i. e., bowls with the wide flange round edge to prevent the accidental
spilling of any portion of the burning ether.
«The Burning Banana.»—Place some alcohol in a ladle and set fire to it.
Dip a banana in the blazing alcohol and eat it while it is blazing. As
soon as it is placed in the mouth the fire goes out.
«Sparks from the Finger Tips.»—Take a small piece of tin about 1/2
inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long. Bend this in the shape of a ring.
To the center of this piece solder another small piece of tin bent
in the shape of a letter U; between the {612} ends of this U place a
small piece of wax tape about 1/2 inch long. Take a piece of small
rubber tubing about 2 feet in length and to one end of this attach
a hollow rubber ball, which you must partly fill with iron filings.
Place the rubber ball containing the iron filings under the arm and
pass the rubber tube down through the sleeve of the coat to the palm of
the hand; now place the tin ring upon the middle finger, with the wax
taper inside of the hand. Light this taper. By pressing the arm down
sharply on the rubber ball, the force of the air will drive some of the
iron filings through the rubber tube and out through the flame of the
burning taper, when they will ignite and cause a beautiful shower of
sparks to appear to rain from the finger tips.
«To Take Boiling Lead in the Mouth.»—The metal used, while not unlike
lead in appearance, is not the ordinary metal, but is really an alloy
composed of the following substances:
Bismuth 8 parts
Lead 5 parts
Tin 2 parts
To prepare it, first melt the lead in a crucible, then add the bismuth
and finally the tin, and stir well together with a piece of tobacco
pipe stem. This “fusible metal” will melt in boiling water, and a
teaspoon cast from the alloy will melt if very hot water be poured into
it, or if boiling water be stirred with it. If the water be not quite
boiling, as is pretty sure to be the case if tea from a teapot is used,
in all probability the heat will be insufficient to melt the spoon. But
by melting the alloy and adding to it a small quantity of quicksilver
a compound will be produced, which, though solid at the ordinary
temperature, will melt in water _very much below the boiling point_.
Another variety of easily fusible alloy is made by melting together
Bismuth 7 to 8 parts
Lead 4 parts
Tin 2 parts
Cadmium 1 to 2 parts
This mixture melts at 158°, that given above at 208° F.
Either one of the several alloys above given will contain considerably
less heat than lead, and in consequence be the more suitable for the
purposes of a “Fire King.”
When a body is melted it is raised to a certain temperature and then
gets no hotter, not even if the fire be increased—all the extra heat
goes to melt the remainder of the substance.
_Second Method._—This is done with a ladle constructed similarly to
the tin cup in a previous trick. The lead, genuine in this case, is,
apparently, drunk from the ladle, which is then tilted, that it may
be seen to be empty. The lead is concealed in the secret interior of
the ladle, and a solid piece of lead is in conclusion dropped from the
mouth, as congealed metal.
«To Eat Burning Coals.»—In the first place make a good charcoal fire
in the furnace. Just before commencing the act throw in three or
four pieces of soft pine. When burnt to a coal one cannot tell the
difference between this and charcoal, except by sticking a fork into
it. This will not burn in the least, while the genuine charcoal will.
You can stick your fork into these coals without any difficulty, but
the charcoal is brittle and hard; it breaks before the fork goes into
it.
«Chain of Fire.»—Take a piece of candle wick 8 or 10 inches long,
saturated with kerosene oil, squeeze out surplus oil. Take hold of one
end with your fire tongs, light by furnace, throw back your head, and
lower it into your mouth _while exhaling the breath freely_. When all
in, close your lips and remove in handkerchief.
NOTE.—Have a good hold of the end with the tongs, for if it should
fall it would probably inflict a serious burn; for this reason also no
burning oil must drop from the cotton.
