PART I.--MISCELLANEOUS._Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians

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* * * * *

[Illustration: Signed sketch of author

Yours truly,

Wm. K. David.]

SECRETS

WISE MEN, CHEMISTS

AND

GREAT PHYSICIANS.

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY

WM. K. DAVID,

AUTHOR OF

THE SHORT-RULE ARITHMETIC

AND ACCOUNTANT’S REFEREE, PERPETUAL

DISK CALENDARS, ETC.

Thirty-Eight Illustrations.

1889.

WM. K. DAVID

PUBLISHER,

LOCK BOX 507,

CHICAGO.

--By--

WM. K. DAVID.

The following sent to any part of the world on receipt of price:

SECRETS OF WISE MEN, CHEMISTS,

AND

GREAT PHYSICIANS,

By Wm. K. David.

Bound in cloth, price =$1.25.=

DAVID’S SHORT-RULE ARITHMETIC

AND

ACCOUNTANT’S REFEREE.

A practical work containing the shortest and most simple rules and

labor saving tables ever devised. The most original arithmetical

work published for centuries.

Elegantly bound in cloth and gilt, price =$1.50.=

DAVID’S DOUBLE-WHEEL PERPETUAL CALENDAR

Giving all dates forever.

Elegant, heavy cardboard, price =$0.50.=

DAVID’S CHARM CALENDAR

An elegant little metal pendant for vest chain,

giving all dates for one hundred years.

Including double-wheel card calendar with explanation, price =$1.00.=

AGENTS WANTED!

ADDRESS ALL ORDERS TO

WM. K. DAVID

Lock Box 507, CHICAGO, ILL.

PREFACE.

It is surprising how many large enterprises and fortunes depend upon

some few simple trade secrets the knowledge of which has baffled

competition and crushed all rivalry. The jealous care with which

special information in trade and manufacture is guarded frequently

renders it a monumental task to procure a single receipt or formula.

Some idea, then, may be formed of the vast amount of labor and expense

necessary to compile a work of this character. Books of recipes are

quite numerous, but to the average person the good they contain is too

often buried beneath a mass of wordy rubbish. In the preparation of

this work the object has been to present all the best as well as the

latest practical receipts, prescriptions, and trade secrets. Over a

quarter of a million pages of patent-office reports, encyclopedias,

trade journals, receipt books, and other special publications have

been carefully scrutinized. To the knowledge obtained from them we

include the original matter procured from tradesmen, chemists, and

the published works and private practice of some of the most eminent

physicians both in this country and Europe, a greater portion of which

has never before appeared in print; all of which has been carefully

tested where any doubt existed. It will be found that few, if any,

misleading directions have been given. The prescriptions have been

reproduced, after careful thought, in the form in which they were

originally written. In having them filled patronize only honest and

capable druggists. In testing the recipes follow the directions with

rigid care, and practice on a small quantity of the article until you

get it right. Realizing that perfection in anything has never been

attained, yet we believe that the work contains more really practical

information for use by the masses in every-day life than any similar

publication.

Chicago, March, 1889. THE AUTHOR.

INDEX.

PAGE

A Cheap Charcoal Stove, 48

Approximate Measures, 116

Baking Powders, 15

Bay Rum, Best, 40

Blood Purifier, Dr. Hamilton’s, 120

Blood Purifying Tea, 121

Breath Solution, 34

Butter Color, 125

Care of Teeth, Mouth, and Breath, 32

Cascara Cordial, 120

Catarrh Remedy, Electric, 121

Catarrh Snuff, 122

Catarrh Salve, 122

Cements and Glue, 24

Armenian Glue, 24

Glutina Cement, 24

Iron Cement, 25

Metal, Glass, and Stone Cement, 25

Cement, Rubber, 123

Chapped Hands, etc., Lotion for, 39

Chilblains, Treatment of, 42, 43

Cider, Artificial, 15

Cleaning Preparations, 7

Lightning Grease Renovator, 7

Glove-Cleaning Compound, 7

Cleaning Tarnished Silverware, 8

Cleaning Carpets, 8

Universal Stain-Removing Table, 9

Cleaning Soiled Wall-paper, 12

Cleaning Marble and Tombstones, 13

Cleaning Powder for Show-windows, etc., 13

Cologne, Hoyt’s German, 41

Common Names of Chemical Substances, 117

Copying Paper, Magic, 6

Copying Pad, Gelatine, 1

Corn and Wart Salve, 42

Corn-Killer, German, 42

Essential Oils, To Extract, 17

Face Lotion, Calamine, 39

Fire Extinguishers, 4

Fire Hand Grenades, 4

Fire Extinguishing Compounds, 5

Fire-proofing Compounds, 123, 124

Flavoring Extracts, 16

Foliotypes, 2

Freckles, To Remove, 35 to 38

Freezing Mixtures, 69 to 71

Furniture Varnish, 13

Furniture Polish, 14

Gold and Silver Imitations, 32

Hair Tonic, 41

Hair Grower, Pomade, 41

Hair Oil, Cream, 41

Hamlin’s Wizard Oil, 119

Hektograph, 1

Hog Cholera Cure, 125

Honey, Artificial, 14

How to Make an Incubator, 43 to 48

Ice House and Refrigerator, 64

Ice Houses, Cheap, 66

Ice Chest, Cheap, 69

Ice Without an Ice House, 69

Inks, 20

Black Inks, 20, 21

Red Ink, 21

Violet Ink, 21

Blue Ink, 21

Green Ink, 21

Copying Ink, 21

Indestructible Ink, 22

Hektograph Ink, 22

White Ink, 22

Rubber Stamp Ink, 22

Ribbon Ink, 22

Marking Ink, 22

Indelible Ink, 22

Gold and Silver Ink, 124

Ink for Writing on Metals, 23

Ink Powders, 23

Disappearing Ink, 23

Invisible Inks, 23

Ink Erasing Fluid, 24

Kidney and Liver Cure, Warner’s Safe, 121

Lemonade Syrup, Artificial, 15

Liniments, 119

Liniment, Wonder, 119

Liniment, Liquid Lightning, 119

Liniment, Rarey’s Horse, 125

Lip Salve, 39

Liver Regulator, 120

Manicure Powder, 40

Manicure Salve, 40

Maple Syrup, Artificial, 14

Maple Sugar, Artificial, 14

Mead, Genuine New Orleans, 15

Medical Department--Prescriptions of eminent physicians, arranged

and revised by F. V. Luse, M. D., Chicago, Ill. Diseases

arranged alphabetically. Authorities quoted: Agnew, Atthill,

Bartholow, Basham, Beasley, Bibron, Browne, Brown-Séquard,

Chapman, Da Costa, Dewees, Ellis, Fenner, Gerhard, Getchell,

Gross, Guy, Hartshorne, Hazard, Hebra, Keyes, Liebreich,

Luse, Mackenzie, Milton, Mitchell, Pancoast, Porcher, Ricord,

Ringer, Schafhirt, Smith, Squibbs, Tanner, Thornton,

Trousseau, Waring, 103

Medicated Pads, 118

Liver Pad, 118

Kidney Pad, 118

Lung Pad, 118

Merchant’s Gargling Oil, 120

Mexican Mustang Liniment, 120

Metal and Glass Secrets, 28

Hardening Composition for Steel, 28

Composition to Toughen Steel, 28

Softening Iron or Steel, 28

Restoring Burnt Steel, 29

Welding Cast Steel, 29

To Drill Hardened Steel, 29

To Drill Holes in Cast Iron, 29

To Solder Ferrules for Tool Handles, 29

Soldering Without a Soldering Iron, 29

Cleaning Gun-Barrels, 29

To Resharpen Old Files, 30

Mending Tinware at Home, 30

Good Way to Sharpen Razors, 30

Razor-Strop Paste, 30

Cutting Ovals, etc., on Glass, 30

Etching on Glass, 30

To Drill and Ornament Glass, 31

Moles, to Remove, 38

Paints, 26

Durable Paint for Roofs, 26, 27

Paint for Blackboards, 27

Removing Smell of Paint, 27

Removing Paint, 27

Pastes, 25

Paste for Wall-paper, 25

Paste for Labeling on Tin, 25

Pasting Cloth or Leather to Wood, 25

Perry Davis’ Pain Killer, 119

Perspiration Powder, 42

Phrases and Abbreviations Used in Prescriptions, 114, 115

Pimple Lotion, 40

Plating Without a Battery, 31

Silver-Plating Solution, 31

Silvering Powder, 31

Gold Plating Solution, 31

Nickeling Iron, 31

Polishing Preparations, 12

Polishing Powder, 12

Polishing Pastes and Balls, 13

Preservative Compounds, 49

Barff’s Boroglyceride, 49 to 57

Fickett’s Preservative Compound, 57

Howard’s Preservative Compound, 58

Preservation of Butter, Lard, etc., 58

Corwin’s Preservative Compound, 59

Fruit Juice Preservatives, 59

Smoke or Vapor Preserving Compounds, 60

Salicylic Acid as a Preservative, 60 to 64

Radway’s Ready Relief, 120

Red Noses, Preparation for, 39

Rose Water, Fine, 40

Rubber Patching, 123

Rubber Stamps, How to Make, 17

Sea Foam, Quillaya, 41

Shampoo Compound, Clifford’s, 41

Shirts, How to Iron, 10

Silos and Ensilage, 73 to 84

Stage Illusions, 85

The Three-Headed Woman, 85 to 87

The Mysterious Voice, 87 to 89

An Improved Psycho, 89 to 92

Magic Cabinets, Boxes, etc., 92 to 96

The Swinging Half Lady, 96 to 98

The Aerial Suspension, 99 to 100

The Ghost Illusion, 100 to 102

Stamping Patterns, 6

Sunburn, to Remove, 36

Symbols or Signs Used in Prescriptions, 114

Table for Calculating the Period of Utero-Gestation, 116

Table to Assist the Beginner in Prescribing Liquids, 116

Toilet Preparations, 39

Toothache Drops, 34

Tooth Powder, Best, 33

Tooth Paste, Cherry, 34

Toothwash, Antiseptic, 34

Transferring Photographs, 6

Transferring Embroidery, 7

Transferring Leaves, 7

Vermin Exterminators, 19

Phosphorus Paste, 19

Roach and Moth Exterminator, 19

Moth Powder, 19

Bedbug Poison, 20

Poison Fly Paper, 20

Sticky Fly Paper, 20

Mosquito and Fly Frightener, 20

Washing Fluid, Liebig’s, 10

Washing Bluing, Liquid, 11

Washing Soaps, Family, 11

Best Soft Soap, 11

Hard Soap with Lard, 11

White Hard Soap with Tallow, 12

Water Baths, 72, 73

Water-proofing Cloth and Canvas, 123

Whitewash, Brilliant Stucco, 26

Wood Stains, 27

Staining Wood Rose Color, 27

Ebonizing Wood, 27

Imitation of Cedar, 28

Hard Coating for Wood, 28

Worcestershire Sauce, 125

PART I.--MISCELLANEOUS.

Gelatine Copying Pad.

[HEKTOGRAPH.]

By this process a letter, postal card, drawing, or other manuscript

can be duplicated from sixty to one hundred times from one original.

Reproductions from the copying pad are now admitted in the mails as

third-class matter, i. e., one cent for every two ounces or fraction

thereof. A soft, gelatinous composition, similar to that used in making

printers’ rollers, is made and poured into shallow pans of the required

size. The pans should be made of stout zinc one-half inch deep on the

inside, with a lid or cover. The length and breadth of the pans is

determined by the class of copying to be done. Always make the pan

slightly larger than the paper used. The three sizes given below will

answer most purposes:

Postal card size 4×6 inches.

