application. The {732} old-fashioned lotion of train oil and black
sulphur serves well enough, but for stabled animals something is
wanted which will effectually destroy the parasites in harness and
saddlery without injury to those expensive materials. The creosote
emulsions and coal-tar derivatives generally are fatal to the sarcopts
if brought into actual contact, but a harness pad with ridges of
accumulated grease is a sufficient retreat for a few pregnant females
during a perfunctory disinfection, and but a few days will be needed to
reproduce a new and vigorous stock. A cheap and efficient application
can be made by boiling together flowers of sulphur and calcis hydras
in the proportion of 4 parts of the former to 1 of the latter, and 100
of water, for half an hour. It should be applied warm, or immediately
after washing with soft soap.
«Milk Powder for Cows.»—For increasing the flow of milk, in cows, Hager
recommends the following mixture:
Potassium nitrate 1 part
Alum 1 part
Sublimed sulphur 1 part
Prepared chalk 1 part
White bole 2 parts
Red clover 5 parts
Anise 10 parts
Fennel 10 parts
Salt 10 parts
All should be in tolerably fine powder and should be well mixed. The
directions are to give 1 or 2 handfuls with the morning feed.
«LAXATIVES.»
I.—Aloes 1 drachm
Soap 12 drachms
Caraway 4 drachms
Ginger 4 drachms
Treacle, q.s.
Make 4 balls. Dose: 1 daily.
II.—Rochelle salts 2 ounces
Aloes, powdered 150 grains
Linseed meal 150 grains
One dose, given in warm water.
«Lice.»—
Crude oil 1 ounce
Oil tar 1 ounce
Oil cedar 1 drachm
Cottonseed oil 5 ounces
Apply to parts.
«DOMESTIC PETS.»
The sarcoptic itch of the dog, as well as that of the cat, is
transmissible to man.
The _Tinea tonsurans_, the so-called barbers’ itch, due to a
trychophyton, and affecting both the dog and cat, is highly contagious
to man. Favus, _Tinea favos_, caused by _achorion schoenleini_, of both
animals, is readily transmissible to human beings. The dog carries in
his intestines many kinds of _tœnia_ (tapeworm), among them _Tœnia
echinococcus_, the eggs of which cause hydatic cysts. Hydatic cysts
occur in persons who are always surrounded with dogs, or in constant
contact with them.
Aviar diphtheria (i.e., the diphtheria of birds), caused by at least
two microbes (bacillus of Klebs-Loeffler and bacillus coli), may easily
be transmitted to man and cause in him symptoms analogous to those of
true diphtheritic angina.
Parrots are subject to an infectious enteritis which may be
communicated to human beings, giving rise to the so-called psittacosis
(from the Greek, _psitta_, a parrot), of which there have been a number
of epidemics in France. It is determined by the bacillus of Nocard.
Human tuberculosis is certainly transmitted to dogs, cats, and birds.
Cadiot, Gibert, Roger, Benjamin, Petit, and Basset, as well as other
observers, cite cases where dogs, cats, and parrots, presenting all
the lesions of tuberculosis, were shown to have contracted it from
contact with human beings; while there are no recorded cases, there can
scarcely be a natural doubt that man may, in a similar manner, become
attainted through them, and that their tuberculosis constitutes an
actual danger to man.
Need we recall here the extraordinary facility with which hydrophobia
is communicated to man through the dog, cat, etc.?
We may, therefore, conclude that we should not permit these animals to
take up so much space in our apartments, nor should they be petted and
caressed either by adults or children in the reckless manner common in
many households. The disgusting habit of teaching animals to take bits
of food, lumps of sugar, etc., from between the lips of members of the
family is also to be shunned.
Finally, any or all of them should be banished from the house the
moment that they display certain morbid symptoms. Besides, in certain
cases, there should be a rigid prophylaxis against certain diseases—as
echinococcus, for instance.