«Biting Off Red-Hot Iron.»—Take a piece of hoop iron about 2 feet long,
place it in a vise and bend it backwards and forwards, about an inch
from the end, until it is nearly broken off. Put this in a furnace
until it becomes red hot, then take it in your right hand, grasp the
broken end in your teeth, being careful not to let it touch your lips
or your tongue, make a “face” as though it was terribly hard to bite
off, and let the broken end drop from between your teeth into a pail
of water (which you should always have at hand in case of fire), when
the hissing will induce the belief that the portion bitten off is still
“red hot”—it may be, for that matter, if the iron be nearly broken off
in the first place and if you have good teeth and are not afraid to
injure them.
«Water Stirred Yellow, Scarlet, and Colorless.»—Obtain a glass tube
with one end hermetically sealed and drawn into a fine point that
will break easily. Into an ale glass put a solution of mercury {613}
bichloride (corrosive sublimate, a deadly poison) and into the tube a
strong solution of potassium iodide so adjusted in strength that it
will redissolve the scarlet precipitate formed by the union of the two
liquids. While stirring the solution in the glass the bottom of the
tube (apparently a glass rod) is broken and a small portion of its
contents allowed to escape, which produces a beautiful scarlet. The
balance of the fluid in the tube is retained there by simply keeping
the thumb on the open top end. Continue the stirring, allowing the
balance of the contents of the tube to escape, and the scarlet fluid
again becomes colorless. Before the scarlet appears the liquid is
yellow.
To heighten the effect, another ale glass, containing only clean water
and a solid glass stirring-rod, may be handed to one of the company,
with instructions to do the same as the performer; the result is
amusing.
QUICK-WATER: See Alloys.
QUILTS, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
QUINCE EXTRACT: See Essences and Extracts.
RAGS FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.
RASPBERRYADE POWDER: See Salts, Effervescent.
RASPBERRY SYRUP: See Essences and Extracts.
«Rat Poisons»
(See also Turpentine.)
Poisons for rats may be divided into two classes, quick and slow.
Potassium cyanide and strychnine belong to the first, and phosphorus
and arsenic to the second. Both should be kept away from children,
dogs, and cats, and this is best done by putting them in places too
narrow for anything larger than a rat to squeeze into. If the poison is
too quick, the effect of it is visible to the same rats which saw the
cause, and those which have not eaten of the bait will leave it alone.
On the other hand, if it is too slow, the poisoned rat may spread it to
edible things in the pantry, by vomiting. Slow poisons generally cause
the rat to seek water, and when they are used water should not be left
about promiscuously.
The substances most useful as rat poisons, and which are without danger
to the larger domestic animals, are plaster of Paris and fresh squills.
Less dangerous than strychnine and arsenic are the baryta preparations,
of which the most valuable is barium carbonate. Like plaster of Paris,
this substance, when used for the purpose, must be mixed with sugar and
meal, or flour, and as a decoy some strong-smelling cheese should be
added. In closed places there should be left vessels containing water
easily accessible to the creatures.
One advantage over these substances possessed by the squill is that
it is greedily eaten by rats and mice. When it is used, however, the
same precaution as to water, noted above, is necessary, a circumstance
too frequently forgotten. In preparing the squill for this purpose,
by the addition of bacon, or fat meat of any kind, the use of a decoy
like cheese is unnecessary, as the fats are sufficiently appetizing
to the rodents. It is to be noted that only fresh squills should be
used for this purpose, as in keeping the bulb the poisonous principle
is destroyed, or, at least, is so modified as to seriously injure its
value.
«Squill Poisons.»—The preparation of the squill as a rat poison can
be effected in several different ways. Usually, after the removal of
the outer peel, the bulb is cut up into little slices and mixed with
milk and flour; these are stirred into a dough or paste, which, with
bits of bacon rind, is put into the oven and baked. Another plan is
to grate the squill on a grater and mingle the gratings with mashed,
boiled, or roasted potato. This method of preparing them necessitates
the immediate use of the poison. The following is, however, a stable
preparation that keeps well:
I.—Hog’s lard 500 grams
Acid salicylic 5 grams
Squill 1 bulb
Beef suet 50 to 100 grams
Barium carbonate 500 grams
Solution of ammonium copper acetate, 20 per cent 50 grams
Cut or grate the squill into very small pieces, and fry it in the lard
and suet until it has acquired a dark-brown color and {614} the fats
have taken up the characteristic squill odor; then to the mess add the
other substances, and stir well together.
