A plaster cast of the type is, when dry, saturated with shellac varnish and redried.

By boiling this varnish with dilute nitric acid vapours of acrolein are given off, and the substance gradually becomes a solid non-adhesive mass the same as the ultimate oxidation product of both raw and boiled oil.

If the electrified body is touched against the upper plate whilst at the same time the lower plate is put to earth, the condenser formed of the two plates and the film of air or varnish becomes charged with positive electricity on the one plate and negative on the other.

Extensive use of this property is made in the paint and varnish trades.

Small fragments, formerly thrown away or used only for varnish, are now utilized on a large scale in the formation of "ambroid" or "pressed amber."