of sabadilla. This is prepared as follows: Sabadilla seed, 5 parts;
alcohol, 5 parts; acetic acid, 9 parts; and water, 36 parts. Macerate
for 3 days, express and filter. The directions are: Moisten the scalp
and hair thoroughly at bedtime, binding a cloth around the head, and
let remain overnight. If there are any sore spots on the scalp, these
should be well greased before applying the vinegar.
«To Exterminate Mites.»—Mix together 10 parts of naphthalene, 10 parts
of phenic acid, 5 parts of camphor, 5 parts of lemon oil, 2 parts
of thyme oil, 2 parts of oil of lavender, and 2 parts of the oil of
juniper, in 500 parts of pure alcohol.
«Vermin Killer.»—
Sabadilla, powder 2 av. ounces
Acetic acid 1/2 fluidounce
Wood alcohol 2 fluidounces
Water sufficient to make 16 fluid ounces.
Mix the acetic acid with 14 fluidounces of water and boil the sabadilla
in this mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, and when nearly cold add the
alcohol, let stand, and decant the clear solution and bottle.
Directions: Shake the bottle and apply to the affected parts night and
morning.
«INSECTICIDES FOR PLANTS.»
Two formulas for insecticides with especial reference to vermin which
attack plants:
I.—Kerosene 2 gallons
Common soap 1/2 pound
Water 1 gallon
Heat the solution of soap, add it boiling hot to the kerosene and churn
until it forms a perfect emulsion. For use upon scale insects it is
diluted with 9 parts of water; upon other ordinary insects with 15
parts of water, and upon soft insects, like plant lice, with from 20 to
25 parts of water.
For lice, etc., which attack the roots of vines and trees the following
is recommended:
II.—Caustic soda 5 pounds
Rosin 40 pounds
Water, a sufficient quantity.
Dissolve the soda in 4 gallons of water, by the aid of heat, add the
rosin and after it is dissolved and while boiling add, slowly, enough
water to make 50 gallons. For use, 1 part of this mixture is diluted
with 10 parts of water and about 5 gallons of the product poured into a
depression near the root of the vine or tree.
«For Cochineal Insects.»—An emulsion for fumagine (malady of orange
trees caused by the cochineal insect) and other diseases caused by
insects is as follows:
Dissolve, hot, 4 parts of black soap in 15 parts of hot water. Let
cool to 104° F., and pour in 10 parts of ordinary petroleum, shaking
vigorously. Thus an emulsion of _café au lait_ color is obtained,
which may be preserved indefinitely. For employment, each part of the
emulsion is diluted, according to circumstances, with from 10 to 20
parts of water.
«For Locusts.»—Much trouble is experienced in the Transvaal and Natal
with locust pests, the remedies used being either a soap spray,
containing 1 pound ordinary household soap in 5 gallons of water, or
arsenite of soda, the latter being issued by the government for the
purpose, and also used for the destruction of prickly pear, and as a
basis of tick dips. A solution of 1 pound in 10 gallons of water is
employed for full-grown insects, and of 1 pound in 20 gallons of water
for newly hatched ones, 1 pound of sugar being added to each pound of
arsenite dissolved. The solution sometimes causes sores on the skin,
and the natives employed in its use are given grease to rub over
themselves as a measure of protection. An advantage of the arsenite
solution over soap is that much less liquid need be used.
A composition for the destruction of pear blight, which has been
patented in {423} the United States, is as follows: Peppermint oil, 16
parts; ammonia water, 60 parts; calomel, 30 parts; and linseed oil,
1,000 parts.
