380 THE TORTOISESHELL OE COMMERCE. 



scopic lenses ; for the manufacture of fancy articles, such as e"tuis n&essaires, 

 toilet and perfume boxes, needle and card cases. 



It is altogether of slight commercial importance, especially at present, 

 being in a very critical and exceedingly depressed state. This is attribut- 

 able — firstly, to the general position of trade, which, of course, is most 

 sensitively felt by a raw material used solely in the manufacture of expen- 

 sive articles of luxury; secondly, to one of those incongruous vagaries of 

 taste, in nothing so inexplicable as in feminine attire — the ungainly 

 fashions of wearing the hair either loose, dishevelled over the shoulders in 

 artificial neglige, or thrown conspicuously over the face by concealed horse- 

 hair puffs, or suspended behind in a netted bag, having completely super- 

 seded the neat and elegant modes formerly in vogue, and their necessary 

 appendages, side and back combs. At the same time, the dressing-comb, 

 not affected by this, was for a time seriously injured by the new appliances 

 of India rubber and gutta percha. It is, however, now recovering from this, 

 as the combs manufactured from these two articles have not been found to 

 answer so well as was expected. 



The market value of tortoiseshell is, of course, much influenced by the 

 beforementioned causes. In ordinary times, it ranges from 16s. to 30s.; at 

 the present moment, the 16s. quality may be had at 10s., the 30s. at 25s. 

 The purchase of it is, however, a mere speculation, as its value is dependent 

 entirely on the movement of the fashion in the head-dress of the fair sex. 

 It arrives in packages of all sizes and of all shapes, from the paper parcel 

 containing the skeleton of a single animal (technically a " fish"), weighing 

 from two to four pounds, to the puncheon, or iron-bound cask or case, con- 

 taining from two to eight hundredweight. 



The above particulars refer exclusively to what is generally known as 

 tortoiseshell We receive, besides, an article technically called " hoof," 

 being that portion of the skeleton which unites the upper to the lower half 

 of the shell. Until lately this was about half the value of the shell, but it 

 has now become of at least equal value, being used for the manufacture of 

 the gold or amber-coloured semi-transparent comb so much admired 

 abroad. Altogether, like most articles of taste, both the manufacture of 

 combs and the appreciation of their value have reached a far higher point on 

 the Continent than in England ; — here the endeavour being to manufacture 

 the cheap and durable ; there, the tasty and light. 



We also receive, from nearly as many countries as tortoiseshell itself, 

 the material technically known as " turtle-shell." This is used in the 

 manufacture of the cheaper kind of card-cases, workboxes, and small fancy 

 articles ; and, more especially on the Continent, largely in the manufacture 

 of furniture (buhl and marquetry). Its value is now from Is. to 10s. per pound. 



The lower shell of the tortoise or turtle, technically called the " belly- 

 shell," united by the hoof to the upper, differs entirely from it in appearance. 

 Instead of the mottled, shaded colour of the upper shell, with its varying 

 tints and markings, it is of a bright yellow, resembling half the hoof to 

 which we have before referred, and which, it may be incidentally mentioned, 



