New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-12-13

from hard West African teeth. Although oals nan
ufacured Of TIL. kind of ivory have mosly s es
aF cy wh hHy i special Of real yory anS
which canno, be expected 10 exist IN any a' '''''
nv r.fui microscopic examination 1t has neen
found that ivory consists OF mlliohs IL, Vi ,h",'nce
To the dense and regular disposition OF neyconb
ivory owes that truly wonderful elisuc'S WINCH "
nor eaualled by any other SUP, 'ancr &C., ala s,iciiv
It is easy produce material 81 great ~ a, less BY
comprsssing certain mixtures of organic maieir
but material h@t os nas not yet been found
on this globe. and Il is probable that II ca" "''''
De drablty Of ivory is proved by the fact thai
billiard balls which as Snr9s iyor nad undobediy
Of very well preserved o yare psyed with for
several months by experienced pIsIIiis nora ~ not
without II being noticed that inc p"''' W." ~
made OF fresh ivory.
EARLY USE OF IVORY
Tho earliest and most extensive use Of ivory was
made in India. where In former times. elephants
beiny connected with the history OF buo"'""'
formed an object Of worship. and even to-uhy arr
held sacred by a part Of the populations in'S II
one Of the reasons why. as early as ABOUT "'",
wears ago. ivory formed the principal material
for valuable ornaments and marriage gits. ann
even at the pr. sent time 1t Is still the ambition OK
those Banans Batans tcastcs OF merci',I.s u,
as a mrrriage present pair of ivory arm-rinss
their size and the amount OF gold use" IN IN XIII
In some parts of India. chiefly In Northern osu'es':
these various kinds Of rings require cYhslnr -,
quantity OF raw mntcr hi on voanle the supply
Of raw material could not Keep pace WIN 'ne W..
mand and aeon 800 ycSrS ago n,"rprsinr Banians
soon found out that they could easily get what
thcy wanted from the East Coast OF Africa. and
aided by the monsoons periodical winds in the
Indian ocean blowing during one-half OF the year year
from southwest to northeast and during tne o'nsr
half from northeast to southwest, they made me
voyage from India to Africa with compara siW'
nuickncss and safety I'm small. nearly oper san
boats For centuries this trade was carried on
withou, the knowledge OF Europeans. ana oron
into India and passed AZ Indian ivory Even now
elephants teeth from Bombay. win Indian insGr,p
tions engraved on them. are considered IN tngtnd
as of Indian. origin. although nearly all oil them
Although not quite so Indispensable as for
billiard balls tie use Of ivory for piano Keys Is OF
mousy that there Is no substance that can epu"'
ivory in smoothness and delcncy of touch -
Many untrue stories are current about ele-
phants: for instance many natives firmly believe
that the elephant never dies. while others are OF
+" when they retire to die. These stories very
likely originated through the TACT. confirmed by
elephants that died natural death are seldom
found. This seems. however. not so remarkable.
III is estimated at about $50 years. and that I'm
tropical climate those remains Of the carcass which
decomposc very rapidly. Even bones and tusks
half-eaten by hyenas and rats are often found
TN, Congo Stntc has given its attention 10 the STU
alton. Elephant hunting is the subject of n decree
inst published in THE Official Bulletin OF the Congo
state" which provides closed season. during
which it is forbidden TO hunt the elephant, the
period varies being fixed by the European chiefs Of
the district. .
Further than this. only the native chiefs who are
TO hunt the elephant themselves. or OF licensing
others TO DO co. and they must pay therefor Il
fax reckoned at c-haf value of the ivory capt
ured.
The question also has been discussed OF estab-
isbi IN no
south Africa there ostrich farms. Meanwhile
IL Is evident that destruction OF elephants for
their tusks dcprivcs tn. Congo state OF Il means
OF transport which may have serious consequences
J,,t 81 long AS the decree of fashion calls for ivory
II must be had at whatever sacrifice.