148 
MATERIALS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN 
Basketry 
Baskets become very brittle with age, often so much so that they can 
hardly be handled safely. In this case it is best to treat them before 
attempting any cleaning. Baskets in better condition should be cleaned 
as thoroughly as possible with bellows and brushes and then treated with 
a solution of beeswax in gasoline. Enough wax should be shaved into the 
gasoline to make a thin slush. The gasoline on evaporation will leave the 
wax in the tissues of the basketry and pliability will be maintained inde- 
finitely. Paraffin in turpentine has been recommended for the same 
purpose, but has the disadvantage of darkening the basket. Slight rubbing 
of the specimen after the application of the beeswax in gasoline will impart 
a pleasant gloss and any colours, such as appear in the imbricated baskets 
of the southern interior of British Columbia, are considerably freshened. 
Baskets are subject to attack by wood-boring beetles. The use of the 
beeswax-gasoline solution will usually be found an effective method of 
eradicating the pest. Fumigation is also satisfactory. 
Birchbark 
The drying and increasing brittleness of birchbark that has been long 
in storage are due to the loss of moisture and volatile oils. Any attempt 
to replace these with more of the original oils lost is useless as they would 
again evaporate. Experiments have been performed with a variety of 
materials, with vaiying degrees of success. It was felt that Canada 
balsam dissolved in turpentine would restore to the birchbark a substance 
resembling in some degree the material lost, but the result was unsatis- 
factory, as the penetration was poor and a film of balsam varnish was left 
on the specimen. Birchbark is highly impervious to fluids, even alcohol 
penetrating only slightly. Paraffin wax dissolved in turpentine left a 
greasy surface; beeswax in gasoline, though penetrating only slightly, left 
a smooth surface without discoloration. Celluloid in acetone gives a 
satisfactory surface, but does not greatly increase the pliability of the bark. 
Some measure of success attended a method in which the bark was 
first painted with beech wood creosote. When this had dried, the surface 
was repainted with formaldehyde. The action of the formaldehyde with 
the creosote forms a condensation product which leaves a preservative 
coating on the birchbark, with only a slight discoloration. Experiments 
with this material are still in progress. 
Resin 
The terms gum, resin, and pitch are used very loosely and considerable 
confusion has arisen as a result. Gums and resins are nearly always plant 
exudations, by which they may be distinguished from pitch, which, except 
when artificially produced, may be classified as a mineral. Gums are 
soluble in water, or absorb it in large quantity, but are insoluble in alcohol. 
Resins are nearly all soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in water. Pitch, or 
bitumen, is insoluble in both water and alcohol. In actual practice gum 
and mineral pitch are rarely, if ever, encountered in Canadian anthro- 
pological specimens, but resin is frequently used as an adhesive. The fact 
