Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-12-27
INDIA INK is A SECRET.
Foreigners Unable to Duplicate tn
Work of the Chinese.

Foreigners Unable to Duplicate tho
Work of the Chinese.
With all their modern improvements
and all their science, none Of the adj
vanced nations has been able to pro-
duce the equals Of the Chinese and
Japanese lacquers or india inks. Chem
lists, ink manufacturers and artists
have tried for generations to discover
the secret that enables the Chinese,
with primitive processes, to produce
these materials in such perfect form.
but the secrets still are secrets.
The manufacture of india ink in par
ticular has baffled all foreigners. 1t is
made in China to-day practically as it
was four generations ago, when Chen
Kid Sonen invented the process.
The oil is pressed out of the seeds Of
a certain plant and then set to simmer.
while the workman adds a mixture of
powdered redwood, grated and sandal
wood and seeds of almonds and other
powders.
After the simmering is ended the re-
suit is filtered and set aside for a long
time to settle. Then it is put into tiny
earthen dishes, each of which has a
wick made out of a reed A great GUAM
tity of these little dishes are set on
bricks, and over each is placed a fun
nel-shaped clay cover. Then the
wicks are lit and the SCOT produced by
the burning mass is caught on it's in
side.
This is so delicate an operation that
the workmen watch the slightest
change in the weather, for a small diff
ference in temperature will make
big difference in the quality of the
SCOT. The finest SCOT is prepared in
rooms that are absolutely alright If
there are any windows in them they
are covered with paper pasted over
them so as to close every crack in the
walls.
Every little while the workman goes
cautiously to dish and dusts the gath
cred SCOT off with a feather Although
it is so soft and fine that it will float
in the air, it still is not fine enough
for the Cinnamon. They put it through
sleeves, and only after it has passed
through them is it considered fit for
mixing with the liquid material that
turns it into India ink. Nobody out
side of the Cinnamon in the secret
knows what this liquid substance is.
After it has been mixed it is knead-
ed for many hours, and then ground
fine again in mortars. which stand in
water baths SO that there shall not be
the slightest change in the tempera-
ture.
Then the stuff is shaped into, the
sticks that we know and is beaten
with little hammers until each stick
is perfect. After this the sticks are
placed in wooden forms to harden. The
forms have raised letters carved on
them and these impress themselves on
the sticks, making the trademarks
which are familiar to all users of in
Ola ink
Even after the sticks are hard and
apparently perfect the Chinaman is
not satisfied. Each stick is wrapped
with fine silk paper and then they are
slaid into box. The spaces between
them are filled with ashes obtained
from rice straw. Every day the ashes
are taken out and new ashes put in,
until every bit of moisture has been
extracted Then the sticks are un-
wrapped again, brushed, rubbed and
finally polished with a polisher made
of agate.
After that the india ink is consider
ier-Journal.