«For Moths and Caterpillars.»—
I.—Venice turpentine 200 parts
Rosin 1,000 parts
Turpentine 140 parts
Tar 80 parts
Lard 500 parts
Rape oil 240 parts
Tallow 200 parts
II.—Rosin 50 parts
Lard 40 parts
Stearine oil 40 parts
«For Non-Masticating Insects.»—For protection against all
non-masticating and many mandibulate insects, kerosene oil is much
used. It is exhibited in the form of emulsion, which may be made as
follows:
Kerosene 2 gallons
Common soap 8 ounces
Water 1 gallon
Dissolve the soap in the water by the aid of heat, bring to the boiling
point, and add the kerosene in portions, agitating well after each
addition. This is conveniently done by means of the pump to be used for
spraying the mixture.
«For Scale Insects.»—For destroying scale insects dilute the cochineal
emulsion (see above) with 9 times its volume of water; in the case of
most others, except lice, dilute with 14 volumes, and for the latter
with 20 to 25 volumes.
For the extermination of scale insects, resinous preparations are also
employed, which kill by covering them with an impervious coating. Such
a wash may be made as follows:
Rosin 3 1/2 pounds
Caustic soda 1 pound
Fish oil 8 ounces
Water 20 gallons
Boil the rosin, soda, and oil with a small portion of the water, adding
the remainder as solution is effected.
For the San José scale a stronger preparation is required, the
proportion of water being decreased by half, but such a solution is
applied only when the tree is dormant.
«Scale Insects on Orange Trees.»—Scale insect enemies of orange trees
are directly controlled in two ways: (1) By spraying the infested trees
with some liquid insecticide, and (2) by subjecting them to the fumes
of hydrocyanic acid gas, commonly designated as “gassing.” The latter
method is claimed to be the most effective means known of destroying
scale insects. In practice the method consists in closing a tree at
night with a tent and filling the latter with the poisonous fumes
generated by treating refined potassium cyanide (98 per cent) with
commercial sulphuric acid (66 per cent) and water. The treatment should
continue from 30 to 40 minutes, the longer time being preferable.
The work is done at night to avoid the scalding which follows day
applications, at least in bright sunshine.
The oily washes are said to be the best for the use by the spraying
method. “Kerosene emulsion” is a type of these washes. A formula
published by the United States Department of Agriculture follows:
Kerosene, 2 gallons; whale-oil soap, 1/2 pound; water, 1 gallon.
The soap is dissolved in hot water, the kerosene added, and the whole
thoroughly emulsified by means of a power pump until a rather heavy,
creamy emulsion is produced. The quantity of soap may be increased if
desired. The insecticide is applied by spraying the infected tree with
an ordinary force pump with spraying nozzle.
«Coating Against the Plant Louse.»—(_a_)—Mix 75 parts of green soap, 50
parts of linseed oil, and 25 parts of carbolic acid. Afterwards mix
the mass with 15,000 parts of water.
(_b_) Mix 4 parts of carbolic acid with 100 parts water glass.
«Louse Washes.»—
Unslaked lime 18 parts
Sulphur 9 parts
Salt 6.75 parts
Mix as follows: A fourth part of the lime is slaked and boiled for
2/3 of an hour with the sulphur in 22.6 parts of water. The remainder
of the lime is then slaked and added with the salt to the hot mixture.
The whole is burned for another half hour or an hour, and then diluted
to 353 parts. The fluid is applied lukewarm when the plants are not in
active growth.
«For Slugs on Roses.»—
Powdered pyrethrum 8 ounces
Powdered colocynth 4 ounces
Powdered hellebore 16 ounces
«Flea Powder.»—
Naphthalene 4 ounces
Talcum 10 ounces
Tobacco dust 2 ounces
{424}
«To Keep Flaxseed Free from Bugs.»—As a container use a tin can with
a close-fitting top. At the bottom of the can place a small vial of
chloroform with a loose-fitting cork stopper. Then pour the flaxseed,
whole or ground, into the can, covering the vial. Enough of the
chloroform will escape from the vial to kill such insects as infest the
flaxseed.
«INSECT POWDERS.»