«Worms.»—In cats and dogs, round worms, of which ascaris mystax is the
{733} most common in cats, are found chiefly in young animals. This
worm has hirsute appendages somewhat resembling a mustache. To treat
an animal infected with such “guests,” the patient should be made to
fast for 24 hours. For a small kitten 1/2 grain of santonin, up to a
grain or two for large cats, followed in an hour by a dose of castor
oil, is recommended. To avoid spilling the oil on the animal’s coat the
“doctor” should have it heated and whipped with warm milk. Another way
to get cats to take it is to smear it on the bottoms of their front
feet, when they will lick it off.
Areca nut, freshly ground by the druggist himself and administered in
liberal doses, say 30 to 60 grains, will usually drive out any worms in
the alimentary canal.
It is important that animals successfully treated for worms once should
undergo the treatment a second or third time, as all the parasites may
not have been killed or removed the first time, or their progeny may
have developed in the field vacated by the parents.
The following is an effective formula:
German wormseed, powdered 1 drachm
Fluid extract of spigelia 3 drachms
Fluid extract of senna 1 drachm
Fluid extract of valerian 1 drachm
Syrup of buckthorn 2 ounces
Dose: From 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful night and morning.
«Foot Itch.»—The itch that affects the feet of poultry is contagious in
a most insidious way. The various birds of a poultry yard in which the
disease is prevalent, rarely contract it until after a comparatively
long period of exposure, but sooner or later every bird will contract
it. One infected bird is enough to infect a whole yard full, and once
infected, it is exceedingly difficult to get rid of. The disease,
however, affects birds only.
The treatment is simple. Having softened the feet by keeping them for
some minutes in tepid water, the scabs that cover them are carefully
detached, avoiding, as far as possible, causing them to bleed, and
taking the precaution of throwing every scab into the fire. The feet
are then carefully dried, with a bit of soft cotton material, which
should afterwards be burned; then the entire surface is covered with
ointment (_Unguentum sulphuris kalinum_). An alcoholic solution of
Canada balsam is preferred by some. Protect the ointment by a proper
appliance, and allow it to remain in contact 2 or 3 days. At the
end of this time remove the applications and wash off with tepid
suds. The bird will generally be found cured, but if not, repeat the
treatment—removing the remaining scabs, which will be found soft enough
without resorting to soaking in tepid water, and apply the ointment
directly.
There is another method of treatment that has been found successful,
which not only cures the infected birds but prevents the infection
of others. It is simply providing a sand bath for the birds, under
a little shed, where they can indulge themselves in rolling and
scratching, the bath being composed of equal parts fine sand, charcoal
in fine powder, ashes, and flowers of sulphur, sifted together. The
bath should be renewed every week. In the course of a few weeks the
cure is complete.
«Foods.»—
I.—Powdered egg shell or phosphate of lime 4 ounces
Iron sulphate 4 ounces
Powdered capsicum 4 ounces
Powdered Fœnugreek 2 ounces
Powdered black pepper 1 ounce
Silver sand 2 ounces
Powdered lentils 6 ounces
A tablespoonful to be mixed with sufficient feed for 20 hens.
II.—Oyster shell, ground 5 ounces
Magnesia 1 ounce
Calcium carbonate 3 ounces
Bone, ground 1 1/2 ounces
Mustard bran 1 1/2 ounces
Capsicum 1 ounce
«Powders.»—
I.—Cayenne pepper 2 parts
Allspice 4 parts
Ginger 6 parts
Powder and mix well together. A teaspoonful to be mixed with every
pound of food, and fed 2 or 3 times a week. Also feed fresh meat,
finely chopped.
II.—Powdered egg shells 4 parts
Powdered capsicum 4 parts
Sulphate of iron 4 parts
Powdered Fœnugreek 2 parts
Powdered black pepper 1 part
Sand 2 parts
Powdered dog biscuit 6 parts
A tablespoonful to be mixed with sufficient meal or porridge to feed 20
hens. {734}
«Lice Powders.»—
I.—Sulphur 4 ounces
Tobacco dust 6 ounces
Cedar oil 1/4 ounce
White hellebore 4 ounces
Crude naphthol 1 ounce
Powdered chalk, q.s. 2 pounds
II.—Sulphur 1 ounce
Carbolic acid 1/4 ounce
Crude naphthol 1 ounce
Powdered chalk 1 pound
«Roup or Gapes.»—Roup in poultry is caused by the presence of parasites
or entozoa in the windpipe. Young birds are most commonly affected. The
best method of treatment is to expose the affected bird to the fumes of
heated carbolic acid until on the point of suffocation. The bird may
be placed in a box with a hot brick, and carbolic acid placed thereon.
