remedy for burns, chilblains, chapped hands, and skin roughened by
exposure to wind and water in cold weather; as well as for sun-burns,
wounds, sprains, and all diseases of the skin; for inflamed eyelids,
and for preventing pitting in small-pox, when used externally as an
ointment. When taken internally, in doses of half a teaspoonful, or in
smaller quantities, it forms a cure for diseases of the throat, chest,
and stomach, and gives speedy relief in cases of diphtheria, croup,
&c. For convenience in using it, a confection is prepared from it for
complaints of the throat and lungs. No one need fear to use it, for
although it is a product of petroleum, it is the only one that is not
dangerous to use, and is possessed of no poisonous qualities. It may
be procured from or through any chemist and druggist.
2326. Vaseline for the Toilet.
The toilet soap and tar soap made from vaseline are superior in
emollient and healing properties, to similar preparations from
glycerine. For the hair, an excellent hair tonic and pomade are
supplied, which have the effect not only of strengthening, but of
promoting its growth. For the complexion, vaseline cold cream should
be used, and for the lips, when sore and chapped by cold winds or any
other cause, vaseline camphor ice.
2327. Vaseline for the Household.
As time progresses there can be no doubt that this valuable
preparation will be turned to good account for many domestic uses. It
has already been found an excellent anti-corrosive, being an efficient
protection against rust, when smeared over guns, bicycles, arms,
knives, tools, and steel goods, of any kind in general household use.
An excellent boot and shoe paste is prepared from it, which renders
boots and shoes absolutely waterproof, and over which any ordinary
blacking may be used to produce a polish.
2328. Vaseline in the Stable.
When mixed with graphite, vaseline affords a valuable lubricant for
application to the axles of light and heavy carriages of every
description, and for all bearings in machinery of any kind, especially
where great speed is required. A paste is also prepared from it which
renders leather harness soft, pliable, impervious to wet, and free
from any tendency to crack, thus increasing its durability. Another
preparation is found most useful for the cure of injuries and diseases
of cattle and domestic animals. This, which is supplied under the name
of Veterinary Vaseline, has been found to promote the growth of the
hair, unchanged in colour, in the case of broken knees. Its use will
also improve the condition of the coat on horses, and will keep off
the flies, and cure the mange, and all skin diseases commonly met with
in the stable, including injuries to the frogs, hoofs, and fetlocks.
2329. Damp Situations, Remedy for.
People who live in damp localities, particularly near undrained land,
are apt to think that there is no help for them save in removal. They
are mistaken. Successful experiments have shown that it is possible to
materially improve the atmosphere in such neighbourhoods by the
planting of the laurel and the sunflower. The laurel gives off an
abundance of ozone, whilst the sunflower is potent in destroying the
malarial condition. These two, if planted on the most restricted scale
in a garden or any ground close to the house, will be found to
speedily increase the dryness and salubrity of the atmosphere.
2330. Plant Skeletons.
The leaves should be put into an earthen or glass vessel, and a large
quantity of rain water poured over them; after this they must be left
in the open air, and to the heat of the sun, without covering the
vessel. As the water evaporates and the leaves become dry, more water
must be added; the leaves will by this means putrefy, but the time
required for this varies; some plants will be finished in a month,
others will require two months or longer, according to the toughness
of their parenchyma. When they have been in a state of putrefaction
for some time, the two membranes will begin to separate, and the green
part of the leaf to become fluid; then the operation of clearing is to
be performed.
The leaf is to be put upon a flat white earthen plate, and covered
with clear water; and being gently squeezed with the finger, the
membranes will begin to open, and the green substance will come out at
the edges; the membranes must be carefully taken off with the finger,
and great caution must be used in separating them near the middle rib.
When once there is an opening towards this separation, the whole
membrane always follows easily; when both membranes are taken off, the
skeleton is finished, and it has to be washed clean with water, and
then dried between the leaves of a book.
