ANIMAL PRODUCTS 143 



Isinglass, the purest form of gelatine, which is 

 obtained from the sturgeon and other fish, is used 

 in the production of the best jellies, and also for 

 giving a stiff consistency to jams. When dissolved 

 in pure alcohol it forms a diamond cement, and 

 when incorporated with strong acetic acid a cement 

 is obtained which is greatly in demand for repairing 

 pottery and glassware. 



It is also mixed with lamp-black and Spanish 

 liquorice to produce an Indian ink, and when gum 

 is added to it, it serves as a dressing which gives a 

 lustrous sheen to silks and ribbons. Court plaster 

 is yet another product in which isinglass is utilised, 

 the gelatine being mixed with a small quantity of 

 tincture of benzoin, and then spread over sarsenet 

 and left to dry. It is used also for the purpose of 

 clarifying wine and beer. Size and glue are 

 inferior grades of gelatine, the former being pre- 

 pared from parchment clippings, pieces of leather, 

 rabbit skins, and even such items as old gloves, 

 while glue is obtained by boiling down the skins, 

 hoofs and bones of mammals, as well as from the 

 skins of fish and from the dried swimming-bladder 

 of the cod. 



The skins of animals are used for many purposes, 

 and those creatures- which possess a thick covering 

 of hair are greatly in demand for supplying the 

 various furs used for making into cloaks, muffs, 

 stoles, rugs, etc. Leather is prepared from the 

 hides of animals, and parchment is manufactured 

 from sheepskins ; while that form of the latter 

 product known as vellum, which is characterised 