Note paper size 6-1/2×10 inches.

Full letter size 9×12 inches.

The composition is made as follows:

Good glue 4 ounces av.

Glycerine 16 ounces av.

Water 8 fluid ounces.

Break up the glue and soak in the water for a few hours, then heat by

water-bath until melted. Next add the glycerine and heat together for

some time to evaporate part of the water, and then strain into the pan,

which should be placed perfectly level and filled about two-thirds

full; skim with a card to free from bubbles, and set away to cool. An

improvement consists in adding one ounce of carbonate of barium to

the fluid while warm. The composition should be made somewhat softer

for winter use than for summer, which can be done by adding a little

larger proportion of glycerine. Another way to make the composition is

to soak over night in cold water best gelatine or glue 1 part, and the

excess of water poured off. The glue is then warmed in a water-bath

with the addition of from 10 to 12 parts of glycerine, to which may be

added 4 to 6 parts of finely ground heavy spar, and one part dextrine

thoroughly mixed by constant stirring. (In summer less glycerine.)

The letter or sketch to be duplicated is written on a sheet of paper

with ink specially prepared for the purpose (see inks). For the

original it is best to use smooth, well-sized writing paper, allowing

the ink to dry without using a blotter. After writing the original

place it face downward on the pad, and rub it gently with the hand to

insure contact at every point. Let it remain from two to six minutes,

according to the number of copies you wish to print. In cold weather

it should be left longer, as it requires more time for the composition

to absorb the ink. Remove the original carefully, and a reversed

impression will be observed on the pad. To take off copies lay dry

sheets of paper on the reversed impression, press gently, and remove

quickly.

When you have taken all the copies you require wash the ink from

the surface _at once_ with a sponge and plenty of lukewarm water;

never use hot water. The surface of the composition will allow

considerable rubbing without fear of tearing it, if not done roughly

and carelessly. Be sure your sponge is free from sand and grit, and

also avoid scratching with the finger nails. Always wash the surface

with a sponge before using, and dry with a newspaper. In cold weather

if the composition feels chilled it will not absorb the ink properly,

and the copies will be faint unless it be carefully warmed to a

moderate temperature. Attention to these details will produce the most

gratifying results.

Foliotypes.

Horace M. Engle, Esq., of Marietta, Pa., has devised a method of

taking leaf-prints of marked beauty, which he terms “foliotypes,” some

specimens of which he sent to Dr. Gray, the eminent botanist, who

pronounced the process a new way, and advised him to send an account

of it to the _Botanical Gazette_, which he generously did. We have

employed the method according to the explanation there given (which

we reprint in full) with the most delightful results, having secured

prints of some beautiful leaves which are faithful to nature in color

and outline, with all their delicate tracery: “The method is of actual

usefulness to the botanist, as well as a refining recreation for others

who love Nature ‘on general principles.’ For illustrating monographs

and similar papers, where the number is too limited to warrant an

expensive lithograph; for identifying a rare specimen, or as an adjunct

to an herbarium, combining portability, unalterability, and beauty

withal the method seems particularly fitted. But aside from this others

may find a delightful and instructive recreation in taking prints of

the entire flora of the old farm, the trees of a certain grove, the

native annuals of a county, the ferns of a State, or any other special

field that seems most inviting. Such copies may be taken in a blank

book suited to the purpose, or, better, take them on single sheets of

uniform size, as in this way imperfect copies may be thrown out, and

when the work is completed they may be named, classified, and bound,

making a volume of real value and worthy of just pride.

“The process consists in using the leaf for producing an impression

as a printer uses type, the ink being green, and the pressure applied

either by hand or with a press. There will be needed for the work

(1) a small ink roller such as printers use for inking type by hand

in taking proofs; (2) a stout window glass (10×12 is a good size)

fastened securely (not glued, as it may warp and break,) to an evenly

planed board about twice its surface, say 10×24. A small quantity of

the ink is put on the glass and spread with a knife, after which it is

distributed evenly by going over in all directions with the ink roller.

When this has been carefully done the leaf to be copied is laid on a

piece of waste paper and inked by applying the roller once or more with

moderate pressure. This leaves a film of ink on the veins and network

of the leaf, which should then be placed on a piece of blank paper

and considerable pressure applied for a few moments. When the leaf is

removed from the paper the work is done.

“To get the best results several points must be carefully noted.

Get a quarter or half a pound of dark green ink, which is put up in

collapsible tubes costing from fifty cents to $2 per pound, according

to quality. As sold it is invariably too thick for this purpose, and

should be thinned by adding several drops of balsam of copaiba to as

much ink as may be taken on a salt spoon. Much depends on the proper

consistency of the ink. In inking the leaf is liable to curl on the

roller, but it should part readily from it. In case it sticks tightly

the ink is too thick. Take care that the ink is evenly distributed on

the glass and roller, as it is essential that each part of the leaf

receives an equal coating of ink. If the leaf is large ink it part by

part, keeping the roller well supplied. A roller three inches long,

costing forty cents, will answer for all small leaves and branches of

plants. Clean the roller and glass with benzine after using. If the

leaf is finely veined the lower surface makes the better print, but if

the veins are coarse and large the upper surface may be used. If the

specimen is fleshy or brittle allow it to wilt until it becomes more

pliable, or if necessary it may be pressed and dried first. In most

cases the best copy is obtained after taking one or two impressions,

as the leaf takes the ink better after several applications. A good

quality of unsized paper that is made slightly damp by placing between

sheets of moist newspaper is best for general work, but in other cases

well sized paper will take a copy that will allow a foliotype (may I

coin the word?) to bear inspection side by side with a good lithograph.

I find a copying press very valuable in making the impression,

especially if the leaf is at all coriaceous. If it be soft it should

be covered with a few thicknesses of newspaper. If it is irregular

in thickness, paper may be laid over the thin parts, so that equal

pressure is received. This is necessary with all leaves that have thick

stems. If the branch is very irregular or delicate, or in the absence

of a press of any kind, the specimen may be covered with several layers

of paper, and held in place by one hand while the pressure is applied

by the thumb or palm of the other hand as required.

“These particulars are as complete as practicable. Experiments will

lead to many improvements in details. Employ tact and neatness, and you

will be surprised at the result.”

Fire-Extinguishers.

=Hand Grenades.=

Prof. F. S. Kedzie of the Michigan State Agricultural College, after a

series of analyses and experiments, draws some important conclusions

as to the value of hand-grenades, in a paper which he publishes in

the Chicago Sanitary News. A Harden hand-grenade was opened, and the

solution contained qualitatively analyzed. It consisted of common salt,

sulphate of lime, and a small amount of acetate of soda. The principal

ingredient was common salt.

The effort was made to determine (1) whether the solution in the

grenades had any more extinguishing power than water; (2) if the

solution had extinguishing power greater than water, what was the

essential ingredient in the solution. The question that first arose

regarding the composition of the grenades was: Did they contain

carbon dioxide gas or any substance that would give up the gas by

being heated? Opening the grenades under water and collecting the gas

that escaped it was found that the average amount of carbon dioxide

contained was about one cubic inch per grenade. Boiling the solution

liberated a slight amount of gas in addition; but altogether the gas

was not enough to be of any practical benefit in extinguishing fire.

It was then certain that the extinguishing power was in the solution

itself. Replacing the solution in the grenade with pure water the

extinguishing power, while greater than water thrown from a dish upon

flaming boards, was still much less than the power exerted by the

solution.

By a careful series of trials it was found that the essential

ingredient was common salt. From a number of experiments it was found

that when a grenade, or a bottle containing a strong brine, was broken

in the midst of the burning kerosene the flames were almost instantly

extinguished. A vapor seemed to spread in all directions from where the

salt solution struck the board, extinguishing the flame as it went.

Strong solutions were also made of sulphate of soda, hyposulphite of

soda, borax (biborate of soda), and bicarbonate of soda and tried as

fire extinguishers. Some worked as well, but none any better, than

common salt in extinguishing fire. The experiment was then made of

charging the bottles with brine and generating carbon dioxide by

adding lime dust and sulphuric acid and corking tightly. No practical

increase in extinguishing power from this addition was noticed. In

most instances the carbon dioxide gas escaped from the bottles inside

of four days, proving that it is impracticable to attempt to use glass

vessels with corks as a means of storing CO2 under pressure for fire

extinguishing.

The conclusion reached from these and many more experiments was that

the Harden grenade solution possesses _much greater_ extinguishing

power than water alone, and that it owed this power to common salt

held in solution. We then constructed some home-made grenades, using

flat bottles bound together side by side with wire. Using two bottles

in this way insures their being broken in striking the burning body,

which would not always occur when only one bottle is used. Bottles thus

charged with brine and bound together were broken side by side with the

Harden grenades and found to be equally valuable.

It thus appears from the experiment that any person can construct as

good and effective grenades as those offered in the market at $7 and

$10 per dozen. Bottles filled with brine and placed around the premises

will afford considerable protection, especially when used upon the

flames when the fire just begins. Salt solutions have the further

advantage of not being easily frozen--never enough to burst the bottles.

The Lewis hand fire-extinguisher was next investigated. This consists

of a tin tube about two feet long containing thirty-four fluid ounces

of soda in weak caustic ammonia. From the trials made we could not

notice any appreciable superiority over the salt solution as used in

the Harden grenade. It has the disadvantage of not being made to break

by being thrown, but must be opened by having a cork extracted from one

end of the tube, requiring a smart jerk. The solution is then sprinkled

on the fire by the operator.

We herewith append a number of fire-extinguishing compounds, all of

which are highly recommended by various authorities:

=Munich Fire-Extinguishing Powder.=

Common salt 43 per cent.

Alum 19.5 per cent.

Glauber’s salt 5.1 per cent.

Soda 3.5 per cent.

Water glass 6.6 per cent.

Water 22.3 per cent.

=Richardson’s Fire-Extinguishing Powder.=

Alum 4-1/2 pounds.

Common salt 10 pounds.

Glauber’s salt 1 pound.

Soda 1 pound.

Water glass 1-1/2 pounds.

=Vienna Fire-Extinguishing Powder.=

Green vitriol 4 parts.

Ammonium sulphate 16 parts.

Water 100 parts.

=Proteau’s Fire-Extinguishing Powder.=

Carbonate of soda 8 pounds.

Alum 4 pounds.

Borax 3 pounds.

Carbonate of potash 1 pound.

Silicate of soda solution 24 pounds.

Mix thoroughly and add 1-1/2 pounds of this mixture to each gallon of

water, when required.

Transferring Photographs.

[ON GLASS.]

This beautiful and valuable process of transferring photographs in

plain or colored work has been taught at high prices under various

high-sounding names, such as “Roman art,” etc. Photographs can be

transferred and preserved for years which would have been soiled,

faded, and ruined if allowed to remain on the card.

Separate the paper print from the background or card by steaming it,

after which dry thoroughly. Warm the glass slightly and coat evenly

with balsam or negative varnish and place the print face downward on

the surface thus prepared. After smoothing it carefully set away in

a cool place until the varnish has hardened. Then apply water, and

with a soft piece of gum rubber rub off the paper so as to leave the

photographic image on the varnished glass.

Stamping Patterns.

Draw the pattern upon heavy paper and perforate with small holes all

the lines with the point of some sharp instrument, dust the following

powder through the perforations, remove the pattern and pass a warm

iron over the fabric, when the pattern will become fixed. Any desired

color can be used, such as Prussian blue, chrome green, yellow,

vermilion, etc.:

Fine white rosin 2 ounces.

