332 FEATHERS 



turbed, and as these greatly interfere with the progress of the miner, ho regards them 

 as troubles, and hence their name. 



In the above description the language of the mine has been retained, but in the case 

 of the dyke, as of the fault -proper, it is not that the dyke has lifted the coal-bed up or 

 down, but during the convulsive movements of the earth, when those trap dykes wore 

 being forced from below, great movements were produced on either side of the fissures 

 through which the molten matter ascended, and hence the alteration in the position of 

 the beds, which were previously, perhaps, nearly in a horizontal plane. See DYKE. 



FEATHERS. (Plumes, Fr. ; Fedcrn, Ger.) ' The most beautiful, the most com- 

 plex, and the most highly elaborated of all the coverings of animals, due to the devel- 

 opment of the epidermal system, is the plumage of birds.' Owen. 



A feather consists of the quill, the shaft, and the vane. The vane consists of barbs 

 and barbules. 



The quill is pierced by a lower and an upper orifice, and contains a series of light, 

 dry, conical capsules, fitted one upon another, and united together by a central pedicle. 



The shaft is slightly bent, the concave side is divided into two surfaces by a middle 

 longitudinal line continued from the upper orifice of the quill, tiie convex side is smooth. 

 Both sides are covered with a horny material similar to that of the quill, and they 

 enclose a peculiar white, soft, elastic substance, called the pith. The barbs are attached 

 to the sides of the shaft. The barbules are given off from either side of the barbs, 

 and are sometimes similarly barbed themselves, as may be seen in the barbules of the 

 long feathers of the peacock's tail. 



The barbules are commonly short and close set, and curved in contrary directions, 

 so that the two adjoining series of barbules interlock together and form the mechanism 

 by which the barbs are compacted into the close and resisting vane of the quill, or 

 ' feather,' properly so called. When the barbules are long and loose, they characterise 

 that form of the feather which is properly called a ' plume,' and such are the most 

 valuable products of the plumage of birds in a commercial point of view, as e.g. the 

 plumes of the ostrich. 



THE DOWN. The lower barbs in every kind of feather are usually loose, forming 

 the down, which is increased in most birds by what is called the ' accessory plume.' 

 This is usually a soft downy tuft, but varies in different species, and even in the 

 feathers of different parts of the body of the same bird. The value of feathers for bed 

 stuffing depends upon the proportion of loose soft down that enters into their compo- 

 sition ; and as the ' accessory plume ' in the body feathers of the swans, geese, and 

 ducks, is almost as long as the feather from which it springs, hence arises the com- 

 mercial value of the feathers of those aquatic birds. Owen. 



The first covering of the young bird is a down. In most birds a certain portion of 

 the down feathers is retained with the true feathers, and this proportion is usually 

 greatest in the aquatic birds. 



It is most remarkable in the eider duck (Anas mollissima}. ' The down of the eider 

 combines, with its peculiar softness, fineness, and lightness, so great a degree of elasticity 

 that the quantity of this beautiful material which might be compressed and concealed 

 between the two hands of a man will serve to stuff the coverlet of a bed.' Owen. 



Feathers constitute the subject of the manufacture of the Plumassier, a name given 

 to the artisan who prepares the feathers of certain birds as ornaments for ladies and 

 for military men, and to him also who combines the feathers in various forms. Wo 

 shall content ourselves with describing the method of preparing ostrich feathers, as 

 most others are prepared in the same way. 



Several qualities are distinguished in the feathers of the ostrich ; those of the male, 

 in particular, are whiter and more beautiful. Those upon the back and above the 

 wings are preferred ; next those of the wings, and lastly, of the tail. The down is 

 merely the feathers of the other parts of the body, which vary in length from 4 to 14 

 inches. This down is black in the males, and grey in the females. The finest white 

 feathers of the female have always their ends a little greyish, which lessens their 

 lustre, and lowers their price. These feathers are imported from Algiers, Tunis, 

 Alexandria, Madagascar, and Senegal ; this being the order of their value. 



The scouring process is thus performed : 4 ounces of white soap, cut small, aro 

 dissolved in 4 pounds of water, moderately hot, in a large basin ; and the solution is 

 made into a lather by beating with rods. Two bundles of the feathers, tied with pack- 

 thread, are then introduced, and are nibbed well with the hands for five or six minutes. 

 After this soaping, they aro washed in clear water, as hot as the hand can lie;ir. 



The whitening or bleaching is performed by ilm B^coesnye operations. 



1. They aro immersed in hot water mixed with Spanish white, and well agitated 

 in it ; after which they are washed in throe waters in succession. 



2. The feathers aro azured in cold water containing a little indigo tied up in a fino 

 ploth, They should be passed quickly through this bath. 