Pyrethrum, whale oil (in the form of soap), fish oil (in the form of
soap), soft soap, paraffine, Prussic acid, Paris green, white lead,
sulphur, carbon bisulphide, acorus calamus, camphor, Cayenne pepper,
tobacco, snuff, asafetida, white hellebore, eucalyptol, quassia, borax,
acetic ether are most important substances used as insecticides, alone,
or in combination of two or more of them. The Prussic acid and Paris
green are dangerous poisons and require to be used with extreme care:
Insect powder is used for all small insects and as a destroyer of
roaches. The observations of some experimenters seem to show that the
poisonous principle of these flowers is non-volatile, but the most
favorable conditions under which to use them are in a room tightly
closed and well warmed. There may be two poisonous principles, one of
which is volatile. Disappointment sometimes arises in their use from
getting powder either adulterated, or which has been exposed to the air
and consequently lost some of its efficiency.
The dust resulting from the use of insect powder sometimes proves
irritating to the mucous membranes of the one applying the powder. This
is best avoided by the use of a spray atomizer.
Persistence in the use of any means is an important element in the work
of destroying insects. A given poison may be employed and no visible
result follow at first, when in reality many may have been destroyed,
enough being left to deceive the observer as to numbers. They multiply
very rapidly, too, it must be remembered, and vigorous work is required
to combat this increase. Where they can easily migrate from one
householder’s premises to those of another, as in city “flats,” it
requires constant vigilance to keep them down, and entire extermination
is scarcely to be expected.
The ordinary insect powder on the market is made from pyrethrum
carneum, pyrethrum roseum, and pyrethrum cinerariæ-folium. The first
two are generally ground together and are commercially called Persian
insect powder; while the third is commonly called Dalmatian insect
powder. These powders are sold in the stores under many names and in
combination with other powders under proprietary names.
The powder is obtained by crushing the dried flowers of the pellitory
(pyrethrum). The leaves, too, are often used. They are cultivated in
the Caucasus, whence the specific name Caucasicum sometimes used.
Pyrethrum belongs to the natural order compositæ, and is closely allied
to the chrysanthemum. The active principle is not a volatile oil, as
stated by some writers, but a rosin, which can be dissolved out from
the dry flowers by means of ether. The leaves also contain this rosin
but in smaller proportions than the flowers. Tincture of pyrethrum
is made by infusing the dried flowers in five times their weight of
rectified spirit of wine. Diluted with water it is used as a lotion.
Borax powder also makes a very good insectifuge. It appears to be
particularly effective against the common or kitchen cockroach. Camphor
is sometimes used, and the powdered dried root of acorus calamus, the
sweet flag. A mixture of white lead with four times its weight of chalk
is also highly recommended. The fish-oil soaps used in a powdered form
are made from various recipes; of which the following is a typical
example:
Powdered rosin 2 pounds
Caustic soda 8 ounces
Fish or whale oil 4 ounces
Boil together in a gallon of water for at least an hour, replacing some
of the water if required.
The following insect-powder formulas are perfectly safe to use. In each
instance insect powder relates to either one of the pyrethrum plants
powdered, or to a mixture:
I.—Insect powder 8 ounces av.
Powdered borax 8 ounces av.
Oil of pennyroyal 2 fluidrachms
II.—Insect powder 8 ounces av.
Borax 8 ounces av.
Sulphur 4 ounces av.
Oil of eucalyptus 2 fluidrachms
This formula is especially good for cockroaches:
III.—Insect powder 14 ounces av.
Quassia in fine powder 6 ounces av.
White hellebore, powdered 2 ounces av.
{425}
«Beetle Powder.»—
Cocoa powder 4 ounces
Starch 8 ounces
Borax 37 ounces
Mix thoroughly.
«Remedies Against Mosquitoes.»—A remedy to keep off mosquitoes, etc.,
is composed as follows: Cinnamon oil, 1 part; patchouli oil, 1 part;
sandal oil, 4 parts; alcohol, 400 parts. This has a pleasant odor.
