Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1890-12-27
MARKETING PAPER.
Hexterous Manipulation of Gum Senegal
Docs the Work.

H"NterouS manipulation Of Gum Senegal
Does the Work.
One Of the funniest things that any,
body ever imagined in this world was
the notion Of marbling paper. That is
the name applied to the sort of red and
va1-colored ornamentation on the edges
OF nicely bound books. and on their
bindings, too, sometimes. Every one
has observed such markings, but it is
safe to say that not one person out of
10000 has ever taken the trouble to spec
uIate as to how the effect is produced.
1nere IS nothing commonplace about
the process. On the contrary it is a
marvel wathy of contemplation by the
aesthetic and the sage. You can see the
thing done any time you please at the
government printing Office if you care
to ask the privilege.
There Is a tree in Senegal, Africa, from
which exudes gum, Just as any other
sort OF gum exudes from a cherry or
other kind of tree. The natives of Sene-
gal collect the gum from this peculiar
tree and sell it to contractors. who send
1t all over the world in the shape of lit
tie hard Jumps. 1t is commercially
known as gum Senegal" The most
important use for it is this one of mar
bling paper.
For this purpose solution is made of
the gum IN water A tank, say four feet
long and two feet wide, is filed with the
solution, and then the operation is ready
to be performed. At the government
printing Office you can see it done any
day; the courteous attendant in charge
Will show you how he does it.
To begin with, you will see nothing
but tank of foot or so in depth filled
with liquid not especially describable.
On shelf close by are half a dozen
paint pots filed with most brilliant
water colors. The operator takes the
blue brush and sprinkles the surface of
the hquld In the tank with drops of that
color. Then he seizes the brush from
the vermilion pot and spIinl1les a spat-
ter Of bright red also. Next he reaches
for the green and distributes that. Final
ly sprinkling of yellow is employed to
wind up with.
Now the expert takes a long stick
armed with fine teeth like a comb. and
with it combs the surface of the LIQUID
in the tank just once from one end to
the other. Then he gives it a single
comb crosswise. The result of this is a
most curious mingling Of the blue, YER
million, green and yellow. Next, on the
surface of the fluid he carefully laws a
sheet Of white paper, and lifts it off
again by one corner. Lo, the sheet has
| received a reproduction Of the water
color pattern from the liquid most elab-
crate and most beautiful, To reproduce
it, even imperfectly, by hand would take
months Of labor. Each color in the pat
tern is as distinct and brilliant as water
cOlors can possibly be.
This, however. is but a simple pattern.
The expert takes a small comb with wire
/ teeth ana makes a wiggle waggle over
the surface of the mixture. He laws
down another white sheet upon it, and
behold, lovely design resembling a col
lection of cOnventionalized peacock's
/ feathers appears. Another wiggle wag
/ gle of the wire comb and a sheet SINH
/ larly treated exhibits a series of gOr-
/ geous arabesques altogether beyond de-
scription as to their brilhance and in
tricacy. But this is not all.
The operator stirs up the liquid in the
tank again, so that all the colors disap-
pear Theu he chooses other paints,
making green the predominant one, and
! sprinkles them over the surface AS a
| magician might exercise his wand over
] ho =
solution with the wires, and weird and
| fantastic designs spring into view upon
! the white sheets that he floats for an III
/ slant and then lifts from the fluid
/ Giants, hobgobEns and monsters of all
/ degrees pursue each other across the
/ paper with glazing eyes and contorted
attitudes.
When you We're little boy or girl per
/ haps you have rubbed with your slate
pencil upon your school slate, and then
with moistened finger spread the
Whitley substance over the wooden bound
/ stratum of plutonic mineral You have
j wondered then to see what astonishing
| demons and creatures inconceivable
/ started out upon the slate, caught by the
/ eye of your imagination. It is the same
way with the work of the artist in
marbling for books, though he does not
! dare to produce such fantastic things to
/ please the popular taste. Only the com
monplace sort Of marbling does one
/ find on books and such things; whatever
! extraordinary the expert produces he
keeps for himself. perhaps, to show what
/ wonderful result the accidental mingling
of random tints on solution of gum
/ Senegal will bring forth.-W ashington
/ Star.
Tree Wool, or Wool Produced in Nuts"
The hermits Of India, in the Oldest
mention Of them, are required to wear
clothes Of yellow Ocher color, all others
being free to wear any color Of vesture
they please When the Greeks with
Alexander arrived in India they noticed
/ that the garment worn by the people
was made Of tree WOOL or wool pro
duced in nuts" Megathenes says their
robes We're worked in gold and orna-
mented with various stones, and that
they also wore Powered garments of the
finest muslins. Dry Goods Chronicle.
A Fetching Costume.
Cousin Tom-Yes, she's darling girl,
and she's going to be my wife.