John Stowep age 11, of Milwaukee, Wis.,, for his question:

What is parchment?

Originally, parchment was a special kind of leather from Asia Minor, Later.. almost any animal hide was used to make parchment. When properly treated, these durable hides last for hundreds of years, Stretched and dried, the insides of these skins make fine surfaces for writing, Before. papermaking became common all important documents were written on parchment.

Nowadays we have a special paper called parchment, It is dipped in sulphuric acid to give it that genuine, old‑.time parchment finish and is made from pulverized rags and woods.   This fine paper is also called vellum.

We also use the word parchment to mean any important document, Even though all modern documents are written on paper, A graduate student may refer to his diploma as a sheepskin. Actually his diploma is made of paper and most likely never saw a sheep or even a goat, Old time diplomas., however, wore inscrolled on sheepskin parchment.