Evening star., 1926-09-09
SEEK TO ASSURE
SHELLAC SUPPLY
u. S. Manufacturers Find
Insect Product Is Essential
in Many Lines.

special Dspatcn 10 ne StaF
NEW YORK September a.--As a
result OF the agitation against foreign
governmental control of such prod
ucts as rubber. sisal and coffee.
scores of American manufacturers
are considering measures which
would assure them uninterrupted and
unrestricted supplies of shellac. This
substance has an extremely wide ap-
plication in both its dry and varnish
forms. In fact it is an essential com
modify. both in peace and war
AS nodded product, shellac ls
used for buttons. phonograuh records.
emery wheels. toilet articles. insula-
lions. mica products sealing wax. hats.
fireworks. paper and scores of other
articles AS a varnish. its applications
are even more numerous. since 1t
provides a firm tough. glossy coating
not likely to crack. peal or flake.
In war munitions. shellac Is used ex-
tensivelv TO coat the inner or eN'
plosive shells SO as 10 resist the &C
tien Of explosive chemicals on the
steel body Of the shell and 10 present
a smooth. tough surface which would
cause little friction while the shell is
whirling through the air
Insect Source Of Supply.
The source OF the world supply OF
shellac is minute insect. known
sciAntifcallv as tacha rdialacca. which
is one of the busiest little chemlcal
fsetories in the world all within It's
40th of an inch in length. IL IS
snecies of plant louise and hourlshes
almost exclusively in lndla IN iact.
the entire commercial supply Tor Inc
world is handled in that country
where the industry is closely super
yised and protected hy the British gov
ernment.
The tachardialacc manufactures
the lac resin from which sheliac IS ue'
rived, and this is found In the form
Of a crust on the twigs OF seNefai
species Of trees. These tvigs, bfokeh
off. are the sticklac OF commerce.
The insects swarm twice year much
as bees do. They alight in denseiy
packed masses on the tWlSs "here 'he
lac resin is deposited.
There are four main crops IN IN
dta and together they furnish about
81 900 900 pounds Of finished sheliac.
Some sticklac comes in from Malaga
and Siam. but il is all refined in Cat
cutta factories The sticklaC is ground
in hand mortars to remove the lncrus-
tations from tho sticks and TO crack
open the individuals cells. 1t is theh
sifted and the grades with the most
refuse are sold to makers of trinkets
and toys.
manufacturing Process.
Washing is the next process the
ohiect being to remove the red color
ing matter carried in the female celis
and the organic matter included. The
seedlac. as the product then Is called.
10 dried and bleached on driving f1oors-
A certain amount of rosin from North
Carolina is then introduced TO lower
the melting point of the seed'ac. The
combination is placed in long bags.
inches in diameter. held before fires
and the contents twisted out through
the fabric The native workmen then
step on the ends Of the semi-moten
mass as il les on the floor and stretch
il into thin eheei 6.
The product then is sorted into two
main divisions. orange Shellac and
Earnetlac For the making of varnish
the shellaC is mixed with denatured
alcohol and turpentine. Because of
the comparatively low temperatures
al which shellac melts it is usually
shipped from India only from Septem-
Der TO the next Spring.