The fowls soon recover from the incipient suffocation, and are almost
always freed from the disease. Care must be taken to burn the parasites
coughed out, and the bodies of any birds which may die of the disease.
The following powders for the treatment of “roup” in poultry have been
recommended:
I.—Potassium chlorate 1 ounce
Powdered cubebs 1 ounce
Powdered anise 1/2 ounce
Powdered licorice 1 1/2 ounces
Mix a teaspoonful with the food for 20 hens.
II.—Ammonium chloride 1 ounce
Black antimony 1/4 ounce
Powdered anise 1/2 ounce
Powdered squill 1/4 ounce
Powdered licorice 2 ounces
Mix and use in the foregoing.
«FOR SHEEP:»
«Dips.»—For the prevention of “scab” in sheep, which results from the
burrowing of an acarus or the destruction of the parasite when present,
various preparations of a somewhat similar character are used. The
following formulas for sheep dips are recommended by the United States
Department of Agriculture:
I.—Soap 1 pound
Crude carbolic acid 1 pint
Water 50 gallons
Dissolve the soap in a gallon or more of boiling water, add the acid,
and stir thoroughly.
II.—Fresh skimmed milk 1 gallon
Kerosene 2 gallons
Churn together until emulsified, or mix and put into the mixture a
force pump and direct the stream from the pump back into the mixture.
The emulsification will take place more rapidly if the milk be added
while boiling hot.
Use 1 gallon of this emulsion to each 10 gallons of water required.
«Constipation.»—
I.—Green soap 150 grains
Linseed oil 1 1/2 ounces
Water 15 ounces
Give 1/5 every 1/2 hour till action takes place.
II.—Calomel 1 1/2 grains
Sugar 15 grains
One dose.
«Loss of Appetite.»—
Sodium sulphate, dried 90 grains
Sodium bicarbonate 30 grains
Rhubarb 30 grains
Calamus 90 grains
Form the mass into 6 pills. Give one twice daily.
«Inflammation of the Eyes.»—
Zinc sulphate 20 grains
Mucilage quince seed 4 ounces
Distilled water 4 ounces
Bathe eyes twice daily.
«Vinegar»
I.—Into a hogshead with a large bunghole put 1,500 parts, by weight, of
honey, 125 parts of carob-pods, cut into pieces, 50 parts of powdered
red or white potassium bitartrate, 125 parts of powdered tartaric acid,
2,000 parts of raisin stems, 400 parts of the best brewers’ yeast, or
500 of leaven rubbed up in water; add 16,000 parts of triple vinegar
and 34,000 parts of 40 per cent spirit, containing no fusel oil. Stir
all vigorously together; fill up the hogshead with hot water (100° F.),
close the bunghole with gauze to keep out insects, and let the contents
of the cask stand for from 4 to 6 weeks or until they have turned to
vinegar. The temperature of the room should be from 77° to 88° F.
Draw off half the vinegar, and fill the hogshead up again with 15 parts
of soft water and 1 part of spirit (40 per cent). Do this 4 times, then
draw off all the vinegar and begin the first process over again. This
method of making vinegar is suitable for households and small dealers,
but would not suffice for {735} wholesale manufacturers, since it would
take too long to produce any large amount.
II.—Put into an upright wine cask open at the top, 14,000 parts, by
weight, of lukewarm water, 2,333 parts of 60 per cent alcohol, 500
parts of brown sugar, 125 parts of powdered red or white potassium
bitartrate, 250 parts of good brewers’ yeast, or 125 parts of leaven,
1,125 parts of triple vinegar, and stir until the substances are
dissolved. Lay a cloth and a perforated cover over the cask and let
it stand in a temperature of 72° to 77° F. from 4 to 6 weeks; then
draw off the vinegar. The thick deposit at the bottom, the “mother of
vinegar,” so called, can be used in making more vinegar. Pour over it
the same quantities of water and alcohol used at first; but after the
vinegar has been drawn off twice, half the first quantity of sugar and
potassium bitartrate, and the whole quantity of yeast, must be added.
