HUMAN HAIR.
From Which Varlouf Colore
and qualltlca Arc Obtained.
i In a tour of investigation a Phila
delphia Times reporter dropped in at a
iMrs. Buch's. That lady win deftly
plaiting a wig on a wooden block or
(dummy. She was a little alarmed at
(first, but when the scribe explained
the object of his visit proceeded to de
scribe the manner of obtaining hair in
Europe and America.
"You see, In Germany," aaid the
lady, "there aro men going around .Ml
the time among tho country girls to
buy up their hair. They pay a silk
handkerchief, or apron, and sometimes
a couple of dollars. As a rule a girl's
hair grows again every three years,
but that varies considerably much
with the person. Now my brother-in
law's mother, who died here aged nine
ty years of age a couple of years ago,
used to have her hair cut twice a year.
It was silver-gray and very valuable."
"What is done with the hair after
the girls sell it?"
"There aro big factories In the
largo towns. Tho hair is cleaned and
sorted and then sold at prices varying
with its color and quality. A good
deal of it comes to this country. The
most valuable shades are gray, blonde,
and white. Ashen blonde is very
dear. The true shade will bring |2O
an ounce. The most expensive of all
is gray. It is worth $lO to s.">o an
ounce, according to its length. A lady
bought a gray switch in New York
the other day and paid $BOO for it-
Black hair is the cheapest. Any hair
can be dyed black."
"Don't some of the hair used in the
business come from the dead?"
"Very little of it. It can always be
known by the touch. It seems to be
dead and dry, just like straw."
"Do American women sell their
hair?"
"No; the people aro not poor
enough. Now and then you see a wo
man with a superb head of hair, worth
$5O or $lOO, but she will not part with
it. The convents supply us with a
good deal of hair. The sisters sell it
twice a year. Occasionally a little
girl comes and sells her hair, but a
grown woman never."
"What Is this beautiful blonde hair?"
asked the reporter turning over some
in a box."
"Why, that's Chinese hair bleached.
Some of it is imported from China, and j
then the Chinamen here in tho city sell
us their hair. Theatrical people use it.
A Chinese hair switch can be bought j
for |1 or .50. There is a Chinese |
laundry a few doors from lu re. The i
laundry men sell us their hair very
cheaply—only seventy-two cents a
pound. It is so short it isn't worth
much. When they sell us long hair
we pay |'l to $5 a pound. The blonde
bleached Chinese hair goes through a
refining process; it is soft as silk—just
feel it"
"llow about the hair of colored pe.v
pie ?"
"Their hair is too short. Can't do
anything with it in our line, unless it
be to make up wigs and beards for the
negro minstrels. It would be useful
then, because it always stays in curl.
The hair of negro women doesn't grow
long; ten inches would be quite out of
the ordinary."
"Where elso do you get hair from ;
besides Germany?"
"From Naples. This is the poorest
hair in the trade. It is coarse and ha
roots growing on it. It is dyed a dark
brown, but fades to reddish gray or
black in a short time. It is dirty and
unpleasant to handle. I have been
told that it is hair taken from belies
that have lain in the ground many
years. That accounts for the long
roots. The Swedes send us beautiful
long hair. We pay |3 to an oun<
for It."
"Where does the best hair come
from?"
"From Paris, prepared by a man
named I'elleray. His hair is always
live, healthy hair, and every lxx is
marked with his name."
. A Phenomenal Atmosphere,
The strangest feature of Monterey
to Northern eyes, says a correspondent
in Mexico, is the clearness of the air.
at ch as that which male me, as I
Stood on the Mount of Olives, think
the Dead Sea within an hour's walk
though I found it a day's ride.
Among the strange aerial phenomena
here I class the foot hills standing out
AO prominently that you think you can
nee round their corners and into the
p interspaces between them and the sec
ondary ranges. The most distant
peaks, too, seem pressing forward to
peep over the shoulders of those near
er. Everywhere the lights and shades
contrast no less than those of electric
illuminators. On a whole, the atmos
•pheric brilliancy surpasses whatever is
known in the North as much as our
'Northern sky surpasses the London
fogs, where men are forever doubtful
whether their celestial luminary is tho
sun or the moon.
SCIENTIFIC! SCRAPS.
