USES OF WIIAI-EBOXE. 435 



ribs of sheds, and in the construction of arches and 

 posts of gate-ways. The external part of tlicse 

 bones, being harder iiid of a more compact texture 

 than the interior, is appUed to the formation of the 

 sheeves of blocks, in place of lignum-vitae. Any of 

 the bones, when ground into powder, forms a valu- 

 able ingredient in manure. 



5. JVIialehone. — This singular substance, when 

 softened in hot water, or simply by lieating it be- 

 fore a fire, has the property of retaining any shape 

 which may be then given it, provided it be secured 

 in the required form, until it becomes cold. This 

 property, together with its great elasticity and flexi- 

 bility, renders it capable of being applied to a great 

 variety of useful purposes. 



The first way in which whalebone seems to have 

 been employed, was in the stays of ladies. Its ap- 

 plication to this purpose, was, at one period, when 

 the quantity imported was small, so general, that it 

 attained, in the wholesale way, the price of 700 /. 

 2Kr ton. Subsequently, however, it has become less 

 valuable, and of late it has fallen somewhat into dis- 

 repute, some ladies having superseded its use in 

 stays, by supporting themselves with plates of steel. 

 There has, for many years, been an extensive con- 

 sumption of this article in the manufacture of um- 

 brellas and parasols. The white enamel, (found in 

 some specimens of whalebone), has recently been fa- 

 bricated into ladies hats, and into a variety of orna- 



E c2 



