Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], November 29, 1914, Image 38

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
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C.?Straight
Down
from a
Hundred
Years
Ago Comes
This
High
Waisteo
"Lucile"
Model
cissa
O^aaEJ
E.?A Tea
Gown
of Oriental
6llfc.
Whose
inspiration
i?
the Orient.
m
A.?A Suggestion from the Greek in Chiffons.
"Lucile" Model.
Ggp
oftr
cassa
?nTStjen
? 0KPC3
CS&l
-I
Lady duff-gordon, the. famou# "Lu
cile" of London, and foremost creator of
fashions in the world; writes each week the
fashion article for this newspaper, presenting all
that is newest and best in styles for ? well-dressed
women.
Lady Duff-Gordon's Paris establishment brings
her into close touch with that centre of fashion.
Inapt red
by the
"Donkey Girl*
of Greuze.
"Lucilo"
Model.
By Lady Duff-Gordon
m
>W that Paris cannot for the pres
ent be looked to (or at leaBt Aezt
season's new models, I have many
who come to me and say, "Lady
Duff-Gordon, what are to be the new lines
for the 8prlng?"
I tell them I don't know I never do know
any more than any one else until 1 actually
get to work. New lines are developed, pos
sibly suggested, by the fall or hang of a new
material, or perchance by the unusual atti
tude accidentally struck by the girl 1 am
draping. It appeals to me?1 use it, ex
aggerate or modify it, and lol a new
style Is born.
To my mind, It la the smaller houses
that run to death each season a new
particular line, such aa a tunic, which
they immediately dub "a tunic sea
son," or a long coat, they call a
'"basque (hateful word) season."
In my own collection I almost
invariably have long and short
coats, draped and tunic skirts,
and for the last season or
two-do dressmaker has Med -herself to any
particular period or style, and never before
has woman had such an opportunity of de-*
veloplng her own peculiar personalities and
expressing them by means of her attire.
With the accompanying photographs of
the newest evening gowns let me point out
Tor you the influence of no lesB than Ave dis
tinct periods. ,
Photograph a is obviously drawn from thft
Greek, with Its light chiffon draperies caught
below the bust and again below the waist by
Jewelled cameo clasps.
B must remind you immediately of the
Greuze "Donkey Girl," with its little lace
cap, chiffon apron caught-up to one elde and
its flower embroidered taffeta skirt.
C might well have been made a hundred
years ago. with its tiny hlgh-walsted bodice
and baby sleeves. The skirt ta of tulle
decorated with embroideries and frllla of
green and silver over a white and sliver un
der dress.
D. If possible, Is the oaly one that stands
on its own merit as an entirely modehi con
ception. (t is a brocade of blue and silver,
with gray lace on the bodice and the opening
at the side of the skirt. Brilliant touchea of
green and a contrasting bfue appear at the
waist.
E Is from the Bast, being a tea gown in
Oriental laml silk, with a matrix turquoise
embroidered belt of gold and necklace to
match.
How War Has Turned Pigeons Into Photographers.
Thuuuh wireless telegraphy
and aeroplanes may have les
sened the Importance of
pigeons as dispatch-bearers in times
of war, they have by no means
ousted them Only a few days since
two pigeon dealers., one of them a
German, were prrested m London
for having in their possession sixty
"carrier and other pigeons" in con
travention of the Aliens Restriction
Act. and about the same time a Ger
man spy was arrested in Belgium
with pigeons In his possession under
circumstances which left no room
for doubt thai they were to be
used to further his nefarious ends.
Now that armies actually can
make use of trained pigeons as pho
tographers. these birds are in the
way of becoming important factors
In war A miniature Camera Is now
manufactured for this purpose. Sus
pended by straps beneath ? the bird's
breast, its lens is directed downward
while the flight continues, its ac
tion is, of course, automatic, gov
erned by a turning mechanism
which causes a roll of film to be ex
posed at regular internals.