Gum sandarac 4 ounces.

Color 2 ounces.

Powder very fine, mix, and pass through a sieve.

Magic Paper.

[FOR TRANSFERRING AND COPYING.]

This paper is really a valuable article, and is manufactured and sold

under various names, such as the “stylograph,” “rapid copying process,”

etc. It is used principally by salesmen in keeping a record of their

sales, as three copies can be taken simultaneously with one writing.

In this way traveling salesmen can with one writing give a copy of

his sale to his customer (which is frequently demanded), another he

can send to his firm, and retain the third one for his own use. It is

used in a similar manner in nearly all the large stores, and by many

individuals in their business correspondence. It is also valuable for

transferring figures in embroidery and taking impressions of leaves for

herbariums, etc., which it does beautifully, but for the latter purpose

nothing equals the foliotype method previously explained.

The paper is made by mixing pure lard or sweet oil to the consistence

of cream with either of the following paints, the color of which is

desired: Prussian blue, lamp black, Venetian red, or chrome green,

either of which should be rubbed with a knife on a plate or flat

surface until smooth. Use rather thin but firm paper; put on with

a sponge and wipe off as dry as possible. Lay the sheets between

uncolored paper or newspaper, and press by laying books or some other

flat substance upon them until the surplus oil is absorbed, when it is

ready for use.

FOR COPYING LETTERS AND ORDERS.--Either _two_ or _three_ copies can be

made at one time, as desired. To make _two_ copies place a sheet of

the magic paper between the two sheets selected for the order, bill,

or letter, and write upon the upper sheet with a hard lead pencil (the

harder the lead the cleaner the copy). It is best to place a piece of

hard cardboard under all the sheets while writing.

To make _three_ copies use two sheets of magic paper, placing one

between the first and second leaves and the other between the second

and third leaves. Proceed as in taking two copies by writing upon the

top leaf. A stout, thin linen paper will produce the best results, but

almost any kind will do.

TO TRANSFER EMBROIDERY PATTERNS.--Place a piece of thin paper over the

embroidery to prevent soiling; then lay on the magic paper and put on

the cloth you wish to take the copy on to embroider; pin fast and rub

over with a spoon-handle, and every part of the raised figure will show

upon the plain cloth.

TO TAKE IMPRESSIONS OF LEAVES.--Place the leaf between two sheets of

the magic paper and rub it over hard; then take the leaf out and place

it between two sheets of white paper; rub again, and you will have a

beautiful impression of both sides of the leaf or flower.

Cleaning Preparations.

=Lightning Grease Renovator.=

An excellent general preparation for removing grease, paint, etc.

Castile soap (cut fine) 4 ounces.

Hot water 1 quart.

Dissolve, after which add and mix thoroughly,

Aqua ammonia 4 ounces.

Sulphuric ether 1 ounce.

Glycerine 1 ounce.

Alcohol 1 ounce.

Water 1 quart.

An elegant general preparation for cleaning gloves, silks, etc., is

made as follows:

Deodorized gasoline (or benzine) 1 pint.

Alcohol, chloroform, and ether, each 1/2 fluid ounce.

Mix, and perfume with cologne, lavender, or any desired odor. Do not

use near a flame.

“GANTEIN” FOR CLEANSING GLOVES.--The preparation sold under this name

is made as follows: Dissolve 6 parts of soap in 2 parts of water; add 4

parts of bleaching liquor and 1/4 part of aqua ammonia. Rub the gloves

with the fluid until clean.

Cleaning Tarnished Silverware.

[IN USE BY ALL LEADING JEWELERS.]

Cyanide potassium 3 ounces.

Soft water 2 gallons.

Mix and dissolve. Label it “poison,” and place out of the reach of

children. Have the article clean and free from grease; dip in solution

till tarnish is off, but no longer (and under no circumstances leave

it in too long). After immersion the article must be taken out and

thoroughly rinsed in a number of waters (warm preferred), then dried

with a soft rag or sawdust.

Another method, which is safe and cheap, consists in using a saturated

solution of hyposulphite of soda to which a little bolted whiting has

been added. Apply with a brush or cloth until the tarnish is removed.

Clark’s Wash for Carpets.

SOLUTION 1.--Dissolve 10 parts of soap in 20 of water, and add 3-1/2

parts of soda and one-half part of liquid ammonia and spirit of wine.

SOLUTION 2.--Is the _actual cleansing liquid_, and consists of 4 parts

of liquid ammonia and 3 of alcohol diluted with water.

The last solution is first used, and when the dirt loosened by it has

been removed the soap solution is applied. Carpets thus treated regain

their original colors in all their freshness, the entire operation of

washing and drying a large carpet requiring but two hours, and the

carpet need not be taken up.

Universal Stain Table.

Showing at a glance what means to employ in removing any kind of stain

from any kind of fabric. Red acid stains are destroyed by ammonia,

followed by thorough washing with water. Burn stains of nitric acid are

permanent. Great care must be observed when ether and benzine are used.

Keep the open bottle and the fabric being cleaned away from an open

fire or blaze. The ether especially is so volatile that an open bottle

will take fire from a gas-jet or blaze several feet away if the draft

is right. You cannot be too careful.

=UNIVERSAL STAIN-REMOVING TABLE.=

+--------------+--------------+-----------------------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------+-----------+---------------+

|Sugar, | |

|gelatine, | Washing simply in water. |

|blood, | |

|albumen. | |

+--------------+--------------+-----------+-----------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------+-----------+---------------+

|Varnish | Oil of turpentine, |Benzine, ether,|

|and | benzine, |soap; |

|oil-paint. | and finally soap. |careful |

| | |rubbing. |

+--------------+--------------------------------------+---------------+

|Stearine. | Alcohol of 95 per cent. |

+--------------+--------------+-----------------------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------------------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------+-----------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------+-----------+---------------+

|Lime and |Washing simply|Pouring diluted nitric acid drop by |

|alkaline |in water. |drop upon the stain. The previously |

|lyes. | |moistened is rubbed off with the |

| | |finger. |

+--------------+--------------+---------------------------------------+

|Tannin, green |Eau de |More or less concentrated chlorine |

|nut shells. |Javelle, warm |tint water, according to the nature |

| |chlorine water|and of the fabric, and alternate |

| |concentrated |washing with water. |

| |solution of | |

| |tartaric acid.| |

+--------------+--------------+-----------------------+---------------+

+--------------+--------------+-----------------------+---------------+

Liebig’s Washing Fluid.

SAVING HALF THE WASH-BOARD LABOR.

Sal soda 1 pound.

Stone lime 1/2 pound.

Water 5 quarts.

Boil a short time, stirring occasionally; then let it settle and pour

off the clear liquid into a bottle or jug and cork for use. Soak your

clothes over night in simple water; wring out and soap wrist-bands,

collars, and dirty or stained places. Have your boiler filled with

water, and when at scalding heat put in a teacupful of the fluid, then

put in your clothes and boil for half an hour, after which rub lightly

through one suds only, rinsing well in the bluing water, and all is

complete.

For each additional boiler of clothes add half a cup of the fluid; of

course boiling in the same water through the whole washing. If more

water is needed in the boiler for the last clothes dip it from the

sudsing tub. Soak your woolen and calico in the suds from which you

have washed the white clothes, while hanging them out dipping in some

of the boiling water from the boiler, if necessary; then wash out

the woolen and calico as usual--of course washing out woolen goods

before you do the calico. The fluid brightens instead of fading the

colors.--_Dr. Chase._

PREMIUM WASHING FLUID.--This fluid is equal to the best that can be

prepared, and as it is recommended to be used in a simpler manner than

the foregoing many will doubtless prefer it:

Sal soda 4 pounds.

Borax 2 ounces.

Sal tartar 1 ounce.

Aqua ammonia 1/2 pint.

Spirit of camphor 2 ounces.

Oil of turpentine 1 ounce.

Hot water 6 pints.

Dissolve the sal soda, borax, and sal tartar in the hot water and add

the other ingredients. Soak the clothes over night in water to which

has been added a table-spoonful of the fluid for each gallon of water;

also add a little in washing water.

How I Iron Shirts.

BY MRS. HUSBANDPLEASER.

Take two ounces of spermaceti, one ounce of white wax, one ounce of

paraffine. Mix and put in a saucer over a tea-kettle in which water is

boiling, until melted, stirring several times. Then let it get cold,

after which put in a clean box for use.

To make the starch: For two shirts, collars, and cuffs take one

table-spoonful of starch dissolved in water; shave a piece of the above

into it the size of a bean. Pour boiling water into it until thick,

cook twenty minutes and set away to cool. Take one table-spoonful of

starch, dissolve it in cold water, and when the boiled starch gets

lukewarm pour it over it, stir well, and strain. Have the garments dry

and lay the starch on the wrong side and work it through. Be careful

that the starch is rubbed in until the right side is wet all over. When

well saturated roll up tight in a clean cloth. They need not lay but

a few minutes. Stretch them on a bosom-board, and with a damp cloth

rub out all the wrinkles. Lay a fine cloth over and iron it twice.

If a collar or cuff turn it over and do the same on the other side.

Take off the cloth and iron perfectly dry. If the bosom has pleats

raise them before ironing dry and dry under them. After the bosom is

perfectly dry (for this polishing process you need a good, smooth,

hard board about two by one and a half feet--the harder the better--a

marble slab of that size is better still), put the bosom on the bare

board, dip a clean white cloth in water, wring almost dry, rub lightly

over the bosom, then rub it with a dry cloth, and polish with back of

iron or with polishing iron. If any dirt gets on rub off with a damp

cloth and polish again. The polishing is not necessarily done the same

day they are ironed. If your time is limited, or your work interrupted

by callers or other duties, lay them aside after having ironed them

perfectly dry.

Liquid Washing Bluing.

Soluble Prussian blue 1 ounce.

Oxalic acid 1/4 ounce.

Boiling water 1 quart.

This makes the very best quality of bluing at a slight cost.

Family Washing Soaps.

We see no reason why every economical housewife should not profit by

these simple methods of preparing cheap laundry soap, as they are the

results of practical experience.

=Best Soft Soap.=

Take 4 pounds of white bar soap, cut it fine, and dissolve by heating

in 4 gallons of soft water, after which add 1 pound of sal soda.

Dissolve and mix thoroughly. If it is desired the soap can be made

thicker by adding less water.

=Hard Soap With Lard.=

Sal soda and lard, each 6 pounds.

Stone lime 3 pounds.

Soft water 4 gallons.

Dissolve the lime and soda in the water by boiling, stirring, and

settling; pour off, then return to the kettle (brass or copper), add

the lard and boil it until it becomes soap. Then pour into a dish or

molds, and when cool cut it into bars and dry it.

=White Hard Soap With Tallow.=

Take 2 pounds each of fresh-slacked lime, sal soda, and tallow;

dissolve the soda in 1 gallon of boiling soft water, stirring

occasionally every few hours after which let it settle, pouring off the

clear liquor and boiling the tallow therein until it is all dissolved;

cool it in a flat box or pan, and cut into bars or cakes as desired.

It may be perfumed with oil of sassafras or any other perfume desired,

stirring it in when cool.

Cleaning Soiled Wall-paper.

The old form of this process was to use stale bread or bread baked to a

proper consistency, but it seldom produces satisfactory results except

in the hands of experts, and then it is an impossibility to keep from

scratching the surface of the paper with the sharp points of the crust.

