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Curious Arts.
[Illustration: Sketches of Landscapes.
[See page 31]]
A SELECT COLLECTION
OF VALUABLE AND CURIOUS ARTS,
AND
INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS,
WHICH ARE WELL EXPLAINED AND WARRANTED
GENUINE AND MAY BE PERFORMED EASILY,
SAFELY, AND AT LITTLE EXPENSE.
THIRD EDITION.
CONCORD:
PUBLISHED BY RUFUS PORTER.
J. B. Moore, Printer.
1826.
Transcriber's Note: Some of the articles in the Appendix do not
list a price.
DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, to wit.
_District Clerk's Office._
[Sidenote: L. S.]
Be it remembered, that on the twenty-second day of October, A.D. 1825,
and in the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United States of
America, RUFUS PORTER, of the said District, has deposited in this
Office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor,
in the words following, to wit:--
"_A Select Collection of valuable and curious Arts and interesting
Experiments, which are well explained and warranted genuine, and may
be performed easily, safely, and at little expense._"
In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States,
entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the
copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of
such copies, during the time therein mentioned;" and also to an act,
entitled, "An act supplementary to an act, entitled, an act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and
Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times
therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of
designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints."
SAMUEL CUSHMAN,
_Clerk of the District of New-Hampshire_.
A true copy of record:--
Attest, SAMUEL CUSHMAN, _Clerk_.
ADVERTISEMENT.
It is not so much the object of the author, with regard to the various
arts treated of in the following pages, to convey to professed artists,
a more accurate and extensive knowledge of those arts, as to explain
some of the first lines and principles of them, for the advantage of
those, who may be induced to practice them occasionally, either for
profit or amusement. The chemical experiments are such as are calculated
to combine recreation, with improvement in useful knowledge--a knowledge
of some of the leading principles of chemistry.--The true chemical
terms, according to the new nomenclature (which, perhaps, may not be so
readily understood, by some, as the more common and familiar names, but
will be found sufficiently explained in the appendix) have, in this
work, been applied to the various articles occasionally mentioned. Very
few substances have been mentioned, which are generally considered
poisonous, or otherwise dangerous; but it may be proper, however, for
those who may attempt any of the chemical experiments, to proceed with
caution, and carefully avoid the fumes produced by chemical action,
especially in metallic solutions in nitric acid, and sublimation of
mercury. Several articles in this little collection, will probably be
found to contain some improvements, and if it prove as interesting to
others, as a similar work would formerly have been to the author, his
object will have been attained.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
_Page._
1. Water-proof gilding and silvering, 9
2. The art of burnish gilding, 11
3. Ornamental bronze gilding, 13
4. To enamel picture glasses with gold, 15
5. To wash iron or steel with gold, 15
6. To wash brass or copper with silver, 16
7. To give wood a gold, silver, or copper lustre, 17
8. To print gold letters on morocco, 18
9. To dye silk a brilliant gold colour, 18
10. To dye silk a brilliant silver colour, 19
11. To silver looking glasses, 20
12. To write on paper with gold or silver, 22
13. To make good shining black ink, 23
14. Blue ink, 23
15. Red ink, 24
16. Yellow ink, 24
17. Green ink, 25
18. Purple ink, 25
19. To write in various colours with the same pen,
ink and paper. 25
20-26. Sympathetic inks for secret correspondence, 27
27. Luminous ink that will shine in the dark, 28
28. To make a writing appear and disappear at pleasure, 29
29. To make a writing vanish and another appear in its place, 29
30. To restore old writing that is nearly defaced, 30
31. To paint a picture that will appear and disappear
occasionally, 30
32. Landscape painting on walls of rooms, 31
33. To paint in figures for carpets or borders, 34
34. To paint in imitation of mahogany and maple, 35
35. The art of painting on glass, 36
36. Best method of polishing steel, 37
37. To make letters of blue on polished steel, 38
38. To preserve the brightness of polished steel, 39
39. To give steel a temper to cut marble, 40
40. To wash iron or steel with copper, 41
41. To give iron the whiteness of silver, 42
42. To wash iron with tin, 42
43. To give tin the whiteness and brilliancy of silver, 44
44. To crystallize tin, 44
45. To make a gold coloured varnish for tin, 45
46. To make shellac varnish for japanning, 46
47. To make the best copal varnish, 47
48. To make a spirit varnish for maps, 48
49. To make elastic varnish for umbrellas, 49
50. To varnish maps and pictures, 49
51. To make brunswick blacking, 50
52. To make a print appear on a gold ground, 51
53. Best method of tracing or copying a picture, 52
54. The construction and use of a copying machine, 53
55. To produce the exact likeness of any object instantly, 54
56. Copper plate engraving, 57
57. Etching on copper plates, 60
58. Engraving and scraping in mezzotinto, 63
59. Etching in aqua-tinta, 64
60. Copper plate printing, 65
