Chapter XVI: Part 16

How to Caseharden Large Pieces of Steel.--A box of cast or wrought iron should be provided large enough to hold one or two of the pieces, with sufficient room all around to pack well with the casehardening materials, which may be leather scrap, hoof shavings, or horn shavings, slightly burned and pulverized, which may be mixed with an equal quantity of pulverized charcoal. Pack the pieces to be casehardened in the iron box so as not to touch each other or the box. Put an iron cover on the box and lute with clay. Heat gradually in a furnace to a full red, keep at an even temperature for from 2 to 4 hours, raise the heat to a cherry red during the last hour, then remove the cover and take out the pieces and plunge endwise vertically in water at shop temperature; 2 per cent. of hydrochloric acid in the water improves its tempering qualities and gives the metal an even gray color.

A Good and Cheap Preparation to Put on Friction Matches.--The igniting composition varies with different makers. The following recipes may be taken as fairly representative, the first being the best: 1. Phosphorus by weight, 1/2 part; potassium chlorate, 4 parts; glue, 2 parts; whiting, 1 part; finely powdered glass, 4 parts; water, 11 parts. 2. Phosphorus by weight, 2 parts; potassium chlorate, 5 parts; glue, 3 parts; red lead, 1-1/2 parts; water, 12 parts. 3. A German mixture for matches. Potassium chlorate, 7.8 parts; lead hyposulphite, 2.6 parts; gum arabic, 1 part.

To Find How Much Tin Vessels Will Hold.--For the contents of cylinders: Square the diameter, and multiply the product by 0.7854. Again, multiply by the height (all in inches). Divide the product by 231 for gallons. For the frustum of a cone: Add together the squares of the diameters of large and small ends; to this add the product of the diameter of the two ends. Multiply this sum by 0.7854. Multiply this product by the height (all in inches). Then divide by 231 for the number of gallons.

A Useful Recipe.--For stopping the joints between slates or shingles, etc., and chimneys, doors, windows, etc., a mixture of stiff white-lead paint, with sand enough to prevent it from running, is very good, especially if protected by a covering of strips of lead or copper, tin, etc., nailed to the mortar joints of the chimneys, after being bent so as to enter said joints, which should be scraped out for an inch in depth, and afterward refilled. Mortar protected in the same way, or even unprotected, is often used for the purpose, but it is not equal to the paint and sand. Mortar a few days old (to allow refractory particles of lime to slack), mixed with blacksmith's cinders and molasses, is much used for this purpose, and becomes very hard and effective.

Test for Hard or Soft Water.--Dissolve a small quantity of good soap in alcohol. Let a few drops fall into a glass of water. If it turns milky, it is hard; if not, it is soft.

Test for Earthy Matters or Alkali in Water.--Take litmus paper dipped in vinegar, and if, on immersion, the paper returns to its true shade, the water does not contain earthy matter or alkali. If a few drops of syrup be added to a water containing an earthy matter, it will turn green.

Test for Carbonic Acid in Water.--Take equal parts of water and clear lime water. If combined or free carbonic acid is present, a precipitate is seen, to which, if a few drops of muriatic acid be added, an effervescence commences.

Test for Magnesia in Water.--Boil the water to a twentieth part of its weight, and then drop a few grains of neutral carbonate of ammonia into a glass of it, and a few drops of phosphate of soda. If magnesia be present, it will fall to the bottom.

Test for Iron in Water.--1. Boil a little nutgall and add to the water. If it turns gray or slate, black iron is present. 2. Dissolve a little prussiate of potash, and, if iron is present, it will turn blue.

Test for Lime in Water.--Into a glass of water put two drops of oxalic acid and blow upon it. If it gets milky, lime is present.

Test for Acid in Water.--Take a piece of litmus paper. If it turns red, there must be acid. If it precipitates on adding lime water, it is carbonic acid. If a blue sugar paper is turned red, it is a mineral acid.

Value of Manufactured Steel.--A pound of very fine steel wire to make watch springs of, is worth about $4; this will make 17,000 springs, worth $7,000.

