LINOLEUM  MANUFACTURE.  373 
water-proof  clothing.  As  a  varnish  or  paint  for  protecting  iron 
or  wood,  or  for  coating  ship's  bottoms,  it  is  said  to  be  admirably 
adapted,  as  it  dries  rapidly,  in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  and 
adheres  with  singular  tenacity.  As  a  cement  for  uniting  sub- 
stances, such  as  wood  with  iron,  or  wood  with  wood,  it  is  very 
effective,  and  has  similar  properties  to  the  marine  glue  made 
from  india-rubber  and  shellac.  Singularly  enough,  linoleum 
can  also  be  vulcanized  or  hardened  by  exposure  to  heat.  By 
this  means  it  is  made  as  hard  as  the  hardest  woods,  and  rendered 
capable  of  receiving  a  high  polish  without  the  aid  of  varnish  or 
any  other  extraneous  substance.  In  this  condition  it  can  be  filed, 
planed,  or  turned  as  easily  as  wood,  and  employed  in  many  of 
the  various  ways  for  which  wood  is  used.  Or  it  can  be  moulded 
in  heated  dies  to  any  desired  form,  as  for  example,  flax-spinners' 
bosses,  sheaves  for  ships'  blocks,  surgical  instrument  handles, 
picture  frames,  mouldings,  veneers  to  imitate  marble,  ivory, 
ebony  and  other  woods.  Combined  with  emery,  it  forms  a  grind- 
ing-wheel  having  extraordinary  cutting  or  abrasive  power. 
Very  dissimilar  are  some  of  the  uses  to  which  the  new  substance 
can  be  applied.  Carriage-aprons,  cart-sheeting,  sail-covers,  reti- 
cules, tarpauling,  printers'  blankets,  gas-pipes,  telegraph  sup- 
ports, washable  felt  carpets,  table  covers,  paints  for  carriages  or 
for  printing  floor-cloth,  or  enamels  of  any  color  for  enameling 
papier-mache  or  metals.  These  are  only  some  of  the  many  uses 
to  which  linoleum  may  be  applied. 
"  The  manufacture  has,  however,  hitherto  been  chiefly  confined 
to  the  development  of  the  floor-cloth  trade,  for  which  the  new 
material  has  proved  itself  well  adapted.  Linoleum  floor-cloth  is 
produced  by  combining  the  linoleum  with  ground  or  powdered 
cork,  which  is  rolled  on  to  a  stout  canvas,  the  back  of  the  canvas 
being  afterward  water-proofed  with  a  cement  or  varnish  made 
from  the  solidified  or  oxydized  oil  before  referred  to.  The  com- 
bined fabric  so  manufactured  is  then  printed  by  means  of  blocks 
in  every  variety  of  pattern,  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  floor-cloth 
thus  produced  is  pliable,  and  comparatively  noiseless  to  walk 
upon.  It  washes  well,  preserves  its  color,  and  can  be  rolled  up 
like  any  ordinary  carpet.  Besides  being  very  durable — the  com- 
ponent parts  being  almost  indestructible  except  by  fire — it  will 
*■ 