61. Etching letters and flowers on glass, 67
62. To print figures with a smooth stone, 68
63. To cut glass with a piece of iron, 69
64. Best cement for joining glass, 70
65. Best cement for joining china or crockery, 70
66. To make a strong water proof glue, 71
67. The art of moulding figures in relief, 72
68. To cast images in plaster, 73
69. To produce embossed letters on marble, 74
70. To soften stone, 75
71. To change wood, apparently, to stone, 76
72. To render wood, cloth or paper, fire proof 77
73-75. To produce fire readily, 77
76. To make super-combustible matches, 78
77. To make gun powder, 79
78. To make the common fulminating powder, 80
79. To make mercurial fulminating powder, 80
80. To kindle a fire under water, 82
81. To light a candle by application of ice, 82
82. To form letters or flowers of real flame, 83
83. To produce flame of various colours, 84
84. To make sky rockets and fire wheels, 85
85. To produce detonating balloons, 87
86. To prepare a phial that will give light in the dark, 89
87. To make a person's face appear luminous in the dark, 89
88. To freeze water in warm weather, 90
89. To change the colours of animals, 91
90. To give leather a beautiful metallic lustre, 92
91. An easy method of extracting the essence of roses, 92
92. To prepare various kinds of essences, 93
93. To prepare soda water, 94
94-95. To produce metallic trees, 95
96. To tin copper by boiling, 96
97. A metal that will melt in hot water, 96
98. Illustration of calico printing, 96
99. To prepare an imitation of gold bronze, 99
100. To procure the exhilarating gas, 99
101. Construction of the galvanic pile or battery, 101
102. Construction of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe, 102
103. To make a dry phosphorescent powder, 104
104. Curious experiment of precipitation, 105
105. To make a beautiful soft glass for jewelry, 105
106. Composition of various kinds of glass, 106
107. Composition of various alloys, 107
108. To produce various kinds of gas, 108
109. Various chemical tests, 110
110. To produce a picture instantly, 111
111. A cheap imitation of silver bronze, 112
112. To make crayons of various colours, 113
113. To make hard sealing wax, 115
114. The art of manufacturing paper hangings, 116
115. To make elastic blacking for leather, 118
116. Sundry experiments, 119
CURIOUS ARTS.
1. WATER-PROOF GILDING AND SILVERING.--This kind of gilding, usually
termed oil gilding, being the cheapest and most durable, is in general
use for gilding or silvering letters on signs, labels, &c. and may be
performed as follows:--Grind one ounce of white lead and two ounces of
litharge, very fine, in a gill of old linseed oil, and if convenient,
add nearly one-fourth of a gill of old copal varnish, and half an
ounce of stone yellow; but neither of these last, are very essential
ingredients. Expose this composition to the rays of the sun for a week
or more in a broad open vessel, observing, however, to keep it free
from dust. Then pour off the finest part, and dilute it with as much
spirits of turpentine as will make it work freely with a brush or
camel-hair pencil. (Oil that will answer exceedingly well for this
purpose, may sometimes be collected from the top of oil paints that
have been long standing, and may be used directly, without being
exposed to the sun as directed above.) Whatever letters or figures you
would gild, must be first drawn or painted with this sizing, the
ground having been previously painted and varnished; and when the
sizing is so dry as to be hard, but yet remains slightly adhesive, or
sticky, lay on gold or silver leaves smoothly over the whole, pressing
them down gently with a soft ball of cotton. The most convenient
manner of performing this, is to lay the leaves of gold or silver,
first on a piece of deer-skin or glove-leather, and cut them into
pieces of a convenient size, by drawing a smooth (not sharp) edged
knife over them. Then take a small block of wood, of a triangular
form, about half an inch thick, and two inches in diameter, and bind a
strip of fine flannel round the edges;--breathe on this, and press it
gently on a piece of the leaf, which by this may be taken from the
leather, and carried to any part of the sizing where it will best fit,
and to which it will readily adhere: thus the sizing may be readily
covered with the leaf, very little of which will be wasted. Afterward
the whole may be brushed over lightly with cotton, or a soft brush,
and the superfluous gold or silver will be brushed off, leaving the
letters or figures entire. When the work has thus remained two or
three days, it may be rubbed with a piece of silk, which will increase
its metallic lustre. _Note._--It is very essential that the varnish of
the ground should be thoroughly dry, that it may not be adhesive in
the least degree, otherwise the leaf will stick where it should not,
and materially injure the work. When plain gilding is required for
vanes, balls, &c. the leaves of gold or silver may be applied to the
work directly from the book, without cutting or dividing them.
2. THE ART OF BURNISH GILDING.--Make a sizing by boiling the skins of
beaver and musk rats, (which may be readily procured at a hat
manufactory,) in water, till it is of sufficient strength that by
cooling it will become a stiff jelly; strain the liquor while warm, and
give your work one coat of it with a brush; when this is dry, add a
little fine whiting to the sizing, and give the work one coat of this.
Then add as much whiting as will work freely under the brush, and lay
on five or six coats of this, allowing each a sufficient time to dry.