Horses in Norway have a very sensible way of taking their food, which perhaps might be beneficially followed here. They have a bucket of water put down beside their allowance of hay. It is interesting to see with what relish they take a sip of the one and a mouthful of the other alternately, sometimes only moistening their mouths, as a rational being would do while eating a dinner of such dry food. A broken-winded horse is scarcely ever seen in Norway, and the question is if the mode of feeding has not something to do with the preservation of the animal's respiratory organs.

The Process of Fastening Rubber Rolls on Clothes Wringer.--1. Clean shaft thoroughly between the shoulders or washers, where the rubber goes on, 2. Give the shaft a coat of copal varnish, between the shoulders, and let it dry. 3. Give shaft coat of varnish and wind shaft tightly as possible with five-ply jute twine at once, while varnish is green, and let it dry for about six hours. 4. Give shaft over the twine a coat of rubber cement, and let it dry for about six hours. 5. Give shaft over the twine a second coat of rubber cement, and let it dry for about six hours. 6. Remove washer on the short end of shaft, also the cogwheel if the shaft has cogs on both ends. 7. See that the rubber rolls are always longer than the space between the washers where the rubber goes on, as they shrink or take up a little in putting on the shaft. 8. Clean out the hole or inside of roll with benzine, using a small brush or swab. 9. Put the thimble or pointer on the end of shaft that the washer has been removed from, and give shaft over the twine and thimble another coat of cement, and stand same upright in a vise. 10. Give the inside or hole of roll a coat of cement with a small rod or stick. 11. Pull or force the roll on the shaft as quickly as possible with a jerk, then rivet the washer on with a cold chisel. 12. Let roll stand and get dry for two or three days before using same. Cement for use should be so thick that it will run freely; if it gets too thick, thin it with benzine or naphtha.

How to Make Effervescing Solution of Citrate of Magnesia.--Dissolve citric acid 400 grains in water 2,000 grains, add carbonate of magnesia 200 grains; stir until dissolved. Filter into a 12-ounce bottle containing syrup of citric acid 1,200 grains. Add boiled and filtered water to fill bottle, drop in bicarbonate of potash in crystals 30 grains and immediately cork. Shake until bicarbonate of potash is dissolved. The syrup of citric acid is made from citric acid 8 parts, water 8 parts, spirit of lemon 4 parts, syrup 980 parts.

A Receipt for Making the Black Cement that is Used for Filling Letters after They are Cut out in Brass.--Mix asphaltum, brown japan and lampblack into a putty-like mass, fill in the spaces, and finally clean the edges with turpentine.

Useful Workshop Hints.--Clean and oil leather belts without taking them off their pulleys. If taken off they will shrink. Then a piece must be put into them and removed again after the belt has run a few days. The decay of stone, either in buildings or monuments, may be arrested by heating and treating with paraffin mixed with a little creosote. A common "paint burner" may be used to heat the stone. Set an engine upon three or four movable points, as upon three cannon balls. Connect with steam, and exhaust by means of rubber hose. If the engine will run up to speed without moving itself back and forth, then that engine will run a long time with little repair. If it shakes itself around the room, then buy another engine. Safely moving a tall mill chimney has been accomplished several times. Chimneys which have been caused to lean slightly through settling of the foundation may be straightened up again by sawing out the mortar between courses of brick at the base. A chimney 100 ft. high and 12 ft. square at the base will be varied over 8 in. at the top by the removal of 1 in. at the base. When you begin to fix up the mill for cold weather, don't forget to put a steam trap in each and every steam pipe which can be opened into the atmosphere for heating purposes. For leading steam joints, mix the red lead or litharge with common commercial glycerine, instead of linseed oil. Put a little carbolic acid in your glue or paste pot. It will keep the contents sweet for a long time. Look well to the bearings of your shafting engine and machines. Sometimes 25, 30, 40 and even 50 per cent. of your power is consumed through lack of good oil. When you buy a water wheel, be sure to buy one small enough to run at full gate while the stream is low during the summer months. If you want more power than the small wheel will give, then put in two or more wheels of various sizes. When it becomes necessary to trim a piece of rubber, it will be found that the knife will cut much more readily if dipped in water. When forging a chisel or other cutting tool, never upset the end of the tool. If necessary cut it off, but don't try to force it back into a good cutting edge. In tubular boilers the handholes should be often opened, and all collections removed from over the fire. When boilers are fed in front, and are blown off through the same pipe, the collection of mud or sediment in the rear end should be often removed. Nearly all smoke may be consumed without special apparatus, by attending with a little common sense to a few simple rules. Suppose we have a battery of boilers, and "soft coal" is the fuel. Go to the first boiler, shut the damper nearly up, and fire up one-half of the furnace, close the door, open damper, and go to the next boiler and repeat the firing. By this method nearly, if not quite, all the smoke will be consumed. A coiled spring inserted between engine and machinery is highly beneficial where extreme regularity of power is required. It is well known that a steam engine, in order to govern itself, must run too fast and too slow in order to close or open its valves; hence an irregularity of power is unavoidable.

