Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 359 



with the brighter colour of the horn. Artificial tortoise- 

 shell is made by melting gelatine with various metallic 

 salts. 



The greatest comb-manufactory in the world is in 

 Aberdeen. There are 36 furnaces on the works for pre- 

 paring horns and tortoiseshell for the combs, and no less 

 than 1 20 iron screw-presses worked by steam. 



Forty years ago, ladies' back-combs — which were larger 

 than ladies' bonnets are now — were made in England and 

 the United States for the Spanish peninsula and South 

 American markets. They were often a couple of feet wide, 

 encircling two-thirds of the head, and from six inches to a 

 foot high on the back, the top being wrought in open work ; 

 to these the Spanish ladies attached their veils. As much 

 of the work was done by hand and with the saw, and 

 the polishing was entirely manual, the prices were high, 

 averaging £l to £^. 



For modern uses thick tortoiseshell is more valuable 

 than thin; but among the Romans, who had 2l furore for 

 articles inlaid with tortoiseshell, veneers were cut off it, and 

 very beautiful work can be produced by this process. In 

 veneering it is usual to apply fish-glue mixed with lamp- 

 black, vermilion, green, chrome, white or other colouring 

 matter, at the back of the shell, both to heighten its effect 

 and to conceal the glue or cement by which it is secured to 

 the wooden foundation. 



The uses of tortoiseshell for ornament are varied, and a 

 very great number of articles, as must be generally known, 

 are made from this substance. Brown and light-coloured 

 tortoiseshell is imported from India and China to France 

 for fans, the former costing about 25^. the pound, the latter 

 as much as £^ Machinery has almost entirely replaced 

 hand work in the cutting of the mountings for fans, with 