A Chinese lawyer has hung out his
shingle in Colusa county, Cal. lie is
the pioneer "John" in the law line.
The oldest system of shorthand ex
tant was written dbout 1412, but the
art is said to have been practiced by
tho Greeks, and by Ennius tho Latin
poet.
Tho Corcoran monument to John
Howard Payne at Oak Hill cemetery
in Washington will be a fifteen foot
shaft of Carrara marble, surmounted
with a bust of heroic size showing
Payne as he appeared in middle life.
Kecrnt experiments with stringed
instruments have shown that a much
more sonorous tone can bo obtained
with metal strings than those now in
use. although tho labor of playing
upon them is corresjHindenly increas
od. Steel wires plated with copper
or silver gave the best results.
M. C. Grand'eury has published a pa
per on the formation of coal,the result
of his own investigations. Ho refers
tho formation of coal to the decompo
sition of the woody matter of plants,
forming an organic paste, which sub
sided in deep water, and became grad
ually consolidated under vast pressure-
Colleges in Colonial Times.
Prof. Moses Coit Tyler, of Cornell
university, lectured lMi'ore the General
theological seminary, in New York <>n
"The American Colleges of the Coloni
al Times."
There were established in America,
said the lecturer, before the Declara
tion of Independence, nine colleges
Harvard, William and Mary, Yale,
Princeton. King's or Columbia, the
University of Pennsylvania, Brown,
Dartmouth and tjueen's or ltutgers.
The church element entered largely in
to them all. A wonderful fact was
the establishment of Harvard when
the wolf was still at the doors. The
founders of those colonial colloge 9
were animated with the desire to pro
vide learned ministers, learned laymen,
and to educate the Indians, and with a
love of higher education for its own
sake. The methods attending their
establishment were typified in the
budding of Harvard, the patrons of
which were not the wealthy few, but
the mass of the poor. Gifts of money
and of utensils even to a silver beer-
D>wl and a jug tip pis 1 with silver—
were contributed; and to these were
added offerings of the peck <>f corn an
nually, of meat and ewe lambs, and of
everything that could Is- turned into
money. Thus the colonial colleges
grew up "out of the sacrificial generos
ity of the heart of the per.pie."
The colonial college, the lecturer
continued, was a religious and educa
tional garrison, founded ..n English
nudes and governed bv right rules
Punch and "flip" were forbidden, and
any student out after p. m. was "ad
judged guilty of whatsoever disorder
might occur in the town that night." j
At Harvard Mr-. Foster was made :
stocking-mender at a salary of A'l2.
Students were allowed a pound of
meat and a pint of beer at dinner, and
a half-pint of beer at night. F<>r 1
supper they could choose letween a
half-pint of milk and a biscuit. They
were given clean table-cloths twice a I
week, and finally could indulge in the
luxury of plates. Pudding was a deli
cacy three times a week.
Until 1731 corporal punishment was
inflicted at Harvard. The president
of tutors could administer public
whipping in the hall, and overseers
were called in on special occasions to
witness the proceedings. This form of
punishment degenerated into ear-liox
ing in 1754, and then to a tariff of col
lege sins, when profane swearing was
valued at 2s. '*!.; sending for liquor,
Gd., and fetching the same. Is. fkl.
The marking system was introduced
in 1761.
The studies were largely in divinity,
theology and the languages. I.atin
was the speech of the recitation-roorn
and the language of scholars. "Proba
bly," saiil Prof. Tyler, "not a college
president of to-day would have been
capable of presiding at a college com
mencement of colonial days."
The results of these educational un
dertakings. said the lecturer in conclu
sion, were a class of superior men,
whose influence was wholesome and
conservative, and which especially was
an education for political independence.
Cornwallis said that the early estab
lishment of Harvard college hastened
American independence half a century,
and Pitt gave testimony to "the solidi
ty of reason, the force of argument
am! the wisdom" displayed by AmerL
can statesmen at the time, who were
graduates of American colonial col.
leges.
Italy and China divide three-fourths
of the silk production of the world*
India and Japan divide one-seventh,
Spain, Persia and the Levant have the
rest.
"TIIK MAGDALENA."
