MAKING LUMBER FROM STRAW. 57 



not the accomplishment of this end. Cheap qualities of silk would not reward 

 the manufacturer for his trouble ; hence a brown or green-black are of inferior 

 fiber. Experts in the selection of silks adhere to certain rules which guide them 

 in the matter. Among others is that of noting the closeness and evenness of the 

 rib in the fabric, and to facilitate .this end they hold it to the light, by which 

 means the character of the texture is discovered. The goods is crushed in the 

 hands also, and if it springs out quickly when suddenly released, what is termed 

 verve is developed. The quality of the silk is denoted by the verve. The softest 

 silk produced is said to be the Italian, possessing little stiffness in its appearance. 

 The Chinese silk is the most inferior and deficient in verve. And there is a kind 

 of silk produced, in the manufacture of which jute is used in the process of adul- 

 teration, which is interwoven in the fiber of the silk. This fabric is found very 

 deficient in verve. It is a silk which, if wetted, stiffens similar to paper. 



Iron can be protected from rust and made very pleasing in color by a method 

 invented by Mr. Dode. He coats the surface with a thin film of borate of lead, 

 in which some oxide of copper has been dissolved, and some scales of precipi- 

 tated platinum held in suspension, by means of a brush or a bath. He then heats 

 the composition until it is fused. The result is a thin, glassy coating, which will 

 withstand the action of sewer gases, dilute acids of alkalies, and the heat of a 

 kitchen fire. If all be true that is said of this " platinized iron," as it is called, 

 it will find numerous applications. 



MAKING LUMBER FROM STRAW. 



Mr. H. S. Hamilton, of Bushnell, 111., has discovered a process for making 

 hard-wood lumber out of common wheat straw, with all the effects of polish and 

 finish which is obtainable on the hardest of black walnut and mahogany, at as 

 little cost as clear pine lumber can be manufactured for. The process of manu- 

 facture, as explained by Mr. Hamilton, is as follows : Ordinary straw board, such 

 as is manufactured at any paper mill, is used for the purpose. As many sheets 

 are taken as are required to make the thickness of lumber desired. These sheets 

 are passed through a chemical solution, which thoroughly softens up the fiber 

 and completely saturates it. The whole is then passed through a succession of 

 rollers, dried and hardened during the passage, as well as polished, and comes 

 out of the other end of the machine hard, dry lumber, ready for use. It is 

 claimed that the chemical properties, hardening in the fiber, entirely prevent 

 water soaking, and render the lumber combustible only in a very hot fire. The 

 hardened finish on the outside also makes it impervious to water. The samples 

 exhibited could hardly be told from hard-wood lumber, and in sawing it the 



