MIXERS HEATHERS
Their Trade Is One That Takes
Many Years to Master
SORTING OUT THE GRADES
Tho Work of the Blowor a Machine
That Is at Once Both Simple and
Wonderful The Combinations the
Expert Must Know How to Mix
Feather mixing is one of the hardest
trades to learn but when mastered Is
also one of the best paying methods of
earning a living The worker who in
tends to make this trade his life work
must start when he is young for It
takes on an average thirteen years for
a man to work up from pillow filler to
feather mixer
Feathers that have been plucked
from hens ducks turkeys and geese
are the only kinds of feathers that are
used says the Chicago Tribune One
kind of feathers at a time is placed In
the drum to be beaten and to be ster
ilized by hot air process The drum
Is a large machine not unlike the wash
ing machines used In laundries In
the center of each machine is an axle
with eight beaters attached The beat
ers make over 200 revolutions a min
ute beating the dust out of the feath
ers and cleaning them thoroughly A
thin screen on the front and back of
the machine lets the dust out
This part of the feather work Is the
most unhealthy for the windows In
the drum room are not allowed to be
opened and the dust that comes from
the feathers is inhaled by the worker
Many of the drum men contract con
sumption in a year or more doing this
work and are compelled to give up
and seek other employment The work
is not so unhealthy as it was in for
mer years for the men now are allow
ed to leave the room while the ma
chine is in operation
After the feathers have been beaten
and sterilized In the drum they are
placed in the blowing machine to be
sorted and to be deodorized by the
cold blast As in the drum the kinds
of feathers are put in the blowor sep
arately The blower is the most sim
ple and yet the most wonderful ma
chine that is used in the feather busi
ness The machine is built with a
large funnel shaped mouth on top and
always is placed at one end of a large
room
The feathers are placed in the fun
nel through which they fall down into
the center of the machine The cold
air blowing from the fan deodorizes
them and they leave the machine in
a steady stream Hying all over the
room The worker finds himself in
what looks like a miniature storm for
the feathers fly around as high as the
ceiling An onlooker well might won
der where the sorting comes in of the
maze of feathers
It is here that the wonderful part of
the machine lies for the air pressure
is so arranged that the heaviest feath
ers which are also the cheapest will
fall precisely in a bin about five feet
away from the blower The next
heaviest will fall in a bin fifteen feet
away from the machine and the rest
of the seven different grades of feath
ers will fall accurately in bins that
have been provided for them The
down which is the most expensive
flies around In the air the longest but
when It comes down it falls into a bin
that is placed over seventy five feet
away from the blower Thus the sev
en different grades of feathers have
been sorted each kind In a bin and
without having been touched since
leaving the blower
The drum and blower man after put
ting in five years at this kind of work
and also learning the different grades
of feathers takes another step upward
in tho business and becomes an as
sistant to the mixer His work con
sists of weighing feathers and learning
the different combinations that are
used in stuffing pillows In a few
years he probably will know how to
mix some of the combinations but usu
ally it takes five years of experience
before an assistant can become a
mixer
The combination used In the cheap
est pillows is hen and turkey feathers
Duck and turkey combination is used
in a little belter grade of pillows and
the best combination of all is duck and
goose feathers The most expensive
filling is made of downy feathers from
geese These combinations have dif
ferent prices and the mixer must know
these prices and when he can experi
ment with the various kinds of feath
ers to try to get a cheaper combina
tion that will last as long as the dearer
kind
Animal Suicides
One of the most frequent causes of
loss of animals in a circus menagerie
is suicide of which there are numerous
well authenticated cases In speaking
of this characteristic a trainer who has
been constantly associated with wild
beasts for more than forty years says
The instinct for self destruction is
common among all kinds of animals
and the causes are in many instances
the same as usually impel a man or
woman to take his or her life Proba
bly the most pronounced of these
causes are loneliness homesickness
loss of companions or progeny and ill
health There are animals that period
ically have a return of the suicidal
mania and that can be saved from self
destruction only by the most intelligent
and careful treatment As a rule how
ever when the animal has made up Its
mind so to speak to commit suicide
nothing can prevent it and the keeper
not only for reasons of humanity but
also because an animal in that condi
tion is extremely dangerous often is