A dough preparation known only to a few experts engaged in cleaning

walls by contract, and who have been known to make from $5 to $25 per

day, is now used, which is far superior in every way to anything yet

discovered. The walls can be cleaned over and over again, each time

appearing as bright as new paper.

Wheat flour Three parts.

Powdered prepared whiting One part.

Mix the flour and whiting thoroughly, and add enough water to bring

it to the consistency of ordinary dough. Use by taking a small

piece--about twice the size of a hen’s egg. Press against the wall and

remove the dirt by making long strokes. After making a stroke knead

the dirt into the dough, and continue doing so until it is useless. A

quart of the preparation used in this manner will clean the walls of a

good-sized room.

When it is desired to keep the ingredients of the composition a secret

a coloring matter may be added to assist in mystifying. When the walls

are discolored by grease or marks where people have rested their heads,

mix pipeclay to the consistency of cream, lay it on the spot and allow

it to remain until the following day, when it may be easily removed

with a penknife or brush.

Polishing Preparations.

POLISHING POWDER.--For polishing silver and nickel-plated ware, brass,

copper, etc.:

Fossil silica 2 ounces.

Rouge (or fine crocus martis) 1/2 ounce.

Prepared chalk 1/2 pound.

Rub the fossil silica to a fine powder and thoroughly mix with the

chalk. This will not scratch the finest surface. Use by rubbing with a

damp sponge or rag, and finish dry with chamois skin or dry rag.

=Polishing Pastes.=

Fossil silica 1 ounce.

Petrolatum 1/2 pound.

Cotton-seed oil (or sweet oil) 1 ounce.

Subcarbonate of iron 3 ounces.

Essential oil of almonds 30 minims.

Reduce the fossil silica to a very fine powder and mix it with the

iron; melt the petrolatum, add the cotton-seed oil, stir in the

powders, and while cooling add the flavoring oil and stir until ready

to set, then run into boxes similar to ordinary blacking boxes. Apply

with a soft rag dipped in the paste, and finish with a clean cloth.

Prepared chalk or whiting can be used instead of fossil silica. The

paste does its work faster than the polishing powder, and if the

articles are very much corroded it is preferable.

Another excellent paste, which can be put in boxes or formed into balls

and allowed to harden, is to take finely powdered rotten-stone, sift it

thoroughly through muslin or a hair sieve, and knead with a sufficient

quantity of soft soap to form a stiff paste. To 1/2 pound of this mass

add 1-3/4 fluid ounces of oil of turpentine.

=Cleaning Powder for Show Windows, Mirrors, Etc.=

Moisten calcined magnesia with pure benzine. The mixture should be

preserved in bottles with glass stoppers, as the benzine is very

volatile. Use by placing a little of the mixture on a wad of cotton and

apply to the glass.

Marble Cleaning.

Rub with muriatic acid diluted with water, care being taken that it is

not too strong. Repeat the process till clean, then wash with clear

water. When the marble is very dirty, as in the case of old tombstones,

use the following:

Muriatic acid 2 ounces.

Acetic acid 1 ounce.

Verdigris 1 drachm.

Mix, apply with a brush, and sponge off with clear water. Repeat until

clean, then polish with pumice stone continually moistened with water

as you proceed.

Furniture Varnish.

White wax 5 ounces.

Potash 7-1/2 ounces.

Boil lightly for fifteen minutes, allow to cool, and then skim off the

wax which floats on the surface. Apply the wax to the furniture, and

by rubbing it an hour afterward with a woolen cloth a beautiful luster

will be the result.

French Furniture Polish.

This is the best article that can be made for restoring the luster and

color of furniture:

Butter of antimony 3 fluid ounces.

Linseed oil 12 fluid ounces.

Alcohol 6 fluid ounces.

Shellac 2 ounces av.

Oil of turpentine 10 fluid ounces.

Hydrochloric acid 1 ounce.

Dissolve the shellac in the alcohol and add the linseed oil and

turpentine; then add the hydrochloric acid and butter of antimony,

which has been previously mixed, and thoroughly mix all together. Apply

with a tuft of cotton, and finish by rubbing down hard with Canton

flannel or a woolen rag.

Maple Syrup and Sugar.

[ARTIFICIAL.]

It is an astonishing fact that nine-tenths of the so-called maple

sugar and maple syrup sold as the genuine articles are nothing more

than clever imitations. The method of making the best quality of these

imitations--and which really defies detection of a majority of dealers

and consumers--is very cheap and simple, a gallon of the syrup costing

about fifty cents and the sugar simply the cost of ordinary, cheap

sugar. We were told by a Mr. Baldwin of Kentucky, a son of the reputed

discoverer of the secret for producing the maple flavoring, that

various manufacturers of imitation maple sugar and syrup in the large

cities had paid his father thousands of dollars in royalties for his

discovery.

Procure a quantity of the rough outside bark of what is known as

scaly-bark hickory tree. Take about 3 or 4 pounds of the bark and boil

in one-half gallon of water until it is reduced to a quart, then strain

and add 5 pounds of common brown or yellow sugar; heat again until

thoroughly dissolved and it is ready for use. To make imitation maple

syrup simply boil the syrup until it is reduced back to sugar again,

and when it is made properly the flavor and appearance of the genuine

article is obtained.

Artificial Honey.

Clarified sugar 10 pounds.

Pure honey (strained) 3 pounds.

Soft water 3 pints.

Cream tartar 1 drachm.

Essence peppermint 10 drops.

Dissolve the sugar in the water by the aid of gentle heat; take off

the scum, and the honey and the cream tartar previously dissolved in a

little water; bring to the boiling point, stir well, then let it cool.

Artificial Lemonade Syrup.

Loaf sugar 2 pounds.

Citric acid 2 ounces.

Concentrated essence of lemon 2 drachms.

Essence of almonds 20 drops.

Hot water 2 pints.

Dissolve the citric acid in hot water, add the sugar, and lastly the

lemon and almonds. Stir well, cover with a cloth, and leave until cold.

Two table-spoonfuls to a tumbler of cold water will make an excellent

drink as refreshing as the best lemonade.

Best Artificial Cider.

Water 25 gallons.

Honey (or fine syrup) 1-1/4 gallons.

Catechu (pure) 6 drachms.

Alum 1-1/4 ounces.

Yeast 1/2 pint.

Ferment for fifteen days in a warm place, then add:

Bitter almonds 2 ounces.

Cloves 2 ounces.

Whisky 6 pints.

Burnt sugar, to color.

If acid should be in excess add honey or sugar; if too sweet add cider

vinegar to suit the taste.

Genuine New Orleans Mead.

Sarsaparilla root (contused) 8 ounces.

Licorice 8 ounces.

Cassia bark (contused) 8 ounces.

Cloves 2 ounces.

Coriander seeds 3 ounces.

Ginger 8 ounces.

Boil for fifteen minutes in eight gallons of water and let stand till

cold to settle down, then strain through a flannel rag, and add to it

in the fountain:

Syrup 12 pints.

Honey 4 pints.

Tincture of ginger 4 ounces.

Solution of citric acid 4 ounces.

Add enough water to complete ten gallons, and charge with gas.--_Prof.

E. S. Wayne, in Kilner’s Formulary._

Baking Powders.

Pure baking powders are very simple in composition, care being used

in preparing them and procuring pure ingredients. According to the

advertised statements of the various leading manufacturers we are

forced to make our own if we desire a pure and wholesome article. As

the essential ingredients of the best baking powder are baking soda and

cream of tartar we need only be careful in buying of honest grocers

or druggists who will guarantee their purity. It is not difficult to

procure pure soda, but the cream of tartar is frequently adulterated,

and care must be used in its purchase.

It is very important that the materials used must be finely powdered,

perfectly dry, and thoroughly mixed. For household purposes a patent

sifter is the best to use in mixing. Run the articles through a number

of times and free from all lumps. The ingredients can be dried by

placing them in an oven for a short time before mixing.

=Baking Powder No. 1.=

Pure cream of tartar 2 pounds.

Pure bicarbonate of soda 1 pound.

Corn starch 2 ounces.

This is the best that can be made. One to two tea-spoonfuls to a quart

of flour.

=Baking Powder No. 2.=

A cheaper powder, but superior to the majority of powders you will buy,

is prepared as follows:

Pure cream of tartar 2 pounds.

Pure bicarbonate of soda 2 pounds.

Tartaric acid 6 ounces.

Corn starch 1 pound.

Best flour 4 pounds.

Use two tea-spoonfuls to a quart of flour. Do not be afraid of the

tartaric acid, as it is harmless. It is best to keep your baking powder

in a well-stopped jar or bottle. Flour, terra alba, alum, and chalk are

the chief ingredients used in the adulteration of cream of tartar. To

determine the admixture of flour rub a few grains of iodine with one

ounce of the suspected cream of tartar; if so adulterated a blue tint

to the mixture will be produced; or by dissolving a small quantity

in water you can prove its presence by the stickiness. Chalk may be

determined by its effervescing on the addition of diluted acids; alum

by dissolving in hot water and allowing the solution to chrystallize;

terra alba and other clays by their insolubility in a hot solution of

caustic potassa.

Flavoring Extracts.

The profits to manufacturers and dealers on these household necessities

are very large, and the prudent consumer will take advantage of

the directions here given. Extracts of lemon and vanilla are most

frequently used; nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, etc., are usually used dry by

grating.

=Best Lemon Extract.=

Best deodorized alcohol 1 pint.

Oil of lemon 1 ounce.

Cut the peels of two lemons into fine pieces and add to the alcohol and

oil of lemon. Let stand for a few days and filter through a felt bag or

filtering paper.

=Extract of Vanilla.=

Extract of vanilla is prepared direct from the vanilla bean. Use care

in the purchase of the beans, as there are several varieties. The

Mexican vanilla beans have the finest flavor, and the longer the bean,

as a rule, the better the extract. There are other excellent varieties

of vanilla beans, but they have a somewhat ranker flavor than the

Mexican. Unscrupulous jobbers and dealers have been known to soak the

whole beans in spirits, practically stealing all their flavor, and

then by drying them place them on the market. They can be detected by

their light color and brittleness. Most of the vanilla extracts sold

for flavoring purposes are adulterated with Tonka beans and other

adulterants, some containing not a particle of vanilla.

The following will make a splendid article, and you know what you

are getting without paying high prices for weak extracts put up in

deceptive little panel bottles. Dishonest manufacturers never yield a

point in their efforts to defraud. Not content with the liberty they

take with the contents they employ the bottle-makers’ art to deceive us

in the quantity of the precious stuff:

Vanilla beans 1 ounce.

Sugar 1 ounce.

Cologne spirits (deodorized alcohol) 12 ounces.

Water 4 ounces.

Slit the beans and cut them very fine, then mix them with sugar and

bruise until moderately fine; then mix with spirits and water and put

in a warm place; allow to stand for two weeks (longer the better)

shaking every day, and when through filter. Manufacturers color with

caramel or other coloring, but for home use this is unnecessary.

=To Extract Essential Oils.=

To extract essential oils from wood, bark, herbs, etc., put a quantity

of the herb or other article into a bottle or jar and pour in a small

quantity of ether. Keep in a cool place several hours, and then fill

the bottle with cold water. The essential oil will rise to the surface,

and may be easily separated.

How to Make Rubber Stamps.

The wording of the desired rubber stamp having been correctly set up in

ordinary type, the same is locked up and placed upon a level support.

Around it is put an iron frame, which will determine the shape and size

of the matrix.

By means of a soft brush the type as well as all surrounding parts that

are to be covered by the plaster of Paris are well oiled.