A "Paste" Metal Polish for Cleaning and Polishing Brass.--Oxalic acid 1 part, iron peroxide 15 parts, powdered rottenstone 20 parts, palm oil 60 parts, petrolatum 4 parts. See that solids are thoroughly pulverized and sifted, then add and thoroughly incorporate oil and petrolatum.

Cough Candy or Troches.--Tincture of squills 2 ounces, camphorated tincture of opium and tincture of tolu of each 1/4 ounce, wine of ipecac 1/2 ounce, oil of gautheria 4 drops, sassafras 3 drops, and of anise seed oil 2 drops. The above mixture is to be put into 5 pounds of candy which is just ready to take from the fire; continue the boiling a little longer, so as to form into sticks.

How to Oxidize Silver.--For this purpose a pint of sulphide of potassium, made by intimately mixing and heating together 2 parts of thoroughly dried potash and 1 part of sulphur powder, is used. Dissolve 2 to 3 drachms of this compound in 1-3/4 pints of water, and bring the liquid to a temperature of from 155 degrees to 175 degrees Fah., when it is ready for use. Silver objects, previously freed from dust and grease with soda lye and thorough rinsing in water, plunged into this bath are instantly covered with an iridescent film of silver sulphide, which in a few seconds more becomes blue black. The objects are then removed, rinsed off in plenty of fresh water, scratch brushed, and if necessary polished.

Useful Household Recipes.--To purify water in glass vessels and aquariums, it is recommended to add to every 100 grammes of water four drops of a solution of one gramme of salicylic acid in 300 grammes of water. The _Norsk Fiskeritidende_, published at Bergen, Norway, says that thereby the water may be kept fresh for three months without being renewed. A cement recommended as something which can hardly be picked to pieces is made as follows:--Mix equal parts of lime and brown sugar with water, and be sure the lime is thoroughly air-slacked. This mortar is equal to Portland cement, and is of extraordinary strength. For a few weeks' preservation of organic objects in their original form, dimensions and color, Professor Grawitz recommends a mixture composed of two and a half ounces of chloride of sodium, two and three-quarters drachms of saltpetre, and one pint of water, to which is to be added three per cent. of boric acid. To varnish chromos, take equal quantities of linseed oil and oil of turpentine; thicken by exposure to the sun and air until it becomes resinous and half evaporated; then add a portion of melted beeswax. Varnishing pictures should always be performed in fair weather, and out of any current of cold or damp air. A fireproof whitewash can be readily made by adding one part silicate of soda (or potash) to every five parts of whitewash. The addition of a solution of alum to whitewash is recommended as a means to prevent the rubbing off of the wash. A coating of a good glue size made by dissolving half a pound of glue in a gallon of water is employed when the wall is to be papered. The most nourishing steam bath that can be applied to a person who is unable to sweat and can take but little food in the stomach:--Produce the sweating by burning alcohol under a chair in which the person sits, with blanket covering to hold the heat. Use caution and but little alcohol. Fire it in a shallow iron pan or old saucer.

