The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-18
WHAT IS IN A POT OF GLuEs
Common as the Compound Is, Few
Know Much About IL.
From the New York Pres


From the New York Press.
Did it ever occur to you that pot Of
glue contains food for thought as we'll as
material for sticking things together9
Many men use glue all their lives and
know little about it. 1t is not strange,
therefore, that most of us who only see
glue in the cracks and joints of dilapidated
furniture should know even less about
the useful than those who work in and
with II.
There are. according to the literary mem-
Der of the Milligan & Higgins Glue Com-
pany. three kinds of glue. One kind is
made of the hides or sinews of cattle. Tho
pieces cut off by the butcher and tanner
and which are of no use in making leath-
er, are soaked in lime water. The lime
eats away the fatty or partly decayed
matter and leaves the glue portion. This
is carefully washed and put into large ket-
ties, where the glue liquor is boiled OUT
and the insoluble fiber sinks to the BOTTOM
The liquor is poured into pans and allow
ed to cool and harden. 1t looks then like
calves foot jelly. When cold, this glue
jelly Is turned out of the pans and sliced
the sheets being laid out TO dry.
Simple as the process seems, technical
skill and ripe experience are required in
manufacturing glue. Many people have
tried to make glue at home. Anybody can
do it, the manufacturers of glue say, but
only the exceedingly skillful ever make
glue successfully or economically, because
only they understand how to get the full
strength and quality out of the stock. IL
doesn't take much of a defect to spoil the
best stock-that is why so many amateur
glue makers fail ANONYMOUSLY and res
peatedly.
The second kind of glue is made from
the larger bones of cattle, and only differs
from the other method in that acid in
stead of lime is used in softening the
stock. The third kind of glue is made
from the feet of cattle and hogs. Glue
from this stock Is easily made, because
the hoofs have simply TO be washed, boil-
ed out, cooled. sliced and dried.
Authorities differ as to which kind OF
glue is the best The acid made glue is
used largely in stiffening straw goods, es-
pecially wide brim straw hats, for finish
ing silk, and for fine grained and hard
wood work. While we could get along
without bone glue, 1t is intimated that our
houses and all that is in them would
fall apart if we had no glue made from
hide stock.
Manufacturers are continually asked, 1t
seems:
what is glue used for, anyway
The tone of the inquiry suggests usually
some confusion in the questloner's mind
between glue and mucilage. Wood work
OF all KINDS, chairs, tables, peuStSauSg
railway cars, desks and carriages are held
together by tive are rocked in a glued
cradle and buried in a glued coffin. kalso-
mine is a mixture of Paris white and glues
and all paper hangings are only white
paper kalsomined. Writing paper gets us
surface from glue. So do cards and glazed
paper If the cover falls off one of the
books in your library you may be sure
that hide glue was not used In the
binding, but that an inferior quality was
substituted.
Besides binding books glue holds paper
boxes together. 1t goes to make up emery
wheels and the sizing of petroleum ana
turpentine barrels. These are, OF courses
only a few of its uses, but they are the
important industries that require nearly
four-fifths of the 60,O00000 pounds of glue.
used every year in the United States. OF
this quantity, 100000 pounds are import
ed.
Factories are found in all our great cities
some of them not far from NewtoWn
Creek their location being near the sup
ply of stoek-and it is strange that no two
make glue Just alike An expert can tell
at a glance it is said the factory from
which a given piece of glue comes.
Before using, glue should always be
soaked in cold water from one TO twelve
hours-if in pieces; II ground it will SOAK
in five or ten minutes. To get the best
results, prepare and soak beforehand just
what Is needed, and use as fresh as posi-
BILE. One reason why household glue -
that which has been in the glue-pot on the
top kitchen shelf for six months-does nos
prove more satisfactory is that IL is too
old.
Glue will not hold unless the pieces to be
fastened are put together while the glue
on them is still hot and liquid. The func-
ton of glue Is TO sink into the fibers ana
grasp them. This 1t does not do when
chilled. When properly stuck together the
pieces should be held In place in a wise or
by Irvine tightly drawn around them. In
soaking and applying glue use clean pots
and brushes.