For the purpose of making the cast finely ground fresh plaster of

Paris is needed; if of long standing, the same will lose its desirable

properties. This plaster of Paris, of which a sufficient quantity

should at one time be mixed to the consistency of pap, using clear

water, is poured over the frame containing the type in a thin layer, so

as to barely cover it. With a stout brush the mixture is driven into

all spaces and interstices, until all details are thoroughly covered.

After this the remaining pap of plaster of Paris is added until the

frame is full to overflowing. The surface is smoothed down after the

plaster has settled somewhat, and in a short while the matrix in the

frame may be removed from the type.

After this it becomes necessary to bake the matrix in an oven for a

period of from four to six hours. When thoroughly baked the matrix

should be well brushed with a thin solution of shellac to impart a

smooth surface, and at the same time greater strength.

The matrix at this stage represents a yellowish-white block, in which

the lettering appears indented, but in proper place. The indentation

corresponds to the height of the letter upon the piece of type or the

marks upon a cut, while the remaining parts should be perfectly smooth

and free from holes. This matrix, obtained by a coating from the type

or cut, will serve as the mould for the final rubber stamp.

Pieces of caoutchouc are cut to the required size and laid upon the

matrix. If pressure is now exerted the soft mass will adjust itself to

fill all the spaces and reproduce the mould invertedly. Indentations

become raised matter, and the whole will show as did primarily the type.

But as the caoutchouc has a tendency to return to its previous shape it

becomes necessary to apply the process called vulcanizing. The object

is to impart hardness to the rubber, and to prevent its losing the form

into which it has been pressed.

To accomplish this the caoutchouc must be heated to a temperature of

from 120 to 130 deg. C. As the substance is ordinarily softened by heat

it is necessary to take some means to prevent it from sticking to the

mould. For the purpose soapstone will answer, and the mould, as well

as the piece of caoutchouc, should be well brushed or dusted with this

substance.

The duration of the heating varies with the thickness of the rubber

sheet. As a general thing from twenty to thirty minutes ought to be

sufficient. It may be mentioned here that special apparatus can be

purchased for pressing and vulcanizing. The proper vulcanization is of

the greatest importance in determining the durability of the stamp.

All that remains to complete the stamps is the mounting of the rubber

plate upon a suitable base or handle. This is best done either with

zinc or with a solution of caoutchouc in benzine. The surface of the

handle, as well as the back part of the stamps, having been covered

with such a solution and well pressed together, after drying the entire

stamp will be ready for use.--_Amer. Lith. and Printer._

Vermin Exterminators.

=Phosphorus or Luminous Paste.=

This is an unequaled preparation for destroying rats, mice,

cockroaches, etc. It attracts them by its luminous appearance and also

by its odor, which is very attractive to all vermin. They eat it with

great avidity.

Phosphorus 1/2 ounce.

Armenian bole 1 ounce.

Arsenic 1 ounce.

Oil of rhodium 1/2 drachm.

Tallow 10 ounces.

Rye flour 12 ounces.

Water 12 ounces.

Cook the flour and water to a thin paste; add the

phosphorus--previously melted in a little hot water--and mix; then add

the rest and stir until thoroughly mixed.

OTHER METHODS OF DESTROYING RATS.--(1) Mix some fine plaster of Paris

with an equal quantity of flour; put the mixture in the place infested

by the vermin and a vessel full of water beside it. The rats will

devour the mixture and then drink, whereupon the plaster, brought into

contact with the water, will become solid and like a stone in their

stomachs, which will cause their deaths. (2) When a house is infested

with rats which refuse to nibble at toasted cheese or the usual baits,

a few drops of oil of rhodium poured on or near the bait will attract

them while the most tempting baits fail. (3) Cover the floor near their

holes and place into their haunts a quantity of caustic potash. This

they lick with their tongues, which makes their mouths sore, and they

not only shun this locality, but appear to tell all the neighboring

rats about it. (4) Instead of using chloride of lime or potash a

quantity of tar can be smeared in and around their haunts and they will

disappear. Tar and rats do not agree. If a live rat be caught, smeared

with tar, and allowed to escape into the holes he will do the smearing

process thoroughly.

=Roach and Moth Exterminator.=

Thymol 2 parts.

Salicylic acid 2 parts.

Alcohol 200 parts.

Oil of lemon 1 part.

This new, simple, and cheap preparation makes no stain and kills the

vermin immediately. The odor is not unpleasant, and is quickly removed

by airing the room. Use by sprinkling, or moistening blotting paper

with the solution.

=Moth Powder.=

Lupulin 1 drachm.

Scotch snuff 2 ounces.

Camphor gum 1 ounce.

Black pepper 1 ounce.

Cedar sawdust 4 ounces.

Mix thoroughly and strew among the furs and woolens.

=Bedbug Poison.=

Corrosive sublimate (in powder) 2 ounces.

Alcohol 1 pint.

Apply with a feather or stick into their hiding places. Label poison,

and place all such compounds out of the reach of children.

=Poison Fly Paper.=

White arsenic 1 ounce.

Sugar 1/2 pound.

Concentrated lye 1/4 ounce.

Water 1 quart.

Dissolve the concentrated lye in the water, add the sugar and boil the

solution, meanwhile gradually adding the arsenic. While still warm dip

porous paper (cut into small squares) in the solution and dry them. For

use place in plates or saucers partly filled with water where the flies

can get at them.

=Sticky Fly Paper.=

Rosin 8 ounces.

Lard or cotton-seed oil 3 ounces.

Boil together, spread thinly on manilla paper, place another sheet on

top, and when wanted pull them apart and it is ready for use. This is

now usually preferred to the poison paper, as the flies are caught and

held and do not die and drop into food, etc.

=Mosquito and Fly Frightener.=

Petrolatum 1 ounce.

Paraffine 1/8 ounce.

Oil pennyroyal 1/3 ounce.

Oil of tar 2/3 ounce.

Carbolic acid 2/3 drachm.

Melt the solid ingredients together, and when partly cooled add the

other ingredients. This is an elegant preparation to rub on the hands

and face where flies, mosquitos, gnats, etc., are troublesome.

Inks.

Late improvements in the manufacture of inks are due to the discovery

and cheapening of substances which can be used in preparing them. While

good common writing inks are quite easily procured in the market, still

they can be manufactured much cheaper by the consumer; and then again

there are a variety of special purposes which require inks that are

not on sale, and formulas for making them are very valuable. In this

collection we give approved and tested formulas for everything in the

ink line.

=Fine Black Ink.=

[FROM LOGWOOD.]

A good black ink can be made by boiling 3 pounds of logwood with

sufficient water to leave a residue of 5 quarts. When cold add 3

drachms of yellow bichromate of potash and stir thoroughly. To prevent

thickening add a few drops of solution of mercury salt. It flows

freely from the pen. Its color at first is of a dark indigo-blue tint,

changing soon into a permanent black. A beautiful gloss may be given to

this or any other black ink by adding a strong solution of shellac and

borax.

=Fine Black Ink.=

[FROM ANILINE.]

Black aniline crystals (negrosine) 1-1/2 ounces.

Dextrine 1 ounce.

Corrosive sublimate 5 grains.

Water 2 quarts.

Dissolve the negrosine in a quart of hot water; dissolve the corrosive

sublimate and dextrine in the remaining quart, and pour all together.

This is a splendid ink, flows freely from the pen, and will keep well.

In making ink use care in buying the best anilines and other

ingredients. This is important.

=Fine Red Ink.=

Eosine aniline 100 grains.

Water 1 pint.

Simply dissolve the aniline in the water. No better bright, fiery red

ink can be made.

=Fine Violet Ink.=

Violet aniline 70 grains.

Alcohol 1/2 ounce.

Dextrine 1/2 ounce.

Hot water 1 pint.

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol and the dextrine in the hot water,

and mix them.

=Fine Blue Ink.=

Water blue aniline 1 drachm.

Dextrine 1/4 ounce.

Hot water 1 pint.

One-fourth of an ounce of Prussian blue may be used instead of the

water blue aniline.

=Fine Green Ink.=

Green aniline 1 drachm.

Dextrine 1/4 ounce.

Hot water 1 pint.

Aniline inks of any color can be made in a similar manner. Simply get

the desired color of aniline. Maroon ink may be made by mixing equal

quantities of black, blue, and red inks; yellow by adding 1-1/4 drachms

of picric acid to 1 pint of hot water.

=Copying Ink.=

Take 1 pint of the violet-black ink and add 1 ounce each of sugar and

gum Arabic. This is for what is called moist copying where a press is

used. For what is termed dry copying mix about 1/3 pint of glycerine

to a pint of any good black ink. The manuscript, if written on glazed

paper, will not dry for hours, and will yield one or two fair, neat,

dry copies by simple pressure of the hand. The writing should not be

excessively fine nor the strokes uneven or heavy. The copies and the

original are neater than when water is used.

=Gaffard’s Indestructible Ink.=

Lampblack 1 part.

Potash water glass 12 parts.

Aqua ammonia 1 part.

Distilled water 38 parts.

The potash water glass should be of the consistency of syrup.

=Hektograph Ink.=

(SEE PAGE 1.)

A good purple ink to use on the gelatine copying pad, or hektograph, is

prepared as follows:

Methyl violet 1 ounce.

Water 8 ounces.

Glycerine 1 ounce.

Alcohol 1/4 ounce.

Dissolve the methyl-violet in the water and add the glycerine. Gently

warm the solution for an hour, and after cooling add the alcohol.

When black hektograph ink is desired, instead of the methyl-violet use

double the amount of negrosine.

=White Ink.=

An excellent white ink, which can be used with a pen for writing on

colored cards or paper, may be made as follows:

Flake white 12 drachms.

Mucilage of gum Arabic 6 drachms.

If too thick add water; if too thin, more mucilage. Shake well while

using.

=Rubber Stamp Ink.=

Aniline (desired color) 1/2 ounce.

Glycerine 2 ounces.

=Ribbon Ink.=

FOR TYPE-WRITERS, DATING STAMPS, ETC.

Aniline 1/2 ounce.

Alcohol 4 ounces.

Glycerine 7 ounces.

Water 4 ounces.

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol and add the other ingredients.

=Marking Ink.=

FOR PACKAGES AND BOXES.

Extract of Logwood 8 ounces.

Bichromate of potash 1 ounce.

Hydrochloric acid 3/4 ounce.

Dextrine 4 ounces.

Water 1/2 gallon.

Boil the logwood with the water, add the acid and potash, and lastly

the dextrine.

=Indelible Ink.=

FOR MARKING LINEN, ETC.

Dissolve 5 parts of lunar caustic in 10 parts of spirit of sal

ammoniac. Add to the solution 7 parts of pure soda, 5 of gum Arabic,

and 12 of water.

=Ink for Writing on Metals.=

VALUABLE IN MARKING TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS.

Muriatic acid 1 ounce.

Nitric acid 1/2 ounce.

Cover the portion of metal you wish to write upon with melted

beeswax and allow it to cool. Write the inscription plainly with any

sharp-pointed instrument through the beeswax to the metal. Apply the

acids with a feather or rag, carefully filling each letter, and let it

remain from one to thirty minutes, according to the desired depth of

the lettering, after which wash off the beeswax and acids and rub over

with a little sweet oil to prevent further rust or tarnish.

=Ink Powders.=

As in the case of fluid inks there are many formulas for preparing ink

powders. The following are the best:

BLACK.--Nut-galls, 1 ounce; copperas, 1/2 ounce; gum Arabic, 7 ounces.

Add one clove to this quantity. Or, take negrosine, 1 ounce; dextrine,

3 ounces; mix.