Own Your Own Homes.--Every man, whether he is a working man in the common acceptation of the word or not, feels a deep interest in the management of the affairs of the city, county and State in which he lives whenever he owns a home. He is more patriotic, and in many ways is a better citizen than the man who simply rents, and who has but little if any assurance of how long it will be before he can be ordered to move; to which may be added in many cases the saving of more money. Of course it requires some economy to lay up a sufficient amount of money to purchase and pay for a home; but this very fact, if properly carried out after the home is acquired, may be the instrument of furnishing the means to commence and prosecute a business upon your own responsibility. True, in some cases it will require more economy, perhaps, than we are now practicing. But the question with every man, and especially if he is the head of a family, is, Can he afford it? That is, can he afford to live up his wages as fast as he earns them, without laying up anything for the future? If he is the head of a family, he is obliged to pay rent, and it does not require very many years of rent paying to make up an amount sufficient to purchase and pay for a comfortable home. You have to pay the rent. This you say you cannot avoid and be honest. Well, you cannot be honest with your family unless you make a reasonable attempt to provide them a home of their own in case anything should happen to you. And the obligation to do this should be as strong as the one to pay rent or provide the other necessaries for the comfort of your family. When you own a home you feel a direct interest in public affairs that otherwise you might consider were of little interest.

A Formula for Nervous Headache.--Alcohol dilut., 4 ounces; Olei cinnamon, 4 minims; Potas. bromid., 5 drachms; Extr. hyoscyam., fl., 1-1/2 drachms; Fiat lotio. One to two teaspoonfuls, if required.

How Beeswax is Refined and Made Nice and Yellow.--Pure white wax is obtained from the ordinary beeswax by exposure to the influence of the sun and weather. The wax is sliced into thin flakes and laid on sacking or coarse cloth, stretched on frames, resting on posts to raise them from the ground. The wax is turned over frequently and occasionally sprinkled with soft water if there be not dew and rain sufficient to moisten it. The wax should be bleached in about four weeks. If, on breaking the flakes, the wax still appears yellow inside, it is necessary to melt it again and flake and expose it a second time, or even oftener, before it becomes thoroughly bleached, the time required being mainly dependent upon the weather. There is a preliminary process by which, it is claimed, much time is saved in the subsequent bleaching; this consists in passing melted wax and steam through long pipes, so as to expose the wax as much as possible to the action of the steam; thence into a pan heated by a steam bath, where it is stirred thoroughly with water and then allowed to settle. The whole operation is repeated a second and third time, and the wax is then in condition to be more readily bleached.

How to Remove a Wart From the Hand.--Take of salicylic acid, 30 grains; ext. cannabis indic., 10 grains; collodion, 1/2 ounce. Mix and apply.

Recipe for Making Camphor Ice in Small Quantities for Home Use.--Melt together over a water bath white wax and spermaceti, each 1 ounce; camphor, 2 ounces, in sweet almond oil, 1 pound; then triturate until the mixture has become homogeneous, and allow one pound of rosewater to flow in slowly during the operation.

Recipe for Making Instantaneous Ink and Stain Extractor.--Take of chloride of lime 1 pound, thoroughly pulverized, and four quarts soft water. The foregoing must be thoroughly shaken when first put together. It is required to stand twenty-four hours to dissolve the chloride of lime; then strain through a cotton cloth, after which add a teaspoonful of acetic acid to every ounce of the chloride of lime water.

Removing Paint Spots From Wood.--To take spots of paint off wood, lay a thick coating of lime and soda mixed together over it, letting it stay twenty-four hours; then wash off with warm water, and the spot will have disappeared.

Polishing Plate Glass.--To polish plate glass and remove slight scratches, rub the surface gently, first with a clean pad of fine cotton wool, and afterwards with a similar pad covered over with cotton velvet which has been charged with fine rouge. The surface will acquire a polish of great brilliancy, quite free from any scratches.

Recipe for a Good Condition Powder.--Ground ginger 1 pound, antimony sulphide 1 pound, powdered sulphur 1 pound, saltpetre. Mix altogether and administer in a mash, in such quantities as may be required.

Recipe to Make Violet Ink.--Ordinary aniline violet soluble in water, with a little alcohol and glycerine, makes an excellent ink.

Recipe to Make Good Shaving Soap.--Either 66 pounds tallow and 34 pounds cocoanut oil, or 33 pounds of tallow and the same quantity of palm oil and 34 pounds cocoanut oil, treated by the cold process, with 120 pounds caustic soda lye of 27 deg. Baume, will make 214 pounds of shaving soap.

