Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-07
INITIATING TORTOISE SHE'LL
new York sun

LNM
srHow can YOU tell a tortoise shell comb
fronn limitations in horn or celluloid
The question was asked Of several manu-
factalrers who agreed that only an expert
can distinguish the difference m an cases,
Even he is sometimes puzzled until ne
makes careful study Of the two articles.
The manufacturers who duplicate m
cheaper materials the apparent effects
Of the turtles polished back are much
more clever than they we're a lew years
ago. r.-..-.,;.o
shell and limitations, said q manuiae-
tuner. "and vet the resemblance Is often
90 close that / need more than glance 70
determine whether a comb Is real tortoise
OF not
bv an experienced man are almost I'M
perceptible 70 in experienced persons who
is examining the better class OF mutations
Yet in appearance, touch and smell there
are peculiarities which reveal 70 the eN-
pert whether the comb is Of real shell or
not
"Years ago the trade depended mostly
on bone or horn, with which 70 initiate
tortoise she'll and in horn some hne work
was done But horn has been getting
more and more scarce since the farmers
took to raising hornless cattle, ana the
prices have gone up so that they are
more than double what they were lO
oNow little horn is used for this pur-
pose and there is a variety OF other
substitutes the chief Of which is easily
celuloid. We can produce IN celluloid
more beautiful combs and a more perfect
likeness OF tortoise shell than was ever
made in horn or any other material.
"The cellulod is convenient for the
manufacturer. too, because II Is ma
ter;al easy TO work The sale of celluloid
combs has gained enormously, but tor
itoisc shells. of course, are still IN rs great
demand as ever.
Exposure TO heat will not cause cell
luloid comb 20 burn in an explosive burst
Of fire and smoke if the material is OF the
better grades now being produced and
has been seasoned six months or year
lin the factory II you are willing 70
scrape off a little Of the comb and apply
match 10 the powder you can learn
something about the material
Even the best celluoid will 60 up IN
fash when il is crumbled and match Is
applied. II the comb is Of shell or horn
the material will burn slowly with bone
like odor.
"Tortoise shell does not yield to heat
below the boiling point. Hold comb,
and II the heat OF your hand so ELECTS
the teeth that YOU can bend them easily
70 other shapes you have celluloid or
some other material Shell Is almost as
elastic As a Damascan blade.
"rhe eye can see In the shell the phos-
phorescent CLEAN that comes from salt
water comb growth. The practical Oh,
server will notice as he looks at the shell
from either side that the brown and
yellow markings 60 through sharply, with
no tapering
"The mottled effect is copied with
chemicals applied 10 the horn, while
heated rollers and pressure send pigments
through oelluloid but in neither case does
art equal in delicate beauty the work Of
nature in producing the shells.
erhere Is clean, pleasant feeling to
shell that is not found in the limitations
The horn and bone combs are likely TO
have n clammy feeling 20 the touch or a
suggestion Of grease. This feature is
sometimes noticeable TO the eye. The
specific gravity Of shell is light"
Tortoise shell is cut and ornamented
while subjected 10 steam heat 70 make il
plastic. The chisels in tho machine which
cuts out the teeth are set az an angle 40
that they make wedge-shaped incisions,
the sharp ends Of the teeth in one comb
coming from the roots Of adjacent teeth
10 another comb. thus avoiding waste
Exquisite hand carving ornaments
some Of these combs, and this is a work
of much delcacy, because tho shell is
about one-eighth Of an inch in thickness.
Gliding and inlaying Of precious stones add
much 10 tho value Of shell combs, and
another addition is the mounting, often
an elaborate filigree or other design in
gold or silver.
High prices are paid for the more beau
tiful specimens Of shell, which receive the
richest ornamentation. They bring from
10 10 Is times the price Of the best
limitations. More common kinds of shell
sell for only double the price of celluloid
or horn.
Under the stomach Of certain species
Of turtle are shells that are Of uniformly
yellow color and not more than one
sixteenth of an inch in thickness. Thesl
shells are highly priced They are welded
together in layers to obtain the thick
ness requisite for manufacturing pur
poses.
Another device Of the manufacturer !
70 select the especially desirable pieces O
shell and weldl them together, thus oh
tanning remarkable color effects Shell
adhere readily to one another when the
skilfully that the line Of contact canno
be detected. Because OF the ease wit
which this work is done shell combs,
they break, may be repaired so that the
will be as beautiful as ever.
The kinds of turtle whose shells Al
valuable are found in large numbers o
the Virgin Islands in the West Indie
but shells are also obtained from variol
other points in the Atlantic and Pacif
oceans, some coming from the coast
Florida.
One of the manufacturers said that q
reason celluloid is not so inhammable
formerly is that rubber is mixed with u
guncotton and camphor. After some yea
he said, celuloid will become brittle, whi
shell 100 years and more old retains !
onginal qualities.
Much Ingenuity is constantly exert,
in getting up new substitutes for she
A John street house deals in produ
made in Europe from cheese. The in
tation, when new, resembles shell ms
velously, but the comb manufacture
fear that il will grow brittle even mo
quickly than celluloid.
u
Rashfnefon Hetchts Church