436 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



pounds of ivory, the Cape sending only 22,170 pounds; 

 from India came 243,300 pounds. At this time the Chinese 

 drew their supply from Malacca, Siam, and Sumatra (prob- 

 ably also from Ceylon). The work of Chinese ivory 

 carvers seems to have been more highly appreciated in 

 Europe about 1830 than it is to-day, as our authority says: 

 "The preparation of this beautiful material is much better 

 understood by the Chinese than by any other people." 

 The undoubted ingenuity and technical skill of the Chinese 

 carvers seems to have caused many to overlook their artistic 

 shortcomings.* 



The following prices of elephants' tusks per hundred- 

 weight (112 pounds) are listed for the London market in 

 December, 1833; they include a duty of $5 per hundred- 

 weight if 



1st 79 to 90 lbs. ...... 29 



2d 56 to 78 " ...... 25 



3d 38 to 55 " 23 



4th 28 to 37 " 20 



5th 18 to 27 .18 



Scrivelloes 14 



Sea-horse teeth 



The size of the tusks of course affects the value of the 

 material, as the larger the pieces of ivory, the wilder the 

 range of use. All tusks weighing less than 18 pounds were 

 designated "scrivelloes." 



As with other commodities, the price of ivory has had 

 wide fluctuations. In illustration of this we may take 

 the average figures per hundredweight for the quarterly 

 sales of billiard ball pieces of all grades in the London 



*J. R. McCuIloch, "A Dictionary of Commerce," London, 1837, pp. 737, 738. 

 tMcCulloch's "Dictionary of Commerce," new ed., London, 1837, p. 737. 





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