104 LECYTHIDACE^] 



Amongst other advantages it possesses over leather proper, may be mentioned, that 

 however thin the imitation is, it will not tear without considerable force is exercised ; 

 that it resists all damp, and that moisture may be left upon it for any period without 

 injury, consequently, it does not sodden or cockle, is always dry, and its polish is 

 rather increased than diminished by friction. Add to these facts, that any attempt to 

 scratch or raise its surface with the nail, or by contact with any ordinary substance, 

 will not abrade it, and enough will have been said to justify its entering the list 

 against an article of daily use, which has of late years been deemed far from sufficient 

 for the demand, and has consequently risen in price to the manifest loss and injury of 

 every class of the community. We believe that the largest entire piece of real leather 

 that can be cut from a bullock's hide, is not more than 7 feet by 5 feet, and this 

 includes the stomach and other inferior parts. Vegetable leather, on the contrary, is 

 now produced 50 yards in length and l- yard wide, every portion being of equal and 

 of any required thickness, and the smallest portion is convertible. We were agreeably 

 disappointed, however, to find that instead of vegetable leather being a discovery re- 

 quiring the aid of ourselves and contemporaries, it was, although so young, an active 

 agent in the fabrication of numerous articles of daily requirement, and that it had 

 already become the subject of large, indeed we may say enormous, contracts. 

 Caoutchouc and naphtha are used in its manufacture ; but by a process known to the 

 senior of the firm, who is himself an accomplished chemist, all odour is removed from 

 the naphtha, and the smell of vegetable leather is rendered thereby less in strength, 

 if anything, than that of leather. The principal objects to which it is at present 

 applied, although it is obvious it will take a wider range of usefulness than leather 

 itself, are carriage and horse aprons, antigropola, soldiers' belts, buckets which pack 

 flat, harness of every description, bookbinding, &c. For, the latter, its toughness, 

 washable quality and resistance to stains, render it remarkably fitted. Its thickness, 

 which may be carried to any extent, is obtained by additional backings of linen, &c., 

 cemented with the caoutchouc, and its strength is something marvellous, while in the 

 all-important commercial view, it is but one-third the price of leather. Many of the 

 articles we were shown possessed the appearance of much elegance and finish; but it 

 was curious to observe, that although most of them could be made without a stitch, 

 and within the factory itself, a deference to the feelings of the workmen in the several 

 trades has been shown by the firm, and the material is given out as ordinary leather, 

 to undergo the process of the needle, which it submits to with a greater facility than 

 its original prototype.' 



XiEAVEir. Under BREAD, the employment of yeast is fully explained. A few 

 particulars relative to the French leaven may not, however, be out of place. 



In Paris, where bread-making has been brought to a high degree of perfection, tho 

 fermentation is produced chiefly by the gluten of the dough, yeast being used merely 

 to facilitate the action. A lump of dough remaining from the last batch of bread, 

 and consisting of 8 Ibs. flour and 4 Ibs. of water, is left to itself for ten hours : in this 

 state it is called fresh leaven (levain de chef). By kneading this with another quantity 

 of 8 Ibs. flour and 4 Ibs. water, the once revived leaven (levain de premiere) is obtained. 

 After another interval of eight hours, 1 6 Ibs. of flour and 8 Ibs. water are added, 

 forming the twice revived leaven (levain de seconde) ; and after three hours more 

 100 Ibs. flour and 52 Ibs. water, containing ^ to ^ Ib. beer-yeast are added, forming 

 the finished leaven (levain de tout point). The 200 Ibs. leaven thus obtained are 

 mixed after two hours with 132 Ibs. flour and 68 Ibs. water containing Ib. of yeast 

 in suspension, and 2 Ibs. common salt dissolved. This quantity of dough serves for 

 five or six bakings. For the first baking half the dough (200 Ibs.) is made into 

 loaves of the required size and form, which are exposed for a while in shallow baskets 

 to a temperature of 25 C. (77 F.), and then transferred to the oven. The bread thus 

 obtained has a sourish taste and dark colour. The remaining half of the dougli is 

 again mixed with 132 Ibs. of flour, 70 Ibs. water, Ib. yeast, and the requisite quantity 

 of salt, the half of this quantity of dough is then formed into loaves, left to ferment, 

 and baked. The same operation is repeated three times, one-half of the dough being 

 each time mixed with 130 Ibs. flour and Ij Ib. yeast, and the proper quantity of water 

 and salt. The last stage yields the finest and whitest bread. See Watts's ' Dictionary 

 of Chemistry.' 



lECANORlC ACID. An acid obtained from a South American variety of the 

 Boccetta tinctoria. 



Z.ECYTHXDACE.S:. The Brazil-nut order, remarkable for the edible seeds of 

 many of its members. The Lecythis ollaria is found in the forests of Brazil and 

 Cumana. The fruit is about the size of a child's head ; and it contains numerous 

 edible seeds. The natives, who eat the seeds, and use the case for various purposes, 

 call the fruit ' the monkey pots.' The L. Zapucajo is a native of Guiana : its fruit is 

 about the size of the above ; it contains numerous seeds, larger than almonds, and of 



