A rare catalogue we should present, if all the useful applications of gutta-percha were duly set forth. We should have to speak of breast-coating for waterwheels, of galvanic batteries, of shuttle-beds for looms, of packing for steam-engines and pumps, of cricket and bouncing balls, of felt-edging for paper making, of curtain rings whose merit is noiselessness, of window-blind cord and sash lines, of clothes’ lines (recommended to the laundress as defying all attacks of weather,) of bosses for flax-spinning frames, of whips and sticks, of policemen’s and ‘special constables’’ staves, of flax-holders for heckling machines, of skates, of fencing sticks, of washers for the axles of wheels, of plugs or solid masses used in buildings, of buffers for railway carriages, of gunpowder canisters (which ‘keep the powder dry,’) of sheet-covering for damp walls, of linings for ladies’ bonnets, of jar covers, of sponge bags, of foot baths, of funnels, of goldsmith’s bowls, of bobbins for spinning machines, of covers for rollers, of book covers, of moulds for electrotypes, of coffin linings, of sounding boards, of portmanteaus, of beds for paper-cutting machines, of fine and coarse thread, of envelope boxes, of powder flasks, of portfolios, of a stopping for hollow teeth—a tolerable list, this, which shows how multiplied are the applications for which this singular vegetable product is available. GUTTA-PERCHA—ORNAMENTAL WORK. When softened by heat, this substance will take the impress of a mould or stamp with delicate precision; and in the course of a few minutes it reassumes its tough state, retaining permanently the pattern given to it. The power of application is thus unlimited, or limited only by the inclination of the purchaser. Whether the mould be of copper or of brass, of pear tree or of box, an impress can equally well be obtained from it. In practice, all these four materials are employed, and sometimes others. The mould being carved and in a state of readiness, the piece of gutta-percha (always, or nearly always, in the form of sheet) is laid upon a marble slab, which is heated by steam from beneath; and the gum being thus brought into a pliant and yielding state, it is placed on or in the mould, a counter mould is laid upon it, and the action of a press forces the material into the minutest parts of the device. If the pattern be deep and the relief bold, a hydraulic pressure of a hundred or a hundred and fifty tons is brought to bear upon it; but if of lighter and simpler character, a hand-press is brought into requisition.