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 Commercial Raw Materials
 
 COMMERCIAL 
 RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Their Origin, Preparation and Uses 
 
 By CHARLES R. XOOTHAKER 
 
 Curator of the Philadelphia Museums 
 
 GINN & COMPANY 
 BOSTON • NEW YORK CHICAGO ■ LONDON
 
 COPYRIGHTED. 1905 
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUMS 
 Philadelphia, Pa.
 
 , .,.■ t,;.«0*lCS 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The Philadelphia Museums are sending to the public schools of Penn- 
 sylvania a series of collections of commercial products, charts, maps and 
 photographs illustrating the commerce of the world and designed as an aid 
 to the teaching of commercial geography and natural science. The distri- 
 bution is made under state appropriations. The collections have been 
 graded according to the work done in the different schools, and different 
 series are furnished for primary and secondary schools, regular high schools 
 and commercial high schools. The standard collection comprises twenty- 
 fi\c maps of commercial distribution, over one hundred economic photo- 
 graphs and over three hundred commercial products. This book was 
 prepared primarily as a work of reference for the schools in connection with 
 the use of these collections. 
 
 A consideration of the nature and uses of the materials, which are of 
 economic importance and on which the business of the world and the life of 
 its people are dependent, is a necessary part of the study of geography or 
 commerce. Until recent years no schools in this country have systematically 
 taken up the study of the products of the world, although courses along 
 this line are essential parts of the curricula in many schools in Europe. 
 
 This book, which is briefly descriptive of the origin, processes of 
 
 preparation and uses of the most important commercial materials, will, it is 
 
 '' 7 hoped, aid teachers in all grades whether they take up the products in a 
 
 special course or only refer to them in connection with the countries which 
 
 ■ produce them. 
 
 No classification of materials has yet been devised which is not open to 
 
 ;- some criticism. The grouping adopted here is into substances of vegetable, 
 
 "^ animal and mineral origin. The plants first described yield foods or food 
 
 accessories; following these are plants, such as the cocoanut, which yield 
 
 both food and fiber; and then those, like the cotton plant, which supply 
 
 ^ fiber, oil and cattle food. All of the materials obtained from one plant are 
 
 grouped together. The same subdivision is used as far as possible with 
 
 substances of animal and mineral origin. This classification is generally 
 
 •" found more convenient and better than the separation of the many different 
 
 ^[jroducts which may come from one source.
 
 The maps of distribution show by their shading the parts of the world 
 which produce the largest amounts of the various articles. The preparation 
 of similar maps and charts showing the amount and relative imjwrtance of 
 the materials produced, consumed, exported or imported will be found 
 helpful to the student. 
 
 It is very desirable to use specimens in the class-room, in order to 
 make the study of the world's products clear and profitable. It is of great 
 importance for every school to accumulate its own collection or museum, 
 and much can be accomplished by the pupils as original work in the course 
 of their studies. Specimens of many of the world's products are easily 
 obtained by anyone. Teachers and children can get samples of many 
 articles from merchants and manufacturers, who are usually glad to aid in 
 the cause of education. 
 
 Helpful pictures illustrative of such subjects as agriculture, lumbering, 
 fishing, mining, manufacturing in different iines, or transportation in con- 
 nection with the products of various countries, are published from time to 
 time in many magazines. 
 
 It is important that specimens in a school museum be carefully and 
 accurately labelled, and that they be classified and preserved in such a way 
 that they can be easily taken to the class-room, used and returned to their 
 places. 
 
 The author has had unusual opportunities to become familiar with the 
 things which make up the commerce of the world, through close contact 
 with the Museums' collections. He is indebted to Mr. S. F. Aaron and 
 Dr. B. H. A. Groth, former members of the staff of the Museums, for 
 valuable assistance throughout the work, as well as to Dr. William P. 
 Wilson, Director of the Museums, for his helpful suggestions and good 
 advice. 
 
 Free use has, of course, been made of many standard works of refer- 
 ence in compiling information. 
 
 11
 
 VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
 
 FOODS. 
 
 In most countries there is one foodstuff which, above all others, is con- 
 sidered the standard food, a food which the rich and poor eat alike. In the 
 northern part of the United States and in the northwest of Europe this is 
 wheat bread ; in northeastern Europe it is rye bread ; in parts of Ireland, 
 potatoes; in Mexico, " frijoles " and maize; in southeastern Asia, rice; 
 in many tropical islands, almost exclusively fruits such as the banana or 
 the cocoanut. Usually the foods mentioned are the principal products of 
 the respective countries. There are cases, however, where foreign transpor- 
 tation is so cheap that it furnishes a country with an imported standard food, 
 as happens when salted fish are sent from New England and Canada to 
 some of the West India Islands. Besides the standard and more important 
 foods, there are everywhere many others of more or less importance : bever- 
 ages, spices, fruits, etc. It is impossible to distinguish strictly between 
 important foods and luxuries, for in Venezuela, for example, wheat flour is 
 as much a luxur)' as pineapples are in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Articles of Vegetable Origin Used as Food. 
 
 For anhnal food : grains, fodder, hay, oil-cake, etc. 
 
 For huma7i food : cereals, aiid cereal products (grains, flour, bran, 
 oatmeal, breakfast foods, macaroni, etc.) ; starch (from grains, roots, etc.); 
 sugar (cane sugar, beet sugar, glucose, honey); vegetables, fruits, nuts, 
 fresh dried or preserved (peas, beans, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, apples, 
 berries, grapes, pineapples, oranges, olives, almonds, chestnuts, etc. ) ; bever- 
 ages (tea, coffee, chocolate, postum, etc.); alcoholic liquors ; spices and flavors 
 (pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, etc., extracts, artificial flavors, condi- 
 ments); vegetable oils, for table use (olive, cotton , etc. ) ; medicines (qui- 
 nine, castor oil, etc.); stimulants (tobacco, opium, betel, etc). 
 
 Wheat {Triticum sativum, var. vulgare, durum, etc.) is the 
 
 WHEAT most nutritious, and commercially the most important cereal. 
 
 It is the chief grain used for human food in western Europe, in 
 
 North America, and by the white race in South Africa and Australia. It has 
 
 been cultivated since very ancient times, and, in common with other grains, 
 
 was referred to as " corn " before maize was known. 
 
 Wheat thrives best in temperate climates but is raised even in the cool 
 mountainous regions of the tropics. The United States is the greatest 
 wheat producing country because of favorable climate and soil, the use of 
 improved agricultural machinery, and economical methods of handling and 
 transportation. Wheat is handled in the United States largely in bulk ; 
 it is loaded loose (not in bags), on cars or in boats, transferred by machinery
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS
 
 FOODS 3 
 
 and stored in grain elevators. In other countries the grain is usually stored 
 in bags and the cost of handling is, therefore, considerably greater. The 
 European countries are all large producers of wheat, but only Russia and 
 Hungary grow more than they need at home. The others must import it 
 from them, or from the United States, India, Australia, or Argentina. 
 
 Wheat is classified commercially as "hard" or "soft." The hard 
 varieties contain a large percentage of gluten or protein, and are suit- 
 able for making such foods as macaroni. Soft wheats contain more starch 
 and are used for making flour. Some flours are made of a mixture of hard 
 and soft wheats. Wheats are also classified according to their color, ' ' red ' ' 
 or "white," and according to their season, "winter" or "spring." 
 Winter wheats are sown in autumn and harvested in early summer ; spring 
 wheats are sown in the spring and harvested in late summer. The same 
 wheat may be cultivated as a winter or spring variety, but when grown 
 for generations as winter wheat it does not thrive as spring wheat and vice 
 versa. Like many other cultivated plants, wheat has developed hundreds of 
 varieties, known to growers under different names. 
 
 Wheat is ground in great mills where heavy steel rollers have taken the 
 place of the old style millstones. After grinding, it is separated by sieves 
 and bolting cloth into bran, middlings and flour of different degrees of 
 fineness. Minneapolis is the centre of the milling industr)'. Grits, starch, 
 and breakfast foods are also made of wheat. Wheat straw is plaited for hat 
 making. Leghorn braids are made in Italy from the stalks of wheat, 
 gathered while green and bleached in the sun. 
 
 Barley i^Hordeuvi sativum, var. vulgare, etc.) is chiefly used 
 
 BARLEY for beer brewing and in some places as horse feed. It is 
 
 cultivated in north and central Europe, as far as northern 
 
 Norway ; in Tibet, northern China, Japan, and to a limited extent in the 
 
 United States. In warmer countries it thrives only in the mountains. 
 
 For household use, pearl barley is used in preparing soups, gruels, etc. 
 In Scandinavia, barley flour is used for making bread. 
 
 Malt is made from barley (or sometimes from other grains) by spread- 
 ing it, wet, on the floor of a dark room where it swells and sprouts. It is 
 then dried, screened, ground up, boiled with hops, and allowed to ferment 
 to make beer. During the process of sprouting, or germination, a ferment, 
 diastase, is produced, which converts the starch of the grain into dextrine 
 and maltose. Maltose is a kind of sugar and this, in fermentation, produces 
 alcohol. 
 
 Rye (Seca/e cereale) is the chief breadstuff in Russia, Scandinavia 
 RYE and parts of Germany. It is cultivated like wheat, in "winter" 
 and "spring" varieties, and grows in a colder climate and on 
 poorer soil than wheat. Rye is one of the grains used in the United States 
 for making whiskey. In Russia, "vodka" is made from it. Rye straw is 
 long and tough and is used for making braids for hats, and to a less extent 
 for making ropes and mats, and, by the poor people in parts of Europe, for
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 thatching. Russia is the greatest producer of rye. The United States 
 furnishes only a very small part of the world's production. 
 
 Oats {Arena saliva) is most important as horse feed. As oat- 
 OATS meal it is used for human food in Scotland, Ireland and other 
 countries. It flourishes in a cooler and moister climate than 
 wheat, and is grown over a large area. In this country, Illinois and 
 Iowa are the greatest oat producing States. In Europe it grows most 
 largely near the Baltic coasts of Russia and Germany and in Ireland, 
 Scotland, France, Austria-Hungary and Norway. Russia and the United 
 States grow more oats than other countries. 
 
 Maize or Indian Corn {Zea mays') is largely used as a food for 
 MAIZE live stock, the bulk of the crop being used in the West for this 
 purpose. The principal corn producing States are Illinois, 
 Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio. It is the most 
 important human food in some sections of the southern United States, in 
 Mexico, Central America, and in parts of Italy and Egypt. In Europe, 
 maize is little cultivated and the name "corn" is applied to wheat, oats, 
 and other grains. 
 
 There are many varieties of maize varying in size, color, and compo- 
 sition ; some are rich in starch and others in oil. The numerous varieties 
 are due partly to the influence of soil and climate and partly to the efforts 
 of the growers to develop certain characteristics, such as the large or small 
 percentage of starch. Two types are distinct from all others, sweet or sugar 
 corn, and pop-corn ; these are grown in relatively small quantities compared 
 with the total production of corn, and are used entirely for human food. 
 
 (For Corn Starch, see Starch, also Glucose, and Grape Sugar.) 
 
 During the process of starch making the germs of the corn are separated. 
 These are placed in coarse cloths and pressed by machinery, until the oil is 
 extracted. The material remaining, called oil-cake, is used for cattle food, 
 and the oil is useful for soap making, lubricating, burning, and as a substi- 
 tute for linseed oil in paints. Corn oil can be vulcanized (see Rubber) and 
 then forms a substitute and adulterant for rubber. The actual value of corn 
 oil is greater than the value of the starch itself, extracted from maize. Corn 
 pith is used for packing between the double hulls of ships, because when it 
 absorbs water it swells up and thus closes a hole made by a cannon ball. 
 
 (See diagram of the Corn Plant on page 5. ) 
 
 Rice {Oryza saliva) is the principal food of one third of the 
 RICE people of the world. It is not so important as some other grains 
 in general commerce, because it is largely consumed in the 
 countries which produce it. It is the principal crop and the main food in 
 southeastern Asia from India to southern Japan and in many of the islands 
 of the Pacific. The United States prod ices in the southern states, chiefly 
 Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina, about half as much rice as it consumes, 
 importing the remainder from eastern Asia. 
 
 There are several important kinds in cultivation: common rice, swamp 
 rice, upland rice, and glutinous rice, besides several hundred minor \arieties.
 
 FOODS 
 
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 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 The crop is dependent upon a bountiful supply of moisture and a warmer 
 climate than is necessary for other grains. It is grown in swampy places or 
 else in fields which can be kept flooded during the period of growth. Ex- 
 tensive irrigation has made it possible to grow rice successfully on the 
 prairies of Louisiana and Texas. 
 
 Rice with the hull on is called " paddy." After the hulls are removed 
 by rapidly revolving millstones, the grains are polished or whitened by 
 machinery. The grains which are broken in cleaning, although they contain 
 just as much nutriment as the whole grains, sell at a very much lower price. 
 The hulls are sometimes used as a packing material, or for fuel in the 
 factory, and the rice flour or "polish" is a valuable by-product used for 
 cattle food. Rice is richer in starch than any other cereal ; the starch is 
 extracted in much the same manner as from other grains (see Starch). 
 Rice is used by the Japanese in brewing their national drink, a beverage 
 called "sake." Rice paper (so called) is not made of rice but from the 
 pith of an entirely different plant, although paper is sometimes made of rice 
 straw. The straw is used in Japan and China for making mats, ropes, bags, 
 sandals, rain coats, and other articles, and for thatching and bedding. 
 
 Buckwheat {^Fagopyru7n esculentuni) although not a 
 
 BUCKWHEAT member of the family of grasses, is usually regarded as a 
 cereal because its seeds are used like those of wheat, rye, 
 and other grains. It is used for feeding poultry and for making flour 
 for buckwheat cakes. In this country, New York and Pennsylvania 
 produce two thirds of the crop. It is cultivated in Russia, France, and 
 Japan. 
 
 Millet is important as a fodder in nearly all parts of the world, 
 
 MILLET and the grain is used for human food in Japan, China, and India. 
 There are numerous varieties of millet, the commonest of 
 which are European Broomcorn Millet (Paiiicum miliaceutn) and Fo.xtail 
 Millet {Setaria italica). 
 
 Sorghum is similar to millet. Its seeds are eaten, the juice of its stalks 
 yields sugar (see Sugar), and Broom Corn {Andropogoii sorg/ncm), one of 
 its varieties, furnishes the stiff tops used for making ordinary brooms. 
 
 When a plant lays up reserve food for future use it usually 
 
 STARCH stores it in the form of starch. Frequently this is contained 
 in seeds or roots for the use of the young plant in the next 
 generation. In each plant the starch grains have a characteristic shape and 
 size, so that it is possible to identify the different starches by means of the 
 microscope. Starch is an important human food and is mostly eaten with 
 the part of the plant in which it is stored. From many seeds and roots it 
 can be easily extracted. The common starches come from the seeds of corn, 
 wheat, and sometimes from rice or other cereals or from beans ; from the 
 roots or tubers of potatoes, cassava (tapioca), arrowroot ; or from the pith 
 of the sago palm tree. 
 
 The process of separating starch consists of grinding or grating the 
 material which contains it, and washing with water. The starch is not
 
 .A
 
 FOODS 
 
 exactly soluble in cold water, but the grains mix readily with it and are 
 easily carried off in suspension, so that the water with the starch can be 
 strained away from the more or less fibrous pulp. The starch settles to the 
 bottom when this milky liquid is allowed to stand for a time, and the clear 
 water is then drawn off and the starch dried. This process varies somewhat 
 according to the material from which the starch is to be extracted ; wheat, 
 for instance, is allowed to ferment slightly or is treated with caustic soda to 
 dissolve the gluten, while maize is soaked in water till the grain is softened 
 before being ground up. When starch is extracted commercially on a large 
 scale, the factories are equipped with special machinery. 
 
 Corn and potatoes furnish most of the starch used in America and 
 Europe, and the by-products of starch-making are useful as cattle food, for 
 distilling and other purposes (see Maize). 
 
 Tapioca starch is obtained from the roots of the cassava plant 
 TAPIOCA {Mani/wt utilissitna). These roots contain in their juice a 
 powerful poison, hydrocyanic or prussic acid, the same sub- 
 stance which occurs in the leaves of the sheep laurel. Fortunately this is 
 easily removed by thorough washing or by heating, so that it does not 
 remain in the prepared starch. Starch is used not only for food and in the 
 laundry, but also finds numerous industrial applications, such as dressing 
 cloth, sizing paper, making paste, etc. 
 
 Even more important are the substances made from starch, such as 
 dextrine and grape sugar or glucose. 
 
 Dextrine, or " British Gum," is made from starch by roasting 
 DEXTRINE or by treatment with dilute acids. It is a substance with pro- 
 perties like gum arable, and is useful in making mucilage, 
 for stiffening cotton textiles, for giving a gloss to paper and cardboard, for 
 thickening colors for calico printing, and for producing a ' ' head ' ' on beer. 
 Grape Sugar is prepared from starch by treatment with 
 GRAPE SUGAR hot dilute sulphuric acid. This changes the starch into 
 a substance similar to cane sugar, but not so sweet. It is 
 a very important material, much used in brewing, and as a substitute for true 
 sugar in syrups and cheap candies. Chemically, this sugar is known as 
 dextrose. Commercially, the name glucose is applied to the syrup of grape 
 sugar. The same substance occurs in honey, in grapes, and in many other fruits 
 The white substance often seen on raisins is grape sugar formed naturally. 
 
 Beans (Phascolns vulgaris, etc. ) are a common article of food in 
 BEANS nearly all countries. In the American tropics "frijoles" are one 
 of the chief staples, and flour made of beans is used in bread- 
 making. Beans are among the most nutritious foods, being rich in flesh- 
 forming constituents. String beans and marrowfat beans are gathered 
 green, and both pods and seeds are eaten. By cultivation, the common table 
 bean has been made to vary in size, taste, color, and composition. The 
 varieties are known under different names, such as haricot beans, French 
 beans, kidney beans, marrowfat beans, etc., but all are derived from the 
 same ancestral stock. The Lima bean, the soja or soy bean, the pigeon
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 bean, the green gram, and others are different species. Soy beans are used 
 in eastern Asia for making bean oil. Some beans are used, in making starch. 
 
 Peas of several varieties (Pisum arvense, sativum, etc.) are im- 
 PEAS portant as foods, and are cultivated in nearly all parts of the 
 
 world. Chick peas, or "garbanzos" {Cicer arietinum) , are 
 larger than the common pea and are grown in Mexico, Central America and 
 southern Europe. Lentils and \etches are common foods in many parts of the 
 world. They belong, with beans and peas, to the group known as legumes. 
 
 Sugar is obtained from the juice of the sugar cane {Saccharuvi 
 SUGAR officinarian) and from the juice of the sugar beet (Beta vul- 
 garis). The sugar from these two sources is in every way 
 identical, and is not different in sweetness. Chemically, this substance is 
 known as cane sugar, whether it comes from cane or beet, to distinguish 
 it from grape or other sugars. Two thirds of the sugar used is now derived 
 from beets. Java, Cuba, Hawaii, Brazil, Mauritius, Queensland and Lou- 
 isiana are the principal places which produce sugar from cane. Germany, 
 Austria, France, Russia, Belgium, and Holland are the important beet- 
 sugar producers. 
 
 In extracting sugar from cane, the fresh stalks, which contain as much 
 as 90 per cent, of juice, are crushed between powerful steel rollers. The 
 juice when pressed out is heated and clarified by adding a little lime, and 
 then goes to the e\aporating pans where it is boiled, usually in a partial 
 vacuum, to prevent overheating and hasten the concentration. When the 
 liquor has sufficiently evaporated, the sugar crystallizes out and is separated 
 from the molasses in centrifugal machines. The raw sugar resulting from 
 this process is shipped to refineries, most of which are located in the United 
 States and in England, where it is dissolved and purified by treatment with 
 lime, the serum of blood and filters of bone-black. L'pon re-crystallization 
 it is perfectly white, and appears on the market as granulated, loaf, or pul- 
 verized sugar. Sugar beets are usually rasped and then pressed to extract 
 the juice, or else sliced thin and soaked in warm water. The juice is evap- 
 orated and the raw sugar is refined in the same manner as in the corre- 
 sponding process of treating the juice of tane. 
 
 Rum is made in the West Indies by fermentation and distillation of the 
 juice of the sugar cane. 
 
 The world consumes more sugar every year, and the percentage of beet 
 sugar in the total product is steadily increasing. This is due partly to the 
 fact that beets are grown in densely populated countries, where the sugar 
 finds a market at once, thus sa\ing the cost of transportation ; partly to the 
 fact that the refuse or pulp from the beets is a \'aluable food for cattle ; and 
 partly to the assistance given by European governments to the beet-sugar 
 industry in the shape of bounties to producers. Some sugar is obtained 
 from other sources, such as maple sugar in the northeastern L'nited States, 
 and sorghum sugar from the stalks of broom-corn, cultivated in northern 
 India, China, and Japan, and in the central part of the United States. The
 
 BEVERAGES 
 
 sugar from sorghum is difficult to crystallize and is, therefore, generally- 
 used in the form of syrup. 
 
 "Jaggery" is a sugar obtained locally from the juice of certain palm 
 trees. Grape sugar is less sweet than cane sugar and is commonly made 
 from starch (see Grape Sugar). Laevulose or fruit sugar, lactose or milk 
 sugar, and maltose, or the sugar produced in malt, are not of general 
 commercial importance. 
 
 Vegetables and fruits for table use are important in local 
 
 VEGETABLES trade, especially in the neighborhood of dense popula- 
 
 and FRUITS tions, but do not play as great a part in the world's 
 
 commerce as less perishable materials. Large quantities 
 of vegetables are shipped from some European countries and from islands 
 which, like the Canaries and Bermuda, have a favorable climate and a situa- 
 tion convenient to markets. Refrigerator cars make it possible to ship 
 vegetables and fruit from places as distant as California and Florida to the 
 North Atlantic seaboard. Oranges, pineapples, bananas, cocoanuts, and 
 other tropical fruits are important foods where they grow. Large quantities 
 are shipped from the West Indies and Central America to the United 
 States and Europe. Apples, both green and dried, are among the important 
 exports from the United States. 
 
 BEVERAGES. 
 
 Tea is produced in China, India, Ceylon, Japan, and Java. It is 
 TEA cultivated in small plantations in South Carolina, Jamaica, Natal, 
 and other localities. Outside of the eastern countries which pro- 
 duce it, tea is consumed principally in the L^nited Kingdom, the British 
 Colonies, Russia, and the United States. 
 
 The tea plant (^Thea chinensis ) is usually kept trimmed down to a small 
 bush. Only the young leaves are picked. In some countries where the 
 plant grows rapidly, the pickings are frequent, while in more northern dis- 
 tricts the leaves can be picked only once or twice a year. The processes of 
 preparing the leaves differ considerably in various places, and naturally 
 result in teas of different qualities and flavors. In general, after the leaves 
 are picked, if they are to be made into black tea, they are allowed to wither 
 and ferment slightly, and then dried, usually over a charcoal fire. Green 
 teas are prepared by drying the leaves more quickly and not allowing them 
 to ferment, as in the manufacture of black tea. 
 
 Teas are classed commercially according to their color, green or black ; 
 according to the district producing them, as Japan, Formosa, Ceylon, China, 
 India, Assam, etc ; according to the method of preparation, giving "Gun- 
 powder," "Imperial," "Hyson," "Caper," etc.. Sun-dried, Pan-fired, 
 Basket-fired, etc ; and according to the quality, dependent on the age of the 
 leaf, as "Pekoe," "Oolong," "Souchong," "Congou." 
 
 When tea is treated with hot water, the stimulating element ( theine or 
 caiTeine) which it contains, dissolves readily, together with other constituents
 
 lO 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 

 
 BEVERAGES 
 
 which give to the drink its taste and aroma. Tea leaves contain also tannin 
 and this dissolves out upon long standing or upon boiling. Tannin is the 
 substance which is contained in many barks and is used to transform skins 
 into leather, and when it dissolves out of the leaves, gives to tea a bitter taste. 
 
 Verba Mate or Paraguay Tea is used like tea in Para- 
 YERBA MATE guay, Uruguay, Argentina and southern Brazil. It 
 consists of the dried leaves of a tree (^Ilex paragiiayensis) 
 of the holly family, which grows wild in that part of the world. It contains 
 cafifeine (theine), the same stimulating principle which is found in tea and 
 cofifee. In collecting mate, branches are cut from the trees, dried over a fire, 
 and then the leaves and small twigs are pounded to a coarse powder. It is 
 often sewed up in bags made of the skins of freshly-killed cattle, a treatment 
 which the natives think adds to its pleasant flavor. In some large factories 
 it is prepared more carefully, and packed in kegs or cans for shipment. The 
 natives of the lower class, who are the chief consumers, prepare the tea by 
 pouring hot water on the broken leaves, and drink it by sucking through a 
 " bombilla " or metal tube with a sieve at its lower end. 
 
 Coffee is grown principally in Brazil. Less than one quarter 
 COFFEE of the world's product is raised in other countries, chiefly 
 Venezuela, Central America, Java, Me.xico, and the West 
 Indies. The United States uses more coffee than any other country. 
 
 Coffee is the seed of a shrub or small tree {Coffea arabica, C. liberica) 
 which is usually kept trimmed to a height of eight or ten feet for convenience 
 in picking. The berries when ripe are bright red in color and about the 
 size of a cherry. They contain two seeds, each covered by a thin mem- 
 brane (the "silver skin"), then by a thick, tough skin (the "parchment" 
 or "cascara"), and the whole enclosed in a pulp which holds the two 
 beans with their flat sides together. Some berries, growing on the same 
 plants as the others, contain but one bean, which is round instead of flat, 
 and is called "pearl" or "male-berry" coffee. After picking, the berries 
 are pulped by a machine, washed, and allowed to lie in tanks till the adher- 
 ing pulp softens. They are then washed clean, and spread on cement or 
 earthen floors in the sun to dry. A cleaning machine ne.xt breaks and 
 removes the "parchment," which has become brittle on drying. Further 
 cleaning removes the " silver skin " and polishes the beans, making them 
 ready for market. 
 
 The principal commercial varieties are named from the places of pro- 
 duction or shipment, as Mocha, Java, Rio, Santos, La Guayra, Guatemala, 
 etc. Mocha and Ja\a coffees may be grown in any country, these names 
 being applied to coffee having a flavor like the kinds which were originally 
 grown in those places. Liberian coffee is produced in many countries by 
 the Liberian coffee tree. 
 
 The characteristic flavor of coffee is developed by roasting the beans. 
 The roasting is usually done near the place of consumption, not long before 
 the coffee is to be used.
 
 12 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Chicory roots, when roasted and ground, are used as 
 CHICORY ROOTS a substitute or as an adulterant for coffee. Some 
 persons tind cofEee harmful, and prefer to use chicory 
 or some other substance, such as roasted barley, to make a drink, since 
 these things do not contain caffeine, the stimulating principle found in coffee, 
 tea, and chocolate. The chicory plant {Cichorimn inly bus) has a pale blue 
 flower, and is a common weed along roadsides. Much of the chicory used 
 is imported from Germany and France, but there are several factories for its 
 preparation in the United States. 
 
 Cacao beans are the source of cocoa and chocolate. 
 CACAO BEANS Ecuador exports more cacao beans than any other 
 country. Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad, the 
 East Indies, and Ceylon are important producers. 
 
 The fruits of the cacao tree ( Theobroma cacao) are si.x to ten inches in 
 length, with thick, leathery rinds, and each contains fifty or more seeds, 
 usually called beans. In some places the seeds, after remo\al from the pods, 
 are prepared by simply drying in the sun. In other places they are piled 
 up, or buried in earth, and before being dried, undergo several days' fer- 
 mentation, which, it is believed, develops the flavor and aroma. In com- 
 merce both the unfermented and the fermented, or ' ' rotted ' ' beans are 
 extensively used, although fermented beans are considered the best. In 
 the trade, beans are known from their locality of production or shipment, as 
 Esmeralda, Guayaquil, Caracas, Surinam, Mexican, Bahia, etc. 
 
 In the process of manufacture, cacao beans are first roasted and then 
 crushed, breaking readily into small pieces. The shells are winnowed out, 
 leaving the fragments of beans known, coinmercially, as cocoa nibs. 
 
 Bitter chocolate is made by grinding cocoa nibs to a fine, smooth 
 paste, which is moulded in cakes ; sugar is added to make sweet chocolate, 
 which is often flavored with vanilla. Pure chocolate contains about fifty per 
 cent, of oil. 
 
 Cocoa powder is prepared by heating and pressing cocoa nibs in a 
 powerful machine till some of this oil or fat is removed, or by treating choco- 
 late with alkalis, which act on the oil and make easier the mixture of the 
 powder with water or milk in making a drink. The oil, starch, and albu- 
 minoids contained in chocolate and cocoa render them very nutritious, and 
 a small amount of theobromine (which is similar to caffeine) gives them a 
 mildly stimulating effect. 
 
 Cocoa butter, the solid oil extracted in the manufacture of cocoa 
 powder, is very important for the manufacture of medicinal salves, since it 
 does not easily become rancid. The thin shells broken off the outside of 
 cacao beans are used to some extent in making a beverage. 
 
 Alcoholic liquors are very important from a 
 ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS commercial and industrial standpoint. Wines 
 
 of many grades are made, mostly from grapes, by 
 fermentation of the juice. France, Italy and Spain are the great wine 
 countries. California and New \'()rk uroduce most of the wine made in the
 
 SPICES 13 
 
 United States. In fermentation, sugar is changed into alcohol. The sugar 
 may be the natural sugar of fruit or cane, or may be glucose prepared from 
 starch (see Barley, Malt, and Grape Sugar J. 
 
 Fermented liquors yield strong alcoholics by distillation. Brandy is 
 distilled from wine, and rum from the fermented juice of sugar cane. 
 Whiskey is distilled from fermented grain, generally either corn or rye. By 
 careful re-distillation pure alcohol is obtained. 
 
 All parts of the world use more or less alcoholic liquors. The favorite 
 beverage in Japan is sake, a wine made of rice ; in Mexico it is pulque, the 
 fermented juice of the century plant ; in parts of India and some of the 
 Pacific Islands it is "toddy" or "tuba," from the sap of the cocoanut 
 palm ; and many other countries have their peculiar drinks. In nearly all 
 civilized countries taxation of the manufacture and trade in alcoholic liquors 
 is one of the important sources of public revenue. 
 
 Hops are used chiefly in brewing. They are the dried fruits of 
 HOPS the hop vine (Humulus lupiilus) and are raised in the United 
 States in Califorriia, Oregon, Washington, New York and Wis- 
 consin. They are cultivated in most countries of Europe, but especially 
 England, Germany, and Austria. Hops are added to the malt liquor or 
 "wort" (see Barley), which is then boiled, and afterward fermented by 
 adding brewer's yeast. After two or three days' fermentation the beer is 
 freed from the yeast, placed in settling tanks, and clarified before being 
 placed in kegs or bottles. Hops give a bitter flavor to malt liquors. 
 
 SPICES. 
 
 Mustard is the most common and commercially, the most important 
 
 spice. Several plants belonging botanically to the genera, Brassica and 
 
 Sinapis, produce mustard seed. They grow in most parts of 
 
 MUSTARD Europe and the United States, as well as in Asia and the East 
 
 Indies. The seeds vary in color, being black, brown, red, 
 
 yellow, and white. Black and yellow mustard are the most important kinds. 
 
 When the seeds are pressed they yield an oil, which in India is used for 
 
 burning and in soap-making. Black mustard, when powdered, produces on 
 
 mixing with water a very pungent essential oil. This oil is not formed by 
 
 white or yellow mustard, but is produced in larger quantities by a mixture 
 
 of the black and yellow. To this oil is due the pungent smell and taste of 
 
 ground and prepared mustard and its inflammatory action on the skin. 
 
 Pepper, one of the common spices, comes mostly from Singa- 
 PEPPER pore. The two kinds, black and white pepper, are produced 
 by the same vine (Piper nigruni). The berries are gathered 
 when they begin to turn red, picked, cleaned, and dried for several days on 
 mats in the sun, or in bamboo baskets before a gentle fire. This mode of 
 preparation gives black pepper, as in drying, the pulp shrivels and turns 
 black. For white pepper the berries are allowed to ripen on the vines, and 
 are then bruised and washed free from the pulp before drying. Long
 
 14 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 / 
 
 peppers, the young fruits of a similar vine {Piper longum) when ground are 
 sold as black pepper. Pepper is one of the spices earliest used bv mankind, 
 and although now a commodity of but small importance in comparison with 
 sugar, cotton, or coffee, it was for a long time the staple article of trade 
 between India and Europe, ha\'ing a \^xy important place in that commerce 
 at the time of the disco\ery of America. 
 
 Red pepper or Cayenne pepper is the fruit of a plant {Capsiatm species) 
 of a different genus. It is grown throughout the ci\'ilized world, being used 
 in large quantities in Mexico, Central and South America. 
 
 Allspice or ' ' Pimento ' ' is the dried unripe fruit of a tree 
 ALLSPICE ( Pinicnta officinalis) which is cultivated chiefly in Jamaica. It 
 is gathered b)- breaking off twigs bearing bunches of the 
 berries, and drying them in the sun. Its extensive use as a flavoring is 
 due to its cheapness. The name pimenta is commonly applied to pep- 
 pers and other spices. 
 
 Caraway seeds are used in fIa\'oring bread, cakes, 
 CARAWAY SEEDS and liquors. The small herb {Carum carvi) which 
 produces them is grown in northern and central 
 Europe and Asia as well as in the United States. 
 
 Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of a tree (Jambosa 
 CLOVES caryophyllus) which originally grew in the Molucca Islands. 
 Zanzibar and the neighboring island of Pemba are the source 
 of most of the commercial supply, although cloves come also from Amboina 
 and near-by islands of the Molucca group, from Sumatra, Reunion, Mauri- 
 tius, and other islands of the East and West Indies. In Zanzibar, each 
 clove is picked separately, a moveable stage being used to enable the pickers 
 to reach the upper branches. In other places the buds are often beaten off 
 the trees on to cloths spread beneath. Cloves are used as a spice for food, 
 confectionery, and liquors. Clove oil, obtained by distillation with water, 
 is used for the same purposes, and in medicine and dentistry'. 
 
 Nutmegs are the kernels of the fruit of a small tree 
 NUTMEGS { Myristica fragrans) which is cultivated in the Banda 
 Islands and other parts of the East Indies, in Zanzibar, 
 Reunion, the West Indies and South America. The kernels grow covered 
 with a thin shell, which is in turn enveloped in a bright red, lace-like seed 
 coat, within the pulp of a fruit which looks like a small pear. The red seed- 
 coat when dried is the mace of commerce. Nutmegs are usually coated with 
 lime to give them a white appearance. 
 
 Vanilla is produced in greatest amount and of best quality in 
 VANILLA the State of Vera Cruz, Me.\ico. It is grown also on the 
 islands of Reunion, Mauritius, and Tahiti, and in small quan- 
 tities in a few other places. It is the prepared unripe fruit of a kind of 
 o\c\\\di( Vanilla planifolia'). The Mexican "beans" are slowly dried, the 
 process taking several weeks ; they are allowed to ferment slighdy, and 
 during the time of curing, the flavor is developed. Much the same result 
 is arrived at in a more rapid manner by the use of hot water or calcium
 
 OILS ^^. 
 
 chloride in other processes used in Bourbon and Tahiti, but such beans do 
 not bring so high a price. Vanilla and vanilla extracts are used for flavoring 
 chocolate, ice-cream, cakes, candies, etc. The poorer grades are used 
 extensively to flavor chewing tobacco. 
 
 Tonka beans have been used to adulterate vanilla, and in making vanilla 
 extracts. They are on the market now only in small quantity, being dis- 
 placed by cheap grades of true vanilla. Vanillon is an artificial vanilla 
 extract. It has been made of coal tar, but is now manufactured in large 
 quantities in the United States from oil of cloves. 
 
 Ginger consists of the dried root-stalks of the ginger plant 
 GINGER { Zingiber offichiale) . It is grown in most tropical countries, 
 
 particularly in Bengal, Cochin China, China, Africa, and Jamaica. 
 It is found in commerce in two classes — "coated," and " uncoated" or 
 ' ' peeled. ' ' Coated ginger is produced by drying the green roots in the 
 sun. Uncoated ginger has been washed and peeled, or scraped, before 
 being dried, and is usually bleached and covered with lime. Ginger is used 
 as a flavoring and stimulant in foods and in drinks like ginger ale, and is 
 often preserved in syrup, or candied for use as a sweetmeat. 
 
 Turmeric consists of the underground stems of a plant of 
 TURMERIC the ginger family (^Curcuma longa). It is grown in south- 
 eastern Asia and the neighboring islands. It is an important 
 condiment used in curry powder. In solution it gives a beautiful yellow dye 
 for cotton goods. Tanners use turmeric in preparing fancy leathers, and 
 chemists use paper colored with it in testing for alkalis and for boric acid. 
 
 Cinnamon is the dried bark from the young twigs of a tree 
 
 CINNAMON ( Cinyiamomum zeylanic2un) which grows in Ceylon. 
 
 Chinese cinnamon or cassia bark comes from similar trees 
 
 which grow in China, northern India, and other places. It is inferior to 
 
 the true cinnamon, but is much more common. 
 
 There are other less important spices, such as cardamom, coriander, 
 anise, and pistachio, besides many things such as sarsaparilla, fruit juices, 
 and extracts, aloes, and essential oils used for flavoring. Many flavoring 
 materials, extracts, etc. , are made artifically in the chemical laboratory. 
 
 OILS. 
 
 Vegetable oils of many kinds are used for food and for cooking. In 
 
 this country, olive oil is the most popular. True oli\e oil is produced in 
 
 Mediterranean countries and in California. It is 
 
 VEGETABLE OILS often adulterated with oil from cotton seeds. (See 
 
 Cotton. ) In other parts of the world, oils obtained 
 
 by pressing other seeds, such as peanuts and sesame, are extensively used. 
 
 (See Oils and Oilseeds. )
 
 i6 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 MEDICINES AND STIMULANTS. 
 
 Medicines are obtained from the flowers, seeds, leaves, i;ums, twiys, 
 
 bark, or roots of many plants and trees. The crude substances which yield 
 
 medicines are called drugs. The bark or other part of the 
 
 MEDICINES plant is usually ground up and soaked in water to dissolve 
 out the medicinal principle. Quinine, sarsaparilla, licorice, 
 coca, nu.x, opium, aconite, arnica, belladonna, ipecac, rhubarb and others 
 are familiar examples. They are obtained in various parts of the world, and 
 their production in some places is very important, as in Java, where most of 
 the quinine bark comes from. Some seeds, like castor beans, yield oil 
 with medicinal properties. Some substances of animal origin and many of 
 mineral origin, such as salts of arsenic, iron, and mercury, and other com- 
 pounds made from coal t^r, such as antipyrine, are of great medicinal value. 
 Medicinal substances and prepared medicines are an important item in both 
 the imports and exports of the United States. 
 
 Tobacco is the most e.xtensively used narcotic. It was 
 
 TOBACCO originally a native of America, and has spread over the 
 entire world since the year 1600. It is now used commonly 
 not only by civilized peoples but also by savage tribes in the interior of 
 Africa, and by Chinese and other peoples, in districts where modern 
 civilization and commerce have not penetrated. The many gradations in 
 the quality and flavor of tobacco are due to differences in soil, climate, and 
 cultivation. 
 
 When the plant (^Nicotiatia tabacum) is mature it is cut and hung up in 
 open buildings to dry. The ' ' curing ' ' of the leaf, which includes a period 
 of slight fermentation, gives to it its characteristic odor. The fla\'or of nearly 
 all cut tobacco and chewing tobacco is altered by the use of molasses, 
 licorice, vanilla, or other substances. Only the best leaves can be used 
 for making cigars. The stems or midribs of the leaves are used for low 
 grades of smoking tobacco and snuff, for making sheep-dip, and for 
 fumigating greenhouses. 
 
 The varieties are known commercially from their localities of export or 
 production, as Havana, Sumatra, Mexican, Turkish, Virginia, etc. Much 
 Ha\ana tobacco (meaning tobacco of the same variety, from the seeds of 
 Cuban plants) is raised in Connecticut and elsewhere in the United States. 
 More tobacco is raised in the United States than in any other country, and 
 over half of the product is exported, mostly to England. In Europe it is 
 cultivated principally in Austria-Hungary, Russia, Germany, Netherlands, 
 Belgium, and Turkey. Cuba, Porto Rico, Mexico, Central and South 
 America, India, China, Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, Ceylon, and Cape 
 Colony are important producers. Large revenues are raised in many 
 countries from the taxation of tobacco. 
 
 Oi>ium, in addition to its medicinal value, as the source of 
 
 OPIUM laudanum and morphine, is extensively used as a narcotic in 
 
 China and the East. It is the dried juice of the white poppy 
 
 (^Papaver somni/erum) obtained by scratching the seed capsule. The juice
 
 MEDICINES AND STIMULANTS 17 
 
 exudes in small drops and is collected. Its production is an important 
 industry in northern India, China, Persia, and Asiatic Turkey. The 
 Chinese, who consume more than any other people, smoke opium in small 
 pipes, and it is taken in pills in Persia and Turkey. The government of 
 India secures a revenue of over $10,000,000 yearly from the opium trade. 
 The United States imports opium for medicinal purposes from Turkey. 
 
