The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-08-27
CONCERNING MUcILAGE.
A Few Facts Of Interest About an
Article That Il 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
As to so gallons each. Mucilage is sold
by the barrel to dealers, who bottle
1t in packages of their own, and there
are some large individual consumers
that buy mucilage by the barrel, in
GLIDING express companies. There are
many consumers that buy mucilage in
various smaller packages, including half
barrels emijohns. stone Jugs and boxed
tin cans. Mucilage in bottles is put up
in quarts, pints, halfPints, %four4ounce,
th%ree-ounce, and two-ounce, the COM
monest form of the two-ounce being
the familiar o m above mentioned.
Among the large buyers of mucilage
in quart bottles are the great railroad
companies, which get 1t in this form for
convenient distribution to the various
stations along their lines.
Mucilage is exported to Mexico aud
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 contriyances 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, n device for preventing the
clogging of the neck of the bottle with
mucllage; there are bottles without
brushes, having a rubber or a sponge
top which is made TO serve rs q brush.
There are many kinds OF brushes be-
sides those made of brlstles, including
brushes Of jute and of felt. There are
brushes with the shank or handle made
OF glass, hollow, and with n rubber bulb
at the top, by which the hollow handle
OF the brush can be filed with mucllage.
From time to time, still, inventors sub
INIT 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 a by
product that results in the manufacture
OF some chemical.
Gum arabic has long been used for
its sticking properties, but mucilage in
its present form and widely extended
common use is essentially a modern pro-
duction, dating back only about 50
years, or to 1s45, at about which time
envelopes with gummed flaps came
into use. Before that time enyelopes
a been sealed with waters. Manu-
iaeturers OF stationers' supplies en-
ployed considerable numbers of men
in making waters, which were made
n sold in many millions. The intro
ductlon Of gummed envelopes practical
~ Killed the wafer trade. The far
greater convenience Of gummed envel-
opes was at once recognized, and they
very came into general use, and
after their introduction the manufac-
ture OF mucilage sold in bottles was
begun. Some waters are still used, a
Jew for notarial seals, and some for
sticking up bulletins, and SO on, but
the number now used is but %triaing
compared with the enormous number
used oO-odd years ago. They have been
almost totally supplanted by the now
commonly used mucilage.-N. Y. Sun.