Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-01-16
LIVING INK.BOTTLES.
Curious Experiments Made viii
Animals of the Lower order.

"There is a demand for ink that will
not corrode a pen, will run smoothly,
make a perfectly distinct line and still
be indelible,n said chemist, pointing to
an array of small bottles and an equal
number of very curious animals, "and l
have been experimenting for several years
to see what can be done, but it's uphill
work. The animals that l find most
available as ink-bearers, and conse-
quently makers, are confined mainly to
the tropics. No, there is nothing pc
culiar about the idea. The ink we use
to-day, or much of the best of it, is an
animal production, or, to be more cor
rect the result of the work of an animal.
Insects, as the cynipidae, hymcnoptera,
cecidomyudae and diptera puncture GER
tain plants with their ovipositors for the
purpose of depositing eggs, and in some
way they cause an abnormal growth of
the wood, so that the Larvae are in time
surrounded by round ball of wood, out
of which the perfect insect finally makes
its way. These gals, or those of certain
insects, constitute the principal ingre-
dient of certain inks. In our common
black ink Chinese gals and tincture of
iron form the principal parts. Some
| times logwood is used, but each dealer
has his own secret, and, of course, claims
to make the best ink.
''Galls are generally known by COM
mon names, and their nature is little
suspected by their finder. Many are
known as oak apples and currant berries,
and in some countries so beautiful are
they that they ase strung on wire and
used in ornamental work of various kinds
The sO-called Dead Sea apple is nothing
more than gall, productivity Cynips in
sano, and here are some that in Cali
| fornia were called flea seeds. The per-
son 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 leaped about in most as
tonishing manner. Some of them were
what are called devil BEANS They are
minute seeds, triangular in shape, and
when placed upon the table they COM
menced to roll about and leap into the
air in the most remarkable way. I cut
one open, however, and soon showed
the skeptic the motive power, which
was a fat, ight-colored lepidopterous
larva that, when a moth, is known as
carpocapsa dehaisina. 1t was the strug-
giles of this grub that made the seed
jump.
1.-The most curious seeds were those OF
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 a continual hopping upon the
ground, so that you would assuredly
think that innumerablc sand-hoppers
were jumping about. But the secret is
that each little seed contains the larva Of
a small, dark-hued Cynips saltatorious
/ have observed this myself, and tie
noise of the leaping seeds sounds like the
pattering OF rain upon the leaves, and
they can hop distances of several
inches.
"The subject of gals is an important
one aside from the fact that ink is OBJ
tanned from them, as they are used a.
medicine in various ways. In India thu
Somali women tattoo themselves with
gall juice, and the blaster, dyer, ETC., i
they only knew it, are greatly indebted
to the maternal labors of the most insig
nifcant insects. The importance of thu
gall business can be seen from this list
and these all go to, the ink trade. and i
only gives those that are imported int
England yearly; Germany sends 100 tons
valued at $75, 600; Turkey about 500 tons
valued at 5000, 900; Egypt eighty tons
China 70; Bombay, 100. In China
thousands of persons get living out o.
the gall business. They are known a
woopei-tsze and are produced by al
aphis on an anaccrdiaceous tree. TIL
gals are generally collected before win
ter, just previous to the first frost, an(
are generally submitted to steam to xii
the inclosed insect, and dried and thel
shipped by the pound or hundred weight
"These bottles, however," said tn
investigator, holding up several vial
containing ink of different colors, cal
contain the natural ink of various ami
mails. This one that is so pure blacl
contains the contents of the ink bags O
cutie fishes, and is already the sepia o
commerce that was formerly used muc
more than at present. This is not a.
taken from living squids. In certai
localities fossil squids are found million
of years old, and in the center of tn
hardened mass will be seen small blac
seeming stone, which is the sepia ink
When this is softened ink can be mad
from it and is often used. Some tim
ago a member of the Geological Surve
came to me for one of these fossil ink
bags, and he used it to write his report
that contained a description of thes
very creatures. So their history wa
chronlcled perhaps, as l said before
, millions of years after their extinctio
! by the ink that was their protectio
then.
. 'Yes, the ink is used to eject whe
they are followed. 1t surrounds thel
like cloud, and while the pursuer
confused by it the willy squid escapes
Each of these bottles holds ink from
different species, representing the octC
, pus, various squids and the argonaut.
GLOW about the nautilus?" asked IL
visitor.
"The nautilus has no ink bag, cur
ously enough" was the reply, "althoug
= you find to the contrary in many work
? All these inks are very good for certal
work, as fine drawing; but the difficult
is to get enough of them. As to it beir
indelible, here is handkerchief that
: wiped my face with in Florida in 1859.
) was fishing for squids when one of the
:. struck me fairly in the face. wiped
> off with this, and you see that aft
;. twenty odd years it is as black as eve
: and will probably outlast the cloth.
Il 'Here is a beautiful ink" continue
e the speaker, taking up small vial
II which was liquid of royal purple tn
IS appeared to gain intensity and richne