M.F.K. communicates the following interesting circumstance to _Neueste
Erfindung_.: A few years ago it was decided to whitewash the walls
and ceiling of a small cellar to make it lighter. For this purpose a
suitable quantity of lime was slaked. A workman who had to carry a
vessel of common salt for some other purpose stumbled over the lime
cask and spilled some of his salt into it. To conceal all traces of his
mishap he stirred in the salt as quickly as possible. The circumstance
came to my knowledge afterward, and this unintentional addition of salt
to the lime excited my liveliest curiosity, for the whitewash was not
only blameless, but hard as cement, and would not wash off.
After this experience I employed a mixture of milk of lime and salt
(about three parts of stone lime to one part of salt), for a court or
light well. To save the trouble and expense of a scaffold to work on, I
had it applied with a hand fire engine (garden syringe?) to the opposite
walls. The results were most satisfactory. For four years the weather
has had no effect upon it, and I have obtained a good and cheap means of
lighting the court in this way.
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