Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1891-07-31
OCEAN TREASURES.
THINGS OF VALUE WHICH THE
SEA CONTRIBUTES.
Skins and Scales of Fishes That
Arc Available in the Indus
trfcs-Curious Uses to Which
Sea Weeds Are Put.

Few people arc aware of the many
curious uses to which the products OF
the tribe of fishes are put, but Wash.
ington Star reporter has gathered some
information upon that point from con-
vcrsations with the scientists at the Ma
tional Museum. The spines of the ray
are employed by the Indians of Brazil us
points for their arrows. Sharks teeth
arc likewise utilized for arming weapons,
las well as for trinklcts, and the iawbonc
iof the "boalcc" IS rendered scrviccablc
;;ls comb by the natives of Dacca, the
teeth being small and closely set, so as
to be available in removing the loose
fibcrs from cotton wool. The jaws of
the ''slccper shark" are worn for head
dresses by the North American aborigi-
mes rand fish bones are used by the
Eskimo for canes. The osseous portions
of sharks and skates are transformed in
japan into imitation tortoise shell while,
among the islands of the Korean archi-
'pclago the children Shake the dried eggs
of the skate in their rattlcs.
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 colorcd,
for making artificial flowers and other
fancy work. The Chinese have method
of grinding up fish scales and using the
powder us "A dry pigment for employment
in paintings. The skins of many marine
nnimals-such rs the seal, walrus, white
whale and porpoisc-havc 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,
sixty feet in length by twelve inches
wide, for wheel bands to drive machin-
cry with. Skins of various flnt fishes are
dressed and prepared for gloves, as well
us in the shape CT upper leather for
shoes. Skins of soles are likewise rem
dcred suitable for purses, while skins of
thornbacks serve cabinet makers instead
of sandpapcr, being very much more
durable.
In Egypt fish skins from the Red sea
are found useful for the soles of shoes.
and III 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 aud dried,
serves the country people rs a trimming
Tor their dresses, and also instead OF
glass for the windows of their dwellings,
being us transparent rs oiled paper. The
inhabitants of the middle coast OF eastern
Asia clothc themselves with the tanned
skins of salmon, the scale marks giving
Il very neat pattern to the leather.
From certain portion of the skin of |
the angel shark the Turks make beauti- |
full 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 preparing it |
for polishing. The hides of the same |
animals are utilized for shagreen leather.
Among the most peculiar preparations of |
Norway are the fish flours, composed of !
the flesh of the fish reduced to powder,
from which biscuits are made, which are |
alleged by chemists to contain four times |
the nutritivc matters of beef and sixteen
times those of milk or OF rye bread.
Dried loaves of putrid pounded fish arc
commonly eaten in Africa and South
America and esteemed delicious diet.
1t is not commonly realized that sea-
weeds produce large annual income for |
the worlds use. They are an interest
ing sort of plants anyway, varying in
size from almost microscopic dwarfs to
giant vegetables like the great sea.
tanglc, which grows to n height of 360 |
feet, Il single specimen nourishing my
riads of marine animals. These curious |
growths subsist not like those which de- |
velop on the earth from roots, but COM
monty they have merely an attachment
to some rock or other anchor, which |
holds them stationary while their |
branches float about, deriving from the |
sea water all the sustenancc they need in |
the shape OF carbonic acid and ammonia, |
as we'll as of alkaline and earthly phos-
pilates and carbonates. Many kinds of |
seawceds are used directly in commerce
for the manufacture of soda, iodine,
bromine and gelatinous extracts. In
Scotland and other northern countries
they are utilized in winter for feeding
horses and cattle. Upholsterers use the |
plants for stufiing furniture rs n substi-
tutc for horsehair-also mattresses and
beds for children, because their aromatic
odor keeps away insects. Packers en-
ploy seawceds for wrapping fragile ob.
jects and chemists obtain from them no
end OF chlorides, sulphates, silicates and
other such valuable products.