A UomUrfnl Formallon Nature In
Ww .tletleo
A New Mexico correspondent writes:
Di<l you over hear of tho "Sphynx" of
i tho Hiorras, "Tho Magdalena." Ahnut
flvo in ilea In-low here ono of the range;
separates itself from the chain, and
stands out boldly anil alone, rising from
tho valley abruptly and grandly. On
ono side, formed partly by the shape
of tho rocky ledge and partly by lich
ens and shrubs, is the most remarkable
profile of a woman's head and bust
that I over saw. Gigantic in size, per
fect in outline, wonderful in expres
sion, is "Tho Magdalena," tho eye, tho
brow, oven tho eylashes, not a feature
is lacking, oven to the arrangement of
the hair and the turn of tho neck, as
with head slightly inclined she gazes
down into tho lovely valley below.
Think of the ages that have passed
and tho even-hanging panorama of
human events gazed upon by this won
derful face. Tho remarkable band of
adventurers under Cortez passed in re
view before her, followed in turn by
the Jesuit priests, who took up the un
finished work of tiieir predecessors and
carried it to a conclusion by establish
ing their mission through all this
broad frontiers. Next came the valor
ous band of American troops who
made their way on foot fr-mi the Mis
souri riner across mountain range and
plain until they knocked at the gates
of the Montezuma*. Then comes tho
equally valiant prospector, who in
spite of Apaches, in spite of all tho
necessaries even, of life, which ho has
had to leave behind him, with a pick
in one hand and a Winchester rifle in
tho other, searches for tho hidden
wealth of the country; as a result come
railroads, towns, schools, churches and
a hast of people, who finally complete
the task begun centuries ago, and the
wilderness blossoms with all that
makes life worth living. All these
events has the "Magdalena" seen, and
still looks down calmly and serene,
waiting f--r the future. This is a
wonderful country, the air is mild and
balmy, like your best April weather
the sky is blue overhead, and the grass
under f-wit golden, sprinkled here and
there with rlumps of the evergreen
Spanish dagger, with its long, straight
blades and sharp points, which the
lmrscs won't touch with their feet if
they can help it, as fhey know bv ex
perience how keenly they penetrate.
The Solitude is grand, but oppressive,
and the valleys almo-t level, miles in
breadth, but hemmed in by mountain
peaks on every hand of enormous size
and hight. If it were not for the
treacherous Apaches it would be a
paradise <-n earth.
Scrcnaib-rs Sold
Up Second avenue the other night
five voting men softly entered a yard,
arranged themselves in a semi-circle
on the gr.L--. and suddenly began to
sing, w hile a guitar and a banjo added
their sugary not<* to the genera)
sweetness. As the song was finished a
saah went up and a masculine voice
called out:
".splendid! beautiful! Gentlemen,
please repeat!"
The hand on the grass was only too
happy to accommodate, and "Only a
Pansy I!!----in" went floating again on
'kc night breeze.
"Kntrancing! entrancing!" exclaim
ed the voice at the window. "Gentle
men. I don't want to put you to
trouble, but if y-ui would only sing
that over once more!"
The song dragged a little this time,
and the alto voice seemed to have
swallowed a troehe down the wrong
pije, but it ended at last, and the old
man called out:
' That's what I call singing, that is!,
Gentlemen. I'm no hog, but If 1 could
prevail upon you to render that de
lightful poem once more, it would IK- a
kindness I never could forget'"
There was a great deal of grow ling
in undertones, hut the leader gave the
key, and for the fourth time the neigh- j
borhood was'filled with dreadfully
faded pansy blossoms. When the last
note died away the old man clapped
his hands and exclaimed:
"better and better! You have my
heartfelt thanks. The old woman Is
deaf, my darter is in Pontine, and thr
hired gal quit yesterday, or I'd have
them all stick their heads out to thank
you in person! Good night, gentlemen
—good night, and if you see fit to comr
to-morrow evening I'll have the old
woman sot up with a bed quilt wrapped
around her."— Free f'rc*.
• A r*e for nodes.
"I suppose you have heard of our
dudes. Miss Oarwa?" observed a New
York swell to a Jacksonville girl.
"Oh, yes," she answered, "they arc
becoming very popular In Florida. We
use them for alligator bait."— Brooklyn
Eagle.
LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
i* or the Complexion.
Whatever the internal application of
hot water may effect, girls desirous of
having a good complexion would do
well to apply it to their faces. They
should either dip their faces into a
basin of very hot water or apply the
water with a sponge. At first they
are like lobsters, hut in a few moments
this is replaced by the tints of peaches
and lilies.— London Time at.
