light of Peruvian blue; proceed with the darker shades of carmine of
the best sort. In the darkest part of the flower add a little indigo
to give a roundness. If the seeds are seen lay on gamboge, shaded
with gall-stone.
Leaves.--Upper side, sap-green, shaded with indigo and French
berries mixed; under-side, white indigo and sap-green mixed, shaded
with the same.
Stalks.--Sap-green and carmine, shaded with indigo.
Rose-buds.--A pale wash of carmine, shaded with a stronger wash of
the same.
Stalks and leaves, sap-green with a slight wash of carmine.
557. BIRDS IN WATER-COLOURS
Eagles.--black and brown, shaded with indigo; feathers heightened by
brown ochre and white; beak and claws saffron, shaded with bistre;
eyes vermilion, heightened with masticot or saffron, shaded with
vermilion.
Geese.--Ceruse shaded with black; legs, black; bill, red.
Owls.--Ochre mixed with white, in different shades; legs, yellow
ochre.
Pheasants.--White and black mixed; legs, Dutch pink, shaded with
black.
Swans.--White shaded with black; the legs and bills black; eyes
yellow; a ball in the midst.
Turkeys.--Black, black and white mixed, shaded off to a white
underneath; sprinkled and shaded with black.
558. LANDSCAPES IN WATER-COLOURS
Sketch the outlines faintly with a black-lead pencil. Then colour.
Colours.--The most useful are: lake, burnt ochre, gamboge, indigo,
light red, sepia, Prussian blue, sienna, and burnt umber.
The gray colour is made of burnt umber, indigo, and lake; each
rubbed separately in a saucer, and then mixed in a fourth saucer as
to produce the exact colour--a warm gray. This is thinned for the
light tints, as sky and distances. Deeper is to be used for the
shadows and near parts, softening with water till the exact effect
is produced.
Buildings are sometimes tinted with a mixture of lake and gamboge.
Burnt ochre is also used. The shadows have an excess of lake.
Breadths of Light are obtained by destroying the scattered lights
with grays.
Clouds are produced by a thin mixture of indigo and lake. They
should be tinted with sepia. The lower or horizontal clouds are
tinged with ultramarine.
Figures are touched with lake and indigo.
Force is acquired by adding sepia to indigo, in the cold parts, and
sepia with lake to the glowing parts.
Grass is washed with a mixture of burnt sienna, indigo, and gamboge;
that in shadow has more indigo. Grass and bushes may be brought out
by a tint of gamboge; distances may be heightened by lake.
Hills, retiring.--Tint the whole with weak blue; then the nearer
ones with indigo and lake; add a little gamboge to the next, keeping
one subordinate to the other; the most distant being lost in the
aerial tints.
Land, distant.--Ultramarine and lake. Ground near is tinted with
ochre.
Road and Paths.--A mixture of lake, burnt umber, and burnt sienna.
It may be tinted with ochre.
Smoke.--Lake and indigo.
Trees, distant.--Ultramarine, with a wash of indigo, gamboge, and
burnt sienna, tinted with gray. The middle trees have a thin wash
of burnt sienna and gamboge. Nearer trees a wash of burnt sienna,
indigo, and gamboge. In the shadows more indigo is used.
Opposing masses of trees are tinted with sepia and indigo.
Windows.--Indigo and burnt umber.
559. POTICHOMANIE
This elegant accomplishment, which has become so extremely popular
and fashionable, promises not only to supercede altogether many of
those accomplishments which have hitherto absorbed the attention of
our fair countrywomen, but to rank among the fine arts.
Advantages of this Art.--It possesses many advantages: and the
process is simple and easily acquired. It is an exceedingly pleasing
and interesting employment, requiring no previous knowledge of
drawing, yet affording abundant space for the exercise of the most
exquisite taste. The time employed is richly repaid; the results
produced are of actual value; articles of ornament and domestic
utility being produced, in perfect imitation of the most beautiful
Chinese and Japanese porcelain, of Sevres and Dresden china, and of
every form that is usual in the productions of the Ceramic Art. It
furnishes an inexhaustible and inexpensive source for the production
of useful and elegant presents, which will be carefully preserved as
tokens of friendship, and as proofs of the taste and talent of the
giver.