II.—Squill, bruised 4 ounces
Bacon, chopped fine 6 ounces
Flour or meal, enough.
Water, enough.
Make into a stiff mass, divide into small cakes, and bake.
«Phosphorus Poisons.»—Next to the squill in value as a poison comes
phosphorus in the shape of an electuary, or in pills. For readily
preparing the electuary, when needed or ordered, it is a good plan to
keep on hand a phosphorated syrup made as follows:
To 200 parts of simple syrup, in a strong flask, add 50 parts of
phosphorus and 10 parts of talc powder; place the container in a
suitable vessel and surround it with water heated to 120° to 130° F.,
and let it stand until the phosphorus is melted. Now, cork the flask
well, tie down the cork, and agitate until the mixture is completely
cold. As a measure of precaution, the flask should be wrapped with a
cloth.
To make the poison take 50 parts of rye flour and mix with it 10 parts
of powdered sugar. To the mixture add about 40 parts of water and from
30 to 40 parts of the phosphorated syrup, and mix the mass thoroughly.
While it is best to make the phosphorated syrup fresh every time that
it is required, a stable syrup can be made as follows:
Heat together very carefully in a water bath 5 parts of phosphorus, 3
parts of sublimed sulphur, and 30 parts of water, until the phosphorus
is completely melted and taken up; then add 30 parts of wheat flour
and 6 parts of ground mustard seed, and work up, with the addition of
warm water from time to time, if necessary, into a stiff paste, finally
adding and working in from 1 to 2 parts of oil of anise.
Borax in powder, it may be noticed, is also useful as a preservative of
phosphorated paste or the electuary.
Mühsam gives the following formula for an electuary of phosphorus for
this purpose:
I.—Phosphorus, granulated 1 part
Rye flour 30 parts
Simple syrup 10 parts
Mustard seed, powdered 1 part
Sublimed sulphur 1 part
Water 10 parts
Proceed as indicated above.
Hager’s formula for “Phosphorus globules” is as follows:
II.—Phosphorus, amorphous 10 parts
Glycerine 20 parts
Linseed, powdered 100 parts
Meat extract 15 parts
Quark, recently coagulated, quantity sufficient.
Mix, and make a mass, and divide into 200 globules, weighing about 15
grains each. Roll in wheat flour, in which a little powdered sugar has
been mixed.
Phosphorus electuary, made as indicated above, may be smeared upon bits
of fried bacon, which should be tacked firmly to a bit of board or to
the floor. It is essential that either flour or sugar, or both, be
strewn over the surface of the phosphorus.
The most convenient in practice, on the whole, are the phosphorus
globules, either made after Hager’s formula, or, more readily, by
adding rye flour and sugar to the electuary and working up to a pill
mass, or barium carbonate and plaster may be added.
«Arsenical Poisons.»—The following are some of the formulas given by
Hager for preparing globules, or pills, of arsenic:
I.—Arsenic, white, powdered 100 parts
Soot from the kitchen 5 parts
Oil of anise 1 part
Lard, sufficient.
Wheat flour, sufficient.
Make into 400 globules.
II.—Beef suet 500 parts
Rye flour 500 parts
Arsenic, white, powdered 50 parts
Ultramarine 10 parts
Oil of anise 1 part
Melt the suet, and add to the flour, mix in the other ingredients, and
work up while hot, beating the mass with a roller. Make 1,000 globules.
