In the sixteenth century the English traded for ivory on the Guinea coast; and a few years ago, even Cape Town was a headquarters for quantities of ivory; but the restricted area of the elephant, results in the tusks being taken to the nearest shipping-places on the coast, nearer Central Africa. The natives were often grossly cheated. Mr. Burchell saw a party of twenty,—men, women, and children,—who had brought a thousand pounds of ivory to Cape Town, and only received the simplest articles for it. In the interior he met a Hottentot who had bought twenty fine tusks of the Bachapins, at a rate of a sheep for a tusk. These men offered Mr. Burchell two oxen and two tusks (each too heavy for a man to carry) for a gun. The native chiefs of to-day have a better appreciation of the value of ivory, and Europeans cannot hunt for elephants without making them valuable presents. The present demand for ivory comes principally from England, America, and the European nations; while many tusks, as the huge teeth are called, are sent to China. In 1885, which may be considered an average year,—though the importations differ, and there has been a depression,—439 tons of ivory were imported into England, for which several million dollars were paid. By the courtesy of F. Grote & Co. of New York, and Westendorp & Co., London, I am enabled to present a table of extreme interest, showing the imports of ivory into Great Britain for the last forty years. It tells an interesting story of the destruction of the elephant: it is also interesting to note how the averages differ. The average number of tons for the years 1845-49 was 294; 1870-74, 627 tons; and for 1880-84, 514 tons; the imports of 1885 showing a falling off of one hundred tons. The imports by the year are as follows:— +=====+=====+ |YEAR.|TONS.| +-----+-----+ |1845 | 325| |1846 | 273| |1847 | 314| |1848 | 232| |1849 | 328| |1850 | 406| |1851 | 302| |1852 | 426| |1853 | 436| |1854 | 457| |1855 | 437| |1856 | 491| |1857 | 489| |1858 | 624| |1859 | 539| |1860 | 542| |1861 | 589| |1862 | 568| |1863 | 499| |1864 | 538| |1865 | 548| |1866 | 541| |1867 | 489| |1868 | 473| |1869 | 649| |1870 | 667| |1871 | 645| |1872 | 586| |1873 | 630| |1874 | 605| |1875 | 680| |1876 | 567| |1877 | 627| |1878 | 652| |1879 | 444| |1880 | 536| |1881 | 546| |1882 | 425| |1883 | 596| |1884 | 466| |1885 | 439| +-----+-----+