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SOME  REMARKS  UPON  SHELLAC,  ETC. 
SOME  EEMARKS  UPON  SHELLAC,  WITH  AN  ESPECIAL  REFER- 
ENCE TO  ITS  PRESENT  COMMERCIAL  POSITION. 
Mr.  Mackay. 
But  to  go  still  farther  from  home,  and  to  come  more  especially 
to  speak  of  the  article  it  is  my  intention  very  shortly  to  intro- 
duce to  your  notice,  I  may  at  once  refer  to  the  extraordinary 
position  which  shellac  holds  at  the  present  time  in  the  commer- 
cial world.  This  substance  is  known  to  us  all,  for  although  not 
used  in  medicine,  it  is  extensively  employed  in  the  arts.  Thus, 
it  is  the  principal  ingredient  in  our  finer  kinds  of  sealing-wax, 
while  in  that  very  important  manufacture,  hat-making,  it  is  not 
only  largely  employed,  but  no  substitute  can  be  found.  For 
wood-polish  it  is  a  necessary  ingredient,  and  our  pianos  and 
other  pieces  of  beautifully  polished  furniture,  would  be  less  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye  were  we  deprived  of  shellac.  In  varnishes  used  by 
the  upholsterer  and  others,  its  presence  cannot  be  dispensed  with  ; 
while  the  dye,  which  forms  an  integral  part  of  this  gum  resin,  is 
so  much  used  by  the  woollen  manufacturer,  that  even  the  gay 
clothing  of  soldiers  would  be  dull  and  dim  without  the  aid  of  the 
permanent  and  beautiful  lac  dye. 
Before  speaking  of  its  commercial  relations,  it  may  not  be  un- 
interesting to  refer  more  particularly  to  the  manner  and  places  of 
production.  Our  supplies  are  obtained  chiefly  from  the  East 
Indies,  the  districts  most  noted  being  Assam,  Pegu,  Bengal,  and 
Malabar,  and  along  the  course  of  the  Ganges. 
The  shipments  are,  however,  made  principally  from  Calcutta. 
In  the  districts  above  named  there  are  two  or  three  very  large 
establishments  at  which  they  employ  more  than  a  thousand 
hands.  Besides  these  factories,  there  are  numerous  makers  on 
the  small  scale.  A  feeling  of  secrecy  pervades  the  establishments, 
and  strangers  are  refused  admittance.  On  the  twigs  of  certain 
trees,  known  as  the  Ficus  religiosa,  Ficus  indica,  Rhamnus 
jujuha,  Croton  laceiferum,  and  the  Butea  frondom^  found  in  the 
jungle  and  forests  of  India,  a  small  insect  called  the  Coccus  fieus^ 
fixes  and  there  deposits  a  certain  quantity  of  a  dark  colored  re- 
sinous matter.  This,  on  careful  examination,  has  been  found  to 
be  the  stomachs  of  those  insects  left  there  after  death  as  food 