compelled to end its sufferings by has
tening its death Spare Moments
Sheridans Double Marriage
It was in 1857 that the Gretna Green
marriages were made illegal A glance
at Its registers may yet Inspire the
novelist of the future One entry will
be sure to puzzle Twice within a few
days occurs the record of the marriage
of Itichard Brinsley Sheridan to Miss
Grant There was only one R B S
only one bride for the same gentleman
The double entries are not the result of
any blunder on the part of the Rev
Mr Vulcan The parties were really
twice married at Gretna Green Arriv
ing on a Sunday they were duly wed
ded and sped away to Edinburgh
There however Sheridan chanced to
glance at a newspaper in which ap
peared the lucubrations of a lawyer
In these plainly stated was the fact
that no contract executed on a Sunday
Is binding Clearly then their wed-
ding was not legal Back to Gretna
Green they scurried to be remarried
on a week day and leave the dual i
of
ord to perplex later generations
sympathetic searchers of the records
St James Gazette
The Buzzard In Flight
There can be no doubt that the buz
zard is the living aeroplane in perfec
tion It cannot sail against the wind
except as other birds do by sheer pow
er of moving wings but it can sail at
amazing speed before the wind at
right angles to the wind and can sail
within a few points of the wind
When there Is no wind its flight is
clumsy not much of an improvement
on the flying of a hen Authors are
wont to describe the buzzard as sail
ing In the sky on days when the
earth perspires beneath a sultry still
atmosphere But it will also be re
membered that these authors invari
ably describe tho blizzard as being
a speck in the brassy heavens As a
matter of fact that is just the point
of tho buzzards aerial knowledge
WlAn there is no breeze close to the
eari t it is always to he observed roost
ing in a tree or flying laboriously into
the zenith until it finds an upper cur
rent where it can navigate without la
bor New York Times
Bones and Their Places
It was a colloquy at a north side
butchers shop Oh said the little
woman thats an awful big bone in
that small steak I dont like to have
to pay for ail bone
Yesm said the butcher politely
but with a touch of irony In his an
swer that do seem to be a good deal
of bone but the animals whats com- I
in to this market now seems to have j I
more or less bone in em And really j I 1
as animals is built now I dont see how
they can get along without bones
That may all be true said the lit
tle woman and there was a wicked
twinkle in her eye but this morning I
found a good sized bone in the sau
sage and I leave it to you honest now
dont you think that is going a little too
far
And the butcher could not say a
word in reply Indianapolis News
Incidental Music
One afternoon a couple from an ad
joining town presented themselves to a
Boston divine and asked to be mar
ried just as he was about to enter the
pulpit to conduct an afternoon service
The minister replied that he regretted
that he could not at that moment com
ply with their wish but that immedi
ately upon the conclusion of the serv
ice he would take pleasure in perform
ing the ceremony The lovers after
demurring seated themselves in the
rear of the church When the minister
had finished the service he made the
following announcement The parties
Saying well causes a laugh Doing
tvell causes silence French Proverb
CELEBMTEO CRANKS
Genius That Was Linked With the
Manners of a Bear
A DINNER WITH DEAN SWIFT
The Way the Whimsical Misanthrope
Treated His Publisher Carlyle and
Tennyson as Growlers Stories of
Handel and Von Bulow
Carlyle in addition to his other trou
bles was a great sufferer from dyspep
sia He was therefore anything but
sympathetic In Intercourse with his
friends anything but fair In his esti
mates of other writers
Though Carlyle personally liked Ten
nyson he spoke with impatience of his
cobbling his odes dismissed Jane
Austens novels as dishwashings
Hallain the historian as dry as dust
and Goldsmith as an Irish black
guard Even the writers of editorials
in the press were scored by the
ble sage of Chelsea What are these
j fellows doing he asked They only
serve to cancel one another
A characteristic Incident Illustrates
Carlyles disposition to inflict pain even
on a friend An artist who frequented
the house of Carlyle painted t p cture
of him in his dressing gown vjlcing a
pipe by the fireside and Mr- arlyle
in an armchair sitting opposite him
The portrait was hung at one of the
Royal academys exhibitions and
though not a striking work of art was
purchased by Lord Ashburton Car
lyles friend for 500
The delighted artist hurried off to
the Carlyles expecting congratulations
on the sale and some manifestation of
pleasure on their part at having such
a value placed on a picture of them
selves and their domestic interior lie
delivered his glad tidings but the
only response he got from Carlyle was
Well mon 500 was just 195 too
much
Browning one day left a copy of his
new poems at uariyies nouse in
speaking of this action to Tennyson
