LABORATORIES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES 73 



earthenware articles which they purchase shall be prepared 

 either with leadless glaze or with glaze in which any lead that 

 may be present is mainly in the insoluble condition. A large 

 number of articles, including glazed bricks and tiles, telegraph 

 insulators, and sanitary and domestic ware of all kinds were 

 submitted by the Admiralty, the India Office, the Office of Works, 

 the Post Office, and the Prisons' Department of the Home Office 

 for examination as to conformity with these conditions. Most 

 of the articles examined were of perfectly satisfactory character, 

 but in some cases it was clear from the quantity of lead found 

 that glazes containing lead must have been employed in their 

 manufacture. 



Among the curiosities of investigation the following duty 

 devolves on the Government Chemist. 



Before an Old Age Pension can be granted, it is necessary 

 that the age of the applicant should be clearly established. In 

 the absence of the Registrar-General's certificate, reliable evidence 

 as to age is sometimes obtained from entries of the date of birth 

 in old Bibles or Prayer Books, from names and dates written in 

 books received as gifts in childhood, and from marriage certifi- 

 cates and other documents. Sometimes there is reason to suspect 

 that such entries have been made recently, or that the original 

 writing has been altered for the purpose of deceiving the 

 authorities. 



In the course of the year thirteen documents were submitted 

 for examination, on account of their suspicious appearance. In 

 six of these cases it was found that the writing was of recent 

 date, or that it had been recently tampered with. 



In 1913 at the request of the Deputy Keeper of the Records 

 the composition of a series of mediaeval wax impressions of seals 

 of various dates, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, 

 was examined with a view to obtaining information for his 

 guidance in devising means for the better preservation of the 

 seals under his charge. Most of the seals were found to consist 

 of mixtures of beeswax and resin, the resin in some cases being 

 ordinary colophony. The wax in the case of two of the seals, 

 dated respectively 1399 and 1423, possessed the character of 

 East Indian rather than European beeswax. An impression of 

 the Great Seal of 1350 was found to consist of pure beeswax, 

 and it is remarkable that the wax, although nearly six centuries 

 old, corresponded exactly in properties with wax of recent origin. 



