30 THE YOUNG 
of horn, being more transparent and 
much cheaper. 
The best horns come from South Amer- 
ica. The Cape of Good Hope and the East 
Indies also yield a large supply of very 
excellent horns. Of late years the Texan 
herds of cattle have furnished large quan- 
tities, but other materials, such as vul- 
canite and celluloid, that are more easily 
worked, and that give better results, have 
lessened the demand, and consequently 
rendered them less valuable. 
Horn consists chiefly of hardened gela- 
tine, and although it cannot be reduced to 
glue by boiling, it can be softened by heat 
so as to be readily moulded into almost 
any form. The horn, as it grows on the 
animal, consists of concentric layers of this 
peculiar material, which are cemented to- 
gether with a firmness that varies at dif- 
ferent parts of the horn. Thus, at the 
base or part next the head, the layers are 
easily separated, and consequently the 
horn is loose and easily split at that part. 
On the other hand the tip is so hard and 
solid that it is very difficult to split, and 
hence is used for such work as making the 
tips of bows, etc.— purposes which require 
very hard and tough material. A knowl- 
edge of the different qualities of the dif- 
ferent parts is necessary to those that 
would work this material successfully. 
In preparing horns to be worked, the 
first step is to free them from everything 
except the pure material known as horn. 
This is most easily done by steeping or 
macerating the horns in water. This pro- 
cess requires nearly a month; the horn 
itself does not putrify, but the cores and 
other parts do, and are then easily separ- 
ated. The horns are then thoroughly 
washed in weak lye (not soaked, however) 
and are ready for the next process, which 
will depend upon the purpose for which 
the horn is wanted. Thus the horn may 
be used whole, as for musical and sound- 
giving instruments, powder horns, etc. 
Or it may be left in its original form, but 
used in parts, as for drinking cups. Or it 
may be formed into flat plates as for 
combs, or thin sheets for lanterns, or it 
may be moulded into such objects as 
boxes, cups, etc. And the best way to 
tell our readers how to go work will be to 
SCIENTIST. 
take up these different objects, one by 
one, and tell how each is made. | 
Let us suppose, then, that the reader ! 
has a fine specimen of horn, out of which 
he wishes to make a powder flask. The 
first thing will be to decide as to the 
mountings. If he intends to pursue the | 
old plan he will simply plug the large 
end, bore a hole through the tip or small I 
end, and use a neatly-carved or turned ' 
plug of bone or wood as a stopper. In 
this case the powder is simply poured out 
into a measure or into the hand and trans- 
ferred to the gun. Amongst the Seminole 
Indians an alligator's tooth used to be a 
favorite powder measure. 
If, instead of a simple plug, a metallic 
mounting should be preferred, then the 
best plan is to procure a good spring top, 
such as is used on the best metal flasks. 
Such tops might perhaps be procured 
through some gunsmith from the manu- 
facturers. The horn must then be cut off 
at the tip end, a little above the point at 
which the diameter of the horn is the same 
as that of the mounting. It can after- 
wards be cut off so as to fit exactly. 
Provision must also be made for attach- 
ing rings by which the horn may be sus- 
pended by cords. These rings must not 
be screwed or riveted into the horn, as 
the beauty of these flasks is their exces- 
sive thinness and lightness— the grains 
of powder actually appearing distinctly 
through the sides. This renders the horn 
very slight and delicate, and the only way 
to attach the small rings for the cord is by 
means of two large, thin rings or ferrules, 
which go entirely round the horn and are 
prevented from slipping off by means of 
two or three rivets. These large rings may 
be of silver or, what is better, of brass or 
steel, heavily nickel-plated. Silver is 
easily discolored by gunpowder, while 
nickel is not. 
Having arranged for the mountings, the 
next step is to prepare the horn. If the 
tip is to be left on, the upper end of the 
horn is hollowed out by boring with a half- 
round bit. If the tip is cut off so as to 
leave a large hole in the upper end, the 
inside of the horn is finished by scraping. 
The inside must be well scraped, so as not 
; only to remove any membranes left after 
