236 



CRAPE-STONE. 



CUBA. 



crape; but the invention of crape-stone has 

 largely supplanted them in all parts of the 

 world, and it is now made into almost every 

 conceivable article of jewelry. The manu- 

 factory is in Providence, R. I., where a large 

 number of skilled artisans are employed. Crape- 



CRAPE-STONE EAB-RINGS. 



stone of the first class is made from onyx, 

 which is cut with tools and abraded with 

 acids to produce the crape-like corrugations. 

 These are in series side by side, or grouped 

 in divisions ; they are practically parallel, ei- 

 ther longitudinal, lateral, or diagonal, some- 



CRAPE-STONE BROOCH. 



times waved ; and the effect is perfected by 

 the finer cross-lines. The s.tone, after being 

 cut, is colored a lusterless black. The onyx is 

 obtained in large quantities in our Western 

 Territories, but a portion of the supply is from 

 Idar, Oldenburg. The American stone is sent 

 to Germany, where it is sawed into the de- 

 sired sizes, cut, and prepared for the orna- 

 mentation. It is then returned to this coun- 



CRAPE-BTONE BRACELET. 



try and subjected to the craping- process at 

 Providence. The workman cuts each corru- 

 gation and the finer cross-lines with the ut- 

 most care, after which the stone is subjected 

 to the acid. Crape-stone of the second class 

 is made of silicious compounds, with mineral 

 or metal fluxes, and is formed in molds. It 

 is then covered with a film of wax at certain 



points, and placed in a bath of corrosive acid, 

 and the combinations produce the crape effect. 

 The processes, which are the invention of 

 Charles A. Fowler, of New York, are the re- 

 sult of a long series of experiments. The ac- 

 companying illustrations give a good idea of 

 the peculiar effect produced in this species of 

 jewelry. 



CEBA, an island of the West Indies, belong- 

 ing to Spain. (For details relating to area, 

 territorial division, population, etc., see " An- 

 nual Cyclopedia" for 1883.) 



Army, The commander-in-chief and Cap- 

 tain-General of the island is Don Ramon 

 Fajardo e Izquierdo, lieutenant-general, late- 

 ly Captain-General of Porto Rico, and trans- 

 ferred to Cuba upon the resignation of Captain- 

 General Castillo. The strength of the Spanish 

 forces in Cuba, in 1884, was 25,653 men. 



Discriminating Duties. On Dec. 27, 1883, the 

 following message was cabled from Madrid : 



A decree is gazetted, in accordance with the recom- 

 mendation of the Council of Ministers on the 22d 

 inst., abrogating Article V of the decree of March 1L>, 

 1868, whereby goods from the United States pay duty 

 in Cuba as though they had been brought in foreign 

 ships, even when arriving under the Spanish flag. 

 The preamble of the decree says that the objects of 

 the measure are to define the equitable conditions of 

 the reciprocal trade between Cuba and the United 

 States, without prejudice to an ulterior revision of 

 the tariff 1 , and to place the commercial relations of 

 Spain and the United States upon a sound basis. The 

 decree will become operative in thirty days after its 

 publication by Spanish consuls in their respective 

 localities. 



In 1868, the year before the war in Cuba, a 

 decree was issued that was aimed at Amer- 

 ican merchandise exclusively. This decree 

 levied a duty of 5 per cent, on the value of 

 all American goods carried into Cuba in any 

 vessel whatever. It was to favor Spanish ship- 

 ping, and was in addition to the heavy import 

 duties levied on all foreign goods sold in Cuba. 

 The effect was not what was anticipated. The 

 Americans retaliated. A discriminating duty 

 on goods brought here in Spanish 

 ships was levied, aud the result is that 

 Spanish ships have since entered 

 American ports in ballast from Cuba. 

 In January, 1884, the Spanish Cab- 

 inet decided that the commercial con 

 vention with the United States,which 

 was the outgrowth of the above de- 

 cree, should go into efiect on March 

 1, except the portion regarding the 

 abolition of consular tonnage-tax on 

 vessels leaving American ports for 

 Cuba or Porto Rico, which would re- 

 quire the sanction of the new Cortes. 

 The commercial arrangement negotiated be- 

 tween Messrs. Elduayen and Foster, and be- 

 coming operative from March 1, 1884, con- 

 tains the important clause that goods imported 

 into Cuba and Porto Rico under the American 

 flag are to be subject to the same duties as if 

 they were imported under the Spanish flag. 

 To understand the provisions of this arrange- 



