Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-27
BUTTONS GROW ON BUSHES,
Nuts Furnish Many of These Needful
Articles for Wearing Apparel.

From Popular Mechanics.
No, the ivory buttons you wear do not
represent the death of an elephant in the
wilds of Africa your pearl buttons were
probably never nearer than you took them
to the shell of bivalve mollusk. and the
probabilities are that no rubber tree was
ever tapped to produce the hard rubber
buttons that adorn your overcoat Down
in Central America there Is a fruit prOduc-
ing palm that has quite metamorphosed the
button business and formed the nucleus for
one of the most important industries in the
United States. The seed of this fruit con-
tains a milk that is sweet to the taste and
relshed by the natives. The milk when al
lowed to remain in the nut long enough
becomes indurated and turns into sub
stance as brittle and hard as the ivory from
stance as brittle and hard as the ivory
from the elephants tusk. The plant
that produces these nuts is called
the ivory plant. Most of the buttons
now used In America, whether termed
ivory, pearl, rubber, horn or bone, come
from this ivory plant. Thus the probabili-
ties are that your buttons are made from a
vegetable milk, and they grow on bushes
The ivory plant is one of the marvels of
the age. and is rewarding it's growers with
vast fortunes The nuts are brought to
the United States by the ship load and
hauled across the continent to the big but
ton factories, from which they issue forth
in every conceivable design, color, grade
and classification of button.
The ivory plant has recently been discov-
cred In California. but the nut it produces
in its wild state is of inferior quality and
will not make good buttons. 1t is believed
though, that with the proper cultivation
the fruit would be valuable as the Gem
trail American. If so. the growing of but
tons in America would become an industry
of importance second only to the growing of
corn. wheat and cotton. for everybody
wears buttons.
The best ivory nut for commercial pur-
poses is found on the banks of the River
Magdalena. in the United States of Colom-
bia, where by some it Is called the Tagua
palm. The fruit forms a globuIar head
about twice the size of mans head and
weighs from twenty to twenty-eight pounds.
The head is a kind of cluster of bulbs, and
in all contains from fifty to sixty seeds.
The seeds are allowed to dry and are har-
vested several times a. year by the natives.
The Apparel Gazette. the great dealers
authority on everything that people wear.
says: 1.-THE ivory nut is used almost sole
1y in the manufacture of buttons, though
some factories also make poker chips from
them. The nut. however, has superseded
the archaic mud, rubber and bone buttons
in vogue formerly It admits of wider and
more varied treatment for this purpose
than any other known substance, and is
easily worked. The United States con-
sumes more than one-half OF the worlds
product of ivory nuts. and nine-tenths Of
the vegetable ivory is manufactured into
buttons.
when the nut reaches the button fac
tory 1t Is cut into three slabs In the pro-
cess of cutting out the button is partially
shaped Afterward the thread holes are
drilled and countersunk The button is
then sent to the pOlisher. who uses the
shavings and powder made in drilling to
polish them in their white state. After
ward they are sent to the designer, who
traces on the buttons in indelible dyes the
designs needed to make them match the
various weaves. coloring and textures of
fabrics After receiving these outlines, IL
the buttons are to remain smooth and re-
ceive another coat of coloring, they are put
into dyes. II they are to be stamped with
a segregated pattern they are put into q
pressing machine fitted with dies Of the
pattern desired.