«Strychnine Poisons.»—The strychnine preparations are also valuable
in the destruction of rats and mice. The first of these in point of
usefulness is strychnine-wheat, or strychnine-oats (Strychninweizen
or Strychninhafer), in the proportion of 1 part of strychnine to 100
or 150 parts of wheat or oat flour, prepared by dissolving 1 part of
strychnine in 40 to 50 parts of hot water, mixing well up with the
flour, and drying in the water {615} bath. Strychnine may also be used
on fresh or salted meat, sausage, etc., by insertion of the powder,
or the heads of fried fish are opened and the powder strewn on the
inside. The latter is an especially deadly method, since the odor of
the fish acts as a powerful lure, as also do the bits of bacon or other
fats used in frying fish. Strong cheese is also a good vehicle for
strychnine, acting as a powerful lure for the rodents.
Strychnine sulph 1 drachm
Sugar milk 3 drachms
Prussian blue 5 grains
Sugar 1/2 ounce
Oat flour 1/2 ounce
«Nux Vomica Poison.»—
Oatmeal 1 pound
Powdered nux vomica 1 ounce
Oil of anise 5 drops
Tincture of asafetida 5 drops
«Barium Poison.»—
Barium carbonate 4 ounces
Sugar 6 ounces
Oatmeal 6 ounces
Oil of anise 4 drops
Oil of caraway 4 drops
RAZOR PAPER: See Paper.
«RAZOR PASTES:»
See also Pastes.
The razor pastes, razor creams, etc., on the market, have for their
cutting, or sharpening, agent jewelers’ rouge, or rouge and emery. When
emery is used it should be ground to an impalpable powder and levigated.
I.—The simplest formula is a mixture in equal parts of rouge and
emery powder, rubbed up with spermaceti ointment. Coke is also used
as a cutting agent. Suet, prepared lard, in fact, any greasy or soapy
substance, will answer for the vehicle.
II.—Melt 1,000 parts of beef tallow and pour 250 parts of oil to it.
To this mixture, which is uniformly combined by thorough stirring,
add in the same manner 150 parts of washed emery, 100 parts of tin
ashes, and 50 parts of iron oxide. The stirring of these ingredients
must be continued until the mass is cool, as otherwise they would be
unevenly distributed. The leather of the strop should be rubbed with
this grease, applying only small quantities at a time. This renders it
possible to produce a very uniform coating, since little quantities
penetrate the fibers of the leather more easily.
III.—Tin putty (tin ashes) 2 parts
Colcothar 2 parts
Forged iron scales or filings 1 part
Pure levantine honing stone finely powdered 7 parts
Beef suet 3 parts
All the ingredients with the exception of the suet should be finely
powdered. The suet is melted, the ingredients poured in, and the whole
thoroughly mixed to form a doughy mass.
IV.—Colcothar 1 1/2 parts
Pumice stone 1 1/2 parts
Graphite 4 1/2 parts
Bloodstone (red hematite) 2 parts
Iron filings 1 part
These ingredients are finely powdered, washed, and mixed with the
following:
Grafting wax 2 parts
Soap 2 parts
Lard 2 parts
Olive oil 2 parts
Naturally the fatty ingredients are to be heated before the solid
substances are commingled with them.
The side of the blade to be polished should be treated with the
following compositions:
_a._ Tin ashes (tin putty) rubbed down to a fine powder on a honing
stone and mixed with axle grease.
_b._ Washed graphite mingled with olive oil.
REDUCERS: See Photography.
REDUCING PHOTOGRAPHS, SCALE FOR: See Photography.
REFLECTOR METAL: See Alloys.
«REFRIGERANTS.»
