12. (Poudre Metallique.) The article sold under this name in Paris appears
to be an amalgam of silver, mercury, and ammonium, with an excess of
mercury, which is pressed out before using it.
13. (Fusible Metal.) Melt together 8 parts of bismuth, 5 of lead, 3 of
tin, and 1-1/2 or 1·6 of quicksilver, with as little heat as possible.
(Chaudet.)
14. (Non-expensive Metallic Tooth-stopping.) Take 1 part of sulphate of
mercury, 1 part of copper in fine powder; rub them well together with a
little warm water; when the amalgam is formed wash well, and remove the
surplus of mercury by pressing it through chamois.--_Pharm. Journ._
EXPENSIVE METALLIC TOOTH-STOPPING AND MUCH PREFERABLE. Take pure gold,
pure gelatin, 1 part of each; pure silver, 2 parts; melt, and when
refrigerated, reduce to a powder by means of a file; wash well and dry. In
the moment of using it add sufficient mercury to form a plastic
paste.--_Pharm. Journ._
PASTE FOR DESTROYING THE SENSIBILITY OF THE DENTAL PULP PREVIOUS TO
STOPPING. Arsenious acid, 30 gr.; sulphate of morphia, 20 gr.; creasote,
q. s. [Unsafe; it is only inserted by way of warning against what may
prove an unsuspected cause of mischief.]
PIVOTS FOR ARTIFICIAL TEETH. An alloy of platinum and silver.
SPRINGS FOR ARTIFICIAL TEETH. Equal parts of copper, silver, and
palladium. (Chaudet.)
For Cachou Aromatisé, and other compounds for sweetening the breath, see
PERFUMERY.
=DENTI'TION.= See TEETHING.
=DEOB'STRUENT.= In medicine, a substance which removes obstructions, and
opens the natural passages of the fluids of the body, as the pores,
lacteals, and glands. Iodine, mercury, sarsaparilla, and aperients, are
deobstruents.
=DEO'DORISER.= Any substance having the power of absorbing or destroying
fetid effluvia. Chlorine, chloride of lime, chloride of zinc, nitrate of
lead, sulphate of iron, and freshly-burnt charcoal, are the most effective
and convenient deodorisers. Peat charcoal has been highly recommended for
deodorising manure, &c., on the large scale. When it is mixed with these
substances their fetor is immediately destroyed, and a compost produced,
which may be substituted for guano for agricultural purposes.
'Biedermann's Centralblatt für Agricultur Chemie' for June, 1877, contains
the results of some experiments undertaken by A. Eckstein on the
comparative deodorising values of certain substances. Herr Eckstein found
that 1 kilo of copperas dissolved in water destroyed the stench of
sulphuretted hydrogen in a privy used daily by at least 100 persons. The
action ceased after twelve hours. A solution of aqueous sulphate of copper
produced a similar result. When 1 kilo of solid copperas was employed the
action lasted for two days. The same result was obtained by using 1 kilo
of a mixture compound of copperas, sulphate of copper, and carbonate of
lime. Liquid sulphurous acid was found to act very rapidly, rendering the
atmosphere difficult to breathe for an hour; its action ceased after
twenty-three hours. Crude carbolic acid, which was used to the extent of
30 grams, gave so unpleasant a smell for two days as to render the result
impossible to be arrived at. One kilo of copperas enclosed in a bag of
parchment paper only began to act after two hours, and kept the place
odourless for two days. One kilo of good chloride of lime, placed in a
similar bag, did not lose its effect for nine days. With 60 grams of
permanganate of soda the action commenced immediately, but the effect was
over in twenty-four hours; when enclosed in parchment paper it was
efficacious for two days. In Herr Eckstein's opinion the most powerful
deodoriser known is chloride of lime along with sulphuric acid. Powdered
gypsum is a good absorber of ammonia, and for this purpose may be
sprinkled over the floors of stables, manure heaps, &c. See DISINFECTANT.
=DEOX'IDATION.= See REDUCTION.
=DEPIL'ATORY.= A cosmetic employed to remove superfluous hairs from the
human skin. Depilatories act either mechanically (MECHANICAL
DEPILATORIES), or chemically (CHEMICAL DEPILATORIES). To the first class
belong adhesive plasters, that, on their removal from the skin, bring away
the hair with them. The second class includes all those substances which
destroy the hair by their chemical action.
Lime or orpiment, and generally both of them, have formed the leading
ingredients in depilatories, both in ancient and modern times. The first
acts by its well-known causticity, and also, when an alkali is present, by
reducing that also, either wholly or in part, to the caustic state. The
action of the orpiment is of a less certain character, and its use is even
dangerous when applied to a highly sensitive or an abraded surface. The
addition of starch is to render the paste more adhesive and manageable.
In using the following preparations, those which are in the state of
powder are mixed up with a little warm water to the consistence of a
paste, and applied to the part. Sometimes soap lye is used for this
purpose, and some persons spread the pulpy mass on a piece of paper, and
apply it like a plaster. In 12 or 15 minutes, and sooner, if much smarting
ensues, the whole should be washed off with warm water, and a little cold
cream, lip-salve, or spermaceti cerate, applied to the part. The
application of the liquid preparations is generally accompanied with
gentle friction, care being taken to prevent them extending to the
adjacent parts. All the following effect the object satisfactorily, with
proper management; but some are much more effective than others. A small
wooden or bone knife is the best for mixing them with. They must all be
kept in well-stoppered bottles, and no liquid must be added to them until
shortly before their application; and then no more should be mixed than is
required for immediate use.
=Depilatory, Arsen'ical.= Orpiment (sulphide of arsenic) forms the
principal ingredient in many fashionable depilatories, but its use is not
free from danger. The following are well-known preparations:
1. (COLLEY'S D.) From nitre and sulphur, of each 1 part; orpiment, 3
parts; quicklime, 8 parts; soap lees, 32 parts; boil to the consistence of
cream. Very caustic.
2. (DELCROIX'S D.; 'POUDRE SUBTILE,') Orpiment, 1 oz.; quicklime, 10 oz.;
starch, 14 oz.
3. (ORIENTAL D.; ORIENTAL RUSMA.)--_a._ Quicklime, 3 oz.; orpiment, 1/2
dr.; strong alkaline lye, 1 lb.; boil together in a clean iron vessel
until a feather dipped into the liquor loses its flue.
_b._ From pearlash, 2 oz.; orpiment, 3 dr.; liquor of potassa, 1/2 pint;
boil together as before. One of the most caustic and consequently the most
certain of depilatory preparations; but, with the rest of its class, open
to the objections of containing orpiment. (See No. 7.)