April, 19 21 
53 
of the horse, wall brushes, too; sometimes goat 
hair is used. Among other brushes made of 
horsehair frequently are the crumb (table), 
pastry, bottle and dish washing (white hair). 
The very best white horsehair comes from the 
Russian pony and is very nearly as stiff as 
bristles. The black horsehair of the finest 
grade is also imported, as the domestic is not 
as good. Other horsehair 
comes from China, Austra¬ 
lia, South America. 
Fibre or Bristle 
When you buy a brush, if 
you don't know a fibre from 
a bristle, ask your dealer. 
He may say: “No, this is 
not bristle, it is made of 
Bass” (or Bassine, Kitool, 
Palmyra or Palmetto or Rice 
Root, or mixed fibres, or 
union, or union marble, 
etc.). If he is a good dealer 
you need not fear; if his 
price is not very low you 
need not be suspicious, be¬ 
cause no good brush is in- 
ex pensive today and no 
cheap brush is a saving. 
Of all the fibres Tampico 
(from Mexico, Central 
America largely), the prod¬ 
uct of a species of cactus 
plant, is probably the best 
fibre. Palmyra, too, is an 
excellent fibre, and comes 
from a plant indigenous to 
regions near the Indian 
Ocean and the Valley of the 
Tigris. What geographical 
scope we have in our homes! 
There are trade names 
for fibres such as Ox fibre, 
a fine quality of fibre from 
the cabbage palmetto, and 
many other trade named 
fibres which must be pro¬ 
cured by ye purchasers only 
from purveyors of royal 
lineage. 
Brushes are made of mix¬ 
tures of bristle and hair, 
such as some flesh brushes or hand brushes, 
the bristles taking the brunt of the action and 
holding the water better, yet protecting the 
hair. Fibre and bristles are sometimes used in 
combination, too. 
If you buy an “all bristle” brush you don’t 
want a mongrel variety. If it is a mixture you 
are getting a usable and amply priced brush. 
r i X 
£ V ? 
•V | > 
> 1 * 
* f X 
H 
X 
& 
Black bristle is often made into pipe, win¬ 
dow, stove, wall, radiator, milk bottle and per¬ 
colator brushes. 
The. color, black or white, of bristles doesn't 
stamp quality. In some cases black bristles 
are bleached for esthetic reasons. For exam¬ 
ple, a white toothbrush is more attractive. The 
natural white bristle usually comes from China 
and the natural black from 
Siberia. 
Fibres in browns and 
whites, blacks and whites 
are mixed in brushes for ap¬ 
pearances. Color in brushes 
is a matter of attractiveness 
and does not alter the use¬ 
fulness or the wear of them. 
The number and variety 
of brushes on the market 
are tremendous — one firm 
makes sixty-nine ordinary 
household brushes, and be¬ 
sides this has others tucked 
away, to say nothing of the 
personal, industrial and'pro- 
fessional classes of brushes. 
Thousands is not an exag¬ 
gerated figure to apply to 
the variety of brushes for all 
uses on the market today. 
Another firm shows twen¬ 
ty-nine different kinds of 
scrubbing brushes (all of 
fibre—Palmyra, Rice-Root, 
White Tampico, Ox Fibre, 
Palmetto, etc., etc.) of vary¬ 
ing shapes, sizes and color. 
The object being in even,' 
case for the purchaser to buy 
the brush that fits the hand 
and the job. 
Brushes Must Brush 
Only 
Brushes, like any other 
implement, should do their 
own jobs only and nothing 
else. A brush that gouges 
and does a chisel’s work is a 
poor brush, no matter what 
quality the fibre or brush 
(Continued on page 80) 
Not until one begins to buy brushes does she realize their amazing assortment 
or the diversity of their uses, methods of make and material. In this group 
the top set is as follows (Left to right), bowl brush of bristle, desk mop 
of cotton, cotton duster, scouring brush of fibre and flask brush of bristle and 
hair. Below come a pastry brush of bristle and hair, cotton duster, bottle 
brush of white bristle and hair and a sink brush of cactus. Courtesy of the 
Fuller Brush Co. 
For cleaning the drain pipe in the ice 
box comes this highly specialized brush. 
From Wanamaker 
This bottle brush, of fibre, reaches the 
utmost corner and guarantees a thor¬ 
ough cleansing 
