A PRACTICAL JOURNAL OF 
HOME ARTS. 
Vol. m. NEW YORK, MARCH, 1880. No. 3. 
signals, the character and direction of the 
chase. 
In the olden times drinking cups were 
generally made of horn, and even now the 
phrase "taking a horn" is used meta- 
phorically for taking a drink. Amongst 
other household articles made of horn 
were spoons and shoe-horns, or shoe- 
lifters, both of which are now generally 
made of metal. Of the fact that spoons 
were made of horn a memento still exists 
in the proverb—" I will make a spoon or 
spoil a good horn." 
Before the days of metallic cartridges 
and powder flasks, powder was carried in 
horns, and powder flasks are still some- 
times called "powder horns." It is not 
many years since most combs of the 
cheaper and commoner kinds were made 
of horn, and the finer and clearer speci- 
mens of this material were used for mak- 
ing boxes and frames, and cases for mag- 
nifiers and other optical instruments. 
Mathematical instrument makers also 
use thin sheets of horn for making pro- 
tractors, and templates for irregular 
curves. These thin sheets have long been 
used for making lanterns, or lanthorns 
(lamphorns) as they are sometimes called, 
but of late years mica has taken the place 
Horn, and How to Work It. 
F late years horns of 
great size and excel- 
lent quality have be- 
come comparatively 
common in many of 
our large cities, and 
are, therefore, not 
difficult to procure. 
Our young friends 
can make a great va- 
riety of useful and 
pretty things out of 
them, and therefore 
a few hints concern- 
ing the best methods of working this ma- 
terial cannot fail to prove acceptable. In 
the arts, horn is used for a great variety of 
purposes. First of all we have the tra- 
ditional use to which horns were first put, 
viz. : musical instruments— and although 
" horns " are now made of anything but 
horn, still it is a fact that the hunter of 
old generally used the horn of the wild 
bull or buffalo as an instrument by which 
to call together his companions, or to in- 
dicate to them, by certain prearranged 
