HAIR MANUFACTURES. Hair enters into the manufacture of many civilized con veniences. It is the most useful material for brushes, and the stiff bristles of the pig go into tooth-brushes, clothes-brushes, etc., while softer brushes, as for hats, painting in oils, etc., often call for softer hair. For special purposes the artist uses brushes of skunk's hair, camel's hair and sable. The once famous camel's-hair shawls are now seldom seen, and the haircloth shirts of the monks and the still more ancient sackcloth of biblical times remain only in a historical sense. But the public does wear a great deal of hair worked into felt goods, es pecially hats, cheap overcoats, blankets and the like. The hair of rabbits, dogs, goats and woodchucks is valued for such purposes, but the cow and steer yield the most. Cowhair and waste hair of any kind are also freely used in certain roofing materials, and as a binding material for the plasterer. The tail hair of cattle often does duty for the more valuable horsehair which may be woven into such beautiful and durable cloth, once popular as a furniture covering, but now reserved for more utilitarian purposes. The stiffening of gar ments is frequently of horsehair cloth which is called haircloth, though it has a cotton warp; also the 'screening cloths used in expressing various oils, and for retaining the solid matter of the cider press. Excellent fishing lines are made of braided horsehair. Power looms are made on purpose for weaving the horsehair. Camel's hair is also woven on the loom, and the long silky hair of the yak, the wild ox of Tibet, makes a beautiful fabric and also a coarse lace. Goat hair, pig hair, barbers' sweepings, and any convenient waste hair is utilized for stuffing cushions in upholstery. Many mattresses are supposed to be made of horsehair, but this is so valuable that other hair Is introduced, and also various imitations that should he called fibres. (For•the uses of wool, which is really the most common hair; see Woot.). The handling and making over of human hair is a considerable industry, most of it being for false hair of one sort or. another.
For many years the peasant girls of southern France, and also of Belgium and Switzerland, gave up many of their locks and tresses for making switches and curls for their less favored sisters in other lands. The greater the length and the more golden the color the better the price obtained for them. Beautiful hair more than five feet in length has found its way into the beauty parlors of the great cities of the Western world. The shorter hair offered for •sale is more commonly picked out from women's combings that have been saved and combed out. These are valued for curls, frizzes, false fronts, puffs, wigs, etc. They require to be carefully selected, shaped and dyed. (See HAIR DvE). The toupee, favored by many eibald-heads, ° is usually made up from the best of the long stock recovered by the barber, which is purchased, woven into shape and dyad to order.
The United States census classifies as hair work all factories that clean, bleach, curl and dye human hair, also that of the horse, came!, yak and Angora goat, the latter being termed mohair. The hair of the yak and goat works up well in theatrical wigs, false beards, etc. This portion of the hair industry of the United States (1914 census) occupies 205 factories with a total capital of $2,543,000, -and 1,19 wage earners, utilizing materials of thevalue $1,529,000, and producing $3,335,000 value an nually. Sixty per cent of this industry, is in New York State, and 59 per cent in New York city. The hair cloth branch of the industry in cludes only 19 establishments and 595 em ployees, yet its gross product is two-thirds as large and its capitalization larger than the hair work branch. With materials valued at $1, 635,000, the gross product is $2,395,000, on a capital of $2,945,000. Fifteen of the 19 fac tories are located in Pennsylvania.
flAIR PENCIL, in painting, a -fine brush made of the hairs of the camel, sable, badger, squirrel, marten, raccoon, goat, etc. The various sizes require the quills of the crow, pigeon, goose, turkey or swan. Hair pencils are used by artists in water colors, and in other very fine work.