 Areca nuts, sometimes called betel nuts, are chewed by 
 ARECA NUTS the people of India and by the Malays and Chinese 
 
 throughout southeastern Asia and the East Indies. The 
 nuts, the seeds of the areca palm tree {Areca catechu) are boiled, sliced, a 
 little lime is added, and the mixture is chewed with a leaf of betel pepper. 
 Areca nuts are also used in medicine. 
 
 Coca leaves, the source of cocaine, are mixed with 
 COCA LEAVES lime and chewed by the natives in Bolivia and neigh- 
 boring countries. They come from the coca tree 
 {Erythroxylon coca). 
 
 Kola nuts {Cola acuminata) are grown in Africa and the 
 KOLA NUTS West Indies. The Africans chew them for their stimu- 
 lating effect. Kola wine and syrup are valued for their 
 medicinal qualities. 
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS. 
 From leaves and leaf-stalks — (Manila hemp, agave fibers, New Zea- 
 land flax, raphia, palmetto, etc.) ; from the bast of plants — (fla.x, hemp, 
 jute, ramie, linden bast, etc. ) ; from fruits — (cocoanut, lufla) ; from plant 
 hairs — (cotton, silk cotton) ; artificially prepared fiber — (paper, artificial 
 silk); from whole stems or parts of plants — (straws, broom corn, Spanish 
 moss, rattan, etc.). 
 
 (For animal fibers see Silk, Wool, etc., and for mineral fibers see 
 Asbestos. ) 
 
 Many fibers, especially those used for ropes and brushes, are oiled to 
 make them flexible and tc keep them from becoming dry and brittle. 
 
 Manila hemp is the strongest rope fiber in common use. 
 MANILA HEMP It is obtained in the Philippines from the leaf-stalks 
 
 which form the ajjparent trunk of a tree {Musa textilis) 
 of the banana family. This tree is like the common banana tree except that 
 the leaves are a little narrower and it does not produce edible fruit. To 
 obtain the fiber the tree is cut down, the lea\es removed and the leaf-stalks 
 separated, and scraped with a dull knife till all of the pulpy part is cleaned 
 of!. The coarse fibers which remain are then washed, dried, and made up 
 into bales. They are longer than any other commercial fibers, and the rope 
 and twine made from them do not harden nor stiffen when wet. The natives 
 of the Philippines use the finest fibers in making "abaca" cloth. 
 
 /
 
 i8 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Sisal hemp or henequen comes chiefly from Yucatan, 
 
 SISAL HEMP where it is the principal article of export. It is cultivated 
 in other parts of Mexico, in Central America, the West 
 Indies, and, to a small extent, elsewhere. It is obtained from the fleshy 
 leaves of a plant (Agave rigida. var. stsalana), which in Penns)l\ania 
 would be called a " Century Plant." The fiber is obtained by cutting the 
 leaves and scraping the fleshy part away with a large wooden knife, or other- 
 wise cleaning it by machinery. These fibers are stifEer and less strong and 
 not so long as those of Manila hemp, but are much used for making rope 
 and twine, in the manufacture of sacking for cotton, and in making brushes. 
 
 The Agave plant or Maguey, in this country 
 
 THE AGAVE PLANT popularly called the " Century Plant," is a native 
 of Mexico, where there are many species. It is, 
 perhaps, the most useful plant which grows in that country. Sisal hemp 
 (see above) is one of its products. There are other important fibers pro- 
 duced by agave plants, such as Tampico hemp, sea grass, maguey, ixtle, 
 lechuguilla, pita, and yaxci. Some of these are exported and all of them 
 are used locally to make articles of all kinds, such as mats, bags, ropes, 
 harness, hammocks, hats, baskets, brushes, etc. In their native home, 
 agave plants reach maturity and flower at an age of three to fifteen years 
 according to their species. The flower stalk, coming out of the centre of 
 the plant, often reaches a height of thirty feet. 
 
 There is one variety of agave plant which is cultivated in Mexico for 
 its sap, from which a drink, " pulque," is made. When the plant is ready 
 to bloom, the central bud is cut out, leaving a cavity holding a couple of 
 gallons. Into this the sweet sap exudes, and is removed twice a day, being 
 sucked into a long narrow gourd and emptied into a goat-skin bag. It is 
 then mixed with milk and a little rennet, in a vat of raw oxhide, where it 
 ferments rapidly and forms an intoxicating drink. " Mezcal," a stronger 
 alcoholic drink, is distilled from the fermented juice of another kind of 
 maguey plant. Agave plants furnish many articles of minor use to the 
 natives of Mexico, such as building material and razor strops from the flower 
 stalks, soap substitute from the roots, and natural needle and thread 
 from the leaves. 
 
 New Zealand fla.x, another excellent rope fiber, 
 
 NEW ZEALAND FLAX comes chiefly from New Zealand. It is obtained 
 
 by scraping away the pulpy part from the long 
 
 narrow leaves of a plant of the lily family {Fhonniian tcnax). Other similar 
 
 fibers are Mauritius hemp {Furcraea gigantea), bowstring hemp (Safisc- 
 
 vieria), pandanus, yucca, and aloe. 
 
 Pineapple fibers are obtained by scraping away the 
 
 PINEAPPLE FIBER fleshy parts from the leaves of plants of the common 
 
 pineapple {A7ianas saliva') or closly related plants. 
 
 These fibers are finer and shorter than those from agave plants and are much 
 
 used by the Filipinos for making a fine cloth called "pifia." In China, 
 
 Mexico, South America, and in parts of Africa, pineapple fibers are much
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS ig 
 
 used for making cloths, ropes, etc. Through(5ut Mexico, Central and South 
 America, fibers from plants nearly related to the pineapple (Bromelia 
 species) are used. These fibers are not of very great importance in the 
 world's commerce. 
 
 Raphia fiber from Madagascar is used principally by gardeners 
 
 RAPHIA for tying plants. It consists of strips of skin peeled by hand 
 
 from the surface of the leaflets of a palm tree (Raphia pedun- 
 
 culata). It is used for making mats and basketry, and by the natives for 
 
 weaving cloth. A similar raphia palm yields a fiber used locally in 
 
 West Africa. 
 
 Piassaba or bass is a coarse stiff fiber used for making brooms 
 PIASSABA and brushes. It comes in lengths up to four feet and in 
 diameter from one thirtieth to one sixteenth of an inch. The 
 commercial \arieties are known as West African and Brazilian ( Bahia and 
 Pard) bass. They are obtained from the fibrous sheaths which grow around 
 the leaf stalks of certain palm trees. The West African bass comes from the 
 tree {Raphia vinifera) which yields the leaf fiber referred to above. The 
 sap of this tree is used by the natives in making wine. The Bahia piassaba 
 (or piassava) comes from a different palm ( Attalea ftmifera) , and the Pard 
 bass from another {Lcopoldiiiia piassaba ). 
 
 Somewhat finer brush fibers are obtained from the leaf sheaths of other 
 palm trees, such as kittool {Caryoia urens), Palmyra fiber or bassine (Bor- 
 assiis JJabellife}-), Chinese coir, etc. These last-mentioned fibers come 
 chiefly from Ceylon, India, and China. 
 
 Saw palmetto is used for making brushes, and for 
 SAW PALMETTO mixing in plaster, as well as for paper stock. It is 
 obtained in our southern states from the leaf stalks 
 and the creeping stems, commonly called the roots, of the saw palmetto 
 palm {Serowa serndata). This plant is rich in tannin and is an important 
 source of tanning extracts. The fiber is the spent material from which the 
 tannin has been extracted. This palmetto grows wild in the Gulf States and 
 its leaves are utilized in making the artificial palms commonly used for 
 decorations. 
 
 Bast fibers occur in many plants, in a layer underneath 
 BAST FIBERS the outer bark. In small plants like flax, they are fin% 
 in texture and serve to strengthen the stalk, while in 
 trees like the linden they are coarse. 
 
 Flax ranks next to colLon as a useful fiber. It is the bast fiber of 
 FLAX an herb (Linum ttsitalissimum) which grows to a height of about 
 two and a half to three feet. Russia produces more than one half 
 of the world's supply of flax, but that from Belgium is the best quality. 
 Italy, France, Holland, Ireland, and Egypt are the other important pro- 
 ducers. A little flax fiber is grown in Michigan, Minnesota, and the Puget 
 Sound region. Flax plants are not cut, but jiulled from the ground, so as 
 to get the longest possible fibers. The seeds are then remo\ed by ' ' rip- 
 pling" or drawing through the teeth of an iron comb, and the stalks
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 ' ' retted. " " Retting ' ' is merely a process of slow and partial decay, which 
 is carried on by soaking the stalks in water, either in a pool or slowly run- 
 ning stream, or by laying them on damp meadows exposed to the rain and 
 dew. The fiber remains imaffected while the other parts of the plant are 
 softened by this treatment. The stalks after ' ' retting ' ' are ' ' broken ' ' by 
 pounding and then ' ' scutched ' ' or scraped with a broad wooden knife till 
 all of the woody portion is removed. ' It is then " hackled," or combed, to 
 separate the long fibers, or ' ' line, ' ' from the short fibers, or ' ' tow, ' ' and the 
 long fibers are prepared for spinning. Most of this work is done by hand in 
 preparing the best grades of flax. Twines, canvas, linens, and laces are 
 made of flax. It is bleached by exposure to the sun, and by treatment with a 
 dilute solution of chloride of lime. Flax, especially in the form of linen 
 rags, is used in paper-making. 
 
 Fla.x plants which grow till the seeds are fully ripe yield fiber of poor 
 quality, but the seeds are then richer in oil ; the growing of fla.x for seeds 
 is, therefore, a separate industry. The seeds are grown extensively in 
 Russia, India, Argentina, and the United States. 
 
 Linseed oil is made by crushing flax seeds and then pressing 
 
 LINSEED OIL them in a machine. When the seeds are heated and 
 pressed, more oil is obtained ; but ' ' cold drawn ' ' oil is of 
 better quality. Linseed oil-cake remains after the oil is extracted from the 
 seeds, and is a valuable cattle food. On drying, linseed oil forms a varnish- 
 like substance. This property makes it useful in paints and varnishes. 
 Boiled linseed oil is prepared by heating the raw oil and adding to it certain 
 substances which cause it to dry more rapidly. After much boiling it 
 becomes thick and is the basis for printer's ink. Linoleum is made of lin- 
 seed oil mi.xed with ground cork and gums. The oil is sometimes vulcanized 
 by heating with sulphur, giving a substance much like rubber. 
 Fla-\ seeds are used in making poultices. 
 
 Hemp is a fiber used extensively for making twine and rope. 
 
 HEMP True hemp is the bast fiber of a plant (^Cannabis sativa) which 
 grows to a height of six to ten feet, with stems as thick as a 
 man's finger. Russia produces more hemp fiber than all the rest of the 
 world, but the plant is cultivated throughout the warm parts of Asia, in 
 Italy, France, Hungary, Germany, and Algeria, and in Kentucky, Mis- 
 souri, Illinois, and California. The fiber is extracted by retting, cleaning, 
 and combing in much the same way as flax, except that more of the work is 
 done by machinery. As in flax, the long combed fiber is called the " line," 
 and the short strands "tow." The commercial fiber is much longer and 
 coarser than flax, but not so strong, and cannot be bleached perfectly white; 
 it is therefore unsuitable for weaving into fine fabrics. Hemp is known on 
 the market from its country of origin, as Russian hemp, the strongest ; 
 Italian hemp, the finest ; Kentucky hemp, etc. Many other fibers coming 
 from plants which are botanically different, are called by such names as Sisal 
 hemp, Tampico hemp, Manila hemp, Mauritius hemp, sunn hemp, bow- 
 string hemp, etc.
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS 21 
 
 Hemp seeds are pressed like flax seeds and yield hemp oil, which is 
 similar in nature to linseed oil and is used in soap-making and in paint. An 
 extract from the leaves is used as an intoxicant (hasheesh) in Arabia. 
 
 Jute comes almost entirely from the province of Bengal, India. It 
 
 JUTE is the bast fiber of plants (Corc/ioriis species) which grow in tall 
 
 slender stalks like hemp. It is separated from the stalk like hemp, 
 
 by retting and cleaning. The fiber is long and lustrous, soft, and easy to 
 
 spin into coarse threads. It is much weaker than hemp, difficult to spin 
 
 into fine threads, does not bleach well, and loses in strength when exposed 
 
 to dampness. It is used for making burlap and gunny cloths, twines and 
 
 ropes, as well as in carpets, curtains, and upholstery fabrics, such as plushes. 
 
 Jute butts are the short ends of the stalks and the rough 
 
 JUTE BUTTS fibers rejected in preparing jute. They are very important 
 
 paper stock, being imported in large amount. 
 
 Ramie or China grass is a fiber of increasing importance. It grows in 
 
 southeastern Asia and is cultivated in small amounts in Mediterranean 
 
 countries and other parts of the world. The plant {Roehmeria 
 
 RAMIE nivea) belongs to the nettle family and grows in tall slender stalks 
 
 like hemp. The bast fiber is difficult to separate from the bark, 
 
 owing to the presence of a gummy substance insoluble in water. It has been 
 
 used for a long time in China, where it is prepared in a slow and imperfect 
 
 way. Improvements in machinery and in the chemical process of cleaning 
 
 the fiber are making it possible to utilize it in Europe and America. The 
 
 clean fiber is fine and silky ; its strength is three times that of Russian hemp, 
 
 and its weight only a little over half that of linen. It is a very valuable 
 
 cordage fiber, and is extensively used in China for making ' ' grass cloth. 
 
 In Europe it is made into fabrics, some of which closely resemble silk, into 
 
 underwear, velvets, and various cloths. It will come into more general use 
 
 when cheaper methods of cleaning it are devised. 
 
 Bast fibers from other plants are extracted and used in 
 BAST FIBER \arious parts of the world ; but few of these are of any 
 general importance. Sunn hemp {Crotalaria junced) is 
 grown in India. The common European linden or lime tree has a bast 
 which is easily stripped off and is employed by peasants for making ropes, 
 mats, bags, hats, etc. The American linden or bass wood tree contains a 
 fiber of the same kind. A beautiful material called Cuba bast is obtained in 
 sheets from a tree { Hibiscus elatits) in the West Indies. It is used like braid 
 in making hats and for tying bundles of cigars. Lace bark is the bast of 
 another West Indian tree {Lagetta lintearia). The paper mulberrj' tree 
 {Bronsso7iettia papyri/era) furnishes a bast used in paper making and, by 
 natives in Oceania, for making bark cloth ( " tapa "). 
 
 The cocoanut palm is, in the countries where it grows, 
 THE COCOANUT one of the most useful plants, in fact in many islands 
 PALM it is looked upon as the one thing necessary to exist- 
 
 ence. Cocoanut palms (Cocos ntuifera) grow in the 
 coast regions of all tropical countries, frequently reaching a height oi a
 
 22 
 
 COMMERCIAL KAW MATKRIALS
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS 23 
 
 hundred feet, with a crown of twenty or more feathery lea\es, each twelve 
 or fifteen feet long. The fruits, cocoanuts, are produced from the time the 
 tree is five or six years old, sometimes for sixty or more years. A tree in full 
 bearing will ripen from eighty to two hundred nuts a year. Each nut is 
 enclosed in a thick fibrous husk. The unripe nut is lined with a soft edible 
 albumen-like jelly, within which are one or two pints of a clear liriuid, 
 which is refreshing and nourishing. When the nut ripens, the albumen or 
 kernel hardens and is used for food. It is often grated, dried, and sold as 
 desiccated cocoanut. Fresh cocoanuts are imported into the United States 
 from the West Indies, Central America, and Colombia, and are grown in 
 Florida and California. 
 
 The ripe kernels when dried in the sun are called "copra" and are 
 pressed to obtain cocoanut oil. Copra is one of the principal exports from 
 the islands of the Pacific and from other places where the tree is common. 
 Cocoanut oil is used throughout southern and south- 
 
 COCOANUT OIL eastern Asia and the adjacent islands as a cooking and 
 illuminating oil, as well as for anointing the body, and 
 for minor purposes. For lighting, the natives put it into a small dish or 
 open vessel and dip in it a piece of cotton or loosely twisted fiber, one end 
 of which extends over the edge of the dish and is lighted. In Europe and 
 America it is used for making soap and candles and for cooking. Cocoanut 
 oil is liquid at temperatures above 65° F. Below this it is a white solid, 
 much like lard in appearance. In Ceylon and other hot countries it can be 
 pressed from cocoanut kernels without the aid of artificial heat, but in tem- 
 perate climates copra must be heated when the oil is extracted. The copra 
 is pressed i-ither in crude native mills or else in powerful machines, which 
 squeeze out the oil, leaving behind cocoanut oil cake, useful for cattle food. 
 
 Cocoanut shells are made into cups, ladles, and other utensils by natives. 
 The trunk of the old cocoanut tree furnishes wood which is used for house- 
 building, for cabinet work, tool handles, and other articles, and is known in 
 commerce as porcupine wood. The bark is used for tanning, the roots for 
 medicine, the tender terminal bud is bcjiled and eaten as a vegetable, and the 
 leaves are used for thatching, for making fans, mats, and baskets. The leaf 
 sheaths are fibrous and are used by the natives like cloth, and by florists for 
 ornament. The sap obtained by cutting a gash in the flower bud, when 
 boiled down gives coarse brown sugar called ' ' jaggery. ' ' The juice fer- 
 ments rapidly, forming "toddy" or "tuba," an intoxicating palm wine, 
 which can be converted into vinegar. " Arrack " is a stronger liquor dis- 
 tilled from toddy. 
 
 Cocoanut fiber or coir is obtained from the thick 
 
 COCOANUT FIBER outer husk of the nut. The husks, after removal, 
 are soaked in water till sufficiently softened, and 
 then the fibers are separated from each other, combed, and cleaned. Com- 
 mercial coir fibers are rather coarse, stiff, and very elastic brown filaments. 
 The best grades are straight, and up to ten inches long. The stiffest are 
 used for making brushes ; the longest and straightest for ropes of all sizes,
 
 24 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 coarse thread, and cocoa matting; and the shorter curly fibers for stuffing. 
 Coir ropes are valued because they are strong, elastic, and not affected 
 by salt water. 
 
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 VEGETABLE FIBERS 
 
 Luffas, or vegetable sponges, are the cleaned fibrous jiarts of 
 
 LUFFA the ri{)e fruit of the dish rag vine (Ljiffa species) of the gourd 
 
 family. They are exported from Japan. 
 
 Oakum is prepared from the short waste fibers obtained Ijy ])icking to 
 
 pieces old cordage. It is treated with tar to make it flexible and is used 
 
 to caulk the seams of vessels. When specially prepared to make 
 
 OAKUM it antiseptic, it is employed in surgery for dressing wounds. 
 
 Cotton, tht- most important vegetable fiber, consists of the 
 seed hairs of the cotton plant (Gossj'piiim species). It is cultivated in most 
 tropical and suljtropical countries, and has been used since the most ancient 
 limes. About three fourths of all the cotton produced an- 
 COTTON nually is grown in the south Atlantic and Gulf- states of the 
 United States. India, Egypt, China, Brazil, and Asiatic Rus- 
 sia are important producers. 
 
 The individual cotton fiber is a single, elongated, flat, twisted cell, which 
 grows out from the seed. It is not a bundle of cells, as in the case of fibers 
 of flax, hemp, and other basts. The fibers \ary in length in different culti- 
 vated varieties, thus -Sea Island cotton has the longest staple, from an inch 
 and three fourths to a little over two inches; Egyptian cotton fibers are alxuit 
 an inch and a half long; Brazilian cotton is a little shorter; American up- 
 land cotton, the most common variety grown, has a staple of about an inch; 
 and Indian cotton is still shorter. Sea Island cotton grows along the Atlan- 
 tic coast of South Carolina and Georgia and on the adjacent islands. It is 
 used for making the finest yarns, threads, laces, and cambrics. Rough 
 Peruvian cotton closely resembles wool and is used for mixing in woolen 
 fabrics. Egyptian cotton, on accoimt of its long staple, is imported to this 
 country in considerable amount, being used for fine yarns and goods, espe- 
 ciallv in hosierv and underwear. 
 
 THE 
 
 COTTON 
 
 PLANT 
 
 Cotton 
 
 Seed . 
 
 . Stalk 
 
 Yarn 
 
 Batting 
 Absorbent cotton 
 
 Nitro-cellulose 
 
 Cattle food 
 
 Oil 
 
 / Rope 
 
 Fabrics (muslin, calico, gingham, etc.) 
 
 I Explosives (gun cotton, etc.) 
 ■ Celluloid 
 ( Artificial silk 
 
 Table oil 
 
 Fat for cooking 
 
 Soap, candles, etc. 
 
 Oil cake — meal (cattle food and fertilizer) 
 Hulls (paper stock, cattle food, fuel, fertilizer) 
 Linters, for cheap yarns, batting and nitro-cellulose 
 
 Can be used for paper making and contains a bast fiber 
 
 The cotton plant usually grows to a height of only two to four feet, but 
 in places free from frost some varieties grow fifteen feet high. After cotton 
 is picked from the bolls by hand, it is ginned, or freed from the seeds. In
 
 26 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS 
 
 27 
 
 a cotton gin, seed cotton is held in a box with a grating at one side. Through 
 this grating project a number of steel discs, notched on the edges and called 
 saws. When the saws rotate, the fiber catches in the teeth and is pulled 
 away from the seeds. The fiber is blown from the saws through pipes, to a 
 cotton press, where it is baled. Raw cotton in bales is shipped from the 
 gins and market towns to the cotton mills. Liverpool, the largest foreign 
 cotton market, practically sets the price for cotton the world over. The 
 greatest centers of cotton manufacture are located in Lancashire, England; 
 the New England states, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Germany, Russia, 
 India, Japan, France, and other European countries are also important 
 cotton consumers. 
 
 Within the past one hundred and twenty years the manufacture of cot- 
 ton has progressed from the condition where the work was done almost 
 entirely by hand, to the present state, where it is better done by perfected 
 machinery. In a mill, the cotton bales are opened by a machine, and the 
 fibers pulled apart and spread out. In various other machines, they are 
 picked and cleaned from all dirt and leaves, and carded by passing through 
 rollers covered with steel wire points, which comb the fibers so that they lie 
 parallel. The fibers are first loosely twisted into a "roving," which is 
 wound on spools and from these is spun by a " mule jenny ' ' into yarn or 
 thread. Yarns are woven in power looms into cloths of different kinds and 
 qualities, such as muslin, silesia, cheesecloth, cambric, duck, canton flannel, 
 India linon, etc. Calico is made by printing designs on plain cotton goods. 
 Gingham is woven of cotton threads of different colors. Cotton threads are 
 frequently woven with threads of silk or wool into mixed goods. When 
 cotton is "mercerized" (treated with a solution of caustic soda) the fibers 
 shrink somewhat, become stronger, are easier to dye, and acquire a silky 
 luster. This treatment is applied to cotton either in the yarn or cloth, usually 
 the former, and results in beautiful glossy fabrics. Other fibers, such as flax, 
 are sometimes mercerized. Cotton fabrics are often stiffened and gi\en 
 "body" by starch, dextrine, or gum arabic. 
 
 When cotton is ginned, many short fibers remain attached to the seeds. 
 These, down to the very shortest, are removed by special gins and consti- 
 tute "linters," which are used for mi.xing with other cotton in spinning 
 cheap yarns, and for making into wadding. 
 
 Cotton seeds, after the fiber is cleaned from them by 
 COTTON SEEDS the gin, are hulled, and the meats or kernels are ground 
 up and pressed by hydraulic machinery, yielding fif- 
 teen to twenty per cent, of oil. The hulls are used for fuel, for paper-making 
 and for feeding stock. The oil is purified by the addition of a small amount 
 of alkali, usually caustic potash, and is used for food and for cooking, as a 
 substitute or adulterant for olive oil, in making oleomargarine, for soap mak- 
 ing, candle making, lubricating, etc. The addition of the alkali causes the 
 impurities and coloring matters to sink to the bottom with some saponified 
 oil, which is called ' ' crude cotton oil foots ' ' and is the base of some soaps. 
 After the oil is pressed from cotton-seed kernels, the remaining material has
 
 28 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 the lurin of hard sheets less than an inch thick, called oil-cake or press-cake. 
 These are ground up into meal, which is used for feeding cattle, and as a 
 fertilizer. The cotton seeds themselves are used in large amounts for cattle 
 food. The comparatively recent development of the cotton oil industry has 
 added greatly to the profit in cotton growing. 
 
 A small insect, the boll wee\il, has caused great damage to growing 
 cotton in Mexico, Texas, and the southwest. It lays its^ggs in the young 
 buds and bolls, and the lar\ae eat and destroy the cottoil Many methods 
 are being tried to destroy this insect or prevent its ravages. 
 
 Silk cotton or vegetable silk consists of the hairs from 
 SILK COTTON seed pods of various trees and plants. The most com- 
 mon commercial silk cotton is ' ' Kapok ' ' from the pods 
 of a large tree ( Ceiba pentaiidra ) which grows throughout the tropics. 
 Java furnishes most of this fiber which is on the market. It is used for stuff- 
 ing pillows and in upholstery. Similar fibers are obtained from other trees 
 (Bombax ceiba, Ochroma lagopus, etc.) and also from the common milk- 
 weed. Silk cotton differs from true cotton in that its cells are thin- 
 walled, straight and smooth, while those of true cotton are thick-walled, 
 have corded edges, and are twisted many times throughout their length. 
 These twists cause one fiber to interlock with another in spinning'. Because 
 of the smoothness and straightness, silk cotton cannot be spun. 
 
 Paper can be made from almost any kind of fibrous material. The 
 PAPER stocks principally used are the woods of certain trees, a few kinds 
 
 of bark, the poorest qualities of such fibers as cotton, flax and jute 
 (including the waste from mills which use these fibers), cotton and linen rags, 
 worn-out ropes, bamboo, and straws of wheat, rice, esparto, or other grasses. 
 The finest papers are made from linen rags, but all of the cheap grades are 
 made of wood. In this country three quarters of all wood pulp is made of 
 spruce, and about one eighth of poplar wood. Massachusetts, New York, 
 Maine, Wisconsin, and Pennsyhania are the most important paper-making 
 states. The chief paper-making countries are the United States, England, 
 Germany, France, Austria, and Belgium. In making paper, the material 
 used is cut into small pieces and cleaned by washing, bleaching, and chemical 
 treatment, from the cementing and coloring materials which may be com- 
 bined with the fibrous part. The pulp obtained consists of the more or less 
 pure fiber (cellulose) and may be bleached perfectly white or dyed any de- 
 sired color. The cheapest grades of wood pulp are made by grinding the 
 wood, but in these the fibers are broken short, and they are used only in low 
 grade papers. The pulp is fed automatically on a mo\ing" belt made of wire 
 cloth and usually has added to it " sizing " in the form of hard resin. The 
 soft sheet of pulp is then pressed between felt rolls, dried, and passed through 
 a series of heated metal rollers, which compact the fibers and give the paper 
 a smooth, hard surface. Many papers and cardboards are "filled" or 
 "loaded," that is, they have kaolin, talc, or some other powdered mineral 
 substance added to the pulp to make them heavier and denser. Blotting paper 
 has no sizing added to it and is not ' ' calendered ' ' by the heavy rollers.
 
 VEGETABLE FIBERS 
 
 29 
 
 Papers are often made to imitate leather and other materials. Wood 
 pulp and paper pulp mixed with glue or sizing (papier-mache) is sometimes 
 moulded under pressure into car wheels and other articles which possess a 
 surprising amount of strength and durability. 
 
 Artificial silk is made from very pure paper stock. 
 ARTIFICIAL SILK Cellulose prepared from wood or cotton is treated with 
 nitric acid, forming what is called nitro-cellulose. This 
 is then dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol. This solution is driven 
 through very fine tubes forming slender threads from which the alcohol and 
 ether eva[)orate away at once, leaving the nitro-cellulose as a fine lustrous 
 fiber. Subsequent treatment with ammonium sulphide or other agent 
 de-nitrifies it and renders it less inflammable. 
 
 Celluloid* is a substance artificially prepared from cellulose. 
 CELLULOID The pure cellulose similar to that used in inaking artificial 
 silk is acted on by a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, 
 being converted into nitro-cellulose. This is thoroughly mixed with melted 
 camphor, by grinding-in heated rollers. It dissolves in the camphor, form- 
 ing a tough plastic mass, which is then moulded bv pressure into anv desired 
 form. It is made in sheets by planing off from solid blocks in a machine 
 similar to a veneering machine. Celluloid is made in many colors and is used 
 as a substitute for hard rubber, tortoise shell, and ivory, for knife handles, 
 brushes, combs, and other toilet and fancy articles, for billiard balls, piano 
 keys, collars and cuffs, and articles of jewelry imitating coral and jet. 
 
 Straws, the stems of grains or other grasses, or of reeds or 
 
 STRAWS rushes, are used for hat making, basketry, mattings, chair 
 
 seats, brooms, thatching, ropes, and in paper-making. The 
 
 commonest are those from rye, wheat, barley, rice, esparto, broom corn, 
 
 rushes and reeds. Twigs of willow and roots are also used for basketry. 
 
 Spanish moss grows from South Carolina to Argentina, 
 
 SPANISH MOSS hanging in dense masses from the branches of trees. 
 
 The outer cuticle is removed from the plant ( Tillandsia 
 
 usneoides) by machinery and the remaining fiber, which resembles horse 
 
 hair, is used for upholstery. The unprepared moss is used as a packing 
 
 material for fruit and glass. 
 
 Zacaton, Mexican whisk, or broom root, is the root of a large 
 
 ZACATON grass ( Epicampcs macroura) which grows in the cool districts 
 
 of Mexico. It is used in making brushes. 
 
 Crin Vegetal is the shredded leaves of a small palm ( Chaviaerops 
 
 hiimilis. ) It is imported from Algeria in the form of ropes, and when opened 
 
 up is used in upholstery. 
 
 Panama Straw, used in making Panama hats, is the split leaf of a palm 
 tree {Carhidovica palviata) . 
 
 Rattan comes from the East Indies. It is the stem of climb- 
 
 RATTAN ing palms {Calamus species). These palms are sometimes 
 
 many hundred feet in length and usually have strong hooked 
 
 *" Celluloid '* is a trade name registered by the Celluloid Co.
 
 30 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 spines on the stems and leaves. Rattan owes its value to its strength, its 
 flexibility, and its uniform size. In Asia it is used to an enormous ex- 
 tent for basketry and ropes. It is imported for use in making furniture, 
 baskets, canes, whips, etc. In preparing rattan "cane" for market, the 
 natives clean off the leaves and outer cuticle by pulling the stems through a 
 notch in a tree or board. After this dressing, rattan is cut into lengths 
 and tied in bundles for sale. The smooth ' ' bark ' ' of rattan is split off by 
 machinery in long slender strips and is used in chair-caning. Peeled rattan 
 is used for stiff brushes, and for basketry. 
 
 Bamboo is the largest plant of the grass family (^Bambusa 
 BAMBOO species). It is found in tropical countries, but is most common 
 
 in Japan, China, India, and the East Indies. Its stem some- 
 times reaches a foot in diameter and its height is occasionally a hundred feet. 
 In its native countries it is used for house building and all sorts of construc- 
 tion purposes, for making furniture, agricultural implements, canes, fishing 
 rods, and innumerable other things. In China, bamboo is used in paper- 
 making. The soft tender shoots just appearing above ground are sometimes 
 cooked and eaten in both Japan and China. 
 
 Bamboo splits readily into long flexible strips, which are woven into 
 basketry of all kinds and used for making stiff brushes. 
 
 WOODS. 
 
 Lumber is the product of the sawmill after the trees of the forest have 
 been cut into logs and hauled to the mill on wagon, rail or river. Beams, 
 scantling, rough boards and lath are used in framing, sheathing and 
 rough construction, or they are sent to the planing mill and there surfaced, 
 edged and dimensioned for exterior and interior finishing and higher grade 
 construction. Rough and surfaced lumber also go to special mills and are 
 manufactured into finished articles, such as building material, furniture, 
 wagon stock, turnery, implements, boxes, cooperage and patterns. Wood 
 is used in the log for posts, telegraph poles, railway ties, sills and bridging 
 timber; or is split into shingles and fencing. The consumption of wood for 
 fuel throughout every forested country of the world is enormous, and the 
 extraction of tar, gums, resins, tans and dyes from wood and bark, consti- 
 tutes important industries. The woods of cone-bearing or needle-leaf trees 
 are often called ' ' softwoods, ' ' while those of the broad-leaf trees are classed 
 as "hardwoods." These are not, however, properly distinguishing terms, 
 as many coniferous softwoods are hard and many of the common broad leaved 
 woods are nearly as soft as white pine. 
 
 Woods may be compared by their relative weight, hardness, strength, 
 elasticity and durability, and by color and grain. Yellow, brown and red are 
 the predominating colors. The grain varies from straight lines of growth 
 to what is termed "curly" or "figured" grain, due generally to uneven 
 or twisted growth. 
 
 Most of the important woods of the United States are exported to 
 Europe, some extensivelybecause superior to, and cheaper than similar woods
 
 WOODS 31 
 
 of that region. Many of the woods of the Pacific coast are also exported to 
 Japan, China and the islands of the Pacific. 
 
 NEEDLE LEAF WOODS. 
 
 Needle leaf or coniferous woods ct institute by far the greatest amount of 
 lumber used. The trees, with the exception of the junipers, bear distinct 
 cones, and, excepting bald cypress and the larches, have evergreen or non- 
 deciduous foliage. The woods include the softest, lightest and most easily 
 worked kinds and may be characterized as containing resin and having no 
 visible pores on the end grain. 
 
 The soft pines are comparatively free from resin, light, 
 SOFT PINES easily worked, soft and not strong, suitable for the cabinet 
 maker, joiner, carpenter, pattern maker, and a variety of 
 special purposes. The most important of them is white pine. 
 
 A\'hite Pine, one of the most \aluabk- timber trees of the world, was 
 formerly more used than any other for general construction in the United 
 States and was largely exported. It forms great forests in Canada and 
 the northeastern United States and also grows throughout the Appalachian 
 Mountains to Georgia. It is also called New England, Michigan and Wey- 
 mouth Pine (Piims ^trobus^. Trees grow 80 to 100 ft. high, the trunks 3 to 
 9 ft. in diameter. White pine is now becoming scarce, and the lumber in 
 A I grades costs nearly as much as good mahogany. 
 
 Sugar Pine of the northwestern United States and British Columbia, 
 grows 100 to 300 ft. high, the trunk 12 to 30 ft. in diameter. It is exported 
 to China, Japan and Hawaii. 
 
 Western White Pine of the Xortlnvest is also a large tree, and Rocky 
 Mountain White Pine is the principal timber tree of Utah and Nevada. 
 
 In the western United States and in Mediterranean countries the seeds 
 of various Nut or Pifion Pines ( Pinus edulis, etc.) are collected for food. 
 
 The Yellow or Hard Pines are resinous, heavy, hard, 
 
 YELLOW or strong, durable, and comparatively difficult to work. The 
 
 HARD PINES logs are largely sawed into dimension timbers for heavy 
 
 construction ( piling, wharfage, bridging, sills, etc. ), into 
 
 boards for building and extensively into flooring. The inferior kinds are 
 
 used for boxes, crates, etc. 
 
 The following are the important varieties: — 
 
 Longleaf Pine is the most valuable yellow pine tree, yielding the best 
 grades of lumber. It forms exclusi\ e forests throughout the southern At- 
 lantic and Gulf seaboard of the United States from North Carolina to eastern 
 Texas. It is also called Georgia, Hard and Southern Pine and Turpentine 
 tree {Mnus palustris ). The trees occur from 60 to 90 ft. high and the trunks 
 from 2"^ to 4 ft. in diameter. 
 
 Shortleaf Pine is the principal pine timber tree of Missouri. Arkansas, 
 and Kansas. It is scattered throughout the eastern United States. The 
 tree is also called Bull and Spruce Pine ( Pinus tchhiata 1. It grows to about 
 the same size as the longleaf and the wood is not distinguishable.
 
 32 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
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 33 
 
 Cul)an Pine is found near the coast from Charleston, S. C, to Missis- 
 sipi)i and also in the West Indies and Central America. It is called Slash, 
 Swamp, Meadow and Pitch Pine (Pinus cubtnsis). The trees are somewhat 
 larger than the longleaf pine and the wood is hardly inferior. 
 
 Loblolly Pine is scattered, or in groves throughout the eastern L'nited 
 States south of Maryland. Lumber known to the trade as North Carolina 
 pine is cut almost entirely from this tree {Pintis taeda). The names Old 
 Field, Rosemary, Virginia, Sap and Slash Pine are also applied to it and the 
 lumbermen frequently confuse it with the shortleaf. The trees grow from 
 80 to 150 ft. high, with trunks from 3 to 5 ft. in diameter. The wood is gen- 
 erally inferior to longleaf pine. 
 
 Western Yellow Pine is a large tree, common in portions of the Rocky 
 Mountains, the Coast Range and the intermediate valleys from interior British 
 Columbia to Mexico. It is also called Bull Pine ( Pinus ponderosa). 
 
 Red Pine grows in southern Canada, and the northern United States. It 
 is cut and marketed with White Pine. It is called incorrectly Norway Pine. 
 
 Northern Pine of Europe and northwestern Asia is also called ^'ellow 
 Deal, Redwood, Scotch, Memal, and Dantzic Fir. The wood is similar to 
 the yellow pine of the United States. 
 
 Crude turpentine is a semi-fluid, sticky resin exuded from 
 CRUDE wounds made in the trunks of several trees belonging to 
 
 TURPENTINE the Pine family. It is produced chiefly in the United States, 
 Finland, Russia, Austria, France and India. In the L'nited 
 States it is obtained almost exclusively from the longleaf or yellow pine tree 
 {Pinus palustr is). Turpentine is usually obtained in the following manner: 
 the trees are wounded by removing a wide strip of bark on one side and cut- 
 ting below this into the wood of the tree a pocket-like cavity known as a 
 ' ' box. ' ' The wound thus made discharges the fluid into the pocket, which 
 holds two or three pints and is filled in about ten days. The turpentine is 
 then dipped out and the wound re-opened to stimulate a further flow. By 
 more modern and careful methods the turpentine is caught in vessels which are 
 hung on the trees, which are thus not ruined by the removal of so large a 
 strip of bark and are not weakened by the cutting of the "box." In this 
 way, the yield of turpentine is increased and the life of the tree lengthened. 
 The crude turjientine, which consists of a resin dissolved in a \olatile oil, is 
 put into a still with water and distilled. The steam, in going over in the still, 
 carries the \olatile oil with it, and the distillate is allowed to cool in a vat. 
 The water and oil separate into two layers, and the latter is drawn off in barrels 
 for market. It is known as spirits of turpentine, or oil of turpentine, and is 
 largely used for dissolving resins for varnishes and for mixing paints. It is 
 used in medicine and in veterinary practice as a liniment. 
 
 The residue remaining in the still is a solid substance of an amber 
 
 ROSIN or blackish-brown color known as rosin or colophon\-. The color 
 
 varies according to the purity of the rosin and the degree of heat 
 
 used in its preparation. In this country three grades are in the market: 
 
 "virgin," "yellow dip," and "hard." Virgin rosin is made from the first
 
 34 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 turpentine that exudes after the tree is ' ' boxed. " It is of a very light yellow 
 or amber color. The greater part of the crude turpentine furnishes yellow 
 dip. Hard rosin is almost black in color and is made from the scrapings 
 from the tree after the turpentine has become too hard to run. 
 
 Rosin is used in making soaps and \arnishes and for sizing paper. It 
 is used by tinners and plumbers as a flux for their solder; by founders for 
 giving tenacity to their cores; for making medicinal plasters and sealing wax 
 and for rubbing on violin bows. It is used in ship caulking; as an adulterant 
 of fats, waxes, and mineral oils; and for mixing with tallow to make common 
 candles. When rosin is heated in a retort it is decomposed into certain gases, 
 liquids, and pitch (see also Tar). The liquid distillate is chiefly rosin spirit 
 and rosin oil, the former resembling oil of turpentine. These are used in 
 varnish making and for " rosin grease " — a lubricant. 
 
 Pine Needle Wool, used for stuffing mattresses, pillows and for making 
 mats and rugs, is made from the lea\es of the longleaf, Cuban, European 
 and western yellow pines, and from these species Pine Needle Oil, used 
 medicinallv, is also made. 
 
 The Spruces are valuable trees furnishing soft, light, very white 
 
 SPRUCE wood, the heart not easily distinguishable from the sap. The 
 
 trees are of northern growth, and wide distribution. The 
 
 wood is used commonly for construction and more than any other kinds for 
 
 making paper pulp. 
 
 White Spruce, since the scarcity of white pine, has become an important 
 timber tree. It is not found south of the 40th parallel in the United States, 
 but forms vast forests throughout Canada as far north as Labrador and 
 Alaska. The trees (Picea canadensis) grow 60 to 150 ft. high, the trunks 3 
 to 5 ft. in diameter. The wood has a satiny lustre. 
 
 Black Spruce is very similar to the preceding with nearlv the same 
 range {Picea mariana). 
 
 Red Spruce is a somewhat smaller tree {Picca rubra) growing as far 
 south as North Carolina, on the high peaks of the AUeghanies. The wood 
 is not distinguishable from white spruce. 
 