Articles necessary in the Art of Potichomanie.--Glass vases,
(Potiches en verre,) of shapes suitable to the different orders of
Chinese, Japanese, Etruscan, and French porcelain, Alumettes, &c.;
cups, plates, &c., &c., of Sevres and Dresden design. Sheets of
coloured drawings or prints, characteristic representations of the
designs or decorations suitable to every kind of porcelain and
china. A bottle of liquid gum, and three or four hog-hair brushes.
A bottle of varnish, and very fine pointed scissors for cutting out.
An assortment of colours for the foundation, in bottles. A packet of
gold powder, and a glass vessel for diluting the colours.
Directions.--We will suppose the object selected for imitation to be
a Chinese vase. After providing yourself with a plain glass vase, of
the proper shape, you take your sheets of coloured prints on which
are depicted subjects characteristic of that peculiar style. From
these sheets you can select a great variety of designs, of the most
varied character, on the arrangement and grouping of which you can
exercise your own taste. After you have fully decided upon the
arrangement of your drawings, cut them out accurately with a pair of
scissors, then apply some liquid gum carefully over the coloured
side of the drawings, and stick them on the inside of the vase,
according to your own previous arrangement--pressing them down till
they adhere closely, without any bubbles of air appearing between
the glass and the drawings. When the drawings have had sufficient
time to dry, take a fine brush and cover every part of them (without
touching the glass) with a coat of parchment size or liquid gum,
which prevents the oil colour (which is next applied) from sinking
into or becoming absorbed by the paper. When the interior of the
vase is perfectly dry, and any particles of gum size that may have
been left on the glass have been removed, your vase is ready for the
final and most important process. You have now to tint the whole
of the vase with a proper colour to give it the appearance of
porcelain; for up to this time, you will recollect, it is but a glass
vase, with a few coloured prints stuck thereon. Select from your
stock of prepared colours, in bottles, the tint most appropriate to
the kind of china you are imitating, (as we are now supposed to be
making a Chinese vase, it will be of a greenish hue,) mix fully
sufficient colour in a glass vessel, then pour the whole into the
vase. Take now your vase in both hands, and turn it round
continually in the same direction, until the colour is equally
spread over the whole of the interior: when this is satisfactorily
accomplished, pour back the remainder. If the prepared colour is too
thick, add a little varnish to the mixture before applying it. If
preferred, the colour may be laid on with a soft brush. Should the
vase be intended to hold water, the interior must be well varnished
after the above operations, or lined with zinc or tin foil. If the
potichomanist wishes to decorate the mouth of his vase with a gold
border, he can do so by mixing some gold powder in a few drops of
the essence of lavender and some varnish, applying it on the vase
with a fine brush; or he can purchase gold bands, already prepared
for application, in varied sheets, suitable to the potichomanie
designs. Potichomanists have found the art capable of greater
results than the mere imitation of porcelain vases, by the
introduction of glass panels (previously decorated with beautiful
flowers on a white ground) into drawing-room doors, and also into
walls which, being panel papered, offer opportunities of introducing
centre pieces of the same character as the doors; elegant chess
and work-tables, folding and cheval-screens, panels for cabinets,
chiffoniers and book-cases, slabs for pier and console-tables,
glove-boxes, covers for books, music, albums, &c. The most common
cause of failure is, that the drawings inside are not thoroughly
pressed down.
560. COLOURING FOR CHEESE
The colouring for cheese is, or at least should be, Spanish arnotto;
but as soon as colouring became general in this country, a colour of
an adulterated kind was exposed for sale in almost every shop; the
weight of a guinea and a half of real Spanish arnotto is sufficient
for a cheese of fifty pounds' weight. If a considerable part of the
cream of the night's milk be taken for butter, more colouring will
be requisite. The leaner the cheese is, the more colouring it
requires. The manner of using arnotto is to tie up, in a linen rag,
the quantity deemed sufficient, and put into half a pint of warm
water over night. This infusion is put into the tub of milk, in the
morning, with the rennet infusion; dipping the rag into the milk,
and rubbing it against the palm of the hand as long as any colour
runs out.
561. TO SHARPEN EDGE TOOLS
Take equal parts of flour of emery and crocus; make into a paste
with sweet oil; have now a piece of buck-skin, (hemlock tan,) tack
it by each end on a piece of board, with the grain uppermost; then
on this spread a little of the paste, and sharpen your tools on it.
