pagodas; thrones, emblems of mythology; and, in short, there is hardly a purpose in the useful and ornamental arts to which ivory is, or has not been in some way extensively employed.  At present, the ivory carvings of Dieppe are the finest in Europe; but the genius of the present age is utilitarian, and so are its applications of ivory.  If we desire high art in the fabrication of this material, we must go back a few centuries, or be satisfied with the beautiful productions of China or Hindostan.  We could scarcely give a more apt illustration of this truth than by pointing to the scat of honour set apart for Prince Albert in the closing scene of the Great Exhibition.  Elevated on the crimson platform, and standing forth as an appropriate emblem of the artistic genius of the mighty collection, was observed the magnificent ivory throne presented to her Majesty by the Rajah of Travancore!

From the great value of the material, the economical cutting of it up is of the last importance.  Nothing is lost.  The smallest fragments are of some value, have certain uses, and bear a corresponding price.  Ivory dust, which is produced in large quantities, is a most valuable gelatine, and as such extensively employed by straw-hat makers.  The greatest consumption of ivory is undoubtedly in connection with the cutlery trade.  For these purposes alone about 200 tons are annually used in Sheffield and Birmingham, and the ivory in nearly every instance is from India.  The mode of manufacturing knife-handles is very simple and expeditious:—­The teeth are first cut into slabs of the requisite thickness—­then to the proper cross dimensions, by means of circular saws of different shapes.  They are afterwards drilled with great accuracy by a machine; rivetted to the blade; and finally smoothed and polished.  We believe that this branch of industry alone gives employment to about 500 persons in Sheffield.  Combs are seldom made of any ivory but Indian, and their mode of manufacture we had recently occasion to describe.[4] A large amount of ivory is consumed in the backs of hairbrushes; and this branch of the trade has recently undergone considerable improvements.  The old method of making a tooth-brush, for example, was to lace the bristles through the ivory, and then to glue, or otherwise fasten, an outside slab to the brush for the purpose of concealing the holes and wire-thread.  This mode of manufacture has been improved on by a method of working the hair into the solid ivory; and brushes of this description are now the best in the market.  Their chief excellence consists in their preserving their original white colour to the last, which is a great desideratum.  Billiard-balls constitute another considerable item of ivory consumption.  They cost from 6s. to 12s. each; and the nicety of our ornamental turning produces balls not only of the most perfect spherical form, but accurately corresponding in size and weight even to a single grain.