How to Make a Starch Enamel for Stiffening Collars, Cuffs, etc.--Use a little gum arabic thoroughly dissolved in the starch.

A Good Cough Syrup.--Put 1 quart hoarhound to 1 quart water, and boil it down to a pint; add two or three sticks of licorice and a tablespoonful of essence of lemon. The Cause of the Disease Called "Hives," also Its Cure.--The trouble is caused by a perversion of the digestive functions, accompanied by a disturbance of the circulation. It is not attended with danger, and is of importance only from the annoyance which it causes. Relief may be obtained in most instances by the use of cream tartar daily to such extent as to move the bowels slightly. Make a strong solution, sweeten it pleasantly, and take a teaspoonful, say after each meal, until the effect above mentioned is produced, and continue the treatment until the hives cease to be troublesome.

A Bedbug Poison.--Set in the center of the room a dish containing 4 ounces of brimstone. Light it, and close the room as tight as possible, stopping the keyhole of the door with paper to keep the fumes of the brimstone in the room. Let it remain for three or four hours, then open the windows and air thoroughly. The brimstone will be found to have also bleached the paint, if it was a yellowish white. Mixtures such as equal parts of turpentine and kerosene oil are used; filling up the cracks with hard soap is an excellent remedy. Benzine and gasoline will kill bedbugs as fast as they can reach them. A weak solution of zinc chloride is also said to be an effectual banisher of these pests.

A Preparation by Which You can Take a Natural Flower and Dip It in, That Will Preserve It.--Dip the flowers in melted paraffine, withdrawing them quickly. The liquid should only be just hot enough to maintain its fluidity and the flowers should be dipped one at a time, held by the stalks, and moved about for an instant to get rid of air bubbles. Fresh cut specimens free from moisture make excellent specimens in this way.

What Causes Shaking Asp Leaves to be always in a Quiver?--The wind or vibration of the air only causes the quiver of the aspen leaf.

What is "Sozodont" is Composed of.--Potassium carbonate, 1/2 ounce; honey, 4 ounces; alcohol, 2 ounces; water, 10 ounces; oil of wintergreen and oil of rose, to flavor, sufficient.

What is Used to Measure Cold below 35 Degrees Fahrenheit?--Metallic thermometers are used to measure lowest temperatures, alcohol being quite irregular.

Is the Top Surface of Ice on a Pond, the Amount of Water let in and out being the Same Day by Day, on a Level with the Water Surface or above it?--Ice is slightly elastic, and when fast to the shore the central portion rises and falls with slight variations in water level, the proportion above and below water level being as is the weight of ice to the weight of water it displaces.

Of the Two Waters, Hard and Soft, Which Freezes the Quicker; and in ice Which Saves the Best in Like Packing?--Soft water freezes the quickest and keeps the best.

Does Water in Freezing Purify Itself?--It clears itself from chemicals; does not clear itself from mechanical mixtures as mud and clay.

A Receipt to Remove Freckles from the Face without Injury to the Skin.--A commonly used preparation for this purpose is: Sulpho-carbolate of zinc, 2 parts; distilled glycerine, 25 parts; rose water, 25 parts; scented alcohol, 5 parts. To be applied twice daily for from half an hour to an hour, and then washed off with cold water.

What will Remove Warts Painlessly?--Touch the wart with a little nitrate of silver, or with nitric acid, or with aromatic vinegar. The silver salt will produce a black, and the nitric acid a yellow stain, either of which will wear off in a short while. The vinegar scarcely discolors the skin. A Good Receipt to Prevent Hair Coming Out.--Scald black tea, 2 ounces, with I gallon of boiling water, strain and add 3 ounces glycerine, tincture cantharides 1/2 ounce, bay rum 1 quart. Mix well and perfume. This is a good preparation for frequent use in its effect both on the scalp and hair, but neither will be kept in good condition without care and attention to general health.

