TABLE CUTLERY. 73 



DISH-BASKETS. 



Baskets of any kind, such as are used in public houses or on 

 board steamboats, when Hned with gum-elastic vellum, instead 

 of zinc or tin, will be found lighter to carry, occasioning less 

 noise, and less risk to the dishes placed in them, than when 

 lined with metal. 



MARKET AND FISH- BASKET S. 



These baskets, which have usually been made of willow or 

 spUnts, may be advantageously made of caoutchouc whalebone 

 and vegetable leather, and are very valuable on account of their 

 durability, water-proof quality, and cleanliness, for purposes of 

 this sort, for the reason that they may be used for marketing, 

 and afterwards cleansed, so as to be used for liquids, or other 

 substances, such as flour, meal, &;c., if desired. 



COAL-HODS. 



Coal-hods are manufactured from caoutchouc whalebone 

 board or vegetable leather ; they are stayed and rendered firm 

 by hoops and braces of wood or iron. 



The improvement which may fairly be claimed for this article 

 is, that it will not rust like sheet iron, that it is cheaper than 

 copper or brass, and is not noisy to use like either of these. 



TABLE CUTLERY. 



One of the most important applications of caoutchouc ivory is 

 that of handles for table cutlery. When put on in a soft state. 



{i<^558- 