You will, indeed, be astonished at the effect. Try it.
562. BLUE COMPOSITION FOR DYEING
Take equal parts of vitriol and indigo; powder them very finely,
separately, and mix.
563. TO GILD LETTERS ON VELLUM OR PAPER
Letters written on vellum or paper are gilded in three ways; in the
first, a little size is mixed with the ink, and the letters are
written as usual; when they are dry, a slight degree of stickiness
is produced by breathing on them, upon which the gold leaf is
immediately applied, and by a little pressure may be made to adhere
with sufficient firmness. In the second method, some white lead of
chalk is ground up with strong size, and the letters are made with
this by means of a brush; when the mixture is almost dry, the gold
leaf may be laid on, and afterwards burnished. The last method is to
mix up some gold powder with size, and make the letters of this by
means of a brush.
564. TO PRESERVE STRAWBERRY PLANTS
Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the experience
of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost
obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry plants, when the
fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the
sun, the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning
fruit kept from damage by resting on the ground, particularly in wet
weather, and much labour in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long
straw are sufficient for 1800 feet of plants.
565. MANAGEMENT OF STRAWBERRY PLANTS
On the management of strawberries in June and July, the future
prosperity of them greatly depends; and if each plant has not been
kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they will be in a state
of confusion, and you will find three different sorts of plants. 1.
Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and woody. 2. Young
plants, not strong enough to flower. 3. Flowering plants, which
ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them. Before the time
of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up every old
plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted to
flower, you may depend upon it they never will produce any after,
being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave
two or three, set a stick to them, and observe them the next year.
If the young plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some
of them away, and do not leave them nearer than a foot of the
scarlet, alpines, and wood, and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the
larger sorts; and in the first rainy weather in July or August, take
them all up, and make a fresh plantation with them, and they will be
very strong plants for flowering next year. Old beds, even if the
plants be kept single at their proper distance, examine, and pull
all the old plants which have not flowered. When the fruit is nearly
all gathered, examine them again, and cut off the runners; but if
you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of the two first,
and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a trowel, or
three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to transplant. If
you have omitted in July, do not fail in August, that the runners
may make good roots, to be transplanted in September; for, if later,
the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost afterwards
will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of which is,
their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year.
566. THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS
What each flower enumerated, signifies, when sent to a friend or lover.
Almond, flowering--Concealed love.
Althea, Frutex--I am deeply in love.
Amaranth--Immortality, or piety.
Anemone--Fading hope.
Arbor-Vitae--Unchanging friendship.
Auricula, Scarlet--Pride. You are proud.
Bachelor's button--Hope in love.
Balm--I long for your society.
Balsamine--Impatience; or, pray come.
Bay Leaf--I change but in dying.
Box--I believe in your constancy.
Buttercup--Riches. You are rich.
Calla Ethiopica--Magnificent beauty.
Carnation--Pride and Beauty.
Camelia Japonica--Surpassing excellence.
Cedar--Think of me.
China Aster--Caprice.
Cypress--Despair, and without hope.
Dahlia--Dignity--I will sustain it.
Daisy--Youthful beauty.
Dandelion--Coquetry, I accuse you of.
Eglantine--I wound to heal.
Forget-me-not--True love for ever.
Fox-glove--Insincerity. You are false.
Geranium--Gentility and elegance.
Gilly-Flower--Thou art fair.
Golden Rod--Encouragement. You will succeed.
Grass--Submission.
Heart's Ease--Love in idleness.
Heliotrope--Devotion. Let us pray for each other.
Hellebore--Calumny. You have listened.
Hollyhock--Ambition. I seek glory.
Honeysuckle--Dost thou love me?
Houstonia--Content ever with thee.
Hyacinth, Purple--Sorrow. I am sad.
Hydrangea--Heartlessness.
Ivy--Wedded Love. We are happy.
Jasmine, White--I desire a return of my affection.
Larkspur--Haughtiness.
Laurel--Ambition. I will win.
Laurustinus--A token. Pray remember.
Lavender--Acknowledgment.
Lilac--Fastidiousness.
Lily, White--Purity and beauty.
Magnolia--You are beautiful.
Marigold--Jealousy--I have cause.