BLUE.--Water blue aniline, 1 ounce; dextrine, 5 ounces. Or, soluble

Prussian blue, 1/2 ounce; dextrine, 1 ounce.

GREEN.--Aniline green, 44 parts; gelatine, 4 parts, and lunar caustic,

2 parts. Or, green aniline, 1 part; dextrine, 4 parts.

RED.--Eosine aniline, 1 ounce; dextrine, 1 ounce.

A tea-spoonful to a table-spoonful of the powder is dissolved in 1 pint

of water, requiring from 1/2 to 1 hour to make the solution.

=Disappearing Ink.=

Boil some nut-galls in aqua fortis, and add to the infusion some gum

Arabic and a little sulphuric acid. When written on paper this ink is

perfectly legible, but will disappear from the paper in a few days.

=Invisible Ink.=

Invisible inks are those which when first written are not visible, but

upon the application of heat or other means the characters are made to

appear distinctly. The following are decidedly the best preparations

for this purpose:

Oil of vitriol 1 fluid ounce.

Soft water 1 pint.

This makes a fluid which is perfectly invisible until heat is applied

by holding over a lamp or by placing in an oven, when it changes to a

permanent black. Write with a clean steel pen. All invisible inks will

show on glazed paper, therefore unglazed paper should be used.

Another singular invisible ink is made as follows: Oxide of cobalt,

1/2 ounce; muriatic acid, sufficient to dissolve it; water, 4 ounces;

mucilage of gum acacia, 1 drachm. Place in a stained bottle. Characters

written with this solution are invisible, but on the application of

heat they instantly appear in blue. On cooling they again become

invisible.

=Ink Erasing Fluid.=

Hydrochloric acid 1/8 ounce.

Water 1 pint.

Mix, bottle, and label No. 1.

Solution of chlorinated soda 2/3 pint.

Water 1 pint.

Mix, bottle, and label No. 2.

To erase ink dip the end of a penholder or pencil in No. 1 and apply to

the writing, and do the same with No. 2. Let remain a moment and blot

off with clean blotting-paper. If the characters are not erased repeat

as before.

Cements and Glue.

=Armenian Glue.=

The jewellers of Turkey, who are mostly Armenians, have a singular

method of ornamenting watch cases, etc., with diamonds and other

precious stones by simply gluing or cementing them on. The stone is

set in gold or silver and the lower part of the metal made flat, or to

correspond to that part to which it is to be fixed. It is then warmed

gently and the glue applied, which is so very strong that the parts

thus cemented never separate. For this glue, which will firmly unite

bits of glass and even polished steel, and which may of course be

applied to a vast variety of useful purposes, large number of formulas

have been published. The following is the original recipe. Dissolve

5 or 6 bits of gum mastic, each the size of a large pea, in as much

alcohol as will suffice to render them liquid; in another vessel

dissolve as much isinglass, previously softened a little in water

(though none of the water must be used), in good brandy or rum as will

make a two-ounce vial of very strong glue, adding two small bits of

galbanum or ammoniacum, which must be rubbed or ground until they are

dissolved. Then mix the whole with a sufficient heat. Keep the glue

in a vial closely corked, and when it is to be used set the vial in

boiling water. To avoid cracking the vial by exposure to such sudden

heat use a thin green glass vial and hold it in the steam for a few

seconds before immersing it in the hot water.--_Workshop Receipts._

=Glutina Cement.=

FOR GLASS, CHINA, WOOD, LEATHER, ETC.

Gelatine (Cooper’s or Cox’s) 3 ounces.

Acetic acid 2 ounces.

Carbolic acid 5 grains.

Oil of cloves 6 minims.

Water enough to make 1 pint.

Soak the gelatine in half a pint of water for four hours. Place in a

bottle and heat in a water bath; add the acids, dissolve, add the oil

of cloves and sufficient hot water to make a pint, and strain.

=To Cement Iron to Iron.=

Powdered cast-iron bore chips 60 parts.

Sal-ammoniac 2 parts.

Flowers of sulphur 1 part.

Mix, and stir the mixture into a stiff paste by adding water. Use while

fresh.

=Cementing Metal to Glass, Stone, Etc.=

For attaching metal plates, such as metal letters, etc., to flat sheets

of glass or windows, the following is excellent:

Copal varnish 15 parts.

Drying oil 5 parts.

Turpentine 3 parts.

Melt in a water bath, and add 10 parts of slaked lime. The cement

commonly used for fastening the tops on kerosene lamps is plaster of

Paris, which is porous, quickly penetrated by the kerosene, and readily

destroyed. A cement which does not have this defect is made by boiling

3 parts of resin and 1 of caustic soda in 5 of water. This composition

forms a soap, which mix with half its weight of plaster of Paris. Use

while fresh.

Pastes.

=Paste for Wall-paper, Etc.=

Dissolve 1/8 ounce of salicylic acid in half a gallon of warm water,

and when cold stir in as much flour as will bring it to the consistency

of cream, being particular to break up all the lumps; next place it on

the fire and allow it to cook gently for a few minutes, stirring well

meanwhile. This paste answers a variety of purposes. The salicylic

acid is to keep it from spoiling. The addition of 1 ounce of powdered

colocynth to the above amount will effectually banish all insects and

worms from the walls where the paper is pasted.

=Paste for Labeling on Tin.=

Ordinary pastes will not adhere labels to tin. The following is a

good one: Make a paste of gum tragacanth and add a little oil of

wintergreen. Apply by removing the film of grease from the tin by a

solution of caustic soda (10 parts of water to 1 of soda). Apply with a

rag to the spot on which you wish to affix the label.

=Paste to Fasten Cloth or Leather on Wooden Surfaces.=

Wheat flour 2-1/4 pounds.

Resin (powdered) 1/2 ounce.

Salicylic acid 1/8 ounce.

Rub together till a uniform paste is formed, transfer to a small kettle

over a fire, heat, and stir until the lumps are all dissolved and the

paste becomes stiff; transfer to another vessel and cover up. This

paste is applied in a thin layer to the surface of the table or desk to

be covered, the cloth or leather is then laid on and smoothed with a

roller. If leather is to be fastened on it must be first dampened.

Whitewash and Paints.

=Brilliant Stucco Whitewash.=

This is a time-tried whitewash, either for inside or outside work, and

has been known to retain its brilliancy for over thirty years. Nice

unslaked lime, 1/2 bushel; slake it with boiling water; cover it during

the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through a fine

sieve or strainer, and add to it 1/4 bushel of salt, previously well

dissolved in water; rice, 3 pounds--boiled to a thin paste and stirred

in boiling hot; Spanish whiting, 1/2 pound; best glue, 1 pound, which

has been previously dissolved by soaking it well, and then hanging it

over a slow fire in a small kettle immersed in a larger one filled with

water. Now add hot water, 5 gallons, to the mixture, stir well, and let

it stand a few days covered from the dirt. It should be put on hot. For

this purpose it is best to keep it in a kettle on a portable furnace,

or use other means more convenient. It answers as well as oil paint for

brick or stone, and is much cheaper.

Coloring matter, dissolved in alcohol, may be put in and made of any

shade you like. Spanish brown stirred in will make red-pink, more or

less deep, according to quantity. A delicate tinge of this is very

pretty for inside walls. Finely pulverized common clay, well mixed

with Spanish white, makes reddish stone color. Yellow ochre stirred

in makes yellow wash, but chrome goes further, and makes a color

generally esteemed prettier. In all these cases the darkness of the

shade is of course determined by the quantity of the coloring used. It

is difficult to make rules, because tastes differ. It would be best to

try experiments on a shingle, and let it dry. Green must not be mixed

with lime. The lime destroys the color, and the color has an effect on

the whitewash which makes it crack and peel. When inside walls have

been badly smoked and you wish to make them a clean, clear white, it is

well to squeeze indigo plentifully through a bag into the water you use

before it is stirred into the whole mixture; or blue vitriol pulverized

and dissolved in boiling water and put into whitewash gives a beautiful

blue tint. If a larger quantity than five gallons be wanted the same

proportions should be observed.

=Durable Paint for Tin Roofs.=

Linseed Oil 30 parts.

Oil of Turpentine 10 parts.

Colcothar 14 parts.

Red chalk 46 parts.

The coloring substances are pulverized and the mixture ground. Should

the mixture be too thick reduce it with equal parts of linseed oil and

oil of turpentine. Give the roof two coats, allowing the first to dry

before applying the second. See that the tin is free from rust, and the

coats should not be laid on too thick nor too thin.

=Paint for Roofs.=

Pulverized slate (argillaceous schist) 35 parts.

Pulverized mica slate (mica schist) 30 parts.

Pulverized rosin 35 parts.

Mix, and add one-half its volume of pure coal-tar and boil to a fluid

mass.

This paint gives a very durable and pliant covering, which does not

melt in the greatest heat of summer nor crack or break in the greatest

cold. It resists moisture, and a roof painted with it need not be gone

over again for four or five years.

=Paint for Blackboards.=

Common glue, 4 ounces; flour of emery, 3 ounces, and just lampblack

enough to give an inky color to the preparation. Dissolve the glue in

3/4 quart of warm water, put in the lampblack and emery, stir till

there are no lumps, then apply to the board with a woolen rag smoothly

rolled. Three coats should be given.

=Removing Smell of Paint.=

Place a vessel of lighted charcoal in the room and place on it two or

three handfuls of juniper berries; shut the windows, chimneys, and

doors and twenty-four hours afterward the room may be opened, when it

will be found that the sickly, unwholesome smell will be gone. Another

very simple method is to plunge a handful of hay into a pail of water

and let it stand in the newly-painted room.

=Paint Remover.=

To remove dry paint or hard putty make a saturated solution of caustic

of potassa with water. Apply to the paint with a swab. After a short

time it will be easily removed.

Staining Wood.

=Ebonizing Wood.=

Logwood chips 8 ounces.

Copperas 1/2 ounce.

Lampblack 1/2 ounce.

Water, sufficient.

Boil the logwood for 30 minutes in a gallon of water, and then add

the copperas and lampblack. Apply to the wood hot, giving a number of

coats. In varnishing ebonized wood a little drop black must be added to

the varnish or it will give a brown shade.

=Staining Wood Rose Color.=

A brilliant and uniform rose color can be imparted to wood and

vegetable ivory by chemical precipitation, as follows: The first bath

consists of 8 parts of potassium iodide to 100 parts of water. The

second bath is prepared by mixing 2-1/2 parts of corrosive sublimate

with 100 parts of water. Immerse the wood for a few hours in the first

bath, then place it in the second, in which it will acquire a beautiful

rose color. Varnish the wood after drying. Both baths can be repeatedly

used without renewing them.

=Imitation of Cedar.=

Mix 2 parts by weight of catechu, 1 part of caustic soda, and 100 of

water. The best wood to use is white wood, and after the article is

finished it is boiled in the stain for several hours, rinsed, and

dried. The length of time in boiling depends upon the depth of color

desired. This is a very deep and natural stain.

=Hard Coating for Wood.=

To coat wood with a substance as hard as stone apply the following

mixture while hot with a brush:

Lime 40 parts.

Resin 50 parts.

Linseed oil 4 parts.

Metal and Glass Secrets.

=Hardening Composition for Steel.=

Spermaceti oil 95 quarts.

Melted tallow 20 pounds.

Neat’s foot oil 4-1/2 quarts.

Pitch 1 pound.

Rosin 3 pounds.

