The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-31

a material for artificial teeth. bang much
more costly t1an elephant ivory bet
nowadays IL - no longer ma1e 10 serve
that puTpoze. porcelain ingsulDusl- co.1r-
&C and baked ll ovens being found much
Ds-ter for the purpose. The gre4r -s-=ar Il
the narWnal. which ts TIE riElt upper ic-
cfscr tooth greatly deFelorea3. tle latl ore
beng usually al0rte1. furnish 40 eL-ei-
Iert Hory. There BE- 10 substance il la-
t1re o. organic origin tna- compares in
durability vita ivory the teetc az human
Del ana other animals are a1- 20 r.
main perfect bong after t1e bones naFe
crumbied ~ llst. tn bottom q The ocean
seems 10 D. literally coFere1 Hitn sla g
teeth and n ear bones u whales #1icl
are frsq 1eutly brought % the surface Is
dre3ges
A firm o. billiard table rlzr-lfa -tlrers in
THIS country has Offere8 a pTlze % 5000
for q aatisfactory SUBS tttute FOR IVORY bat
d. remains as yet urrarre d- The nearest
thing sulta5.e for billiard balls j. cellu-oio
Tuls su5atznce is q mixture o. zun-cot-on
and csmphor. 10 wnlen ziuc-V1lte ls add
- 10 give Wnitenees- The sun b. pressed
INTO blocks ~ hydraulic power and tae
blocks are formed ilto spheres ~ a lathe
T1ey are then dyed by dipping t1em -n-o
potH Of color. the parts not IT, b. c9iored
being protected ny cups - brass lnge1-
lousy fastened upon the balls This q
not 50 easy 10 accomplish when fle balls
has 70 be coiorcd stripes Before the balls
20 20 the 1ye-pOt numbers are cut on mem
and plumbsgo t. rubbed into the numbers
% make them black. Finally the balls are
sand papered and vanished 10y hand
such balls are used Tor pool. and not FOR
billiards. being not sufficiently castle for
the latter game. II Is not true that they
are apt u explode or 70 ten FIRE. mas
much ss they are too dense 10 burn.
aHH
arc saved into lengths Ot three
inches OF little Jess. and
the blocks arc turned ia lathe
The dust is az saved and used for making
an imitation ivory. Prom the two ends
Of each block are cut rings for harness.
The balls arc laid aside 10 season for a
while, being too soft al first, then they
are turned in the lathe again and pol aed
with chalk and enamols skin. The Jess
perfect ones are cOlOred red. the beet be-
ny selected for the white cue balls. The
tlsks Of al elephant arc continually grow
ing ana those II captive animals are apt
10 h. cut al intervals, amording small
quantities % good ivory. though il is never
equal IN quality 70 the Wild product. Care
must b. taken not 70 cut them too short.
lnasmuch a. an invasion Of the soft pulp
near the root causes the beast great pain.
Defects are found occasionally in sound
looking tusks owing to a bullet that has
and produced an abcess. once IN while
tusk grows IN the form Of = spiral. owing
70 disease on one side Of IT,
From the upper Amazon comes a curl
GUS seed that furnishes what s. known as
vegetable ivory It's substance Is almost
as hard ~ real ivory which il counter
feitB in appearance. The tree that pro-
duces IL Is related 70 the palm and bears
large spherical pods about the size Of
mans hand These pods are called mig
ger heads and each Of them contains
from six to nine u the seed, which are
the shape and size Of an average potato.
The young seed holds a clear. inslp.d
iuid, which travellers drink to aliay
thirst; eventually the fluid becomes hard
ened into the ivory-like substance The
Indians Of the region where the tree
grows make toys and ornaments out OF
this vegetable IVORY, which finds similar
uses in commerce.
II is Teckoned that 5000 elephants are
killed annually IN Africa. The ancient
Hebrews. Egyptians. Greeks and Romans
used prodigious quantities Of ivory They
made statues out Of g. Ia the Parthen-
on at Athens was statue Of gold and
ivory thirty feet high. representing MI
nerva. In such so-called chryselephsntlne
statues gold was used to represent the
clothing while the ivory served for the
nude part Of the body. Apparently the
ancients had a way Of softeniug he ivory
for working, but how they did il IS not
known. Fiat plaques Of their workman
ship, much larger than any tusk have
been found. BY the use OF q saw. vcnecrs
forty feet long and twelve inches wide
have been cut from a single tusk II Is
said that ivory dust has been employed
az a basis for soups.
The tusks Of mastodons are found in
various parts of the country. These ami
mails were at one time very numerous IN
what is now the United States. There
was no genus of quadruDed more extern
sively dinused over the globe; there are
several species, and they ranged from the
tropics to sub-Arctc regions Unlike the
mammoth, they did not belong to the
genus elephas. However. they were a
kind of elephant. considerably larger than
any beast Of this type now surviving.
They We're contemporary with dhe NAM
moth. the most important difference be-
tween the two being IN the shape of the
teeth. The legs OF the mastodon were
shorter. especially the hind ones, and Il
had four tusks. two Of enormous length
In the upper jaw and two of lesser size
IN the lower jaw. Much thicker set than
modern elephants, they numbered through
the primeval forests, feeding on the green
leaves and twigs Of trees. Often they be-
came mired In shallow lakes in the west
from the former beds Of which their bones
are dug out to-day Mastodon ivory is
always too much decayed to be of any
use. and frequently II Is so rotten as TO
crumble between the fingers.
Ito MaIIOp."
From Notes and Queries.