 Tideland Spruce is one of the largest and most important timber trees 
 of the Pacific northwest. The wood is used for boat building, cooperage, 
 woodenware, shooks, excelsior, interior finish, fencing, piling, carpentry, 
 furniture, and also for paper pulp. The trees (Picea sitc/iensis) grow only 
 near the coast, from Alaska to California, and reach a height of 200 to 300 ft. 
 and 4 to 20 ft. in diameter of trunk. 
 
 Nor\vay Spruce is one of the most useful trees of Europe, and has been 
 extensively planted in the United States for ornamental shade. 
 
 Two other species of spruce common in the Rockies and the Northwest 
 are cut locally for lumber. These are Engelmann's and the Blue Spruce. 
 
 The Hemlocks are trees of the first economic value, and 
 HEMLOCK have become more so since the scarcity of pine. The wood 
 is splintery, pinkish white in color, coarse grained, and 
 easily worked though tough.
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
 woons 
 
 35 
 
 Eastern Hemlock is used more than other trees for framing timbers, 
 scanthng^, sheathing, etc. It occurs in southeastern Canada and the north- 
 eastern United States, and grows to a height of 60 to So ft. with a trunk 
 from 2 to 3 ft. in diameter {Tsuga canadensis). 
 
 Western Hemlock furnishes a wood superior to that of the eastern 
 species. It is used also for wainscoting, stair work, and turning. The trees 
 grow from 100 to 150 ft. high, tht- trunks 2 to 8 ft. in diameter {Tsuga 
 helerophylla ) . 
 
 The Firs, with the exception of two species, furnish wood that is 
 FIR coarse grained and inferior to that of the other conifers. It is 
 used mainly for light construction, packing cases, paper pulp, 
 and charcoal. 
 
 Douglas Fir is the most abundant and useful tree of the Pacific coast, 
 and is found throughout the Rocky Mountains. The wood is used for heavy 
 construction, bridging, piling, railroad ties, sash, doors, flooring, shipbuild- 
 ing, furniture, and especially for masts and spars, for which it is extensively 
 exported. It is also called Douglas Spruce, Oregon Pine, Red Fir and 
 ^'ellow Fir {Pseudotsuga muoonala) . A large tree, from 100 to 300 ft. high, 
 with a trunk 2 to 15 ft. in diameter, it sometimes furnishes logs clear of limb 
 90 feet long. 
 
 Noble Fir yields a wood that is hard, strong and elastic. The tree is 
 peculiar to the Cascade and Coast ranges of Oregon. The wood is valuable 
 for general construction, boat-building and furniture. It is also called Red 
 Fir {Abies nobilis). The tree grows 200 to 300 ft. high and 3 to i t ft. in 
 diameter of trunk. The wood is light brown, streaked with red. 
 
 White Fir, common in the northwest United States and British Colum- 
 bia, is of two species, one growing on the higher mountains, and the other 
 near the coast and in the valleys. 
 
 Magnificent Fir, the largest tree of the genus, furnishes lumber for sills, 
 framing, w<Midenware, and cooperage. It grows in southwestern Oregon 
 and northern California, with a height of 250 to 300 ft., and a diameter of 
 from 6 to 1 2 ft. 
 
 Balsam F"ir is relatively a small tree common throughout eastern North 
 America as far .south as the mountains of Virginia. The most valuable 
 product from this tree {Abies balsamea) is Canada Balsam, used medicinally 
 and in the arts. 
 
 Silver Fir of Europe is used ff>r many purposes, and because of its son- 
 orous quality is imported as ' ' Swiss Pine ' ' for the sounding boards of pianos 
 and violins. 
 
 California Redwood is one of the largest trees of the world 
 
 CALIFORNIA and the most valuable on the California coast. It is closely 
 
 REDWOOD related, and has wood very similar, to the famous big 
 
 trees of California. The wood is especially valuable for 
 
 shingles, tanks, coffins and light construction. The trees {Scqtcoia se77ipcr- 
 
 vin-ns^ grow from 200 to yoo ft. high, with a diameter of trunk from 8 to 22 ft.
 
 36 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 The wood is verv soft and light, of a dull red color, straight grained and 
 does not warp or shrink readily. 
 
 The Larches furnish wood that is strong and very durable, 
 
 LARCH moderately hard, straight grained, and not unlike yellow pine, 
 
 but less resinous. The wood is used for ship timbers, telegraph 
 
 poles, railroad ties, boat knees, flooring, framing, posts, etc. The trees grow 
 
 from 80 to 150 ft. high, with trunks 2 to 5 ft. in diameter. 
 
 Eastern Larch is found in Canada and the northeastern I'nited States. 
 It is also called Tamarack and Hackmatack (Larix amcnca^ia) . 
 
 Western Larch is abundant in British Columbia and the Northwest. The 
 name Tamarack is also applied to it {Larix occidcntalis). 
 
 European Larch grows in the Alps of central Europe and in Lapland, 
 Norway and Siberia. The wood is used especially for piling on account of 
 its durability. 
 
 Cypress is a rather general term for many woods allied to, or 
 CYPRESS identical with the Cedars. The wood is distinctly grained, 
 soft, coarse, and used for cabinet work, interior finish, shingles, 
 framing, posts, etc. 
 
 Bald Cypress is common along the southern coast of the L'nited States, 
 from Delaware to southern Te.xas, and in the lower Mississippi \'alley. The 
 tree ( Taxodium distidmm) grows from 80 to 140 feet high, with a diameter 
 of trunk 5 to 1 2 feet. 
 
 Yellow Cypress grows near the coast from Sitka to Oregon. It is also 
 called Alaska Cedar {Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). 
 
 Lawson's Cypress of Oregon and northern California, growing near the 
 coast, is also called Port Orford Cedar, and Ginger Pine {Chamaecyparis law- 
 sonia7ia). It grows from 100 to 200 ft. high and has a trunk from 2 to 6 ft. 
 in diameter. 
 
 Cypress of the Old World is a common tree of the Mediterranean region 
 of Europe, Asia Minor and Persia. Egyptian mummy cases and ancient 
 gates made of this wood were sound after iioo years. 
 
 Cypress Pine is a valuable tree of Australia, having a fine figured wood, 
 with a camphor-like fragrance, used for furniture. 
 
 Indian Cypress grows in the Himalaya Mountains and furnishes brown, 
 hard wood used for building. 
 
 The White Cedars are so called to distinguish the 
 
 WHITE CEDAR wood from the Red Cedars or Junipers. The color of 
 
 the heartwood, however, maybe grayish pink or brown. 
 
 The trees are cut largely for posts, telegraph poles, fencing and split 
 
 shingles and are sawed into lumber for tanks, boats and wooden ware. The 
 
 wood is very fragrant. 
 
 Incense Cedar is a common tree of Oregon and California. The trees 
 {Libocedrus dcciirrnts) grow from 100 tn 150 ft. high, and 3 to 7 feet di- 
 ameter of trunk.
 
 \\'oons 37 
 
 Canoe Cedar is common in the northwest from Alaska to Cahfornia and 
 Montana. It is also called Giant and Red Cedar ( Thuya plicata). The 
 heart wood is reddish brown. 
 
 Common White Cedar grows along the eastern coa«t of the United 
 States from Maine to Mississippi. The trees (Chamaecyparis thyoides) grow 
 50 to 70 ft. high with trunks 2 to 3 ft. in diameter. 
 
 Arbor Vitae, a small tree common in Canada and the northeastern 
 United States is less valuaV)le. It has become a conimon lawn ornanu-nt 
 and hedge tree. 
 
 Deodar is one of the chief timber trees of northwest India. Cedar oi 
 Lebanon occurs in southwest Asia. Atlas Cedar grows in the mountains 
 of north Africa. 
 
 The Red Cedars are widely distributed trees commonly 
 RED CEDAR called Junipers. The wood is fragrant, soft, light, and 
 easily cut, and is used for lead pencils, woodenware, 
 chests, cabinets and fence posts. 
 
 Common Red Cedar is found all over the eastern and central United 
 States and is notably the lead pencil tree. It is also called Red Juniper, 
 Savin and Pencil Cedar {Juniperus virginiana). It occurs as a small shrub or 
 grows as high as 100 ft. with a trunk 4 J4 ft. in diameter. The wood is deeper 
 red than that of any other species, and, when straight grained, of greater 
 value. 
 
 Western Juniper is of two very similar species common in Washington, 
 Oregon and California. The trees grow 50 ft. high and as large as 3 ft. in 
 diameter of trunk, but are often only low shrubs. 
 
 THE BROAD LEAVED WOODS. 
 
 The broad leaved woods are from those trees that are generally termed 
 deciduous, although many of them are evergreen. They are of greater variety 
 and wider distribution than the coniferous trees and the woods are more 
 varied in grain, color and te.xture. The extremes are reached in very white, 
 jet black, rich red, and bright yellow, and they include the hardest and 
 strongest woods. They are not resinous. 
 
 The softer broad leaved woods of the most important species are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Tulip Poplar, a tree of the first economic importance 
 TULIP POPLAR and the largest tree in the eastern United States, is com- 
 mon in the Mississippi \'alley and the Atlantic States 
 south of Vermont. The wood is used for a great variety of purposes in which 
 it now largely takes the place of white pine. It is also called Tulip tree and 
 W'hitewood {Liriodetidroii tulipifcra). It grows to a height of 125 to 250 
 ft. with a diameter of trunk from 6 to 14 ft. The wood is variable, generally 
 soft, easily worked, not durable, color yellowish white, shading to greenish 
 or brownish.
 
 38 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 The Lindens are important trees furnishing soft, light, smooth 
 LINDEN wood of a light color used for general construction and for 
 many special purposes, such as carriage bodies, handles, 
 cooperage, paper pulp and gunpowder charcoal. 
 
 American Linden is common throughout southeastern Canada and north- 
 eastern and central L^nited States. It is also called Basswood, Lime, Bee 
 tree, Lin and Whitewood {Tilia americana) . The trees occur from 70 to 
 80 ft. high with trunks 3 to 4 ft. in diameter. 
 
 White Basswood, a tree found in the central United States, is very similar 
 to and commercially confounded with the foregoing. It is also called Wahoo 
 ( Tilia heterophylla). 
 
 European Linden is of three species common in Europe. These are 
 also called Lime trees or Lins. The wood is used for carvings, druggist 
 boxes, etc. Linden bast fiber prepared from the inner bark is used for cord- 
 age, mats, bagging, and fishing nets. 
 
 Cottonwood, similar to linden, is used for much the 
 COTTONWOOD same purposes, and very extensively for paper pulp. 
 It is found throughout the eastern and central L^nited 
 States, reaching its greatest development in the south and west of the 
 Mississippi. It is also called Carolina and Necklace Poplar {Popiihis del- 
 toides). The trees grow from 80 to 175 ft. high and from 4 to 8 ft. in 
 diameter of trunk. The wood is soft, fibrous, light, and grayish white, or 
 brown. 
 
 The close grained, typically hard woods (in which the grain pits 
 are not conspicuous) are of many important species. 
 
 The Maples furnish wood that is compact, tough, susceptible 
 MAPLE of a fine polish and often beautifully grained or figured, being 
 then variously called " curly," "bird'seye," "blister," "land- 
 scape, ' ' and ' ' fiddle back ' ' maple. The wood is extensively used for veneer- 
 ing, flooring, furniture, the backs of violins, wooden bowls, shoe lasts, 
 rulers, tool handles, and inlay work. It is especially valuable for charcoal 
 and potash. 
 
 Sugar Maple is a tree of the first economic importance in North America, 
 growing in southeastern Canada and the northeastern states along the 
 Alleghany Mountains to Georgia and also in west Florida. It is also called 
 Hard and Rock Maple [Acer sacc/ianan). The trees grow 50 to 100 ft. 
 high with trunks 2 to 4 ft. in diameter. The wood is hard and most com- 
 monly furnishes the figured forms. Maple sugar is chiefly taken from this 
 tree. The sap is drawn off by tapping the trunks in early spring and is then 
 boiled down until it is of the desired consistency. 
 
 Red Maple is a similar tree growing throughout the eastern and western 
 United States and Canada. It is also called Swamp Maple ( Arer rubnnn). 
 The wood is darker and less valuable than sugar maple. 
 
 Silver Ma[)le is also common throughout the eastern and central United 
 States and Canada. It is also called Soft Maple (^Acer saaharinum). The 
 wood is inferior and less used than sugar maple.
 
 WOODS 
 
 39 
 
 Broad Leaved Maple is a valuable tree common on the Pacific coast from 
 Alaska to California. It is also called Oregon Maple {Acer macrophylluni). 
 
 Common Maple of Europe and northern Asia is a valuable cabinet wood. 
 
 Norway Maple of northern Europe and Switzerland is not commer- 
 cially distinguished from the preceding. It is extensively planted in the 
 United States as a shade tree i^Acer plalatioides). 
 
 Sycamore Maple of Europe and western Asia furnishes a wood similar 
 to and often confused with the preceding. Other species are the Himalayan 
 Maples and the Japanese Maples used for cabinet and carpenter work. 
 
 Several species of Birch furnish wood which is hard, strong, com- 
 
 BIRCH pact and fine grained. It is used for a variety of purposes, such 
 
 as making handles, clothes pins, tools, shoe pegs, woodenware, 
 
 wheel hubs, fellies, fruit baskets and boxes, veneers, furniture, and for 
 
 charcoal. 
 
 Cherry Birch, the most important and generally used of the North 
 American birches, is found throughout the northeastern United States and 
 southern Canada and in Tennessee. It is also called Black, Sweet, and 
 Mahogany Birch {Betula lento). The wood is reddish and the trees grow 
 from 60 to 80 ft. in height with trunks 2 to 3 ft. in diameter. Wavy or 
 figured grain, called "curly" birch, is highly prized and shows a beautiful 
 golden satiny lustre. 
 
 Yellow Birch, of much the same locality as the preceding, furnishes 
 wood that is lighter in color {Betula lutea). 
 
 Paper Birch is similar to Yellow Birch, and is found from Labrador to 
 Alaska and from Maine to Washington. It is also called Canoe Birch {Betula 
 papvrifera). The bark of this tree is peeled off and used for making canoes, 
 tents and fancy articles. 
 
 European Birch, of northern Europe and Asia, is very similar to Ameri- 
 can Cherry Birch. The bark is used extensively for baskets, boats, cordage, 
 dyeing and tanning. 
 
 Beech is a valuable wood for many purposes. It is heavy, hard, 
 
 BEECH strong, compact and fine grained, and of a light brown or pinkish 
 
 brown color, the radiating rays being quite distinct. It is used 
 
 for tools, handles, clothes pins, wagon stock, shoe lasts and for gunpowder 
 
 charcoal. The trees grow from 50 to 100 ft. high, with trunks 2 to 4 ft. in 
 
 diameter. 
 
 American Beech {Fagus atropujiicea) is very common in southern 
 Canada and eastern and central United States. 
 
 European Beech is common except in Scandinavia and eastern Russia. 
 The wood is used largely for sabots. 
 
 Sycamore (called Plane in the Old World ) is a wood valued 
 
 SYCAMORE chieflv for interior decoration. It is common from Maine 
 
 to Florida, and from Nebraska to Texas. The wood is light 
 
 reddish brown, compact, rather hard, uneven grained, and difficult to work. 
 
 When cut radially it possesses a beautiful mottled and cross banded figure
 
 40 COMMKRCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 knnwii as " lacewood " or " honeysuckle." The tree is also called Button- 
 ball ^Platanus omde7ttalis^. It grows from 90 to 135 ft. high, and from 5 
 to 12 ft. in diameter of trunk. 
 
 Eastern Plane is found in southeastern Evn-ope and southwestern Asia. 
 Holly is a rather small tree, the very white close grained wood 
 HOLLY of which is much used for fancy articles, turnery, fret sawing, 
 inlay work, car\ing and almost exclusively for picture burning. 
 American Holly ( Ilex opaca ) is common in certain localities from Mas- 
 sachusetts to Missouri and from Florida to eastern Texas. 
 
 European Holly is found in central Europe and western Asia. 
 
 The open grained hard woods (with the grain pits very conspicuous) 
 of light color are all used for a great variety of purposes. The various shades 
 of finished wood, in furniture, cabinet work, and interior decoration, such as 
 "golden" oak or ash, "green oak," "antique," "old English," "Tus- 
 can," etc., are entirely the result of fillers put on to close up the pores before 
 the varnishes are applied. 
 
 Oaks are of many species, most of which are very useful. To 
 OAKS lumbermen in the United States they are known as White Oak, 
 Live Oak and Red Oak, and the species are hardly distinguished 
 further. The medullary or radiating rays are large and conspicuous and give 
 beautifully figured grain when ' ' quartered, ' ' or sawed from the bark to the 
 center of the tree, parallel to these rays. To effect this best the logs are 
 cut in quarters before cutting into boards, whence the name. Boards cut in 
 the ordinary manner and showing the radiating rays cut at right angles are 
 called "plain" sawed or " straight oak." 
 
 White Oaks are hard, tough, strong, elastic and durable 
 
 WHITE OAK and generally of a light grayish brown with a pale pink 
 
 tinge. The trees are cut for bridge and building timbers, 
 
 railroad ties and posts; also for lumber for furniture, cooperage, agricultural 
 
 implements, wagon stock, and especially when quarter sawn, for fine cabinet 
 
 work, interior finish, flooring, etc. The white oaks are as as follows: 
 
 White Oak is common from Maine to Michigan and Missouri, and from 
 Florida to central Texas. The trees {Querciis alba) grow from 80 to 150 ft. 
 high, and the trunks from 4 to 8 ft. in diameter. The bark is used for 
 tanning. 
 
 Burr Oak is very similar to the preceding with a somewhat more northern 
 range. The wood is possibly harder and tougher. It is also called Mossy- 
 cup Oak {Ouerciis macrocarpd). 
 
 Over-Cup Oak {Quercus lyrata) is similar and grows along the Atlantic 
 coast from Delaware to Texas. 
 
 Chestnut Oak grows only in the eastern and central states from Massa- 
 chusetts to Tennessee. From the bark and wood of this {Oiiemis priuiis) 
 and the two following species, more than from other American oaks, are made 
 extracts extensively used in tanning.
 
 WOODS 41 
 
 W'llow Oak is a small tree or shrub in the eastern United States and a 
 medium sized tree {Queiriis prinoides) west of the Mississippi to Kansas 
 and western Texas. 
 
 Basket Oak or Cow Oak (Quercus michauxii) is common in the southern 
 states from Delaware and Kentucky, to Florida and central Texas. 
 
 Swamp White Oak ( Quercus bicolor) grows in the northeastern states 
 and most commonly in the ret>;ion south of the Great Lakes. 
 
 Oregon White Oak and Tanbark Oak grow- from \'ancouver Island to 
 California, generally near the coast (^Quercus gai-ryana and O. densiflora). 
 
 The Live Oaks are exceedingly hard, tough, strong, durable 
 LIVE OAK and difficult to work. Because of their scarcity and the 
 small size of the trees they are used only for special pur- 
 poses, such as boat-building, wagons, agricultural implements, etc. 
 
 Southern Live Oak {Quercus virens) grows from \'irginia to Mexico 
 along the coast and in western Texas. 
 
 Western Live Oak is peculiar to Oregon, California and southern Ari- 
 zona. It is also called Maul Oak {Querais chrysolopis). 
 
 The Red Oaks are somewhat softer, more open grained, and 
 
 RED OAK less durable than white oak. The heart wood is of a decided 
 
 pink or light red color. They find much the same general 
 
 uses as white oak and are commonly quarter sawn. The trees grow from 
 
 80 to 100 ft. high, with trunks 3 to 6 ft. in diameter. 
 
 Spanish Oak (Querais digitata) grows along the coast from New York 
 toTe.xas, and through the central states south of Ohio and Missouri. It is 
 also called Red Oak. The wood is extensively used for cooperage and 
 furniture. 
 
 Red Oak {Otierats rubra) grows throughout the eastern and central 
 United States, from Nova Scotia to Texas. 
 
 Black Oak is common from Maine to Florida, and Minnesota to Te.xas. 
 It is also called Yellow Bark and Quercitron Oak {Quercus velutina). The 
 wood is very red, open grained and generally inferior to other red oaks. 
 A tanning extract known as Quercitron, and largely used, is made from the 
 bark. The inner bark yields a yellow dye. 
 
 Pin Oak grows from New York to Virginia and is common west of the 
 Alleghany Mountains, to Wisconsin and Arkansas. It is also called Swamp 
 Spanish Oak {Quercus palus/ris). The wood is inferior to white oak, but is 
 sometimes sold for it. 
 
 Willow Oak grows near the coast from Nev\- York to Texas and from 
 Kentucky to Arkansas. It is also known as Peach Oak {Quercus phellos). 
 Old \\'nrl(l Oaks yield wood very similar to that of the 
 OLD WORLD American species. 
 
 OAKS English Oak is common throughout Europe, Syria 
 
 and northern Africa. It is known as European and Dur- 
 mast Oak {Quercus rohiir).
 
 42 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Turkey Oak of middle and southern Kurope and western Asia is also 
 known as Adriatic, Iron, and Wainscot Oak (Quercus cerris). 
 
 There are several species of important timber oaks in India (the Hima- 
 layan region) and several in Japan. Many of these trees are evergreen and 
 belong to the live oaks. 
 
 In one European species of oak ( Ourrcus subcr) the bark is un- 
 CORK usually thick and spongy, and the outer layer can be stripped off 
 without injury to the tree. The product oi the first stripping, 
 called virgin cork, is rough. It is used chiefly for tanning and for decora- 
 tive purposes by florists. In from six to ten years another layer can be 
 removed. The best cork comes from old trees. It is taken off in large sheets, 
 dipped in hot water, pressed flat, dried, and baled for shipment. Corks are 
 cut by machinery and the cuttings and waste are used in making linoleum 
 and life preservers. Cork is produced principally in Portugal, Algeria, 
 Spain, southern France, Tunis, Italy, Morocco, Greece and Austria. 
 
 Ash is a wood of great value because of its strength, elasticity and 
 
 ASH comparative lightness. It is easy to work and its many excellent 
 
 qualities cause it to be used for agricultural implements, carriages, 
 
 buggy shafts, oars, fishing rods, etc. It is also employed for furniture, 
 
 interior of cars, boat cabins and building. There are se\'eral species, of which 
 
 the most important is the first named. 
 
 White Ash grows throughout the eastern and central United States, from 
 southeastern Canada to Minnesota and Texas. The trees (Fraxinus ameri- 
 cana) are from 50 to 1 25 ft. high with trunk diameters of 4 to 6 ft. 
 
 Oregon Ash grows from Washington to California along the coast. 
 
 Red Ash, Green Ash, Black Ash, and Blue Ash are all small or medium 
 sized trees growing in the eastern or central L'uited States. 
 
 European Ash is a native of all Europe and north Africa. It is also 
 called Common Ash. Curly forms of the wood occur in Hungary that are 
 much prized for furniture and are imported to the United States. 
 
 Shioyi-Noki, the common ash of Japan, is similar to our smaller ashes 
 and is used similarly. 
 
 Chestnut is included among the so-called hard woods, 
 CHESTNUT although it is soft, light, not strong, and is easily sjilit and 
 worked. Formerl)- little used except for fencing and rough 
 construction, it has now become one of the most commonly used cabinet 
 woods. It is open grained, very decorative because of the wide annual 
 rings, light brown in color and has much the appearance of, and is often used 
 as a substitute for, plain sawed oak in furniture and interior finish. It is 
 very durable. The young trees are extensively cut for telegraph poles. The 
 W'Ood is also used for making charcoal and a tanning extract is made from 
 the wood and bark. The nuts are an important article of commerce. 
 
 American Chestnut is common throughout the northern United States 
 from Maine to Tennessee. The trees (Castanca doitata) grow to a height 
 of 100 ft. and the trunks 4 to 12 ft. in diameter.
 
 WOODS 43 
 
 Eviropean Chestnut is very similar, the trees often reachintf an enor- 
 mous ejirth. 
 
 Ehn is, for special uses, a very desirable wood. It is similar to ash, 
 ELM hut tougher, stronger, equally elastic and even easier to work. The 
 grain is similar to ash, but the texture is velvety and the color 
 gravish. It is used for boat-building, wagon spokes, extensively for fellies, 
 the rims of metal wheels, for agricultural implements, butcher blocks, car- 
 riages, tool handles, cooperage, flooring, etc. 
 
 American Elm grows from southern Newfoundland to the Canadian 
 Rockies, south to Florida and northern Texas. It is also called White Elm. 
 ( Ulmus americand) . The trees grow loo ft. high with trunks from 4 to 7 ft. 
 in diameter. 
 
 Rock Elm is found from Vermont and Ontario to Kentucky and Iowa. 
 It is also called Cork Elm ( Ulmus racemosa). 
 
 Red or Slippery Elm, Cedar Elm, and Winged Elm or Wahoo are 
 smaller trees of the central and southern United States, the former as far 
 north as Ontario. 
 
 English Elm grows throughout Europe. The wood is similar to 
 American Elm. 
 
 Hickory is justly famous as one of the toughest of woods and 
 HICKORY is, therefore, much used for purposes where strength is neces- 
 sary. It is very tough and pliable when green, but after 
 thoroughly drying becomes stiff and somewhat brittle. It is supposed to 
 excel for wagon axles, spokes, fellies, axe, pick and hammer handles, cer- 
 tain agricultural implements, etc. The white sapwood, though generally 
 preferred, is not sujjerior to the darker heartwooil. The trees grow from 80 
 to 100 ft. high and with trunks from 3 to 4 ft. in diameter. The woods of 
 the several species do not differ. The species grow from southern Ontario 
 to Minnesota, Florida and Texas. 
 
 Shell bark Hickory is also called Shag Bark {Hicoria ovata). The 
 sweet, thin shelled nuts are an article of commerce. 
 
 Mockernut Hickory is also known as King Nut, Bull Nut and White 
 Heart Hickory {Hicoria alba). 
 
 Pignut Hickory is called Brown and Black Hickory (Hicoria glabra). 
 
 Pecan {Hicoria pecaii) is common from Indiana to Nebraska, and to 
 southern Texas. The wood is somewhat inferior t(j shell bark hickorv: the 
 nut superior to all other species. 
 
 Locust is useful for fence posts, railroad ties, sills, etc. , because 
 
 LOCUST of its great durability in contact with the soil. The Common 
 
 Locust {Robinia pseudacacia ) with yellow wood and the Honey 
 
 Locust (Gleditschia triacayithos) with brownish red wood, both mediinn sized 
 
 trees, are common in the eastern central United States. 
 
 The dark colored distinctly decorative woods native to the L'nited 
 States, are used almost exclusivelv for purposes where beauty of color and 
 grain are essential.
 
 44 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Black Walnut grows from Massachusetts to Florida, 
 BLACK WALNUT and from Minnesota to central Texas. It was formerly 
 so sought after as a favorite cabinet wood that it has 
 become very scarce. It is now principally used for gun stocks, turnery, 
 mouldings, inlay work and musical instruments. The trees {Jiiglans nigra) 
 occur from loo to 150 ft. high with trunks from 6 to 10 ft. in diameter. The 
 wood is very dark brown or purplish brown moderately hard and strong but 
 easily worked. The nuts are edible. 
 
 Old World Walnut is a native of China and Persia and has been exten- 
 sively introduced throughout Europe, and is commonly known as English, 
 French and Italian Walnut. The wood is used for gun stocks, cabinet work, 
 veneering, etc. 
 
 Butternut {Jiiglans dncrea) is similar to walnut, but softer 
 BUTTERNUT and of a light pinkish brown color. It grows from southern 
 Canada and Minnesota to Mississippi and Arkansas. The 
 nuts are edible. 
 
 Cherry has now become exceedingly scarce and high priced. 
 CHERRY Few woods possess its combined advantages of color, grain, 
 texture and stability, these making it prized for pattern making, 
 turning, printer's furniture, musical instruments, cabinet work, veneers, electri- 
 cal instrument bases and interior finish. The tree that furnishes cherry lumber 
 is Wild Black Cherry {Prufius seroHna), growing from Ontario to Florida 
 and from Dakota to Texas. It grows commonly as a shrub and as a tree from 
 30 to 100 ft. high with a trunk from 6 inches to 4 ft. in diameter. The wood 
 is light reddish brown, turning darker with age. The common deep red 
 color is given it by stain. 
 
 Sweet Gum is a tree now of great economic value, the 
 SWEET GUM wood being used for cabinet work, interior finish, fancy 
 boxes, log turned basket and box veneers, cooperage and 
 to some extent for building. The tree is common from New Jersey to Florida 
 and from Missouri to southern Me.xico. It is also called Bibsted, Red Gum 
 and Hazel {Liquidatnbar styracijhta). The trees grow from 100 to 150'ft. 
 high with a diameter of trunk from 4 to 6 ft. The wood is not heavy nor 
 hard, and is of a light brown color. 
 
 Oregon Alder is a tree of the Pacific Coast, from Alaska 
 OREGON ALDER to California. The wood is extensively used for cabinet 
 work, carriage bodies and interior finish {Alnus orc- 
 gana). The wood is light reddish brown, hard and durable. 
 
 Imported Woods are almost all from tro[)ical countries. They are 
 generally valuable because of their beauty of color and grain. 
 
 Mahogany is preferred to most other woods for cabinet work, 
 
 MAHOGANY and for a great variety of purposes. It is generally easily 
 
 worked, and is often of a beautiful color and figure. It is 
 
 used for musical instruments, fine furniture, the best interior finish in houses, 
 
 cars and the cabins of shi])s, for turner\-, tool handles, inlaying, parquetry
 
 WOODS 45 
 
 floors, electrical instruments, cameras and jewel boxes. The deep red color 
 of mahogany seen in piano cases, etc. , is given it by stain. This is still deep- 
 ened by the wood becoming darker with age. 
 
 American Mahogany is the common mahogany and g^ows in the West 
 Indies, Central and northern .South America. The best comes from Tabasco 
 in Mexico and from Santo Domingo; very good from Yucatan, Cuba, etc., 
 and inferior kinds from Honduras and further south. It is also called Bay 
 Wood and Caoba (SicfeUnia mahogoni). The trees grow 50 to 150 ft. high, 
 with trunks i to 4 ft. in diameter. The wood varies from pinkish white to 
 reddish brown, and from moderately soft to hard. 
 
 African Mahogany grows throughout the tropical west coast and inland. 
 It is called Khaya {R'haya senegalerisis) . The wood is yellowish brown, 
 hard, heavy and strong and often beautifully figured. It is largely imported 
 into Europe. 
 
 Cigar- Box Cedar is perhaps the most common and useful 
 CIGAR-BOX wood of the West Indies, Central America and northern 
 
 CEDAR South America. It is used for all kinds of general con- 
 struction, for boats, boxes, building, cheap and fine furniture, 
 cooperage, and is largely e.xported to the United States and Europe for cigar 
 boxes and for furniture. Much of the so-called mahogany furniture at this 
 time is made of selected dark " Cedro " often figured, though it may be dis- 
 tinguished by the larger pits in the grain. It is also known as West Indian 
 Cedar {^Ccdrela odorata). The wood is light, soft, v&cy easily worked, 
 colored from light yellowish to brown, and is very fragrant. 
 
 There are several species of so-called mahogany in Australia, the woods 
 of which are dark red, often figured, hard, strong and durable, and they are 
 extensively used locally and e.xported. The most important of these are as 
 follows : 
 
 Jarrah (^Eucalyptus ntarginatd) grows in southwestern Australia. 
 
 Swamp Mahogany grows in New South Wales and is also called Red 
 Mahogany (^Eucalyptus robusta). 
 
 Forest Mahogany is found in eastern Australia and is also known as Red 
 and Gray Gum and Hickory {Eucalyptus resitiifcra). 
 
 Moulmein Cedar is closely allied to true mahogany. The wood is very- 
 similar, but softer and generally darker red. It has a great variety of uses 
 and is exported largely. It is a native of India, Java, the Philippines and 
 Australia. In India it is also called Chitagong Wood and Indian Mahogany 
 and in Australia, Red and Pencil Cedar {Cedrela toona). 
 
 Teak is one of the most valuable of all woods. It is native in 
 TEAK India, Burma, Siam, the Malayan Islands and the Philippines, 
 and is extensively exported to Europe and occasionally to the 
 United States. It is the best timber for ship building and for backing of 
 armor plates, since it does not, like oak, corrode the iron. It is used for 
 piling and wharfage, and is also largely used for railroad cars, flooring, gun 
 stocks and furniture. The trees (Teclona grandis) grow 80 to 100 ft. high
 
 46 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIAIi; 
 
 with trunks 2 to 4 ft. in diameter. The wood is hght brown, open grained, 
 easily worked, somewhat oil\- and fragrant, and very durable. 
 
 Certain fancy woods, \aluable entirely because of .their beauty of 
 color and grain, are brought into the United States and Europe and used for 
 musical instruments, inlay work, brush backs, jewel bo.xes, knife and other 
 handles, turnery and sometimes for fine furniture. 
 
 Ebony is found in tropical countries throughout the world, the 
 EBONY blackest coming from Cuba, but now nearly exhausted, the most 
 
 common, from the Gaboon coast. West Africa, and \'ery excel- 
 lent from Madagascar, the Philippines, Bombay, Ceylon and Siam. It is for 
 the most part a medium sized tree with broad white sapwood. The black 
 heart comes into market in small logs. There are several species {Dio- 
 spyros, etc. ) . 
 
 Rosewood or Jacaranda grows in South America and is sup- 
 ROSEWOOD posed to come from several trees (species of Dalbergia and 
 Mat/iacriufu). The wood is bright brown with black grain. 
 A commercial rose oil is distilled from it. 
 
 Other fancy woods are: Cocobolo, from Central America, bright red and 
 black; Granadillo, a similar wood; Tulip wood, from Brazil, red and yellow; 
 Amaranth, or Purple Heart, from South America, deep purple on exposure 
 to light; Padauk, called also Vermillion, Redwood and Indian Mahogany, 
 from China, Burma, Malaysian Islands and the Philippines; Indian Satin 
 wood from India and Ceylon, deep yellow; Prima \'era, called also White 
 Mahogany, from Mexico and Central America, light yellow; and Olive wood, 
 of the Mediterranean countries, from which tree also comes the olive fruit, 
 an extensive article of commerce, used as a table delicacy, and supplying 
 olive oil. 
 
 Other tropical woods are imported because they are suited by color, 
 hardness and strength for many special purposes. These are: Rule Box- 
 wood, from the West Indies and South America, the bright yellow wood 
 used for rules, handles and inlaying; Lignum \'itae, from the West Indies, 
 the hard, oily, greenish-brown heart and yellow sapwood used for pulley 
 blocks, bearings, tool handles and caster wheels; Green-heart, from South 
 and Central America and the West Indies, used for handles, brush backs and 
 fishing rods, and Lancewood, from Jamacia, used for bows and fishing rods. 
 
 There are certain Australian woods used for general purposes of con- 
 struction besides those already mentioned. Red Gum is from eastern 
 Australia and the Murray River. The wood is hard, tough, strong and deep 
 red, and is used for heavy construction. Allied to it are several other 
 species of so-called gum, ironbark, tallow wood, etc., all belonging to Eu- 
 calyptus species. From the leaves of most of these trees Eucalyptus oil is 
 or may be extracted for medicinal use. Other woods are: Honey-suckle, 
 from southern Australia, prized for decoration and appearing much 
 like Sycamore of the United States; so-called Oak, which is not an oak;
 
 WOODS 
 
 47 
 
 Blackwood, which is similar to Walnut; Black Bean and W'hite Cedar, allied 
 to Mahogany. 
 
 When wood is heated in a retort, \arious gases are driven 
 DISTILLATION off. Some of these gases, when passed through cooled 
 OF WOOD pipes, become condensed into a liquid, and charcoal is 
 left in the retort. This process is called distillation. By 
 re-distillation and treatment with certain chemicals, the liquid may be made 
 to yield a variety of useful substances as is shown in the accompanying -dia- 
 gram. Oak, maple, birch, beech and pine are the kinds usually distilled. 
 
 WOOD 
 
 Charcoal 
 
 Liquid 
 
 Gas 
 
 Pyroligneous acid 
 or wood vinegar 
 
 Tar 
 
 I Creosote 
 \ Pitch 
 
 Crude wood spirits 
 
 Acetates 
 
 I 
 
 [ Tar 
 
 Ammonia 
 Wood alcohol 
 Acetone 
 
 Acetate of lime 
 Sugar of lead 
 
 — Alum mordants 
 Acetic acid 
 Acetone 
 
 — chloroform 
 
 Uses of Products. 
 
 Charcoal^-Fuel, filtering, gunpowder, etc. 
 
 Gas — Fuel, illuminant. 
 
 Ammonia — Medicine, household uses, chemical manufacture. 
 
 Wood alcohol — Denaturing alcohol, aniline color making, varnishes, 
 burning, methylated ether, formaldehyde, etc. 
 
 Acetate of Lime — Dyeing, calico printing. 
 
 Mordants — Dyeing. 
 
 Acetates- — Calico printing. 
 
 Acetic Acid — Chemical manufacture. So-called "Banana Oil," a de- 
 rivative from acetic acid, is used in varnishes and paints. 
 
 Acetone — Chloroform, iodoform, sulphonal, smokeless powder. 
 
 Chloroform — Anaesthetic, solvent for resins, etc. 
 
 Creosote — Antiseptic, medicine, preser\ative. 
 
 Tar — Protection of wood against decay ; tar paper. 
 
 Pitch — Shipbuilding, roofing, etc. 
 
 For smoking meats and fish, beech, oak and mahogany are chiefly used. 
 
 Potash is obtained by dissolving it out of wood ashes, formerly almost 
 the only source of this important chemical. Potash is now prepared by 
 chemical processes from various materials. (See Potash salts.) 
 
 Vegetable matters, such as sawdust, straw or bran, when heated with 
 caustic potash, form o.xalates, which on treatment with sulphuric acid, vield 
 o.xalic acid. This acid and its salts are used chiefly in bleaching and dyeing.
 
 ^8 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 GUMS AND RESINS. 
 
 Gums and resins arc usually formed by the drying of sap on reaching 
 the air through fissures or incisions in the bark, or by the transformation of 
 plant tissues. Some are obtained by artificial drying or distillation of sap. 
 Many resinous extracts are taken from barks, woods, or other parts of plants, 
 usually by dissolving the soluble matter in water. 
 
 True gums form a mucilage with water and are insoluble in alcohol. 
 They are chiefly used in stiffening silk and cotton fabrics, in calico printing, 
 in making cordials and confectionery, in mucilage, printing ink, and 
 medicines. Many other substances are commonly called gums, such as 
 resins, copals, rubber, camphor, lac, etc. 
 
 Resins are harder than gums, insoluble in water, and are mostly used in 
 making \arnishes by dissohing them in turpentine and linseed oil or in spirits. 
 Gum-resins are usually fragrant and are used for medicines and as incense. 
 Oleo-resins and balsams, like crude turpentine, lacquer and Peruvian balsam, 
 are thick liquids generally obtained by tapping trees and preparing the sap. 
 Gum Arabic is obtained from small thorny trees {Acacia 
 GUM ARABIC species) which grow in dry sandy districts in Arabia, 
 Egypt, Kordofan, and the adjacent country. Gum Sene- 
 gal is of somewhat inferior quality and comes from similar trees in northwest 
 Africa in the region of the Senegal ri\er. Gums, like gum arabic, are 
 obtained from acacia trees in other countries, for example, Morocco or Bar- 
 bary gum. Cape gum from South Africa, and Wattle gum from Australia. 
 These gums, like most others, are sorted over according to size, color, and 
 purity and come on the market in different grades. 
 Dextrine is an artificial gum. (See Dextrine.) 
 
 Gum Tragacanth comes from the stems of low thorny 
 
 GUM shrubs (Astragalus species) which grow in Asia Minor, 
 
 TRAGACANTH Persia, Syria, and Armenia. The secretion of this gum 
 
 is often increased by the natives through injuring the bark. 
 
 It is found on the market usually as " flake tragacanth" in thin flat pieces, 
 
 dull white in color, and marked with wavy lines which show the successive 
 
 flow of the gum from the tree. 
 
 Gums are obtained also from the mesquite tree (Prosopis species), in 
 Mexico, and occasionally from cherry, peach, plum, and other fruit trees. 
 
 Gelatine, having much the same composition and properties 
 
 GELATINE as gum and used for similar purposes, is obtained by boiling 
 
 certain sea weeds. The most important sea-weed gelatine, 
 
 '■ agar agar," comes from China, Japan, India, and the neighboring islands. 
 
 Irish moss, or dulce, is a gelatinous sea weed used for food. 
 
 Other similar mucilaginous substances, gelatines, and glues, are made 
 from bones, horns, and slaughter house wastes. (See Animal Products.) 
 
 Copals are natural hard resins which are found in \arious parts of the 
 world and are used in making \arnishes. They usually ha\e to be melted or
 
 GUMS AND RESINS 4.9 
 
 distilled to make them soluble in turpentine or alcohol. Many copals are 
 found in the earth, usually at a depth of not more than a few feet, in places 
 where extensive forests once grew. 
 
