Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-10-25
AN IVORY FAMINE.
The supply of Elephants Likely to BE ES-
hausted Before Long.

In recent number of the London Iron
monger there appeared the following:
Among the produce for which the demand
has overta6en and viii probably outStrip
the supply in a regularly increasing ratio
ivory Is conspicuous example Some
where about forty years ago the 'quarrieS'
OF mammoth or prehistoric ivory imbedded
IN the ancient lcebergS or frozen soil of
Siberia and elsewhere In the far north be-
gan 10 show signs of exhaustion. Though
because OF Its deafness this material was
never used for the best ivory handles it
found a sale In Sheffield and indirectly was
or greater benefit, as 1t served for some in
duStrlal purposes In other towns and there
tore kept down the price of African and
Egyptian imports. When there was
marked dlmlnutIOn in the shipments the
arctic fossil tuSkS and teeth prices in the
ivory market naturally advanced by leaps
and bounds all round. and though there
have been occasional fluctuations. the low
est ebb has never Appropriated TO the rates
OF, say, 1850. Indeed on the whole. every
rise has been more or less permanent. sub
sequent falls rarely touching the antece-
dent low figure. The latest boom bids
fair not merely to follow this rule, but to
accentuate 1t. 1t is more than likely to
mark the commencement of a period when
rates Will advance by two steps for every
step they fall.
Conveniently with the prospects of
scarcity the growth Of luxury naturally
leads to an increasing use of ivory for new
purposes and additional demands for the
manufacturers with which it is already
identified. for 1t is Il substance of which
the beauty and intrinsic qualities fully
Justify popular and artistic favor There
are some statistics of necessity more in
genlouS than reliable and can not pre-
tend to say whether the gentlemen are
more than plausible theorists who reSpec-
lively calculate that at least $4,000
elephants must be annually slaughtered
for their tuSkS and that for pianoforte
keys alone $4,000 pairs of tusks are con
Sumed yearly When we remember that
the calves are not produced quickly and
that as the natives find agriculture more
profitable the occasional raids on their
crops will make them kill off all the
elephants, whether tuSker.s or not. that
they can circumveut. peSSimiStic views rs
TO future ivory supplies are cNcusable. even
II we look upon the above figures rs more
like the returns for income tax or COM
penSatlon than like those of railway traffic.
Taking 1t for argument ; sake rs apparent
that ~ the general demand for ivory is
gradually increasing: l2l the sources of
known supply are diminishing; l3) the
prospect of new markets is predetermined
the question Is, what is the outlook for
the Sheffield trades. particularly cutlery?
Fortunately We are not in the predicament
OF the bllliard-ball turner's. who declare
they have not as yet found even pasSahle
substitute for ivory. lVOrv-cutters may
suffer but in course Of time circumstances
will adjust themselves for the cutters.
Writing now as q comparative outsider it
seems pity that the leading houses should
50 often be ready to sacrifice the profits on
we'll bought stock which ought to he the
reward of their own foresight. Anyhow.
looking to the future rather than the inn
mediate present, high prices of material
will bring their own counterbalance
Some of the public will always have the
best ivory. regardless of price -