455 
Tortoise Shell is now little used for cutlery, and of what 
is so used part is merely the scrap shell from combmakers. 
I dare say that not above 1,000 lbs. weight of plate shell 
is at present used in Sheffield for knife scales. The present 
value of West Indian shell is 18s. to 25s. per lb., and 
Manilla 25s. to 38s. or 40s. 
When ladies vied with each other as to who should have 
the largest comb, the value of the best was 50s. to G3s. 
per lb. 
The chief woods used for cutlery purposes are Cocus, 
from Cuba and Jamaica, and Ebony, from Africa and the 
East Indies ; there is also a consumption of Bar, Partridge, 
Pheasant, Beech, and Yew woods, for cutlery purposes, and 
400 or 500 tons per annum will be about the average con- 
sumption of these woods. 
Of the extent to which cutlery is made with silver, silver- 
plated, porcelain, iron, or pressed wood handles, I am 
entirely ignorant. The following, to the best of my judg- 
ment, is a fair summary of the value of raw materials with 
which I am acquainted that are used for knife handles and 
scales : — 
£. £. 
90 Tons of Ivory, averaged at... 500 per Ton 45,000 
100 „ Mother-of-Pearl 130 „ 13,000 
350 „' Buffalo Horns 20 „ 7,000 
250 „ Tips 25 „ 6,250 
350 „ East India Stag Horn .. 40 „ 14,000 
50 ,, German, Spanish, and 
Italian ]00 „ 5,000 
1000 Lbs. Tortoise Shell at 25s. per lb. 1,250 
400,000 London Bones of 120, at ... 18s. per 120 3, GOO 
Foreign and country Bones, say about ... 4,000 
450 Tons Cocus, Ebony, and other 
woods £8 per Ton 3,600 
Total 
£102 ; 700 