 Zanzibar Copal is the hardest of this .tfroup. It is found 
 ZANZIBAR along the Zanzibar coast, in Mozambique. Some comes from 
 COPAL living trees ( Trachylobiiim species), but the hardest and best 
 is the fossil variety which is dug from the ground. When 
 first dug, the resin is covered with a sandy reddish crust, which is either 
 scraped off, or dissolved away by a solution of soda or potash, leaving the 
 copal with a facetted surface, called the ' ' goose-skin. ' ' This is characteristic 
 of the best grades of Zanzibar copal. F"actories for the cleaning and wash- 
 ing of copal were formerly situated at Salem, Mass. , so that this grade is 
 often called Salem copal. Sandarusi copal, Mozambique copal, Sierra Leone 
 copal or Flint copal. West African copal, Benguela copal, Angola gum, 
 Muccocota g^m, Loango gum, American copal, Anime, Courbaril copal, 
 Accra copal, and Manila copal are names applied to similar resins of \ary- 
 ing hardness from different localities. 
 
 Kauri Copal, or gum, is softer than Zanzibar copal. It 
 KAURI COPAL is obtained in New Zealand and New Caledonia, some of 
 it from living trees {Agathis species); but a much larger 
 quantity is dug from the ground, where it occurs at a depth of from a few 
 inches to ten feet. The lumps are usually only an inch or two in diameter, 
 but some have been found weighing a hundred pounds. The tree which 
 yields this resin belongs to the pine family and attains a height of 80 to 100 
 feet and a diameter of 3 to 8 feet or more. The timber resembles yellow 
 pine and in New Zealand is used for many purposes. 
 
 Gum Dammar includes commercially several kinds of 
 GUM DAMMAR resins from southeastern Asia. The true dammar comes 
 from a tree {Shorca species) in Sumatra. Mi.xed with 
 turpentine it makes a very clear and valuable varnish. 
 
 Sandarack resin from northwest Africa, and Mastic from the shores of 
 the Mediterranean, are similar in nature and are also used in varnishes. 
 
 Benzoin is a fragrant resin from Siam, Java and Sumatra, used chiefly 
 for incense. 
 
 Asafoetida is a gum-resin obtained in Afghanistan from the roots of a 
 plant {Scorodosma /(cHdum) . It is much used in medicines and as a condi- 
 ment, especially in Worcestershire sauce. 
 
 Myrrh and Olibanunn, or frankincense, are fragrant gum-resins from 
 Arabia used for incense and in medicine. 
 
 Gum ammoniacum is a gum-resin used in medicine. 
 
 Aloes is the dried juice of certain plants (Aloe species) used in 
 medicine. 
 
 Guiac or gum guaiacum is a medicinal resin from the lignum vita- tree. 
 
 Dragon's blood is a red resin used in medicine and for varnish. 
 
 Kino is a dried juice used in tanning and dyeing.
 
 50 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 (See Quebracho extract and other substances used in tannine; and 
 dyeing. See Lac, Shellac, Turpentine, Rosin, etc. ) 
 
 Japanese lacquer is obtained from the sap of a small tree (Rlius 
 vemicifera), the berries of which furnish wax. Varnishes having similar 
 qualities are manufactured by mi.xing turpentine with various resins. 
 
 Peru balsam, tolu balsam, copaiba balsam, and liquid stora.x are all 
 obtained from the saps of certain trees and are chiefly used in medicine. 
 
 Gamboge or "gummi gutti " is obtained in Cambodia by tapping 
 trees (Garcinia morella) and collecting the yellow sap in joints of bamboo, 
 where it hardens. It is used in medicine and in coloring \arnishes and 
 making water colors. 
 
 Rubber is an elastic substance produced from the milky juice 
 
 RUBBER of certain trees and vines which grow in tropical regions. 
 
 More than half of the world's supply of rubber comes from the 
 
 valley of the Amazon river. Africa, the East Indies, Mexico, and Central 
 
 America are the other chief sources. 
 
 The most important rubber plants are the Brazilian or Para rubber tree 
 {Hevea brasiliensis), the Central American rubber tree {Castilloa elastica), ' 
 the East Indian rubber tree {Fiais elastica) and the rubber vines of Afric^ 
 {Landolphia species). 
 
 " Rubber milk" is usually obtained by making incisions in the bark 
 and catching the milky juice or "latex" in small cups as it flows out. It 
 resembles cream in density and appearance and is composed essentially of 
 globules of rubber floating in water. The globules are coagulated by processes 
 which differ in various places. In Brazil the finest grade Para rubber is 
 prepared by pouring the latex on a stick or paddle and drying it over a 
 smoky fire. As soon as the layer of rubber is dry, more milk is poured 
 on, and another layer formed, until the lump of rubber weighs several 
 pounds. In other places the milk is allowed to dry on the trees or is co- 
 agulated by boiling, or by adding alcohol, sulphuric acid, lemon juice, or 
 salt water, or in one of many other ways. Rubber is graded commercially 
 according to the country or district of origin and according to its quality. 
 In the crude state it usually contains much dirt, sand, gravel, bark, etc. 
 For use it must be cleaned by softening, grinding, and washing. It is too 
 soft and sticky for most purposes when pure, and is, therefore, mixed or 
 compounded with various materials. When combined with a small per cent, 
 of sulphur with the assistance of heat, it becomes ' ' vulcanized ' ' and is more 
 elastic, less soluble, and will stand more heat or cold without becoming 
 sticky or brittle, than pure rubber. Red rubber is vulcanized by heating the 
 crude material with a sulphide of antimony. Lamp black is added in making 
 black rubber. Hard rubber, ebonite, or vulcanite, is prepared by vulcaniz- 
 ing rubber with as much as 25 per cent, of sulphur, making it hard and 
 horny. Substitutes and adulterants for rubber are made by heating oils, such 
 as cotton, linseed, rape, corn, or castor oil with sulphur. Rubber enters 
 into the manufacture of almost innumerable substances, among which the 
 following may be nientioned: soft or vulcanized rubber-bands, threads for
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 STATE NVRHAL SCHI', 
 M'.NUAL ABTS AND HOME € 
 ■»ANTA ■RBARA, CALIF 
 
 GUMS AND RESINS 
 
 ^XlV/ 
 
 51 
 
 elastic cloth, toys, shoes, boots, tires, tubing^, hose, cushions, water proof 
 cloth, printing rolls, stamps, stoppers, etc.; of hard rubber: combs, brushes, 
 handles, electrical instruments and other machinery, surgical and toilet appli- 
 ances, buttons, trays, and \essels for holding corrosive chemicals. Rubber 
 is used in grinding-wheels as a cement to hold the particles of the abrasive 
 together, in floor cloths, cements, and some varnishes. 
 
 Gutta-Percha is a plant product similar to rufiber. It 
 
 GUTTA-PERCHA is obtained from the milky juice of a number of trees 
 
 belonging to the .Sapota family {Sapoiaccac), found in 
 
 the East Indies, the Malay peninsula and some other tropical countries. 
 
 The principal j)ort of shipment of crude gutta-percha is Singa])oro. The 
 
 gutta-percha is usually obtained by cutting down the trees, removing narrow 
 
 strips of the bark and collecting the milky juice that flows from the wounds. 
 
 It soon thickens and hardens. It is then put into a pot of boiling water and 
 
 becomes so soft that it can be kneaded and pressed into a compact mass. 
 
 The crude commercial material is purified by grinding in hot water, by which 
 
 the chips, bark, and sand are removed. The plastic mass is then rolled into 
 
 thin sheets or formed into threads and rolled into balls and pressed. At the 
 
 I ordinary temperature gutta-percha is compact, pliant, tough, and but slightly 
 
 elastic. At 194° F. it becomes plastic, so that it can be kneaded and brought 
 
 into any desired shape, which it retains unaltered when brought back to the 
 
 '^ ordinary temperature. It is not nearly so sensitive to cold as rubber, a 
 
 temperature of 14° F. not altering it. 
 
 No other plastic substance has so great an electrical resistance, and in 
 the ground or in the water gutta-percha retains this property unaltered. It 
 is this property that gives gutta-percha its most important use — as an insu- 
 lating material for electrical wires, especially for submarine and under- 
 ground cables. 
 
 Gutta-percha is especially useful for articles e.xposed to moisture, damp, 
 cold, and acids, and for that reason is employed in the form of hose for con- 
 ducting cold water, beer, wine, and acids; for belts running in wet places; for 
 buckets, ladles, bottles, siphons, and spigots in chemical factories. 
 
 Balata is very similar to gutta-percha and comes from Guiana. Gutta 
 ^1 joolatong, another substance of the same kind, has come on the market 
 within a few years and is obtained in the East Indies. 
 
 Chicle or crude chewing gum is obtained by boiling the milky 
 
 CHICLE juice of a tree { Arhras sapota) which grows in Mexico and 
 
 Central America. Yucatan produces nearly the entire supply 
 
 '^ of chicle, and exports all of it to the United States. For the preparation of 
 
 chewing gum the chicle is dried, washed, mixed with glucose, parafifine, or 
 
 ^ other materials, flavored, rolled out into thin sheets, and put up in small 
 
 packages for sale. 
 c>i Many other plants, such as our common milkweed, produce milky saps 
 
 ^ which when dried yield substances more or less like rubber or gutta-percha. 
 *"The juice of the cow tree when fresh is much like cow's milk. 
 

 
 52 
 
 COMMERCIAI- RAW MATERIALS 
 
 OILS, FATS AND WAXES. 
 
 The seeds and fruits ui many plants arc rich in oil, this being the con- 
 centrated form in which nutriment is stored for the early growth of the 
 young plant. Nearly all animals possess fats capable of being rendered into 
 oil and usually stored in the abdominal cavity or in a layer under the skin. 
 These oils are called fatty oils and differ from petroleum or other mineral 
 oils and from essential oils in the fact that they may be saponified. 
 
 Vegetable oils are obtained by crushing the seeds by powerful machin- 
 ery, thus pressing out the oil and leaving oil cake behind. They are some- 
 times e.xtracted by dissolving in carbon bisulphide or other chemicals. 
 
 Oils are used for table purposes, for cooking, soap making, lubricating, 
 illuminating, mixing paints and varnishes, in dyeing, in preparing skins and 
 leathers, in medicine, and for other purposes. 
 
 Oils are of two important kinds, drying oils, which, like linseed, evap- 
 orate and oxidize, forming a varnish-like substance, and non-drying oils, like 
 olive oil. Some oils (fats) like palm oil, Japan wax, and tallow are solid at 
 ordinary temperatures. For lubricating purposes some non-drying oils are 
 "blown" bypassing air through the heated oil, rendering it thicker and 
 more viscous. 
 
 In soap making, a fatty oil is heated and there is added to it a weak 
 solution of alkali, such as caustic soda (lye) or caustic potash, whicli unites 
 chemically with the oil, forming soap and glycerine. Soap being insoluble 
 in brine, salt is then added and the soap rises to the top of the kettle, while 
 the brine with the glycerine is drawn off from below. The soap is then ' 
 purified and usually mixed with coloring and scenting ingredients. Mineral 
 matters, such as sand and pumice, are added in making scouring soaps. 
 Rosin can also be saponified and is much used with oils in soap making, as 
 are also certain w^axes. Candles are made from natural solid fats and waxes, 
 and from prepared oils by a process similar to soap making. 
 
 Glycerine is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of 
 GLYCERINE soaps and candles. It is used in pharmacy, in various in- 
 dustrial processes, and very largely in the manufacture of 
 nitro-glycerine and dynamite. 
 
 Olive Oil comes from countries bordering the Mediterranean 
 OLIVE OIL and in small amount from Mexico and southern California. 
 It is obtained by pressing the fruit of the olive tree ( 0/ea 
 europcta). Ripe olives, containing from 30 t(? 50 per cent, of oil, are first 
 pressed lightly, yielding a small amount of the best quality oil. Crushing 
 the flesh with greater pressure yields more oil, and a third pressure of the 
 pressed cake after treatment with hot water, yields an oil of poorer qualit)'. 
 Olive oil is used for food, for soap making, lubricating, and burning. It is fre- 
 quently adulterated with other oils such as cotton seed, peanut, sesame, etc. 
 Castor Oil is obtained from the seeds of a plant (yRicinus 
 CASTOR OIL fommiinis) which grows throughout tropical countries. 
 India produces the most seeds for commerce. The seeds 
 contain more than half their weight of oil, which is used in medicine, in the
 
 OILS AND FATS 53 
 
 manufacture of celluloid, oilcloth, artificial leather, for soap making; and 
 lubricatiny;. Perhaps the lary^est amount of castor oil is used in the manu- 
 facture of textiles, especially for making " turkey red oil," which is employed 
 for preparing cotton goods for dyeing with coal tar colors. 
 
 Turkey Red Oil is prepared by treating castor oil with sulphuric 
 
 TURKEY acid. It is unlike the original oil in being soluble in, or mi.\- 
 
 RED OIL ing readily with water. Olive oil or cotton oil is often used 
 
 instead of castor oil. Fabrics treated with turkey red oil can 
 
 be dyed with certain colors by which they are unaffected before such 
 
 treatment. 
 
 Peanut Oil is obtained from the common peanut ( Aracliis 
 PEANUT OIL hypogaea). The nuts, or seeds, are raised extensively in 
 West Africa and India and are pressed in France. The 
 oil is used for soap making and as a substitute for olive oil. In making pea- 
 nut butter the nuts are simply ground up, but not pressed. 
 
 Palm Oil comes from West Africa and is obtained from the 
 
 PALM OIL pulp which covers the seeds of the oil palm {Elaeis guine- 
 
 etisis). It is yellowish or reddish in color, of the consistency 
 
 of butter, and is used for making soap and candles, and for coating sheet iron 
 
 in the manufacture of tin-plate. Palm kernel oil is pressed from the kernels 
 
 of the same fruits. 
 
 Almond oil, rape oil, sesame oil, walnut oil, poppy seed oil, sunflower 
 oil, .soy bean oil, and vegetable tallow are a few of the great number of 
 other vegetable oils. 
 
 (See Corn oil. Cotton oil, Linseed oil. Hem]) oil, Cocoanut oil. Cocoa 
 butter. See also Animal oils and Petroleum.; 
 
 ESSENTIAL OILS. 
 
 Essential Oils, or volatile oils, unlike the fatty oils do not form soap on 
 treatment with alkalis. They are obtained in small quantities from flowers, 
 leaves, or other parts of plants usually by distillation with water. Some, like 
 orange and lemon oil, are pressed from the rinds of fruits. Those from flowers 
 are obtained by a process called enfleurage which consists in absorbing the 
 perfume from the flowers in lard, beef fat or olive oil. The perfume is then 
 extracted from the fat or " pomade " by solution in alcohol. Essential oils 
 are mostly used in perfumery, for flavoring, and in medicine. The best 
 known examples of this group are turpentine and camjihor, but these are 
 not popularly known as essential oils. 
 
 The following are important: — attar of roses, patchouli, oils of lavender, 
 bergamot, bitter orange, violet, geranium, tuberose, bitter almonds, cedar, 
 hemlock, spruce, wintergreen, mint, sassafras, birch, cloves, lemon, orange, 
 peppermint, citronella, lemon grass, \etiver, anise, fennel, caraway, cumin, 
 rosemary, thyme, coriander, wormwood, ylang-ylang, sandal wood, cin- 
 namon, bay, etc.
 
 54 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Menthol, produced in Ja])an, is deposited in crystals on cooliny; oil of 
 peppermint. 
 
 Witch-hazel extract, used medicinally, is obtained by distilling young 
 twigs of witch hazel with dilute alcohol. 
 
 Musk and ambergris are animal substances used as perfumes. 
 
 Oil of mirbane and other perfumes are obtained from coal tar, and many 
 of these are identical in composition and have the same odors as essential 
 oils obtained directly from vegetable substances. 
 
 Camphor is strictly not a gum, but a solid volatile oil obtained 
 CAM PHOR from the wood of the camphor tree ( Cinnamottium camphora) . 
 Formosa is the source of nearly all of the camphor of com- 
 merce, although a little is obtained from Japan, China, and Borneo. To 
 obtain camphor, the wood of the tree is cut up into small chips which are 
 distilled with water. The camphor is condensed and later purified. It is 
 used in medicines, as a protection against insects, and to a very large e.\tent 
 in the manufacture of celluloid and of smokeless powder. 
 
 (See Napthaline or tar camphor. ) 
 
 WAXES. 
 
 Under waxes may be grouped beeswax and all substances resembling it 
 sufficiently to be used as substitutes for it. Cheap waxes are very commonly 
 used to adulterate those of higher grade. 
 
 Sealing wax, shoemaker's wax, and grafting wax are prepared resinous 
 substances. 
 
 (See Beeswax, Tallow, Spermaceti, and Paraffine. ) 
 
 Myrtleberry or Bayberry Wax is found coating the 
 MYRTLEBERRY fruits of several species of myrtle bushes (^Myrica) 
 WAX indigenous to the United States, Central and South 
 
 America, Cape Colony, etc. It is obtained by plung- 
 ing the berries in hot water and skimming off the wax which rises to the 
 surface. It has a greenish color and a pleasant balsamic odor. It is chiefly 
 used in combination with beeswax for making candles. 
 
 Japan Wax is a hard, wa.x-like fat obtained from the fruits 
 JAPAN WAX of several species of Rhus found growing in Japan (par- 
 ticularly Rhus S2(ccedatica and vernicifera, the tree which 
 yields Japanese lacquer j. It is chiefly used for the manufacture of candles, 
 wax matches, waxed paper, and as a furniture polish. In Japan it is used to 
 give a polish to cotton cloths, for making dolls and models, as well as for 
 lubricating and soap making. 
 
 Wax forms a coating on the leaves of several palms. 
 Carnauba Wax, which comes from the under side of the leaves of a 
 palm in Brazil, is rapidly gaining in commercial importance. 
 
 Chinese Insect Wax, or pela wax, is secreted by an insect (^Coccus 
 pela) and deposited on twigs. It is used in China for candles, for polishing 
 wood and leather, and as a sizing for paper and cotton goods.
 
 DVESTUFFS 55 
 
 DYESTUFFS. 
 
 Commercial dyes are either the extracts from animal or vegetable matter, 
 or artificially manufactured chemical compounds, chiefly from coal tar. They 
 are used for dyeing fibers, fabrics, woods, leather, and feathers. The great 
 diversity of tints obtained in dyeing is the result of the combination of two or 
 more substances with one another or with certain chemical reagents. To 
 render colors permanent, the application of some chemical known as a mor- 
 dant is usually required; but for some dyes no mordant is needed. Turkey 
 red oil, alum, tannin, argols, and compounds of soda, tin, chromium, and iron 
 are the common mordants. Most vegetable dyestuffs are handled commer- 
 cially in the form of extracts made by treating the raw material with boiling 
 water and evaporating the solution. 
 
 Indigo is a blue dye obtained from the juice of the indigo plants 
 INDIGO (mostly Indigofera species) which grow in tropical countries. 
 India, Ceylon, Java, and Central America are the chief producers. 
 The freshly cut plants are soaked in water, which absorbs the juice, becoming 
 greenish in color; on exposure to the air it turns blue, the indigo separates, 
 falls to the bottom of the tank and is dried. For dyeing, indigo is usually 
 acted on by some chemical such as soda or potash, which reduces it to a 
 colorless substance known as " indigo white." This is more easily soluble 
 than blue indigo, and the materials to be dyed are dipped in a solution of 
 this substance. Upon exposing the fabrics to air, the indigo white changes 
 again by oxidation to indigo blue. In printing calicos, indigo white is 
 thickened with gum, dextrine, or starch. 
 
 " Bluing " for laundry use is frequently indigo. 
 
 The manufacture of artificial indigo from coal tar has made the growing 
 of indigo unprofitable in the West Indies and northern South America, 
 w here large quantities were formerly produced. 
 
 Madder is a powder made from the dried roots of a ])lant 
 MADDER {Rubia tindorid) which is cultivated in southern Asia and 
 central Europe. It furnishes a red dye used for cotton goods, 
 which is of decreasing importance owing to the use of coal tar colors. 
 
 Logwood or campeche is the dark red heartwood of a tree 
 LOGWOOD ( IIae>7iatoxylon campechianum) which grows in Central 
 America and the West Indies. Yucatan, Honduras, Hayti 
 and Jamaica are the principal commercial sources. 
 
 The wood comes to market in logs from five to ten inches in diameter, 
 from which the bark and sapwood have been removed. Logwood extract 
 is made in the West Indies as well as in America and Europe. This reddish 
 coloring matter has no affinity for fibers and requires the use of a mordant, 
 the color obtained depending on the mordant used. It is largely employed 
 for dyeing black, but gives also shades of blue, gray, and violet. 
 
 Brazil Wood, or Pernambuco Wood, comes from South 
 
 BRAZIL WOOD and Central America. As in logwood the heartwood of 
 
 the tree { Caesalpinia^ is used, and the coloring matter is 
 
 extracted with boiling water. It gives shades of red and violet, but does 
 
 not alone produce fast colors.
 
 56 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Fustic, mora, or yellow wood, also known as old fustic, is the 
 FUSTIC wood of another tree {Chlorophora tincioria) and is obtained in 
 the West Indies and tropical America. It is used in d\eing 
 woolen goods, giving a bright yellow color. 
 
 Young fustic, sappan, cam, and other woods yield dyes. 
 Quercitron is the ground bark of the yellow-bark oak tree {Qtierais 
 vclutina) of the United States. It yields a yellow dye and is also used in 
 tanning. 
 
 Safflower consists of the dried flowers of an herb {Cati/ia- 
 
 SAFFLOWER miis tindorius) which is grown in many warm countries. 
 
 Its production is important in India, Persia and Egypt. It 
 
 is powdered and mixed with starch to make toilet rouge and its extract gives 
 
 a red dye for silk. 
 
 Annatto furnishes a harmless y'ellow dye used chiefly in color- 
 ANNATTO ing butter and cheese. It is obtained from the pulp which 
 surrounds the seeds of a shrub {Bixa orcllana") culti\ated in 
 South and Central .America and the West Indies. The pulp is washed 
 from the seeds by water, separated and dried. It comes on the market as a 
 red or orange colored liquid or paste and also in cakes. The dried seeds 
 with pulp adhering are also exported. 
 
 Turmeric, turnsole, yellow berries or Persian berries, saffron, henna, 
 orchilla, cudbear, and litmus are other vegetable dyestufis from roots, 
 seeds, flowers, and lichens. 
 
 See Cochineal, Lac, etc. , under Insect Products. 
 
 See also Coal Tar colors, Prussian Blue, Chrome Yellow, etc., under 
 Mineral Products. 
 
 TANNING MATERIALS. 
 
 Tans include all substances which by acting on the fiber of skins and 
 hides render them proof against the ordinaryprocess of decay and at the same 
 time make them pliable. Most of the vegetable substances used to convert 
 skins and hides into leather contain an astringent principle called tannin. 
 Many other substances are used by tanners in preparing skins and leathers 
 for market, such as lime forunhairing, acids, sodium salts, alum, dog's dung, 
 bird's dung, bran, lampblack, oils, egg yolks, dyes, varnishes, etc. (See 
 Tanning. ) 
 
 Manv substances, such as cutch and quercitron, are used both in tan- 
 ning and in dyeing. 
 
 The following, or extracts made from them, are among the most im- 
 portant tans: barks — hemlock, oak, wattle, mangrove, larch, willow; -woods — 
 oak, chestnut, quebracho, gambir, c\i\.ch; fruits — myrobalans, valonia, divi- 
 divi, algarobilla ; leaves — sumac ; galls — oak, sumac ; roots — canaigre, 
 palmetto.
 
 TANNING MATERIALS 57 
 
 Hemlock bark is ilie most important vegetable tanning 
 TAN BARKS material in the United States. 
 
 Both the wood and bark of the white oak tree are used 
 in tanning and in making extracts. The wood of the chestnut tree, but not 
 the bark, is also used. 
 
 Wattle bark is obtained from mimosa trees (Acacia) in Australia. It 
 is exported to England as well as used locally. It is increasing in importance. 
 These trees yield gums like gum arable and furnish useful woods. 
 
 Mangrove bark is obtained from trees (Rhizophora') which grow on 
 swampy coasts throughout the tropics. It is used in many places for tanning, 
 but is seldom an article of general commerce. 
 
 Sumac leaves are obtained from different species of sumac 
 LEAVES (Rhus) in Mediterranean countries and in the southern United 
 States. In general, the leaves from Europe are richer in tannin. 
 Sumac is used for tanning fancy leathers. 
 
 Quebracho extract is obtained by boiling chips of a hard 
 
 EXTRACTS red wood {Schitiopsis) which grows in Argentina and 
 
 Paraguay. The extract is of increasing importance. 
 
 The wood is too hard and heavy to be valuable for construction or 
 
 cabinet work. 
 
 Cutch or catechu is extracted from the heartwood of an acacia tree 
 common in India and Ceylon. It is used for dyeing and in tanning heavy 
 leathers. 
 
 Gambler or terra japonica is a similar extract coming from India and 
 obtained from the leaves of a bush {Uncaria gambler). It is used in 
 tanning soft leather. 
 
 Valonia consists of the cups of acorns ( Quercus acgylops) which grow 
 in the Levant. They are rich in tannin. 
 
 Palmetto extract is made from the roots and creeping stems of the saw 
 palmetto in the southern L'nited States. (See Palmetto fiber.) 
 
 Oak Galls are the product of small insects allied to the 
 OAK GALlS wasps and belonging to the order Hymcnoptcra. These 
 insects cause the hard woody abnormal growths upon the 
 smaller branches and leaves of oak trees The female deposits an egg within 
 the bark and the tiny lar\a, hatching, feeds on the soft wood. The insect is 
 supposed to secrete a stimulating fluid which augments the growth and causes 
 the gall to form. When the larva attains its growth it changes to the pupa 
 and then to the perfect fly and cuts its way out of the gall. The commercial 
 oak galls grow upon a tree (Quercus luscitajiica \ar. i9ifectoria) common in 
 southwestern Asia. (The insect cause is Cynips quercus tincioriae.) The 
 best galls come from Syria and Asia Minor and are exported from Aleppo. 
 Galls contain gallic acid, closely allied to tannic acid. They are used for 
 tanning, and especially for making ink and dyes with salts of iron. There 
 are other commercial and useful galls growing upon trees (Rhus scmialata ) 
 in China and Japan. These are caused by plant lice (Schkchlendalia 
 ^kinensis), insects belonging to the sub-order Homoptcra.
 
 58 COMMKKCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Pyrogallic acid, a chemical derived from galls, is an important photo- 
 graphic de\eloper. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Argols are deposited as a crystalline coating in casks of young 
 ARGOLS wine. They are called lees, and consist of crude potassium 
 acid tartrate (Q H. O^ K). Argols are the only commercial 
 source cf tartaric acid and tartrates. These are useful as mordants in dye- 
 ing, and calico printing, in making baking powder, cream of tartar, 
 Rochelle salts, Seidlitz powders, and tartar emetic. 
 
 Vegetable Ivory nuts are the seeds of several species 
 
 VEGETABLE IVORY of palm trees. The kind most commonly used 
 
 i^Phytelephas macrocarpa) come from Ecuador and 
 
 Panama. When fresh, they are soft, juicy, and edible; but on drying they 
 
 become hard. On soaking in water they become soft enough to be cut with 
 
 a knife. The}- are used for making buttons, chessmen, and small ornaments. 
 
 Lycopodium powder consists of the minute spores of certain species 
 
 of club mosses common in Europe. It is used in making fireworks and by 
 
 pharmacists. 
 
 Soap bark and soap berries are collected in various countries. The 
 common soap bark sold at drug stores comes from Chili. 
 
 Teasels are the dried heads of a common plant and are grown in 
 Europe for use in finishing woolen fabrics. 
 
 Pyrethrum, a substance used in insect powders, consists of the pow- 
 dered flowers of plants allied to the chrysanthemum. It is obtained 
 chiefly from Dalmatia, Persia and southeastern Europe. 
 
 There are many other vegetable materials in common use, some of 
 which enter into general commerce. 
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS. 
 
 Animal Products may be conveniently classified as follows: 
 
 Live animals for beasts of burden, for slaughtering, for breeding, etc. 
 
 Articles of Animal Origin used for Food : — Meats, fresh, dried, 
 salted, canned, or otherwise preserved, from cattle, sheep, swine, fowls, 
 game, etc. ; meat extracts, fish, oysters, crabs, lobsters, eggs, milk, butter, 
 cheese, lard, oleomargarine, gelatine, etc. 
 
 Animal Fibers : — Hair, wool, fur, bristles, silk. 
 
 Hides and Skins : — Furs, raw hides, leathers, feathers. 
 
 Horns, Hoofs, etc., including ivory, tortoise shell, glue. 
 
 Animal Oils: — Butter, lard, cod li\er oil, fish oil, etc. 
 
 Pearl and Mother of Pearl, Sponges, Corals. 
 
 Other Products, including perfumes, etc.. Musk, civet. 
 
 Insect Products (other than silk), including honey, wax, cochineal, 
 lac, galls. 
 
 In the following pages these are grouped according to the animals 
 which prixluce them.
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 59 
 
 HORSES. 
 
 Horses are raised in almost all parts of the world, chiefly as beasts of 
 burden. In the United States the greatest number of horses are raised in 
 the south and west; some are e.xported for breeding, racing and draft pur- 
 poses to England, Canada and Germany. Russia supplies nearly half the 
 horses used in Europe. 
 
 Horse flesh is eaten in France, Germany and other countries. 
 
 Horse hide is used for making " cordo\an " leather for shoes, saddles 
 and razor strops. The part of the hide most used for leather is an o^•al piece 
 about three feet long from the rumj). This leather is e.xceptionally strong 
 and more nearly waterproof than that from any other land animal. It is 
 finished in tan, black and other colors. 
 
 Horse hair from manes and tails comes on the market from Russia, 
 China, Argentina. Germany, and other countries. It is used for weaving 
 in hair cloth, for making brushes, and for bows for musical instruments. 
 When curled it is used for stuffing mattresses and furniture. 
 
 Fermented mare"s milk, " koumiss," is imported from western Asia for 
 medicinal purposes. A preparation of cow's milk is sold underthesamename. 
 
 Mules and asses are more used than horses in many places. 
 
 CATTLE. 
 
 Cattle are raised in all parts of the world and are important every- 
 where in local commerce. The United States, Russia, India, Argentina, 
 Germany, Austria-Hungary, France and Australia are the greatest cattle 
 raising countries. The United States, Argentina and Australia are the 
 greatest exporters. 
 
 Live cattle are shipped from one place to another chiefly to supjjly 
 fresh meat to distant points. Breeds of cattle, as of other animals, differ 
 in various countries. Certain breeds, such as the Jersey and Aldernev, are 
 most valuable for milk ; others are better beef cattle. The humped cattle of 
 India thrive well in tropical countries. The Carabao or water buffalo is the 
 principal draft animal and beast of burden in many Pacific Islands. In 
 India and China, cattle are chiefly valuable as draft animals. In many 
 places, the hides and tallow are the main products of the cattle industry. 
 
 Milk, butter, cheese, buttermilk and condensed milk are valuable com- 
 mercially in nearly all countries. 
 
 Sugar of milk is used medicinally and in silvering mirrors. 
 
 Slaughtering and meat packing are important industries in the 
 BEEF United States, Europe, Argentina and Australia. Chicago, Kan- 
 sas City, St. Louis and Omaha are the most important centers in 
 this country. The export of live cattle is less important than it was a few 
 years ago, because so much meat is now shipped in refrigerator cars and in the 
 cold storage compartments of steamships. In addition to the fresh meats 
 shipped, large amounts are dried, salted, corned, smoked, canned, or other- 
 wise preserved, or made into soups and extracts. The by-products of 
 slaughtering are ver\' numerous and it may be said that in the great slaughter 
 houses no part of the animal is wasted.
 
 6o COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Cow Hair. The long hair from the tails is used like horse hair. The 
 short hair which covers the rest of the body is used for mixinjj in plaster, 
 and making roofing felt. 
 
 Horns and hoofs of cattle are utilized in making combs, buttons, um- 
 brella, knife and other handles and fancy articles, also in the chemical manu- 
 facture of cyanide of potash. 
 
 Bones are used in making buttons, combs, handles for tooth brushes 
 and other articles, often as a substitute for ivory. The waste from bone 
 manufacture is burnt, forming bone charcoal or bone black, which is 
 used in filters for oil and sugar, and in making blacking. The grease 
 extracted from bones is used in soap and candle making. Some ammonia 
 is recovered in burning bones. 
 
 Tallow is made from the fat or suet of cattle or sheep by melting and 
 straining it, a process which is known as "rendering." It is used for soap 
 and candle making, for lubricating, and in dressing skins and leathers. The 
 purified oils and fats are used in fabricating butter substitutes, such as 
 oleomargarine and butterine. These, like real butter, are usually colored 
 with annatto. 
 
 Neat's Foot Oil is made by boiling the feet of cattle and skimming off 
 the oil as it comes to the surface. It is a valuable lubricant. 
 
 Gelatine is made from the feet of cattle and from hide cuttings and 
 sinews. Calf's foot jelly is made by boiling the feet. Hides are treated with 
 lye and then boiled in water, dissoh'ing the gelatine, which sets on cooling 
 and is cut into sheets to dry. 
 
 Glue is similar to gelatine in nature, but is usually made from bones by 
 softening them with hydrochloric acid and then steaming them. The glue 
 and bone fat are drawn off from time to time and separated in settling tanks. 
 Liquid glues are made by dissolving ordinary glue in weak acids. 
 
 Size is used in preparing paper and fabrics and is similar to glue and 
 gelatine. 
 
 Dried Blood is used in purifying sugar, clarifying wines, in dyeing, 
 and in fertilizers. The albumen of blood is employed in calico printing and 
 as a mordant in dyeing. 
 
 The Intestines of cattle supply goldbeater's skin, sausage skins, etc. 
 Bladders cleaned and prepared, on account of their thinness and strength, 
 are used by druggists and oil dealers as coverings for vessels. 
 
 Pepsin, rennet, and other substances are prepared from the lining of 
 the stomach and certain other parts. 
 
 Fertilizers are made from all the waste and refuse parts of the animal, 
 and from the cuttings and waste from bones, horns and hides. 
 
 Hides are known to the tanner according to the age of the animal, as 
 ' ' hides ' ' from full grown cattle, ' ' kips ' ' from two year old animals and 
 " calf skins." 
 
 Rawhide is simply the dried and cleaned skin from whicli the hair has 
 been removed, softened by oils. It is used for ropes and lariats, for belts 
 and belt lacings, whips, and faces for mallets.
 
 D 
 
 O Ul
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 6l 
 
 Vellum is made from calf skin i)y imhairing with lime and then nibbing 
 it down with chalk and pnmice. 
 
 TANNING. 
 
 When hides are received at the factory, they are either fresh from the 
 animal (called "green" hides) or dried. The dried hides have usually 
 been salted to preserve them from decay and must be soaked in water to 
 soften them and dissolve the salt. After soaking, the hides are " fleshed " 
 by being scraped with a knife and thoroughly scrubbed to remove all blood, 
 fat and dirt. The hair is then softened either by soaking the hides in lime 
 water or by a process of "sweating" which is equivalent to a very slight 
 deca)'. In either case the hair is removed, generally by a machine, and the 
 hides are then ready to be taniied. 
 
 In tanning sole-leather, the hide is soaked for several 
 SOLE LEATHER days in vats, first in a weak solution and then in a 
 stronger liquor, made by steeping oak or hemlock 
 bark in water or by dissolving prepared tanning extracts. This causes a 
 chemical change in the fiber of the hide, rendering it proof against the 
 ordinary process of decay to which the untanned skin is liable, and making 
 it pliable instead of hard and stiff, as hides are when simply dried without 
 tanning. The tan-liquor is made stronger from time to time, and the 
 hides are frequently ' ' handled ' ' or moved about, so that they will come 
 in contact with fresh liquor. After five or si.x months, or sometimes after a 
 year or more, the hide has absorbed all of the tannin which it will take up, 
 and the tanning is complete. The hides are then removed from the ' ' pits," 
 washed, oiled, dried, dampened and rolled by brass rollers, which give the 
 leather a gloss on the hair side. 
 
 Other grades of leather are tanned and linished liy 
 
 UPPER AND variations on the above process. Thick hides cU-e 
 
 FANCY LEATHER often split thin by machinery and the parts retanned 
 and finished separately. The parts from the hair 
 side are most valuable and are called "grain" leather, and the inner 
 parts or " flesh splits" are made into a variety of leathers by wa.xing, oiling 
 and polishing. After tanning, nearly all leather must be finished by being 
 ' ' stuffecf ' ' with tallow, stearine, or oils such as olive, castor, cod liver, whale 
 or sperm, and polished by rubbing with brushes and rollers. Patent and 
 enamelled leathers are coated with black \arnish. 
 
 Leathers for different purposes are made from the hides of different 
 animals, and are tanned by different substances and by a great variety of 
 processes. Goat skins are tanned in large numbers for soft shoe leather 
 (called "glazed kid" and other names) by immersing them, after prelim- 
 inary unhairing, cleaning and softening (or bating), in a solution of chromic 
 acid, bichromate of potash or alum, and then in a bath of sodium hyposul- 
 phite. Many glove leathers are chrome tanned. Chamois leather and 
 wash leathers are made of sheep skin by thoroughly imjjregnating it with 
 fish oil. The e.xcess of oil used is sejueezed out, and under the name of 
 " degras " is used in currving other leathers.
 
 62 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 63 
 
 The skins of nearly all animals are utilized to a greater or less extent 
 when tanned or dressed. Calf skin makes a soft leather for boots and shoes. 
 Lamb skin, dog skin, deer skin, buck skin, doe skin and rat skin are used 
 for gloves. Kangaroo, alligator, whale, porpoise, seal, walrus, snake, 
 beaver tail, and hundreds of other skins are used in making fancy leathers, 
 for hand bags, purses, belts and miscellaneous articles. 
 
 There are quite a number of materials sold as imitation 
 
 IMITATION leather. Most of them are made of strong cloth, covered 
 
 LEATHER with drying oil like linseed, mi.xed with various gums or 
 
 other solid substances. The exact composition is usually 
 
 kept secret by the manufacturers. Imitation leathers are used for almost all 
 
 purposes for which leather is used, except for shoes and gloves. 
 
 SWINE. 
 
 The United States is the greatest hog raising country. Large numbers 
 are raised in Germany, Austria and Russia, as well as in nearly all other 
 parts of the world. Live hogs are seldom exported. Pork is a very im- 
 portant food and is eaten almost everywhere e.xcept by Jews and Mohamme- 
 dans. Chicago, Kansas City and Omaha are the chief centers of pork 
 packing. The meat is sold fresh (refrigerated), salted, pickled, smoked, 
 and in the form of ham, bacon and sausage. 
 
 Lard is one of the main products. It is the rendered fat of the 
 
 LARD hog. Its chief use is as a food stuf?. Lard oil is obtained by 
 
 placing lard in woolen bags and submitting it to heavy pressure. 
 
 It is used for lubricating and lighting and as an adulterant for other oils. 
 
 Stearine for candle making remains after the oil is pressed from lard. 
 
 All parts of the hog are utilized. The hair is sold for mixing in mortar, 
 the intestines when cleaned are used for sausage casings, the bones are 
 carbonized and sold to sugar refiners, or with all other refuse are made 
 into fertilizer. 
 
 Pigskins are made into leather for saddles and satchels. 
 
 Bristles are obtained commercially, chiefly from Russia and 
 
 BRISTLES China. In these countries the pig is much like its ancestor 
 
 the wild boar and has not been improved by breeding. The 
 
 bristles of these animals are much more valuable than those of the improved 
 
 breeds raised in America and are used for making brushes for many purposes. 
 
 SHEEP. 
 
 Sheep are raised throughout the temperate parts of the globe. Australia, 
 Argentina, Uruguay, Russia and the United States are the leading sheep 
 raising countries. The different breeds have developed from one original 
 stock and are due to differences in climate and food and to selection 
 in breeding. Some breeds, like the Southdown, are most valuable for 
 mutton, and some, like the Merino, on account of the fine quality of their 
 wool, and in these respects each breed differs somewhat from the others.
 
 64 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Merino sheep originally dcvelopeil in Spain and for several centuries were 
 raised nowhere else. Saxony merinos, including Ranibouillet, Negretti and 
 Electoral, are the im[)ortant varieties. Various breeds of sheep have de- 
 veloped in Great Britain, ]irominent among which are the Southdown, Lin- 
 coln, Dorset, Highland, Cotswold, and Leicester. The fat-tailed sheep are 
 peculiar to certain parts of Asia and Africa. 
 
 Live Sheep are exported from .Argentina, United States, Canada, 
 Australia and New Zealand. 
 
 Mutton is not so large an item as either beef or pork in the 
 
 MUTTON world's commerce, although Argentina, Australia and New 
 
 Zealand ship many frozen carcasses of sheep and lambs to 
 
 England. The flesh of sheep is seldom eaten in Spain e.xcept by the 
 
 very poor. 
 
 Sheep's milk is used in France to make genuine Roquefort cheese. 
 Sheep's bones are not so large, and therefore less useful, than those of cattle. 
 Tallow is rendered from the fat of sheep as well as from that of cattle. 
 
 Cat Gut used for strings for musical instruments, tennis racquets, and 
 other purposes is nearly all prepared from the intestines of sheep. 
 
 Sheep skins are dressed for use as rugs by treating the 
 SHEEP SKINS flesh side with powdered salt and alum. They are also 
 employed in some parts of the world for clothing. 
 Fashionable furs are made of the skins of unborn and very young lambs 
 and according to the breed of the animal and the part of the world from 
 which they come, they are known as Persian lamb, broadtail, Spanish As- 
 trakhan, Thibet, etc. 
 
