A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



shall deal with them in only a general way. Suppose 

 we begin with bones. 



Even in the earliest days with dried beef hams as 

 an important trade factor, bones of the most valu- 

 able character went into the general pot of refuse 

 to a great extent. Now they are used for keys on 

 the cheaper grades of organs and pianos, for knife 

 handles, buttons, ornaments and novelties of infinite 

 variety. In order to indicate how thoroughly the 

 whole product is used, I may say that thigh and 

 shin bones are sawed, and the knuckles are used 

 in glue, or crushed and ground for bonemeal, used 

 as a fertilizer, or as a poultry and stock food, and 

 also in the case-hardening of steel. The part be- 

 tween the knuckles is far-reaching. The marrow 

 is extracted and melted into an edible product; the 

 bones are then cooked for neatsfoot oil and tallow, 

 and then dried and sold to manufacturers for the 

 purposes mentioned. 



The few fine hairs from the inside of a steer's 

 ear are used to make "camel's hair" brushes. The 

 use of blood is well known, but how many know of 

 the product called "blood albumen"? This is made 

 by allowing blood to coagulate, separating the serum 

 by centrifugal force. The liquid obtained is filtered, 

 decolorized, and evaporated into a dried serum. The 

 final product is used as a clarifying agent in the 

 manufacture of photographic paper, and to set colors 

 in textile printing. During the war blood albumen 



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