IVORY, ITS SOURCES AND USES. 535 



the tusk. To the regularity and smalluess of these canals ivory- 

 owes its elasticity, firmness, and fineness of grain ; to their curva- 

 tures and eccentric direction plainly visible in cross-cut sections 

 are due those beautiful cloudings and delicate markings which 

 give value to, and readily distinguish the real from the imitated 

 article. 



Ivory is extremely hard and heavy the very name, a Latin 

 derivative from harms, an elephant, so called from a Greek word 

 meaning heavy. It is difficult to cut, requiring the sharpest and 

 hardest of tools, but yields readily to the saw, the lathe, the file. 

 Owing to its value, which is so constantly increasing that it now 

 ranks with the " precious " substances, the greatest care is taken 

 to avoid waste in manipulation. The cutting is effected with 

 thin saws. Large plates of veneer have been obtained by the 

 "reciprocating" saw, cutting a spiral shaving round the tusk. 

 There is an account of one thus produced which was forty feet in 

 length and twelve inches wide. Polishing is done by the use of 

 various powders. 



Ivory is dead pearly white in color, which sometimes changes 

 with age and exposure to yellow, brown, or black. This natural 

 whiteness is exquisitely delicate, and, as an enthusiast in ivories 

 expresses it, " bears a great resemblance to the brightest tint of 

 the human skin, which latter is the most beautiful hue in Na- 

 ture." On account of the yellowing with age, there have been 

 many recipes for restoring its whiteness, but none have proved 

 satisfactory. A fortune is in store for the inventor or discoverer 

 of the "happy medium." The opacity and elasticity of old ivory 

 can be partially restored, at least to be useful for some purposes, 

 by boiling in a solution of gelatin. 



The existence of statues and of plaques of ivory larger than 

 could be cut from any known tusk, render it probable that an- 

 cient workers possessed some method of bending or molding. It 

 can be made flexible by a bath of phosphoric acid, but at the 

 expense of many of its properties. It will also take a variety of 

 dyes without interfering with its polish, particularly if the actual 

 matrix or organic matter is stained. 



The tusks of the elephant are an elongation of the upper incisor 

 teeth, which may attain to enormous development; the largest 

 are those of the extinct mammoth ; some specimens have been 

 found in Siberia more than twelve feet in length and two hun- 

 dred pounds weight. There was a noted one of particularly fine 

 quality, weighing one hundred and eighty-six i)ounds, that was 

 cut up into piano keys. 



Among the modern elephants the African possesses the largest 

 tusks, often nine or ten feet in length, and weighing one hundred 

 and sixty pounds each. A pair of African tusks was exhibited 



