Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-01-09
yANETY N IVORY.


E4fnlBA H.
The elephanE 10 NO longer the only
uinfmal which can produce ivory, ac-
coTding to the ofic "A decision of the
UNITED States Genera Appraisers.
Ivory dealers and those who work in
the material have known this fog q
long time, but the makers of the
tariff de moi seem to have been SO well
posted. Testimony from ivory dealers
was int reduced at the investigation 10
show THAT the tusks of the hdppopota-
mus furnish just as good ivory as do
amy of the twenty-five different var.
ieties of elephants. it was also shown
that the boar, naEwhal, right whale
and alfi gator were producers of ivory.
Even the Western hog gives up many
an ivory tusk TO the butchers in Chi
cago packing houses.
The Ivory question: arose a. few
weeks ago, whem an importing firm
tried to bring i'm consignment of
umbrella handles made of hippopota-
mus teeth, says the New York Trt-
hume. The importers objected to pay
ing duty ait the rate of 35 per cent
adNahorem, which is the ivory rate,
and commended that the hippopouamuS
teeth should be assessed 20 per cent,
as they were not mentioned in the
tariff. The decision was against the
importers.
This does not mean that there is no
difference between elepha MT ivory and
hippopotamus ivory. Ivory workers
who understand their vocation can
distinguish a difference even between
the various kinds of elephant ivory
before it has been polished and
worked over. When it lis carved often
experts can determine from just what
animal the ivory originally came, but
the ordinary purchaser can see no
difference.
Hippopotamus ivory answers every
mercantile purpose tas far ais it goes.
That 1T is not considered as valuable
as elephant ivory is due to the fact
that it can be used only for smaller
ARTICLES. The hippopotamus teeth Ne.
ceived in this market wSdgh from one
half pound TO three or four pounds.
The elephant tusks range i'm weight
from 100 to $50 pounds. Narwhal
tusks range in weight from five to
twenty-five pounds.
When manufactured into small
articles the hippopotamus ivory
brings just as much as any other kind
AS far als~that goes, however, the
tusks of the American hog brings
more than does any kind of ivory IL
weight alone is considered. If they
were sold at the regular ivory rate
for 81 "a, pound they would bring
about CENTS each. They are sold by
the piece and average 25 cents each
The pig teeth are hollow, but viii
take a very high polish and can be
used in many WAYS. lit is said that
20 per cent of the hogs killed produces
valuable tusks.
The long, thin, yellow trsk of the
narwhaH does not bring naarly Sc
much today as it did $50 years ago
This is due to the passing of super
stitious ideas regarding this ivory
| producer Of the sea. A century ACC
| people believed that the walrus was
connected with the fabulous unicorn
and the horn or tusl was supposed *
| possess many magical virtues. Fol
instance, Mt was regarded as an anti
dote for iall poisons and Kings kept 4
horn in their d;nin groomS, believing
that III would warn them if their foot
had been poisoned. The tusks wer.
worth thousands OF dofiars in thos,
times, but the whalrrs and hunters o.
the north are glad to sell them toda,
for SIS.