Itii ii ii I itk to Ilnttona.
The fashionable people are running
to buttons. A New York correspond
ent describes a dress finished for a
Fifth avenue lady which carries 1800
buttons, and required the constant
labor of a seamstress for ten days to
sew them on. On each sleeve there
arc 100 buttons, on the body, basque
and collar 350, and on the skirt 1350.
Those on tho skirt are arranged In
triangles, squares, crosses, stars and
other curious shapes on a foundation
of black satin. The dress lias a satiny
appearance, and Is very weighty—so
much so that it will require a lady of
considerable strength to wear it.
IVerldlnif Present*.
A young married couple went into
raptures over a couple of superb cake
baskets, one the gift of the bride
groom's father and the other the gift
of the bride's aunt. They finally con
cluded it would be safe to keep only
one of such superb articles In the
house, and accordingly they took the
other to a dealer in duplicate wedding
gifts. Imagine their consternation
when he told them it was plated ware
and worth almut #l.'J5. They keep it
to i-ut tacks in, but are awfully
anxious to sesi how the other one
wears. The worst of it i-. fhey don't
know which is tin- aunt's basket.
A rmtU llrntlxt'a C ard.
A female cb-ntist in I'hilad-lphia,
being annoyed by having her sign
pulled clown, published a c ard, saying:
I'm no woman's rights agitator, but I
believe in the right of a woman to de
fend herself. lam the pioneer among
the female dentists, and the two-cent
creatures, in the guise of men, who
have crept into the profession, are
eating their hearts out with envy I
Iss aiisc I live in spite of them. They
ran feast in that way as l--ng as tlu-v
like, but if they don't leave my signs
alone I'll make them think they're
haunted. I'm on the lookout f--r them,
and when I catch one, there will be j
fun.
rnahlnn >nln.
All drc-v mantles are short.
< -tt- ?i fabric - will Is- much won.
lbs! in all shades will le much
worn.
>hoes to mat h dresses grow In
favor.
White ki are revives! for evening j
dress.
The simpler the hair-dressing the j
1-otter.
When false hair is worn it must not
1-e perceptible.
The ugly fashion of r-sl Mils ha*
not yet g--n- by.
Hangs and crimps are worn further
f roin the eyebrows.
Summer and washing silks will la
in high vogue this year.
I,art- and embroidery are equally
fashionable f--r trimming.
Gloves ami mitts contrast with, in
*tc ad of mat- lung costumes.
Facetted pearls are much used upon
upright collars of silk evening toilets, j
Heavy Spanish guipure in all the ;
new colors come a* trimmings for the :
ottoman silks.
Flounces and riblzons with ragged j
jagged edges called cock's-eonibs arc
coming in vogue.
New fancy grenadines are heavily
brocaded, and closely resemble brocaded
silks and satins.
Jersey basques will be much worn
with plaid skirts of wool, and wool
and silk mixtures.
Black silk stockings are more worn
at present than they have been for
thirty years or more.
In straw hats and bonnets the color
of crushed rasplcerry Is produced In
delicate shades closely resembling peri
winkle pink.
Bultun is the name of a new dark
red; pensee rogue an odd shade of
purple; and vert elalr is another
peculiar tint added to the long list of
greens.
The prettiest way of -using velvet
rihlton is to arrange loops of it that lap
in tho sha|>e of a pointed vest, and
edge the basque, neck and sleeves with
three rows of loops, or two rows of
loops with an end of notched velvet
ribbons.
Charming ball dresses for young
ladies are made of white India gauze
fi lmmod with embroidery on gold
cloth and- filigree of gold lace. There
arc- also dresse* of brilliant red Surah
with flounces of leather lace, with gold
meshes holding the design of leather
leaves anil flowers.
Their Feet Hashed Uj a King.