2331. Fruit Skeletons.
Fruits are divested of their pulp and made into skeletons in a
different manner. Take, for an instance, a fine large pear which is
soft, and not tough; let it be carefully pared without squeezing it,
and without injuring either the crown or the stalk; put it into a pot
of rain water, covered, set it over the fire, and let it boil gently
till perfectly soft, then take it out and lay it in a dish filled with
cold water; then holding it by the stalk with one hand, rub off as
much of the pulp as you can with the finger and thumb, beginning at
the stalk and rubbing it regularly towards the crown. The fibres are
most tender towards the extremities, and are therefore to be treated
with great care there. When the pulp has thus been cleared pretty well
off, the point of a fine penknife may be of use to pick away the pulp
sticking to the core. In order to see how the operation advances, the
soiled water must be thrown away from time to time, and clean poured
on in its place. When the pulp is in this manner perfectly separated,
the clean skeleton is to be preserved in spirits of wine.
2332. To make Impressions of Leaves.
Prepare two rubbers by tying up wool or any other substance in
wash-leather; then prepare the colours in which you wish to print
leaves, by rubbing up with cold drawn linseed oil the tints that are
required, as indigo for blue, chrome for yellow, indigo and chrome for
green, &c. Get a number of leaves the size and kind you wish to stamp,
then dip the rubbers into the paint, and rub them one over the other,
so that you may have but a small quantity of the composition upon the
rubbers; place a leaf upon one rubber and moisten it gently with the
other; take the leaf off and apply it to the substance on which you
wish to make an imprint of the leaf. Upon the leaf place a piece of
white paper, press gently, and a beautiful impression of all the veins
of the leaf will be obtained.
2333. To make a Fac-simile of a Leaf in Copper.
This beautiful experiment can be performed by any person in possession
of a common galvanic battery. The process is as follows:
Soften a piece of gutta percha over a candle, or before a fire; knead
it with the moist fingers upon a table, until the surface is perfectly
smooth, and large enough to cover the leaf to be copied; lay the leaf
flat upon the surface, and press every part well into the
gutta-percha. In about five minutes the leaf may be removed, when, if
the operation has been carefully performed, a perfect impression of
the leaf will be made in the gutta percha.
This must now be attached to the wire in connection with the zinc end
of the battery (which can easily be done by heating the end of the
wire, and pressing it into the gutta percha), dusted well over with
the best blacklead with a camel-hair brush--the object of which is to
render it a conductor of electricity; it should then be completely
immersed in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A piece of
copper attached to the wire in connection with the copper end of the
battery must also be inserted into the copper solution facing ihe
gutta percha, but not touching it; this not only acts as a conductor
to the electricity, but also maintains the solution of copper of a
permanent strength.
In a short time the copper will be found to creep over the whole
surface of the gutta percha, and in about twenty-four hours a thick
deposit of copper will be obtained, which may then be detached from
the mould. The accuracy with which a leaf may thus be cast is truly
surprising.
2334. Leaf Printing.
After warming the leaf between the hands apply printing ink, by means
of a small leather ball containing cotton, or some soft substance, or
with the end of the finger. The leather ball (and the finger, when
used for that purpose), after the ink is applied to it, should be
pressed several times on a piece of leather, or some smooth surface,
before each application to the leaf, that the ink may be smoothly and
evenly applied. After the under surface of the leaf has been
sufficiently inked, apply it to the paper where you wish the
impression to be; and, after covering it with a slip of paper, use the
hand or roller to press upon it.
2335. Directions for Taking Leaf Impressions.
Hold oiled paper in the smoke of a lamp or of pitch, until it becomes
coated with the smoke; to this paper apply the leaf of which you wish
an impression, having previously warmed it between your hands, that it
may he pliable. Place the lower surface of the leaf upon the blackened
surface of the oil-paper, that the numerous veins, which are so
prominent on this side, may receive from the paper a portion of the
smoke. Lay a paper over the leaf, and then press it gently upon the
smoked paper with the fingers, or with a small roller covered with
woollen cloth, or some similarly soft material, so that every part of
the leaf may come in contact with the sooted oil-paper. A coating of
the smoke will adhere to the leaf. Then remove the leaf carefully, and
place the blackened surface on a sheet of white paper, or in a book
prepared for the purpose, covering the leaf with a clean slip of
paper, and pressing upon it with the fingers, or roller, as before.
Thus may be obtained the impression of a leaf, showing the perfect
outlines, together with an accurate exhibition of the veins which
extend in every direction through it, more correctly than the finest
drawing. And this process is so simple, and the materials so easily
obtained, that any person, with a little practice to enable him to
apply the right quantity of smoke to the oil-paper, and give the leaf
a proper pressure, can prepare beautiful leaf impressions, such as a
naturalist would be proud to possess.