Smooth the work by wetting it, and rubbing it with a piece of pumice
stone, which should be previously cut and fitted to the moulding or
other work that is to be gilt; afterward, when the work is dry, rub it
with some fine sand paper. Then take some burnish-gold-size (which is
composed of pipe-clay, plumbago, beef tallow and castile soap, but may
be easily procured ready made,) and dilute it with water till it is of
the consistence of very soft putty, and afterward with the above
mentioned sizing till it will flow freely from a brush, and give the
work three successive coats of this; when the last is dry, dip a
camel-hair pencil in a mixture of equal quantities of rum and water,
and with it wet a small part of the work, and immediately, while it is
flowing, lay on a leaf of gold, brushing it down with a very soft, flat
camel-hair brush, with which also, the leaf is usually conveyed from
the book to the sizing; proceed thus till the whole is gilt, and let it
dry. When the work is sufficiently dry to take a fair polish by
burnishing, (which can be only ascertained by applying the burnisher to
different parts of the work occasionally while it is drying,) rub over
the whole carefully with a flint burnisher, or with the tooth of a wolf
or dog, being fixed in a convenient handle, till the whole acquires a
brilliant polish, except such parts as are required to remain in a
rough-gilt state, which parts are usually flatted by a coat of thin
sizing. Such are the principal rules of the art of burnish gilding; but
as this business requires some variation of management, according to
the state of the weather and other circumstances, it may not be
expected that any person should become very expert in the art, without
the advantage of some experience and practice.
3. ORNAMENTAL BRONZE GILDING.--This is performed by means of gold or
silver, reduced to an impalpable powder, called bronze. One method of
preparing it, is to levigate any quantity of gold or silver leaves on
a stone, with some clarified honey; dilute the honey with clear water,
that the bronze may settle; pour off the water and honey, and add
fresh water to the bronze, which, after being thus thoroughly washed,
may be dried on paper, and is ready for use. Another method of
preparing the gold bronze, is to precipitate the gold from its
solution in nitro-muriatic acid, (see 5,) by adding sulphate of iron
to the solution;--then washing it, as directed above. But in general
it will be found much cheaper to buy the bronze ready prepared. The
ground for this work must be varnished with a mixture of copal
varnish, with an equal quantity of old linseed oil; and whatever
figures are to be formed in bronzing, must be represented by holes cut
through pieces of paper. Lay these patterns on the work, when the
varnish is so dry as to be but slightly adhesive, but not press them
down any more than is requisite to keep the paper in its place. Then
take a piece of soft glove-leather, moisten it a little by breathing
on it, and dip it in some dry bronze, and apply it to the figures,
beginning at the edges;--tap the figure gently with the leather, and
the bronze will stick to the varnish according to the pattern. Thus
any figure may be produced in a variety of shades, by applying the
bronze more freely to some parts of the work than to others. If some
internal parts of the figures require to be more distinct than others,
they may be wrought by their peculiar patterns, or may be edged with
dark coloured paint. In some work it may be well to extend the varnish
no farther than the intended figures, in which case, any projecting or
branching parts of the figures, may be drawn with a camel-hair pencil,
and the patterns may in some measure be dispensed with. In either
case, the work must afterwards have one or more coats of copal or
shellac varnish.
4. TO ENAMEL PICTURE GLASSES WITH GOLD.--The glass must first be
washed perfectly clean and dried; then damp it by breathing on it, or
wet it with the tongue, and immediately lay on a leaf of gold, and
brush it down smooth. When this is dry, draw any letters or flowers
on the gold with Brunswick blacking, (see 51) and when dry, the
superfluous gold may be brushed off with cotton, leaving the figures
entire. Afterward the whole may be covered with blacking, or painted
in any colour, while the gold figures will appear to advantage on the
opposite side of the glass. This work may be elegantly shaded by
scratching through the gold with a small steel instrument, (in the end
of which many sharp points are formed,) previous to laying on the
blacking. Oil paints of any kind may be substituted in the place of
the blacking, but will not dry so quick.
5. TO WASH IRON OR STEEL WITH GOLD.--Mix together in a phial, one part
of nitric acid, with two parts of muriatic acid, and add as much fine
gold as the acid will dissolve. For this purpose gold leaf is the most
convenient, as it will be the most readily dissolved. (This solution
is called the nitro-muriate of gold.) Pour over this solution,
cautiously, about half as much sulphuric ether;--shake the mixture,
and then allow it to settle. The ether will take the gold from the
acid, and will separate itself from it also, and form an upper stratum
in the phial. Carefully pour off this auriferous ether into another
phial, and cork it close. Wash any piece of steel or iron with this
ether, and immediately plunge it in cold water, and it will have
acquired a coat of pure gold. With this also, any flowers or letters
may be drawn or written, even with a pen, and will appear perfectly
gilt. The steel or iron should afterward be heated as much as it will
bear without changing colour, and if the steel be previously polished,
the beauty of the gilding may be much increased by burnishing with a
cornelian or blood stone.
6. TO WASH BRASS OR COPPER WITH SILVER.--To half an ounce of nitric
acid in a phial, add one ounce of water, and one fourth of an ounce of
good silver. It will soon be dissolved, and if the acid and metal are
both pure, the solution, (which is called nitrate of silver) will be
transparent and colourless. Add to this a solution of nearly two
drachms of muriate of soda, in any quantity of water; this will
precipitate the silver in a white opaque mass. Pour off the water with
the acid, and add to the silver an equal quantity of super-tartrate of
potass, thus forming a soft paste;--dip a piece of soft leather in his
paste, and rub it on the metal to be silvered; continue rubbing it
till it is nearly dry; then wash it with water, and polish by rubbing
it hard with a piece of dry leather. Another method is, to add
sub-carbonate of potass to the nitrate of silver, as long as ebulition
ensues; then the acid is poured off, and the precipitate, (which is
white at first, but becomes green when dry,) is mixed with double its
quantity of muriate of soda, and super-tartrate of potass. With this
composition, being moistened, the metal is rubbed over, &c.