Deaths from Diphtheria per 100,000 Inhabitants in the Chief Cities of the World.--Amsterdam, 265; Berlin, 245; Madrid, 225; Dresden, 184; Warsaw, 167; Philadelphia, 163; Chicago, 146; Turin, 127; St. Petersburg, 121; Bucharest, 118; Berne, 115; Munich, 111; Stockholm, 107; Malines, 105; Antwerp, 104; New York, 91; Paris, 85; Hamburg, 76; Naples, 74; Lisbon, 74; Stuttgart, 61; Rome, 56; Edinburgh, 50; Buda-Pesth, 50; The Hague, 45; Vienna, 44; London, 44; Christiania, 43; Copenhagen, 42; Suburbs of Brussels, 36; City of Brussels, 35.

A Receipt for Marshmallows, as Made by Confectioners.--Dissolve one-half pound of gum arabic in one pint of water, strain, and add one-half pound of fine sugar, and place over the fire, stirring constantly until the syrup is dissolved, and all of the consistency of honey. Add gradually the whites of four eggs well beaten. Stir the mixture until it becomes somewhat thin and does not adhere to the finger. Flavor to taste, and pour into a tin slightly dusted with powdered starch, and when cool divide into small squares.

A Receipt for Making Compressed Yeast.--This yeast is obtained by straining the common yeast in breweries and distilleries until a moist mass is obtained, which is then placed in hair bags, and the rest of the water pressed out until the mass is nearly dry. It is then sewed up in strong linen bags for transportation.

How to Tell the Age of Eggs.--We recommend the following process (which has been known for some time, but has been forgotten) for finding out the age of eggs, and distinguishing those that are fresh from those that are not. This method is based upon the decrease in the density of eggs as they grow old. Dissolve two ounces of kitchen salt in a pint of water. When a fresh-laid egg is placed in this solution it will descend to the bottom of the vessel, while one that has been laid on the day previous will not quite reach the bottom. If the egg be three days old it will swim in the liquid, and if it is more than three days old it will float on the surface, and project above the latter more and more in proportion as it is older.

A Recipe for Making Court Plaster.--Isinglass 125 grains, alcohol 1-3/4 fluid ounces, glycerine 12 minims, water and tincture of benzoin each sufficient quantity. Dissolve the isinglass in enough water to make the solution weigh four fluid ounces. Spread half of the latter with a brush upon successive layers of taffeta, waiting after each application until the layer is dry. Mix the second half of the isinglass solution with the alcohol and glycerine, and apply in the same manner. Then reverse the taffeta, coat it on the back with tincture of benzoin, and allow it to become perfectly dry. There are many other formulas, but this is official. The above quantities are sufficient to make a piece of court plaster fifteen inches square.

One of the Very Best Scouring Pastes Consists of--Oxalic acid, 1 part; Iron peroxide, 15 parts; Powdered rottenstone, 20 parts; Palm oil, 60 parts; Petrolatum, 4 parts. Pulverize the oxalic acid and add rouge and rottenstone, mixing thoroughly, and sift to remove all grit; then add gradually the palm oil and petrolatum, incorporating thoroughly. Add oil of myrbane, or oil of lavender to suit. By substituting your red ashes from stove coal, an inferior representative of the foregoing paste will be produced.

How to Manufacture Worcestershire Sauce.--A. Mix together 1-1/2 gallons white wine vinegar, 1 gallon walnut catsup, 1 gallon mushroom catsup, 1/2 gallon Madeira wine, 1/2 gallon Canton soy, 2-1/2 pounds moist sugar, 19 ounces salt, 3 ounces powdered capsicum, 1-1/2 ounces each of pimento and coriander, 1-1/2 ounces chutney, 3/4 ounce each of cloves, mace and cinnamon, and 6-1/2 drachms assafoetida dissolved in pint brandy 20 above proof. Boil 2 pounds hog's liver for twelve hours in 1 gallon of water, adding water as required to keep up the quantity, then mix the boiled liver thoroughly with the water, strain it through a coarse sieve. Add this to the sauce.

A Good Receipt for Making Honey, Without Using Honey as One of the Ingredients,--5 lbs. white sugar, 2 lbs. water, gradually bring to a boil, and skim well. When cool add 1 lb. bees' honey, and 4 drops peppermint. To make of better quality add less water and more real honey.

What the Chemical Composition of Honey is.--Principally of saccharine matter and water, about as follows: Levulose 33-1/2 to 40 per cent., dextrose 31-3/4 to 39 per cent., water 20 to 30 per cent., besides ash and other minor constituents.