2336. Dry Botanical Specimens for Preservation.
The plants to be preserved should be gathered when the weather is dry.
Place the ends in water, and let them remain in a cool place till the
next day. When about to be submitted to the process of drying, place
each plant between several sheets of blotting paper, and iron it with
a large smooth heater, pretty strongly warmed, till all the moisture
is dissipated. Colours may thus be fixed, which otherwise become pale,
or nearly white. Some plants require more moderate heat than others,
and herein consists the nicety of the experiment; but it is generally
found that if the iron be not too hot, and is passed rapidly yet
carefully over the surface of the blotting paper, it answers the
purpose equally well with plants of almost every variety of hue and
thickness.
In compound flowers, with those also of a stubborn and solid form, as
the Centaurea, some little art is required in cutting away the under
part, by which means the profile and forms of the flowers will be more
distinctly exhibited. This is especially necessary when the flowers
are fixed down with gum upon the paper previous to ironing, by which
means they become almost incorporated with the surface. When this very
delicate process is attempted, blotting-paper should be laid under
every part excepting the blossoms, in order to prevent staining the
white paper. Great care must be taken to keep preserved specimens in a
dry place.
2337. Collecting and Laying out Sea-weeds.
"First wash the sea-weed in fresh water, then take a plate or dish
(the larger the better), cut your paper to the size required, place
it in the plate with fresh water, and spread out the plant with a
good-sized camel-hair pencil in a natural form (picking out with the
pin gives the sea-weed an unnatural appearance, and destroys the
characteristic fall of the branches, which should be carefully
avoided); then gently raise the paper with the specimen out of the
water, placing it in a slanting position for a few moments, so as to
allow the super-abundant water to ran off; after which, place it in
the press. The press is made with either three pieces of board or
pasteboard. Lay on the first board two sheets of blotting-paper; on
that lay your specimens; place straight and smooth over them a piece
of old muslin, fine cambric, or linen; then some more
blotting-paper, and place another board on the top of that, and
continue in the same way.
"The blotting-paper and the muslin should be carefully removed and
dried every day, and then replaced; at the same time, those
specimens that are sufficiently dried may be taken away. Nothing now
remains but to write on each the name, date, and locality. You can
either gum the specimens in a scrap-book, or fix them in, as
drawings are often fastened, by making four slits in the page, and
inserting each corner. This is by far the best plan, as it admits of
their removal, without injury to the page, at any future period, if
it be required either to insert better specimens, or intermediate
species.
"Some of the large algae will not adhere to the paper, and
consequently require gumming. The following method of preserving
them has been communicated by a botanical friend:
'After well cleaning and pressing, brush the coarser kinds of
algae over with spirits of turpentine, in which two or three small
lumps of gum mastic have been dissolved, by shaking in a warm
place; two-thirds of a small phial is the proper proportion, and
this will make the specimens retain a fresh appearance.'"
_Miss Gifford's Marine Botanist_.
2338. To Preserve Fungi.
Receipt of the celebrated botanist, William Withering, by which
specimens of fungi may be beautifully preserved.
"Take two ounces of sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, and reduce
it to powder; pour upon it a pint of boiling water; and when cold,
add half a pint of spirits of wine; cork it well, and call it 'the
pickle.' To eight pints of water, add one pint and a half of spirits
of wine, and call it 'the liquor.' Be provided with a number of
wide-mouthed bottles of different sizes, all well fitted with corks.
The fungi should be left on the table as long as possible, to allow
the moisture to evaporate; they should then he placed in the pickle
for three hours, or longer, if necessary; then place them in the
bottles intended for their reception, and fill with the liquor. They
should then be well corked and sealed, and arranged in order, with
their names in front of the bottles."
[TRUST NOT THE MAN WHO PROMISES WITH AN OATH.]
2339. To Stuff Birds, Quadrupeds, &c.
Large animals should be carefully skinned, with the horns, skull,
tail, hoofs, &c., entire. Then rub the inside of the skin thoroughly
with the mixture of salt, pepper, and alum, and hang up to dry. Large
birds may be treated in the same way, but should not be put into
spirits.