7. TO GIVE WOOD A GOLD, SILVER, OR COPPER LUSTRE.--Grind about two
ounces of white beach sand in a gill of water, in which half an ounce
of gum-arabic has been dissolved, and brush over the work with it.
When this is dry, the work may be rubbed over with a piece of gold,
silver or copper, and will in a measure, assume their respective
colours and brilliancy. This work may be polished by a flint
burnisher, but should not be varnished.
8. TO PRINT GOLD LETTERS ON MOROCCO.--First wet the morocco with the
whites of eggs; when this is dry, rub the work over with a little
olive oil, and lay on gold leaves. Then take some common printing
types, and heat them to the temperature of boiling water, and impress
the letters on the gold;--rub the whole with a piece of flannel, and
the superfluous gold will come off, leaving the letters handsomely
gilt. Another method is, to strew powdered rosin over the morocco
previous to laying on the leaf; the heat of the types melts the rosin,
which occasions the gold to adhere in the impressions, while the other
may be brushed off.
9. TO DYE SILK A BRILLIANT GOLD COLOUR.--Take any quantity of
nitro-muriate of gold, (see 5) and evaporate by exposing it to a
gentle heat in a glass tumbler or phial; the gold will form itself in
crystals on the bottom and sides of the vessel; collect these crystals
and dissolve them in ten times their weight of pure water. Then put a
gill of water into a common flask, and add one ounce of granulated
zinc, and one-fourth of an ounce of sulphuric acid. Hydrogen gas will
be evolved, and rise through the neck of the flask, which must not be
stopped. Immerse a piece of white silk in the above mentioned aqueous
solution of gold, and expose it, while wet, to the current of gas as
it rises from the flask; the gold will soon be revived, and the silk
will become beautifully and permanently gilt. Any letters or flowers
may be drawn on the silk with a camel-hair pencil dipped in the
solution, and on being exposed to the action of the gas, will be
revived and shine with metallic brilliancy. _Note._--The silk must be
kept moist with water till the gold is revived. Zinc may be prepared
for the above purpose, by melting it, and stirring it continually with
a stick or iron rod while it is cooling; or it may be pulverized with
a hammer as soon as it becomes solid.
10. TO DYE SILK A BRILLIANT SILVER COLOUR.--Proceed as directed in the
last experiment, only use the nitrate of silver, (see 6) instead of
nitro-muriate of gold. The process of crystalizing, re-dissolving, &c.
is the same. But the crystals of silver differ in colour, being white,
whereas those produced from gold are yellow. If a jar, or box be
filled with hydrogen gas, and the silk suspended in it, the action of
the gas, and consequently the revivification of the metals will be
more uniform. For small figures, however, it may be as well to fix a
stopper in the flask, having a small orifice through it, that the gas
may be thrown with some force on the silk, and will have a more
certain effect. A solution of muriate of tin may be managed in a
similar manner, but none of these solutions can be thus revived on
paper.
11. TO SILVER LOOKING GLASSES.--Lay on a smooth board, a piece of soft
deer-skin leather, rather larger than the glass that is to be
silvered; and on the leather, having sprinkled a little fine whiting,
spread a piece of tin foil of the same size. Pour on a few drops of
mercury, and brush it over the tin with a smooth brush, till every
part of the tin becomes bright. Then add as much mercury as will lay
on the tin, and upon this lay the glass to be silvered: on the glass
lay another piece of leather, of the same size, and on that another
board.--Take up the boards with the glass, and pressing the boards
together, turn them with the glass, the other side up; take off the
upper board, and pass the glass with the tin and leather, between two
rollers, similar to those of a rolling press, for copper-plate
printing; thus to press out the mercury from between the tin and the
glass. Then place the glass between the boards again as before, and
place a heavy weight (which cannot be too heavy, unless it breaks the
glass) on the upper board, which must remain two or three days. The
glass may then be taken up. The practice of some is, to lay thin paper
on the mercury previous to laying on the glass; this paper, being
carefully drawn out, after the glass is laid on, serves to remove the
superfluous mercury, that the tin may come more nearly in contact with
the glass. In this case, no rollers are used. Concave or other fancy
glasses may be silvered, by making an impression with the glass, in a
kind of putty, made of fine sulphate of lime and water; and placing
the glass in the impression again with the tin foil and mercury, when
the plaster is dry, and subjecting it to pressure two or three days in
that situation. The experiment of silvering glass may be performed by
rubbing a drop of mercury on a small piece of tin foil, and pressing
it upon a piece of glass with the finger, or a piece of soft leather.
In this case, the glass will have acquired the reflective property of
a mirror; and if a similar pressure be continued a few hours, the tin
will adhere permanently.
12. TO WRITE ON PAPER WITH GOLD OR SILVER.--Make a sizing as strong as
will flow freely from the pen, by dissolving equal quantities of
gum-arabic and loaf sugar in water; write with this on paper and let
it dry; then moisten the paper by breathing on it, or by holding it
over hot water, and immediately lay pieces of gold or silver leaf on
the lines of the writing, pressing them down gently with a dry hair
pencil. Otherwise, brush gold or silver bronze lightly over the
writing; but this will not have so brilliant an appearance. Allow the
sizing to dry again, and then brush off the redundant gold or silver
with cotton. This writing, (if performed with leaf gold or silver) may
be burnished with a flint burnisher or a cornelian or blood-stone.
