The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-01-30

Without rising the doctor pulled a
cord or touched a spring hidden some
where in his close proximity. In
stantly the door of a tall cabinet,
which stood in one corner Of the room,
swung noiselessly open and disclosed
a skeleton, which hung from a ring
fastened to the top Of its skull. So
unexpected was the sight OF this
ghostly apparition that the reporter
started back with little cry of sur
prise.
Startled you a little, see," con-
tinued the doctor. cit isn't a pleasant
sight to one unaccustomed to it. but to
me, aratomically speaking, as fine a
specimen of Partisan art as that is u
thing of beauty and a Joy forever.
But seriously, you as non-profession-
al man can have no adequate idea Of
how important to US doctors is the
condition of the skeleton market.
There is no branch of the enormous
import trade of this country which is
80 interesting as the trade in skele-
tons. It is not the magnitude Of the
trade itself nor its Importance that
makes it so, but it attracts attention
lust because the article itself IS so
fascinating to the average man. Well
can remember how as a boy used
to 60 up in the garret of my fathers
house, my father was also physician,
and at safe distance gaze completely
fascinated at skull which had been
relegated to that dusty retreat. How
many romances did I build around
that fragment of mortality. To
me it was thing that thor
oughly aroused all the morbid
imagination of my boyish nature.
But to come back to the present. That
skeleton which you see there is one Of
the finest examples of the French art
and cost $125. Our great nation is en-
tirely dependent upon foreign countries
for it's skeletons. To be sure here and
there physician may be found who
possesses . specimen of home manu-
facture, but the stock of skeletons OF
the country are all imported. The
man who mounts skeletons must be q
skillful anatomist besides an exper-
fenced mechanic. He must know the
position OF every bone in the human
anatomy and just where it goes. He
must also know the function of each
bone and be able to articulate them so
skillfully that when wired they will
move as naturally in their sockets as
they did when acted upon by the mus
cles Of the live being. An anatomist.
for tinstance, however poor a one he
mig6s be, would know that to rest the
butt of a heavily loaded gun against
the middle OF the collar bone and fire
it would be an act of superlative folly.
Collar b ones were not made for such
use. Now, although possessed of SO
much mose-- knowledge than some
sportsmen, the Partisan anatomist is
willing and> eager to work at about
twenty-five cents day, and his en-
ployer is thus able to ship skeletons to
this country alta much lower rate than
they can be made for even by a newly
fedged DOCTOR"
Skeletons must 5s reasonably cheap
then" interpolated the reporter while
the doctor was catching his breath for
fresh start.
II should say they were. Incredible
as it may seem, well-mounted skel-
eton neatly packed in a pine case can
be obtained for the moderate sum OF
$50 The case is made to stand on end
and when stained admirably serves the
same purpose as does the more elab-
crate black walnut cabinet. OF course
most physicians prefer cabinet made
of black walnut with glass doors COW
cred with red curtains, but this Is q
matter of taste and pocket. | would
not recommend a person. however, to
invest his money in a $50 skeleton, un'
less for temporary or infrequent use.
They are not over substantial, they
will not take fine polish and are apt
to crumble. You see the $50 skeletons
are taken from the corpses of people
well advanced in life when the calcar.
eous matter predominates in the bones.
Moreover some people have bones
which are more brittle than those oi
others. The Paris workman can tel
at glance the condition OF the bones
upon which he is to work and knows
how far he can carry the bleaching OF
whitening process upon the bones o.
| any nartSonler ss,hracS This process