Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1883 — Whalebone. [ARTICLE]

Whalebone.

The New York Fancy Goods ,Graphic has the upon the subject of this useful article: “The rapid advance pjf the price of whalebone dtiring the past few months has excited inquiry as to where it was going to reach. There is little prospect that the present limited stopk to be found in this country will be increased by a new supply from the whaling fleets before December next. If such is the case we may find the price advance seriously as soon as the demand for fall trade is felt. The historical and statistical features of so useful a material as whalebone cannot fail of interesting all with whom it is in any extent of demand, from the merchant who sells it, to the boy who uses it for fly guns, and that we may introduce it more fully to our readers, we subjoin the following, from one of our exchanges: “Whalebone onc§ brought a very high price, especially when lioop-skirts were in the height of fashion. The Dutch formerly paid $3,500 for a ton of whaleb.one, but since 1863 it has never brought anything like that price. In 1818 it brought $450 a ton; in 1834, $545, and in 1844 it varied from SI,OBO for Southern to $1,550 for Northern bone. In seeking for a substitute for whalebone some success has been made. Buffalo horn has given great satisfaction, and there is quite a similarity between the two substances. The horns after undergoing a special process are cut into. strips, which are compressed and straightened and rendered suitable for any purpose by the dressmaker. Compressed cane has also been resorted to as a substitute for whalebone, but does not answer the purpose as well as buffalo horn. In France whalebone is 15 francs to the kilogram; that is to say it has tripled in price daring the last quarter of a century. In 1853 the quantity of bone brought into the United States was 6,652,300 pounds; in 1873 it was 190,000 pounds; in 1880, 440,000. In 1853 whalebone was worth 35 cents a pound: in 1876, $2.50. and at the present time it is said to be worth about $5 a pound. “It will be observed that the business varies considerably from time to time, and it seems pretty certain that the best days of whaling are over for the present. It is said that nearly one-lialf of our wlialebone is imported to France and Germany. There is no doubt that there is more whalebone consumed in Paris than in any other city in the world, for Paris carries off the palm in the manufacture of parasols and articles in the making of which whalebone forms a very material part. The best whalebone is obtained from the Greenland whale. From the mouth of one of these monsters from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds are often taken. The manufacture of whalebone into articles of use and ornament, is principally confined to New York and Boston, four manufactories being in the former and thre'e in the latter.” Commenting on the above, the Three Oaks (Mich.) Sun says: “From the, above, we see that the manufacturing and mercantile interest of the world demand, and stand greatly in need of, a substitute for whalebone. Vegetables and wood fibers liaze been tried; metallic substances of all kinds, and compositions of elastic substances, the result of repeated experiments, all alike failed to fill tlie place of wlialebone. A gentleman of this place is now building a factory for the manufacture of his invention, “feather-bone;” he uses the quills of geese, turkeys chickens and other fowls, and by tlie aid of machinery produces aii elastic stiffener for corsets, whips, etc., which has been subjected to the severest possible tests by experts, and proves itself far superior to whalebone for many purposes. The invention has been secured by letters j patent in the United States and foreign countries, and the inventor will engage largely in its manufacture at otffte. We predict that the “featherbone” will be the wlialebone of the future.”