Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-25

LEW fEOfLE AXE AWARE Or IhL
Il many curious uses to which the products of
the tribe of fishes are put. but STAR reporter
has catered some information upon that point
from conversations with the scientists at the
National Museum. The spines of the ray are
| employed by the Indians of Brazil as points for
| their arrows. Sharks teeth are likewise util-
lied for arming weapons, as well as for trinkets,
| and the jawbone of the 'boalee' is rendered
| serviceable as comb by the natives Of Dacca,
the teeth being small and closely set. SO as to
be available in removing the loose ibers from
| cotton wool. The jaws of the sleeper shark
| are worn for head dresses by the North Ameri-
can aborigines and fish bones are used by the
| Eskimo for canes. The osseous portions OF
| sharks and skates arc transformed in Japan
| into imitation tortoise SHE'LL while among the
islands of the Korean archipelago the children
shake the dried eggs of the skate in their rattles
FISH SCALE ORNAMENTS.
Many ornaments for ladies, of various sorts,
| are manufactured from fish scales both in this
| country and abroad. They are worked up,
| either plain or colored, for making artificial
flowers and other fancy work. The Chinese
have method of grinding up fish scales and
using the powder dry pigment for employ
ment in paintings. The skins of many marine
and porpose-have long been commercially
utilized Eel skins have been found available
for the throngs of whips, dried sole skins to
| clarity coffee, and shark and ray skins for
shagreen leather. Whale skins are turned out,
go feet in lenght by IL inches wide. for wheel
bands to drive machinery with. Skins OF vari-
GUS fiat fishes are dressed and prepared for
gloves. as well as in the shape Of upper leather
for Shoes Skins of soles are likewise rendered
suitable for purses, while skins of thornbacks
serve cabinet makers instead of eandpaper,
being very much more durable.
In Egypt fish skins from the Red sea are
found useful for the soles of shoes and in
Gloucester. Mass, the skin of the cusk is
tanned for upper leather. In parts of Russia
and Siberia the skin of the burbot, cleaned,
stretched and dried serves the country people
as trimming for their dresses and also in
stead of glass for the windows Of their dwell
lngs. being as transparent as oiled paper. The
inhabitants OF the middle coast OF eastern Asia
clothe themselves with the tanned skins Of
salmon, the scale marks giving a very neat pat
| tern to the leather.
SHARK SKIN WATCH CASES.
From a certain portion of the skin of the
angel shark the Turks make beautiful sea green
watch cases. European workers in ebony use
the rough skin of the blue dog fish, like emery
paper, for smoothing their work and prepar-
ing 1t for polishing. The hides of the same ami
mails are utilized for shagreen leather Among
the most peculiar preparations of Norway are
the fish fours. composed of the flesh of fish re-
duced to powder from which biscuits are
made, which are alleged by chemists to contain
four times the nutritive matters of beef and six
teen times those of milk or of rye bread. Dried
loaves OF putrid pounded fish are commonly
eaten in Africa and South America and
| esteemed delicious diet.
1t Is not commonly realized that seaweeds
produce large annual income for the worlds
| ise. They are an interesting sort of plants
anyway, varying in size from almost micro
scopic dwarfs to giant vegetables like the great
sea tangle, which grows to height of $50 feet,
a single specimen nourlshing myriads of ma
rine animals. These curious growths subsist
not like those which develop on the earth from
roots, but commonly they have merely an at
thrlment to some rock other anchor. which
holds them stationary while their branches
Ioat about, deriving from the sea water all the
sustenance they need in the shape Of carbonic
acid and ammonia, as well of alkaline and
earthly phosphates and carbonates. Many kinds
OF seaweeds are used directly in commerce for
the manufacture OF soda, iodine, bromine and
gelatlnous extracts. In Scotland and other
northern countries they are utilized in winter
for feeding horses and cattle. Upholsterers use
The plants tor stuffng furniture a substitute
FOR horsehair-also mattresses and beds for
children, because their aromatic odor keeps
away insects. Packers employ seaweeds for
wrapping fragile objects and chemists obtain
from them no end OF chlorides, sulphates, sill
Gates and other such valuable products.
NEPTUNE's GARDENS.
Seaweeds form in the Atlantic ocean great
banks, particularly along the path Of the gulf
stream, where ships pass through great spaces
entirely covered with them. Sometimes the
banks take the form of apparently endless SER
penis, to which the sailors give the name of
''Neptune's Gardens" The lunches of yesicles
filed with ali which support the weeds at the
surface OF the water they call tropical grapes"
In these floating meadows of marine vegetables
exist enormous stores of material in readiness
for use by man, but no practicable method has
thus far been devised for bringing the stuff
probably to market or for spreading it upon
the soil. which it would do SO much to render
fruitful. Seaweeds, applied as manure, pos
sess remarkable properties which are not alto
gether understood as yet. As fertilizer they
are unsurpassed. but popularity possessed by
them is that they act with wonderful rapiditv,
producing at once from soil that has been un-
productive most plenteous crops On the
french shore of the British channel the collec-
ton of seaweed is carried on upon extensive
scale. more than 2, $50. 900 tons being gathered
each year with drags and rakes.
Marine plants. manufactured for kep and
iodine, afford large revenues. Kelp is pre-
pared by burning the dead weeds until they
are reduced to hard cakes in which condition
II Is sent to market. From these cakes is made
the entire supply Of iodine used by the world
ana the immense value Oh this latter substance
in medicine and in photography renders it by
FAR the most important of all seaweed products
/ he average yield of iodine from ton of drift
weed kelp is abou. five pounds. The proper
ton of iodine in sea water is so small that il
requires 30, 00O, 900 pounds of the fluid to fur
nish one pound of the material to the plants.
IRISH MOSS AND ITS USES.
Another sort of seaweed employed in COM
merce is the Irish moss, from which is OBJ
tanned jelly useful for administering to con-
sumptive patients. as well as the well-kncwn
cosmetic for the hair known as ''bandoline."
The best Of this moss is gathered in the neigh
borhood of Scituate, Mass, between May and
September Of each year. A similar plant is
collected In large quantities below water mark
to the north of Cape Cod and sold for making
buildings, blanc mango and sea-moss farina.
II is also used by brewers for clarifying and by
calico printers.
By the Malays species of seaweed is col
lected which, boiled down. produces q kind of
glue called ''agar-agar." This material ia
utilized almost exclusively by bacterioloeists
for breeding consumption, bacill and other
such cheerful germs upon. This is because it
is susceptible OF being rendered in great
purity and the bacteria finds il q most agree
able diet. Thousands of tons of seawoeds are
gathered annually on the coasts Of China and
Japan. packed liz bales and carried to all parts
of those countries and even to Thibet for the
food of the people. For this purpose the plants
are mixed in soups, and with rice, fish and
vegetables. One advantage Of the diet is that
il communicates with what 10 xr;,cl.I