Ivory Nut Buttons.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 6 November 1914, Page 2

Ivory Nut Buttons.

About fifty years ago some rubber gatherers in the forests of Northern Ecuador reported a peculiar species of palm, which they found in great numbers, whose fruit was a nut resembling in form and colour a miniature head of a negro. These nuts they nicknamed " negroes." Upon investigation (says "Commercial Intelligence") it was found that the kernels of the nuts, when thoroughly dried, had the appearance and texture of definite ivory. Sample lots of these nuts were shipped 'to Europe for experimental purposes, and it was soon found that they furnished an ideal material from which to manufacture buttons arid other small ornamental objects, for which the more expensive ivory had hitherto been used. The kernel of the "negroes," once thoroughly dried, can be sawed, carved, and turned on lathes into all sizes and shapes of buttons, and it readily absorbs dyes and takes on a high and permanent polish. The ivory nut is now an important article of commerce. Over 20,000 tons are shipped from Ecuador alone every year, bringing a return of about £340,----000, while Colombia and Panama are doing an increasing trade in them.