240 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT
little
or no doubt that they were in reality fossil remains of some animal or
animals, the precise species being difficult or impossible for us to
determine owing to the lack of a more exact description.
It
appears that certain rodents have occasionally treated ivory as a food
product. This is because of the grease or fat present in some kinds of
tusks. Certain African tusks, found embedded in the soil where they
have lain for many years, have been seriously damaged by the attacks of
one or more of the gnawing breeds of animals. Similar conditions have
sometimes been noted in the case of the fossil ivory of Siberia and
Alaska. This has also been known to happen on shipboard where rats have
gnawed tusks which were being transported to Europe or America. The
point of the tusk, as the most vulnerable point, is generally the part
that is found to have been damaged in this way. A buried tusk has
sometimes been encountered, having a passage gnawed quite through the
tusk, a part of which is thus open at both ends. As a tribute to the
good taste of these rodents, we are told that one dealer at least
expressed a preference for tusks that had been slightly gnawed, this
fact affording proof that the tusk in question was of softer texture
than the others, more or less greasy ivory being of a softer hue and
possessing greater translucency, and being thus better fitted for
certain kinds of work, such as flower work, for instance, especially
for roses; for the rich, warm yellow of this ivory imitates wonderfully
well the hue of the finest yellow roses. Hence the term "rose ivory"
has been bestowed in some countries upon this variety, which was in
great demand duringthe period from 1840 to 1860 when carved ivory roses
enjoyed such a vogue. With some German ivory carvers this period was
denominated the " Rosenzeit."*
•Communication
of Mr. F. R. Kaldenberg. An example cited in illustration is
pronounced by Dr. Richard L. Lull to have been gnawed by a rodent
similar to the American muskrat, Fiber zibethicus, as its teeth fit quite well into the grooves.
