lac, resinous exudation from the bodies of females of a species of scale insect (Tachardia lacca), from which shellac is prepared. India is the chief source of shellac, although some is obtained from other areas in Southeast Asia. The insects feed on the sap of the twigs of certain tropical trees, some of which are cultivated for this purpose. The resinous secretion hardens upon exposure to air and forms a protective incrustation around the female and young, which are thus held fast to the twigs. The twigs are scraped to remove the incrustation; this crude lac material is known as stick lac. If the stick lac is crushed, the wood splinters and other foreign materials removed, and the red coloring matter produced by the insects dissolved out, the residue when dried is seed lac. Seed lac is melted, filtered, and stretched into thin sheets, which are broken into flakes when cool. Orange-colored shellac is made from these flakes by dissolving them in alcohol. White shellac is made from bleached lac.

Saint Jean, Lac, Canada: see Saguenay, river.

Léman, Lac: see Geneva, Lake, Switzerland.

Fond du Lac, city (1990 pop. 37,757), seat of Fond du Lac co., E central Wis., in a resort region at the south end of Lake Winnebago; inc. 1852. The city's economy is based on dairy farming and the manufacture of machine tools, leather goods, engines, and auto parts. A French fur-trading post in the late 18th cent., it later grew into a lumbering town. After the arrival of the railroad, it became an industrial city. Marian College of Fond du Lac and a branch of the Univ. of Wisconsin are there.

Lake, south-central Quebec, Canada. A shallow lake, it has an area of 387 sq mi (1,003 sq km) and discharges into the Saguenay River. In the 20th century logging operations on its feeder streams led to the establishment of large paper mills on the lake. Since 1926 the lake's seasonal fluctuations have been controlled by two hydroelectric dams. It is a tourist resort centre famous for its salmon fishing.

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Lake, south-central Quebec, Canada. A shallow lake, it has an area of 387 sq mi (1,003 sq km) and discharges into the Saguenay River. In the 20th century logging operations on its feeder streams led to the establishment of large paper mills on the lake. Since 1926 the lake's seasonal fluctuations have been controlled by two hydroelectric dams. It is a tourist resort centre famous for its salmon fishing.

Learn more about Saint-Jean, Lac with a free trial on Britannica.com.