RAZOR, the well-known keen-edged in strument for shaving off the beard or hair. Razors seem to have been in use at a very early period of the world's history. They Acre used by the ancient Egyptians. The Levitical code expressly forbade the shaving of the beard, and many Jews in some countries re move all superfluous hair with the scissors until this day. It is believed by many authorities that the primitive shaving-instruments were made of sharpened flints; the savages of Poly nesia still use two pieces of flint of the same size, or pieces of shells or sharks' teeth ground to a fine edge, for this purpose. Among civil ized nations the blade is metal, usually steel, the finest cast steel being preferred. The handles are made of a great variety of materials, as silver, ivory, tortoise-shell, bone, horn, etc. The Chinese and Japanese razors are very rarely furnished with handles. In the United States a modern form, known as a "safety" razor, has become widely popular.
the Alca torda, the sole species of the genus, the Alca impennis, or great auk, being extinct. It is intermediate in struc ture between the guillemots and the great auk; but characterized by its compressed, elevated, hooked and furrowed bill, its peculiar stiff wedge-shaped tail and ample wings. It is about
18 inches long, generally black above and white below; but in the breeding plumage the head and neck become lustrous black all around, with a very characteristic fine white line run ning from the eye to the base of the bill. This bird is abundant in the North Atlantic, fre quenting rocky islands and coasts to breed with puffins and guillemots, but at other seasons keeping farther out at sea, and in winter migrat ing as far south as the Mediterranean and the coast of New Jersey or even North Carolina. On the American side it breeds in the Bay of Fundy and in great colonies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, about Labrador, etc. A sin gle much blotched and streaked whitish egg, about three inches long, is deposited on a ledge or in a fissure of some precipitous rocky cliff. It feeds upon floating refuse or fish, worms, etc., for which it dives or which it pursues in the water, using both wings and ILIA in swim ming. When molested it sometimes fights vi ciously, at the same time uttering harsh cries. The large eggs are much gathered for food. It is also known as the black-billed auk, the murre, and the tinker.