Mignionette--I live for thee.
Moss--Patience, or pray wait.
Oak-Leaf--Courage. I will endure.
Passion-Flower--Piety. Trust in God.
Periwinkle--Memory. Never forget.
Pink--Household love. I am at home.
Poppy--Forgetfulness.
Primrose--Neglected merit.
Rose--Love, or I love you.
Rue--Disdain. Go: never return.
Saffron--Marriage--when?
Snow-drop--Faithful in adversity.
Thyme--Thriftiness. I am diligent.
Tulip--Beautiful eyes. Look on me.
Violet--I dream of thee.
Willow--Forsaken--never more.
Wheat--Prosperity--I wish thee.
Yew--Penitence. I am sorry.
567. FRENCH POLISH FOR BOOTS, &c.
Logwood chips, half a pound; glue, quarter of an ounce; soft soap,
quarter of an ounce; isinglass, quarter of an ounce; boil these
ingredients in two pints of vinegar and one of water, during ten
minutes after ebulition, then strain the liquid. When cold it is
fit for use. To apply the French polish, the dirt must be washed
from the boots, &c.; when these are quite dry, the liquid polish
is put on with a bit of sponge.
568. AN ILLUMINOUS BOTTLE
By putting a piece of phosphorus, the size of a pea, into a phial,
and adding boiling oil until the bottle is a third full, a luminous
bottle is formed; for, on taking out the cork, to admit atmospheric
air, the empty space in the bottle will become luminous. Whenever
the stopper is taken out in the night, sufficient light will be
evolved to show the hour upon a watch; and if care be taken to keep
it in general well closed, it will preserve its illuminative power
for several months.
569. CHINESE METHOD OF MENDING CHINA
Take a piece of flint-glass, beat it to a fine powder, and grind it
well with the white of an egg, and it joins china without riveting,
so that no art can break it in the same place. You are to observe,
that the composition is to be ground extremely fine.
570. TO MAKE STILTON CHEESE
Take the night's cream, and put it in the morning's new milk, with
the rennet; when the curd is come it is not to be broken, as is done
with other cheeses, but take it out with a soil dish all together,
and place it on a sieve to drain gradually, and, as it drains, keep
gradually pressing it, till it becomes firm and dry; then place it
in a wooden hoop; afterwards to be kept dry on boards, turned
frequently, with cloth-binders round it, which are to be tightened
as occasion requires. In some dairies the cheese, after being taken
out of the wooden hoop, are bound tight round with a cloth, which
cloth is changed every day until the cheese becomes firm enough to
support itself; after the cloth is taken away, they are rubbed every
day all over, for two or three months, with a brush; and if the
weather is damp or moist, twice a day; and even before the cloth is
taken off, the top and bottom are well rubbed every day.
571. TO PRESERVE BEER
In a cask containing eighteen gallons of beer, becoming vapid,
put a pint of ground malt, suspended in a bag, and close the bung
perfectly; the beer will be improved during the whole time of
drawing it for use.
572. TO RECOVER SOUR BEER
When beer has become sour, put into the barrel some oyster-shells,
calcined to whiteness, or a little fine chalk or whiting. Any of
these will correct the acidity, and make the beer brisk and
sparkling; but it cannot be kept long after these additions are
made.
573. CARVACROL--THE NEW REMEDY FOR TOOTH-ACHE
Dr. Bushman gives (in the Medical Times) the following account of
this new compound, which, though well known in Germany as a quick
and effectual cure for one of the most worrying ills "that flesh is
heir to," is now for the first time published in England. Carvacrol
is an oily liquid, with a strong taste and unpleasant odor. It may
be made by the action of iodine on oil of caraway or on camphor. A
few drops applied on cotton wool (to a decayed and painful tooth)
give immediate relief. Carvacrol much resembles creosote in
appearance, and is used in similar cases of tooth-ache, but its
effect is much more speedy and certain.
574. CAMPHOR CERATE FOR CHAPPED HANDS
The following receipt was given to the contributor by a maid of
honour to Queen Victoria. It is an excellent one. Scrape into an
earthen vessel one ounce and a half of spermaceti and half an
ounce of white wax; add six drachms of pounded camphor, and four
tablespoonsful of the best olive oil. Let it stand near the fire
till it dissolves, stirring it well when liquid. Before the hands
are washed, rub them thoroughly with a little of the cerate, then
wash them as usual. Putting the cerate on before retiring answers
very well. This quantity costs about twenty-five cents, and will
last three winters. The vessel it is kept in should be covered,
to prevent evaporation.
