This section is from the book "Wrinkles And Recipes, Compiled From The Scientific American", by Park Benjamin. Also available from Amazon: Wrinkles and Recipes, Compiled From The Scientific American.
Assuming that that is the best glue which will take up most water, take 50 grains of the specimen and dissolve it in 3 ozs. water in a water-bath. When dissolved, set it by for 12 hours to gelatinize, and then take an ounce chip-box, place it on the surface of the gelatine, and put shot into the box until it sinks down to a mark on the outside. It will be found that the stronger the glut-, the more shot it will take to sink the box down so that the mark shall be level with the surface of the gelatine. In a trial with very fine glue, 50 grains of glue dissolved and gelatinized with 3 ozs. of water, supported to the mark on the box 6 ozs. of shot, at a temperature of 58° Fahr. On trying the same experiment with best Russian isinglass, 9 ozs. of shot were supported, the temperature being the same. This test is of course intended as a comparative one between two kinds of glue, or between any kind taken as a standard and another compared with it. The placing of the mark is arbitrary.
 
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