The Ilofburg, the chief palace of the
Austrian sovereigns, has been, says the
London Hlundurd, the scene of an cc
c lesiastic-al ceremony or act of devotion
which is a curious relic of inedbeval
customs. In accordance with a usage;
observed from time immemorial on
Maundy-Thursday the ceremony of
"Washing the Feet of the Poor" was
performed its usual by their majesties
at the imperial residence. In the
Middle Ages the; custom prevailed at
many other Catholic, courts, but in the
present day to find a parallel would be
impossible, except at the Vatican and
the palace of the king of Spain. The
proceedings opened at 9 o'clock, when
twelve old men, of whom the- oldest is
in his ninety-third year and the young
est eighty-seven, and twelve old women,
the oldest ninety-six, and the youngest
ninety, dressed, as usual, in the old
German costume, presented to them by
the emperor and empress, entered the
court chapel, in order to receive the
sacrament, and were then brought into
the hall of ceremonies at Hofhurg.
On each side of the hall was a table
with twelve covers, the one table for
| the old men and the other for the old
! women. They arc all citizens of
Vienna, and many among them show
ed by their behavior that they have
taken part in the ceremony more than
once. With the appearance of the
clergymen, at 11 a. m., the ceremony
began. The emperor, who wits follow
ed by all the arc hdukes In Vienna,
s' rved tin- < Jcl men, and the empress,
followed by all the archduchesses* and
court ladies, serve d the old women at
their respective tables. The corps
diplomatique was, as usual, in attend
ance-, but this year the British, French
and Turkish embassadors did not :i{>-
pc-ar. All the ministers were pre-ent,
as well as court dignatarics and privy
councillors, the chamberlains, the
grand masters ami the highest repre
sc-ntatives of the army. The table*
being re-moved, the c iiipe-ror and em
press knc-lt down in front c.f the old
people, took off a shoe and staking
from each, wa hod t fie f-t ith tow -Is
moistened fr-uu a golden i we r, held by
a chamberlain. After the feet ->f the
old people had 1-c-c n w ipesl, the an h-
Jukc-s and arc|.elu< he*-c* replace-d the
shoe and stoc king, and tlu-ir majesties
concluded the eerem--ny by hanging
round tin- nci k c.f each of the old r
p]e a purse with thirty silver florins.
The -Id folks were then sent home in
cabs, c.-uh with a well-filled l-- x of pro
visions and wine.
hillin? Tenderly.
S- ience is ab. Nt ' - take some <-f the
pain and te rr.-r of death away from
animals which it i* necessary for man
to slaughter. Mr. >t. Gc- Lane-
Fox. a w--ll known l'.nglish electrician
has devised an apparatus f r killing
animals which la absolutely palnlc m
Worn-out horse* which arc- to be do_
prive-d "f life under this pr--cc-s. have
the :r heads and feet wetted with salt
water; they are then b*l into a stall
and made to stand on an ir--n plate
connected with a negative p-do -J a
condenser of a capacity if almut 1c m ♦
microfarads. The animal's head is
then touched with the top of the pe-lc_
whereupon it fall* dead. There is no
pain, for there is no sensation, or pos
sibility of any. It requires nno-dflh of
a second after the infliction of the in
jury Is-fore pain can 1- felt; but in
this case the animal is killed in about
the thousandth part of a second. I'n*
fortunately, animals slaughtered for
food cannot Is- treated in this way, as
the flesh is uneatable. This new pro
cess, therefore, can only 1-e used for !
horses, dog*, and cats. not. intended for
food supply. It is well-known that an
imals killed hv lightning cannot be eaten ,
and must be burned or burled. Hut
he-re again science has taken a step '
forward. An F.nglish society for pro j
viding a sanitary and humane method
of killing animals for food have raises! !
a fund for erecting a model abattoir in !
London. Everything that skill and i
experience can suggest for minimizing
the pain of the infliction will Ice em- |
ployed. For sheep the arrangement
includes a stupefying chamlier.through (
which each aniinal will pass on its
way to the knife. The anesthetic j
used can l>e produced for a trifling
ccwit. The quality of the flesh is by no
means deteriorated by these humane
devices. In view of the revolting !
scones which take place at our public
executions, why should not ca{dtal
punishment lie inflicted by an dee-trie
machine, such as that used by Mr. St
George Lane-Fox for mak.ng away
with useless and disabled animals?—
Demorett.
L'RILbJtKN'N COLUMN.
The Fralhercd If or*.