Oil of pennyroyal is commonly used to keep mosquitoes away. Some form
of petroleum rubbed on the skin is even more efficient, but unpleasant
to use, and if left on long enough will burn the skin.
A 40 per cent solution of formaldehyde for mosquito bites gives
remarkably quick and good results. It should be applied to the bites as
soon as possible with the cork of the bottle, and allowed to dry on.
Diluted ammonia is also used to rub on the bites.
«Roach Exterminators.»—Borax, starch, and cocoa are said to be the
principal ingredients of some of the roach foods on the market. A
formula for a poison of this class is as follows:
Borax 37 ounces
Starch 9 ounces
Cocoa 4 ounces
«Moth Exterminators.»—Cold storage is the most effective means of
avoiding the ravages of moths. Where this is impracticable, as in
bureau drawers, camphor balls may be scattered about with satisfactory
result. The following is also effective:
Spanish pepper 100 parts
Turpentine oil 50 parts
Camphor 25 parts
Clove oil 10 parts
Alcohol, 96 per cent 900 parts
Cut the Spanish pepper into little bits, and pour over them the alcohol
and oil of turpentine. Let stand 2 or 3 days, then decant, and press
out. To the liquid thus obtained add the camphor and clove oil, let
stand a few days, then filter and fill into suitable bottles. To use,
imbibe bits of bibulous paper in the liquid and put them in the folds
of clothing to be protected.
«Protecting Stuffed Furniture from Moths.»—The stuffing, no matter
whether consisting of tow, hair, or fiber, as well as the covering,
should be coated with a 10 per cent solution of sulphur in carbon
sulphide. The carbon sulphide dissolves the sulphur so as to cause a
very fine division and to penetrate the fibers completely.
«Powder to Keep Moths Away.»—
Cloves 2 ounces
Cinnamon 2 ounces
Mace 2 ounces
Black pepper 2 ounces
Orris root 2 ounces
Powder coarsely and mix well together.
«Book-Worms.»—When these insects infest books they are most difficult
to deal with, as the ordinary destructive agents injuriously affect
the paper of the book. The books should be well beaten and exposed to
the sun, and a rag moistened with formalin passed through the binding
and the covers where possible. In other cases the bottom edge of
the binding should be moistened with formalin before putting on the
shelves, so that formaldehyde vapor can be diffused.
INSECT POWDERS: See Insecticides.
«INSECT TRAP.»
Into a china wash-basin, half filled with water, pour a glass of beer;
cover the basin with a newspaper, in the center of which a small round
hole is cut. Place it so that the edges of the paper lie on the floor
and the hole is over the center of the basin. At night beetles and
other insects, attracted by the smell of beer, climb the paper and fall
through the hole into the liquid.
INSTRUMENT ALLOYS: See Alloys.
INSTRUMENT CLEANING: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
INSTRUMENT LACQUER: See Lacquers.
«Insulation»
«ELECTRIC INSULATION:»
«Insulating Varnishes.»—For earth cables and exposed strong current
wires:
I.—Melt 2 parts of asphalt together with 0.4 parts of sulphur, add 5
parts of linseed-oil varnish, linseed oil or cottonseed oil, keep at
320° F. for 6 hours; next pour in oil of turpentine as required.
II.—Maintain 3 parts of elaterite with 2 parts of linseed-oil varnish
at 392° F. for 5 to 6 hours; next melt 3 parts of asphalt, pour both
substances together, and again maintain the temperature of {426}
392° F. for 3 to 4 hours, and then add 1 part of linseed-oil varnish
and oil of turpentine as required.
III.—Insulating Varnish for Dynamos and Conduits with Low
Tension.—Shellac, 4 parts; sandarac, 2 parts; linoleic acid, 2 parts;
alcohol, 15 parts.
