45° 
Vegetable  Parchment. 
S  Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
\       Sept.,  I877 
The  author  compares  the  properties  and  analytical  results  of  the 
above,  and  other  similar  bodies  like  saponin,  senegin,  cyclamin,  digi- 
tonin,  which  are  possibly  homologous  compounds. 
VEGETABLE  PARCHMENT  AND  ITS  USES. 
The  history  of  invention  bristles  with  illustrations  of  the  statement 
that  latent  possibilities  of  eminent  utility  are  hidden  away  beneath  the 
most  unpromising  exteriors,  demanding  only  the  magic  probe  of  the 
investigator  to  disclose  themselves  in  quarters  where  they  are  least 
expected. 
Who,  for  example,  would  have  anticipated  that  a  simple  and  almost 
instantaneous  treatment  with  one  of  the  most  ordinary  chemical  agents 
was  all  that  was  required  to  altogether  change  the  appearance  and 
nature  of  unsized  paper,  and  transform  it  from  its  normal  state,  in  which 
it  possesses  but  trifling  tenacity,  into  a  substance  bearing  the  closest 
resemblance,  both  in  appearance  and  characteristics,  to  parchment  } 
Such  is,  nevertheless,  the  fact.  By  one  of  the  simplest  manipulations, 
the  mere  momentary  immersion  of  the  paper  into  strong  sulphuric  acidy 
and  afterwards  washing  it  thoroughlv  with  water,  this  curious  meta- 
morphosis is  brought  about.  This  observation,  made  in  England  by 
W.  E.  Gaine,  1857,  has  originated1  what  is  now  a  thriving  industry — 
the  manufacture  of  parchment  paper  (or  vegetable  parchment) — and  the 
product  has  come  to  be  almost  indispensable  for  a  great  variety  of  gen- 
eral uses,  as  well  as  in  technical  and  pharmaceutical  chemistry,  inas- 
much as  it  affords  an  admirable  substitute  for  the  ordinary  parchment 
and  other  animal  membranes,  while  in  point  of  cleanliness  and  cheap- 
ness it  surpasses  them.  Plunged  into  water,  it  becomes  soft  and  plia- 
ble. It  is  not  injuriously  affected  by  boiling  water,  regaining  its 
original  condition  upon  drying.  It  is  quite  impervious  to  water,  alco- 
holic and  ethereal  fluids,  benzol  and  numerous  other  substances,  and 
consequently  is  largely  used  to  replace  the  animal  membrane  in  sealing 
vessels  containing  them.  It  was  introduced  with  marked  success  dur- 
ing the  late  Franco-Prussian  war  as  a  substitute  for  animal  bladder,  in 
the  preparation  of  the  well-known  pea  sausage,  which  formed  so  note- 
1  In  a  report  by  De  la  Rue  (1859)  tne  honor  of  the  scientific  discovery  in  1847  is 
given  to  J.  A.  Poumarede  and  L.  Figuier,  but  the  perfection  of  the  process  is  W. 
E.  Gaine's  work. — Editor  Am.  Jour.  Phar. 