This makes excellent vinegar.
III.—A good strong vinegar for household use may be made from apple or
pear peelings. Put the peelings in a stone jar (not glazed with lead)
or in a cask, and pour over them water and a little vinegar, fermented
beer, soured wine, or beet juice. Stir well, cover with a linen cloth
and leave in a warm room. The vinegar will be ready in 2 or 3 weeks.
IV.—Two wooden casks of any desired size, with light covers, are
provided. They may be called A and B. A is filled with vinegar, a tenth
part of this is poured off into B, and an equal amount of fermented
beer, wine, or any other sweet or vinous liquid, or a mixture of 1,125
parts, by weight, of alcohol, 11,500 to 14,000 parts of water, and
1,125 parts of beet juice, put into A.
When vinegar is needed, it is drawn out of B, an equal quantity is
poured from A into B and the same quantity of vinegar-making liquids
put into A. In this way vinegar is constantly being made and the
process may go on for years, provided that the casks are large enough
so that not more than a tenth of the contents of A is used in a week.
If too much is used, so that the vinegar in the first cask becomes
weak, the course of the vinegar making is disturbed for a long time,
and this fact, whose importance has not been understood, prevents this
method—in its essential principles the best—from being employed on a
large scale. The surplus in A acts as a fermentative.
«Aromatic Vinegar.»—I.—Sixteen ounces glacial acetic acid, 40 drops oil
of cloves, 40 drops oil of rosemary, 40 drops oil of bergamot, 16 drops
oil of neroli, 30 drops oil of lavender, 1 drachm benzoic acid, 1/2
ounce camphor, 30 to 40 drops compound tincture of lavender, 3 ounces
spirit of wine. Dissolve the oils, the benzoic acid, and the camphor in
the spirit of wine, mix with acetic acid and shake until bright, lastly
adding the tincture of lavender to color.
II.—Dried leaves of rosemary, rue, wormwood, sage, mint, and lavender
flowers, each 1/2 ounce; bruised nutmegs, cloves, angelica root,
and camphor, each 1/4 of an ounce; rectified alcohol, 4 ounces;
concentrated acetic acid, 16 ounces. Macerate the materials for a day
in the alcohol; then add the acid and digest for 1 week longer at a
temperature of 490° F. Finally press out the now aromatised acid and
filter it.
«Cider Vinegar.»—By “artificial vinegar” is meant vinegar made by the
quick method with beechwood shavings. This cannot be carried out with
any economy on a small scale, and requires a plant. A modification
of the regular plan is as follows: Remove the head from a good tight
whisky barrel, and put in a wooden faucet near the bottom. Fill the
barrel with corn cobs and lay an empty coffee sack over them. Moisten
the cobs by sprinkling them with some good, strong, natural vinegar,
and let them soak for a few hours. After the lapse of 2 or 3 hours
draw off the vinegar and again moisten the cobs, repeating this until
they are rendered sour throughout, adding each time 1 quart of high
wines to the vinegar before throwing it back on the cobs. This prevents
the vinegar from becoming flat, by the absorption of its acetic acid
by the cobs. Mix a gallon of molasses with a gallon of high wine
and 14 gallons of water and pour it on the cobs. Soak for 8 hours,
then draw off and pour on the cobs again. Repeat this twice daily,
until the vinegar becomes sour enough to suit. By having a battery of
barrels, say 4 barrels prepared as above, the manufacture may be made
remunerative, especially if the residue of sugar casks in place of
molasses, and the remnants of ale, etc., from the bar-rooms around town
are used. All sugar-containing fruit may be utilized for vinegar making.
VINEGAR, TESTS FOR: See Foods.