 The wool is shaved off from the skins of sheep which have been 
 slaughtered, and the skins themselves, called " roans," are used for making 
 leather. (See Tanning. ) They are often split so as to get leather of even 
 thickness and the two parts tanned separately. The pieces from the hair or 
 "grain" side are called "skivers," and those from the flesh side, which 
 are of poorer quality, are called " fleshers." 
 
 Moroccos and colored leathers are tanned and finished by different 
 processes and are used for many purposes, such as linings in boots and shoes, 
 bookbinding, handbags, pocket-books, hat bands, etc. 
 
 Chamois leather is made by dressing sheep skins with fish oil. Gloves 
 are made of lambskins dressed with oil to imitate kid, deerskin and dog 
 skin. Parchment is made of sheep skin (sometimes of goat skin) by scrap- 
 ing and rubbing down with chalk and pumice. 
 
 Wool is the most important animal fiber and the most valuable 
 WOOL product of the sheep. It differs from hair in being generally 
 finer and in having a surface which under the microscope is seen 
 to be covered with a great number of minute o\erlapping scales. The sur- 
 face of hair sometimes shows scales, but they are few in number and much 
 less prominent than on wool. These scales with their projecting edges, gi\'e 
 to wool its felting quality, by causing tlir fibers to adhere to each other. 
 Both hair and fur are produced by many animals, the fur being shorter and
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 65 
 
 finer and similar to wool. Whik' hairs such as those from the horse 
 and cow are straig;ht, the wool of the Merino sheep is beautifully wavy and 
 crimped. In the finest wools there are sometimes as many as thirty crimps 
 to the inch. Coarser wools such as the Leicester and Lincoln have only a 
 few crimps in an inch. There are great differences in the length of fiber or 
 staple of wools from various breeds of sheep, and on this basis they are 
 divided commercially into clothing, combing and carpet wools. The shortest 
 and finest are the pure bred merinos and are called "clothing" wools. 
 These are used in making the very finest woolen yarns and fabrics. Cross 
 breeds of the Merino and Lincoln sheep yield wools which are stronger and 
 longer than the pure Merino and not so coarse as the pure Lincoln. These 
 wools are especially used in fine grade goods, such as worsteds or dress 
 goods. Clothing wools come from Germany, Argentina, Australia, South 
 Africa, Russia and the United States. The longest and coarsest of the 
 good wools are such as those of the Lincoln and Leicester breeds and are 
 called ' ' combing ' ' wools. These are used in making worsted yarns and 
 fabrics, for carpets and blankets. England, Scotland, France, Australia, 
 and the United States supply most of these wools. Lamb's wool is used 
 with certain furs in hat making. 
 
 In Russia, Asia Minor, China and Spain there are large numbers of 
 sheep which have undergone no impro\ement by mixture with the Lincoln 
 or Merino breeds. These are called native sheep, and they produce ' ' nati^•e 
 or "carpet" wools. The wool of sheep as it grows, is saturated with a 
 natural grease called wool fat, yolk or suint. This causes the wool to shed 
 water and prevents it from tangling or felting on the sheep's back. Where 
 it is abundant in the wool it also causes dirt to stick, and for this reason many 
 sheep are washed before shearing. The wool as it is clipped does not fall 
 apart like bunches of hair, but holds together like a skin, and is rolled up 
 and tied in a bundle, each fleece by itself. When the fleeces are opened they 
 are spread out and sorted into several grades, according to the length and 
 fineness of the fiber, because the wool on some parts of the sheep's body is 
 of better quality than on other parts. The wools from the poorer breeds of 
 sheep are not sorted into as many grades as the finer wools, and the fleeces 
 of the poorest kinds do not hold together in the form of a skin. 
 
 After sorting or "stapling," the wool is "scoured" by washing with 
 soap and water to remove the grease, potash and dirt. In scouring some 
 very greasy dirty wools loose as much as 80 per cent, of their weight, the 
 grease itself not infrequently being o\er 60 per cent. The wool fat is by 
 some processes saved and sold as lanoline, or converted into soap. In the 
 ne.xt process, "carbonizing," the scoured wool is treated with acid, which 
 destroys all burrs or other vegetable matters which are tangled in the fleece. 
 
 The ne.xt step is to convert the wool into yarn. For this purpose it 
 must be "carded," if it is to be made into a woolen yani, or it must be 
 " combed," if it is to be made into a worsted yarn. In carding the wool is 
 passed over a cvlinder set with innumerable fine wire teeth which serve to 
 tangle the fibers in all directions, after which it is loosely spun into woolen
 
 66 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 yarn which, in turn, is woven into woolen goods. The wool used for woolen 
 yarns is usually short staple ; the yarns are loosely twisted and largely depend 
 for their coherence upon the felting property of the wool. For worsted 
 yarns the wool is combed, in order to lay the separate fibers parallel to each 
 other, after which it is spun into yarn, usually with a tighter twist than that 
 given to woolen goods. In felt, the wool or fur is neither spun nor woven, 
 but is simply tangled and pressed, or kneaded or pounded. The scales with 
 which wool and fur are beset greatly facilitate the felting process, and the 
 more numerous the scales, the more readily will the wool or fur felt. Materials 
 which, like vegetable fibers and silk, lack these scales, will not felt at all. 
 
 In all of the processes of making wool into yarn and doth there are por- 
 tions consisting of short, broken or tangled fibers which do not pass through 
 the machines. These are termed ' ' waste. ' ' The best grades of waste are 
 mixed with good wool in yarns, or else spun with "shoddy." Shoddy is 
 made by tearing up old woolen goods, rags or cloth cuttings in a machine 
 until the fabric and the yarn of which it was made are reduced to a mass of 
 loose fibers. It is mi.xed with wool in the manufacture of cheap yarns 
 and fabrics. 
 
 There are many fabrics on the market made of wool, some of the most 
 important of which are woolen, worsted, felt, flannel, serge, broadcloth, 
 cheviot, cassimere, carpets, tapestry, blankets, hosiery, underwear, shawls, 
 velvets and plushes. Woolen fabrics are often adulterated with cotton, and 
 there are many mi.xed goods woven with warp threads of cotton or silk and 
 weft of wool, or \'ice versa. Carpets frequently have a warp or a backing 
 made of jute, hemp, linen or cotton. 
 
 GOATS. 
 
 Goats are raised in large numbers throughout western Asia, particularly 
 in Asia Minor. There are many in the mountainous parts of southern 
 Europe and northern Africa and in Mexico and Texas. In some countries 
 they are used as beasts of burden. 
 
 There are several distinct varieties of goats (Caprus species) such as 
 the common goat, the Angora and the Cashmere, and among these there are 
 numerous breeds. 
 
 Goat's flesh is eaten in many places, that of the kid being most highly 
 esteemed, but in civilized countries it is not a popular article of diet. The 
 meat of the Angora goat is said to be equal to mutton. The tallow is used 
 for making candles and the largest horns like those of deer. 
 
 Goat's milk is in common use among the Arabs and in Italy, Spain and 
 other Mediterranean countries, as well as in Cuba. It is customary where 
 this beverage is used, to drive a flock of goats about the streets of a city and 
 milk the animal at a customer's door.
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 67 
 
 Goat skins are used by Moors and Arabs for making bottles 
 GOAT SKINS to hold water and wine and for making morocco leather. 
 
 Some skins, particularly such as the Angora, are used for 
 rugs and in parts of the world for clothing. In the United States and Europe 
 very large numbers of goat skins are imported for leather making. (See 
 Tanning. ) 
 
 Glazed kid and other soft leathers for shoes are made of goat skins 
 tanned with chrome. Morocco and fancy leathers are made for bookbinding, 
 shoes, and miscellaneous articles by tanning with sumac or other vegetable 
 tans. Much morocco is made also of sheep skin. 
 
 The original cordovan and morocco leathers were made in Spain and 
 northern Africa of goat skins. 
 
 Kid skins are made into glove leather by " tawing," a process in which, 
 after thorough softening, the damp skins are tumbled about in a drum con- 
 taining alum and salt, and then after drying are tumbled again in another 
 drum with a mixture of oil, flour and egg yolk. Glove leathers are also 
 made of sheep, lamb, deer, rat and other skins. 
 
 Goat hair, as it is known commercially, comes from the 
 GOAT HAIR common goat. It is obtained in Turkey, Russia, Asia 
 
 Minor and India. It is usually from three to four and a 
 half inches long and white, red or black in color. It is used in making 
 coarse blankets and carpets. 
 
 Angora or Mohair comes from the Angora goat and is produced in 
 
 South Africa, Turkey and the United States. It has a very glossy fiber often 
 
 ten inches in length and is used in making dress goods, braids and plushes. 
 
 Cashmere wool is produced in Thibet and the high- 
 
 CASHMERE WOOL lands of central Asia by the Cashmere goat. This 
 
 animal has a fine soft wool and longer coarser hair. 
 
 The wool is used in making true Cashmere shawls, which are very highly 
 
 valued on account of their beauty and durability. Most goods commonly 
 
 sold as cashmere are made of sheep's wool. 
 
 CAMELS. 
 
 The camel produces a fine wool which is especially suited 
 CAMEL HAIR for making hosiery, underwear and shawls. It is also 
 employed in making fine brushes. At certain seasons of 
 the year the hair of the camel loosens and is plucked out by hand. 
 
 In China, Arabia and other parts of Asia, Russia, Turkey and many 
 parts of Africa the camel is a common beast of burden. Its flesh is frequently 
 eaten, its skin tanned, and its milk used as a beverage or made into cheese. 
 
 There are two important varieties, the two-humped or Bactrian camel 
 and the one-humped camel or dromedary.
 
 68 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Alpaca wool is a valuable fiber obtained in Peru from 
 ALPACA WOOL the alpaca, an animal of the camel tribe. This wool is 
 fine, stronj^ and particularly lontr. It is used for making- 
 dress goods. The llama and vicuiia are similar animals, the skins and hair 
 of which are used for robes in Peru. \'icuna robes are sometimes exported. 
 Most of the so-called xicufia fabrics on the American market are made of 
 sheep's wool. Llamas are used in Peru as beasts of burden. 
 MISCELLANEOUS ANIMALS. 
 Deer and antelope of many species furnish food and clothing in 
 DEER some districts. The reindeer is the chief domestic animal in the 
 coldest parts of northern Europe and Asia. Deer horns and stag 
 horns are used for ornaments and in the manufacture of knife handles and 
 various fancy articles, and are obtained in India, Ceylon, Siam, China, Rus- 
 sia, Germany, Africa, Canada and Central America. Deer skins are used 
 for rugs and in leather making, chiefly for buck skin and doe skin. 
 
 Ivory is obtained chiefly from the tusks of the elephant, in India 
 IVORY and in Africa. It is used for fancy carvings, billiard balls, knife 
 handles, piano keys, combs and vaccine points. The Indian 
 elephant displays much intelligence and is trained as a beast of burden. 
 Elephant's hide has been tanned, but this leather is not often used. Small 
 amounts of i\'ory come from the tusks of mammoths dug up in .Siberia where 
 they lived in past ages, from hippopotamus teeth, narwhal horns, and the 
 teeth of the walrus. Walrus skin is tanned to make a fancy leather. 
 
 Most of the valuable furs of commerce come from the cold countries 
 FURS of the northern hemisphere, with the e.xception of the skins of 
 monkeys and of the cat family. London and Leipzig are the great 
 fur markets. In addition to the furs used in Europe and America for mats, 
 robes, muffs and other clothing, enormous numbers are sold in the colder 
 parts of Asiatic Russia and China. Here there is a market not only for 
 costly furs but also for large numbers of cheap fiu's which in America are not 
 stylish. Sea otter is probably the most expensive fur in the world, a single 
 skin being sometimes worth $1,200. Russian sable and silver fox, while 
 costly, are more common. 
 
 Wild animals of the cat family furnish many skins for rugs and orna- 
 mental purposes. Prominent among these are the tiger, lion, leopard, 
 panther, lynx and wild cat. Skins of the domestic cat, when dressed and 
 dyed, are commonly worn as furs under \arious names. 
 
 Skins of dogs are also used in fur rugs and robes, and leather from the 
 hide is made into gloves. The Eskimo dog is most important as a draught 
 animal, and dogs are used similarly in Belgium and other parts of Europe. 
 Wolf skins are used principally for knapsacks. Fo.k skins are among the 
 most popular furs, the common red fox furnishing most of the skins used. 
 The skin of the silver gray fo.x is very valuable, being worth up to $200. 
 
 Skins of bears, raccoons, wolverines, skunks, martens, weasels, ermines, 
 minks, sables, monkeys, moles, chinchillas, otters, beavers, nutrias, musk 
 rats, squirrels, and opossums are used as furs for rugs, robes or clothing.
 
 ANIMAL PROIH'CTS 
 
 69 
 
 Handsome furs are also obtained from sheep, lambs and goats. 
 
 Many of these furs are used in their natural condition, simply cleaned 
 and dressed, so that the skins are soft and flexible. A great many of them, 
 such as otter, beaver and nutria, have long, coarse overhairs, which must be 
 plucked out in order to uncover the more beautiful fur. Many cheap furs 
 are dyed and otherwise prepared to imitate more costly varieties. 
 
 Seal skin is a fur, which as it is sold, bears little resemlilance to the 
 SEALS pelt in its natural state. The remo\al of the long, coarse o\er- 
 
 hairs leaves a grayish or light brown fur, which is dj-ed a desir- 
 able color, care being taken to dye the tip of the fur darker than the base. 
 Seal skins come on the market from Pribilof and other islands of Bering Sea 
 and adjacent parts of the north Pacific Ocean, and a few from Lobos Island 
 off the coast of Uruguay and from the South Shetland Islands. Imitations 
 of seal skin called "electric seal" are made from the skins of the cony or 
 European rabbit, and cheaper imitations still, are simply plushes. 
 
 In addition to the fur seal, there are several other kinds of seals, such 
 as the hair seal and the harp seal. The skins of these and the skins of sea 
 lions are used for making seal leather. 
 
 Seal Oil is made from the fat of seals, and, like tish oils and whale oils, 
 is used for leather dressing, lubricating and burning. 
 
 In addition to wool, horse hair, cow hair, and bristles, 
 ANIMAL HAIRS the hairs of a variety of animals find industrial applica- 
 tions. One of the principal uses of such hairs is for 
 making felt hats. For this purpose, the fur is cut from perhaps one-third of 
 all the rabbit skins marketed. Australia and New Zealand are the chief 
 countries supplving rabbit skins. 
 
 The nutria or coypu furnishes a large percentage of the fur used for hat 
 making. This animal inhabits river banks in the neighborhood of the Rio 
 de la Plata, in South America. Its fur is covered with coarse hairs which 
 are first removed. When prepared, the fur of the nutria resembles that of 
 the otter, and is sometimes sold as such. 
 
 Clippings from muskrat, beaver, seal, otter and mink skins by manufac- 
 turers of clothing are sold to hat-makers, who cut off the fur and use it 
 for felting. 
 
 Badger hair is chiefly used in shaving brushes. 
 
 The Musk Deer inhabits the mountains of India, China, Thibet 
 MUSK and .Siberia and furnishes a very important perfume, musk, from 
 a small sac in the body of the male animal. Some other animals, 
 such as the musk rat and musk o.x, produce a similar substance. 
 The civet cats of Africa and Asia supply a similar perfume. 
 The beaver yields, from a small sac in its body, a medicinal substance 
 known as castoreum. 
 
 Ambergris (see Whales).
 
 70 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Whales of several species furnish articles of commercial value. 
 WHALES Till' Greenland whale fishery is now the most important. 
 
 Whale oil or " train " oil is obtained from the blubber or 
 fat of whales, usually by cutting up the blubber and allowing the oil to drij) 
 out. It is then heated and strained. It conies in three grades, "spring," 
 "summer" and "winter" oil. The best is winter sperm, from which the 
 solid wax or spermaceti has deposited on cooling. Whale oil is extensively 
 used in leather dressing, in the preparation of manila rope, for burning and 
 soap making. The best grades of sperm oil are employed for lubricating 
 light machinery and in the recoil of large cannon. 
 
 Spermaceti is a wax which occurs chiefly in the head cavities and (held 
 in solution by sperm oil) in the blubber of the sperm whale. It is used in 
 candle making, in pharmacy and for waxing cartridge covers. 
 
 Whalebone is obtained from the mouth of the whale and is not bone, 
 but a substance in its nature similar to hair. In the upper jaw w'hales have 
 a series of long plates hanging from the roof of the mouth, with bristly 
 fringes on each side of the tongue. These fringed plates are the whalebone 
 or baleen. Whalebone is used for stiffening in corsets and dresses, for 
 whips and canes and for making brushes. It is sometimes split fine and 
 woven into silk goods to stiffen it and make it rustle. 
 
 Ambergris is a fragrant substance formed in the intestines of the sperm 
 whale. It is used as a basis for perfumes and commands a very high price. 
 
 Sperm whales have teeth in their lower jaws which are sometimes used 
 as a substitute for ivory. 
 
 Porpoise leather is made by tanning the skins of the white whale. 
 
 Tortoise shell consists of plates from the back of the 
 
 TORTOISE SHELL hawk's bill turtle. This animal is captured in warm 
 
 waters in many parts of the world. The so-called 
 
 shell is used chiefly for combs and is much imitated in celluloid. The eggs 
 
 and flesh of the green turtle are used for food. 
 
 Sponges are obtained commercially along the shores of the 
 SPONGES Mediterranean from Sicily and Algeria, eastward, and on the 
 shores of the Bahamas, Cuba and other West India islands. 
 They are the cleaned skeletons of certain peculiar animals {Spoiigidac) 
 which resemble plants and grow attached to rocks, shells or corals in tropical 
 waters. In life, the sponges are covered with the soft gelatinous body of the 
 animal, which is frequently beautifully colored and delicately formed. The 
 sponges are obtained either by dredging or diving; the gelatinous parts, 
 which soon decompose, are washed off, and the cleaned sponges bleached, 
 and finally washed in a weak solution of glycerine to prevent them from 
 becoming brittle. Sponges are of many different shapes, sizes and qualities. 
 Some animals of this family have skeletons which instead of being soft, 
 absorbent and elastic, are hard and brittle. These are not commercially 
 valuable.
 
 FISH -r 
 
 FISH. 
 Fish are among the world's chief foods. Fresh fish are sold in most 
 countries in districts near the sea coast. In many places, large rivers and 
 lakes supply considerable amounts of fish to the adjacent country. The 
 most important fisheries in the world are the "Grand Banks," off the coast 
 of Newfoundland. Cod and haddock are the principal fish caught there. 
 Almost as important are the' great fisheries of the North Sea, which yield 
 haddock, herring, sole, cod and mackerel. Other important fisheries are 
 along the coasts of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The fisheries 
 of the coasts and rivers of China supply a very large quantity of food. 
 
 Cod Fish are caught in the north Atlantic and north Pacific 
 COD FISH oceans. They are mostly salted and dried, and find an enor- 
 mous sale in Roman Catholic countries of Europe, Central 
 and South America and the West Indies. The e.xports are chiefly from 
 Norway, Newfoundland, Canada and the United States. 
 
 Cod liver oil is obtained by heating the livers of the cod fish. The best 
 quality oil is used in pharmacy and the less pure, darker colored oil in dress- 
 ing chamois. and other leather. The livers of some other fish yield oil, often 
 sold under the name of cod oil. 
 
 Salmon are caught in greatest numbers in the rivers on the 
 SALMON west coast of North America, from Oregon to Alaska, although 
 many are taken in Japan, Siberia and Norway. Most of them 
 are canned, although some are refrigerated and shipped to eastern points. 
 
 Herring are taken in the north Atlantic and are salted, 
 HERRING pickled or smoked for market. In Maine, small herrings are 
 packed in oil and come on the market as sardines. 
 Sardines are caught in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coasts 
 of Portugal, Spain and France. 
 
 Other varieties of fish, too numerous to mention, are extensively used. A 
 
 few of the best known are: mackerel, shad, blue fish, weak fish, catfish, etc. 
 
 The cuttle fish supplies a secretion from which true sepia pigment is 
 
 derived. The shell of the cuttle fish, called cuttle bone, is sold for canaries 
 
 and other caged birds. 
 
 Caviare is the prepared and salted roe of sturgeons. It is made on 
 the shores of the Caspian and Black Seas, the Great Lakes, Delaware Bay 
 and some other places. 
 
 Isinglass, a very pure gelatine used in confectionery and in 
 
 ISINGLASS clarifying wines and beer, consists of the cleaned and dried 
 
 swimming bladders of sturgeon and some other fishes. It 
 
 is imitated in gelatine obtained from other sources. The name isinglass 
 
 iii incorrectly applied to the mineral substance mica on account of its 
 
 similar appearance. 
 
 Beche de men, trepangs, or holothurians, are popular in China for 
 making soup. These animals, often called sea cucumbers or sea slugs, 
 are captured and dried in large numbers on the coral reefs bordering the 
 islands adjacent to southeastern Asia.
 
 72 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Menhaden Oil is prepared from the heads and intestines of fish, es- 
 pecially of the menhaden or moss bunker { Alosa menhaden) of the Atlantic 
 coast of America. It is used in preparing leather, in paints and in 
 oiling ropes. 
 
 Fertilizers are prepared from the refuse of fish canneries and in some 
 places from the entire bodies of fish which are not otherwise valuable. 
 
 SHELL FISH. 
 
 Oysters are the most valuable product of the fisheries of the 
 
 OYSTERS United States. More than half of all produced in this 
 
 country come from Chesapeake Bay. Oysters are obtained also 
 
 on the coasts of Europe, and in many other localities. 
 
 Lobsters and crabs as well as oysters and clams are sold both fresh and 
 
 canned. 
 
 Pearl oysters are important because they produce 
 
 PEARL OYSTERS pearls and mother-of-pearl. These shells are found 
 off the coasts of Ceylon, the Society Islands, the 
 Isthmus of Panama, and in the Gulf of California, the Red Sea and the Per- 
 sian Gulf. The shells are ready to gather when the'- are about si.x or se\-en 
 years old. Great care is taken to leave the youi.ger shells undisturbed. 
 Pearls are formed by matter which the animal secretes to cover up grains of 
 sand or other foreign substances which have gotten within its shell and cause 
 irritation, or as the result of disease. The best pearls and best mother-of- 
 pearl are found in the Persian Gulf, at Ceylon and in the Society Islands. 
 The oysters {Melcagrina) are gathered by di\ers who are able by practice 
 to remain under the water for a minute and a half to two minutes at a time. 
 Pearls are used as jewels. Mother-of-pearl is used for knife handles, orna- 
 ments, buttons, inlay work, etc. 
 
 The fresh-water mussels are used to some e.xtent as mother-of-pearl and 
 have been known to produce fine pearls. 
 
 The Abalone { Haliotis) shell comes principalh- from the shores of the 
 Pacific and supplies a very brilliant mother-of-pearl. 
 
 Shells of other kinds are used for cutting cameos. SnaUs are used in 
 some countries for food. 
 
 Corals are obtained in many places and are sold as curiosities. Red 
 coral, chiefly from the Indian Ocean, is used in jewelry. 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 The silk of commerce is obtained from the cocoons of several species 
 SILK of insects. In these species, the caterpillars ( or worms) form their 
 
 cocoons of an unbroken strand of silk which is secreted by the in- 
 sect in its body as a jelly-like substance. This hardens on exposure to the 
 air as the worm forces it out and winds it about its body. The common silk 
 worm (^Bombyx mori) is not a wild insect, but is reared in cultivation ex- 
 clusively. Two distinct varieties are raised, one of which, the single-brooded, 
 or " univoltine," of temperate regions, produces only one generation a year. 
 The other form, known as the many-brooded or " multivoltine " worm, pro-
 
 I
 
 INSECT PRODUCTS 
 
 73 
 
 duces several generations in a season. The single-brooded form [iroduces 
 the greater amount of the silk of commerce. The cocoons of the multi- 
 vojtine variety are more difficult to reel, contain more floss and, therefore, 
 yield more waste silk than the uni\'oltine cocoons. Silk worms are subject 
 to diseases, which often cause the occupation of rearing to be unprofitable. 
 
 The eggs of the univoltine worm require a certain amount of cold for 
 their healthy hatching. After the eggs hatch, the young worms are fed on 
 mulberry leaves. They grow rapidly for about four weeks (sometimes a little 
 longer) during which time they shed their skin (or moultj four times. When 
 fully grown they are about three inches long and of a waxy white color. 
 They are then placed on twigs or bunches of straw to spin their cocoons. 
 Most of the cocoons are used for reeling after the chrysalis within them has 
 been killed by heating or steaming (called "choking" the cocoons). A 
 sufficient number of cocoons are reserved for the moths to emerge from, so 
 that more eggs can be procured. 
 
 The common silk worm is a native of China, and it was in that country 
 that the value of silk was first discovered. It is now cultivated in parts of 
 the world where the climatic conditions are suitable and wliere the inhabitants 
 work for sufficiently small wages to make rearing and reeling profitable. 
 The insect cannot be reared economically in the United States because of the 
 high rate of wages, and it is, therefore, necessary to import raw silk for pur- 
 poses of manufacture. 
 
 Raw Silk is obtained by unwinding or reeling the silk from the cocoons, 
 but since that from one cocoon is too fine and too weak to be handled, the 
 threads from several cocoons are reeled into a single strand. The cocoons 
 are softened by being placed in warm water, and the tangled outer portion, 
 called " floss," is brushed off and forms silk waste. Having found the end 
 of the strand on each cocoon, the operator passes it with others from se\eral 
 cocoons twisted to a single thread, through an agate, o\er pulleys and upon 
 a wheel which turns slowly. When the cocoon becomes unwound the 
 operator replaces it by another anil thus deftly keeps the threads of equal 
 thickness. After a certain amount is reeled and dried it is twisted into hanks. 
 This reeled silk is called raw silk and himdreds of cocoons are required to 
 make a hank of it. 
 
 The principal silk producing countries are China, Japan, India, and the 
 countries bordering the Mediterranean, particularly Italy, southern France, 
 Greece, Turkey and western Asia. 
 
 China produces most of the raw silk of commerce, and Japan and Italy 
 each about one half as much. India imports more silk than it exports. 
 The United States imports cocoons as well as raw silk. 
 
 Thrown Silk, used for weaving, is of two kinds, "tram" and " organ- 
 zine." Tram is made of two or sometimes more strands of raw silk loosely 
 twisted and is used for the woof of silk fabrics. Organzine is made of a 
 number of strands of raw silk strongly twisted and is used for the warp of 
 silk fabrics.
 
 74 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS
 
 INSECT PRODUCTS 75 
 
 The principal fabrics made of silk are: silk, satin, plush, chenille, crape, 
 crepon, gauze, damask, brocade, pongee and ribbons. Silk thread and cord 
 are also extensively used. The United States is among the leaders in the 
 manufacture of silk fabrics. 
 
 Silk Waste is the " floss" (or outer tangled mass of silk supporting 
 the cocoons, which cannot be reeled) and the "reel tailings" (that which 
 is left when the reeling of each cocoon is completed). It is imported by silk 
 manufacturing countries in considerable amounts. 
 
 Spun Silk or schappe silk is made from pierced cocoons (from which 
 the moths have emerged) and from waste silk. It is manufactured by 
 cleaning and carding the waste and then spinning it into thread in somewhat 
 the same manner as cotton is spun into thread. Fabrics made of spun silk 
 are cheaper than those made of fine silk thread. 
 
 Wild Silk. There are other caterpillars that produce silk. These are 
 the wild worms of China and India, the silk of which is called " tussah " or 
 "tasar," and that of Japan which is known as ■'Yamamai." The moths 
 are large, buff colored insects and the worms usually feed on oak leaves. 
 The silk is somewhat inferior to that from the cultivated species, and is used 
 for pongee, plush and coarser textiles. Other less important species of India 
 produce silk that can be carded only. 
 
 (See Artificial Silk.) 
 
 The honey bee {^Apis mellifica) lives in colonies. The 
 THE HONEY wild swarms usually select a hollow tree for their home. 
 BEE Domesticated swarms are supplied with hives with remov- 
 
 able frames. Each hi\e has one queen, thousands of 
 workers, and may have many drones. The queen lays the eggs. The 
 workers, stunted females, collect food and building material, build cells, and 
 take care of the brood and honey. The drones are the male bees. They 
 cannot w-ork because they have not the necessary organs. Wax is secreted 
 between the abdominal rings of the workers. This they chew and stick on 
 at the top of the frame, building down. The finished combs consist of two 
 sheets of horizontal, six-angled prismatic cells, with the openings turned 
 toward the outside. While the building is still in progress some of the 
 workers begin to collect. They gather nectar which they digest into honey, 
 forcing it out through their mouths. They fill the cells with it, and seal them 
 with wax. Into many of the cells in the center of the hive the queen lays 
 fertilized eggs, one in each. These become workers. Some slightly larger 
 cells receive one unfertilized (t^^^ each. These eggs develop into drones. 
 A few large irregular cells receive one fertilized egg each. These eggs de- 
 velop into queens. Many of the other cells are used as store-rooms for 
 "bee's bread" (pollen) which is mixed with honey for food for the larvae. 
 The rest of the cells ser\'e for storing the honey. Ta prevent waste of labor 
 the beekeeper aids the bees. He furnishes them straight frames and 
 ' ' starters ' ' for the combs. Starters or foundations are artificial plates of 
 wax, to form the beginning of the combs.
 
 76 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Honey. When the cells in a frame are filled and sealed, the frame is 
 taken out of the hive, the caps of the cells shaved of!, and the honey ex- 
 tracted by a centri/ugal machine. This furnishes extracted honey. The 
 empty combs are returned to the hive to be re-filled by the bees. For comb 
 honey small frames (sections), which hold just about a pound of filled comb 
 are put in the hives. Honey is graded on the market according to the 
 flowers which yield it. White clover, buckwheat, heather, mesquite, horse- 
 mint, and orange blossoms yield some of the best. A light colored honey 
 is usually preferred. Honey is produced in enormous quantities in northern 
 Europe and the LTnited States. To some extent it is produced in all parts 
 of the world. It is used largely as a food, in the manufacture of confectionery 
 and sweetmeats, and to some extent in medicine. A variety of drinks is 
 prepared from it. Extracted honey is often imitated by, or adulterated with, 
 glucose or syrups. Sometimes bees are fed with cheap syrup, which they seal 
 up just like honey. The resulting comb honey is, of course, only comb syrup. 
 
 Beeswax is obtained from the capping of combs for extracted honey, 
 and from condemned combs. It is melted usually by the heat of the sun, 
 and moulded into flat cakes of various sizes. Wax from new comb is light 
 yellow; that from very old comb is brown. It can be bleached to a pure 
 white by the action of sunlight and moisture, or by chemicals, such as 
 chromic acid, nitric acid, etc. Wax is used for candles, waxing floors and 
 threads, artificial plants, figures, salves, and in encaustic painting. Wax is 
 produced in the largest quantities in Europe, northern Africa, and Chile. 
 Almost all other countries produce some wax. There are many substitutes 
 and adulterants for beeswax. The most important of these are stearine, 
 paraffine, Japan wax, carnauba wax, pela wax, bayberry wax, etc. 
 
 Lac is a resinous material found on the twigs of many trees of India 
 LAC (especially Buiea/rondosa and Ficus reHgiosa). This substance is 
 caused by an insect (Coccus /acca) belonging to the order of plant 
 lice and very closely allied to the cochineal insect. The lac insect punctures 
 the twigs for food and then secretes a large quantity of resinous substance 
 as a sort of cocoon and protection for itself and young. This is known as 
 stick-lac, and being gathered in quantity from wild trees and those culti- 
 vated for the purpose it is \\orked and washed free of useless matter. 
 Red lac dye (before the use of anilines, extensively used) is extracted by 
 the washing. The dried and ground residue is known as seed-lac. 
 
 Seed-lac is melted and poured out on broad leaves or on metal plates 
 to harden. The thin sheets which result are called shellac and the thick 
 plates or the drops are called button-lac. 
 
 Shellac is dissolved in alcohol to make fine varnishes. The ordinary 
 orange colored shellac is bleached with chlorine to make white shellac. 
 
 Sealing wax is prepared by mixing shellac with turpentine and various 
 resins. 
 
 Shellac is used also in putties, for sizing paper, stiffening felt hats, etc. 
 Dissolved in a strong solution of borax, shellac and dyes are used for draw- 
 ing inks and some water colors.
 
 ANIMAL PRODUCTS 77 
 
 Cochineal consists of the dried bodies of insects ( Ccccus 
 COCHINEAL cacti) that belong to the plant lice family and live on 
 cactus plants in Mexico and Central America. They have 
 been introduced into Algeria, the Canary Islands and the East Indies. The 
 insects are collected and killed by placing them in hot ovens when they 
 become coated with a waxy, whitish powder. When killed in hot water or 
 by steam they appear black and are not so valuable. The principal use of 
 cochineal is as a dye for woolen fabrics. The color is known as carmine and 
 is soluble in water; with alumina and tin salts, scarlet lakes are formed which 
 are used for oil and water color pigments. 
 
 Cantharides are medicinal preparations used for blister- 
 
 CANTHARIDES ing, plasters, etc. They are made from a beetle (Cau- 
 
 tha7is vesicatoria) called Spanish Fly, common in 
 
 southern Europe. The insects are bright metallic green with an azure tint, 
 
 about an inch or less in length and possess a nauseous smell. Allied insects 
 
 (species of Mylabris) are used for similar purposes in India and China. 
 
 (See Oak Galls. ) 
 
 BIRDS. 
 Poultry and eggs figure largely in commerce. Turkeys, pigeons, and 
 game birds are chiefly of local importance. 
 
 Eggs, aside from their use as food, are valuable industrially. 
 
 EGGS The yolks are used in preparing glove leather and other tawed 
 
 leathers and the whites (egg albumen) in making some kinds of 
 
 photographic paper, in finishing fancy leathers, in clarifying sugar and for 
 
 other purposes. 
 
 Feathers and bird skins for ornamental purposes, chiefly for 
 FEATHERS millinery, are obtained from the ostrich, cock, duck, turkey, 
 pheasant, heron, grebe, and a variety of other birds. Great 
 destruction of wild birds caused strong measures to be taken for their protec- 
 tion and there are now stringent laws in this country prohibiting the sale 
 of many kinds of feathers and the killing of certain birds. 
 
 Feathers for beds, pillows and upholstery are plucked from the domestic 
 goose and duck. Down is also obtained in small quantity from nests of 
 the eider duck in northwest Europe. Feathers are also used for making 
 flies for fishing. Quills are used in making camel's hair brushes and for 
 minor purposes. 
 
 Ostriches are the largest of all existing birds {Stnithio). 
 OSTRICHES They are natives of the sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia 
 and are domesticated and raised for their plumes, on ostrich 
 farms chiefly in South and North Africa and in smaller numbers in Argen- 
 tina and California. Ostrich feathers constitute half of the imports of 
 feathers to the United States. The birds are caught and the best plumes 
 carefully cut from the wings and tails once in eight months. For millinery, 
 handsome plumes are made by splitting off part of the quill and binding 
 together two or more in order to get feathers with apparently heavy plumage.
 
 78 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 The plumes are then dyed and curled. Poorer feathers are used for making 
 feather dusters. The smaller feathers from the body of the ostrich are also 
 used for millinery. In Argentina and neighboring countries, a wild bird, the 
 Rhea, or South American ostrich, has been extensively hunted and its feathers 
 are still exported. 
 
 Edible Bird's Nests come from the Malay archipelago and the south- 
 eastern shores of Asia. They are made by certain species of swifts com- 
 monly called swallows. These nests are constructed of a gelatinous material 
 and arc highly prized by the Chinese for making soups. 
 
 Guano is used as a fertilizer. It is composed largely of phos- 
 GUANO phate of lime and is mostly the excrement which has accumu- 
 lated as a result of the occupancy of dry islands by enormous 
 flocks of sea birds. Some guano is also taken from caves inhabited by bats. 
 Large deposits of guano occur on islands in the Pacific Ocean and in caves 
 in the West Indies and Australia. 
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS. 
 
 Mineral Products maybe conveniently classified as follows: — 
 
 Metals and their ores. 
 
 Building Stones. 
 
 Cements and cement materials. 
 
 Glass, Pottery, brick and materials used in their manufacture. 
 
 Hydrocarbons, coal, asphalt, petroleum and their products. 
 
 Fertilizers. 
 
 Pigments and Dyes. 
 
 Abrasives. 
 
 Lubricants. 
 
 Fibers. 
 
 Gems and Ornamental Stones. 
 
 Medicinal Substances, Tanning Substances. 
 
 Acids, Alkalis and other products of chemical industrj'. 
 
 In the following pages these are grouped according to the important 
 metals which they contain. 
 
 Iron is the most useful metal. It occurs in all parts of the world 
 IRON and in many substances. The United States, England and Ger- 
 many are the greatest producers of iron. Four minerals are found 
 insufficient abundance and contain enough iron to be used as ores: hema- 
 tite, limonite, magnetite, and siderite. Rich deposits in many parts of the 
 world are at present unworked, because of lack of transportation, distance 
 from coal and limestone, cost of working, or on account of impurities in the 
 ore, such as silica, phosphorus or sulphur. 
 
 Hematite is the ore most commonly mined and supplies almost three 
 fourths of the iron of commerce. It is found in immense beds in Minnesota 
 and Michigan and is produced in large amounts in Alabama and other states. 
 Abroad, Germany, England, Spain, France and Russia are the greatest
 
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 MINERAL PRODUCTS 79 
 
 producers. Ore of line quality is mined in Elba and in Sweden. This ore, 
 often called red hematite, is a sesquio.xide of iron (Fe^ O3) and is found in 
 varieties ranging from crystallized to massive, metallic to earthy in appear- 
 ance and red to black in color. Different kinds are called specular iron ore, 
 micaceous ore, red ocher and clay iron stone. 
 
 Limonite or brown hematite is widely distributed. It is a hvdrous oxide 
 of iron (2Fe2 O3.3H2O) and varies from yellow or brown to black in color, 
 and from submetallic to earthy. 
 
 Magnetite or magnetic iron ore (Fe, Oj and siderite (carbonate of 
 iron, Fe C O,) are used in much smaller amounts than the preceding. 
 
 Pig Iron is made by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. The 
 PIG IRON ore, with carefully calculated proportions of limestone and 
 fuel, is (lumped in at the top, and the burning of the fuel is 
 assisted by the admission of blasts of air around the bottom of the furnace. 
 An intense heat is developed and the furnaces are kept running night and 
 day for long periods, usually until they need repairing. The limestone acts 
 as a " flux," causing the ore to melt more easily than it would otherwise. 
 Metallic iron and slag are formed and while melted, run down to the bottom 
 of the furnace whence they are drawn off, fresh ore, limestone and fuel being 
 frequently added. The slag being lighter floats on the molten iron and is 
 drawn off separately while the iron runs into ditches and depressions in the 
 sand floor, cooling in the form of bars weighing about a hundred pounds 
 each, called pigs. The fuel used in smelting iron is usually coke or coal. 
 Pennsylvania produces about half of the pig iron made in the United States, 
 largely because of the fact that ore from the Lake Superior deposits can be 
 cheaply transported to the neighborhood of the great coal fields and coke 
 ovens of western Pennsylvania. 
 
 Slag is used for railroad ballast and in making cements and fertilizers. 
 
 Cast iron is simply pig iron melted and moulded in properly 
 
 CAST IRON shaped sand moulds. It is employed for making columns, 
 
 stoves, large pipes, and parts of machines. It is more 
 
 brittle and hence weaker than other forms of iron. It often contains three 
 
 per cent, or more of carbon. 
 
 Wrought iron is made from pig iron by melting it in 
 WROUGHT IRON a puddling furnace where the impurities, such as car- 
 bon, sulphur and phosphorus, are removed. Unlike 
 cast iron, it can be altered in shape by hammering. It has much greater 
 strength than cast iron, and is used for making bars, plates, wire, structural 
 material and parts of machinery. 
 
 Sheet Iron is frequently coated with zinc (galvanized iron), with tin 
 (tin plate) or with lead (terne plate). 
 
 Steel is made by the Bessemer, Siemens-Martin, open hearth and 
 
 STEEL other processes. It contains much less carbon than cast iron and 
 
 more than wrought iron. It is used where great strength or 
 
 hardness is needed for rails, beams, structural material, machinery and tools 
 
 of all kinds. Steel wire rope is used for a multitude of purposes. Many
 
 8o COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 grades of steel are jirodiiced b}' the addition of small j)ercentages of man- 
 ganese, nickel, chromium, tungsten, or other metals. By sudden cool- 
 ing, or "tempering" in water or oil, steel can be made of almost any- 
 desired hardness. 
 
 The chemical compounds of iron are very numerous and have many uses. 
 
 Red, brown and yellow ochers are found in the earth, which 
 
 OCHERS when ground up with linseed oil and mixed with turpentine, 
 
 make paints. These ochers are oxides of iron, like hematite 
 
 and limonite. Burnt ochers are made by roasting raw ochers, and gi\e a 
 
 considerable range of color. Ochers and other mineral paints are prepared 
 
 by chemical processes, often from the by-products of other industries. 
 
 Red ocher is often called rouge and some grades of this, washed free 
 from grit, are used in polishing metals. 
 