575. THE WAY TO WEALTH
"The way to wealth," says Doctor Franklin, "is as plain as the
way to market."
Many men, however, either miss the way, or stumble and fall on
the road.
Fortune, they say, is a fickle dame--full of her freaks and
caprices; who blindly distributes her favours without the slightest
discrimination. So inconsistent, so wavering is she represented,
that her most faithful votaries can place no reliance on her
promises.
Disappointment, they tell us, is the lot of those who make offerings
to her shrine. Now, all this is a vile slander upon the dear blind
lady.
Although wealth often appears the result of mere accident, or a
fortunate concurrence of favourable circumstances, without any
exertion of skill or foresight, yet every man of sound health and
unimpaired mind may become wealthy, if he takes the proper steps.
Foremost in the list of requisites, are honesty and strict integrity
in every transaction of life. Let a man have the reputation of being
fair and upright in his dealings, and he will possess the confidence
of all who know him.
Without these qualities, every other merit will prove unavailing.
Ask concerning a man, "Is he active and capable?" Yes. "Industrious,
temperate, and regular in his habits?" O Yes. "Is he honest? is he
trustworthy?" Why, as to that, I am sorry to say that he is not to
be trusted; he wants watching; he is a little tricky, and will take
an undue advantage, if he can.
"Then I will have nothing to do with him:" will be the invariable
reply.
Next, let us consider the advantages of a cautious circumspection
in our intercourse with the world. Slowness of belief, and a proper
distrust are essential to success.
The credulous and confiding are ever the dupes of knaves and
impostors. Ask those who have lost their property how it happened,
and you will find in most cases it has been owing to misplaced
confidence.
One has lost by endorsing; another by crediting; another by false
representatives; all of which a little more foresight and a little
more distrust would have prevented.
In the affairs of this world, men are not saved by faith, but by
the want of it.
Judge men by what they do, not by what they say. Believe in looks
rather than in words.
Before trusting a man, before putting it in his power to cause you
a loss, possess yourself of every available information relative
to him.
Learn his history, his habits, inclinations and propensities; his
reputation for honesty, industry, frugality, and punctuality; his
prospects, resources, supports, advantages and disadvantages; his
intentions and motives of action; who are his friends and enemies,
and what are his good and bad qualities.
You may learn a man's good qualities and advantages from his
friends--his bad qualities and disadvantages from his enemies.
Make due allowance for exaggeration in both.
Finally, examine carefully before engaging in anything, and act
with energy afterward. Have the hundred eyes of Argus beforehand,
and the hundred hands of Briarius afterward.
576. MAXIMS BY DR. FRANKLIN ON THE WAY TO WEALTH
God helps those who help themselves.
Many words won't fill a bushel.
Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears.
The key often used is always bright.
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the
stuff life is made of.
The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
There will be time enough for sleep, in the grave.
If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must
be the greatest prodigality.
Lost time is never found again.
What we call time enough, always proves little enough.
Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy.
He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce
overtake his business at night.
Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him.
Drive thy business, lest it drive thee.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy
and wise.
Industry need not wish.
He that lives upon hope, will die fasting.
There are no gains without pains.
Help, hands, for I have no lands.
He that hath a trade, hath an estate, and he that hath a calling,
hath an office of profit and honour; but the trade must be worked
at, and the calling well followed, or neither will enable us to
pay our taxes.
The drone in the hive makes no honey.
At the working man's house hunger looks in, but does not enter.
Industry pays debts, but despair increaseth them.
Diligence is the mother of good luck.
God gives all things to industry.
Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn to sell
and to keep.
One today is worth two tomorrow.
Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today.
If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good
master should catch you idle? Are you, then, your own master?
be ashamed to catch yourself idle.
The cat in gloves catches no mice.
Light strokes fell great oaks.
By diligence and patience, the mouse ate into the cable.
Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since
thou art not sure of a minute throw not away an hour.
A life of leisure and a life of laziness, are two things.
Troubles spring from idleness, and grievous toils from needless
ease.