Melt the rosin and pitch together, add the other ingredients, and heat

all in an iron vessel until all moisture is driven out, and the heated

mass ignites from a burning chip of wood held over it; the flame is at

once extinguished by a close-fitting lid.

In using the method for saw blades, they are first heated in a suitable

furnace and then placed vertically, teeth upward, in troughs filled

with the mixture. After sufficient cooling they are taken out and wiped

with a piece of leather so that only a slight film of fat remains. They

are then placed flat over a coal fire until the coating of fat ignites,

which may burn as freely as required for great hardness. Screws, or

other articles which require a less degree of hardness, are dipped into

the hot mixture and brought to a white heat.

=Composition to Toughen Steel.=

Resin 2 pounds.

Tallow 2 pounds.

Black pitch 1 pound.

Melt together and dip the steel in the mixture when hot.

=To Soften Iron or Steel.=

Anoint the article all over with tallow, temper it in a gentle charcoal

fire, and let it cool itself; or take a little clay, cover your iron

with it, and temper in a charcoal fire.

=Restoring Burnt Steel.=

It is not generally known that burnt steel may be almost

instantaneously restored by plunging it while hot in cold water and

hammering it with light strokes on the anvil, turning it so as to

hammer all over it, again dipping in the cold water, and repeating the

hammering process as before. Try again if you do not succeed the first

time.

=Welding Cast-Steel.=

Rock saltpeter 1/4 pound.

Oil vitriol 1/4 pound.

Water 1 gallon.

Dissolve the saltpeter in the vitriol and add it to the water. After

scarfing the steel get it hot; and quench in the preparation. Then

weld the same as a piece of iron, hammering it very quickly with light

blows. It answers the purpose much better than borax. Cork it in a

bottle and it will keep for years.

Another:

Borax 15 parts.

Sal-ammoniac 2 parts.

Cyanide of potassium 2 parts.

Dissolve all in water, and evaporate the water at a low temperature.

=To Drill Hardened Steel.=

Cover your steel with melted beeswax, and when cold make a hole in the

wax with a fine-pointed needle or other article the size of the hole

you require; put a drop of strong nitric acid upon it, and after an

hour rinse off and apply again. It will gradually eat through.

=To Drill Holes in Cast-Iron.=

By means of carbolic acid a hole 1/4 of an inch in diameter has been

drilled through 1/2 inch thickness of cast-iron with a carpenter’s

brace.

=To Solder Ferrules for Tool Handles.=

Take your ferrule, lap round the “joining” a small piece of brass wire,

then wet the ferrule, scatter on the joining ground borax, put it on

the end of a wire, and hold it in the fire till the brass fuses. It

will fill up the joining and form a perfect solder. It may afterward be

turned in the lathe.

=Soldering Without a Soldering Iron.=

Cut a piece of a tin-foil the size of the surface to be soldered, then

pass over the surface a solution of sal-ammoniac, place the tin-foil

between the pieces, and heat over a lamp or fire until the foil melts.

Instead of the solution of sal-ammoniac equal parts of water and

hydrochloric acid saturated with zinc can be used just as well.

=To Clean Gun-barrels from Lead.=

Pour in a little mercury, agitate it over the interior surface of the

barrel, and pour it out again. The mercury will amalgamate the lead and

remove it.

=To Resharpen Old Files.=

Saleratus 4 ounces.

Water 1 quart.

Dissolve the saleratus in the water. Boil the old files or rasps in

this solution for half an hour. Then take out, wash, and dry them. Next

stand them in a jar, filling it up with rain water and sulphuric acid

in the proportion of water, 1 quart; sulphuric acid, 4 ounces. Coarse

files should remain in the bath twelve hours and fine ones two or three

hours less. Take them out, wash them clean, dry quickly and thoroughly,

and rub them with sweet oil to prevent rusting.

Another method, though not so effectual, is to pour a few drops of

benzole upon the file and brush thoroughly with a scratch brush.

=Mending Tinware by Candle Heat.=

This is such a simple and cheap way of mending tinware that a person

with just a bit of ingenuity can do his own work in this line. Take

a vial about two-thirds full of muriatic acid and put into it little

bits of sheet zinc as long as the acid will dissolve them. Then put

in a crumb of sal-ammoniac and fill up with water and it is ready for

use. Wet the cork in the vial and with it wet the edges of the place

to be mended. Then put a piece of sheet zinc over the hole and hold a

lighted candle or spirit lamp under the place, which melts the solder

on the tin and causes the zinc to adhere without further trouble. Do

not forget to wet the zinc also with the solution.

=A Good Way to Sharpen Razors.=

Put the razor blade for half an hour in water to which has been added

one-twentieth of its weight of muriatic or sulphuric acid, and after a

few hours “set” it on a hone. The acid acts as a whetstone by corroding

the whole surface uniformly.

=Razor-Strop Paste.=

Moisten flour of emery with tallow or sweet oil.

=Cutting Ovals and Different Shapes on Glass.=

Scratch the glass around the shape you desire with the corner of a file

or graver; then having bent a piece of wire the same shape heat it

red-hot and lay it upon the scratch, and sink the glass into cold water

just deep enough for the water to come almost on a level with its upper

surface. It rarely fails to break perfectly true.

=Etching on Glass.=

Barium sulphate 3 ounces.

Ammonia fluoride 1 ounce.

Acid sulphuric, a sufficient quantity to decompose the ammonia fluoride

and making the mixture of a semi-fluid consistency. It must be prepared

in a leaden vessel. It can be used with a common pen, but must be kept

in bottles coated inside with paraffine, beeswax, or gutta-percha, with

rubber stoppers.

=To Drill and Ornament Glass.=

Any hard steel tool will cut glass with great facility when kept

freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill-bow may be

used, or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged

by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus

easily smoothed by a flat file. Flat window glass can readily be sawed

by a watch-spring saw by aid of this solution. In short, the most

brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as brass by the use of

cutting-tools kept constantly moist with camphorized oil of turpentine.

Plating Without a Battery.

=Silver-Plating Solution.=

Nitrate of silver (crystals) 1/4 ounce.

Cyanuret potassa 1/2 ounce.

Prepared Spanish whiting 1 ounce.

Pure rain water 2-1/2 ounces.

Mix all together in a glass vessel, and it is ready for use. Thoroughly

clean the article from all grease and dirt (see polishing preparations,

page 12), and apply with a soft rag or brush and polish with a chamois

skin.

=Silvering Powder.=

Chloride of silver 1 ounce.

Pearlash 3 ounces.

Common salt 1-1/2 ounces.

Whiting 1 ounce.

Powder and mix the articles thoroughly. This is excellent in silvering

brass and copper articles. Clean the surface of the article, as in the

preceding preparation, and apply the mixture by rubbing on with a cork

or piece of soft leather moistened with water and dipped in the powder.

Afterward the metal should be well washed in hot water and wiped dry.

=Gold-Plating Solution.=

Gold amalgam 1/2 ounce.

Nitro muriatic acid 1 ounce.

Alcohol 2 ounces.

Dissolve the amalgam in the acid and then add the alcohol. Thoroughly

clean the article to be plated and apply the solution with a soft

brush. Rinse and dry in sawdust or with tissue paper and polish with

chamois skin.

=Nickeling Iron Without Electricity.=

To a solution of chloride of zinc 5 or 10 per cent strong add enough

nickel salt to give the usual color of nickel bath. Cleanse the

articles and put them in the solution for from 1/2 to 1 hour.

Gold and Silver Imitations.

=Imitation Gold.=

An American has discovered a beautiful alloy, which has been most

successfully applied as a substitute for gold. It is composed of pure

copper, 100 parts; pure tin, 17 parts; magnesia, 6 parts; tartar of

commerce, 9 parts; sal-ammoniac, 3.6 parts, and quicklime, 1.6 parts.

The copper is first melted, then the lime, magnesia, sal-ammoniac, and

tartar are added, little at a time, and the whole is briskly stirred

for about half an hour, so as to mix thoroughly, after which the tin

is thrown on the surface in small grains, stirring until entirely

fused. The crucible is now covered and the fusion kept up for about

thirty-five minutes, when the dross is skimmed off, and the alloy found

ready for use. It is quite maleable and ductile, and may be drawn,

stamped, chased, beaten into powder, or into leaves, like gold leaf,

in all of which conditions it is not distinguishable from gold even by

good judges, except by its inferior weight.

=Imitation Silver.=

Combine by fusion 1 part pure copper, 24 parts block tin, 1-1/2 parts

pure antimony, 1/4 part pure bismuth, and 2 parts clear glass. The

glass may be omitted save in cases where it is an object to have the

metal sonorous.

Care of Teeth, Mouth, and Breath.

The teeth, through negligence and ignorance, receive less attention

among the majority of people than any other subject of a personal

character. The care of children’s teeth is very important, and if

parents do not post themselves in the matter frequent visits to a

skilled dentist should in their case be imperatively enforced, as well

as upon the older members of the family.

The first teeth of the infant are called the deciduous or _milk_ teeth,

and are twenty in number--ten in each jaw. These twenty teeth are as

follows: Eight incisors, four in each jaw--the four being composed of

two central and two lateral incisors--also four canine or cuspid teeth,

two in each jaw, and eight molars, four in each jaw--the molars being

called first and second molars, indicating their relative positions as

well as the periods of their eruption (commonly called cutting). It is

generally recognized among physicians that all diseases of children

are more difficult to treat during dentition than before or after. It

is well enough for parents to recognize this fact in administering

medicines to their children. Although the time of eruptions of the

teeth differ with different persons, yet the following table gives a

close approximation:

ERUPTION OF THE TEETH.

_Deciduous Teeth._ (The lower generally precede the upper by two or

three months.)

Central incisors 5 to 8 months

Lateral incisors 7 to 10 months

First molars 12 to 16 months

Canines 15 to 20 months

Second molars 20 to 36 months

_Permanent Teeth._

First molars 5 to 6 years

Central incisors 6 to 8 years

Lateral incisors 7 to 9 years

First bicuspids 9 to 10 years

Second bicuspids 10 to 11 years

Canines 11 to 12 years

Second molars 12 to 14 years

Third molars 17 to 21 years

It would be difficult indeed to condense in so short a space so much

practical information from a reliable source as has been given in the

following prize essay on the teeth, which was awarded by the Dental

Society of Philadelphia:

1st. Cleanse your teeth once, or oftener, every day. Rinse the mouth

after eating. Cleansing the teeth consists in removing every particle

of foreign matter from around the teeth and gums.

2d. To cleanse use well-made brushes, soft quill, or wood toothpicks,

an antacid styptic tooth wash, and precipitated chalk. If these means

fail apply to a regular dentist.

3d. Avoid eating hot food. Thoroughly masticate the food, and well

salivate it before swallowing.

4th. Parents ought to carefully attend to the child’s second dentition.

Prevail upon your children to visit, at frequent intervals, a careful

and skillful operator.

5th. Remember that four of the permanent double teeth come in at the

age of six years. They are very liable to decay early, are very large,

and should never be allowed to require extracting.

6th. Never allow any one to extract a tooth or dissuade you from having

them filled unless absolutely necessary.

7th. Carelessness and procrastination are responsible for a large

proportion of teeth that are lost.

The teeth were never intended to take the place of nut-crackers nor to

rival scissors in cutting thread. The teeth must be taken care of or

your health will suffer.

Remember, a clean tooth would not decay in a hundred years.

=Best Tooth Powder.=

Precipitated chalk 4 ounces.

Powdered cuttle-bone 2 ounces.

Powdered orris root 1-1/2 ounces.

Powdered borax 1/2 ounce.

Oil of cloves 5 minims.

