THINGS CURIOUS AND USEFUL.
TO GET CLEAR OF MOSQUITOES.
Take of gum camphor a piece about one-third the size of an egg and
evaporate it over a lamp or candle, taking care that it does not
ignite. The smoke will soon fill the room and expel the mosquitoes.
HOW TO GET RID OF BEDBUGS.
Bedbugs cannot stand hot alum water; indeed, alum seems to be death to
them in any form. Take two pounds of alum, reduce it to a powder--the
finer the better--and dissolve it in about four quarts of boiling
water. Keep the water hot till the alum is all dissolved; then apply
it hot to every joint, crevice and place about the bedstead, floor,
skirting or washboard around the room, and every place where the bugs
are likely to congregate, by means of a brush. A common syringe is an
excellent thing to use in applying it to the bedstead. Apply the water
as hot as you can. Apply it freely, and you will hardly be troubled
any more that season with bugs. Whitewash the ceiling with plenty of
dissolved alum in the wash, and there will be an end to their dropping
down from thence on to your bed.
TO OBTAIN FRESH-BLOWN FLOWERS IN WINTER.
Choose some of the most perfect buds of the flowers you would
preserve, such as are latest in blowing and ready to open. Cut them
off with a pair off scissors, leaving to each, if possible, apiece of
stem about three inches long. Cover the end of the stem immediately
with sealing wax, and when the buds are a little shrunk and wrinkled
wrap up each of them separately in a piece of paper perfectly clean
and dry and lock them up in a dry box or drawer, and they will keep
without corrupting.
In winter or at any time when you would have the flowers blow, take
the buds at night and cut off the end of the stem sealed with wax and
put the buds in water wherein a little nitre or salt has been
diffused, and the next day you will have the pleasure of seeing the
buds opening and expanding themselves and the flowers display their
most lively colors and breathe their agreeable odors.
TO INCREASE THE LAYING OF EGGS IN HENS.
Pulverized Cayenne pepper, half an ounce, to be given to one dozen
hens, mixed with their food every second day.
THE NEW AND BEAUTIFUL ART OF TRANSFERRING ON TO GLASS.
Colored or plain engravings, photographs, lithographs, water colors,
oil colors, crayons, steel plates, newspaper cuts, mezzotints, pencil,
writing, show cards, labels, or, in fact, anything.
DIRECTIONS.
Take glass that is perfectly clear (window glass will answer), clean
it thoroughly; then varnish it, taking care to have it perfectly
smooth; place it where it will be perfectly free from dust; let it
stand over night, then take your engraving, lay it in clear water
until it is wet through (say ten or fifteen minutes), then lay it upon
a newspaper, that the moisture may dry from the surface and still keep
the other side damp. Immediately varnish your glass the second time,
then place your engraving upon it, pressing it down firmly, so as to
exclude every particle of air; next, rub the paper from the back until
it is of uniform thickness, so thin that you can see through it, then
varnish it the third time and let it dry.
These transferred pictures make lovely ornaments for table, bracket,
mantel, etc.
MATERIALS FOR MAKING THE VARNISH.
Take two ounces balsam of fir to one ounce spirits of turpentine.
Apply with a camel's-hair brush.
TO PREVENT HORSES BEING TEASED BY FLIES.
Boil three handfuls of walnut leaves in three quarts of water; sponge
the horse (before going out of the stable) between and upon the ears,
neck, and flank.
TO PREVENT FLIES LIGHTING ON WINDOWS,
PICTURES, MIRRORS, ETC.
No fly will light on a window or other article which has been washed
in water in which garlic has been boiled.
TO MAKE LEATHER WEAR FOREVER.
Let it receive as much neat's-foot oil as it will take. If regularly
repeated every three months, leather so treated seems to be impervious
to outward action and will last for years.
TO RENDER PAPER FIREPROOF.
Whether the paper be plain, written, printed, or even marbled,
stained, or painted for paper hangings, dip it in a strong solution of
alum water and thoroughly dry it. In this state it will be fireproof.
TO PREPARE WATERPROOF BOOTS.
Take three ounces of spermaceti and melt it in an earthen pot over a
slow fire; add thereto six drains of India rubber cut into slices, and
after it dissolves add of tallow, eight ounces; amber varnish, four
ounces. Mix it, and it will be ready for use immediately.
