The Red Cloud chief., 1892-09-30
INSECTS MAKE ShElLAC.
Little Creatures. whose Wonderful wor
Renctits Mankind.

chiefly, principally. What Is shcllnce
u Is the product Of u composite n
that is found on the young twigs and
branches of tlN butcn oroton and other
trees that grow in the countries of the
east.
Shcllac is consumed In great quaint.
tics all over the world In commerce and
In arts. IL IL kept in the shops and
warehouses in large hogshcads. II
varies In color and thickness and Is
transparent IL comes in broken pieces
of irregular Sizes, some Of II being very
thin.
The crude mass from which shcllac IN
obtained Is produced by small insect
~lcocars lacen, resembling somewhat the
cochincal. This insect is Matched. ma
lures and dies IN thcsS twigs A num-
her of female insects, with II fow males,
fastcn themselves upon the tender twig
n puncturc the bark. A tenacious
fluid cxudcs and envelopes them. The
insects feed upon this juice, derive their
nourishmcnt from IL aud deposit their
eggs within il.
The males only have. wings, and rs
500 rs the females begin To die n few
female and the males go To other trees.
After the females that remain In this
gclatinous mass have deposited their
eggs and have died, the eggs hatch out
vhe young insects. The young burrow
through the dead bodies OF their moth
crs TO the surface Of the mass and owe
the ncighboring branches.
The eggs are deposited close To- the
bark, so that they are protected by
their mothers bodies and by the mass
that has eSudcd and cnvclopcd the To-
male insects.
Finally the young twigs are com
plctcly covered with u thick, hard, res
nous substance.
When the females die tho frames OF
their bodies form little cells like those
of n honcycomb. As q result of dccoin-
position there are the elements, of II
beautiful purple dyo.
When these twigs have be >,me sufh-
GENTLY loaded with this %rcsinous mass
the natives of the countries in which
these trees grow strip the trees OF these
twigs and break them into small sticks.
These pieces are called sticklac. These
broken wigs are immersed In hot water
and the hard rcsinous substance IL
kncaded with the hands 60 press out
the purple dye stuff. After tho CELIA
tinous mass has become sufficiently soft
il Is taken out and dried. II Is then put
into coarse cloth bags and suspended
close to charcoal fires.
Presently the mass begins TO melt
by twisting the bags the mass II
squeezed out, dropping onto Hat sticks
placed for that purpose.
As it is dropping from the bags
hardly strikes the sticks before 1t !,
cooled by the air. It forms into THU
cakes ms it is deposited On these stick,
on narrow fiat boards and dries.
These cakes or sheets are called shell
. lac.
As the melted mass is dropping from
: the cloth bags small drops u~navoidabl,
fall to the ground and dry In littl
round bodies called cotton-lac. Othe
$ and larger pieces that also fall to tn,
: ! ground and dry are called plate-lac,
! The liquid in which the strick-lac o
small pieces of the twigs covered wit
= the crude mass was soaked Is now file
with the results Of decomposition an
!. other matters. 1t Is strained and evap
grated until the residue is n purpl
4 mass. The residue is thoro ughly drie
and cut into square cakes about tw
, inches square, VIII ich are stamped wit
: certain marks which indicate the qua
ity of the dye. They are then CAREFUL
packed for the market.
The purple dye obtained from tn.
source is used to q great ext mt. Th
beautiful scarlet shade In soldiers clot
. Is produced by the use OF this purpI
/ dye. The annual consumption of tn
lac dye amounts to 1900, 900 pounds
. The lac insect IL n native Of Sian
= Assam, Burmah, Bengal and Maelaba
5 The proportion OF males TO females Is
I to 1000.
The best shellac Is that which Is mo
completely freed from impurities, an
which approaches nearest To q ligl
orange-brown color. II the coloriu
. matter is not all washed out the resi-
u Is often very dark, consequently tho
q are different varieties, such rs Orang
y garnet and liver.
The juice of the trees Is somewhi
9 changed by the insects. SO that II III
u one tells you that shellac Is "a resin
: he is not correctly informed. She'll
r Is not the simple juice of the tree, b
q It Is the result of the action of the !
e sects upon the juice or resin. Shells
g contains several peculiar resins.
n The great value Of shellac Is its use
making varnishcs, on account OF Il
G fine, hard polish 1t imparts to the va
q nish. A fine, thin preparation made
q this material constitutes the lacqu
v with which brass and other metals a
= coated to preserve their polish.
: In olden times common beeswax W
= used for sealing envelopes. The VI
= was mixed with earthly materials
. give it consistency. 1t was difficult
preserve it, however, rs even a litt
= heat tended TO soften IT, Later, gu
, was introduced for this purpose, 81
: then came sealing wax, which Is ma
: chiefly of shellac. The scaling w
, that comes from India Is the pure,
and is made almost entirely of shells
vermillion or some other pigment beii
W - fiji. a - l. All ~ q