 Sienna and umber are similar to ochers, but contain manganese. 
 Prussian Blue is an important dye containing iron. 
 Copperas and other sulphates of iron are used in dyeing, ink making, 
 and for disinfecting. 
 
 Crude acetate (pyrolignite) of iron, prepared from a product of wood 
 distillation, is used in dyeing and calico printing. 
 
 Iron pyriteor " fool's gold," a heavy brass-yellow mineral 
 IRON PYRITE (iron bisulphide, Fe S2) occurs abundantly in rocks of all 
 ages. It sometimes, but not usually, carries gold, dis- 
 seminated invisibly through it. Although it contains 46.6 per cent, of iron, 
 pyrites is useless as an iron ore on account of the sulphur from which it can- 
 not be successfully separated, hence its chief value is as a source of sulphur 
 for chemical work. 
 
 Its most important commercial use is in the manufacture of oil of vitriol 
 or sulphuric acid ( H^ SOJ, for which purpose it is roasted or burnt and 
 the resulting sulphur dioxide gas (SOj) is further treated. .Sulphuric acid 
 is a chemical of great importance in many industries. 
 
 Pyrites is also used in the manufacture of sulphite pulp for paper making, 
 and in the preparation of some pigments. 
 
 Manganese ores are mined in Russia, Brazil, India and in 
 MANGANESE smaller amount in other countries. They are used chiefly 
 in the production of ferro-manganese and spiegel-eisen, 
 preparations used in steel making. They are employed also in making 
 bleaching powders such as chloride of lime, in glass making, in the manu- 
 facture of oxygen, and for various other purposes. 
 
 Pyrolusite (oxide of manganese, Mn O2) and psilomelane are the 
 chief ores. 
 
 Lead is the softest, heaviest and most malleable of the common 
 
 LEAD metals, as well as one of the most easily melted. The L'nited 
 
 States, Spain, Germany and Mexico produce the most lead, but 
 
 it is found to some extent in nearly all parts of the world. In this country, 
 
 the most important lead mines are in Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Missouri and 
 
 Kansas. We import much lead bullion from Mexico.
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS gi 
 
 Galena (lead sulphide, Fb S) is the only important ore. It is a heavy 
 lead-gray mineral with metallic luster. It often crystallizes in cubes, but 
 the ore is generally granular-massive. 
 
 Carbonates, sulphates and other lead compounds are less common in 
 nature. 
 
 Lead ores are often argentiferous, carrying so much silver as to be classed 
 as silver ores. After smelting, the silver is extracted from the lead bullion. 
 
 Lead is used for making lead pipe, sheet lead and lead shot. 
 
 Type metal is composed of lead and antimony. 
 
 Solder contains lead and tin. Lead enters into pewter and other alloys. 
 
 Sheet iron coated with lead is called terne plate. 
 
 White lead is a basic carbonate of lead prepared in powdered form. 
 Ground up with linseed oil and mi.xed with boiled oil and turpentine it makes 
 the best white paint known. White lead is also employed in glazing 
 earthenware. It is frequently mi.xed or adulterated with cheaper substances 
 such as lead sulphate, barite or chalk. 
 
 Red lead (lead oxide) is used as a pigment and in making flint glass. 
 
 Litharge (another oxide) is used in preparing pigments, as a drier in 
 making boiled linseed oil, and for other purposes. 
 
 Orange mineral is another lead pigment. 
 
 Chrome yellow (lead chromate) is used as a pigment and as a dye. 
 
 Lead acetate is used in dyeing. Lead soap is used in pharmacy. 
 Zinc is mined chiefly in Germany, Belgium and the United States. 
 ZINC In this country, Missouri and Kansas furnish the most ore. Some 
 is mined with silver ore in Colorado and some comes from northern 
 New Jersey. 
 
 Sphalerite, or blende (zinc sulphide, Zn S), called "Jack" by miners, 
 is the important ore. It is black, brown or red in color, and often breaks 
 with a bright cleavage. This mineral frequently occurs with ores of lead. 
 Carbonates, silicates and oxides of zinc are found. 
 
 The crude metal called spelter is obtained by distilling the roasted 
 ore. or from the mi.xture of \arious metals in the " matte" from smelters. 
 
 Zinc is used in electric batteries, in making hydrogen, in the cyanide 
 process for the recovery of gold, and in making etched plates for printing. 
 Sheet zinc finds various industrial applications. 
 
 Galvanized iron is made by dipping sheet iron in melted zinc, the 
 thin zinc coating preventing rusting of the iron. 
 
 Brass is an alloy of copper with zinc. 
 
 German silver contains zinc, copper and nickel, and zinc enters into 
 various other alloys, including some kinds of solder. 
 
 Zinc oxide or zinc white is an important pigment. It has less co\er- 
 ing power and is less \aluable than white lead. 
 
 Zinc sulphate is used as a pigment, in dyeing and as a disinfectant. 
 Zinc chloride is used as a wood preservative.
 
 82 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Copper, from an economic standpoint, is one of the most im- 
 
 COPPER portant metals. The United States is the greatest producer. 
 
 Nearly all of the output is from mines in Montana, the Lake 
 
 Superior district, and Arizona. Copper is produced in smaller quantities in 
 
 Spain, lapan, Chile, Germany, and many other parts of the world. 
 
 The ores \ary widely in composition and occurrence. Native copper 
 in metallic particles mixed with rock is the principal ore at the Lake Superior 
 mines. Chalcopyrite and bornite (sulphides of copper and iron) are found 
 in many parts of the world. Chalcocite (copper sulphide) is an important 
 ore in Montana. Malachite and azurite (carbonates of copper) are common 
 ores in Arizona. Copper oxides and copper silicate are also found. These 
 ores are of many colors and often occur associated with or carrying other 
 metals such as gold, silver, lead and zinc. 
 
 The ores, after concentration, are usually roasted and smelted, and the 
 resultant ' ' copper matte ' ' is separated by refiners into the various metals 
 which it contains. Electrolytic processes of refining are largely employed. 
 
 The demand for copper has increased enormously in recent years, due 
 to its use in electrical work, where it is mostly employed in the form of cop- 
 per wire. 
 
 Copper is used also for making coins, pipes, kettles, cartridge shells, 
 plates for engraving, for plating ships, roofing and plumbing. Compounds 
 of copper also furnish blue and green dyes and pigments. 
 
 Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. 
 
 Bronze contains copper and tin, sometimes with the addition of zinc. 
 Phosphor bronze, aluminium bronze, statuary bronze, bell metal, gun metal 
 and Britannia metal, are other alloys containing copper. 
 
 Blue vitriol or copper sulphate is the most important of the numerous 
 
 chemical compounds which contain copper. It is used in the preparation of 
 
 electrolytic baths, in dyes and pigments, in sih'er refining and as an antiseptic. 
 
 Gold is found in nearly all parts of the world. The United States, 
 
 GOLD South Africa and Australia contain the richest gold fields known. 
 
 In this country, Colorado, California, Alaska and South Dakota 
 
 are the largest producers. 
 
 Gold is usually in minute particles disseminated through rocks or sands. 
 When in rock, it is ordinarily found in veins of quartz, often associated with 
 pyrite or other sulphides. 
 
 Tellurides of gold are mined in Colorado and Transylvania. 
 
 Gold washing. Placer deposits consist of beds of sand or gravel 
 deri\ed from the wearing away of rocks, and contain gold in grains and 
 nuggets. Some placers are extremely rich and from them the metal is 
 obtained by washing. The crudest method is by rocking a small quantity 
 of the gravel in a basin of water, the particles of gold, being heavy, sink to 
 the bottom and are easily collected. On a larger scale, gold-bearing gravels 
 are washed by a current of water through sluices or long wooden gutters. 
 The gold is caught by strips of wood called "riffles," fastened diagon- 
 allv in the bottom of the sluice.
 
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 :\IIXERAL PRODl'CTS 
 
 S3
 
 84 COMMEKCIAI, RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Where there is abundant water, banks of gravel are sometimes washed 
 down bv strong jets directed on the bank through nozzles, and the gravel is 
 carried by the water through sluices. This is termed hydraulic mining. 
 
 Gold recovery. Rocks which contain gold, after breaking, are crushed 
 to a fine pulp with water, in stamp mills. The pulp is passed over copper 
 plates covered with mercury which catches and forms an amalgam with the 
 particles of gold. It is usual to separate, by concentrating machines, the 
 heavy from the lighter part of the pulp after it passes the plates, and to 
 treat the heavy concentrates by smelting, chlorination, or the cyanide process 
 to recover gold which was not caught by amalgamation. Gold is soluble in 
 a solution of cyanide of potassium and may be recovered from the solution 
 by treatment with zinc. This process is successful with ores which contain 
 comparatively little gold and has made possible the profitable working of 
 such deposits as those in South Africa. 
 
 Gold is used chiefly for jew-elry and currency. It is valued on account 
 
 of its rarity, its beauty and because of the fact that it does not readily tarnish 
 
 and is not attacked by ordinary acids. It is almost always alloyed with 
 
 copper or with copper and silver. United States gold coin contains 9 parts 
 
 of gold to I of copper. Pure gold is said to be 24 carats fine, and the best 
 
 ordinarily used is about 18 carats fine. Gold is used also for making gold 
 
 leaf for gilding, and in dentistry. Chloride of gold is used in photography. 
 
 Platinum is a rare metal found with gold in grains, in placer 
 
 PLATINUM washings. Russia produces ninety per cent of the world's 
 
 supply and the remainder comes from Colombia. Small 
 
 amounts are found in California, Wyoming, Canada and Australia. 
 
 It is used in the form of very fine wires in incandescent electric lamps 
 to connect the terminals with the carbon filament. It is also employed in 
 smaller amount by chemists and dentists. 
 
 Associated with this metal is another rarer one, iridium, which is em- 
 ployed for the points of gold pens. 
 
 Silver is mined throughout the Rocky Mountain and the Andes 
 SILVER regions of America, in Australia, and to a small extent in many 
 other parts of the world. In this country, Colorado, Mon- 
 tana, Utah and Idaho are the greatest producing states. Mexico, Australia, 
 Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Germany take rank after the United States as pro- 
 ducers of this metal. 
 
 Argentiferous galena is the most common ore and the source of a 
 very large percentage of the silver produced in the world. The amount of 
 silver carried by this sulphide of lead varies greatly, but a very few ounces 
 of silver in a ton of ore make it profitable to work many deposits of lead 
 which could not otherwise be mined. 
 
 Ores of zinc and copper, occurring separately or associated with ores 
 of lead and other metals, frequently carry silver. Almost all gold is found 
 alloyed with a small percentage of silver. Pure silver occurs in small 
 amount. Most of the silver compounds in nature are sulphides, such as 
 argentite, pvrargyrite, stephanite and |)olybasite, usually containing silver
 
 \
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 
 
 85 
 
 with arsenic or antimony. Chlorides and bromides (cerargyrite and bromy- 
 rite ) are common ores in some parts of Mexico, the western United States 
 and Australia. 
 
 Silver is extracted from ores by smelting, and refining the resultant 
 mi.xture of metals; by amalgamation with mercury, or various other pro- 
 cesses. It is made into useful and ornamental articles for the household and 
 personal adornment, many of which are formed of some other metal or alloy 
 covered with a thin plating of silver deposited by the aid of an electric cur- 
 rent from a solution of cyanide of silver and potassium. The tarnish often 
 seen on silver is due to its union with sulphur absorbed from gases formed 
 by burning coal. 
 
 Solid silver articles, including coins, are almost never made of the pure 
 metal, but are alloyed with copper to harden them. The price of silver has 
 declined greatly within the past thirty years, so that at present there is less 
 than fifty cents worth of silver in a silver dollar. 
 
 Mirrors are made by coating one side of glass with silver from a solu- 
 tion. Mercury was formerly used for this purpose. Silver chloride and 
 siher nitrate are used in photographv. 
 
 The mixture of various cheaper metals forms alloys such as pewter and 
 white metal, which resemble silver in color and luster. 
 
 Mercury or quicksilver is found in Spain, the United States, 
 MERCURY Austria, Italy and Russia. Nearly all of the mercury ob- 
 tained in the United States comes from California and a much 
 smaller amount from Texas. One half of our production is exported to 
 Mexico, China and Central America. 
 
 This metal is obtained from cinnabar (red sulphide of mercury, Hg S). 
 It occasionally occurs in a pure metallic state and in a few rare compounds. 
 It is extracted by heating (distilling) the ore. The mercury, which volatilizes 
 readily, is condensed as the gases are cooled after passing from the furnace. 
 
 Mercury is peculiar in being a heavy metal which is liquid at ordinary 
 temperatures. It solidifies at 38° below zero F. , and boils at 675° F. , a 
 lower temperature than the boiling point of any other common metal. It is 
 used iti the extraction of gold and silver by amalgamation. It is also used 
 in silvering mirrors, for thermometers and barometers. 
 
 Amalgams of mercury with other metals, are used for filling teeth and 
 other purposes. 
 
 Vermillion is artificially prepared cinnabar, and this, as well as other 
 compounds of mercury, are used as pigments. 
 
 Calomel and corrosive sublimate (chlorides of mercury) are used in 
 medicine. 
 
 Certain mercury compounds called fulminates are dangerous explosives. 
 
 Aluminium or aluminum is a metal which has been suc- 
 
 ALUMINIUM cessfully refined for commercial use only within recent 
 
 years. It is lighter than any other metal in common use 
 
 and is very strong in proportion to its weight. It is readily ductile, does not 
 
 €asilv tarnish, and is a remarkabl\- good conductor of electricity. One of
 
 86 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 its most important uses is as an addition to iron and steel, preventing bubbles 
 and waste in castings. It is extensively employed as an electric conductor. 
 It is used for the construction of some kinds of machinery, for hulls and 
 plating for boats, cooking utensils, combs and other articles. As a substi- 
 tute for stone it is used in the manufacture of lithographic plates. Alloys 
 of aluminium with copper and other metals, forming aluminium bronzes, are 
 used for a great variety of purposes. 
 
 Aluminium occurs very abundantly in the crust of the earth and forms 
 numerous useful compounds. 
 
 Bauxite (aluminium hydrate, Al, O,. 2HjO) is the ore from which 
 aluminium is e.xtracted, and the only mineral from which it is now obtained 
 commercially. It is a clay of peculiar composition, being a hydrate, while 
 most clays are silicates. This ore is mined in only a few places in the world. 
 In the United States it occurs in Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia, and in 
 Europe in France and Ireland. 
 
 In the refining of aluminium, calcined bau.xite is decomposed by a strong 
 electric current. In this country, the power which supplies the electric 
 current is generated by Niagara Falls, where the metal is refined. 
 
 Cryolite (fluoride of aluminium and sodium, sNaF. AlF,) is a white 
 mineral which is mined only in Greenland. It was formerly used as an ore 
 of aluminium. At present it is of value in chemical manufacture as a source 
 of fluorides and other salts, such as carbonate of soda, soda ash, alum, 
 alumina, etc. 
 
 Aluminium compounds. Corundum, feldspar, and clay contain large 
 percentages of aluminium, laut are not suitable for use as ores of the metal, 
 because they contain silica. 
 
 Corundum ( aluminium o.\ide, Alj O,) is, ne.xt to diamond, 
 CORUNDUM the hardest natural mineral. In Ceylon, and occasionally 
 in Montana, North Carolina and other places, it occurs well 
 crystallized and transparent, sometimes colorless or blue (sapphire) and 
 sometimes red (ruby). These are x'aluable for gems. When occurring pure 
 or nearly so, but not transparent, as it does in Canada, North Carolina, 
 Alabama and Montana, it is ground up for use as an abrasi\e. 
 
 Emery. A less pure variety called emery contains considerable iron 
 and is not quite so hard. It is extensively used as an abrasi\e. Emery 
 is found at Chester, Mass., Peekskill, New York, and in Greece and Asia 
 Minor. As abrasives these minerals are used in powder of different degrees 
 of fineness or made into wheels, sharpening stones, cloth, or paper, and held 
 together by some cementing material. Corundum (alundmn) for abrasi\-e 
 purposes is also made artificially. 
 
 Feldspar is found as a constituent of all granites and similar 
 FELDSPAR rocks. When it occurs in moderately pure masses, as it does 
 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in Connecticut, New 
 York and Norway, it is mined and used in making pottery. Feldspars are 
 silicates of aluminium with other metals such as potassium, sodium, or cal- 
 cium; the most common is orthoclase (K./). Al^ 0^.6Si O^).
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 
 
 ^7 
 
 Clay is usually a product of the natural decay or alteration of 
 CLAY feldspar. It varies greatly in composition like the rocks from 
 which it is derived. It is composed chiefly of hydrous silicates of 
 aluminium, magnesium, and other metals. The purest clay, kaolin, is 
 hydrous aluminium silicate (2H,0. Al.^ O3. aSiOJ. It is used with other 
 substances in making the finest pottery. Less pure clays are used in making 
 tile, earthenware, stoneware, terra cotta, brick and firebrick. 
 
 Many clays are found in the earth, mixed with sand and grit from which 
 they are separated by washing. This process consists of grinding and stirring 
 the clay up in water which carries off the fine particles in suspension while the 
 coarse part remains behind. The water containing the fine particles is con- 
 ducted to settling tanks and allowed to stand till the pure clay is deposited. 
 
 Clays are fitted for making pottery in proportion to the ease with 
 which they can be moulded and shaped when wet and their change to a 
 hard unalterable condition when they are fired. Many kinds of clay are used 
 in making pottery and on their nature and proportions and the heat to which 
 they are subjected in firing depends the quality of the resulting product. 
 
 Porcelain, or china, is made from a mixture of kaolin, quartz and feld- 
 spar finely powdered, reduced to a paste with water and shaped into the de- 
 sired form. The moulding is done either on a potter's wheel or in prepared 
 moulds. The fragile ' ' biscuit ' ' ware is then burnt or ' ' fired " in a kiln, after 
 which it is decorated, a glaze applied, composed of similar materials in 
 proper proportions to fuse to a glass, after which the articles are re-fired. 
 The decoration is sometimes applied outside instead of under the glaze. A 
 ' ' salt glaze ' ' is given to earthenware by throwing wet salt in the fire when the 
 articles are burnt. The salt decomposes on contact with the fire, forming soda, 
 which attacks the silica in the pottery and produces a thin glassy coating. 
 
 In the United States, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Vir- 
 ginia are the most important pottery-making states-. Fine wares are made 
 abroad in England, France, Germany, Austria, Japan and China. 
 
 Bricks are made of the common kinds of clay containing enough sand 
 to prevent undue shrinking. The clay is ground to a smooth paste with 
 water, moulded into a rectangular rod and cut into lengths. Bricks are 
 burnt in heaps or in kilns and if the clay contains iron, they assume a red 
 color. The leading states which make brick are Pennsyhania, Ohio, Illinois, 
 New York, New Jersey, and Missouri. The kinds which will sustain the 
 greatest heat are called fire-brick. 
 
 Certain clays are used for "loading" paper. Others are mixed with 
 limestone in making Portland cement. 
 
 Fuller's earth is a peculiar clay used in preparing woolen fabrics and 
 also for filtering oils. 
 
 Slates and shales are closely related to clays. They often con- 
 SLATES tain lime, and approach clayey limestone in composition. 
 
 Slate is a \ ery important roofing material. It is used also 
 for writing slates, slate pencils, blackboards, mantels, etc. Pennsylvania 
 and Vermont produce nearly all obtained in this country.
 
 88 COMMERCIAI. RAW MATKRIAI.S 
 
 Alum is made artiticially by various processes from clays and 
 ALUM iioni minerals, such as cryolite and alunite. Chemically it is a sul- 
 phate of aluminium and potassium (K, SO,.Alj (SO,\ .24 HjO). 
 It is used in tannine- leather, as a mordant in dyeino-, in printinvj, in baking 
 powders, in medicine, in sizing paper, in stucco work for hardening plaster, 
 in photography, in rendering wood and fabrics fire-proof, in carbonizing 
 wool, in bleaching, etc. 
 
 Other compounds such as ahmiinium sulphate are also used in the arts. 
 
 Tin is not found in paying quantities in the United States. Mines 
 
 TIN in the Malav Peninsula and on the neighboring islands of Banca and 
 
 Billiton produce over three-fourths of the world's supply of this 
 
 metal. It is obtained in Bolivia, Australia and Tasmania and in Cornwall, 
 
 England (in ancient times the only source of tin). It occurs also in China, 
 
 Me.\ico, California, and South Dakota, but not in sufficient quantity to make 
 
 its mining, at present, profitable. 
 
 The only important ore of tin is cassiterite (tin o.xide, Sn Oj). It some- 
 times occurs in narrow veins through granite rocks, but is usually found as 
 ' ' stream tin ' ' in small particles or pebbles in deposits of gravel from which 
 it is separated bv washing (see Gold Washing). It melts at a compara- 
 tively low temperature and is easily refined. 
 
 Tin Plate. Not being acted on readily by weak acids, nor by vege- 
 table or animal juices, and resisting oxkiation under ordinary conditions, tin 
 is used extensively as a protective coating on sheet iron. In making tin 
 plate, sheet iron is thoroughly cleaned by acid baths, then greased with 
 melted tallow or palm oil and di|iped in a bath of molten tin. A layer of 
 palm oil or other material covers the melted tin to prevent contact with the 
 air. A thin layer of tin sticks to the sheet iron which is passed through 
 rollers to squeeze off superfluous metal and perfect the coating. 
 
 Tin plate is used for tin cans for oil, fruit, vegetables, fish, etc., for roof- 
 ing and for kitchen utensils. \'ery large quantities are used by petroleum 
 refiners and by canneries in general. 
 
 Tin is sometimes used for pipes and other articles of block tin. 
 
 Tin Foil is made by coating sheet lead with tin and then beating it into 
 thin sheets. 
 
 Bronze and gun metal contain copper and tin; pewter contains tin and 
 lead. Solder, type metal, white metal and Britannia metal all contain tin. 
 
 Tin chlorides and other tin salts are used as mordants in dyeing, and 
 some compounds are used in coloring glass and porcelain. The United 
 States imports metallic tin from the East Indies and from England, as well 
 as considerable quantities of tin plate from the latter country. 
 
 Antimony is produced in Germany. France, Italy, and in 
 ANTIMONY smaller amounts in Hinigary, the United States, Japan, 
 Servia, Borneo, Bolivia, and other countries. 
 
 The chief ore is stibnite (antinumy suljihide, Sb, S, ) a lead grey mineral. 
 Considerable amounts are also obtained from antimony oxides and from ores 
 of lead which carr\- antimony.
 
 MINERAL PRODLCTS 
 
 S9 
 
 This metal enters into many useful alloys. 
 
 Type metal contains leaS and antimony, often with a little tin and bis- 
 muth: Britannia metal contains tin, antimony and copper; pewter sometimes 
 contains antimony in addition to tin and lead. 
 
 Anti-frlction metals, such as white metal and babbitt metal, consist 
 of antimony and tin with small quantities of lead, copper, zinc, bismuth 
 and nickel. 
 
 Tartar Emetic iantimony potassium tartrate) is used in medicine. 
 Other salts of antimony are used as mordants in dyeing. 
 
 .■\ sulphide of antimony is used for vulcanizing red rubber, and another 
 compKJund forms a brilliant red pigment called antimony cinnabar. 
 
 Bismuth is found in Bolivia and Australia and in smaller 
 
 BISMUTH quantities in Sa.xony, England and some other countries. It 
 
 is a rare metal with a low melting point, used in fusible metal 
 
 alloys. These fusible metals usually contain bismuth with lead, tin and 
 
 cadmium. They are used for safety plugs for electric wiring, steam boilers, 
 
 and automatic fire extinguishers. 
 
 Bismuth compounds are used in pharmacy, and in coloring porcelain 
 and glass. 
 
 Type metal and anti-friction metals usually contain some bismuth. 
 
 Nickel is mined princijxiUy in the province of Ontario, Canada, 
 NICKEL in Xew Caledonia, and in Xorway. Small quantities are found 
 in Missouri, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina and other states 
 and in a few pans of Europe. 
 
 Gamierite, a g^een mineral (a hydrous silicate of nickel and magne- 
 sium"), is the most common ore. It is e.xported from New Caledonia and 
 refined chiefly in France and Germany. Other compounds of nickel, such 
 as arsenides and sulphides occur. .All of these ores are generally asso- 
 ciated with serpentine and chrome. The Canadian ore is magnetic iron 
 pyrites (pyrrhotite, Fe„ S,.") which carries from three to eight per cent, 
 of nickel. 
 
 A small percentage of nickel in steel increases greatly its hardness and 
 toughness. Nickel steel is used for armor plate, parts of machinery, rails, 
 and wire rope. 
 
 Nickel is used for electro plating and for making \-arious white alloy's. 
 German Silver contains copper, zinc and nickeJ. Nickel coins con- 
 tain copper and nickel. 
 
 Cobalt is a rare metal, everywhere found with nickel. It is 
 COBALT almost never used in the metallic state, but its compounds are 
 used for coloring blue glass and for making pigments, (chiefly 
 cobalt blue and smalt) for painting, printing and china decoration. 
 
 Magnesium occurs in many limestone rocks in almost all 
 
 MAGNESIUM parts of the world and is found in a variety of minerals. 
 
 In the metallic state it bums readily and is used chiefly by 
 
 photographers, either in the form of magnesium ribbon, or in flash powders, 
 
 to produce a brilliant light.
 
 go 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Its principal natural compounds are chlorides and sulphates, found at 
 Stassfurt, Germany; magnesium carbonate (magnesite), obtained in Greece, 
 Austria and California; magnesium calcium carbonate (dolomite); hydrous 
 magnesium silicates, talc or soapstone, serpentine, asbestos and meerschainn. 
 The metal is reduced from the chlorides. 
 
 Magnesite is used in making carbon dioxide gas for charging soda 
 water, mineral waters and beer, and for refrigerating. After heating 
 maernesite, the residue, called calcined mao-nesite or magfnesia, is made into 
 bricks or concrete and used as refractory lining for steel furnaces. Mag- 
 nesia is also worked into fireproof and non-conducting coatings on steam 
 pipes, and to a small extent in toilet powders. 
 
 When the carbon dioxide is disengaged from magnesite by sulphuric 
 acid, Epsom Salt (Mg SO,. 7 H^O) is formed. 
 
 Magnesite and dolomite are both used in preparing sulphite liquors for 
 use in wood pulp paper making. 
 
 Dolomite is extensively used as a building stone under the name of 
 magnesian limestone, or simply limestone, and is harder and more durable 
 than purer limestone. Calcined dolomite is used as a lining for iron furnaces. 
 
 Talc is a very soft mineral, easily scratched by the finger nail. It is 
 found as talc rock (steatite or soapstone) in deposits in Maryland, Virginia, 
 North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsyh^ania and other states, and is imported 
 from France and Italy. It is used in making bath and laundry tubs, fire- 
 brick, hearthstones, mantels, sinks, griddles, slate pencils, tailor's pencils, 
 gas tips and other articles. When powdered it is employed for foundry 
 facings, lubricating machinery, dressing skins and leather, in paints and toilet 
 powders. A peculiar fibrous variety from New York is used as ' ' filling ' ' 
 or "loading" in paper. 
 
 Meerschaum (Sepiolite) is a clay-like mineral found in Asia Minor. 
 It occurs in lumps of irregular shape and is used for carving into pipes and 
 cigar holders. 
 
 Serpentine is a greenish rock found in many parts of the world. It is 
 often used as building stone. Verd-antique is a natural mixture of serpen- 
 tine with marble, which, when polished, is used for ornamental work. 
 
 Asbestus, or asbestos, as it is usually found on the market, is a fibrous 
 variety of serpentine (called chrysotile). It is mined in the province of 
 Quebec, Canada, and is valuable on account of its incomliustibility and as a 
 non-conductor of heat. It is spun and woven, usually with a small quantity 
 of vegetable fiber to give greater strength, and made into theatre curtains, 
 mats, iron holders, building paper, etc. It is largely used as a protective 
 covering on steam pipes and boilers. It is also used in paints. A fibrous 
 variety of amphibole is also known as asbestos, the best being the long- 
 fiber Italian. 
 
 Mineral Wool, sometimes called rock wool, silicate cotton or asbestos, 
 is an artificial substance produced by melting slag and limestone, and con- 
 verting the molten mixture to a very fine fibrous state by means of a steam
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS gj 
 
 blast. It is used for much the same purposes as true asbestos, but cannot be 
 spun into thread. It is extensively employed as a fire-proof packing 
 material in walls and floors and as a non-conducting packing around boilers 
 and steam pipes and in refrigerators. 
 
 Other metals are seldom refined, not being at present 
 OTHER METALS of much commercial use in the pure state. Calcium, 
 sodium, and potassium form many useful compounds, 
 both in their natural state and when prepared by chemical processes. 
 
 Titanium is not an uncommon and usually a very undesirable con- 
 stituent of iron ores. Menaccanite is a mineral containing titanium, which 
 although it contains a large percentage of iron is almost useless as an ore. 
 
 Rutile (oxide of titanium, TiO/) is used in coloring false teeth. 
 
 Several rare metals are used in small amounts for making certain grades 
 of steel. The most important of these are tungsten, molybdenum, vana- 
 dium and uranium. Salts of these metals find limited use in dyeing. 
 
 Radium, a \-ery rare metal with very peculiar properties, occurs with 
 uranium, and is at present used in experimental work. 
 
 Lithium carbonate is used in the preparation of medicinal tablets and 
 mineral waters. It is prepared from certain rare minerals which in this 
 country are found in quantity in California. 
 
 Monazite, samarskite and a few other minerals found in North Carolina, 
 Norway and Brazil contain thorium, cerium, lanthanum and yttrium. Salts 
 prepared from them are used in making the mantles for Welsbach and other 
 incandescent gas burners. 
 
 Arsenic occurs widely distributed in the world, but in only a 
 ARSENIC few places in sufficient quantity to be of commercial value. 
 Germany, England, Canada, the United States and Spain are 
 the producing countries. 
 
 It is obtained from arsenopyrite (arsenical iron sulphidej and from 
 orpiment and realgar (sulphides of arsenic). 
 
 It is used in the form of oxide of arsenic (called arsenic, white arsenic 
 or arsenious acid) for preserving skins, for making "sheep dip" (to kill 
 insects which harm the sheep), for rat poison, as a mordant in dyeing, in 
 making fine grades of glassware and enamels, and in making various other 
 arsenic compounds. 
 
 Paris Green, one of the most important arsenic salts, is used for kill- 
 ing the potato beetle and other insects injurious to vegetation, and, to a 
 small extent, as a pigment. 
 
 Other compounds of arsenic are used as pigments and dyes, for 
 medicinal purposes and in making embalming fluid. Arsenic salts are used 
 in preparing certain of the coal-tar colors. 
 
 Chrome ores are mined in Asia Minor and Greece. Smaller 
 
 CHROME amounts come from the province of Quebec, Canada, New 
 
 Caledonia, and California. There are deposits also in the 
 
 Ural Mountains, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in Maryland and 
 
 North Carolina.
 
 92 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Chromite (oxide of chromium and iron, Fe Cr^O^ ) is the only ore. 
 Chromium is not used in the metallic state, but is chiefly valuable for 
 its chemical compounds, particularly the pigments chrome yellow and 
 chrome green. Various salts of chrome are used as dyes and mordants, 
 giving a variety of colors. Chromic acid and bichromate of potash are used 
 in tanning soft kid leather. In the tanning industrj', bichromate of potash 
 is often referred to simply as chrome. 
 
 Chrome steel contains a small percentage of chromium. It is extremely 
 hard, being used for burglar-proof safes, hard-edged tools, etc. 
 
 Barite, or barytes, is a heavy white mineral (barium sulphate, 
 BARITE Ba SO,) found in Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina and Ten- 
 nessee, and mined also in Germany. It is ground to a fine 
 powder and used as a substitute or adulterant for white lead, and as a 
 " filling" in paper. Other barium compounds have minor uses in many 
 
 industries, in which artificially prepared barytes is often a by-product. 
 
 Strontium salts are prepared from strontianite (strontium carbonate, 
 Sr COj) and celestite (strontium sulphate, Sr SO^), minerals which are found 
 in Germany, Texas and New York. Strontium hydrate (or barium hy- 
 drate ) is used in sugar refining to assist the recovery of sugar from beet 
 molasses. Strontium nitrate is used in making red fire. 
 
 Potash salts (carnallite, kainite, etc.) are found at Stassfurt, 
 POTASH Germany. Other potash compounds are obtained by dis- 
 solving them out of wood ashes and from the burnt refuse 
 from sugar beets. Some potash is also recovered in wool washing. 
 
 The compounds of potassium are very similar to the salts of sodium 
 and 'ike them are used in fertilizers, glass-making, soap-making, dyeing and 
 a multitude of other industries. 
 
 Soda (sodium carbonate) is found in small quantities in very dry 
 SODA regions, such as parts of California, Utah, Nevada, Hungary 
 and Egypt. 
 Soda Ash is the raw commercial form in which soda salts are usually 
 handled. It is a crude carbonate of soda, generally made from salt bv 
 treatment with sulphuric acid and subsequent carbonation. It is useful in 
 making washing soda, baking soda (bicarbonate), caustic soda, in glass- 
 making and many other industries. 
 
 The numerous salts of soda are useful for so many purposes that they 
 cannot be given in detail. The carbonates are used in dyeing, soap-making, 
 paper-making and other industries. Sodium hyposulphite is used in pho- 
 tography, dyeing, and tanning soft leather. 
 
 Common salt includes rock salt, sea salt, and lake salt (halite or 
 SALT sodium chloride, NaCl). Rock salt occurs in beds or rock 
 masses in the earth and is mined in lumps, like stone or coal. 
 Large mines of rock salt are located in Poland; at many places in Germany 
 and Austria; Cardona, Spain; Cheshire, England; Louisiana, Kansas, and 
 many other parts of the world. In the Kohat District, India, there is a 
 deposit over a thousand feet in thickness.
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 93 
 
 In this country, the greatest salt-producing states are Michigan and New 
 York. Large quantities are also obtained in Kansas, Ohio and California. 
 England is the greatest exporter of salt. Salt is manufactured in almost all 
 parts of the world. Owing to its cheapness and wide distribution it is not 
 as important an article in international commerce as staples which are more 
 costlv and less common. 
 
 When a bed of salt exists at a considerable depth, it is often found 
 more economical not to work it by ordinary mining methods. In such 
 cases it is usual to bore a well a few inches in diameter to the bed and pump 
 water down the well. In contact with the salt, the water becomes a strong 
 brine, which is pumped to the surface and evaporated. 
 
 Much of the salt of commerce is obtained from saline water. Ocean 
 water contains about two and a half per cent, of salt. At Turk's Island 
 and other places in the West Indies there is a large production of salt from 
 ocean water. Some lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea, 
 contain a larger percentage of salt than the ocean. Underground lakes or 
 ri\'ers from which the water is drawn through wells, in some localities yield 
 strong brines. 
 
 The evaporation of saline water is carried on in large open tanks or 
 vats by the natural agency of the sun and wind, or else by artificial heat in 
 e\aporating pans. Salt seldom occurs pure in nature, being generally 
 mixed with calcium sulphate, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, etc. 
 The presence of these other compounds causes it to absorb water from 
 the atmosphere. 
 
 The concentrated liquor from which salt has crystallized usually con- 
 tains bromine and iodine and is sometimes worked over for their recovery. 
 The most common commercial salt of bromine is potassium bromide. 
 Bromides are used in medicines, in photography, and in the manufacture of 
 red eosin (coal tar) colors. 
 
 Salt is one of the most important foods and is marketed in grains of 
 different degrees of fineness, such as table salt, dairy salt, etc. It is used 
 for packing meat and curing fish, on account of its preservative qualities. 
 It is used in immense quantities in the manufacture of various chemicals, 
 such as hydrochloric acid, soda ash, carbonate of soda, bleaching powder, 
 chlorine, chloride of lime, etc. , in the refining of silver and other metal- 
 lurgical and manufacturing operations. Some of the uses of salt are due to 
 its property of producing intense cold when mixed with ice. 
 
 Soda niter (nitrate of soda, Na NO,) is a very easily 
 SODA NITER soluble mineral which occurs in immense beds in the desert 
 region of Atacama, in northern Chile, where rain does 
 not fall for years at a time. The deposits are found at a distance of from 
 ten to twelve feet below the surface. The crude material is transported 
 to extensive works on the sea-coast where the niter is dissohed out with 
 water and recovered in an almost pure state by evaporation. In the purifi- 
 cation, other salts and iodine are separated.
 
 94 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Nitrate of soda is one of the ehief sources of nitrogen. It is used in 
 making glass and in the manufacture of nitric acid, a chemical of great im- 
 portance, the salts of whicli are useful in a multitude of ways. Well known 
 compounds containing nitrogen, often deri\ed from soda niter, are: fer- 
 tilizers, saltpeter, gunpowder, fireworks, nitro-glycerine, dynamite and other 
 explosives. Nitrates occur in small amounts in some caves, such as the 
 Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. 
 
 Nitrogen is plentiful in the air, but is not in a state in which it is readily 
 available by our present manufacturing processes. Certain bacteria which 
 grow in enlargements on the roots of leguminous plants have the unusual 
 property of absorbing nitrogen from the air and making it available as 
 plant food. The culture of these bacteria is a very important part of modern 
 soil fertilizing. 
 
 Borax (hydrous sodium borate, Na, B^O, .loH^O) is obtained 
 
 BORAX by re-crystallizing crude natural borax ( " tincal '" ) which occurs 
 
 in crusts on marshes in central Asia and in California, Nevada 
 
 and Oregon. Similar deposits occur in Argentina, Chile, and other parts 
 
 of -South America. Most of the borax used in the United States is made from 
 
 ■ colemanite (hydrous calcium borate, Ca, B^Ojj .5H2O) a mineral mined in 
 
 southern California. Borates are also found at Stassfurt, Germany, and in 
 
 other places. Borax and boracic acid are used for the preparation of glazes 
 
 for pottery and tile, for the manufacture of optical glass, in the ])reservation 
 
 of meat, and for minor purposes. 
 
 Limestone is a rock (essentially calcium carbonate, Ca CO3 ) 
 LIMESTONE found in beds of great extent in all parts of the world. 
 The purest limestones are white, but many colors are found 
 generally caused by the presence of iron or bituminous matter. In texture 
 limestones varv from loose to compact and from massive to fine or coarse cry- 
 stalline. Manv limestones are composed almost entirely of fossil shells. 
 Limestone is one of the most important and commonly used building stones. 
 It is employed also for roadmaking, railroad ballast, concrete, as flux in 
 smelting, for making soda and other chemical purposes, in glass making, 
 for preparing sulphite pulp for paper making, etc. Pennsylvania, Illinois, 
 Ohio, Indiana, New York and Missouri are the greatest producers, although 
 it is ijuarried in nearly every state. 
 
 Lime is produced by burning, or calcining, limestone in kilns. The 
 process of calcining dri\-es off carbon dioxide, and leaves quick lime, which 
 is mainly calcium oxide (CaO~). On exposure to air, quick lime becomes 
 slaked by the absorption of moisture and carbonic acid. Air-slaked lime 
 approximates to the composition CaCOj.Ca (OH),. A solution of (juick 
 lime is used in unhairing skins, and in making soap and candles. Slaked 
 lime is used as a fertilizer, for purifying coal gas, etc. 
 
 Common mortar is made by mixing air-slaked lime and sand with water 
 to form a jiaste. As the moisture dries out, the mortar "sets" and in the 
 course of time it hardens bv the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO,) from 
 the atmosphere. This hardening sometimes continues for a long ]ieriod, or
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 95 
 
 until all the lime is converted into calcium carbonate. Mortar is generally 
 strengthened by mixing with it cow hair, palmetto or some other fiber. 
 
 Hydraulic limestones when calcined or subjected to heat yield a lime 
 which will set and harden under water. These limestones all contain silicious 
 and clayey matter and in burning form certain silicates and alummates of 
 lime. Hydraulic cements are unlike common lime in that they do not 
 depend on drying for their setting, nor on carbonation for their hardening, 
 but combine chemically with a certain amount of water and form insoluble 
 compounds. Hydraulic cements are widely used in construction work, 
 especially in making concrete, a mixture of broken stone with a cement 
 mortar. Hydraulic cements are often made from other substances than 
 hydraulic limestone, such as marls, mixtures of chalk and clay, volcanic tufa 
 and lime, slag and lime, etc. 
 
 Portland cement is the most important of the hydraulic cements. It 
 is prepared from mixtures of limestone, either pure or silicious, with clay. 
 The \'arious substances are powdered and mixed in certain definite propor- 
 tions. The mixture is thoroughly burned to a clinker, which is afterwards 
 ground to a fine powder for use. 
 
 Chalk is a peculiar soft limestone resembling white clay. Most of it 
 comes from England. 
 
 Whiting is chalk, ground fine and prepared by washing. (See Clay 
 Washing.) It is also prepared from some white clays. Whiting is mixed 
 w'ith linseed oil, to make putty, and is used as an adulterant for other white 
 pigments in paints. Whitewash is sometimes prepared by mixing whiting 
 with water and a little glue, and sometimes by mixing slaked lime and water. 
 Whiting (prepared chalk or putty powder) is also used as a polishing powder. 
 
 Marble. Limestones suitable for polishing or for use in ornamental 
 work are called marble. The term is sometimes restricted to the white 
 crj'stalline varieties. 
 