TO CURE DRUNKENNESS.
Keep the patient for one week freely dosed with figwort. This is a
sure cure.
TO CURE LAZINESS.
Give the patient an occasional dose of ferri. The sulphate of ferri is
the best. It acts on the liver and vital organs, and is a sure cure
for laziness.
TO EXTRACT THE ESSENTIAL OIL FROM ANY FLOWER.
Take any flower you like, which stratify with common salt in a clean
glazed pot; when filled to the top, cover it well and carry it to the
cellar; forty days afterwards put a crape over a pan and empty the
whole to strain the essence from the flowers by pressure. Bottle this
essence, and expose it for four or five weeks in the sun and dew of
the evening to purify. One single drop of this essence is enough to
scent a whole quart of water.
TO TAKE LEAF PHOTOGRAPHS.
A very pretty amusement, especially for those who have just completed
the study of botany, is the taking of leaf photographs. One very
simple process is this: At any druggist's get an ounce of bichromate
of potassium. Put this into a pint bottle of water. When the solution
becomes saturated--that is, the water has dissolved as much as it
will--pour off some of the clear liquid into a shallow dish; on this
float a piece of ordinary writing paper till it is thoroughly
moistened, and let it dry in the dark. It should be of a bright yellow
color. On this put the leaf, under it a piece of black soft cloth and
several sheets of newspaper. Put these between two pieces of glass
(all the pieces should be of the same size) and with spring
clothespins fasten them together. Expose to a bright sun, placing the
leaf so that the rays will fall upon it as nearly perpendicular as
possible. In a few moments it will begin to turn brown; but it
requires from half an hour to several hours to produce a perfect
print. When it has become dark enough, take it from the frame and put
it into clear water, which must be changed every few minutes until the
yellow part becomes white. Sometimes the veinings will be quite
distinct. By following these directions it is scarcely possible to
fail, and a little practice will make perfect.
TO MAKE LAMP WICKS INDESTRUCTIBLE.
Steep common wicks in a concentrated aqueous solution of tungstate of
soda, and then dry thoroughly in an oven.
TO MAKE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PERFUMES.
BALM OF A THOUSAND FLOWERS.
Deodorized alcohol, one pint; nice white bar soap, four ounces. Shave
the soap when put in; stand in a warm place till dissolved; then add
oil of citronella, one dram, and oils of neroli and rosemary, of each
one-half dram.
FRANGAPANNI.
Spirits, one gallon; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, one
ounce: Macerate for four days, frequently shaking; then add water, one
gallon; orange flower water, one pint; essence of vanilla, two ounces.
Mix.
JOCKEY CLUB.
Spirits of wine, five gallons; orange flower water, one gallon; balsam
of Peru, four ounces; essence of bergamot, eight ounces; essence of
musk, eight ounces; essence of cloves, four ounces; essence of neroli,
two ounces. Mix.
LADY'S OWN.
Spirits of wine, one gallon; otto of roses, twenty drops; essence of
thyme, one-half ounce; essence of neroli, one-quarter ounce; essence
of vanilla, one-half ounce; essence of bergamot, one-quarter ounce;
orange flower water, six ounces. Mix.
UPPER TEN.
Spirits of wine, four quarts; essence of cedrate, two drams; essence
violets, one-quarter ounce; essence of neroli, one-half ounce; otto of
roses, twenty drops; orange flower essence, one ounce; oil of
rosemary, thirty drops; oils of bergamot and neroli, each one-half
ounce. Mix.
If you wish to make a small quantity of any of the above perfumes, use
small quantities of the ingredients, preserving the same proportions.
TO WRITE SECRET LETTERS.
Put five cents' worth of citrate of potassa in an ounce vial of clear
cold water. This forms an invisible fluid. Let it dissolve, and you
can use on paper of any color. Use goose quill in writing. When you
wish the writing to become visible, hold it to a red-hot stove.
TO PRESERVE FLOWERS SO THAT THEIR
BEAUTY WILL LAST FOR YEARS.
Make a strong solution of gum arabic, two ounces of the gum to one
pint of boiling water; shake until dissolved; then take your flowers
and immerse in the solution, taking care that every part is well wet
with the solution. When dry, repeat the operation. Do this three
times. Flowers treated thus will last for years.