supply of human hair is de- rived. Between fairs the "coupeurs' go about the country from house to house and visit the villages, tempting tho women to be shorn.
 The annual crop of human hair for many years has averaged in value in Paris alone more than five thousand francs, or one million dollars, but this year the coupeurs, who are beginning to come in, report a decided falling off and predict that the crop will not amount to more than one million francs, although the demand has in I creased considerably in the last few years
 Fashionable women are wearing more false hair than formerly, It is the fashion to do so, and the Increased demand in large measure 1t Is said has been caused by the rule prohibiting the wearing of hats in theaters,
 Usually the ''eoupeurs" pay either fl cash or goods from ten to twenty-hv, dollars for a head of hair. The pric, is usually from twenty-five to fort!
 francs pound, according to lengtl and quality and color This year the, complain that they have had to pa!
 double those prices and that the girl
 are more reluctant than ever to sell
 Prices have run as high as sixty ant
 seventy-five dollars a pound. Tn
 newspapers report one woman at Linn
 oges who sold her long plaits this fal
 for one hundred and ninety dollars
 which Is the record price. Three girl
 same placesold their combined tresse
 for four hundred and eighty dollars
 The average price paid was doubl
 that of previous years.
 This change of conditions is account
 ed for by the dealers, first, because ol
 the suppression of the convents unde
 the law recently passed by the cham
 Der of deputies. Girls intending to be
 come nuns were usually willing t
 sacrifice their hair because the piou
 nuns consider 1t a vanity and second
 because by selling 1t they could bene fit their families, No girl can enter
 convent in France now. If she desire to become a novitiate she must go { some other country Hence tha source of supply has been cut off. The 'eoupenrs' also say that tn peasant girls of Brittany and other de : partments are discarding the natly head dress which conceals the hair an
 are wearing Paris fashions Further more they have learned the value ( their tresses and will no longer trad them for a dress pattern a string ( l beads, a bracelet or other gewgaw As a consequence of these change conditions hair is fifty per cent. mol , expensive in Paris to-day than 1t we } two years agt.
 } The greater part of the crop, whlc } comes not only from the rural district ? of France, but from the farthermot
 ends of Europe, is used in Paris, but considerable amount is exported I'll value of the exports in 1908 was $5S0 l GOO; in 1904 1t was s999, 9,000 and in 19l
 1t was $9500O0. A large part of thes 3 exports go to England and the Unite l States, but most of the hair Is made Ii l into wgs cultures before shipment. 8 Paris is the center of the human Ina } trade. More attention Is given to hai dressing here than in any other plac s The styles change as rapidly as ar s other portion of human dress, and or . might as well be out of the world {
 out of the style in Paris.
 r There are sixty wholesale dealei and exporters of human hair in Par e and at least one thousand wig-makel !. and dealers. There are two thousar v hair-dressing shops for both wome n and men, and more than six thousar
 professional hair-dressers belong Q their organization, known as q Q Chambre Peraonnel de Coiffure de Pa , is," of which Francis Dupont, 22 Ri . de Peletier, is the president. The hai
 dressers have newspaper organ, Q monthly periodical edited by M, Mall mont, 102 Rue de'Aboukir. Every issl
 is Illustrated with cuts showing u