2340. Small Birds may be preserved as follows:
Take out the entrails, open a passage to the brain, which should be
scooped out through the mouth; introduce into the cavities of the
skull and the whole body, some of the mixture of salt, alum, and
pepper, putting some through the gullet and whole length of the neck;
then hang the bird in a cool, airy place--first by the feet, that the
body may be impregnated by the salt, and afterwards by a thread
through the under mandible of the bill, till it appears to be free
from smell; then hang it in the sun, or near a fire: after it is well
dried, clean out what remains loose of the mixture, and fill the
cavity of the body with wood, oakum, or any soft substance, and pack
it smooth in paper.
2341. Birds' Eggs.
In selecting eggs for a cabinet, always choose those which are newly
laid; make a medium-sized hole at the sharp end with a pointed
instrument, and one at the blunt end: let this last hole be as small
as possible; this done, apply your mouth to the blunt end, and blow
the contents through the sharp end. If the yolk will not come freely,
run a pin or wire up into the egg, and stir the yolk well about; now
get a cupful of water, and immersing the sharp end of the shell into
it, apply your mouth to the blunt end and suck up some of the water
into the empty shell; then put your finger and thumb upon the two
holes, shake the water well within, and after this, blow it out. The
water will clear the egg of any remains of yolk or of white which may
stay in after blowing. If one injection of water will not suffice,
make a second or third.
An egg, immediately after it is produced, is very clear and fine; but
by staying in the nest, and coming in contact with the feet of the
bird, it soon assumes a dirty appearance. To remedy this, wash it well
in soap and water, and use a nail-brush to get the dirt off. The
eggshell is now as it ought to be, and nothing remains to be done but
to prevent the thin white membrane (which is still inside) from
corrupting.
Take a wineglass and fill it with a solution of corrosive sublimate in
alcohol, then immerse the sharp end of the eggshell into it, keeping
the finger and thumb which hold the egg just clear of the solution.
Apply the mouth to the little hole at the blunt end, and suck up some
of the solution into the shell. There need be no fear of getting the
liquor into the mouth, for as soon as it rises in the shell the cold
will strike the finger and thumb, and then the sucking must be
immediately discontinued. Shake the shell in the same manner as when
the water was in it, and then blow the solution back into the glass.
The eggshell will now be beyond the reach of corruption; the membrane
for ever retains its pristine whiteness, and no insect, for the time
to come, will ever venture to prey upon it. If you wish your egg to
appear extremely brilliant, give it a coat of mastic varnish, put on
very sparingly with a camel-hair pencil: green or blue eggs must be
done with gum arabic, as the mastic varnish is apt to injure the
colour.
2342. Fishes.
Large fishes should be opened in the belly, the entrails taken out,
and the inside well rubbed with pepper, and stuffed with oakum. Small
fishes may be put in spirit, as well as reptiles, worms, and insects
(except butterflies and moths); insects of fine colours should be
pinned down in a box prepared for that purpose, with their wings
expanded.
2343. Tracing Paper.
Mix together by a gentle heat, one ounce of Canada balsam, and a
quarter of a pint of spirits of turpentine; with a soft brush spread
it thinly over one side of good tissue paper. The composition dries
quickly, is very transparent, and not greasy, and therefore, does not
stain the paper to which it is applied.
[NEVER WALK ONE WAY AND LOOK ANOTHER.]
2344. Impressions from Coins.
Melt a little isinglass glue with brandy, and pour it thinly over the
medal, &c., so as to cover its whole surface; let it remain on for a
day or two, till it has thoroughly dried and hardened, and then take
it off, when it will be fine, clear, and hard, and will present a very
elegant impression of the coin. It will also resist the effects of
damp air, which occasions all other kinds of glue to soften and bend
if not prepared in this way.
2345. Method of Hardening Objects in Plaster of Paris.
Take two parts of stearine, two parts of Venetian soap, one part of
pearlash, and twenty-four to thirty parts of a solution of caustic
potash. The stearine and soap are cut into slices, mixed with the cold
lye, and boiled for about half an hour, being constantly stirred.
Whenever the mass rises, a little cold lye is added. The pearlash,
previously moistened with a little rain water, is then added, and the
whole boiled for a few minutes. The mass is then stirred until cold,
when it is mixed with so much cold lye that it becomes perfectly
liquid, and runs off the spoon without coagulating and contracting.