Gold letters may also be written or drawn with a hair pencil by means
of gold bronze, mixed with weak gum-water, to which may be added a
little solution of soap, which will make it run more freely. But no
preparation of solution of gold has yet been discovered, which may be
easily revived on paper.
13. TO MAKE GOOD SHINING BLACK INK.--Take two ounces of nut-galls in
coarse powder; one ounce of logwood in thin chips; one ounce of
sulphate of iron; three-fourths of an ounce of gum-arabic; one-fourth
of an ounce of sulphate of copper; and one-fourth of an ounce of loaf
sugar. Boil the galls and logwood together in three pints of water,
till the quantity is reduced to one half. Then the liquor must be
strained through a flannel into a proper vessel, and the remainder of
the ingredients be added to it. The mixture is then to be frequently
stirred till the whole is dissolved; after which it must be left at
rest for twenty-four hours. The ink may then be decanted from the
gross sediment, and must be preserved in a glass bottle well corked.
14. BLUE INK.--Dissolve one ounce of gum-arabic in a pint of water. In
a part of this gum-water, grind a small quantify of best prussian
blue; you may thus bring it to any depth of colour you choose. Indigo
will answer this purpose very well, but is not so fine a colour, nor
will it remain suspended so uniformly in the water.
15. RED INK.--In the above mentioned gum-water, grind very fine, three
parts of vermillion with one of lake or carmine. This is a very
perfect colour, but may require to be shaken up occasionally. To make
the common red ink, such as is used by book binders for ruling, &c.
infuse half a pound of rasped brazil-wood, for two or three days in a
pint of vinegar; then filter or strain it, and add one ounce of
gum-arabic, and one ounce of alum. It may afterward be diluted
occasionally with water.
16. YELLOW INK.--Steep one ounce of turmeric, in powder, in half a
gill of alcohol; let it rest twenty-four hours, and then add an equal
quantity of water;--throw the whole on a cloth, and express the
coloured liquor, which mix with gum-water. Rum or other spirits may be
substituted in the place of alcohol. A solution of gamboge in water,
writes a full yellow, but comes far short of turmeric in brightness.
17. GREEN INK.--To the tincture of turmeric, prepared as above, add a
little prussian blue. A variety of tints may be formed, by varying the
proportions of these two ingredients, and no artificial colour can
excel it in beauty.
18. PURPLE INK.--To the blue ink, described at 14, add some finely
ground lake; or instead of this, the expressed juice of the deepest
coloured beets may be substituted, but is more liable to fade. With
either of these a variety of tints may be formed, by varying the
proportions.
19. TO WRITE IN VARIOUS COLOURS WITH THE SAME PEN, INK AND
PAPER.--Take a sheet of white paper, and wet some parts of it with a
solution of sub-carbonate of potass, which must be diluted with water
so as not to appear on the paper when dry. Wet some other parts with
diluted muriatic acid, or with juice of lemons.--Some other parts may
be wet with a dilute solution of alum; and others with an infusion of
nut-galls (water in which bruised or pulverized nut-galls have been
steeped.) None of these preparations must be so strong as to colour
the paper any. When these are dry, take some finely powdered sulphate
of iron, and rub it lightly on some parts of the paper, that have been
wet with the sub-carbonate of potass, and infusion of galls. Then with
the juice of violets, or of the leaves of red cabbage, write on the
paper as usual with a pen. The ink is, of itself, a faint purple;
where the paper was wet with acid, the writing will be bright red; on
the sub-carbonate of potass, it will take a beautiful green; on the
alum it will be brown; on the sub-carbonate of potass that was rubbed
with powdered sulphate of iron, it will be deep yellow; and on the
infusion of galls that was rubbed with the powder, it will be
black.--The juice of violets will sometimes take a brilliant yellow on
the alkali if it be very strong. The juice of violets or red cabbage
may be kept a long time by means of the addition of a few drops of
alcohol; or the leaves may be dryed by the fire, and thus may be kept
ready for use; and it is only requisite to steep them in hot water, in
order to prepare the ink at any time. _Note._--The yellow ink,
described at 16, writes a full red where the paper has been wet with
the solution of sub-carbonate of potass; while the solution of
sulphate of iron, which has no colour of itself, writes a deep yellow
on the alkali, and black on the infusion of galls.
20. SYMPATHETIC INKS FOR SECRET CORRESPONDENCE.--_Process
1._--Dissolve muriate of ammonia in water, and write;--the writing
will be invisible. When you would make the writing appear, heat the
paper by the fire, and the writing will become black.
21. _Process 2._--Write with a solution of sulphate of iron--the
writing will be invisible. Dip a feather in an infusion of nut-galls,
and with it wet the paper, and the writing will become black.
22. _Process 3._--Write with a dilute infusion of galls,--it will be
invisible. Dip a feather in a solution of sulphate of iron, and
moisten the paper with it and the writing will become black.
23. _Process 4._--Write with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass;
wet this writing with a solution of sulphate of iron,--it will take a
deep yellow colour.
24. _Process 5._--Write with a solution of sulphate of copper,--no
writing will be visible. Wash the paper with a solution of prussiate
of potass,--the writing will then get a reddish brown colour.
25. _Process 6._--Write with a solution of super-carbonate of
soda;--moisten the paper with a solution of sulphate of copper, and
the writing will become green.
