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KATUBAL science news. 



Zealand flax, with a shoulder-cape 

 of feathers, and the sceptre of a 

 chief is held in both hands. 



The yellow types are next — the 

 Eskimo, with costume of reindeer 

 skin, and gloves from the fur of 

 the polar bear; the Tibetan, from 

 Eastern Tibet, with a woolen robe 

 and boots of native manufacture; 

 and the Siamese, with a complete 

 costume of native fabrics, present- 

 ed to the institution by the King 

 of Siam. 



The white types are the Arab 

 sheik, with woolen robe or bur- 

 noosc, turban of camel's hair, cord, 

 etc., the whole being the gift of 

 the Trocadero Museum: the Ar- 

 menian, with turban, embroidered 

 coat and trousers, and robe of blue 

 silk, shot with gold; and the Ber- 

 ber from North Africa, in native 

 cotton garments, and carrying a 

 long and vicious-looking gun. — J. 

 K. R.. in Country Gentleman. 



Some of the Uses of Shells. 



Among the various contributions 

 that nature makes to the Avants of 

 man, shells figure quite extensive- 

 ly. As vessels for food and drink 

 and other domestic purposes, many 

 species are very conveniently 

 shaped. The valves of many spe- 

 cies of clams are large and deep 

 and available for cups and dishes, 

 and as such have been used by the 

 American Indians, who have also 

 employed them as knives, scrapers 

 and hoes. Shells of the genus 

 Unio have always held an impor- 

 tant place in the domestic and me- 

 chanical arts of the savages of 

 North America. The valves of 

 many varieties of these shells are 

 well adapted to the use of man. 

 Although not large enough for 

 food vessels, they make very satis- 

 factory spoons and cups: but it is 

 probable that they were much 

 more frequently used by the In- 

 dians as knives and scrapers. The 

 very widely distributed Peetens. on 

 account of their beauty of form 

 and color, have been in great favor 

 with all peoples. The}/ were ex- 

 tensively employed by the ancient 

 inhabitants of America as orna- 

 ments and rattles, and many speci- 

 mens obtained from graves and 

 mounds appear to have been used 

 as utensils, paint cups and vessels 

 for food and drink. 



The Haliotis affords an excellent 

 example of the varied uses to 

 which the natural shell has been 

 applied by savage peoples. Ex- 

 plorations of the burial places of 

 the ancient tribes of the Pacific 



coast have brought to light numer- 

 ous specimens of these shells, 

 which had apparently served as 

 bowls, dishes and spoons. This 

 shell probably formed as impor- 

 tant a factor in the commerce of 

 these tribes as did the large conchs 

 of the Atlantic coast m that 

 of the mound builders and their 

 neighbors. The rougher and more 

 homely oyster shell enjoyed the 

 favor of the mound-building tribes, 

 and probably served many useful 

 purposes. Many species of the 

 Fissurella and Dentaliion shells 

 were in common use, advantage 

 being taken of the natural perfora- 

 tions for stringing, the latter being 

 quite extensively tosed for money 

 on the Pacific coast. 



A great variety of the larger uni- 

 valve sea shells have been used in 

 the unaltered state, the Busycons 

 probably taking the most impor- 

 tant place, and species of the 

 S/rombus, the Cassis, the Nautilus, 

 and Fasciolaria following in about 

 the order named. The Busy con 

 perversum has been more extensive- 

 ly employed than any other shell, 

 and the uses to which it was put 

 by the ancient Americans were nu- 

 merous and varied. Fine speci- 

 mens of vessels made of this shell 

 are on exhibition in the National 

 Museum at Washington. As do- 

 mestic utensils, bivalve shells have 

 held a place hardly inferior in im- 

 portance to that of the large uni- 

 valves. Marine and fluviatile var- 

 ieties have been used indiscrimi- 

 nately, and generally in the natur- 

 al state: but occasionally altered 

 by art to enhance their beauty or 

 add to their convenience. Such 

 alteration consisted chiefly in ■ the 

 carving out of a kind of handle to 

 form a spoon. It is curious fact 

 that most of such utensils that 

 have been met with have been 

 made from the left valve of the 

 shell, which gives such a position 

 to the handle that they were most 

 conveniently used by the right 

 hand, thus indicating righthanded- 

 ness on the part of their manufac- 

 turers and users. 



According to Pictet, large shells 

 called tritons were used in ancient 

 times as vessels for offering liba- 

 tions with. 



Rondelot, speaking of the Ole- 

 aria, says that goldsmiths make 

 very elegant ewers of this shell by 

 adding a foot and handle to it, and 

 that some regard these vessels as a 

 preservative against poisons. 



In the cottages of Shetland, the 

 Fusus antiquus is suspended hori- 

 zontally and used as a lamp, the 

 oil being placed in the cavity of 



the shell and the wick passing 

 through the canal. 



Patelida, in the vicinity of Can- 

 cale, serve as an oil reservoir in 

 small lamps called "crassets. " 



The common mussel and a few 

 other shells are called artists' 

 shells, from artists' colors being 

 put in them. 



Saint James shells, a species of I 

 Pecten, are freuquently used in I 

 Brittany as milk ladles and drink- I 

 ing vessels. 



According to Pliny, the round 

 cockles were used for measuring 

 oil. 



In China, certain Tridacnie are 

 used as watering troughs for cattle* 

 and some of the wealthy mandarins 

 possess baths made of a species of 

 this shell. A pair of valves of T. 

 gigas, weighing upward of 500 

 pounds and measuring about two 

 feet across, are used as holy water 

 basins in the church of St. Sulpice, 

 Paris. They were obtained from 

 Francis I, to whom they bad been 

 sent by the Republic of Venice. 



In several countries of the Indies 

 windows are glazed with transpar- 

 ent shells cut into square. The 

 species used for this purpose is 

 Plaeuua vitrea, or "window shell." 

 All the churches- of Goa still have 

 their windows glazed with this 

 shell. De Guignes states that the 

 same use of the Plaeuna is made in 

 China. 



We meet with numerous exam- 

 ples of the use of shells as instru- 

 ments of war, hunting, labor, and 

 construction. Drake tells us that 

 some of the South American tribes 

 had hatchets and knives made of 

 shells that often reached a foot in 

 length. These were carved and 

 polished with art, and must have 

 lasted a long time. 



In New Caledonia, flat axes are i 

 made of shells of large size and 

 round form. 



The shells of the genus Tridacna 

 are quite thick, but their edge is 

 thin enough to allow the Polynes- 

 ians to make picks, axes, and other 

 instruments of the kind out of 

 them. The Indians of Florida 

 made their tomahawks out of the 

 shell Busy con perversum. 



Among the Fuegians, the only 

 native tool is a large shell of a sea 

 mussel, carved and sharpened and 

 firmly affixed by a seal skin strap 

 to a stone designed to be held in 

 the hand. 



The Indians of Vancouver's Is- 

 land still carve their wooden sep- 

 ulchral images with knives made 

 of shells. 



Celts made of Strombus and Bus- 

 ycon shells have been found in var- 



