Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-12-14
LIVING INK BOTTLES.
Odd Experiments Made with AMI
NILS of the Lower Order.
SecreticRs of the Cutie Fish and the Uses
to Which they are Put---The Nautilus
and the Portuguese Man-of-war
"A Strange Collection.
Philadelphia TiMes.

said chemist, pointing to an array OF small
bottles and an equal number ofvery curious
animals, land / have been experimenting
for several years to see what can be done,
but it is uphill work. The animals that L
find most available as ink-bearers, and
consequently makers, are confined mainly
to the tropics, No, there is nothing pecul-
lar about the idea. The ink we use today,
or much of the best of it, is an animal pro-
duction, or, 10 be more correct, the result Of
the work of an animal Insects as the
cynipidR, hymenopters, cecidomyudG and
diptera puncture certain plants with their
ovipositors for the purpose OF despositing
eggs, and in some way they cause an abuor-
NAL growth of the wood, so that the larva
are in time surrounded by round ball OF
wood, out of which the perfect insec. finally
makes its way. These gals, or those o.
certain insects, constitute the principal
ingredient OF certain inks In our com
mon black ink Chinese gals and tincture of
iron fern the principal parts. Sometimes
log.wood is used, but each dealer has his
own secret, and, Of course, claims to make
the best lux.
Calls are generally known by common
names, aud their nature is little supected by
their finders :
Many are know as oak apples and currant
Denies, ami in some countries so beautiful
are they that they are strung on wire and
used in ornamental work OF various kinds.
The so-called Dead Sea apple Is nothing
more than gall, produced by Cynips IN
sano, and here are some that in California
were called flea seeds. The person who
sent them to me insisted that there was
something supernatural about them. He
brought them in wooden box padded with
cotton, to prevent them, he said, from being
dashed to pieces, as they Ieaped about in
most astonishing manner Some of them
were what are called devil beans They
are minute seeds, triangular in shape, and
when placed upon the table they commen-
sed to roll about
And Leap into the Air
in the most remarkable way. | cut one
open, however, and soon showed the sceptic
the motive power, which was fat, light
colored lepidopterous larva that, when q
moth, is known as carpocapsa dehaisians
1t was the struggles of this grub that made
the seed jump
The most curious seeds were those o:
the tree known as Brincador. They are
about as large as those Of the mustard, and
when they fall from the tree they keep up Il
continual hopping upon the ground, so thai
you would assuredly think that inumerable
sspd.hoppers were jumping about. Blu: the
I. u 81 q
lsrva of small dark-hued Cynips salta.
torius. | have observed this myself, and
the noise of the leaping seeds sound like the
patteriug of rain upon the leaves, and they
can hop a distance Of several in hes
"The subject of gals is an important one
aside from the fact that ink is obtained
from them, as they are used as medicine 10
various ways. In India the Somsu woman
tattoo themselves with gall juice, and the
blaster, dyer, etc, if they only knew it, are
greatly indebted to the maternll labors OF
the most insignificant insects. The I'M
portance Of the gall business can be seen
from this list, and these all 60 to the ink
trade, and i only gives those that are i'm
ported into England yearly; Germany
sends 100 tons, valued at ST5 900; Turkey
about 800 tons, valued at 5000 900; Egypt
50 tons; China 10; Bombay, 100. In
China thousands Of persons get living out
of the gall business They are know as
woopei.tsze, and are produced by an aphls
on an anacardiaCeous tree. The gals are
generally collected before winter, just prev
ious to the first frost, and are generally sub
United to steam, TO- Kill the inclosed insect,
and dried aud then shipped by the pound or
hundredwsight
These bottles" however," said the i!-.
vestigator, holding up several pnials con,
ta;mnG ~. II ditiarant n1jii6rs, all contsin
The Natural Ink of Various Au'mS's'
This one that ID SO pure black contains
he contents Of the k-bag6 Of cutie fishes,
and is really the seplia of commerce that
vas formerly used much more than at
present. This is not all taken from living
squ;ds. In certain localities fossil squids
re found millions Of years old, and in the
centre of the hardened mass will be seen a
mall black seeming stone, Which, is the
sepia ink. When this is softenei ink can
,e made from II, and is often used. Some
inc ago q member of the Geological Sur
sev came to me for one Of these fossil ink
aaCs, and he used it to write his report that
contained description of these very crea-
lures. So their history was cronicled per-
haps, as | said before, millions of years
after their extinction, by the ink that was
their prote ction then.
Yes, the ink is used to eject when they
are followed; it surrounds them like cloud,
and while the pursuer is confusei BY 1t The
willy squid escapes. Each OF these bottles
holds ink from a different species, represcn-
ting the octopus, various squids and the
sIgonault.
"Row about the nautilus?' asked the
| visitor.
The nautilus has no ink bag, curiously
enough" was the reply, although you find
to the contrary in many works. All these
inks are very good for certain work, es fine
drawing; but the difficulty is to get enough
of them. As to its being indelible, here is
| a handkerchiefthat wiped my face with in
Florida in 1859. l was fishing for squids
when one Of them struck me fairly in the
face. wiped it of with this and you see
that after twenty odd years is as black as
ever and will probably outlsst the cloth.
Here is a beautiful blue ink" contiued
the speaker, taking up small! phisi in
which was
A Liquid of Royal Purple
that appeared to gain intensity and rich
ness in the sunlight that flashed though
the window. 81 happened to show this to
gentleman in the dry goods trade the other
day, and be offered me $1,000 if | would
place the color in his hand in available
quantities. No. can't do it. and if could
| it would be worth more than that, as it is
indeible 1t is the pure and unadulterated
secretion of the little pelagic snail Jathins.
have seen them by the CARLOAD on the
Florida Keys after storm. The entire
water edge would be lined with them. The
moment you take them up and press the
foot out comes this magni icent color. |
suppose eight or ten drops cosld be ATTAINED
from each one. The shells are aboat the
size of q 6ve-cent piece. extremely fragile
and Goat apon the surface, kept up BY q
mass Of buIb'es of their oTn making that
erves as q raft TO buoy thea. The shell is
of the same peculiar hue as the ink, aud
with the white, silvery bubble attached, as