IV.—An insulating material which contains no caoutchouc is made by
dissolving natural or coal-tar asphalt in wood oil, adding sulphur
and vulcanizing at 572° F. The mixture of asphalt and wood oil may
also be vulcanized with chloride of sulphur by the ordinary process
used for caoutchouc. Before vulcanizing, a solution of rubber scraps
in naphthalene is sometimes added and the naphthalene expelled by a
current of steam. Substitutes for hard rubber are made of natural
or artificial asphalt combined with heavy oil of tar and talc or
infusorial earth.
Most of the insulating materials advertised under alluring names
consist of asphalt combined with rosin, tar, and an inert powder such
as clay or asbestos. Some contain graphite, which is a good conductor
and therefore a very undesirable ingredient in an insulator.
«INSULATION AGAINST HEAT.»
An asbestos jacket is the usual insulator for boilers, steampipes,
etc. The thicker the covering around the steampipe, the more heat is
retained. A chief requirement for such protective mass is that it
contains air in fine channels, so that there is no connection with the
closed-in air. Most substances suitable for insulating are such that
they can only with difficulty be used for a protective mass. The most
ordinary way is to mix infusorial earth, kieselguhr, slag-wool, hair,
ground cork, etc., with loam or clay, so that this plastic mass may
be applied moist on the pipes. In using such substances care should
be taken carefully to clean and heat the surfaces to be covered. The
mass for the first coating is made into a paste by gradual addition of
water and put on thick with a brush. After drying each time a further
coating is applied. This is repeated until the desired thickness is
reached. The last layer put on is rubbed smooth with the flat hand.
Finally, strips of linen are wound around, which is coated with tar or
oil paint as a protection against outside injuries. Cork stones consist
of crushed cork with a mineral binding agent, and are sold pressed into
various shapes.
«Leather Waste Insulation.»—Portions of leather, such as the fibers of
sole leather of any size and form, are first rendered soft. The surface
is then carded or the surface fibers scratched or raised in such a
manner that when several pieces are pressed together their surface
fibers adhere, and a compact, durable piece of leather is produced.
The carding can be done by an ordinary batting machine, the action of
which is so regulated that not only are the pieces of leather softened,
but the fibers on their surfaces raised. The structure of the separate
pieces of leather remains essentially unaltered. The raised fibers give
the appearance of a furry substance to the leather. The batted pieces
of leather are well mixed with paste or some suitable gum, either in or
outside of the machine, and are then put into specially shaped troughs,
where they are pressed together into layers of the required size
and thickness. The separate pieces of leather adhere and are matted
together. An agglutinant, if accessible, will contribute materially
to the strength and durability of the product. The layers are dried,
rolled, and are then ready for use. The pieces need not be packed
together promiscuously. If larger portions of waste can be secured, the
separate pieces can be arranged one upon another in rows. The larger
pieces can also be used for the top and bottom of a leather pad, the
middle portion of which consists of smaller pieces.
«INSULATION AGAINST MOISTURE, WEATHER, ETC.»
Experiments have shown that with the aid of red lead a very
serviceable, resistive, and weatherproof insulation material may be
produced from inferior fibers, to take the place, in many cases, of
gutta-percha and other substances employed for insulating purposes, and
particularly to effect the permanent insulation of aerial conductors
exposed to the action of the weather. Hackethal used for the purpose
any vegetable fiber which is wrapped around the conductors to be
insulated. The fiber is then saturated with liquid red lead. The
latter is accomplished in the proportion of 4 to 5 parts of red lead,
by weight, to 1 part, by weight, of linseed oil, by the hot or cold
process, by mere immersion or under pressure. All the three substances,
fiber, oil, and red lead, possess in themselves a certain insulating
capacity, but none of them is alone of utility for such purposes.
Even the red lead mixed with linseed oil does not possess in the
liquid state a high degree of insulating power. {427} Only when both
substances, the ingredients of the linseed oil capable of absorbing
oxygen and the lead oxide rich in oxygen, oxidize in the air, a new
gummy product of great insulating capacity results.
INTENSIFIERS: See Photography.
«IODINE SOLVENT.»
