The processes of the industry fascinating. Briefly, they re something like this." Human hair is bought in Shanghai, which is a Groat hair centre, by foreign and Chinese manufacturers of hair-nets in the north. Or it may be bought in Honan, from whence a stiffer kind of hair comes at about 30 per cent. cheaper than Shanghai hair. This hair is not, as is commonly Supposed, the long braids cut off heads which are bowing more and more frequently under the barber's yoke, but combings which local Chinese hair dealers buy and The combings are sent to manufacturers, of which there ai about ten large concerns in North, China and a few locally. The! chemical processes of bleaching and) dyeing are then carefully—gono. Uhrough to produce a hygienic pro-duet, The next step is distribution of the dyed lengths of hair to. persons, acting as middle-men te Shantung, who in turn dispense the silky strands to dozens of village girls and women for the knitting. A fow coppers a day suffice these vile lage workers who weave inside their humble dwellings and keep the mak. ing of hair-nets a home industry. Buch person-can make from a dozen to a dozen and 9 half hai nets a day, provided she is proficient and) not apprentice, For a gross of two and one half Chinese fare required if the hair is Long lengths} mixed lengths, ounces are required. The workers are given sizes and information by tke so-called manufacturers, who, it must be Pointed out, supervise the industry tha participate actually the Their work Of supervision comes at a later time, nets have been cole by the middle-man from the villages and returned to the fact ies "where they are inspected, Guarantee tickets are put on and the ross shipped York, which is the largest distributing centre, of to exporters in other parts of China Who ship to America and Europe. ines in Demand quantity of hair-nets have been manufactured in what is known as "cobbed hair" sizes. Tu 1925 and!
1926. the demand for bobbed sizes mounted. to approximately 80 per cent. with only 20 per cent. for the large sizes. Then, suddenly, just when the world begin to despair of ever swerving feminine purpose} from a boblved-hair bondage, the demand started upward for large sizes] and in the months just past thi demand has gone steadily forward.
So long, however, has a hair-net been an unnecessary adjunct to the toilette of a lady that prices are Tower than they were a few years ago. For example, the wholesale Price in gross lots of coloured nets. Such as blonde, auburn, light and dark brown and black is $2.25 a frross. Whites and greys are much dearer than that, partly through the fact that much' of the white hair used for making nets comes from Taly, which supplies a better variety than can be found in China Prices, during the past six months, have gone up two or three per cent. which is another—indication Vohat the hair-net industry is boat ning to revive, The whole question now hangs inthe balance whether or not the hair-growing! tage can be enurageously out through by all those women who) are starting to "do" it.
"America is the largest importer of haireners, and. requires 50a fnteo on every net, as well as having. very definite ideas about size Europe is not quite 20 particular, according to Tocal exporters, a8. sizes and what is known a. the tinge" net is in vogue in France and England, while Germany and America prefer the "cap" style,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.