1870.] ELEPHANT'S TUSKS. 91 



cracked, but those from Siam and the neighbouring countries 

 are very "bright," soft, and fine grained; they are much 

 sought after for carvings and ornamental work. Tusks from 

 Mozambique and the Cape of Good Hope seldom exceed 

 70 lbs. in weight each : they are similar in character to the 

 Zanzibar kind. 



Tusks which come through Alexandria and Malta differ 

 considerably in quality : some resemble those from Zanzibar, 

 whilst others are white and opaque, harder to work, and more 

 cracked at the points ; and others again are very translucent 

 and hard, besides being liable to crack : this latter descrip- 

 tion fetches a much lower price in the market. 



From the West Coast of Africa we get ivory which is 

 always translucent, with a dark outside or coating, but 

 partly hard and partly soft. 



The soft ivory which comes from Ambriz, the Gaboon 

 Kiver, and the ports south of the equator, is more highly 

 valued than any other, and is called " silver grey " : this 

 sort retains its whiteness when exposed to the air, and is 

 free from that tendency to become yellowish in time which 

 characterises Asiatic and East African ivory. 



Hard tusks, as a rule, are proportionately smaller in dia- 

 meter, sharper, and less worn than soft ones, and they come 

 to market much more cracked, fetching in consequence a 

 lower price. 



In addition to the above a few tons of Mammoth ivory 

 are received from time to time from the Arctic regions and 

 Siberia, and although of unknown antiquity, some tusks are 

 equal in every respect to ivory which is obtained in the 

 present day from elephants newly killed ; this, no doubt, is 

 owing to the preservative effects of the ice in which the 

 animals have been imbedded for many thousands of years. 

 In the year 1799 the entire carcase of a mammoth was taken 

 from the ice, and the skeleton and portions of the skin, still 

 covered with reddish hair, are preserved in the Museum of 



