Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-11-13
WAFER 1HAI psTRIrIes.
How 4 Cutlery Firm Makes Patented
Razor Homes Ont of an Irish Lake

4
How 4 Cutlery Firm Makes Patente,
Razor Homes Out Of an Irish Lake.
Few freaks OF nature are more strang,
than one that IL constantly occurring il
Tough Neagh As matter of fact no
one man in every Thousand knows of tn,
peculiar chemical properties OF this lake
9'he natives along its borders are aware
that from the lakes bottom they can col
lect stones OF strange shapes, which beal
the resemblance of trees and branches
But the poor people are too uneducated &c
realize that these curious stones are In
reality petrified branches, and that the
waters Of the lake have the strange power
OF petrifying any substance that may be
put into 1t In ten to twenty-one days. nc.
cordiDg to the material
! learned Of it in curious manner.
happened to be travelling In Connemara,
and met there an English gentleman, who
informed me that he was going to Tough
Neagh ITO visit his men and inspect his
petrifying beds" ! did not understand
this peculiar announcement, and asked for
an explanation, which he gave me most
willingly.
lie told me that he was one Of the own
ers Of a celebrated cutlery house, not far
from the Mansion house in London Years
before they had learned from an employe
that petrified trees had been found in
Tough Neagh, and from old Irish books
they discovered that the waters had the
extraordinary property OF petrifying wood
within month.
Businesslike. they at once sent man
over. He selected several pieces of hard
wood. and having tied weights to them
plunged them into the lake and marked
their locality by small buoys and strips ut
tached to the test pieces.
In two weeks he returned and took up
two pieces, which he found to be partially
petriied. Two weeks afterward the re
mainder were brought to terra lirIna, and
each rod of hardwood was hard as flint,
petrllcd through. Then the firm tried ex-
periments with the wood in the different
stages Of petrifacton, and discovered that
unusually excellent razor bones could be
manufactured from it, and OF different
densities of hardness, according to the
length Of submersion These homes are
now famous product OF this cutlery firm.
They have patented them and obtain high
prices for them, but the razor sharpening
world little knows that the stone IL wood,
petriiied IN few weeks in the largest Of
the Irish lakes
accompanied the gentleman to the lake,
and myself witnessed the process of turn.
Ing wood to stone, aud must confess that
IL gave me cause for reflection. Here was
"A valuable natural factory Mt the very doors
OF the people, the natives who were in a
semi-starving condition all around, and
yet its products were utilized only by an
English firm,
Possibly the petrAed wood In some OF its
stages OF stone growing could be put to
many uses, and | have no doubt but that
when the fact il more generally known
some enterprising Irishman will utilize
the factory nature has given them for the
material benefit of the country.
When ! returned to- Dublin made in
quiries about the curious phenomenon wit.
messed NJ Tough Neagh, and was rewarded
by the courteous librarian of Trinity col
lege, who placed In my hands several vol
tunes OF TRANSACTIONS of ancient Irish
works, and marked for me the parts re
ferring to the lake.
Among them found several references
made to the hard woody stone" which
was taken from the bottom OF Lough
Neagh for spear and arrow heads by the
early Irish, So that although the Irish
men OF today are, ninety nine in one hun
dred, unaware Of the useful pecularty of
their big lough,' those Of ten and fifteen
centuries ago knew it well and utilized IT,
In the museum of Trinity college cun be
seen today several spear and arrow heads
made centuries ago from wood petrifed In
Tough Neagh But apparently even then
the natives were unaware that the chemi
cal properties of the water were so power
full or acted so quickly 49, Dublin Letter.