144 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



by its elasticity, strength, and smoothness of texture, 

 and used in the making of drums, tambourines, 

 banjos, etc., is obtained from the skins of kids, 

 lambs, and calves. In Siam, the natives make 

 use of the skin of the elephant-trunk snake in the 

 construction of drums. 



That useful household commodity called wash- 

 leather or shammy-leather the latter term origin- 

 ating from the word ' chamois,' from which 

 creature the leather was formerly obtained is 

 produced from the skins of sheep, deer, oxen, etc. ; 

 and the porpoise hide of commerce which is 

 frequently sold in the form of boot-laces is, in spite 

 of its name, prepared from the skin of the beluga 

 or white whale. The skin of fish, besides being 

 converted into glue, is also utilised for other 

 purposes ; that of the sharks and rays being 

 manufactured into a granulated leather known as 

 shagreen, while the rough skin of the angel-fish is 

 used for producing a polish upon wood and ivory. 

 Eel skins are also occasionally manufactured into 

 the lashes of whips. 



Certain of the internal parts of animals are 

 turned to account by mankind for his use, and the 

 so-called catgut, which is made into strings for 

 musical instruments, is produced by drying and 

 twisting up the intestines of sheep, and, occasionally, 

 those of horses and asses ; while gold-beaters' 

 skin is prepared from the thin outer membrane of 

 the intestine of the ox, and used by gold-beaters 

 to place between the layers of metal while they 

 beat it into the required thickness. Another 