VINEGAR, TOILET: See Cosmetics. {736}
VIOLET AMMONIA: See Cosmetics.
VIOLET WATER: See Perfumes.
VIOLIN ROSIN: See Rosin.
VIOLIN VARNISH: See Varnishes.
VISCOSE: See Celluloid.
VOICE LOZENGES: See Confectionery.
VULCANIZATION OF RUBBER: See Rubber.
WAGON GREASE: See Lubricants.
WALLS, DAMP: See Household Formulas.
WALL AND WALL-PAPER CLEANERS: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods,
also Household Formulas.
WALL-PAPER DYES: See Dyes.
WALL-PAPER PASTE: See Adhesives.
WALL PAPER, REMOVAL OF: See Household Formulas.
WALL WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing and Household Formulas.
WALL PRIMING: See Paints.
WALNUT: See Wood.
WARMING BOTTLE: See Bottles.
WARPING, PREVENTION OF: See Wood.
«Warts»
Wart Cure.—The following is especially useful in cases where the warts
are very numerous:
I.—Chloral hydrate 1 part
Acetic acid 1 part
Salicylic acid 4 parts
Sulphuric ether 4 parts
Collodion 5 parts
Mix. Directions: Every morning apply the foregoing to the warts,
painting one coat on another. Should the mass fall off without taking
the warts with it, repeat the operation. Take, internally 10 grains of
burnt magnesia daily.
II.—Sulphur 10 parts
Acetic acid 5 parts
Glycerine 25 parts
Keep the warts covered with this mixture.
WASHING FLUIDS AND POWDERS: See Laundry Preparations.
WASTE, PHOTOGRAPHIC, ITS DISPOSITION: See Photography.
WATCH—DIAL CEMENTS: See Adhesives, under Jewelers’ Cements.
WATCH GILDING: See Plating.
«Watchmakers’ Formulas»
«WATCH MANUFACTURERS’ ALLOYS.»
Some very tenacious and hard alloys, for making the parts of watches
which are not sensitive to magnetism, are as follows:
I II III IV V VI VII
Platinum 62.75 62.75 62.75 54.32 0.5 0.5 —
Copper 18 16.20 16.20 16 18.5 18.5 25
Nickel 18 18 16.50 24.70 — 2 1
Cadmium 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 — — —
Cobalt — — 1.50 1.96 — — —
Tungsten — 1.80 1.80 1.77 — — —
Palladium — — — — 72 72 70
Silver — — — — 6.5 7 4
Rhodium — — — — 1 — —
Gold — — — — 1.5 — —
A non-magnetic alloy for watch-springs, wheels, etc.: Gold, 30 to 40
parts; palladium, 30 to 40 parts; copper, 10 to 20 parts; silver, 0.1
to 5 per cent; cobalt, 0.1 to 2.5 per cent; tungsten, 0.1 to 5 per
cent; rhodium, 0.1 to 5 per cent; platinum, 0.1 to 5 per cent.
«An Alloy for Watch Pinion Sockets.»—Gold, 31 parts; silver, 19 parts;
copper, 39 parts; palladium, 1 part.
«Replacing Rubies whose Settings have Deteriorated.»—Enlarge, with
the squarer (steel brooch for enlarging holes), the hole of the old
setting, and adjust it, with hard rubbing, to the extremity of a stem
of pierced brass wire. Take the stem in an American nippers, and set
the ruby at the extremity (the setting may be driven back by using
a flat burnishing tool, very gently). Then take off with a cleaving
file the part of the stem where the ruby is set, and diminish it to
the thickness desired, by filing on the finger, or on cork. These
operations finished, {737} a set stopper is obtained which now needs
only to be solidly fixed at the suitable height, in the hole prepared.
«To Straighten Bent Teeth.»—Bent teeth are straightened by means of the
screwdriver used as a lever against the root of the adjacent teeth, and
bent pivots may be held in the jaws of the pliers and the pinion bent
with the fingers in the direction and to the extent required. For such
a purpose, pliers having the jaws lined with brass are used so that the
pivot is not bruised, and the bending has to be done with great care.