The pieoon photographer flying
abovp the enemy's lines in daytime
brings home on a tiny roll of Aim a
picture record of all that was be
neath' its flight?details of the ene
my's position and strength in men
and guns
The possibilities of pigeon photog
raphy in war were recognized in
Germany some time ago. Experi
ments were made under army super
vision They were successful, views
of parks, rivers and bridges and city
streets of quite remarkable distinct
ness being developed from the ex
posed portions of fllm-rolls brought
back by the pigeon camera-carriers.
That these aerial messengers are
still capable of rendering valuable
service, chiefly between ' forta, - Is
shown by the fact that in Germany
there are about 300,000 of these
"homing pigeons," belonging to va
rious societies, and of thla number
about 8,000 aro reserved exclusively y
for Government uga.
during the Franco-German-War of
1870-71 these pigeons played a very
Important part. At first they carried
dispatches reduced by photography
to microscopic proportions on thin
sheets of paper Later, all matter,
whether public dispatches or letters,
were printed In ordinary type trans
ferred and reduced by mtcro-photog
raphy 'o thin films of collodion mean*
uring at?out two Inches by one.
These wore so light that thousands
of dispatches, weighing less than
one gramme, could bo carried by one
pigeon
The films were rolled up and
placed in a quill, which was then
fastened lengthwise to one of the
tail feathers. Arriving in Paris, the
ntn was flattened out, and tho
printed mutter was thrown on a
screen by ? lantern and copied
Later sensitive paper replaced tho
screen, so that the labor of copying
was saved The cost of sending mes
sages was high, as may be Judged
from the fact that tne postal fees
on a single dispatch would often
amount to more than $500,000. Each
' dispatch was repeated, sometimes
twenty or thirty times, till acknowl
edged by balloon post, which brought
back the birds for anotner Journey.
The Gormans' spared no effort to
fruBtrat these sources of informa
tion. Krhpp made special guns to
bring down (he balloons, and the
pigeons were harassed by trained
falcons.
The term "carrier ptgpons" for
these birds is now a misnomer, for
the "carrier" pigeon Is a bird of a
different type- distinguiBned by the
enormous development or the "wat
tles" round the eyes and beak. The
true "carrier" pigeon Is now more
correctly Known as the homing
pigeon, homer, or Antwerp carrier
The latter name indicates the origin
of the breed, for the Belgians are
without rivalR for their admiration
for this bird and their skill in train
ing it The home' ;h even in his na
tive land, represented .by several
races, all of whtch however, possess
the "homing" instinct. Those races,
"Les Pigeons Voyageurs," are bred
first and foremost for their powers
of flight, color and marKlng are of
no account.
The speod of some of these birds
averaged 1,250 yards a minute, but to
day this has been Increased to 1.83G
yards a minute. The speed, of course,
depends much on tho state of the
weather, In a race between Montar
giB.and Brussels, In_J876, in bright,
clear weather, all the prize-winnera
made the Journey of 270 miles in
three hours and a quarter. Over the
samo course in i$77> in thick, stormy
weather, thirty hours elapsed before
the first bird arrived.
Tiiat the homing pigeon possesses
an extrairdinarily acute sdnse of di
rection ti -. be no question. A
ease is on ?? of a bird bought tn
Brussels and breMght over to Eng
land. where it remained in close con
finement for several months. Then,
one line day,' It was liberated for ex
ercise. It at once made off, and in
a few hours was back in its toft in,
Brussels, having travelled over 400
miles of country which it had never
seen before. As a rule, however,
these birds are carefully trained, the
initial stages beginning at the age
of about four months. By the end
of the first year a flight of one hun
dred miles can be successfully per*
formed. But longer flights are per-*
formed only by fully matured \rfrds.
of at least three years old. It is a
mistake, however, to suppose, as
some do. that they will fly at night
or in a fog. They roust always have
a clear view,.
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