An interc iting ri*lic in preserved In
H j.diuis <•;*• in the Etglish Coldil nam
guard* orderly room at Whitehall. II
ri.MMHtu of til*; tu-ad an'l m-ck of a
goose, around which in a golden collar
with the inscription, "Jacob 2d Bab
talion Coldstream Guards." Jieri'-atb
it arc the words, "fried on Duty."
In 1838 a rebellion broke out In
( irent Britain's Canadian possessiona,
and two battalion* of the guards were
sent thither to assist in quelling it the
battalion already mentioned being one
of them. lioth corps oecupied the
rdtadel of Quebec, and in their turn
supplied the guards which were
j ordered to be mounted in different
parts of the town and neighborhood.
Near one of these guards was a farm
yard which had suffered much from
! the ravages of foxes animals that
i were at that time a great jiest to ttie
colonists; and as the farm in question
hail been suspected of being the meet
ing place of the rebels, a chain of
I sentries was placed around It. One
day the s'-ntry, whose duty it was to
jw. it' ll tin- entrance to the farm, had
his attention attracted to an unusual
noise, and on looking toward the sjiot
whence it proewded he beheld a fine
goose (lci-ing toward him closely pur
sued by a fox. Ilis first impulse was
; to bave at siiot at the latter; but tills
would have alarmed the guard, and
brought condign punishment <.n him
self for giving a false alarm. lie was
compelled, therefore, to remain a silent
, spf tator to tiie scene,while every -tep
brought the reynard nearer to his prey.
In the liigiit of its despair the joof
bird rati its head and n k betwe-n the
legs of the soldier, in its frantic <n
leavor t" reach tin- refuge which the
sentry-box could afford, and at the
-arne moment the wily fox made a
b-sperate grab at the goose; hut t<>o
late, for ere he could get a feather
between his t'-cth, the ready bayonet
, 'jf tiie sentinel pa v sel through his
lidy. The jmor goose, byway of
•bow ing its gratitude to its preserver,
rublx-d its head against his legs, and
made other equally curious demonstra
'.ioris of jov; nor could it ever bo pre
vailed uj<on to quit the post, but
walked up and down day after day
with each successive sentry that was
placed there until tin* battalion left
'ana/la. when tiie g.K>se was lirought
iway with it as a regimental pet to
England.
| The most remarkable thing in con
ion with the story is that the goose in
urn actually saved its preserver's life.
; Whether the former knew that tho
| sentry was the same man or not must,
if course, forever remain a problem
mt it so happened that he was
•n that j articular post about
two months afterward, attended by tha
joose, when a desperate attempt was
nab to surprise and kill the unwary
wntinel. In these moments of darkness
sharp ot-erver might have noticed
I ihe shadow sof several men, who ua
bs< r\ 'si by the somew hat drowsy sen
inii, were endeavoring stealthily to
ippro.arii the jist where be stood.
I<er and closer they stole up toward
he post, the thick snow which lay on
,h" ground completely deadening the
uiuii'l of their footsteps. Hut just as
two of their number, one on each side
f the smtry-lKix, were preparing with
uplifted knives to spring upon the un
usporting man, the goose made a
grand effort, rose suddenly on it?
wings, and swept around the sentry
box with tremendous force, flapping its
wings right in the fares of the would*
Is- assassins. They were astounded,
and rushed blindly forward; but the
sentry, fully aroused to his danger,
bayoneted one and shot at the other as
he was running away. Meanwhile.the
other conspirators approached quickly
to the assistance of their colleagues;
but the bird repeated its tactics, and
enabled the sentry to keep them at bay
until tbe guard— whom the tiring of
his musket had alarmed—came upon
the scene and made then. ih fo#
their lives.
When this incident became known,
poor old Jacob was the hero of the
garrison, and the officers subscrilied
for and purchased the golden collar
which the bird afterward wore until
the day of its death. The feathered
hero w as well fed and cared for, and a
circular bath tilled with water was al
ways at his dispoaal. For many years
Jacob seemed to bear a charmed life;
but he was at length run over by a
van. Every effort which kindness and
skill could suggest was made to save
the extraordinary bird, but it was of
no avail, and he died like a true sol
dier, at the jxiot of duty, after a "sen
try go" of no Ires than twelve years.
The Minneapolis IVftua* says that
goats are the best land cleaners known.
It says that a herd of 1000 entirely
cleared 500 acres of brush land in
three year*. Not a vestige of under,
growth was left.