«To Renew a Broken Barrel Tooth.»—Frequently, in consequence of the
breaking of a spring, a tooth of a barrel is broken. Sometimes it may
only be bent, in which case the blade of a penknife may be used with
care. If 2 or 3 successive teeth are lacking, the best way is to change
the barrel, but a single tooth may be easily renewed in this way: Drill
a hole through the thickness of the tooth, taking care not to penetrate
the drum; then fit in a piece of metal tightly and give it, as well as
possible, the correct form of the tooth. To assure solidity, solder
it; then clean and round the edges. Properly executed the repair will
scarcely be noticed.
«Heated Sawdust.»—Sawdust is known to have been employed from time
immemorial by watchmakers and goldsmiths for the purpose of drying
rinsed articles. The process of drying can be accelerated four-fold
if the sawdust is heated before use. This must, however, be done with
great caution and constant stirring.
«To Repair a Dial, etc., with Enamel Applied Cold.»—There are two kinds
of false enamel for application, when cold, to damaged dials. The
first, a mixture of white rosin and white lead, melts like sealing
wax, which it closely resembles. It is advisable when about to apply
it to gently heat the dial and the blade of a knife, and with the
knife cut the piece of enamel of the requisite size and lay it on the
dial. The new enamel must project somewhat above the old. When cold
the surface is leveled by scraping, and a shining surface is at once
produced by holding at a little distance from the flame of a spirit
lamp. It is necessary to be very careful in conducting this operation,
as the least excess of heat will burn the enamel and turn it yellow.
It is, however, preferable to the following although more difficult to
apply, as it is harder and does not become dirty so soon. The second
false enamel contains white lead mixed with melted white wax. It is
applied like cement, neatly filling up the space and afterwards rubbing
with tissue paper to produce a shining surface. If rubbed with a knife
blade or other steel implement its surface will be discolored.
«Lettering a Clock Dial.»—Painting Roman characters on a clock dial is
not such a difficult task as might at first be imagined. If one has a
set of drawing instruments and properly proportions the letters, it
is really simple. The letters should be proportioned as follows: The
breadth of an “I” and a space should equal 1/2 the breadth of an
“X,” that is, if the “X” is 1/2 inch broad, the “I” will be 3/16
inch broad and the space between letters inch, thus making the “I”
plus one space equal to 1/4 inch or half the breadth of an “X.” The
“V’s” should be the same breadth as the “X’s.” After the letters have
been laid off in pencil, outline them with a ruling pen and fill in
with a small camel’s-hair brush, using gloss black paint thinned to the
proper consistency to work well in the ruling pen. Using the ruling
pen to outline the letters gives sharp straight edges, which it would
be impossible to obtain with a brush in the hands of an inexperienced
person.
«Verification of the Depthings.»—In the verge watches, the English
watches, and those of analogous caliber, it is often difficult to
verify the depthings, except by the touch. For this reason we often
find the upper plate pierced over each depth. In the jeweled places,
instead of perforating the upper plate, it suffices to deposit a drop
of very limpid oil on the ruby, taking care that it does not scatter.
In this manner a lens is formed and one may readily distinguish the
depthing.
«To Make or Enlarge a Dial Hole.»—By wetting the graver or the file
with spirit of turpentine, cracks may be avoided and the work will be
accomplished much quicker.
«To Repair a Repeating Clock-Bell.»—When the bell is broken, whether
short off or at a distance, file it away and pierce it, and after
having sharpened a little the stem of the spring which remains, push
by force, in the hole just made, a thin piece of solder (pewter). The
sound will not have changed in any appreciable manner.
A seconds pendulum of a regulator, which has no compensation for
temperature will cause the clock to lose about {738} 1 second per day
for each 3 degrees of increase in heat. A watch without a compensation
balance will lose 6.11 seconds in 24 hours for each increase of 1° F.
in heat.
«To Remedy Worn Pinions.»—Turn the leaves or rollers so that the worn
places upon them will be toward the arbor or shaft and fasten them
in that position. If they are “rolling pinions,” and they cannot be
secured otherwise, a little soft solder should be used.