WORKING OF IVORY 243 



writer believes that this may possibly be due to the exclusion 

 of the ultra-violet rays by the hard flint glass, and that it 

 may be the actinic rays that affect ivory even more than 

 does the air. 



Very thin, pliant veneers have been cut in spirals out of 

 a solid block of ivory by means of a feather-edged veneer 

 saw, and some years ago a Monsieur Page patented a process 

 for such work. He produced pieces 17 by 38 in., and as- 

 serted that he could make much larger pieces, up to 30 by 

 150 in. The excessive thinness — 1-50 in.^ — and the trans- 

 parency of this veneer renders it not very well adapted for 

 application to wood, etc., as the material beneath would 

 show through to a certain extent. As material for the 

 painter's art, however, it might answer better.* 



The buyers for the billiard-ball manufacturers visit 

 the markets in London, and formerly they went to the 

 great ivory mart Antwerp as well. The tusks are sold 

 in lots, and out of fifty constituting such a lot perhaps a 

 dozen will be considered suitable for ball cutting; some- 

 times, however, only four or five or even but one or two 

 may answer the purpose. Hence a careful examination of 

 each tusk as to its adaptability is requisite, since the en- 

 tire lot must be purchased and the unavailable tusks will 

 have to be disposed of at a lower price than the average cost 

 of the lot. What is known as "sand checking" or sun 

 drying are tests frequently employed. 



The depth of the hollow part of the tusk is ascertained 

 by means of a straight steel rod, 16 or 18 in. in length, 

 with a transverse handle. This handle is firmly held, 

 and the steel rod is introduced into the hollow and passed 

 up to the end; it is then taken out, the depth of the hol- 

 low being noted and the rod laid along the outside of the 

 tusk, so as to show the point where the solid part begins. 



*Holtzapffel, op. cit.. Vol. I, p. 154, note. 



