Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-04-27

carefully pressed into moulds having
the form Of The object desired. When
cold the mould 10 removed and the
article polished. IL IL IN this way that
balls on combs and other round anu
shaped ornaments are made. This
pressed shell can never be mended ii
broken, nor made into any other shape.
III heated IL resumcs its original shape.
aud seems to have lost Its welding
pro erty altogether.
In Welding the shell the parts to be
oined are beveled to very thin edge,
aud are then laid together with a piece
OF fresh shell to make thickness even
with the remainder OF tho piece. The
whtle Ia subjected to the mols. heat q
ecslding OF boiling water, which grad
ually stf,ens It, after which 1t is sub.
lected to n strong pressure until the
parts are securely jOinedj II ia then
worked Ia the usual way. Many IeO.
pie suppose that tortoise shell can be
meltedi but this 10 q mistake. IL 1t
could be done there would DO an i'm.
mense galn In the availability Of the
shell, great deal of which IN now
wasted; 40 all OF the waste, which 30
consideralle, could be- utilized aud the
danger OF running the shell In welding
or pressing would bn eliminn I'd. III.
forts have been made 10 discover
method Of melting this shell, bat 30 far
1t has fcsitted all attempts.
Very few articles nre made from a
single thickness Of tbs shell; for combs
and halr.pins from two TO four or five
thicknestes are welded together. In
heavier articles, such US paper
knivee, backs for hand mirrors aud
brushes, handles Tor Eyeglasses, fan
sticks and other things, a dczen thick.
nesBe5 nrO often used. Ia oil carved
work several plRlea nfe welded tugt Their
In order TO give the workman q body to
work upon, Sometimes very light and
dainty open carved work on single
plate II seen. 10 " lacelike In It's deli.
cacy and fragile accordingly, no that II
IL oftoncr mere treasure Of skillful
workmanship than for ufe. The older
the tortoise the heavier anu more vaiu-
able Ia his armor, OF course. All
species OF t1rtoiEes and turtles live TO
great age, sometimes over one hundred
Year,.
Sidecomb making Ia work which 70.
quires great exportuvss. The two
combs are made from one piece little
II iirst made soft, then deep fine, zig.
gag cut Ia made through the middle Of
the piece, tue zig-zage being nearly the
length OF the tetth. This must be done
very quickly and the two pieces i'm.
modiAtely torn assunder, otherwise
the edges OF the cut will unite firmly
again, and the work, II not the shell
itself, will be rendered useless.
The under shell. or plabtrou, Is
highly valued also, forming what IL
called In trade amber shell. IL IL
almost transparent md very thin,
several thlckntstes being required lie.
fore II can be shaped or carved. The
shell from the claws Ia also used; being
OF light yellow color, 1t is welded ID
form light Htrehka where variety Of
cOlOring Is sought after.
The Chinese AMI japanese are very
expert In the manipulation OF tortoisd
she'll, and mako many articles not
attempted by European aud Ameri-
can manufacturers. Exquisite work.
manship In this material comes from
Naples, as also do the best wOrkmen
employed here.