FEATIIERS IN COSTUME. Feathers of birds have always formed a part of decorative dress of savages, and of those people removed above savagery, but still of low civilization. The most showy, and perhaps the most tasteful, use of feathers was probably in those 'feather cloaks' of which we read as a gala dress of the natives of tropical and subtropical America at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Similar decorative sur faces have been produced by ninny peoples of low civilization, who can procure feathers of great brilliancy and variety of color. The feathers need little preparation, and the system of mount ing is the very simplest; what is wanted, then, is merely that power of arrangement of brilliant colors which is hardly ever lacking in peoples of low but established civilization. In another di rection one of the most tasteful uses of feathers is that of the Zulu warriors, the men of the great military kingdom or empire constituted by Chacka in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. These soldiers. highly organized in deed for native warfare, with weapons especially adapted to their purpose and an admirable sys tem of military command, but defenseless as com pared with Europeans armed with long-range rifles, attracted the attention of Europe by their magnificent resistance to the encroachments of the British. They wore no feathers no other brilliant decoration except in time of actual con flict, when each warrior's head was adorned with as many and as splendid ostrich-feathers as even South Africa could furnish him. Somewhat in like manner the red Indians of North America used the eagle feather, and the placing of these in one or another part of the headdress or at one or another angle showed the tribe to which the wearer belonged.
In Europe feathers have always been used for plumes in I he hats or helmets of men and in the headdresses of women, although directly com bined with the hair-dressing ( which see) or ar ranged in a hat or cap. In the sixteenth century the flap hats of men of position or of military rank were adorned with drooping plumes dyed of various colors, white being rather the excep tion, as is denoted by the famous white plume of Ilenry IV., which was white because that was the color of the House of Bourbon. The (Toe!i
from about IS:LO to 1850 was distinguished for the wearing of ostrich-plumes upon the bead in connection with the most elegant evening dress by the ladies of France and Great Britain. At the same time the chapeau-bras, worn sometimes by military officers and sometimes by civilian officers, was decorated with a large ostrich-feather. usually at the front of the Oat two-pointed hat and earried along what might be called its ridge, and secured to it at intervals to prevent its float ing off at one side. The famous ehapeau of Murat, Napoleon's marshal and most famous of cavalry leaders, was adorned with a standing egret (aigrette), on each side of which were drooping ostrich-feathers. The curious and not graceful feather-like plume of certain military hats in the service of Great Britain seem to be composed of feathers much smaller and less showy than ostrich-plumes, and the effect aimed at is a smooth, nearly conical mass. Cock-feath ers are used for the hats of the Italian Bersa glieri; the very dark-colored feathers with a curious metallic iridescence being the ones chosen. The egret is, however, more commonly worn by women, and is often set in the most elabo rate and costly fashion in gold with precious stones. It is at certain epochs of fashion a headdress of special dignity. It appears that other feathers than the actual tuft cif the egret heron are often used. Marabouts are used to adorn the edges of fans, their floating delicacy seeming to add to the lightness of the pretty implement itself. Swans' down, when used to trim gowns and children's dresses, may be con sidered a humble imitation of the marabout.
The interest in ornithology inspired originally by the work of Audubon has led to the formation of many societies with members pledged to wage a crusade against the killing of birds for the purposes of mere adornment. In some instances the destruction has proved so wanton that the extinction of certain feathered tribes has either followed or been narrowly averted. In the i'nited States a league has been formed looking toward the protection by national legislation of such birds as are likely to become the prey of mil liners' agents.