Iodine is quickly dissolved in oils by first rubbing up the iodine
with one-fourth of its weight of potassium iodide and a few drops of
glycerine, then adding a little oil and rubbing up again. The addition
of the resultant liquid to the rest of the oil and a sharp agitation
finishes the process.
IODINE SOAP: See Soap.
«IODOFORM DEODORIZER.»
Rub the part with about a teaspoonful of wine vinegar, after a previous
thorough washing with soap.
«Iron»
(See also Metals and Steel.)
«To Color Iron Blue.»—One hundred and forty parts of hyposulphite of
soda are dissolved in 1,000 parts of water; 35 parts of acetate of lead
are dissolved in 1,000 parts of water; the two solutions are mixed,
boiled, and the iron is immersed therein. The metal takes a blue color,
such as is obtained by heating.
«To Distinguish Iron from Steel.»—The piece of metal to be tested is
washed and then plunged into a solution of bichromate of potash, with
the addition of considerable sulphuric acid. In half a minute or a
minute the metal can be taken out, washed, and wiped. Soft steels and
cast iron assume under this treatment an ash-gray tint. Tempered steels
become almost black, without any metallic reflection. Puddled and
refined irons remain nearly white and always have metallic reflections
on the part of their surface previously filed, the remainder of the
surface presenting irregular blackish spots.
Another method is to apply a magnet. Steel responds much more quickly
and actively to the magnetic influence than does iron.
«Powder for Hardening Iron and Steel.»—For wrought iron place in the
charge 20 parts, by weight, of common salt; 2 parts, by weight, of
potassium cyanide; 0.3 parts, by weight, of potassium bichromate;
0.15 parts, by weight, of broken glass; and 0.1 part, by weight, of
potassium nitrate for case-hardening. For cooling and hardening cast
iron: To 60 parts, by weight, of water add 2.5 parts, by weight, of
vinegar; 3 parts, by weight, of common salt; and 0.25 parts, by weight,
of hydrochloric acid.
«Preventing the Peeling of Coatings for Iron.»—To obviate the scaling
of coatings on iron, if exposed to the attacks of the weather, it is
advisable to wash the iron thoroughly and to paint it next with a layer
of boiling linseed oil. If thus treated, the paint never cracks off.
If the iron objects are small and can be heated, it is advantageous
to heat them previously and to dip them into linseed oil. The boiling
oil enters all the pores of the metal and drives out the moisture. The
coating adheres so firmly that frost, rain, nor wind can injure it.
«To Soften Iron Castings.»—To soften hard iron castings, heat the
object to a high temperature, cover it over with fine coal dust or some
similar substance, and allow it to cool gradually. When the articles
are of small size, a number of them are packed in a crucible with
substances yielding carbon to iron at a glowing heat. The crucible is
then tightly closed, and placed in a stove or on an open fire. It is
gradually heated and kept at a red heat for several hours, and then
allowed to cool slowly. Cast-iron turnings, carbonate of soda, and
unrefined sugar are recommended as substances suitable for packing in
the crucible with the castings. If unrefined sugar alone is added,
the quantity must not be too small. By this process the iron may be
rendered extremely soft.
«To Whiten Iron.»—Mix ammoniacal salt in powder with an equal volume
of mercury. This is dissolved in cold water and mixed thoroughly.
Immerse the metal, heated to redness, in this bath and it will come out
possessing the whiteness and beauty of silver. Care should be taken not
to overheat the article and thus burn it.
IRON, BITING OFF RED HOT: See Pyrotechnics.
IRON, CEMENTS FOR: See Adhesives.
IRON, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
IRON TO CLOTH, GLUING: See Adhesives. {428}
IRON, HOW TO ATTACH RUBBER TO: See Adhesives, under Rubber Cements.
IRON OXALATE DEVELOPER: See Photography.
IRON SOLDERS: See Solders.
IRONING WAX: See Laundry Preparations.
IRON VARNISHES: See Varnishes.