64 Indian Forest Records. [Vol. VIII 
clean grain-lac can be produced faster and more economically than 
by the ordinary method. In washing the grain-lac, if a high grade 
superfine shellac is to be manufactured, a little Fuller’s earth is added 
to the washing water. This, however, dissolves some of the lac, causing 
a loss of about 5 per cent. 
The Mechanical Process, 
which the principal are— 
Mechanical methods are chiefly con¬ 
fined to a few factories in Calcutta among 
Messrs. Angelo Bros., Ltd., of Cossipore ; 
J. Galstaun, Esq. 
There used also to be a mechanical factory in Rangoon, which 
however closed down in 1914 ; and the Esociet, Ltd., of Maihar, C. I., 
also manufacture shellac by machinery. Messrs, Angelo Bros* 
manufacture both garnet lac and orange shellac. The former is 
made by an alcohol process whilst orange is melted out by means of 
steam heat. Their best known mark is A. C. Garnet ; and, of orange 
shellac, AB-TN, TN No. 1 and TN No, 2. The other manufacturers 
also have their own marks. 
Alcohol solvents are generally used in the mechanical process, 
but little detailed information is available regarding the actual 
processes employed, which are in the nature of trade secrets* 
The apparatus consists of a mixer, an evaporator, and a condenser* 
Washed grain-lac is placed in the mixer, sufficient alcohol added 
and the whole agitated and heated until dissolved. The hot 
solution is now run off through a filter cloth into the evapora¬ 
tor where the alcohol, driven off by heat from a steam jacket, 
passes through a condenser back to the mixer. The clean molten 
shellac is drawn off through a tap in the bottom of the evapora¬ 
tor and made up into the form of garnet lac or shellac as required. 
The chief advantages of the mechanical over the manual method 
are that shellac can be turned out more rapidly and in much larger 
quantities, is cleaner and more uniform. Practically all the available 
lac is extracted from the stick-lac. Indeed by the mechanical agency 
lac can even be extracted in remunerative quantities from kiri and 
other refuse, chiefly for conversion into the cheaper grades of garnet 
lac. 