I.—Potassium nitrate 2 pounds
Ammonium chloride 2 pounds
Water 5 pints
II.—Potassium nitrate 2 1/2 pounds
Ammonium chloride 2 1/2 pounds
Sodium sulphate 4 pounds
Water 9 pints
III.—Ammonia nitrate 4 pounds
Water 4 pints
IV.—Sodium sulphate 8 parts
Dilute hydrochloric acid 5 parts
{616}
V.—Snow 1 part
Water 1 part
Sulphuric acid 4 parts
VI.—Snow 3 parts
Calcium chloride 4 parts
«Refrigeration»
If water to be frozen is placed in a tin bucket or other receptacle
it can be readily congealed by putting it in a pail containing a weak
dilution of sulphuric acid and water. Into this throw a handful of
common Glauber salts, and the resulting cold is so great that water
immersed in the mixture will be frozen solid in a few minutes, and ice
cream or ices may be quickly and easily prepared. The cost is only a
few cents. The same process in an ice-cream freezer will do the trick
for ice cream.
«Home-Made Refrigerators.»—I.—Partly fill with water a shallow
granite-ware pan. Place it in an open, shady window where there is a
good draught of air. In this put bottles of water, milk, and cream
(sealed), wrapped with wet cloths reaching into the water. Put butter
in an earthen dish deep enough to prevent water getting in. Over this
turn an earthen flower-pot wrapped with a wet cloth reaching into the
water. The pan should be fixed every morning and evening. With several
of these pans one can keep house very comfortably without ice.
II.—Procure a wire meat-safe—that is, a box covered by wire netting on
three sides, with a fly-proof door. On top place a deep pan filled
with water. Take a piece of burlap the height of the pan and safe, and
of sufficient length to reach around the entire safe. Tack it fast
where the door opens and closes. Tuck the upper edge in the water.
Place it where there is a draught and where the dripping will do no
damage. This constitutes a well-ventilated refrigerator that costs
nothing but water to maintain.
III.—Take a store box, any convenient size, and place in this a smaller
box, having the bottom and space around the sides packed with sawdust.
Have a galvanized iron pan made, the size of the inside box and half as
deep, to hold the ice. Have the pan made with a spout 6 inches long to
drain off the water as the ice melts. Bore a hole the size of the spout
through the double bottom and sawdust packing to admit the spout. Short
legs may be nailed on the sides of the box and a vessel set underneath
to catch the drippings. Put on a tight board cover. A shelf may be
placed in the box above the ice. This box will keep ice for three days.
IV.—Select a large cracker box with a hinged cover. Knock out the
bottom and cut windows in each side, leaving a 3-inch frame, over which
tack wire gauze. In the coolest part of the cellar dig away the earth
to a level depth of 3 inches and fit the box into the space.
Mix plaster of Paris to a consistency of thick cream and pour into the
box for a 1/2-inch thick bottom. Twenty-four hours will harden it
sufficiently. Put a hook and catch on the lid. A box of this sort can
be cleaned easily, and insects cannot penetrate it.
«To Drain a Refrigerator.»—I.—Have a stout tin funnel made, 7 inches
in diameter at the top. The tube portion should be at least 8 inches
long and of uniform diameter. Bore a hole through the floor directly
under the drain-pipe of the refrigerator; insert the funnel, then
force a piece of rubber tubing (a tight fit) over the funnel from the
cellar side. Pass the tubing through a hole cut in the screen frame
of a cellar window, and drain into any convenient place. This avoids
the necessity of continually emptying the drain-pan, and prevents the
overflow that frequently occurs when it is forgotten.
II.—This simple device saves the inconvenience of having a drip-pan
under the refrigerator: If the refrigerator is placed near the outer
wall get a piece of rubber hose long enough to reach from the waste
pipe to the outside of the wall. Bore a hole through the wall under
the refrigerator, where baseboard and floor meet. Attach the hose to
the waste-pipe and pass through the hole in the wall. A small trough
outside should carry the water away from the house.
REFRIGERATORS, THEIR CARE: See Household Formulas.
REPLATING: See Plating.
RESILVERING OF MIRRORS: See Mirrors.
REVOLVER LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.
