Suppose canvass well dipped into a solution of lac in ammonia (see ) and then dried – The ammonia of course evaporates leaving a film of lac only in the fibres of the cloth then if it were passed between rollers sufficiently heated to soften the lac would not the threads be bound down & a nice smooth surface produced – When the canvass is wet with the ammoniacal solution of lac it ought to be dried on a frame pulled tight – it might be done very quickly by means similar to the lace dressers straining frame & run immediately with a long closet heated with steam pipes running in a serpentine manner all under the wet canvass and pulled up as it dries by the turning of the winch at the end of the dressing frame ( ) while this was drying another frame could be in operation & so on alternately – I think could be effected. I think that the priming of canvass by machinery employed to lay on the coats of colour might not be impossible,If lac be too brittle a small addition of a solution of wax melted with the Lac might not prevent the solubility of the latter in the Ammonia – At all events Soap of ammonia can be formed by precipitating almost any alkaline soap by Muriate of Ammonia & the curd so thrown down is soluble in Ag. A small portion of this might be used to modify this “assumed” brittleness of the Lac & the ammonia leaving the solution also by evaporation, leaves the fatty matter of the soap capable of being softened by the heat,The solution of Lac ought to be first bleached (I think) as it is rather too brown in colour & might stain the canvass to much,[next line not in database because it appears on a page that holds sensitive information:] A solution of Lac in Borax when dry is also insoluble but I question whether this will soften sufficiently by the application of heat,[...],