26. _Process 7._--Write with diluted nitrate of silver, and let the
writing dry in the dark--it will be invisible; but expose the paper to
the rays of the sun, and the writing will become black.
27. LUMINOUS INK THAT WILL SHINE IN THE DARK.--To half an ounce of
essential oil of cinnamon, in a phial, add half a drachm of
phosphorus. Cork the phial slightly, and set it, or suspend it near a
fire, where the heat may be nearly equal to boiling; continue the heat
four or five hours, shaking the phial frequently, but cautiously lest
any of the oil should escape, or come in contact with atmospheric air,
in which case it would take fire. The cork should be set sufficiently
tight to exclude atmospheric air, but not so as to prevent the escape
of any vapour that might be produced by excess of heat. The phial may
be afterward removed from the fire and suffered to cool. With this
phosphorised oil, any letters may be written on paper, and if carried
into a dark room, will appear very bright, resembling fire. The phial
should be kept corked close, except when used.
28. TO MAKE A WRITING APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR AT PLEASURE.--Dissolve
equal parts of sulphate of copper and muriate of ammonia in water, and
write. When you would make the writing appear, warm the paper gently
by the fire; the writing will appear in a yellow colour; but as soon
as you take the paper into the cold air, the writing will vanish. This
may be often repeated.
29. TO MAKE A WRITING VANISH AND ANOTHER APPEAR IN ITS PLACE.--Write
on paper with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass,--the writing will
be invisible. Mix together equal parts of solution of sulphate of
iron, and infusion of galls; write with this mixture (which is black)
on the same paper. Then add to the black liquor a little sulphuric
acid, sufficient to deprive it of colour. Wet the paper with this
compound; the acid will discharge the colour from the last writing,
while the alkali of the first, will precipitate the gallate of iron,
and the writing will become black.
30. TO RESTORE OLD WRITING THAT IS NEARLY DEFACED.--Boil one ounce of
powdered nut-galls, for an hour or more in a pint of white wine;
filter the liquor, and when cold, wet the paper with it, or pass it on
the lines with a camel hair pencil, and the writing will be much
revived.
31. TO PAINT A PICTURE THAT WILL APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR
OCCASIONALLY.--To half an ounce of nitric acid, add one drachm of
cobalt, one drachm of muriate of soda, and two ounces of water; set it
in a sand bath or on warm ashes, where it must remain five or six
hours. Then filter the solution, (which is nitro-muriate of cobalt,)
and with it draw the trees, and shrubbery of a designed picture. Then
with a solution of oxide of cobalt in acetic acid, draw some distant
mountains, fences, &c. and with muriate of copper, (the compound
solution described at 28,) draw some flowers, buildings, &c. These
will all be invisible when dry; but warm the paper and the picture
will appear in green, blue and yellow. It will disappear again when
the paper becomes cold.
32. LANDSCAPE PAINTING ON WALLS OF ROOMS.--Dissolve half a pound of
glue in a gallon of water, and with this sizing, mix whatever colours
may be required for the work. Strike a line round the room, nearly
breast high; this is called the horizon line: paint the walls from the
top to within six inches of the horizon line, with sky blue, (composed
of refined whiting and indigo, or slip blue,) and at the same time,
paint the space from the horizon line to the blue, with horizon red,
(whiting, coloured a little with orange lead and yellow ochre,) and
while the two colours are wet, incorporate them partially, with a
brush. Rising clouds may be represented by striking the horizon red
colour upon the blue, before it is dry, with a large brush. Change
some sky blue about two shades with slip blue and paint your design
for rivers, lakes or the ocean. Change some sky blue one shade with
forest green, (slip blue and chrome yellow,) and paint the most
distant mountains and highlands; shade them while wet, with blue, and
heighten them with white, observing always to heighten the side that
is towards the principal light of the room. The upper surface of the
ocean must be painted as high as the horizon line, and the distant
highlands must rise from ten to twenty inches above it.--Paint the
highlands, islands, &c. of the second distance, which should appear
from four to six miles distant, with mountain green, (two parts sky
blue with one of forest green,) heighten them, while wet, with sulphur
yellow, (three parts whiting with one of chrome yellow,) and shade
with blue-black, (slip blue and lamp black equal.) Paint the lands of
the first distance, such as should appear within a mile or two, with
forest green; heighten with chrome yellow and shade with black;
occasionally incorporating red ochre, french green or whiting. The
nearest part, or fore ground, however, should be painted very bold
with yellow ochre, stone brown, (red and yellow ochres and lamp black
equal,) and black. Paint the shores and rocks of the first distance
with stone brown; heighten with horizon red, shade with black. For
those of the second distance, each colour must be mixed with sky
blue.--The wood lands, hedges and trees of the second distance are
formed by striking a small flat stiff brush end-wise, (which operation
is called bushing, and is applied to the heightening and shading all
trees and shrubbery of any distance,) with mountain green, deepened a
little with slip blue; with which also the ground work for trees of
the first distance is painted; and with this colour the water may be
shaded a little under the capes and islands, thus representing the
reflection of the land in the water. Trees of the first distance are
heightened with sulphur yellow or french green; and shaded with
blue-black. Every object must be painted larger or smaller, according
to the distance at which it is represented; thus the proper height of
trees in the second distance, is from one to two inches, and other
objects in proportion. Those in the first distance from six to ten
inches generally; but those in the fore ground, which are nearest, are
frequently painted as large as the walls will admit. The colours also
for distant objects, houses, ships, &c., must be varied, being mixed
with more or less sky blue, according to the distance of the object.
