Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-12-14

gipg along, where found that had stepped
upon an echinus with spines at least eight
inches long.
IL Was Most Remarkable Creature,
veritAbIe porcupine. and | was laid up be
it for some time. However, | noticed that
each needle-ike spine lett purple stain.
and by collecting number OF the animals
afterwards obtained this ink, that if suf.
6cient quantities could be gotten would be
quite valuable. There are hundreds OF
varieties OF these, and nearly all give an ink
of a different color. Here is one with club
spines; they are used as slate pecils IN the
South.
THE idea OF utilizing the CO oring mater
of shells as ink is not new one; that Is OF
some shells. The ink in this bottle,
taking up another containing rich purple,
comes from this shell, one of the whelbs.
Its scientific name is murex and of shells OF
this genus the famous Tyrian dye was made.
The sncients gathered them in vast numbers
and squeezed the dye Out by various process
ses. Here is live one You see, the slightest
touch makes 1t give out its peculiar eolsr.
At the time ofi'iiny the rich robes of the
Romans and others were all dyed and the
royal purple has been famous ever since.
A friend of mine recently went over the
ruins OF Tyre and examined the very place
where the dye was supposed to be made
and the shells ground up. DR.. Wilde OF the
Royal Irish Academy was the orr final dis
coverer of the several circular reservoirs cut
in the solid sandstone rock close to the
waters edge. In shape they resemble large
pots, varying in size from two TO eight feet
in diameter, and from four I'VE in depth.
Some were in clusters. others isolated, and
a number were connected in pairs near a
conduit about foot deep Many Of these
pots were filled with breccis, composed
solely of broken up shells bound togesther
by carbonate of lime, etc. This mass was
Of adamantine hardness, and the shells Of
which it was composed appeared to be all OF
one species, and from the sharpness of their
fracture we're apparently broken by art and
not orn or water. washed The shells wien
examined by prominent naturlists were pro-
nounced to be the murex truncnlus Plny
SAYS that when the shells were small they
were bruised in mortars or certain mills,
and DR.. Wilde was OF the opinion that the
reservoirs he discovered were those nswhich
the Owe was obtained. The liquor which
com osed the dye, is contained in a vein
behind the neck.
ND, this dye is little used nowadays on
accoun, of the expense. Wool dyed with it
tor the use of Augustus cost over 5000
pound. and in those days only the emperor
was allowed to wear it under the pain oil
death. The dyers of Tyre were broken up
some time in the twelfth century and for
ZONE reason the art entirely disappeared
and Iitrle can be found about it except in
record Of Pliny.
This hideous colour concluded the
speaker SIS obtained from the eoloring mat.
Ter exuded from the mouth Of the locust or
grssshopper. Here is cochineal ink made
~ pounding up these insects. This is a
Iol. or two oi The porpirs, Il floating fydrold
,nmal This green comes from variety
fsuwccd ul,a, and, in fact, have color
NJ matter from about every creature that
Moduces it. Whether any of them are
mi ,,i,la IN man We shall see"