The herald., 1895-10-27

used in the making of the cues, but the
average cue is made of carefully seasoned
ash lifted into an ebony handle. The cue
appears to be simply made instrument,
made that when a professional player
comes across one hundreds of dollars
would not induce him to part with it.
flayers become attached to n cue like
musician loves "a particular violin.
The greatest science and skill is required
In the making of the balls. 1t is not gen.
orally recognized that the game of bill
lizards is slowly but surely accomplishing
the obliteration of the elepahnt in his
wild and native shape. Hundreds and
thousands OF elephants are killed annual
ly IN Africa and Asia for the ivory in
their tusks. Only ten billiard balls can
be made from the two tusks of full
grown elephant.
There are about 2400 billiard balls sold
each month by the great dealers to the
smaller dealers. This in itself represents
the ivory from $40 elephants. Multiply
that by twelve and it is easy to see the
inroads made annually upon the elephant
species.
There are not more than a dozen large
makers of billiard balls the world over
and each one OF these firms is looking for
the day when ivory will no longer be on
the public market. They are all accumu-
lating large reserve stock, and 1t is
Germ has a surplus stock of $1,000 balls
with marxet value today of close to
$40, 900. Ten years from now this concern
expects that this reserve will be worth
almost double the money.
Within the past fifty years the price of
a set of ivory billiard balls has increased
nearly 600 per cent. A first class set to-
day costs between $25 and $50, while a
half century ago they could be bought for
one-sixtE of that sum. Much OF the ip-
crease has occurred during the past de-
cade, and the values are steadily going
up.
The men who make the balls must be
expert judges of ivory. There are only
certain portions of the tusk which can DO
used, and it IS necessary to avoid the
rest, otherwise an imperfect ball will be
turned out.
There arc hundreds of billiard ball turn.
ers in this country, but very few experts.
Absolute accuracy in the production of
perfect sphere Is essential, the pail must
be OF u certain diameter to the hundredth
part of an inch, and must weigh so much
and not the thousandth part of an
ounce more or less. Some of the new
est trick shots are shown in the accom-
papying illustrations. The bottle trick is
an exceedingly difficult one. By quick
and hard twist of the wrist the cne bali
after striking the object ball jumps into
the air, and from the effects of the
English" put on it, swerves against the
ball on the top of the bottle. knocking it
off. The old-fashioned way of doing this
trick was to make the cue ball fail into
an up-turned hat. ana while it was q very
hard shot, the bottle shot is much more
diff cult.
Another most difficult shot is shown in
the cut, where five balls are placed in
row at the head of the table, the ball
being nearest the cushion. In the shot,
a masse, the cue ball hits the ball nearest
the side cushion ana then makes a series
of matthew atcally perfect semi circles,
striking each of the remaining four balls
and the cushion alternately. Not one
trick billiard player in hundred can do
this shot.
A fine draw shot is shown in the third
cut. The cue ball, after striking the
object ball, rolls up the incline and falls
into the hat.