Oil of wintergreen 2 fluid drachms.

Mix the powder thoroughly, and with a small portion add the oils and

mix them until in the form of a moist powder. Then add the rest of the

mixed powders gradually until all are evenly distributed throughout. A

solution of carmine can be added in with the oils, which will color it

as desired.

Some prefer a preparation in the form of a paste, as follows:

=Cherry Tooth Paste.=

Precipitated chalk 4 ounces.

Powdered areca nut 1 ounce.

Powdered quillaya bark (or soap root) 1/2 ounce.

Powdered cuttle-bone 1 ounce.

Powdered borax 1/2 ounce.

Powdered orris root 4 ounces.

Tincture of myrrh 1/2 ounce.

Oils of nutmeg, cloves, and bitter almonds,

each 15 minims.

Oil of rose 5 minims.

Honey, glycerine, and mucilage acacia equal quantities of each

sufficient to make into a paste of the desired consistence. First mix

the powders and color with carmine, and then add the other ingredients

and thoroughly mix.

Mouth washes are a valuable addition to the toilet as they assist to

harden and heal the gums, cleanse the mouth and purify the breath.

=Antiseptic Tooth Wash.=

Salicylic acid 12 parts.

Alcohol (95 per cent) 315 parts.

Distilled water 60 parts.

Oil of wintergreen 15 parts.

Essence of orange flowers 15 parts.

Color with tincture of cochineal. A few drops of carbolic acid may be

added to the above in the case of decayed teeth and foul breath.

When the breath is very offensive the following should be taken in

addition to rinsing the mouth with the mouth wash:

=Solution for the Breath.=

Solution chloride soda 1 ounce.

Liquor potassa 1 ounce.

Phosphate soda 1/2 ounce.

Water 8 ounces.

Mix and take one-half tea-spoonful in water after each meal.

When the services of a dentist are not at hand and the teeth are badly

decayed and aching, the following mouth wash is recommended. It is used

by holding a tea-spoonful in the mouth as long as possible and spitting

out:

Spanish camomile root 4-1/2 drachms.

Sal-ammoniac 2-1/4 drachms.

Vinegar and lavender water, each 2-1/2 fluid ounces.

Cut the camomile in pieces and rub fine with the sal-ammoniac; add the

lavender water and vinegar by placing all in a glass flask and let it

digest for twelve hours and filter.

The following preparation is one of the best for relieving toothache

until a dentist can be consulted:

=Toothache Drops.=

Chloral hydrate 1 drachm.

Camphor 1 drachm.

Morphia sulphate 2 drachms.

Oil peppermint 2 drachms.

Rub the solids in a mortar until they liquefy, then add the oil of

peppermint. Apply on cotton.

Removal of Freckles, Moles, Etc.

The following practical treatise on this much-abused subject is copied

from the _B. & C. Druggist_, and although originally written in the

interests of druggists it is of more value to persons affected with

these blemishes; hence we reproduce the essay in its entirety with the

formulas stripped of their technical terms and phrases:

At this time of the year there are few questions which are more

frequently addressed to the “family chemist,” and fewer still to which

he ordinarily gives so unsatisfactory a reply, as, “What shall I do to

cure my freckles?”

Knowing as we do how greatly the popularity--_i. e._, the business

prosperity--of the majority of our friends depends upon the votes and

interest of their lady customers, we have been at some pains to lay

before them such an amount of practical information upon the above

subject as will enable them to retain the good will and material

gratitude of their fair interrogators on the one hand, and to put a

little extra profit in their own pockets on the other.

We do not propose to convert these pages into an elaborate treatise

upon the skin; but for the benefit of those who are only just

commencing business it will, perhaps, be as well to make a few

observations which our more experienced friends may consider of the

“leather and prunella” order. In the first place it will be generally

admitted that upon the subject of our present notes there is no

published information of a practical and reliable character, and that

medical writers and practitioners either shun the question altogether

or approach it in a perfunctory manner, and leave it very much where

they found it. For our present purpose the cutaneous discoloration

commonly designated by the term “freckles” may be considered under two

heads--the so-called “summer” or temporary variety (_ephelis_), and

the permanent kind (_lentigo_). Both are commonly stated to be simply

morbid alterations of the skin-pigment, and to be situated solely

in the _rete mucosum_, but this is not absolutely true, inasmuch as

_ephelis_, properly so called, is generally due to a darkening of the

under surface of the epidermis either in small ovoid patches (“summer

freckles”) or extended over a large surface (“tan” or “sunburn”),

while with _lentigo_ the brownish discolorations are at a greater

depth, and remain _in situ_ after the covering epidermis has been

completely removed. Strong sunshine, or any powerfully actinic light,

and radiant heat from any source are apt to produce the first named,

and to enhance the latter form of the skin’s chromatogenous function,

the manifestations of which vary greatly according to individual

idiosyncrasies.

Similarly the treatment which answers best for some persons is not so

efficacious in other cases, but the old, old adage that “prevention is

better than cure” applies here with considerable force, and as regards

the _rationale_ of remedial applications, it may be said in general

terms that the application, in the right place, of active reducing,

or deoxidizing, agents is as a rule successful in removing _ephelis_

altogether, and in greatly toning down the shade of _lentigo_.

Commencing with the mildest form we will give a good formula for a

SUNBURN LOTION

Citric acid 1 drachm.

Sulphate of iron (pure) 18 grains.

Elder-flower water 3 ounces.

Camphor, sufficient quantity.

The sulphate of iron must be in clear green crystals, unless the

“granulated” form, which is preferable, be available, and in either

case the salt should be fresh and free from oxidized portions, or

“rustiness;” it should be dissolved in half the elder-flower water (all

of which is better, if not quite recently distilled, for being quickly

raised to the boiling point and cooled out of contact of air before

use), the citric acid being also in solution in the other half, and the

two fluids mixed, filtered if necessary, and bottled immediately, a

lump of camphor about the size of small peppercorn to be added to the

contents of each bottle.

WASH FOR THE SKIN.

Hydokinine 48 grains.

Glacial phosphoric acid 30 grains.

Glycerine 2 drachms.

Distilled water 6 ounces.

Mix.

The two lotions are stated to give excellent results, especially the

latter. They are to be applied to the skin of the face, etc., in the

usual way, at least twice in the course of twenty-four hours, after it

has been washed and dried carefully. If the skin be of the nature known

as “greasy,” a preliminary wash with tepid water containing a few drops

of stronger water of ammonia is advisable.

ALBADERMINE.

Under this empirical title a process of removing “tan” and the milder

variety of “freckles,” a foreign surgeon has devised the following:

SOLUTION A.

Iodide potassa 2 drachms.

Pure iodine 6 grains.

Glycerine 3 drachms.

Infusion of rose leaves 4 ounces.

Dissolve the iodide of potassium in a small quantity of the infusion

and a drachm of the glycerine; with this fluid moisten the iodine in

a glass mortar and rub it down, gradually adding more liquid until

complete solution has been obtained; then stir in the remainder of the

ingredients, and bottle the mixture.

SOLUTION B.

Hyposulphate of soda 1-1/2 ounces.

Rose water 1 pint.

Dissolve and filter.

With a small camel’s hair pencil or piece of fine sponge apply a

little of “Albadermine A” to the tanned or freckled surface, until a

slight but tolerably uniform brownish-yellow skin has been produced. At

the expiration of fifteen or twenty minutes moisten a piece of cambric,

lint, or soft rag with “B” and lay it upon the affected part, removing,

squeezing away the liquid, soaking it afresh, and again applying until

the iodine stain has disappeared. Repeat the entire process thrice

daily, but diminish the frequency of the application if tenderness be

produced. In the course of from three or four days to as many weeks the

freckles will either have disappeared entirely or their intensity will

be very greatly diminished. “Summer freckles” yield very speedily to

this treatment.

ANTI-FRECKLE LOTION.

Corrosive sublimate 12 grains.

Hydrochloric acid (pure) 3 drachms.

Kernels of bitter almonds 1-1/2 ounces.

Glycerine 1 ounce.

Tincture benzoin 2 drachms.

Orange-flower water, sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in three ounces of the orange-flower

water, add the hydrochloric acid, and set aside. Blanch the bitter

almonds and bruise them in a Wedgwood mortar, adding thereto the

glycerine and using the pestle vigorously; a smooth paste is thus

obtained. Then add gradually about nine ounces of the orange-flower

water, stirring constantly, continuing this operation until a

fine, creamy emulsion is the result. Subject this to violent

agitation--preferably with the aid of a mechanical egg whisk--and

allow the tincture of benzoin to fall into it the while drop by drop.

Then add the mercurial solution, filter, and make up the whole to the

measure of one imperial pint (20 ounces) with more orange-flower water.

This preparation is recommended to us by an eminent dermatologist as

being invariably efficacious in the treatment of _ephelis_, and always

greatly ameliorating _lentigo_, even if it does not entirely decolorize

the patches in the latter case. A general whitening of the skin is

produced by this lotion without any irritation. It is as well, however,

not to apply it to any abraded surfaces. It has been found far superior

in practice to a preparation--which it somewhat resembles--sold at a

high price in Paris under the name of _Lait Antiphelique_.

BISMUTH OINTMENT FOR FRECKLES.

Subnitrate of bismuth 3 drachms.

Simple ointment 2 ounces.

Apply to the face, etc., at night, and remove in the morning with a

little cold cream previous to washing. This is from a private American

source.

COPPER OLEATE FOR FRECKLES, ETC.

This is a much more effective and reliable ointment for the purpose

than the preceding, which is really only suited for the milder form of

sunburn, while the oleate of copper will remove the more persistent and

obstinate _lentigo_. It is thus prepared:

Oleate of copper 1 ounce.

Petrolatum 3 ounces.

Mix.

This is to be applied in the same manner as the preceding, washing the

surface of the skin, however (after the cold cream), about every third

morning, with a little weak ammonia water, in order to prevent any

inadvertent accumulation of copper.

Several of the preceding are well adapted for the treatment of

very dark-colored and deep-seated examples of _lentigo_, of which,

however, some seem capable of resisting all treatment of this kind.

The only method of reaching these is by the complete removal of the

epidermis of the part and of the upper portion of the _cutis_ also. A

Turkish bath is often useful as a preliminary for an effort of this

kind, which, of course, needs the application of some disorganizing

substance. Permanganate of potassium answers in this direction, but

we find that a moderately strong solution of Mr. H. B. Condy’s new

disinfectant--permanganate of aluminum--is undoubtedly the best of the

two for this purpose. It should be applied several times until the skin

has acquired a uniform brown tint. At from one to twelve hours after

this is noticed it should be removed by a warm and dilute solution

(about 8 or 10 per cent) of hydrochloric acid, to which a little

glycerine may be added to prevent too rapid drying. Still better,

however, is nitric acid, which if “painted” upon a colored spot of this

kind first renders it more distinctly yellow, then orange-brown. In a

day or two this becomes a deeper brown, and more or less disorganized,

cracking, either round the edge, or right across the center, so that it

can be readily peeled away. Freckles removed in this manner seldom crop

up again, in that particular place, at all events. In this connection

it is a somewhat curious fact that whereas _dilute_ nitric acid often

caused soreness and irritation when applied in this manner, a stronger

acid does nothing of the kind, but quietly and quickly “deadens”

that portion of the outer covering it has been applied to, so that

in a day or two it can be removed quite painlessly. What is known as

“French nitric acid,” of from 1.330 to 1.350 specific gravity, is very

appropriate for this purpose.

COCAINE AND NITRIC ACID FOR MOLES, ETC.