Evening journal., 1898-05-07
CONCERNING MUcILAGE.
A Few Facts of Interest About an
Article That II Used Very
Commonly.


Mucilage is sold in a great variety of
packages, from the familiar two-ounce,
cone-shaped bottles, of which millions
are sold annually, to barrels containing
IS TO 90 gallons each. Mueilage is sold
by the barrel to dealers, who bottle
IL in packages Of their own, and there
are some large individual consumers
that buy mucilage by the barrel, in
cluding express companies. There are
many consumers that buy mucilage in
various smaller packages, including half
barrels, ,demijohns, stone jugs and boxed
tin cans. Mucilage in bottles Is put up
in quarts, pints, half-pints, four-ounce,
three-ounce, and two-ounce, the COM
monest form of the two-ounce being
the familiar cone above mentioned.
Among the large buyers of mucilage
in quart bottles arc the great railroad
companies, which get it in this form for
convenient distribution TO the various
stations along their lines.
Mucilage is exported to Mexico and
various other Spanish-American coun-
tries, including those of South America,
the exported mucilage being mostly in
bottles, from quarts down.
The mucilage that Is sold in bottles
is put up not only in various sizes, but
in bottles of various forms as well, and
there are many contrivanees designed
to make the use of mucilage more con-
venient. There have been issued, or
applied for, hundreds of patents on mu-
cilage bottles or brushes. There is, for
example, a device for preventing the
clogging of the neck of the bottle with
mucilage; there are bottles without
brushes, having a rubber or sponge
top which is made TO serve as a brush.
There are many kinds of brushes be-
sides those made Of bristles, including
brushes Of jute and of felt. There are
brushes with the shank or handle made
Of glass, hollow, and with rubber bulb
at the top, by which the hollow handle
Of the brush can be filed with mucilage.
From time TO time, still, inventors sub
NIT to manufacturers of inks and mu-
cilage yet other improvements IN the
mucilage package.
Mucilage is made of gum arabic, OF
gum lenegal, Of dextrine, and OF by.
product that results in the manufacture
OF some chemical.
Gum arabic has long been used foi
its sticking properties, but mucilage il
its present form and widely extended
common use is essentially a modern pro
duction, dating back only about 81
years. OF to 1s45, at about which tim,
envelopes with gummed flaps cam
into use. Before that time envelope
had been sealed with waters. Manu-
facturers of stationers' supplies em
ployed considerable numbers Of mel
in making waters, which were mad
and sold in many millions. The intro
duction of gummed envelopes practical
ly killed the wafer trade. The fa
greater convenience Of gummed envel
opes was at once recognized, and the.
very soon came into general use, an
after their Introduction the manufaC
ture Of mucilsge sold in bottles wa
, begun. Some waters are still used,
few for notarial seals. and some 70
sticking up bulletins. and so on, bu
the number now used is but trifiin
compared with the enormous numbe
used 50-odd years ago. They have bee
almost totally supplanted by the no,
commonly used mucilage.-N. Y. Sur