the next day Carlyle broke out with a
savage snarl
What did that fellow mean by leav
ing that cart load of stones at my
door
Tennysou himself though not nearly
so grouchy as the Chelsea sage was
yet considerably of a growler on occa
sion Especially did this tendency on
his part become manifest when he sus
disposition on any side to
who are to be joined in matrimony wns rnTifinprf to his bed
immediately after the singing of hymn
415 Mistaken Souls That Dream of
Heaven Exchange
Big Jumps by Rabbits
now fast do hares and rabbits run
Perhaps you have wondered while out
gunning and watched the elusive ani
mals speeding away According to J
G Miliais the length of a hares stride
is about four feet while that of a rab
bit is about two feet Under j detained until near dinner
pected a
lionize him
It is related that at a dinner in Lon
don to Avhich he had gone much
against his will at the solicitation of
a relative the poet laureate soon dis
covered that the company were expect
ing some pearl of thought from him
He glowered at the gathering in such
a way as visibly to disconcert some of
them Then as if purposely to utter
the most unpoetical remark he could
devise with a grim smile he turned to
his hostess all the guests in absolute
silence waiting the slightest word of
genius and growled out
Madam I like my mutton cut in
chunks in chunks madam in chunks
Perhaps the greatest grouch of lit
erature was Dean Swift that whimsi
cal misanthrope who evinced a morbid
delight in humiliating his social infe
riors because he himself when young
had been outrageously affronted by his
superiors
Swift had acted as private secretary
to Sir William Temple Once when
will present themselves at tne cuaucei t the kinff william III visit-
ed him and Swift officiated as his
majestys guide through the gardens
of Moor Park The king taught the
secretary how to cut asparagus in the
Dutch way and Swift had also the
felicity of seeing him eat the vegetable
Years afterward when Swift was
dean of St Patricks cathedral in Dub
lin his publisher Faulkner called at
the deanery on business connected
with some proof sheets naving been
time he
tions of fear the hare is said to leap -was pressed by the dean to dine with
ten to twelve feet some authorities him Asparagus was one of the veg
claiming that it can jump ditches ten
to twenty five feet in width A hare
can jump upward perpendicularly five
feet Rabbits can make leaps of six or
seven feet horizontally but cannot
jump higher than three feet When
compelled to do so it is said rabbits
can swim as well as dogs Philadel
phia North American
A Bright Bird
The cuckoo is as likely to steal its
nest as to make it but this fact does
not take from the point of the follow
ing pun quoted from Short Stories
A young Englishman being asked at
dinner whether he would have some
birds nest pudding said turning to
his hostess Ah yes Birds nest him asked some one
ding and what kind of a bird may
have made it
Oh it was the cook who made it
was her prompt reply
Not Always
Remember my boy said Uncle
James as he gave Bobby a coin that
if you take care of the pennies the
shillings will take care of themselves
Bobby looked a trifle dubious
I do take care of the pennies he
replied but as soon as they get to be
shillings pa takes care of em Lon
don Tit Bits
Tonsorial Artistry
Customer facetiously Do you sup
pose you can cut my hair without mak
ing me look like an idiot Barber d
fidently It will be a pretty difficult
thing to do but I will try LIppincotts
Magazine
etables and the guest asked for a
second helping
Sir snapped Swift pointing to
Faulkners plate first finish what you
have upon your plate
What sir Eat the stalks asked
the astonished publisher
Aye sir Eat the stalks or youll
have no more King William always
ate his stalks added the dean in his
most imperious manner
Whereupon the meek Faulkner yield
ing to the deans will ate the stalks
most submissively
Shortly after tho deans death Faulk
ner was relating the incident as an il
lustration of Swifts insoleace
And you were silly enough to obey
Yes replied Faulkner and let me
add sir that if you had dined with
Dean Swift you would have eaten
your stalks too
John Hunter the famous English sur
geon was a man of great eccentricity
and of most bearish manners His
wife a witty and beautiful woman
was the friend of many distinguished
persons of the time the eighteenth cen
turyher intimate friend being Mme
dArblay The two were the moving
spirits of a sprightly salon But Hun
ter whose mind was set on science to
the exclusion of all else gave scant ap
proval to his wifes pursuits
On returning home late one evening
he unexpectedly found his drawing
room filled with musical professors
connoisseurs and others whom Mrs
Hunter had assembled Hunter was
greatly irritated by the presence of
these guests Walking straight into
the center of the room he addressed
the astonished company in this strain
I knew nothing of the purpose to
hold such a kick up I should have
been informed of it beforehand but as
I am now returned home to study I