 Many kinds of marble are known by the names of the localities where 
 they are obtained. Carrara marble is the fine Italian statuary marble. Ten- 
 nessee marble is a kind extensively used in this country for ornamental work. 
 Many different kinds of beautiful marble are found in Italy. Vermont is the 
 greatest marble-producing state in the Union. Georgia, Tennessee and 
 New York produce large quantities. Marble is also mined in several other 
 states. Marble dust and chips are used in the generation of carbon dioxide 
 gas ( CO_, ) for charging soda water and other aerated beverages. 
 
 Mexican Onyx is a translucent limestone, with beautiful colors, found 
 in many countries and used for ornamental purposes. 
 
 Lithographic limestone is a \ariety with a very fine texture, found at 
 Solenhofen, Germany, and used in making lithographic plates. 
 
 Marl is a calcareous clay generally containing the remains of many 
 shells and marine animals. It is sometimes used in making Portland cement 
 and often as a fertilizer. The marl of New Jersey is composed mostly of 
 glauconite or greensand (a hydrous silicate of iron and potassium). It is 
 frequently phosphatic and is used as a fertilizer.
 
 96 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 "Chloride of lime," or bleaching powder, is generally prepared by 
 slaking lime with water and passing chlorine gas over and through it. It 
 is used for bleaching textiles and paper i)ulp and for disinfecting. 
 
 Acetate of lime is used as a mordant in dyeing. 
 
 Calcium carbide is prepared by heating a mi.xture of chalk and coke 
 in an electric furnace. When treated with water this substance liberates 
 acetylene gas, a powerful illuminant. 
 
 Gypsum (hydrous calcium sulphate, Ca SO, .2HjO) is a soft 
 
 GYPSUM mineral found in nearly all parts of the world. In the United 
 
 States it is mined in Michigan, Kansas, New York, Ohio and 
 
 other states. A considerable quantity is imported from Canada. Beds of 
 
 .salt are usually found near gypsum. 
 
 Plaster is prepared by calcining gypsum, a process which consists in 
 heating it, thus driving oft some of the water which it contains. When 
 plaster is mixed with water, they combine again to make gypsum and the 
 minute crystals of this substance in forming, interlace and cause the plaster 
 to ' ' set. ' ' The purest calcined gypsum is called ' ' plaster of paris. ' ' Wall 
 plaster is less pure, contains sand and fiber, and does not set so rapidly as 
 plaster of paris. Impure gypsum is used in making land plaster and other 
 fertilizers. Powdered gypsum is used as a "loading" material in paper- 
 making. 
 
 Alaba.v'ter is a compact, pure white \ariety of gypsum used for orna- 
 mental jiurposes. 
 
 Fluorite (calcium fluoride, Ca F,) is used as a flux in the 
 
 FLUORITE reduction of some ores, in the manufacture of opalescent 
 
 glass, ir the production of hydrofluoric acid and for minor 
 
 purposes. It is obtained in Kentucky, southern Illinois, and at some 
 
 places in Europe. 
 
 Beds of rock containing greater or less percentages 
 PHOSPHATE ROCK of phosphate of lime, usually associated with car- 
 bonate of lime, occur in various parts of the world. 
 Some of these phosphatic beds consist of limestone, carrying a small per- 
 centage of calcium phosphate, and such are not available as a commercial 
 source of phosphorus; some deposits are composed largely of bone and 
 other organic remains, and some are of a distinctly coprolitic nature. The 
 phosphatic character of these beds is traceable in most, if not all, cases to 
 an animal origin. 
 
 The deposits near Charleston, S. C, are distinctly composed of organic 
 remains and contain many shark's teeth, bones, and the remains of marine 
 animals. 
 
 The phosphate rock of Tennessee is essentially a limestone from which 
 much of the calcium carbonate has been dissolved. 
 
 Other phosphate beds occur in Florida, the West Indies, Canada, Es- 
 tremadura (Spain), France, Germany and England. 
 
 In Canada deposits of limestone contain a crystalline mineral called 
 apatite (a calcium phosphate^
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS gy 
 
 Natural phosphates are used in the preparation of fertilizers, for which 
 purpose they are usually treated with sulphuric acid (H^SO,), which con- 
 verts the bone phosphate (Ca, (PO^)/) into superphosphate (a mixture of 
 calcium sulphate with the acid phosphate of lime, CaH, (POJJ, in which 
 form it is much more easily soluble in water, and hence more available as 
 plant food. The natural phosphates are also used as the source of phos- 
 phorus for the manufacture of matches, phosphoric acid and various com- 
 pounds, such as phosphate of soda used in dyeing. 
 
 For other fertilizers see Guano, Lime, Gas Lime, Fish, Nitrate, Slag, 
 etc. Wastes such as garbage and sewage when worked up by modern pro- 
 cesses yield valuable fertilizers, with other jiroducts. 
 
 Sulphur, or brimstone, occurs in a pure state in various parts 
 SULPHUR of the world. It is found abundantly in the neighborhood 
 of active or extinct volcanoes, and is frequently associated 
 with beds of gypsum and limestone. It occurs impregnating the water of 
 sulphur springs, and, in chemical combination with various metals, is an im- 
 portant constituent of the large class of compounds called sulphides, which 
 embrace many of the important metallic ores. Native sulphur, pyrite and 
 the waste calcium sulphide from alkali works are the chief sources of sul- 
 phur compounds. The island of Sicily is the greatest commercial source 
 of native sulphur. The mines there have been worked for ma y hundreds 
 of years. Sulphur is found in Italy, Japan, Hawaii and other places. In 
 the United States it occurs in Louisiana, Nevada, California and Utah. 
 
 In Sicily it is partly purified by piling the rock in heaps and igniting it, 
 the heat produced by the combustion of some of the sulphur melting the 
 rest which runs down and is drawn off from the bottom of the heap. Crude 
 sulphur is distilled to make "flowers of sulphur" and "roll brimstone." 
 
 Sulphur is commercially useful in vulcanizing rubber, for bleaching, for 
 the manufacture of gunpowder and matches, for medicinal purposes, as a 
 disinfectant, and for the preparation of many compounds which contain 
 it. The most important sulphur compound and the one through which 
 most of the others are derived is sulphuric acid, which is prepared from 
 sulphur in much the same way as from pyrite. 
 
 Sulphurous acid is much like sulphuric and is most used in making 
 paper pulp, in bleaching and disinfecting. 
 
 Some of the well-known compounds which are derived from sulphuric 
 acid are: blue vitriol, copperas or green vitriol, and alum. Sulphuric acid 
 is used in purifying petroleum, vegetable and animal oils, in the manufacture 
 of the aniline dyes, and the very numerous chemical compounds embraced 
 in the groups called sulphates and sulphites, the names and uses of which 
 are too numerous to specify. 
 
 Bisulphide of carbon is a volatile liquid used as a solvent for rubber, 
 sulphur, phosphorus, resins and oils. It is also employed as an insecticide, 
 especially in wheat elevators.
 
 98 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Quartz (silica, Si Oj ) is one of the most common minerals in 
 QUARTZ all parts of the world. It is found in rock masses (quartzite); 
 in sands and sandstones: also as clear, transparent crystals 
 (rock crystal). Varieties occur of many shades of color, milky, amethyst, 
 rose, yellow and smoky. Other non-crystalline kinds are found in great 
 variety, such as agate, moss agate, ony.\, sardonyx, chalcedony, carnelian, 
 chrysoprase, prase, heliotrope, cat's eye, tiger's eye, jasper, flint, chert, 
 hornstone, honestone, touchstone, buhrstone, petrified or agatized wood, 
 etc. In addition to forming sandstones and quartzites, quartz occurs as a 
 constituent of many rocks, such as granite. Many varieties of quartz are 
 used in jewelry and for making ornamental articles. Rhinestones and lenses 
 are cut from clear crystal quartz. 
 
 American rock flint is pure quartz rock which is crushed and used 
 for pottery and glass making. It is mined in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. 
 
 Glass sand is obtained in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, West \'irginia. 
 New Jersey, Missouri and other states. 
 
 Quartz sand and ground quartz are used m sandpaper, sandsoap, polish- 
 ing powders and sand blasts. Sand is used as a refractory lining in furnaces. 
 Sand is also used in making moulds for casting metals, for making filter 
 beds, for sanding railroad tracks, for mixing in asphalt for paving, and in 
 cement and mortar for building. 
 
 Flint is found in irregular nodules in chalk or limestone. The supply 
 comes from England, France and Ireland. It is chiefly used in pottery 
 making, being ground to a fine powder, and mixed with clay and feldspar. 
 Arrow points and knives were made of flint by primitive peoples. Flint 
 was used with steel for making fire before the invention of matches. 
 
 Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of grains of quartz 
 cemented together in a coherent mass. The cementing material is some- 
 times silicious when it forms a hard and durable rock. Sandstones occur in 
 many shades of white, yellow, red and brown. The)- are found both loose 
 and compact, and fine and coarse grained. They are used for millstcnes 
 and grindstones, for building, road making, railroad ballast, concrete, etc. 
 Some sandstones are crushed to make glass sand. 
 
 Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York are the greatest producers of sand- 
 stone in this country, but it is quarried in almost all the states. Pennsylvania 
 and New York produce a \ariety called bluestone or flagstone, used for 
 paving. Buhrstone is used for millstones. Honestones, oilstones, whet- 
 stones and other sharpening stones are mostly made of sandstone. Arkansas 
 (novaculite), Michigan, Indiana, New Hampshire and Vermont produce 
 most of these articles. 
 
 Glass is made by fusing a mixture of silica (glass sand), alkali 
 
 GLASS (generally soda ash), and lime. This mixture makes lime glass. 
 
 In lead glass (flint glass), lead oxide (minium) is used in place 
 
 of the lime. Sodium sulphate and potash are sometimes used instead of 
 
 soda ash, and salts of other metals instead of the lime or lead oxide. Lead 
 
 glass is somewhat softer and more costly than lime glass, but is generally
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS gg 
 
 clearer and more brilliant. It is used for fine grades of glassware, particularly 
 for cut glass. Artificial gems (strass) contain a very large percentage of 
 lead. Small amounts of iron in the materials used, give a green color to 
 glass. This is usually corrected by adding manganese dioxide to the mix- 
 ture. Colored glass is made by adding salts of iron, copper, cobalt, or 
 other metals. 
 
 The mixture of powdered materials called ' ' glass batch " or " frit ' ' is 
 melted in a clay pot or tank in a furnace. Most articles of glass are blown 
 by means of an iron tube about five feet long. A mass of molten glass 
 ( ' ' metal ' ' ) taken from the melting pot on the end of the tube, is expanded 
 by blowing and shaped while hot into almost any desired form. The shap- 
 ing is often done by blowing in moulds of clay or iron. Window glass 
 (cylinder or sheet glass) is blown into a large bulb which is rolled to cylin- 
 drical form and then cut open and flattened out. For crown glass a bulb is 
 blown, opened at the end and extended into a sheet by rapid rotation. 
 Cheap glassware is blown by machinery. 
 
 Many articles of glass are not blown, but pressed in moulds, and others 
 are made by a combination of blowing and pressing. Pressed glass is often 
 made to imitate cut glass. 
 
 Plate glass is made by pouring the molten glass on a smooth iron table 
 over which a roller passes making the glass of an even thickness. Later it 
 is ground flat and polished with sand and rouge. 
 
 All glass must be annealed to prevent brittleness. This is done b\- slow 
 and equal cooling either in a kiln where the process takes several days or in 
 an annealing lehr or oven where the glass passes on travelling bands in a 
 few hours, through a gradually diminishing temperature. 
 
 Cut glass is produced by pressing the article against a revolving grind- 
 stone and polishing on a wheel fed with emery and rouge. Glass is orna- 
 mented in other ways by staining (painting) and re-heating, by engraving 
 with a small revolving wheel, and by etching with hydrofluoric acid. 
 
 Glass is used for a great variety of purposes, among the most important 
 of which are window glass, mirrors, bottles, fruit jars, lamps, chimneys, 
 globes, incandescent lamps, tumblers, dishes, lenses, tiling, etc. For sky- 
 lights and places exposed to danger from fire, glass is made enclosing a 
 network of wire. 
 
 Belgium, Austria, Germany, France, and the United States are the 
 leading manufacturers of glass. In this country Pennsylvania, Indiana, 
 New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, New York, West Virginia and Missouri are the 
 greatest glass-making states. The abundance of natural gas in certain sec- 
 tions, giving a cheap and desirable fuel, has greatly influenced the location 
 of glass factories. 
 
 Opal for gems is found in Australia, Mexico and Hungary. A 
 OPAL few opals have been found in Idaho. Opals have almost the same 
 composition as quartz.
 
 lOO COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Infusorial earth (diatomaceous earth or tripoli) is formed of the 
 silicious shells of a multitude of microscopic organisms. It has essentially 
 the same composition as opal. It is a light, porous, clay-like material found 
 in Tripoli, Tuscany, \'irginia, California, and many other localities. It is 
 used for making polishing powders (electro-silicon), scouring soap, packing 
 around boilers and steam pipes, as a base for fireproof cement, plaster and 
 brick. It has been employed as an absorbent of nitro-glycerine in the 
 manufacture of dynamite, but for this purpose is replaced by wood pulp. 
 
 In addition to the diamond, sapphire, ruby, opal and the many 
 GEMS varieties of quartz used for gems, there are other hard minerals, 
 mostly transparent, used in jewelry. Among these the most 
 important are topaz, emerald, aquamarine, beryl, tourmaline, olivine, chry- 
 solite, spinel, moonstone and turquois. In the island of Ceylon, precious 
 stones of many varieties are found in gravel. In this country, beryl and 
 amethyst are found in North Carolina and Connecticut, turquoise in New 
 Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, sapphire in Montana, tourmaline 
 in California and Maine, chrysoprase and kunzite in California, and garnet 
 in Arizona, New Mexico and North Carolina. 
 
 Garnet is mined in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Yorkand Connec- 
 ticut in opaque masses unfit for gems. It is a trifle less hard than quartz and 
 is an important abrasive used for making wheels, paper and polishing powder. 
 Mica is a common mineral which occurs as a constituent of granite. 
 MICA It splits readily into very thin sheets and is of value commercially 
 only when it occurs in sheets with an area of at least several square 
 inches. India is the greatest producer of mica. There are important deposits 
 in Canada, North Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia. Two important 
 varieties are found, viz., clean transparent mica (muscovite) and opaque or 
 dark colored mica (biotite or phlogopite). For panels in stove doors, and 
 chimneys of incandescent gas lamps only the transparent kind is used. 
 Sheet mica is also employed in electrical work for insulating. The scrap 
 mica and trimmings from sheets are ground up for use in lubricating heavy 
 machinery, and for making insulators and pipe covering. Ground mica is 
 also used for giving a spangled or frosted effect to wall paper. 
 
 Isinglass is not mica, but a pure sheet gelatine prepared chiefly from 
 the swimming bladders of fish. (See Isinglass. ) 
 
 Building stones are generally quarried in the neigh- 
 BUILDING STONES borhood where they are used, and only in special 
 cases enter into general commerce. They are used 
 for construction of walls, ornamental work, monuments, foundations, pave- 
 ments (in slabs and paving blocks), curbstones, flagstones, etc. Exception- 
 ally beautiful marbles and granites are shipped to a distance for the 
 construction of handsome buildings, monuments, or interior decorations. 
 (See also Limestone, Marble, Sandstone, Slate, etc. ) 
 Stone of the same general nature, in smaller, irregular pieces, is used 
 in the form of rubble and crushed stone for roadmaking, concrete and rail- 
 road ballast.
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS jqi 
 
 Granite is a name applied commercially to almost all igneous 
 GRANITE rocks. Typical granite is a mixture of interlocking grains of 
 quartz, feldspar and mica. In gneiss, the same minerals are 
 arranged in layers. In syenite, hornblende takes the place of the mica of 
 granite. Quartz-porphyry, andesite, mica schist, diabase, diorite, basalt, 
 trap, and gabbro are all generally included in the class of granites. The 
 latter of these rocks are chiefly used in the form of crushed stone for paving. 
 In texture, granites vary from extremely fine to very coarse grained, 
 and in color are white or grayish, red, yellow, brown or green, depending 
 generally on the color of the feldspar. In quarrying, blocks are loosened 
 by taking advantage of natural joints or seams and by following certain 
 directions along which the rock splits easiest. Granite is a very hard, 
 strong, and durable rock, susceptible of a high polish and much used for 
 building construction and ornamental work. In this country the states pro- 
 ducing the most granite are Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 The hydrocarbon group embraces coal, asphaltum, 
 HYDROCARBONS petroleum and natural gas. These have all resulted 
 from the decomposition of organic matter in the 
 earth. Vegetable matter has been the most important factor in their for- 
 mation, fossil plants being a prominent feature of many coal deposits. In 
 some cases, however, such as certain petroleums and asphalts, it is highly 
 probable that they have been derived, in part at least, from marine or other 
 animal remains. 
 
 Porous rocks, such as sandstones, limestones and shales, not infre- 
 quently contain small percentages of bituminous matter. The coloring 
 matter of most black marble is of this nature, and was probably derived 
 from the animals, the shells of which furnish the lime of which the rock is 
 composed. 
 
 The form in which these carbon compounds now occur depends on the 
 conditions under which they were deposited, and the influence of time, heat, 
 pressure of superincumbent rocks and other agencies to which they have 
 since been subjected. 
 
 Coal is the fuel upon which modern manufactures are abso- 
 COAL lutely dependent. It is in general the result of the gradual change 
 which has taken place during past ages in organic deposits, 
 chiefly vegetable, and its form and composition depend upon the extent to 
 which this change has gone on. Thus it passes from forms, such as peat 
 and lignite, which still retain the structure of the vegetable matter, through 
 those with less of the volatile or bituminous ingredients to anthracite, and, 
 further, to kinds which approach graphite. Varieties are found inter- 
 mediate between all the various important types. 
 
 The most important coal-producing states are Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
 West Virginia, Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky and 
 Maryland. Deposits are worked to some extent in most of the states and 
 territories.
 
 I02 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 There are important deposits of coal in Wales (some of which is anthra- 
 cite), in England, Germany, Austria, Russia and Australia. Other deposits, 
 many of which are mined and which may be of greater future importance, 
 occur in Mexico, South America, South Africa, India, China, Japan and the 
 Philippines. 
 
 Peat or turf is a transition state between unaltered vegetable debris 
 and brown coal. It is formed in bogs and swamps by the partial alteration 
 of leaves, moss, wood, roots, etc. , in masses out of contact with the atmos- 
 phere. Beds of peat are of comparatively recent origin and contain more 
 or less unaltered vegetable fiber. This is sometimes extracted and made 
 into mats and packing material. Peat is sometimes made into coke and 
 the gases derived from it in coking yield a variety of products. Peat is a 
 common fuel in Holland, Ireland and Russia. Muck from peat beds is 
 sometimes used as a fertilizer. 
 
 Brown Coal is a more compact variety, usually brownish-black in 
 color. It contains considerable water and 20 per cent, or more of oxygen. 
 Lignite is a brown coal which retains the structure of the original wood from 
 which it was formed. Brown coal and lignite are mined in some parts of 
 Germany and Austria, and in other countries. 
 
 Bituminous Coal, or common soft coal, generally contains from 5 to 
 15 per cent, of oxygen and 4 to 7 per cent, of hydrogen. There are several 
 types of bituminous coal, the most important of which are: 
 
 Caking or Coking Coal, which becomes pasty or semi-viscid in the fire 
 and loses its volatile gases before the combustion of its fixed carbon. 
 
 Non-Coking Coal is similar in appearance and composition to coking 
 coal, but burns freely, without softening, or any appearance of fusion. 
 
 Cannel Coal (parrot coal, horn coal) is a compact bituminous coal 
 which yields 40 per cent, to 60 per cent, of volatile matter. It is used in 
 gas-making. 
 
 Cherry or soft coal, splint or hard coal, free-burning, binding, block, 
 gas and steam coals are names applied to varieties of bituminous coal. 
 
 Some kinds of coal are used for special purposes for which it has been 
 found that they are best adapted, such as coke-making, steam -raising, gas- 
 making, smelting, etc. 
 
 Anthracite Coal is a hard coal containing a high percentage of carbon 
 and a low percentage of volatile matter. Semi-anthracites are a stage 
 between bituminous and true anthracite coal. 
 
 In the United States, Pennsylvania produces almost all the anthracite 
 and leads in the quantity and value of bituminous coal, the output of this 
 alone being three times that of Illinois, the state which stands next in im- 
 portance. The value of the anthracite coal produced annually in Pennsyl- 
 vania is almost equal to that of all the gold produced in a year in the United 
 States. 
 
 In the mining of coal and its preparation for market by breaking to 
 various sizes (known in this country as steamboat, broken, heater, egg, 
 stove, chestnut, pea, buckwheat and rice),. there is produced a great deal of
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 I 
 
 I
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 103 
 
 fine coal dust, slack or culm. This used to be piled up in great heaps near 
 the mines and was considered valueless. Considerable of it is now being 
 used in firing boilers, and is burned in specially constructed grates. It is 
 also used in making coke. Much coal is separated from pyrite, clay, slate 
 and coal dust by washing, washeries being often connected with the breakers. 
 
 Coke is a fuel prepared from coking coal by partial combustion in 
 ovens. The heat drives off the volatile matter and the sulphur which is often 
 contained in the coal. Coke is of great use in metallurgy, particularly in 
 iron smelting, because of its porosity, its resistance to crushing and its com- 
 parative freedom from sulphur. 
 
 When coke is made in specially constructed by-product ovens, some of 
 the gases which are driven o{{ are burned under the ovens to aid in the 
 coking, and ammonia and coal tar are recovered. In many places in this 
 country these valuable by-products are allowed to go to waste. 
 
 Coal gas or illuminating gas is produced by the distillation of coal in 
 retorts. The gases which come off are purified by passing through water 
 which dissolves the ammonia which they contain, and then through slaked 
 lime which absorbs sulphur, cyanogen and carbon dio.xide. After several 
 re-burnings the lime contains considerable calcium sulphate and is sold as 
 gas lime for fertilizer. 
 
 Water gas is made by passing steam over a bed of red hot coke. It 
 is used for fuel. For illuminating, it needs to be enriched, as does also some 
 coal gas, by mixture with benzenes or other volatile products. 
 
 The thick, viscous coal tar is distilled and its products re-distilled, and 
 treated with sulphuric acid, caustic alkalis and other chemicals. They yield 
 a great variety of useful articles, as will be seen from the accompanying 
 diagram. There are thousands of compounds from coal tar, a list of which 
 would simply be an enumeration of unfamiliar names. The dyes alone 
 number several hundreds and are known as anilines, anthracenes, alizarines, 
 eosine, etc. , and are of all colors and shades. This table simply gives 
 general groups of substances with their uses. (Ammonia is also obtained 
 from many other sources. ) 
 
 (See also Wood Distillation.)
 
 I04 
 
 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
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 W 1
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 105 
 
 Petroleum is a liquid bituminous substance produced by 
 PETROLEUM the decomposition of \egetable and animal matter in the 
 earth. It \aries from a thin transparent oil to a thick 
 viscous liquid. Petroleum is found in enormous quantities saturating beds 
 of sandstone, conglomerate, shale, or other porous rocks. Brine is almost 
 invariably found near petroleum, and natural gas is frequently obser\ed. 
 Most of the petroleum of commerce comes from the region of Ohio, West 
 Virginia and western Pennsyhania, and from Baku, on the Caspian Sea. It 
 is produced in Te.xas, Indiana, California, Colorado, Canada, and in Galicia, 
 Sumatra, Java, Upper Burma, Roumania, Japan and Peru. The United States 
 is the greatest producer of illuminating oils, the yield from the crude oil aver- 
 aging 75 per cent. , while the Russian crude oil yields only about 35 per cent. 
 of illuminating oil. The Russian crude oil and the Texas crude oil are particu- 
 larly useful as fuel oils. On distillation the Russian oil yields much napthaline. 
 
 Petroleum is obtained from wells a few inches in diameter, sunk through 
 the earth to the porous strata where the oil occurs. The wells vary in 
 depth from a couple of hundred feet to as much as three or four thousand 
 feet and are bored by means of long heavy drills. Derricks built over the 
 wells support the drilling tools. The machinery is operated by steam 
 engines which raise the drills a few inches and drop them, their sharp chisel- 
 like ends and heavy weight causing them to drive a hole slowly through 
 very hard rocks. The wells are usually lined for at least a part of their 
 depth with cast iron pipe. Wells for natural gas are bored in the same way. 
 Wells which do not flow freely are often made to yield large quantities of 
 oil by exploding nitro-glycerine in them. This is called ' ' shooting ' ' a well. 
 
 The crude oil is usually transported on land, by pumping through pipe 
 lines. The pipes run for hundreds of miles from the wells to refineries 
 usually located on the sea coast. From the coast, oil is shipped in tank 
 steamers to other countries. Oils are shipped by rail in tank cars. Enor- 
 mous quantities of refined oil are handled in this country and exported to 
 all parts of the world in large square tin cans. Many foreign countries levy 
 a heavy import dutv on refined petroleum, but admit crude oil free. 
 
 Crude petroleum is refined for use by heating it in large containers. The 
 vapors which distill off are condensed by cooling. In this way it is separated 
 into various " fractions," some of them light and easily volatile, like gasoline, 
 naptha and benzine; some a little heavier and less volatile, such as kerosene, 
 headlight, and other illuminating oils; and some still hea\'ier oils used for 
 lubricating. The fractions are further purified by treatment with sulphuric 
 acid and caustic soda and by re-distillation. The many grades of refined 
 products are found useful for various purposes, such as fuel, illuminating oil, 
 lubricating oils, oils for gas making, solvents for rubber, resins, etc., tur- 
 pentine substitute, volatile oil for ice making, floor oil, and for a large 
 number of other uses. 
 
 Vaseline, petrolatum, or other semi-solid greases are extracted from 
 illuminating oils during the refining process. Vaseline is used in ointments 
 and for lubricating.
 
 io6 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Parafflne wax is separated in the piirihcation of the lubricating oils. 
 Paraftine is similar in appearance and in many of its properties to bleached 
 beeswax. It is used for waxing floors, waxing paper, making candles and 
 as a substitute or adulterant for other waxes. Ozocerite (native parafifine) 
 is found in Galicia and is used for the same purposes, also for insulating, 
 and waterproofing electric wires. 
 
 Lubricating oils for all sorts of machinery are prepared by mixtures of 
 petroleum products with vegetable oils. The residuum after distillation is a 
 thick substance similar to asphalt in its nature. It is mixed with asphalt for 
 paving, or with coal dust is made into briquettes for fuel. When the dis- 
 tillation is further continued, petroleum coke results. Electric light carbons 
 are made of petroleum coke. 
 
 Asphaltum (mineral pitch ) is a bituminous mineral sub- 
 ASPHALTUM stance formed by the decomposition of organic matter. It 
 varies in consistency from liquid or viscous varieties 
 (called mineral tar or maltha) to hard, brittle, solid asphaltums. 
 
 Petroleums change to asphaltum by oxygenation and the loss of their 
 volatile oils. Asphaltum is found in small quantities in a state of high 
 purity, and occurs in larger deposits mixed with earthy matter or impreg- 
 nating beds of porous materials, such as clays, shales, sandstones and lime- 
 stones. These latter varieties are called rock asphalts. 
 
 The most important commercial source is the Pitch Lake on the Island 
 of Trinidad, which furnishes an asphalt containing about fifty-five per cent, 
 of bitumen, with thirty-five per cent, of earthy matter. Asphalt is also 
 found in \'enezuela and in several of the West India islands, notably Bar- 
 bados and Cuba. 
 
 In the L'nited States, pure varieties (ozocerite, gilsonite and uintahite) 
 are produced in Utah and California, and rock asphalts are mined in con- 
 siderable quantity in California and to a much less extent in Kentucky and 
 Indian Territory. In France and Switzerland there are large beds of as- 
 phaltic limestones which are used for paving. There are similar deposits 
 in Germany, Italy and Spain. 
 
 The most important use of asphalt is as a paving material. Asphalt 
 pavements are made of broken and pulverized rock and sand held together 
 by eight to ten per cent, of asphaltic cement composed of a mixture of 
 asphaltum and petroleum residuum. Asphalt is used as a cement between 
 wooden paving blocks. When mixed with broken stone and sand it is com- 
 pressed into asphalt paving blocks. Pure varieties are used in making 
 black varnish for metals and leathers, for insulating, for water-proofing and 
 for cement in construction work. 
 
 Amber is frequently classed as a mineral among the hydro- 
 
 AMBER carbons. It is a hard fossil resin, found along the shore of the 
 
 Baltic Sea. Small quantities come from Sicily and other 
 
 localities. It is carved into fancy articles, such as mouthpieces for pipes 
 
 and cigar holders, beads and the like. The shavings and small opaque 
 
 pieces are used in making fine varnish.
 
 MINERAL PRODUCTS 107 
 
 Graphite (plumbago or black leadj is a purer form of car- 
 GRAPHITE bon than coal. It has essentially the same composition as 
 
 the diamond. It is called black lead because, like the metal 
 lead, it will leave a mark on paper. The principal sources of supply are 
 Ceylon, New York and Bohemia. It is also found in Canada, Mexico 
 and some other localities. 
 
 The best or crystalline grades of graphite are used for making crucibles, 
 lead pencils, and lubricants for chains and heavy machinery. The poorer 
 grades are employed for stove polish, foundry facings, paint, etc. Graphite 
 crucibles are used for melting precious metals and other substances that must 
 be exposed to a high heat. They are made by moulding and baking a 
 mixture of graphite and selected clay. 
 
 The lead for pencils is prepared by grinding graphite, separating the 
 finest powders, generally by floating them away in water and allowing them 
 to subside. The very finest powder is used for the high grade pencils. 
 Clay is also prepared by floating and is mixed and ground with the graphite 
 in greater or less proportion, the hardest pencils containing the most clay. 
 After the mass is moulded in the shape of leads, it is baked in a kiln and 
 later glued between strips of cedar which are shaped as desired. 
 
 Foundry facings are put on the surface of sand moulds to prevent the 
 metal when cast from adhering to the sand. 
 
 Graphite is also used in glazing powder grains and shot. Graphite 
 made artificially at Niagara Falls, by an electric process from anthracite coal 
 or coke, is used for making electrodes, carbons, paint and foundry facings. 
 Diamonds are found principally in South Africa. A few 
 DIAMONDS are obtained in Brazil and smaller numbers in India and 
 some other parts of the world. The diamond is the hardest 
 known substance and is composed of pure crystallized carbon (C), an ele- 
 ment found in almost as pure a state, in the form of graphite and less pure 
 as coal. Carbon is a necessary ingredient of all li\ing organisms. 
 
 Clear, flawless diamonds are valued as gems on account of their rarity, 
 hardness and high refractive power. No other substance being so hard, 
 diamonds are cut and polished by the use of diamond dust. Amsterdam 
 and Antwerp are the headquarters of the diamond-cutting industry. 
 
 Some diamonds are black in color and many are small, not transparent, 
 or of such poor quality that they are useless as gems. These are used for 
 polishing or for cutting hard substances. The black ones (carbonado or 
 bort) are a trifle harder than transparent diamonds and are used in diamond 
 drills. For this purpose they are mounted on the end or edge of a metal 
 tube two or three inches in diameter. This is revolved by machinery and 
 pressing on rocks below the earth's surface rapidly grinds or drills a hole. 
 The cores of rock obtained from such wells give valuable information as to 
 the nature of rocks and mineral deposits below the surface of the earth. 
 Most wells for oil, water or brine are driven as described under petrok-um.
 
 io8 COMMERCIAL RAW MATERIALS 
 
 Carborundum is an artificial abrasive material made at 
 CARBORUNDUM Niagara Falls, N. Y., by fusing a mixture of coke, 
 sawdust and sand in an electric furnace. Chemically 
 it is carbide of silicon (Si C). Its hardness is greater than that of any other 
 known substance except the diamond. Like other abrasives it is used in 
 the form of powders of different degrees of fineness and for making grinding 
 wheels and sharpening stones. 
 
 Pumice is a volcanic rock, softer than most other abrasives. 
 PUMICE It is used in lump and in powder for polishing metals, stone, 
 wood and varnish. Almost all of the pumice used comes from 
 Lipari, an island off the north coast of Sicily. 
 
 Rotten stone is prepared from decomposed rocks. 
 ROTTEN STONE It is a fine smooth powder, not of great hardness. 
 It is much used for rubbing down and polishing 
 varnished surfaces. 
 
 For other abrasives see Quartz, Corundum, Garnet, Rouge, Infusorial 
 Earth and Puttv Powder. 
 
 •^ •^Z* •^
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Pack. 
 
 The Cotton Plant and its Products Frontispiece 
 
 Threshing Wheat, Minnesota 2 
 
 Picking Coffee, Brazil 10 
 
 Cocoanut Trees, Jamaica 22 
 
 Picking Cotton, Arkansas 26 
 
 Reeling Silk, Japan 74 
 
 Hydraulic Gold Mining, New Zealand 83 
 
 LIST OF DIAGRAMS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Corn Plant 5 
 
 Cocoanut Palm 24 
 
 Cotton Plant 25 
 
 Pine Tree, yellow 32 
 
 Wood Distillation 47 
 
 Coal Distillation 104 
 
 MAPS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Ash opposite 42 
 
 Banana " 9 
 
 Beech " 40 
 
 Birch, black " 40 
 
 Cacao " 12 
 
 Cattle Hides " 60 
 
 Cherry " 42 
 
 Chestnut " 40 
 
 Coal " 102 
 
 Cocoanut " 23 
 
 Coffee " II 
 
 Cork " 42 
 
 Corn, Indian " 4 
 
 Cotton " 25 
 
 Cypress, bald " 32 
 
 Ebony " 32 
 
 Elm, white " 42 
 
 Eucalyptus " 34 
 
 Fir, Douglas " 32 
 
 Flax " 20 
 
 Goat and Kid Skins " 66 
 
 Gold " 82 
 
 Hemlock " 32 
 
 Hemp, Sisal, Manila " 18 
 
 Hickory " 42 
 
 Hides, Cattle " 60 
 
 Iron " 78 
 
 Jacaranda " 40
 
 CONTENTS— Continued 
 
 Jute . . . 
 Mahogany 
 Maize . . . 
 
 Maple-sugar 
 
 Oak, white, Old World 
 Oak, red, cork .... 
 
 Petroleum 
 
 Pine, white, yellow . . 
 Rice 
 
 Rosewood 
 Rubber . . 
 Sheep . . . 
 Silk .... 
 
 Silver 
 
 Spruce, white, black, Norway, common 
 
 Sugar, cane, beet 
 
 Sycamore 
 
 Tea 
 
 Teak 
 
 Walnut 
 
 Wheat 
 
 Wool 
 
 Page. 
 
 apposite 20 
 
 42 
 
 4 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 
 42 
 104 
 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 5" 
 64 
 72 
 S4 
 34 
 
 8 
 42 
 12 
 34 
 42 
 
 I 
 
 64 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Abaca 17 
 
 Abalone 72 
 
 Abrasives loS, 107, 51 
 
 Acetates 47, 80, 81, 96 
 
 Acetone 47 
 
 Acetylene 9^ 
 
 Acid 56, 65, 88 
 
 Acid, acetic 47 
 
 Acid, benzoic 104 
 
 Acid, boracic 94 
 
 Acid, carbolic 104 
 
 Acid, chromic 92,61,76 
 
 Acid, cresylic 104 
 
 Acid, hydrochloric 95. 60 
 
 Acid, hydrofluoric 9^, 99 
 
 Acid, nitric 94, 76, 29 
 
 Acid, oxalic 47 
 
 Acid, phosphoric 97 
 
 Acid, picric 104 
 
 Acid, pyrogallic 5S 
 
 Acid, pyroli§:neous 47 
 
 Acid, salycilic 104 
 
 Acid, sulphuric ... 80, 97, 7, 29. 47, 90, 92, 103, 105 
 
 Acid, sulphurous 97 
 
 Acid, tartaric . . : 5^ 
 
 Aconite 16 
 
 Agar-agar 4S 
 
 Agate 98 
 
 Agave 18, 17 
 
 Alabaster 96 
 
 Albumen, blood 60 
 
 Albumen, egg 77 
 
 Alcohol 12, 13. 3. 5, 29, 48. 49. 53- 54 
 
 Alcoholic liquors 12, 13, 1 to S, 24 
 
 Alcohol, wood 47 
 
 Alder . 44 
 
 Algarobilla 56 
 
 Alizarine 103, 104 
 
 Alkali 92, 12, 27, 52, 98, 103 
 
 Alligator 63 
 
 Alloys 82, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89 
 
 Allspice 14 
 
 Aloe fiber ; 18 
 
 Aloes 15. 49 
 
 Alpaca 68 
 
 Alum 88,47.55.56.61,64.67,86,97 
 
 Alumina 86, 77 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Aluminium 851088 
 
 Aluminium bronze 86, 82 
 
 .\Jumiuuni 85 
 
 Alundum 86 
 
 Alunite 88 
 
 Amalgam 84,85 
 
 Amaranth 46 
 
 Amber . , 106 
 
 Ambergris 70, 54 
 
 Amethyst 98, 100 
 
 Ammonia 47, 103, 104, 60 
 
 Ammonium sulphide 39 
 
 Amphibole 90 
 
 Andesite 101 
 
 Angora 67, 66 
 
 Aniline 103, 104,47,97 
 
 Animal products 581078,96 
 
 Anime 49 
 
 Anise 15 
 
 Annatto 56, 60 
 
 Antelope 68 
 
 Anthracene 103, 104 
 
 Anthracite . , 102, 101, 107 
 
 Anti-friction nietal 89 
 
 Antimony 88, 89, 81, 85, 50 
 
 Antipyrine , 16 
 
 Apatite 96 
 
 Apples 9 
 
 Aquamarine 100 
 
 Arbor vit^ 37 
 
 Areca 17 
 
 Argentiferous ores 84 
 
 Argentite 84 
 
 Argols 58,55 
 
 Arnica 16 
 
 Arrack 23. 24 
 
 Arrowroot , . . . • 6 
 
 Arsenic 91,85, 16 
 
 Arsenopyrite 91 
 
 Artificial silk 29. » 7 
 
 .\safcetida 49 
 
 Asbestos 90, 17 
 
 Asbestus 90 
 
 Ash 42 
 
 Ashes 47. 92 
 
 Asphalt 106, 98, 101, 104 
 
 Asphaltum 106 
 
 Asses . 59 
 
 Azurite 82
 
 I N DEX —Continued 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Bacteria 9* 
 
 Babbitt metal °9 
 
 Badger . . • °9 
 
 Baking powder S'l '*> 
 
 Balata 5' 
 
 Baleen • • 7° 
 
 Balsams •• 4''i SOi 35 
 
 Bamboo 30, 2» 
 
 Banana ... 9» ^7 
 
 Banana oil 47 
 
 Barite 9=. »■ 
 
 Bark cloth '' 
 
 Barley 3. >2. »3. 29 
 
 Barvtes 9^ 
 
 Basalt "O' 
 
 Bass '9 
 
 Bassine ^9 
 
 Basswood 3° 
 
 Bast fibers 19, 20. 21, 17 
 
 78 
 
 Bat 
 Bau3cite 
 
 ; ; 86 
 
 Bayberry wax 7" 
 
 Bay wood 45 
 
 Bean oil f 
 
 Beans 7'° 
 
 Bear • • • f' 
 
 Beaver 68.69,63 
 
 Beche de nier 7t 
 
 Bee 75. 76 
 
 Beech 39. 47 
 
 Beer 3. 7. 7". 9° 
 
 Beeswax 76. 54. 106 
 
 Bee tree 30 
 
 Beet sugar °. 9^ 
 
 Belladonna '" 
 
 Bell metal " 
 
 Benzene '°4, 103 
 
 Benzine . . ^°5 
 
 Benzoic acid ^°4 
 
 Benzoin 49 
 
 Benzole '"4 
 
 Beryl '°° 
 
 Betel ,• ,; o '^ 
 
 Beverages 9 to '3. 3. 4. 5. *. ». '». ;3 
 
 Bichromate of potash 92.°' 
 
 Biotite '°° 
 
 Birch 39. 47 
 
 Birds 77.78 
 
 Birds" nests 77 
 
 Bismuth °9 
 
 Bisulphide of carbon 97 
 
 Bitumen "oS. 106, 94. >oi 
 
 Bituminous coal ^°~ 
 
 Black bean 47 
 
 Black lead 'o? 
 
 Blackwood 47 
 
 Bladder °° 
 
 Bleaching powder ^'t^ 
 
 Blende , "i 
 
 Blood °°' * 
 
 Bluefish -71 
 
 Bluestone 9*. °2 
 
 Blue vitriol ' '^l 
 
 Boll weevil 20 
 
 Bolting cloth ....... 3.75 
 
 Bone 60, 63, 64, 70, 48. 96, 97 
 
 Bone black ^> 8 
 
 Bone fat °5 
 
 Borax 94.76 
 
 Bornite °2 
 
 Bort '°7 
 
 Bowstring hemp »= 
 
 Boxwood 40 
 
 Bran 3. 5. 47. 56 
 
 Brandy ■ H 
 
 Bra.ss '^''"^ 
 
 Brazil wood ■ 55 
 
 Brewing 5. 6. 7, '3 
 
 Brick. 87,90,100 
 
 Brimstone 97 
 
 Brine 93, >o5, J07 
 
 Bri-stles . . . . , •»; a. ^ 
 
 Britannia metal »2, »», B9 
 
 British gum 1 
 
 Broadcloth "O 
 
 Brocade 75 
 
 Bromelia ^9 
 
 Bromine ^3 
 
 Bromyrite J 
 
 PAGE 
 
 82, 86, 88 
 
 6, 8, 17, 29 
 
 29 
 
 102 
 
 Bronze 
 
 Broomcorn 
 
 Broom root . 
 Brown coal .... 
 Brown hematite 
 Buckwheat , 
 
 Buhrstone 
 
 Building stone . . 
 
