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OCR Rendition - approximate346 Art of f Travel. a fine point and turning it over, the extremity being hammered into a. small cut in the body of the needle, to prevent it from catching."-Sir S. Baker. MEMBRANE, SINEW, HORN. Parchment.-The substance which is called parchment when made from sheep or goat skins, and vellum when from those of calves, kids, or dead-born lambs, can also be made from any other skin. The raw hide is buried for one or two days, till the hair comes off easily; then it is taken out and well scraped. Next, a skewer is run in and out along each of its four sides, and strings being made fast to these skewers, the skin is very tightly stretched ; it is carefully scraped over as it lies on the stretch, by which means the water is squeezed out ; then it is rubbed with rough stones, as pumice or sandstone, after which it is allowed to dry, the strings by which the skewers are secured being tightened from time to time. If this parchment be used for writing, it will be found rather greasy, but washing it with ox-all will probably remedy this fault. (See " Ox-gall," p. 331.) In the regular preparation of parchment, the skin is soaked for a short time in a lime-pit before taking off the hairs, to get rid of the grease. Catgut.-Steep the intestines of any animal in water for a
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