How to Clean Carpets on the Floor to Make Them Look Bright.--To a pailful of water add three pints of oxgall, wash the carpet with this until a lather is produced, which is washed off with clean water.

How to Take Out Varnish Spots from Cloth.--Use chloroform or benzine, and as a last resource spirits of turpentine, followed after drying by benzine.

Flour Paste for all Purposes.--Mix 1 pound rye flour in lukewarm water, to which has been added one teaspoonful of pulverized alum; stir until free of lumps. Boil in the regular way, or slowly pour on boiling water, stirring all the time until the paste becomes stiff. When cold add a full quarter pound of common strained honey, mix well (regular bee honey, no patent mixture).

How to Make Liquid Glue.--Take a wide mouthed bottle, and dissolve in it 8 ounces beet glue in 1/2 pint water, by setting it in a vessel of water, and heating until dissolved. Then add slowly 2-1/2 ounces strong nitric acid 36 deg. Baume, stirring all the while. Effervescence takes place, with generation of fumes. When all the acid has been added, the liquid is allowed to cool. Keep it well corked, and it will be ready for use at any time.

How the World is Weighed and Its Density and Mass Computed.--The density, mass, or weight of the earth was found by the observed force of attraction of a known mass of lead or iron for another mass; or of a mountain by the deflection of a torsion thread or plumb line. In this manner the mean density of the earth has been found to be from 4.71 to 6.56 times the weight of water, 5.66 being accredited as the most reliable. The weight of a cubic foot of water being known, and the contents of the earth being computed in cubic feet, we have but to multiply the number of cubic feet by 5.66 times the weight of 1 cubic foot of water to obtain the weight of the earth in pounds, or units of gravity at its surface, which is the unit usually used. Another method of determining the mean density of the earth is founded on the change of the intensity of gravity in descending deep mines.

A Theory as to the Origin of Petroleum.--Professor Mendelejef has recently advanced the theory that petroleum is of purely mineral origin and that the formation of it is going on every day. He has, moreover, succeeded in producing artificial petroleum by a reaction that he describes, and he states that it is impossible to detect any difference between the natural product and the manufactured article. His theory is as follows: [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'Infilration'] Infiltration of water, reaching a certain depth, come into contact with incandescent masses of carburets of metals, chiefly of iron, and are at once decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen unites with the iron, while the hydrogen seizes on the carbon and rises to an upper level, where the vapors are condensed in part into mineral oil, and the rest remains in a state of natural gas. The petroleum strata are generally met with in the vicinity of mountains, and it may be granted that geological upheavals have dislocated the ground in such a way as to permit of the [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'admistoin'] admission of water to great depths. If the center of the earth contains great masses of metallic carburets, we may, in case this theory is verified, count upon an almost inexhaustible source of fuel for the day when our coal deposits shall fail us.

How Vaseline is Purified.--The residuum from which vaseline is made is placed in settling tanks heated by steam, in order to keep their contents in a liquid state. After the complete separation of the fine coke it is withdrawn from these tanks and passed through the bone black cylinders, during which process the color is nearly all removed, as well as its empyreumatic odor.

The Latest and Best Process Employed by Cutters and Others in Etching Names and Designs on Steel.--Take copper sulphate, sulphate of alum and sodium chloride, of each 2 drachms, and strong acetic acid 1-1/2 ounces, mixed together. Smear the metal with yellow soap and write with a quill pen without a split.

The History of the Discovery of Circulation of the Blood recapitulated, divides itself naturally into a series of epoch-making periods: 1. The structure and functions of the valves of the heart, Erasistratus, B.C. 304. 2. The arteries carry blood during life, not air, Galen, A.D. 165. 3. The pulmonary circulation, Servetus, 1553. 4. The systemic circulation, Cæsalpinus, 1593. 5. The pulmonic and systemic circulations, Harvey, 1628. 6. The capillaries, Malpighi, 1661.

How to Make Hand Fire Grenades.--Make your hand grenades. Fill ordinary quart wine bottles with a saturated solution of common salt, and place them where they will do the most good in case of need. They will be found nearly as serviceable as the expensive hand grenades you buy. Should a fire break out, throw them with force sufficient to break them into the center of the fire. The salt will form a coating on whatever object the water touches, and make it nearly incombustible, and it will prove effectual in many cases, where a fire is just starting, when the delay in procuring water might be fatal.

