WORKING OF IVORY 265 



of pulverized verdigris, in thirty times their weight of water; 

 this mixture is then to be filtered and reboiled. After hav- 

 ing been dipped in this solution, the ivory is to be treated 

 with another solution secured by boiling for an hour, and 

 then straining, 1 part Campeachy-wood extract (tied in a 

 linen bag), 0.5 part gum arable, 12 parts of water, and 12 

 parts of alum. 



The scrapings of ivory were quite frequently used as 

 ingredients in the medicinal preparations of the eighteenth 

 century, this rasura eboris being dissolved in a liquid and 

 administered as a remedy for fever, for jaundice, and for 

 diseases of the liver and spleen. Pulverized ivory, steamed 

 and calcined, known as ehur ustum or ivoire brule, was be- 

 lieved to cure abdominal disorders and to check hemorrhages 

 and leucorrhea. Calcined in a covered crucible, it became 

 coal black, and was called by the French noir de velours; 

 this preparation was employed as a hair restorer.* 



The use of ivory in Roman times to remove blemishes 

 from the skin is vouched for by both Pliny and a Latin 

 physician named Placitus, sometimes erroneously called 

 Sextus Platonicus. The material was reduced to a pow- 

 der, mixed with Attic honey, and when applied to the 

 face produced excellent results, more especially if used 



daily.t 



That an inferior kind of ivory was made from the bones 

 of the elephant is asserted by Cardano, writing in the six- 

 teenth century, although he hastens to declare that "the 

 finest" came from the tusk. As ivory was tough, dense, 

 and white, it was especially adapted for the manufacture 

 of combs. It was so highly prized in his time that it was 

 regarded as ranking with gold and gems in value, although 



*Zeller's "Grosses VoUstandiges Universal Lexicon," 1734, Vol. VIII, col. 788. 

 tPlinIi, "Naturalis Historia," Lib. XXVIII, cap. viii; Placiti, "De Medicamentis ex 

 animalibus," cap. 12. 