By these means the view will apparently recede from the eye, and will
have a very striking effect.
33. TO PAINT IN FIGURES FOR CARPETS OR BORDERS.--Take a sheet of
pasteboard or strong paper, and paint thereon with a pencil, any
flower or figure that would be elegant for a border or carpet figure;
then with small gouges and chisels, or a sharp pen knife, cut out the
figure completely, that it be represented by apertures cut through the
paper. Lay this pattern on the ground intended to receive the figure,
whether a floor or painted cloth, and with a stiff smooth brush, paint
with a quick vibrative motion over the whole figure.--Then take up the
paper and you will have an entire figure on the ground. _Note._--If a
floor is to be thus painted, in imitation of a carpet, the pattern
must be perfectly square, and the figure so designed, that when
several of them come together, they may completely match each other;
and when different colours are used in the same figure, they must be
kept a little separate from each other, and wrought with different
brushes.
34. TO PAINT IN IMITATION OF MAHOGANY AND MAPLE.--First give the work
one or two coats of straw coloured paint, composed of white lead and
yellow ochre, ground in linseed oil, to which may be added a little
fine litharge, that the paint may the sooner dry; when this is dry,
rub it smooth with sand-paper. Then if mahogany is to be imitated,
stain the work over with boiled linseed oil, coloured a little with
venetian red and burnt terra-de-sienna, equal quantities. This should
be applied with a short stiff brush, and spread very thin that it may
not run, or drip off. Then with terra-de-sienna, ground very thick in
oil, form the dark shades of the graining according to your design,
with a small flat brush. For this purpose a common sash-brush may be
made flat, by having a small piece of wire, or wood, bound on each
side near the handle. Some of the darker shades may be drawn with
burnt umber and black, ground together, which may be applied with a
camel hair pencil. If any part is to be made very light, the staining
may be wiped off carefully with a ball of cotton. Light stripes, or
lines may be produced by drawing a piece of cork or soft wood over the
work, thus taking off or removing the dark colours, that the original
ground may appear.--To imitate maple, the work must be stained with
yellow ochre, and burnt umber, ground together in boiled oil. Instead
of burnt umber, terra-de-sienna (unburnt) is sometimes used, but as
different kinds, or parcels of it, vary in colour, from yellow to
brown, it may not be depended on uniformly. The birds' eyes and curls
are formed by removing the staining from the ground with a piece of
stiff leather, the edges of which are cut in notches so that the
several points will touch the work at the same time.
35. THE ART OF PAINTING ON GLASS.--If the common cakes of
water-colours are to be used in this work, they should be mixed with
water in which a little muriate of soda has been dissolved. Other
paints may be ground in shellac varnish; or in linseed oil, but this
will not dry so quick. The most proper colours for this work, on
account of their transparency, are india ink, or lamp black, burnt
umber, burnt terra-de-sienna, lake and gamboge or chrome yellow. These
must be laid on very thin, that they may be the more transparent. Set
up the glass on its edge, against a window, or place a lamp on the
opposite side that the light may shine through, and with a fine hair
pencil, draw the out lines of your design on the glass with black;
afterward shade and paint it with the above mentioned colours,
observing to paint that part of the work first, which in other
painting would be done last. The shading may be performed by laying on
two or more coats of the colour, where you want it darker. If
transparency is not required, a greater variety of colours may be
used, and laid on in full heavy coats. Any writing or lettering in
this work, must be written from right to left, contrary to the usual
order. In some pieces, the body of some of the principal objects, may
be left blank, so that by placing pieces of silk or paper of different
colours, on the opposite side of the glass the picture will also
appear in different colours, and may be changed from one colour to
another at pleasure.
36. BEST METHOD OF POLISHING STEEL.--For this purpose a wheel must be
provided that is perfectly round, and the rim of it covered with
deer-skin, or buff-leather. The diameter of the wheel, for common
purposes may be about two feet; but for polishing razors, and some
other similar instruments, the wheel should not be more than five or
six inches in diameter, and two inches thick. The steel must first be
ground smooth as possible on a common, or fine grained stone; it may
then be applied to the polishing wheel, which must be turned with such
velocity that the surface, or rim, may move at the rate of from forty
to sixty feet in a second; and the leather must frequently have a
powder applied, called crocus of iron, which is prepared by calcining
sulphate of iron in a crucible till it becomes a fine red oxide
resembling rust. For ordinary work, the leather may be moistened with
olive oil, that it may the better retain the powder; but it will give
a more perfect polish if kept dry. If any perfectly plain surfaces,
such as mirrors are to be polished, they must be applied to the sides
of a wheel, and not to the edge or rim, in the manner of other work.
