The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1866-05-19

the amount OF IVORY required to supply the
demand Of commerce and Of manufacture Is
probably known to very few and when we
take into account the number of elephants
which must be destroyed annually to meet
these demands, it appears absolutely enor-
nous. We have not the statistics which en-
able as to estimate the amount consumed IN
the different parts Of the world. 1t is stated
on good authority that the cutlery establish
ments Of Sheffield alone consume annually
the ivory which is supplied from more than
twenty thousand elephants, SO that this num-
Der must be slain every year to meet the
wants Of a single town If this be the case
what must be the number slain every year to
supply the various markets Of the world Z
Every country must have its supply, and
thus a terrible warfare IS constantly waged
upon this noble animal The other sources
from which ivory is obtained-the walrus,
the narwhal, etc, afford but an insignificant
item in the supply; and as no other SUBJ
stance has been discovered or invented which
can take its place, and as the demand is con
stantly increasing from year to year it would
seem that the race of elephants must ere
long become extinct It would be quite Gu
rious to know how the supply is kept up so
equally. There are very few Europeans
who engage IN the hunting Of elephants un-
less it be for a sporting expedition, and so
it must be left to the natives Of Africa and
Asia to take, In their own way, and slaugh-
ter as best they can, an animal so immense
that to kill a single one would seem to be
sufficient achievement for q lifetime
The best ivory known is that which comes
from Africa. il is not so white as that fur
nished by the Asiatic elephants, but it pre-
serves its color best, Is most transparent,
freest from cracks, and receives the highest
polish. This is accounted for by what is
certainly a remarkable physiological fact
that the elephants of the two continents
Asia and Africa, yield ivory, the compost
ton of which Is materially different. The
African ivory contains just about equal parts
of animal and earthly matter while IN the
Asiatic the earthly matter is about one quar-
ter greater than the animal The finest
tusks are obtained from the western coast
Of Africa, near the equator. They vary
greatly in size and weight, according to the
age Of the animals from which they are ta-
ken. Some weigh not more than six or eight
pounds while others run as high as one
hundred and fifty, and occasionally beyond
this. Some of our readers may have seen
| last summer in the window on Broadway,
an elephants tusk, imported from Africa,
which was said to be the largest tusk from a
/ living elephant, or one recently slain, ever
! imported into this country, and perhaps as
! large as any ever taken. Fossil elephants,
or mammOtbs have yielded larger tusks, but
/ they are seldom of much utility, unless in
/ extremely cold countries where not only the
/ ivory but the flesh may be preserved for
/ ages. One great source of the supply of
1 ivory IN Russia and the northern countries
/ of Europe is the tusks Of distinct species of
/ elephants and mammOths, which are found
| in the banks of the rivers of northern Sibe-
/ ria IN a remarkable state of preservation
| These tusks are of great size, but the ivory
is not so heavy as the African OF southern
Asiatic. Ivory has the remarkable proper
! ty of being capable of restoration where its
| qualities have been impaired by great age.
! The fossil remains which are occasionally
! dug up in our own country are so dry and
| destitute of all adhesive material that they
soon crumble into dust, or become exceed
ingly brittle on being exposed to the air.
4 This was the case with some ivory carvings
/ found by Layard in the ruins of Ninevah,
but the ivory was restored to its formor con
dition by being boiled IN a solution of gela~
tine, which supplied the place of the albu-
minOus matter that entered intOGts former
texture So, on the other hand, by dissolv-
ing portion of the earthly matter, which is
one of the principal ingredients, the ivory
retains its tenacity, but becomes exceedingly
flexible 1t is thus prepared for making
surgical instruments.
Ivory is a very important branch of com
tity which enters into the commerce of the
world, of which it is no inconsiderable item,
but because it is essential to many mechani-
cal arts It's chief use is in making the
I handles of knives, for which a comparative
ly large amount is consumed. 1t is largely
used for the keys of pianOfortes, being al
most the only substance used for this pur>
pose. In many other musical instruments
1t Is more or less used 1t IS very eKten-
sively employed in China and other coun-
tries in the manufacture of chessmen, and
toys and ornaments of various sorts, and
for casing small pieces of statuary. 1t has
been Of late years cut into broad veneers by
| saving or cutting around a large tusk. In
the London exhibition of 1851 a veneer OF
this kind was shown which was a foot wide
and forty feet in length, while in Paris it is
said TO have been cut into sheets thirty inch
es by one hundred and fifty. 1t was largely
| used In ancient times We read that Solo
mon made great throne of ivory, and OF
the ivory house that Ahab made, and bench
/ es and beds of ivory are mentioned in the
Scriptures. What will supply its place
when the race of elephants is destroyed we
cannot tell; but ingenuity is already at
| work to furnish a substitute, and is stimula-
ted by the offer of large rewards. A short
time since reward of five thousand dollars
was offered IN this country by parties inter
| ested IN the manufacture of billiard balls,
for substance possessing the same quail
ties in about the same proportions. Its elias
ITCHY adapts it to this purpose but as ivory
is affected by dampness, and expands une
qually according to the grain, it is found
that the balls do not retain their perfect
sphericity In all states of the atmosphere
For this reason and on account Of its In
creasing scarcity, some other substance is IN
demand. Vegetable ivory, soAcalled, Is used
in making many articles, but it is of com
paratiyely little value. There seems to be
more hope that the requisite material viii
be obtained from some compound of India
rubber or guttaNpeacha than from any other
source
fitting Hoops