REPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 51 



dustries using these materials rather than to call attention to par- 

 ticular groups of animals yielding important products. The adop- 

 tion of this scheme has rendered advisable the installation in this 

 connection of certain materials and specimens which are not of ani- 

 mal origin, when such are used in or produced by the same industries, 

 as, for example, vegetable ivory, celluloid, and like nitrocellulose 

 products, along with the manufactures of ivory, horn and pearl, and 

 the introduction in a parallel series of vegetable gelatines and similar 

 products obtained from animals. 



Of materials for carving, turning or molding the most important 

 displayed are ivory, bone, horn, tortoise shell, whalebone, vegetable 

 ivory, mother-of-pearl, and various shells. The ivory collection in- 

 cludes teeth from the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, cachelot, nar- 

 whal, alligator and wild hog, and illustrates the manufacture from 

 them of piano keys, brush backs, combs, billiard balls, jewelry, and 

 handles for tools, knives and umbrellas, intermediate stages of work 

 as Avell as the finished articles being shown. The utilization of the 

 horns of the ox, stag, antelope, rhinoceros and sheep, and of the 

 bones of many animals is treated in a similar manner. Among other 

 industries represented in this series are the usages to which whale- 

 bone and tortoise shell are put, including such substitutes as feather- 

 bone, celluloid, and vulcanized rubber ; the making of buttons from 

 vegetable ivory, consisting of the seeds of several species of palms; 

 the use of both salt and fresh Avater shells, furnishing mother-of- 

 pearl, for buttons, jewelry and other ornaments, handles and carved 

 novelties; the pearl fisheries of Ceylon, including models of boats 

 and apparatus, shells, and a small lot of pearls of various kinds; 

 the uses of precious coral, fish scales, and cameo shells. The various 

 kinds of commercial sponges are also shown. 



Still other exhibits are of feathers and featherwork, in which the 

 ostrich plume is represented in every grade or form used ; the leather 

 industry, comprising the raw and tanned skins of many different 

 animals, implements for dressing skins, and illustrations of the man- 

 ner of making shoes, gloves, pocketbooks, hand bags, etc. ; the use of 

 bristles and hair in the manufacture of brushes; of animal mem- 

 branes for sausage cases and for the heads and strings of musical 

 instruments; of fishskins and sounds in the production of glue and 

 isinglass ; and of lac for sealing wax and shellac. 



Vegetahle products. — In this section of the division the collections 

 are much less extensive than those of animal products, and there has 

 been available for display scarcely more than was saved from the 

 original exhibition, though recent accessions will furnish more ma- 

 terial when there has been time to work them up. A tentative classi- 

 fication has been adopted, and means will soon be taken to sys- 

 tematically collect along the lines marked out. One of the most 