hope the present company will at once
retire
Which the present company at once
proceeded to do
Handel the musician possessed a
great natural wit which was frequent
ly spiced by his rather caustic refer
ences to the merits of his fellow musi
cians
When The Messiah was being per
formed in Dublin Dubourg led the
band and one evening had a finale to
make ad libitum Following the fash
ion the violinist took his cadenza
through various keys and continued
the Improvisation until the uneasy
Handel began to wonder when he
would really come to the shake that
was to terminate the part and bring In
the other Instruments Eventually
I bourg finished the cadenza with a
grand flourish whereupon Handel to
the great distress of the leader put his
hands to his mouth and shouted across
the hall
Velcome home velcome home Mr
Dubourg
On one occasion a perturbed singer
had some warm words with Handel
who had been making some sarcastic
references to his ability and wound up
by threatening to jump on the harpsi
chord that Handel played
Let me know when you vill do dat
retorted Handel und I vill advertise
it for I am sure more peoples vill come
to see you jump than to hear you
sing
It has been said that the frankness
of another noted musician Hans von
Bulow almost equaled that of Handel
Bulow was accustomed at one time
to meet a large class twice a year in
Germany at which many members
were listeners while those who wished
to play might send in their names to
him Sometimes Bulow chose those
whom he preferred and sent out for
them while the rest waited In terror
for their turn to come This nervous
ness of anticipation was not without
cause
An awkward English girl one day
went to the piano and frightened al
most out of her wits managed to play
her selection after a fashion
Acli roared Bulow You blay the
easy passages with a difligulty dot is
simply
Once in playing at a concert Bulow
stopped abruptly and ordered the ush
ers to turn the piano around nis rea
son was asked whereupon lie replied
that a woman in the audience annoyed
him unspeakably by fanning herself
out of time
As far as the audience was concerned
Bulow always made a point of doing
exactly as he pleased On one occa
sion the orchestra he was conducting
had just given a very long Brahms
symphony quite beyond the compre
hension of any but the musicians
among the listeners When the audi
ence failed to irive Bulow the aDnlause
he expected he turned upon them furi
ously
What You do not like It I vill
teach you to like It and he had the
entire composition played through
again from beginning to end Brahinn
was always applauded after that If
only In self defense
But when a Lelpslc audience Insisted
on recalling Bulow despite his repeat
ed refusals to play again he came for
ward and said If you do not stop this
applause I vill play all Bachs forty
eight preludes and fugues from begin
ning to end Edwin Tarrisso in St
Louis Republic
Embarrassing
A famous scientist whose early
home had been in a country district
had long promised to visit the scenes
of his boyhood and deliver a lecture
in aid of the funds of one of the In
stitutions of the place At last he
fulfilled his promise and the lecture
was given When at the close of his
lecture he was conversing with some
of the principal promoters of the af
fair they warmly congratulated him on
the facility with which he mnde rath
er technical matter interesting and
clear to his uncultured audience
Oh said he by way of explana
tion I Invariably fix my attention
upon the member of my audience who
strikes me as having the least intel
ligent face and I continue to explain
any subject upon which I touch until
I see by that persons expression that
he understands it
Almost directly afterward the lead
ing public official of the little town
came into the room and made his way
to where the scientist was standing
Sir lie exclaimed you cannot pos
sibly believe how much real pleasure
you have given nie tonight It seemed
to me all the time as if your eye was
never away from me that you spoke
to me alone and that your whole wish
was to make me understand every
Avord you said Chicago Journal
Dixie
The original music which is most
characteristically American is that of
the colored brother This is mostly
melody and ragtime Some of the lead
ing songs are The Suwanee Itiver
Old Kentucky Home Dixie Old
Black Joe and others It is told that
Christine Nilson has said that when
she found an American audience heavy
on her hands she knew well that she
could bring them out of the dumps by
rendering The Suwanee Itiver For
expression of the quick and alert
American spirit nothing can be com
pared with the quick and ragtime ac
tion of Dixie and wherever in the
presence of an American audience the
band strikes up the tune whether it be
in Boston New Orleans or Chicago the
hall resounds at once with responsive
applause Dixie is really our most
popular national tune and comes near
er interpreting American spirit in peace
and in war than any other Then too
if ia rMiaiiialJv jtntl ivljnUv imnripon
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