FEATHERS.

459

the miner’s operations, and put him at fault, to discover where the vein of ore or bed ofpoal has been thrown by the convulsions of nature. Many examples of faults are exhib-ited under Pitcoal.

FEATHERS (Plumes, Fr.; Federn, Germ.) constitute the subject of the manufactureof the Plumassier, a name given by the French (and also the English ) to the artisan whoPrepares the feathers of certain birds forornaments to the toilet of ladies and fur militarymen , and to him also who combines the feathers in various forms. We shall content our-relves with describing the method of preparing ostrich feathers, as most others are pre-Pared in the same way.

Several qualities are distinguished in the feathers of the ostrich; those of the male, inParticular, are whiter and more beautiful. Those upon the back and above the wingsare preferred; next, those of the wings, and lastly, of the tail. The down is merely thefathers of the other parts of the body, which vary in length from 4 to 14 inches. Thiso°Wn is black in the males, and gray in the females. The finest white feathers of thee ®ale have always their ends a little grayish, which lessens their lustre, and lowers theirP r ice. These feathers are imported from Algiers, Tunis, Alexandria, Madagascar , ande oegal; this being the order of their value.

i he scouring process is thus performed:—4 ounces of white soap, cut small, are dis-t°lved in 4 pounds of water, moderately hot, in a large basin ; and the solution is madento a lather by beating with rods. Two bundles of the feathers, tied with packthread,j'f Ihen introduced, and are rubbed well with the hands for five or six minutes. Afterl s soaping they are washed in clear water, as hot as the hand can bear.

The whitening or bleaching is performed by three successive operations.

. They are immersed in hot water mixed with Spanish white, and well agitated in it;j[ r which they are Washed in three waters in succession.jij~‘ The feathers are azured in cold water containing a little indigo tied up in a fine cloth.

e J’ should be passed quickly through this bath,th " The >’ are sulphured in the same way as straw hats are (See Sulphuring) ; they areen dried by han ging upon cords, when they must be well shaken from time to time to

Th** 16 bbres ‘

p.. “e ribs are scraped with a bit of glass cut circularly, in order to render them veryf 0r ant - By drawing the edge of a blunt knife over the filaments they assume the curlyop ? so much admired. The hairs of a dingy color are dyed black. For 20 pounds* 'Mhers, a strong decoction is made of 25 pounds of logwood in a proper quantity ofl hro» r " • After boiling it for 6 hours, the wood is taken out, 3 pounds of copperas arefr.,

r _ After boiling

w h in; and, after continuing the ebullition for 15 or 20 minutes, the copper is taken

*hont ' 6 ** re ‘ f eat hers are then immersed by handfuls, thoroughly soaked, and worked

ley ’ ant * Rft io for two or three days. They are next cleansed in a very weak alkalinebe ’ r anc * shaped three several times. When they feel very soft to the touch, they musta bea ' n c °hl water, and afterwards dried. White feathers are very difficult to dyetnor() UUral hlack. The acetate of iron is said to answer belter than the sulphate, as a

of ((, dying other colors, the feathers should be previously well bleached by the action

: ath„ sua , an d the dew ; the end of the tube being cut sharp like a toothpick, and theith / S bein § planted singly in the grass. After fifteen days’ exposure, they are cleared

fei

with

soap

j} 0 j”“i' as above described.

or pink, is given with safflower and lemon juice.CriL m1, b y a boiling hot bath of Brazil wood, after aluming

-J'nson.

The above deep red feathers are passed through a bath of cudbear.

SluT * Monsieur. The deep red is passed through an alkaline bath.

Felio ever y shade, are dyed with the indigo vat.

OtherV' afler alurn ' n ffi with a bath of turmeric or weld.

F eat h tlnts ma f he obtained by a mixture of the above dyes.

'v°m en have some more useful employments than the decoration of the heads ofCa n r C|)o n( sobbers . In one case, they supply us with a soft elastic down on which we®th ers * e 0ur wearied frames, and enjoy sweet slumbers. Such are called bed feathers... Goose f ei ?P lo y ec l for writing, and these are called quills.

b’ n S bird V s ar . e most esteemed for beds, and they are best when plucked from theaarv est. 2,,' vhlc h is done thrice a year, in spring, midsummer, and the beginning of' Var nuh. yi qualities sought for in bed feathers, are softness, elasticity, lightness, anda,v ay the loo 11Clr on 'l r Preparation when cleanly gathered is a slight beating to clearwt, a st °ve s l matter > hut for this purpose they must be first well dried either by the sun[|te du s t afterward' 0 " W * 1 *' bmo water * s a had thing, as they never can be freed from

hegree*'aR S |h^ tbe e ider duck, anas mollissima, called eider down, possess in a supe-tla never shnni.i^" 0 . ft ua hties °T goose down. It is used only as a covering to beds,e slept upon, as it thereby loses its elasticity.