FISH GLUE AND ISINGLASS 533 



100.0 



Many have claimed that the feeding of fish meal imparts a fishy flavor to animal 

 products. This assumption is not well founded, as has been pointed out previously. 



Uses 



Fish glue is widely used for a large variety of purposes. It is the only glue manu- 

 factured that needs no further preparation for all general uses. Many ready-to-use 

 glues are prepared from starch and dextrin, but these are limited to special pur- 

 poses, such as labeling and box-making. The best grade of fish-skin glue is the 

 only satisfactory glue for producing half-tone plates for photoengraving work. 

 It is also used to some extent in the production of zinc line plates. 



Fish glues are used largely where flexible glues are desired (e.g., in the manu- 

 facture of court plaster, labels, and stamps, and in bookbinding. Liquid fish glue 

 is also almost universally used where small amounts of a strong, ready-to-use 

 adhesive are required, as for small repair jobs about the house, for shoe-repairing, 

 and for general repair work. Fish glue is blended with hide glue in the manufac- 

 ture of belt cement for leather belts. Large quantities of the cheaper grades of fish 

 glue are used in various sizing operations because it stiffens materials, yet is 

 somewhat flexible. Some fish glue is used in the chipping of glass in the production 

 of translucent glass. Large quantities of this glue are used by furniture makers, 

 box makers, and other manufacturers for general joining work. 



Fish Isinglass and the Isinglass Industry 



Location 



Russian isinglass prepared from sturgeon sounds is perhaps the best known, 

 and is usually considered the best quality on the market; but good grades of this 

 valuable material are also manufactured in Iceland, Newfoundland, Canada, India, 

 the Philippine Islands, Venezuela, Brazil, the East and West Indies, and the 

 United States. 



Raw Materials 



The famous Russian isinglass is made from the sounds or swim bladders of 

 several varieties of sturgeon (Acipenser huso or beluga, A. ruthenus or sterlet, 

 A. sturio or common sturgeon, A. stellatus or starred sturgeon), catfish (Silurus 

 glanis), and carp (Ctjprinus carpio) , which are caught in the Volga and other 

 rivers, in the Caspian and Black Seas, and in the Arctic Ocean. In Iceland cod and 

 ling sounds are the chief source of isinglass. In Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and 

 New England hake and cod sounds are used for the manufacture of this material, 



