Seed lac is the second description known in commerce. This is a collection of granules, obtained from the former after the colouring matter has been extracted by water, but this is seldom imported, being manufactured into shell lac in India. Lump lac is the third form, being merely the granules further purified and made into lumps. Lastly, there is shell lac, in which the substance is purified to the utmost by being put in bags and held over a fire until sufficiently melted to pass through the pores of the linen. The bags are then pressed and squeezed at the same time that they are passed over a smooth surface of wood, thus depositing the lac in thin layers. The fineness and purity of the lac will of course depend on the fineness of the bag through which it is passed. Shell lac if pure will take fire when laid on a hot iron, and will burn with a strong but not disagreeable smell. The heat of the ship’s hold is very apt to run this commodity into a solid mass, in which case its value is much depreciated. The different kinds of lac are largely used by Indians for ornamental purposes. Of the lump lac they make _bangles_, or armlets for women of the lower class; shell lac being employed for the same kind of ornaments for the upper classes, and also for beads, chains, necklaces, and other adornments. They also make a good varnish by melting the lac, colouring it with cinnabar or some other pigment, and making it into sticks like our sealing wax. The box, cabinet, or other article about to be varnished, is made hot by a charcoal fire, and then rubbed over with a stick of lac, the surface being afterwards smoothed with a piece of folded plantain leaf to make it equal. A similar varnish is often used on images and ornamental figures. The religious houses of the Indians are often adorned with very thin beaten lead, coloured with various varnishes made from lac. The leaf of lead is laid upon a smooth heated iron while the varnish is being applied.