RHUBARB AS A REMEDY FOR CHOLERA: See Cholera Remedies. {617}
RIBBONS FOR TYPEWRITERS: See Typewriter Ribbons.
RICE PASTE: See Adhesives.
RICE POWDER: See Cosmetics.
RIFLE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.
RING, HOW TO SOLDER A JEWELED: See Solders.
RINGS ON METAL, PRODUCING COLORED: See Plating.
ROACH EXTERMINATORS: See Insecticides.
ROBURITE: See Explosives.
RODINAL DEVELOPER: See Photography.
«ROLLER COMPOSITIONS FOR PRINTERS.»
Rollers for transferring ink to types have to possess special
properties, which have reference both to the nature of the ink and that
of the types to which it is to be transferred. They must be as little
liable as possible to changes of temperature. They must be sticky,
but only just sticky enough, and must have elasticity enough to exert
a uniform pressure over the varying surface with which they meet in
the form. Originally, the composition was one of glue and molasses in
varying proportions, and the only practical improvement that has been
made is the addition of glycerine. This being slightly hygroscopic,
helps to keep the roller at the right degree of softness, and being
practically unfreezable, it is a great assistance in keeping the
rollers from hardening in cold weather.
The recipes given in technical works for printing roller compositions
are numerous and very different. All contain glue and molasses, and
it is the practice to put a larger proportion of glue in rollers to be
used in the summer than in those intended for winter use. The following
is a selection of recipes:
I.—Soak 8 pounds of glue in as much water as it will absorb. When there
is no visible water, treat the glue till melted, and add 7 pounds of
hot molasses.
II.—Glue (summer) 8 pounds
Glue (winter) 4 pounds
Molasses 1 gallon
III.—Molasses 12 pounds
Glue 4 pounds
IV.—Molasses 24 pounds
Glue 16 pounds
Paris white 2 pounds
V.—Glue or gelatin 64 pounds
Water 48 pounds
Linseed oil 96 pounds
Molasses or sugar 64 to 96 pounds
Chloride of calcium 3 pounds
Powdered rosin 8 pounds
Soak the glue in the water and then liquefy by heat. Then stir in the
oil, first heated to 150° F. Then add the molasses and the chloride
of calcium, and finally the fused rosin. The latter ingredient is
only to be added when very tough rollers are required. This recipe is
interesting from the inclusion in it of the hygroscopic salt, chloride
of calcium, the object of which is obviously to keep the rollers moist.
ROOFS, HOW TO LAY GALVANIZED: See Household Formulas.
ROOFS, PREVENTION OF LEAKAGE: See Household Formulas.
ROOF PAINTS: See Paint.
ROOM DEODORIZER: See Household Formulas.
«ROPES.»
To protect ropes, cordage, and cloths made of flax and hemp against
rot, it has been recommended to leave them for 4 days in a solution
of copper sulphate, 20 parts by weight to a liter, then allow them to
dry, and then, to prevent the copper sulphate being washed away by the
water, place in tar or a solution of soap—1 to 10. In the latter case
an insoluble copper soap is formed. To secure the same result with
twine, the following process has been recommended: Place the string
for an hour in a solution of glue, then allow to dry, and place in a
solution of tannin. After removal from the tannin, again dry, and soak
in oil. The process first described has been shown by experience to be
very effective; but to prevent the washing away of the copper sulphate,
it is advisable to use the solution of soap in preference to the tar,
as articles steeped in the latter substance are apt to become stiff,
and consequently brittle. The {618} treatment with glue and tannin in
the second process has the drawback that it tends to make the string
too stiff and inflexible, and thus impair its usefulness.
ROPE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricant.
ROPES, WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.
ROSE CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.
ROSEWOOD: See Wood.
ROSE POWDERS: See Cosmetics.
ROSIN, TESTS FOR, IN EXTRACTS: See Foods.
ROSIN OIL: See Oil.
ROSIN STICKS: See Depilatories.
«ROT:»