37. TO MAKE LETTERS OR FLOWERS OF BLUE, ON POLISHED STEEL.--Hold the
steel over a charcoal fire till it becomes blue;--let it cool. Then
with equal parts of rosin and bees wax, melted together, coloured a
little with lamp black, and diluted with spirits of turpentine, so as
to work freely with a camel hair pencil, draw any letters or figures
on the steel, while it is a little warm. When the steel has become
cold, wash it over with muriatic acid, diluted with two parts water,
to one of acid; thus take off the blue colour, and then wash it with
clear water. Afterward the varnish, being warmed a little, may be
readily washed off with spirits of turpentine, and the letters or
flowers will remain blue. _Note._--If letters are formed of polished
steel with this varnish, and the body of the metal be also covered
with it, except a small space round the letters, and then bathed with
muriatic acid, the space round the letters, will become a dull iron
colour, while the letters and the body of the steel will retain their
polished surface and brilliancy.
38. TO PRESERVE THE BRIGHTNESS OF POLISHED STEEL.--Grind an ounce of
native plumbago, (such as is used for making lead pencils,) very fine
in a gill of spirits of turpentine; then add an ounce of clean bees
wax; apply a gentle heat, till the wax is melted, and continue
stirring it till it is nearly cold. Brush over the steel with this
composition, and when the spirits have evaporated, rub the work hard
with a piece of glove leather, and wipe off nearly all the wax, that
the metal may retain its brightness. This may be applied to iron or
steel in machinery, or other work, and will be found to answer a much
better purpose than oil, as it is less liable to collect dust from the
atmosphere, and is, in general, much more durable.
39. TO GIVE STEEL A TEMPER TO CUT MARBLE.--No temper can be given to
steel, in which hardness is combined with tenacity, more than in that
given to files, at the file manufactories, which is accomplished by
the following process.--To boiling water, add about twice as much
finely ground muriate of soda, as the water will dissolve, and as much
rye flour as will, with the other, make a thick paste; lay a coat of
this paste over the steel, (which must be ground, or filed previous to
tempering,) and subject it to a full red heat, in a fire of charcoal,
mixed with about a third part of animal coal, (coal of bones, horns,
leather, &c.) and then suddenly plunge it three or four feet deep, in
exceeding cold water. By thus immersing the steel rather deep in the
water there is a double advantage; for the water which becomes heated,
by contact with the steel, will rise and its place be supplied
continually by fresh cold water; and at the same time, the pressure of
the water on the coating of paste, will make it adhere more closely to
the steel while it is cooling. The paste may then be shelled off, and
the steel will be found as bright as before, or at least, will not
have been essentially oxydized by the operation.
40. TO WASH IRON OR STEEL WITH COPPER.--Dissolve sulphate of copper in
water, in the proportion of one to three; wash the iron or steel with
it, and it will instantly be covered with reduced copper. This is best
performed by applying the solution with a brush, which must be
followed directly with a sponge of clear water. In this manner any
letters or figures may be drawn with a camel-hair pencil, or a pen,
and if it be on polished steel, the letters or flowers will assume the
brilliancy of the steel and appear like highly polished copper. It may
sometimes be requisite to cleanse the metal by washing it with diluted
muriatic acid, that the copper may adhere the more readily. If the
steel thus ornamented, be held over a charcoal fire, the copper
figures become blue first; and when the steel becomes blue, the copper
takes a gold colour; but is restored again to its original colour, by
diluted muriatic acid.
41. TO GIVE IRON THE WHITENESS OF SILVER.--To nitric acid, diluted
with an equal quantity of water, add as much mercury as the acid will
dissolve; then add to the solution, three or four times as much water,
and having given the iron a coat of copper, as directed in the last
experiment, brush it over in the same manner with the diluted nitrate
of mercury; its appearance will be equal, if not superior to that of
real silver. In this manner any common, or rough iron work, may be
apparently silvered at a most insignificant expense.
42. TO WASH IRON WITH TIN.--Small pieces of iron may be tinned, after
being filed bright, by washing them with a saturated solution of
muriate of ammonia in water and dipping them, while moist, in a vessel
of melted tin. If the iron is of such form as cannot be conveniently
filed, it may be immersed in nitric acid, diluted with as much water
as acid; when the acid begins to act sensibly on every part, it may be
washed with water, and then with the muriate of ammonia, and if a
little fine rosin be sprinkled on it previous to dipping it in the
tin, it may be an advantage. The iron must remain in the tin till it
becomes nearly as hot as the tin, otherwise it will be coated too
thick. Muriatic acid may sometimes be used, instead of muriate of
ammonia, and if the iron is not filed, it will answer a better
purpose. The inside of cast iron vessels may be tinned as follows:
Cleanse the iron by scouring or rubbing it with a sharp grained stone,
keeping the iron wet with diluted nitric acid. As the most prominent
parts of the iron will be first brightened by the stone, the acid will
also commence its action on the same parts, which will very much
facilitate the work, while the hollows, and deeper parts of the
surface, will remain untouched till the iron is nearly smooth. When
this is accomplished, wash the iron with water, and then with clear
muriatic acid; turn the vessel over to drain off the superfluous acid;
then set it upright, and fill it with melted tin, which must be poured
in cautiously, directly on the bottom of the vessel first, and the
stream of tin increased till the vessel is full; then pour out the tin
suddenly, and invert the vessel till it is cold. Sheets of iron are
tinned, in the manufactories of tin plate, by immersing the sheets,
endwise, in a pot of melted tin, the top of which is covered with
about two inches depth of tallow. This tallow answers a better
purpose, after it has become brown by use, than it does at first. The
only preparation of the iron sheets is, to scour them perfectly clean
and bright.