Previously to using this composition, it should be kept for several
days well covered. It may be preserved for years.
Before applying it to the objects, they should be well dusted, the
stains scraped away, and then coated, by means of a thick brush, with
the wash, as long as the plaster of Paris absorbs it, and left to dry.
The coating is then dusted with leather, or a soft brush. If the
surface has not become shining, the operation must be repeated.
2346. Modelling.
Modelling in Cork, Gutta Percha, Leather, Paper, Plaster of Paris,
Wax, Wood, &c.--Modelling, in a general sense, signifies the art of
constructing an original pattern, which is to be ultimately carried
out on an enlarged scale, or copied exactly.
2347. Scale of Construction.
When models are constructed to give a miniature representation of any
great work, elevation, or topographical information, they are executed
in detail, with all the original parts in just and due proportions, so
that the work may be conducted or comprehended better; and if the
model is a scientific one, viz., relating to machinery, physical
science, &c., then it requires to be even still more accurate in its
details. In fact, all models should be constructed on a scale, which
should be appended to them, so that a better idea may be obtained of
the proportions and dimensions.
2348. Materials.
The materials used in modelling are plaster of Paris, wax, whiting,
putty, clay, pipeclay; common and factory cinders; sand of various
colours; powdered fluor-spar, oyster-shells, bricks, and slate; gums,
acacia and tragacanth; starch; paper, white and brown, cardboard and
millboard; cork sheets, cork raspings, and old bottle-corks; gutta
percha; leather and leather chips; wood; paints, oil, water, and
varnish; moss, lichen, ferns, and grass; talc, window and
looking-glass; muslin and net; chenille; carded wool; tow; wire; hay
and straw; various varnishes, glue, and cements.
2349. Tools.
The tools consist of brushes for paints, varnishes, and cements; two
or three bradawls; a sharp penknife; a chisel, hammer, and punches;
scissors and pencil.
2350. Caves.
Caves may be modelled readily in cork, wood, starch-paste, or cinders
covered with brown paper soaked in thin glue.
2351. To Construct Caves of Cinders.
Arrange the cinders, whether common or factory, in such a manner as to
resemble the intended design; then cover in such parts as require it
with brown paper soaked in thin glue until quite pulpy. When nearly
dry, dust over with sand, powdered brick, slate, and chopped lichen or
moss, from a pepper-box; touch up the various parts with either oil,
water, or varnish colours; and if necessary, form your trees of wire,
covered with brown paper and moss, glued on.
[BETTER GO ROUND THAN FALL INTO THE DITCH.]
2352. Cave Effect.
When a Cave is constructed in the above manner, on a large scale, and
the interior sprinkled with powdered fluor-spar or glass, the effect
is very good by candle-light.
2353. Stalactites.
Stalactites may be represented by rough pieces of wood, which must be
smeared with glue, and sprinkled with powdered fluor-spar, or glass.
2354. To Model Caves in Cork.
Construct the framework of wood, and fill up the outline with old
bottle-corks. The various projections, recesses, and other minutiae,
must be affixed afterwards with glue, after being formed of cork, or
hollowed out in the necessary parts, either by burning with a hot wire
and scraping it afterwards, or by means of a sharp-pointed bradawl.
2355. Small Trees.
If small cork models are constructed, the trees should be formed by
transfixing short pieces of shaded chenille with a fine wire (.), and
sticking them into the cork.
2356. Decoration.
Various parts of the model must be touched up with oil, water, or
varnish colours; and powdered brick, slate, and chopped lichen, or
moss, dusted on as usual.
2357. Wooden Models.
Wooden models are constructed roughly in deal, according to the proper
design, and the various fine parts afterwards affixed with glue or
brads.
2358. Finer Work in Wood.
In forming the finer parts of the wooden model, a vast amount of
unnecessary labour may be saved, and a better effect obtained, by
burning much of the outline, instead of carving it. By this plan,
deeper tones of colouring, facility of operating, and saving of time
and labour, are the result.
2359. Decorating Wooden Models.
In common with other models, those constructed of wood require the aid
of lichen, moss, powdered slate, &c., and colours, to complete the
effect.