 Bullion 
 
 Burlap 
 
 Butter 
 
 Butter, cocoa 
 
 Butterine 
 
 Buttermilk 
 
 Butternut 44 
 
 Buttonball - 4° 
 
 Button lac 7° 
 
 79 
 
 6 
 
 . 98 
 
 .90.94 
 
 81 
 
 21 
 
 59.56 
 
 12 
 
 60 
 
 59 
 
 Cacao 
 
 Cadmium . . . 
 Caffeine ... 
 Calcium 
 
 Calcium carbide 
 Calcium sulphate 
 
 . 89 
 ' 1. 12, 9 
 
 93. 94. 95. 96. 9'. 8* 
 
 96 
 
 103, 104 
 
 Calf s foot jelly 60 
 
 Calfskin 60,61 
 
 Calico 27. 4S, 55, 5S. 60, 80 
 
 Calomel 85 
 
 Cambric .27 
 
 Camel 67 
 
 Campeche . ... 55 
 
 Camphor 54. S3. 29, 48 
 
 Camphor, tar . . to4 
 
 Camwood S*' 
 
 Canada balsam .... 3.5 
 
 Canaigre . 5^ 
 
 Candles .... 52, 54, 23, 27, 34, 60, 70, 76, 94, 106 
 
 Cane rattan 3° 
 
 Cane sugar 8 
 
 Caniiel coal t02 
 
 Cantharides 77 
 
 Canton flannel ....,-.- .27 
 
 Caoba . 45 
 
 Carabao 59 
 
 Caramel 5 
 
 Caraway ... '4 
 
 Carbon loi to 108. 79 
 
 Carbonado . . .... 107 
 
 Carbonate of soda .... 86 
 
 Carbon bisulphide . . . 97t 52 
 
 Carbon dioxide . . 90. 95. 94. 103 
 
 Carborundum . to8 
 
 Cardamom . ts 
 
 Carnallite 92 
 
 Carnaiiba wax . 76 
 
 Carnelian 98 
 
 Carmine ... .77 
 
 Carpet 66, 21 
 
 Cashmere 67, 66 
 
 Cassava 7. 6 
 
 Cassia ... "5 
 
 Cassimere 66 
 
 Cassiterite , 88 
 
 Castor beans 16 
 
 Castoreum 69 
 
 Cat ... . 68 
 
 Catechu 57 
 
 Catfish 71 
 
 Catgut ^4 
 
 Cat's eye 9* 
 
 Cattle 59 
 
 Caustic potash 92. 52. 27 
 
 Caustic soda 92.7.27.52,105 
 
 Caviare 7i 
 
 Cedar, Alaska 36 
 
 Cedar, cigat-box .45 
 
 Cedar, Moulmein . . 45 
 
 Cedar, pencil 45. t07 
 
 Cedar. Port Orford 36 
 
 Cedar, red 45. 37 
 
 Cedar. West Indian 45 
 
 Cedar, white 36. 47 
 
 Cedro 45 
 
 Celestite 92 
 
 Celluloid 29, 25, 54, 70 
 
 Cellulose 28, 29 
 
 Cellulose, corn pith 4. 5 
 
 Cement 95. 79. 98. >«>. '?6 
 
 Cement. Portland . . 87
 
 IV 
 
 INDEX— Continuerf 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Centurj- plant iS, 13 
 
 Cerarg>-nte 85 
 
 Cereals 1 to 6 
 
 Cerium 91 
 
 Chalcedony 9S 
 
 Chalcociie 82 
 
 Chalcopvrite 82 
 
 Chalk " 95,64,81,96,98 
 
 Chamois 61. 64 
 
 Charcoal 42, 32, 38, 39, 47 
 
 Charcoal, bone 60 
 
 Cheese 59, 64 
 
 Cheesecloth 27 
 
 Chenille 75 
 
 Cherry 44 
 
 Cherry birch 39 
 
 Chert ..... 98 
 
 Chestnut . . . . 42, 56, 57 
 
 Cheviot .... 66 
 
 Chewing gum 51 
 
 Chicle . 51 
 
 Chicory 12 
 
 China S7, 89 
 
 China grass 21 
 
 Chinchilla 68 
 
 Chinese coir 19 
 
 Ciiitagong wood 45 
 
 Chloride of lime 915,93,80,20 
 
 Chlorine 93. 96 
 
 Chloroform 47 
 
 Chocolate 12, 15 
 
 Chrome 91,92,61,67,76,89 
 
 Chrome yellow 81 
 
 Chromium 91, 92. 80, 55 
 
 Chrysolite 100 
 
 Chrysoprase .... 9S, 100 
 
 Chrysotile ... 90 
 
 Cigar bos cedar 45 
 
 Cigars .... .... 16 
 
 Cinnabar ... . - 85, 89 
 
 Cinnamon 15 
 
 Civet 69 
 
 Clams 72 
 
 Clay 87, 86, 88, 95, 98, 99, 100, 103, 106, 107 
 
 Cloves 14 
 
 Coal loi to 104, 78, 79, 85, 106, 107 
 
 Coal gas 94 
 
 Coal tar 103, 104, 15, 16, 54, 55, 56, 91, 93 
 
 Cobalt S9. 99 
 
 Coca 17, 16 
 
 Cocaine 17 
 
 Cochineal 77 
 
 Cocoa 12 
 
 Cocoa butter 12 
 
 Cocoinut 21, 9, 13, J7, 24 
 
 Cocobolo 46 
 
 Cod 71 
 
 Cod liver oil. 71 
 
 Coffee II, 12 
 
 Coir 23, 24 
 
 Coir. Chinese 19 
 
 Coke 103, 104, J06, 79, 96, 102, J07, loS 
 
 Colenianite 94 
 
 Colophony 33 
 
 Concrete 100, 90. 94, gS 
 
 Condensed milk 59 
 
 Conglomerate 105 
 
 Cony 69 
 
 Copals 48, 49 
 
 Copper . . 82, 81 , 84, 85, 86, 88. 89, 99 
 
 Copperas So, 97 
 
 Cop: a 23. 24 
 
 Coral 72, 29 
 
 Cordovan 59, 67 
 
 Coriander . 15 
 
 Cork . . ........ 42, 20 
 
 Corn . . 4. 5. 6, 7. 13 
 
 Corn oil ... 4. 5 
 
 Corn pith ... 4. 5 
 
 Corn starch ... 4. 5 
 
 Corn syrup 5 
 
 Corrosive sublimate , 85 
 
 Conindu m *•& 
 
 Cotton 25,15,17,28,29,48,54,66 
 
 Cotton seeds 27 
 
 Cotton, silicate 90 
 
 Cottonwood .... 38 
 
 Cow hair 60, 95 
 
 Crabs 72 
 
 Crape "5 
 
 Cream of tartar 58 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Creolin . . 104 
 
 Creosote 47, 104 
 
 Crepon ■*.... 75 
 
 Crin vegetal 29 
 
 Crude oil J05 
 
 Cryolite 86, bi 
 
 Cuba bast 21 
 
 Cudbear 56 
 
 Culm 103 
 
 Curled hair 59 
 
 Curr>' 15 
 
 Cutch ; .... 57, 50 
 
 Cuttle fish ,71 
 
 Cyanide .... 60,81,84.^5 
 
 Cyanogen ... 103 
 
 Cypress 36, 32 
 
 Damask . . 75 
 
 Dammar 49 
 
 Deer 68,63,69 
 
 Degras 61 
 
 DeoJar 37 
 
 Dextrine 7,3,5.27,48,55 
 
 liextrose .... 7 
 
 Dial>ase loi 
 
 Diamond 107, 86, 100. 108 
 
 Diatomaceous earth 100 
 
 Diorite loi 
 
 Dishrag gourd 25 
 
 Distillation, coal 103, 104 
 
 Distillation, essential oil 53 
 
 Distillation, liquor 8,13,18,23 
 
 Distillation, mercury 85 
 
 Distillation, petroleum 105 
 
 Distillation, turpentine 33 
 
 Distillation, wood 47,32 
 
 Divi divi 56 
 
 Dog 68. 63 
 
 Dolomite 90 
 
 Douglas fir . . , 35 
 
 Down 77 
 
 Dragon's blood 49 
 
 Drugs 16 
 
 Duck 77 
 
 Duck, cotton 27 
 
 Dulce 48 
 
 Dung 56 
 
 Dvnamite 52, 94, 100 
 
 Dyes . 55. 56. 15, 30, 39. 41, 57, 76, 77, 82, 91, 92, 97, 
 
 103, 104 
 Dyeing 55,56,5^,60,80,81,82,88.89,91 
 
 Earthenware 87-Si 
 
 Ebonite 50 
 
 Ebony 46 
 
 Egg yolk. ... .. 77,67,56 
 
 Eggs 77. 70 
 
 Eiderdown 77 
 
 Electric seal 69 
 
 Electro -silicon lOO 
 
 Elephant 68 
 
 Elm 43 
 
 Emerald 100 
 
 Emery 86, 99 
 
 Eosine 103, 104, 93 
 
 Epsom salt 90 
 
 Ermine 68 
 
 Esparto 28, 29 
 
 Essential oils 53, 15 
 
 Ether 47, 29 
 
 Eucalyptus 46 
 
 Extracts 55, 57, 61 
 
 Extract, meat 58, 59, 60 
 
 Fats and waxes 52, 53. 54» 34 
 
 Feather 77 
 
 Feldspar 86, 87, 98, loi 
 
 Felt 66, 60. 28. 104 
 
 Fermentation 12, 3, 8, 18, 23 
 
 Ferro-mangane.se 80 
 
 Fertilizer ... 5, 28, 60, 63, 72, 78, 79, 92, 94, 95, 97, 
 102, 104 
 
 Fiber, animal 58 to 75 
 
 Fiber, mineral 90 
 
 Fiber, vegetable 17 to 30, 32, 34. 102 
 
 Fir 35 
 
 Firebrick 87,90 
 
 Fish 71, 72
 
 INDEX— Continued 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Flagstone . 98 
 
 Flannel 66 
 
 Flavors 13,14,15,11,12,16,104 
 
 Flax 19,20,17,27,28 
 
 Flax, New Zealand 18, 17 
 
 FIt-shers. 64 
 
 Flint 98 
 
 Floss silk 75 
 
 Flour 3. 67 
 
 Flour (barley) 3 
 
 Flour (bean) 7 
 
 Fluorides S6, 96 
 
 Fluorite . 96 
 
 Flux 7y, 94, 96 
 
 Foods I to 9 
 
 Formaldehyde 47 
 
 Fox. 68 
 
 Frijoles 7 
 
 Fruits 9 
 
 Fullers' earth 87 
 
 Fulminates 85 
 
 Furs 64» 65, 68, 69 
 
 Fusible metal 89 
 
 Fustic 56 
 
 Gabbro loi 
 
 Galena 81,84 
 
 Galls 57. 56. 58 
 
 Galvanized iron 81 
 
 Gambier 57. 5^ 
 
 Gamboge 50 
 
 Garban zos 8 
 
 Garnet 100 
 
 Garnierite . . . . . 8q 
 
 Gas .... 47 
 
 Gas, coal . . . 103, 104 
 
 Gas lime . , 103. 104 
 
 Gas, natural loi 
 
 Gas, water . 103 
 
 Gasoline 105 
 
 Gauze . , 75 
 
 Gelatine 48, 60, 71, 78 
 
 Gems 100, 86, 107 
 
 German silver Si, 89 
 
 Gilsonite 106 
 
 Ginger 15 
 
 Gingham 27 
 
 Glauconite 95 
 
 Glass 98, 99, So, 81, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 96 
 
 Glaze 87 
 
 Glucose 7* 5i 4. 13. 51. 76 
 
 ^Ghie 60, 29, 48, 95, 107 
 
 Gluten 5 
 
 Glutinous rice 4 
 
 Glycerine 52. 70, 94 
 
 Gneiss .101 
 
 Goats 66, 67,69 
 
 Gold 82, 84. 80, 85 
 
 Goldbeater's skin 60 
 
 Grain . . . i, 3. 4. 5. 6, I3 
 
 Granadillo ... .... 46 
 
 Granite loi, 100, 88. 9S 
 
 Grapes .... . . , 12, i, 7 
 
 Grape sugar 7, 5, 4, 8, 9. 13 
 
 Graphite . . 107, loi 
 
 Grasses ... 29 
 
 Grasscloth , 21 
 
 Grebe 77 
 
 Greenheart 46 
 
 Greensand 95 
 
 Grindstone 98,99 
 
 Grits 3, 5 
 
 Guano 78 
 
 Guiac 49 
 
 Gum, acacia _ 48 
 
 Gum animoniacum 49 
 
 <Vum. Angola 49 
 
 Gum Arabic 48, 7, 27, 57 
 
 Gum. Barbary 48 
 
 Gum. British 7 
 
 Gmtn, Cape 48 
 
 Gum, cherrj' 48 
 
 Gum, chewing 51 
 
 Gum, dammar 49 
 
 Gum, gray 45 
 
 (Uini. guaiacum 49 
 
 Gnmmi gutti 50 
 
 Gum. Kauri 49 
 
 Gum, Loango 49 
 
 Gum, racsquite 48 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gum, Morocco 48 
 
 Gum, Muccocota 49 
 
 Gum, peach 48 
 
 Gum, red 44, 45, 46 
 
 Gum resins .... 48 
 
 Gums and resins . . .481051,30,63 
 
 Gum. Senegal ... 48 
 
 Gum, sweet 44 
 
 Gum tragacanth 48 
 
 Gum. wattle 48, 57 
 
 Gun metal 82, s8 
 
 Gunny 21 
 
 Gunpowder 47 
 
 Gutta percha 51 
 
 Gutta joolatong 51 
 
 Gypsum 9^1 97 
 
 H 
 
 36 
 
 Hackmatack 
 
 Haddock 
 
 Hair 69, 59, 60, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 95, 29 
 
 Halite 92 
 
 Hardwoods 37 to 46 
 
 Hazel 44 
 
 Heliotrope 98 
 
 Hematite 78 
 
 Hematite, brown 79 
 
 Hemlock 34, 35 
 
 Hemlock bark , . 56. 57, 61 
 
 Hemp .... 20, 17,66 
 
 Henequen . , ... 18 
 
 Henna 56 
 
 Heron 77 
 
 Herring 7' 
 
 Herva Mate n 
 
 Hickor\' 43. 45 
 
 Hides .' 59 to 70. 56 
 
 Hippopotamus 68 
 
 Hogs 63 
 
 Holly 40 
 
 Holothurian ji 
 
 Hominy 5 
 
 Honestone ... 98 
 
 Honey . . 75. 76. 7 
 
 Honeysuckle .... ... 46, 40 
 
 Hops ... 13. 3 
 
 Hornblende 101 
 
 Horns ... 60, 66, 68, 48 
 
 Horustone 98 
 
 Horse - ... 59 
 
 Horse hair ... 59. 29 
 
 Hydraulic cement . 95 
 
 Hydraulic limestone . 95 
 
 Hj'drocarbon loi to 106 
 
 Hydroquinone 104 
 
 I 
 
 Incense 48 
 
 India linun 27 
 
 Indian corn 4. 5 
 
 Indigo 55 
 
 Infusorial earth 100 
 
 Ink 57 
 
 Insects .... - - . 72 to 77, 57 
 
 Insect powder 58 
 
 Intestines 60, 63, 64 
 
 Iodine 93 
 
 Iodoform . . 47 
 
 Ipecac ... .16 
 
 Iridium .... 84 
 
 Irish moss 48 
 
 Iron .. . .78.79,80,16,55,57,81,86,87,88,90,91, 
 
 92, 94. 95. 99. 103. 105 
 
 Isinglass 71, 100 
 
 Ivory .... 68, 70, 29, 60 
 
 Ivory, vegetable . . ....... 58 
 
 Ixtle 18 
 
 Jacaranda . 
 Jaggery . . 
 Japan wax 
 Jar rah . . 
 Jasper . 
 Jet . 
 
 Juniper . , 
 Jute . . 
 
 . 46 
 , 24,9 
 . 76 
 
 29 
 . 37 
 28,66 
 
 Kainite . . 
 Kangaroo . 
 Kaolin . . 
 
 92 
 63
 
 VI 
 
 INDEX— Continued 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Kapok 28 
 
 Kerosene 105 
 
 Khaya ^5 
 
 Kid 66, 67, 61 
 
 Kiln 87 
 
 Kino 49 
 
 Kips 60 
 
 Kittool 19 
 
 Kola 17 
 
 Koumiss 59 
 
 Kunzite 100 
 
 L 
 
 Lac 76, 48, 50 
 
 Lace bart 21 
 
 Lacquer 76, 50 
 
 Laevulose 9 
 
 Lamb 63t 64, 65, 69 
 
 Lamp black 50, 56, 104 
 
 Lanccwood 46 
 
 Lanoline 65 
 
 Lanthanum 91 
 
 Larch 36. 56 
 
 Lard 63,53 
 
 Latex 50, 5: 
 
 Laudanum . . . 16 
 
 Lead 80,81,79,82,84,88,89,98 
 
 Lead, black 107 
 
 Lead, sugar of 47 
 
 Lead, white 81, 92 
 
 Leather.. . . 61.15,29,561072,77,88,90,92,106 
 
 Lechuguilla 18 
 
 Lees 58 
 
 Legumes 8 
 
 Lentils 8 
 
 Leopard 68 
 
 Licorice 16 
 
 Lignite 102, loi 
 
 Lignum \'itje 46 
 
 Lime . . 94. s, 17, 47, 56, 61, 78, 80, 87, 93, 96, 98, 103 
 Limestone . 04. 7^, 7q. St. Sq, 90, 96, 97, 98, loi, 106 
 
 Lime tree . , 38 
 
 Limonite ... 79, 78 
 
 Linden ... 38, 21, 17 
 
 Line 20 
 
 Linen 20, 28, 66 
 
 Linoleum 20, 42 
 
 Linseed 20,21,4,48,95,81,80,63,104 
 
 Linters 27, 25 
 
 Lin tree 38 
 
 Lion 68 
 
 Litharge Si 
 
 Lithium 91 
 
 Lithograpliic stone 95. 86 
 
 Litmus '56 
 
 Llama 68 
 
 Lobster 72 
 
 Locust 43 
 
 Logwood 55 
 
 Luffa 25, 17 
 
 Lumber 301047 
 
 Lycopodium 58 
 
 Lye 52 
 
 Lynx 68 
 
 M 
 
 Mace 14 
 
 Mackerel ji 
 
 Madder 55 
 
 Magnesia 50 
 
 Magnesite 90 
 
 Magnesium 89. 90, 87, 93 
 
 Magnetite 79,78 
 
 Maguey \ [ , 18 
 
 Mahogany 44, 45, 46, 47 
 
 Maize 4^ 5 
 
 Malachite 82 
 
 ll^W, '■'■'. 3." 9, 13 
 
 Maltha . . 106 
 
 Maltose 3_ g 
 
 Manganese ! ! . 80, 99 
 
 Mangrove 57, 56 
 
 Manila hemp 17, 18 
 
 Mammoth '68 
 
 Maple '.'.','. 38,47 
 
 Marble Q5, 90, 100, 101 
 
 Marl - 95 
 
 Marten 68 
 
 Mastic 49 
 
 Mate II 
 
 Matte 82; Si 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mauritius hemp 18 
 
 Meat' 58,59.63.64.66,67,70,71,77,94 
 
 Medicine . . .16,23,48,49,50,53,54,77,88,89,91, 
 93. 97 
 
 Meerschaum 90 
 
 Menaccanite 91 
 
 Menhaden 72 
 
 Menthol 54 
 
 Mercerizing 27 
 
 Mercury 85, 84, 16 
 
 Merino 64, 65 
 
 "Metal" (glass) 99 
 
 Metol 104 
 
 Mexican onj*x 95 
 
 Mexican whisk 29 
 
 Mezcal 18 
 
 jSIica 100, loi, 71 
 
 Mica schist 101 
 
 Middlings 3 
 
 Milk 59,64,66,67 
 
 Millet 6 
 
 Mineral products 78 to 108 
 
 Mineral wool 90 
 
 Minium 98.81 
 
 Mink 68,69 
 
 Mirbane 104, 54 
 
 Mirror 85,99 
 
 Mohair 67 
 
 Molasses 8, 16 
 
 Mole r • - • 68 
 
 ^Molybdenum 91 
 
 Monazite 91 
 
 Monkey 68 
 
 Moonstone ; . . 100 
 
 Mora 56 
 
 Mordant 55.47.58,60,88,89,91,92 
 
 Morocco 64, 67 
 
 Morphine 16 
 
 Mortar 94.95.98,63 
 
 Moss, Spanish 29 
 
 Mother-of-pearl 72 
 
 Moulmein cedar 45 
 
 Mucilage 7, 48 
 
 Muck 102 
 
 Mules 59 
 
 Musk 69, 54 
 
 Musk deer 69 
 
 Musk rat 68,69 
 
 Musk ox 69 
 
 Muslin 27 
 
 IMuscovite 100 
 
 Mussels 72 
 
 Mustard 13 
 
 Mutton 63,64 
 
 Myrobalans 56 
 
 Myrrh 49 
 
 N 
 
 Naptha 104, 105 
 
 Napthabne 104, 105, 54 
 
 Narcotics 16, 17 
 
 Narwhal 68 
 
 Natural gas 101,99,105 
 
 Neat's foot oil 60 
 
 New Zealand flax] 18, 17 
 
 Nickel 89. 80, 81 
 
 Nitrate of soda 93, 94 
 
 Nitrocellulose 29 
 
 Nitrogen 94 
 
 Nitroglycerine 52,94,100,105 
 
 Novaculite 98 
 
 Nutmeg 14 
 
 Nutria 69, 68 
 
 Nuts 1,53 
 
 Nux 16 
 
 o 
 
 Oak 40,41,42,46,47,56,57,61 
 
 Oakum 25 
 
 Oats 4 
 
 Ocher . . 80, 79 
 
 Oil, almond 53 
 
 Oil, bean 8, 53 
 
 Oil. bitter almond 53. W4 
 
 Oil, blown 52 
 
 Oil, boiled 20 
 
 Oil. cacao 12 
 
 Oilcake 4,5,20,23,28,52 
 
 Oil, carbolic 104 
 
 Oil, castor 16, 50 
 
 Oil, clove 14. 15. 53
 
 INDEX— Continued 
 
 Vll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1, coal 105 
 
 I, cocoanut 23, 53 
 
 1, cod liver "i 
 
 l.corn 4,50. 53 
 
 1, cotton 27, 25, 15, 50, 53 
 
 1. essential 53.54. ^5. 32 
 
 filtering 87 
 
 1, fish 72. 64, 56 
 
 I, hemp 21,53 
 
 1, lard 63 
 
 1, linseed 20,21,50,63,80,81,95,104 
 
 1, menhaden 72 
 
 1, rairbane 104. 54 
 
 I, mustard 13 
 
 1, neat's foot 60 
 
 1, olive 52, 15. 27. 46 
 
 1. palm 53. 23. 88 
 
 1, peanut 53. ^5 
 
 1, petroleum 105, 107 
 
 l.pine 32,34 
 
 I, poppy 53 
 
 I, rape 53. 5*> 
 
 1. seal 69 
 
 1, sesame 53. ^ 5 
 
 I. soy 53. 8 
 
 Istone. 98 
 
 1, sunflower 53 
 
 1, train 70 
 
 1, turkey red 53. 55 
 
 1, vitriol 80 
 
 1. volatile 53. 54, 15. 32. 33 
 
 Oil, -walnut 53 
 
 Oil wells 105 
 
 Oil. whale ^o 
 
 1. wintergreen 53.^04 
 
 Oleomargarine 60, 27 
 
 Oleo resins 48 
 
 Olibanum 49 
 
 Olive 46, 52, 15 
 
 Olivine 100 
 
 Onyx 98 
 
 Onyx, Mexican 95 
 
 Opal 99. 100 
 
 Opium 16 
 
 Opossum 68 
 
 Orange 9, 53 
 
 Orange mineral 81 
 
 Orchilla 56 
 
 Organzine 73 
 
 Orpiment 91 
 
 Orthoclase 86 
 
 Ostrich 77 
 
 Otter 68, 69 
 
 Oxalate 47 
 
 Oxvgen 80 
 
 Oyster 72 
 
 Ozocerite 106 
 
 Padauk 46 
 
 Paddy . 6 
 
 Palm 6,9,13,17,19,21,23,24 
 
 Palmetto 19. I7, 56. 57, 95 
 
 Palm oil 53. 23, 88 
 
 Palmyra fiber 19 
 
 Panama straw 29 
 
 Pandanus 18 
 
 Panther 68 
 
 Paper . . .28, 5, 6, 7, 17, 19, 20, 21, 27, 29, 34, 35, 38, 
 60, 76, 80, 87, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96, 97, 100, 104, 106 
 
 Paper, raulberrj* 21 
 
 Paper, tar 47 
 
 Paper, waxed 54 
 
 Papier-mache 29 
 
 Paraffine 106,51,54,76 
 
 Parchment 64 
 
 Paris green 9* 
 
 Peanut oil 15 
 
 Pearl . 72 
 
 Pearl barley 3 
 
 Peas 8 
 
 Peat 102, loi 
 
 Pecan 43 
 
 Pela wax 76 
 
 Pepsin 60 
 
 Pepper 13 
 
 Perfumes 53. 54, 104 
 
 Pernambuco w^ood 55 
 
 Persian berries 56 
 
 Petrolatum 105 
 
 Petroleum 105,88,97,101,106,107 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Pewter 81,85,88,89 
 
 Pheasant 77 
 
 Phenol 104 
 
 Phlogopite 100 
 
 Phosphates 97. 95. 78 
 
 Phosphate rock 96,97 
 
 Phosphor bronze 82 
 
 Phosphorus 96, 97, 78 
 
 Piassaba 19 
 
 Pig 63 
 
 Pigeons 77 
 
 Pig iron 79 
 
 Pigments . . . . 80, 81, 82, 85, 89, 90, 91, 92, 95, 107 
 
 Pimento 14 
 
 Pina 18 
 
 Pine 31 to 34, 47 
 
 Pineapple 9, 18, 19 
 
 Pine, ginger 36 
 
 Pine, Oregon 35 
 
 Pine, Swiss 35 
 
 Pinon 31 
 
 Pistachio , 15 
 
 Pita iS 
 
 Pitch 34,32,47,104 
 
 Pitch mineral 106 
 
 Plane 39 
 
 Plaster 96,19,60,88,100 
 
 Plaster of paris 96 
 
 Platinum 84 
 
 Plumbago 107 
 
 Plumes 77 
 
 Plush 21, 75, 66, 69 
 
 Polybasite 84 
 
 Pongee 75 
 
 Pop-corn 4 
 
 Poplar. Carolina 38, 28 
 
 Poplar, tulip 37 
 
 Poppy 16 
 
 Porcelain .87,88,89 
 
 Porcupine wood 23, 24 
 
 Pork 63 
 
 Porphyry loi 
 
 Porpoise 70, 63 
 
 Portland cement 95.8? 
 
 Potash or potassium . . 92,47,38,55,58,60,61,65 
 84. S^, 86, SS, 89, 91, 95, 98 
 
 Potassium bichromate 92, 61 
 
 Potassium cyanide 84 
 
 Potato 6, 7 
 
 Pottery 87, 86, 94, 98 
 
 Poultry 77 
 
 Prase 98 
 
 Prima Vera 46 
 
 Printer's ink 20 
 
 Prussian blue 80 
 
 Psilomelane .80 
 
 Pulque 18, 13 
 
 Pumice 108, 52, 64 
 
 Purple heart 46 
 
 Putty 95. 76 
 
 P>'rarg^rite 84 
 
 P>Tethfum 58 
 
 Pyrite 80, 97, 89, J03 
 
 Pyrolusite 80 
 
 P>-rrhotite 89 
 
 Q 
 
 Quartz 98. 99. 87. 100, loi 
 
 Quartzite 98 
 
 Quebracho 57. 5O1 56 
 
 Quercitron 56, 41 
 
 Quicklime 94 
 
 Quicksilver 85 
 
 Quills 77 
 
 Quinine 16 
 
 R 
 
 Rabbit 69 
 
 Raccoon 68 
 
 Radium 91 
 
 Ramie 21, 17 
 
 Raphia 19, 17 
 
 Rat 63 
 
 Rattan 29, 30, 17 
 
 Rawhide 60 
 
 Raw silk 73 
 
 Realgar 91 
 
 Red cedar 45 
 
 Red gum 46 
 
 Red lead 81 
 
 Redwood 35. 46
 
 INDEX— Continued 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Reeds 29 
 
 Reindeer 68 
 
 Rennet 60 
 
 Resins . . . .48.49.50.33.32.28,30,48,54,76.93, 
 105, 106 
 
 Rhea . . 7^ 
 
 Rhinestone . , . . . u^^ 
 
 Rhubarb ... 16 
 
 Rice ... 4. 5. 6. 13, 28, 29 
 
 Roans 64 
 
 Rochelle salts ,5^ 
 
 Rock asphalt ifJ'J 
 
 Rock crs'stal y'^ 
 
 Rock flfnt 9^ 
 
 Rock wool 9"^' 
 
 Roots 2g 
 
 Rose oil 4*^ 
 
 Rosewood 46 
 
 Rosin 33.32.50.52 
 
 Roltt-n stone ^oS 
 
 Rouge So, 56, 99 
 
 Rubber 50. 4, 20, 29, 48, 89, 97, 104, 105 
 
 Ruby 86, 100 
 
 Rule boxwood 46 
 
 Rum 8, 13 
 
 Rushes 29 
 
 Rutile 91 
 
 Rye 3. 13. 29 
 
 Sable . . . 
 Saccharine 
 Safflower , 
 Saffron . . . 
 
 68 
 104 
 
 92, 52, 61, 64, 67, 71, 87, 
 
 Sake . . 
 Salmon . 
 Salt ..... 
 Saltpeter . . 
 
 Salycilic acid 
 
 Saniarskite 
 
 Sand 98,99,52,79,87,94,106,107, 
 
 Sandarack 
 
 Sandstone ... ... 98,101,105, 
 
 Sappan 
 
 Sapphire ... 86, 
 
 Sardine 
 
 Sardonyx ... 
 
 Sarsaparilla . i5i 
 
 Satin 
 
 Satin wood 
 
 Savin 
 
 Sawdust 47. 
 
 Saw palmetto 
 
 Scarlet lake 
 
 Schappe silk 
 
 Sea cucumber 
 
 Sea grass 
 
 Seal 69, 
 
 5^ 
 6 
 
 . 13 
 -I 
 96 
 
 94 
 104 
 
 91 
 loS 
 
 49 
 106 
 
 56 
 100 
 
 Sealing wax ... 
 
 Sea lion 
 
 Sea otter ... 
 
 Sea weeds ... 
 Seed lac ... 
 Seidlitz powder 
 
 Sepia ... 
 
 Sepiolite 
 
 Serj^e 
 
 Serpentine 90 
 
 Serum 
 
 Sesame oil 53 
 
 Shad 
 
 Shale 87. 101, 105, 106 
 
 Sheep . -. -. 63 to 66, 60. 69 
 
 Sheep dip ^^' S^ 
 
 Sheet iron . 88 
 
 Shellac 76, 50 
 
 Shell fish 72 
 
 Shells 72,94,95,101 
 
 Shoddy 66 
 
 Siderite 79i 78 
 
 Sienna 80 
 
 Silesia 27 
 
 Silica 98,99.78,87.95,100.108 
 
 Silk 72 to 75, 17, 29, 48, 66 
 
 Silk, artificial ^9' 25 
 
 Silk cotton 28, 17 
 
 Silver 84,85,81,82,93 
 
 Sisal hemp 18 
 
 Size 60 
 
 Skins 56, 90, 91, 94 
 
 Skins (see Hides) 
 
 Skivers 64 
 
 Skunk oS 
 
 Slack 103 
 
 Slag 79. 90. 95 
 
 Slate 103 
 
 Smalt 89 
 
 Snails 72 
 
 Snake . . . 63 
 
 Snuff 16 
 
 Soap . . . 52,21,23,27,32,34,60,65,81,92,94.98. 
 
 100, 104 
 
 Soap bark 58 
 
 Soapberries 58 
 
 Soapstone 90 
 
 Soda 92,55.87,94.97. 105 
 
 Soda ash 92, 86, 93, 98 
 
 Soda carbonate 86 
 
 Soda niter 93. 94 
 
 Soda water 90, 95 
 
 Sodium 92, 55, 56, 61, 86, 91, 94, 98 
 
 Softwoods 30 to ^7 
 
 .Solder 81,34,88 
 
 Sole 71 
 
 Sorghum 6, 8 
 
 Soy beans 7 
 
 Spanish moss 29^ '7 
 
 Spelter Si 
 
 Spermaceti .... 70. 54 
 
 Sphalerite , 81 
 
 Spices 13, 14, 15, 104 
 
 Spiegel eisen So 
 
 Spinel 100 
 
 Spirits {see Alcohol) 
 
 Split bamboo 30 
 
 Split rattan 30 
 
 Splits 61,64 
 
 Sponge 70 
 
 Sponge, vegetable 25 
 
 Spruce . 34. 28 
 
 Spruce. Douglas 35 
 
 Spun silk 75 
 
 Squirrel 68 
 
 Starch 3.4.5.6,8,12,27,55,56 
 
 Stassfurt salts 92 
 
 Stearine 63, 76 
 
 Steatite 90 
 
 Steel .79,80,86,89,91,92,98 
 
 Stephanite 84 
 
 Stibnite 8S 
 
 Sticklac 76 
 
 Stimulants 16, i 
 
 Stoneware 87 
 
 Storax 50 
 
 Strass • 99 
 
 Straw 3, 6, 17, 28, 29, 47 
 
 Stroiitianite 92 
 
 Strontium 92 
 
 Sturgeon 71 
 
 Sugar. . . . 8,3,6,7,12,13,23,60,63,77,92,104 
 
 Sugar corn 4 
 
 Sugar, maple 38 
 
 Sugar of lead 47 
 
 Sugar of milk • 59. 9 
 
 Suint . 65 
 
 Sulphate of calcium : . ... 104 
 
 Sulphonal 47 
 
 Sulphur . . .97,20,50,78,80,81,82,84,85,89,91, 
 
 ici. 103 
 
 Sulphuric acid So, 97, 7, 29, 47 
 
 Sumac . 57. 56, 67 
 
 Sunn hemp 21 
 
 Swallows 78 
 
 Sweet gum 44 
 
 Swifts 7S 
 
 Swine 63 
 
 Sycamore 39 
 
 Sycamore maple 39 
 
 Talc 90, 28 
 
 Tallow. . 59.60,61,64,66,34,54,88 
 
 Tallow, vegetable 53 
 
 Tamarack 36 
 
 Tampico hemp 18 
 
 Tans and tanning . . .56,57,58,61,62,15,19,23, 
 30, 39. 40, 41, 42, 55, 88, 92 
 
 Tapestry 66 
 
 Tapioca 7, 6
 
 INDEX— Continued 
 
 Tar 47. 25. 30. 32 
 
 Tar camphor 104, 54 
 
 Tar (see Coal Tar) 
 
 Tar paper 47 
 
 Tar mineral 106 
 
 Tartar emetic 58, 89 
 
 Tartaric acid 58 
 
 Tartrates 58 
 
 Tasar silk 75 
 
 Tawing 67, 77 
 
 Tea 9, u, 12 
 
 Tea, Paraguay ir 
 
 Teak 45 
 
 Teasels 58 
 
 Tellurides 82 
 
 Terne plate 79i 81 
 
 Terra cotta 87 
 
 Terra japonica 57 
 
 Thorium 91 
 
 Thrown silk 73 
 
 Tiger 68 
 
 Tiger's eye 98 
 
 Tile ; 87, 94, 99 
 
 Tin 88,55,77,79,81.82 
 
 Tincal 94 
 
 Tin foil 88 
 
 Tin plate 88 
 
 Titanium 91 
 
 Tobacco I5i J6 
 
 Toddy. 23, 24, 13 
 
 Toluene 104 
 
 Tonka beans 15 
 
 Topaz 100 
 
 Tortoise 70 
 
 Tortoiseishell 70, 29 
 
 Touchstone . . 98 
 
 Tourmaline 100 
 
 Tow 20 
 
 Tragacanth 48 
 
 Train oil 70 
 
 Tram silk 73 
 
 Trap loi 
 
 Trees . , 30 to 47 
 
 Trepang 71 
 
 Tripoli . 100 
 
 Tuba ; 23, 13 
 
 Tufa- 95 
 
 Tulip poplar 37 
 
 Tulip wood 46 
 
 Tungsten 91 
 
 Turf 102 
 
 Turkeys 77 
 
 Turmeric 15, 56 
 
 Turnsole 56 
 
 Turpentine . 33, 32, 48, 49. 5°. 53. 7^. 80, 81, 104, 105 
 
 Turquois 100 
 
 Turtle 70 
 
 Tussah silk 75 
 
 Tungsten 80 
 
 Twigs 29 
 
 Type metal .... 81. 88, 89 
 
 U 
 
 Uititahite 106 
 
 Umber 80 
 
 Uranium 91 
 
 Valonia 57i 56 
 
 Vanadium 91 
 
 Vanilla 14, 16, 12 
 
 Vanilla extract 104 
 
 Vanillon 15 
 
 Varnish 48, 51, 20, 56, 61, 76, 104, 106, loS 
 
 Vaseline 105 
 
 Vegetable ivory 58 
 
 Vegetable products I to 58, 101 to 107 
 
 Vegetables 9» 23 
 
 Vegetable silk 28 
 
 Vegetable sponge 25 
 
 Velvet 21, 66 
 
 Vellum 61 
 
 Verd antique 90 
 
 Vermillion 46, 85 
 
 Vetch 8 
 
 Vicuna 63 
 
 Vinegar 23. 24 
 
 Vinegar, wood 47 
 
 Violet extract ' 104 
 
 Vitriol, blue 97 
 
 Vitriol, green . ... . . . So 
 
 Vodka 3 
 
 Volatile oil 33 
 
 Vulcanite !.!]!!!!!! 50 
 
 w 
 
 Wahoo 38, 43 
 
 Walnut ." . 44 
 
 Walrus 68, 63 
 
 Washing clay 87 
 
 Washing gold [ 82 
 
 Washing graphite '. 107 
 
 Waste, cotton 27 
 
 Wastes 48 
 
 Waste, silk 75 
 
 Waste, woolen 66 
 
 Wattle bark 57. 56 
 
 Was 52. 53. 54. 75. 76 
 
 Wax, bayberry 54 
 
 Wax, bee 76 
 
 Wax.carnauba 54 
 
 Wax, Chinese 54 
 
 Wax, grafting 54 
 
 Wax, insect 54 
 
 Wax, Japan 54. 50 
 
 Wax, myrtleberry 54 
 
 Wax, paraffine io5, 54 
 
 Wax, pela 54 
 
 Wax, sealing 54 
 
 Wax, shoemaker's 54 
 
 Wax, sperm 70 
 
 Weak fish ' . . ji 
 
 Weasel ... 68 
 
 Whale . . 70. 63 
 
 Wheat I. 6. 29, 97 
 
 Wheat straw 28 
 
 Whetstone 98 
 
 White lead 81, 92 
 
 White of egg 77 
 
 WTiite metal 85. 83, 89 
 
 Whitewash .95 
 
 WTiitewood : . . 37. 38 
 
 Whiting 95 
 
 Whiskey 3. 5. ^3 
 
 Wildcat 68 
 
 Wild silk 75 
 
 Willow 29 
 
 Willow bark 56 
 
 Wine 12, 58. 60, 71 
 
 Wine, kola 17 
 
 Wine, palm " . 19. 23 
 
 Witch hazel 54 
 
 Wolf 68 
 
 Wolverine 68 
 
 Wood . . 30 to 47. 23. 24, 29. 54, 55, 56, 57, 88, 92. 
 102, 104, 106, 108 
 
 Wood alcohol 47 
 
 Wood, distillation ; 47, 80 
 
 Wood, petrified 98 
 
 Wood pulp 28, 29, 90, 100 
 
 Wood \'inegar 47 
 
 Wool 641068,17,88,92 
 
 Woolen 58, 77, 87 
 
 Wool fat 65 
 
 Wool, mineral 90 
 
 Wool, pine 32,34 
 
 Worsted 66 
 
 Yamamai silk 
 
 Vaxci 
 
 Yeast 
 
 Yellow berries 
 Yellow wood . 
 Y'erba mate . . 
 
 Yolk 
 
 Young fustic . 
 Yttrium .... 
 Yucca 
 
 75 
 18 
 
 56 
 
 65. 77. 67 
 56 
 91 
 18 
 
 Zacaton 29 
 
 Zinc 81,79.82,84.89
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 ; 
 
 I
 
 v^ 
 
 KJOUi.
 
 D 000 329 594