Part I] Lindsay and Harlow.: Lac and Shellac 
93 
of orpiment, which really serves no useful purpose to the ultimate 
consumer, will diminish in course of time. 
Adulteration. 
The whole question of the adulteration of shellac, as of other 
Indian products, is one of great importance 
deservingspecial study. As already observ¬ 
ed, the vast bulk of Indian shellac is produced by petty manufacturers, 
who are too often tempted by high prices to secure additional weight 
by adulteration. The commonest form of adulteration consists in the 
deliberate admixture of sand, ashes or even sugar with the grain-lac 
packed into the melting bag. The bag itself is purposely prepared 
of coarse drill, with the result that more or less fine particles of the 
adulterant pass through the bag with the molten lac, and add to the 
weight of the finished article. The degree of adulteration naturally 
increases when the demand for shellac is keen and prices are high. 
When prices fall and the purchaser can show greater discrimination, 
the practice is discouraged. 
Adulteration will undoubtedly decrease as education extends and 
the trade becomes better organized. Possibly also there is room 
for improvement in the commercial tests at present applied. The 
commercial analyses most commonly employed are Parry’s in London 
and Langmuir’s in New York ; but both methods attach more 
importance to the rosin admixture than to the quantity and quality 
of other foreign substances. Under the old form of Calcutta contract 
the penalty clause provided for an allowance of eight annas per maund 
for each percentage of rosin admixture up to four per cent., and one 
rupee per maund for each percentage over four. But practically no 
notice was taken of other foreign substances. Under the new form 
of contract, the allowance is one rupee per maund for each per¬ 
centage of rosin up to four per cent., and two rupees for each percent¬ 
age over four. With regard to other foreign substances, three percent, 
are allowed free. The penalty is eight annas per maund for each 
percentage over three to five and one rupee per maund for each 
percentage above five. 
The treatment of shellac naturally varies with its quality and the 
use to which it is to be put. For varnish 
Uses* 
manufacture, it is reduced to a liquid by 
the use either of alcohol or of an alkali. In some cases, as in the 
manufacture of gramophone records, it is simply ground to a powder, 
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