How the Kind of White Metal is Made That is Used in the Manufacture of Cheap Table Ware.--How same can be hardened and still retain its color? The following are formulas for white metal. Melt together: (a) Tin 82, lead 18, antimony 5, zinc 1, copper 4 parts. (b) Brass 32, lead 2, tin 2, zinc 1 part. For a hard metal, not so white, melt together bismuth 6 parts, zinc 3 parts, lead 13 parts. Or use type metal--lead 3 to 7 parts, antimony 1 part.

What Metal Expands Most, for the Same Change in Temperature?--For one degree Centigrade the following are coefficients of linear expansion: aluminum, 0.0000222; silver, 0.0000191 to 0.0000212; nickel, 0.0000128; copper, 0.0000167 to 0.0000178; zinc, 0.0000220 to 0.0000292; brass, 0.0000178 to 0.0000193; platinum, 0.0000088.

Heavy Timbers.--There are sixteen species of trees in America, whose perfectly dry wood will sink in water. The heaviest of these is the black iron wood (confalia feriea) of Southern Florida, which is more than 30 per cent. heavier than water. Of the others, the best known are lignum vitæ (gualacum sanctum) and mangrove (chizphora mangle). Another is a small oak (quercus gsisea) found in the mountains of Texas, Southern New Mexico and Arizona, and westward to the Colorado desert, at an elevation of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. All the species in which the wood is heavier than water belong to semi-tropical Florida or the arid interior Pacific region.

Highest Point Reached by Man was by balloon 27,000 feet. Travelers have rarely exceeded 20,000 feet, at which point the air from its rarity is very debilitating.

Has a Rate of Speed Equal to Ninety Miles an Hour, ever Been Attained by Railroad Locomotive?--It is extremely doubtful if any locomotive ever made so high a speed. A mile in 48 seconds is the shortest time we have heard of. A rate of 70 to 75 miles per hour has been made on a spurt, on good straight track. The Grant Locomotive Works could make such an engine. Sixty miles an hour for a train is considered a very high rate of speed, and is seldom attained in practice for more than a short run.

The Fastest Boat in the World.--Messrs. Thornycroft & Co., of Chiswick, in making preliminary trials of a torpedo boat built by them for the Spanish navy, have obtained a speed which is worthy of special record. The boat is twin-screw, and the principal dimensions are: Length 147 ft. 6 in., beam 14 ft. 6 in., by 4 ft. 9 in. draught. On a trial at Lower Hope, on April 27, the remarkable mean speed of 26.11 knots was attained, being equal to a speed of 30.06 miles an hour, which is the highest speed yet attained by any vessel afloat.

Staining and Polishing Mahogany.--Your best plan will be to scrape off all the old polish, and well glass paper; then oil with linseed oil both old and new parts. To stain the new pieces, get half an ounce of bichromate of potash, and pour a pint of boiling water over it; when cold bottle it. This, used with care, will stain the new or light parts as dark as you please, if done as follows:--wipe off the oil clean, and apply the solution with a piece of rag, held firmly in the hand, and just moistened with the stain. Great care is required to prevent the stain running over the old part, for any place touched with it will show the mark through the polish when finished. You can vary the color by giving two or more coats if required. Then repolish your job altogether in the usual way. Should you wish to brighten up the old mahogany, use polish dyed with Bismarck brown as follows:--Get three pennyworth of Bismarck brown, and put it into a bottle with enough naphtha or methylated spirits to dissolve it. Pour a few drops of this into your polish, and you will find that it gives a nice rich red color to the work, but don't dye the polish too much, just tint it.

Value of Eggs for Food and Other Purposes.--Every element that is necessary to the support of man is contained within the limits of an egg shell, in the best proportions and in the most palatable form. Plain boiled, they are wholesome. It is easy to dress them in more than 500 different ways, each method not only economical, but salutary in the highest degree. No honest appetite ever yet rejected an egg in some guise. It is nutriment in the most portable form, and in the most concentrated shape. Whole nations of mankind rarely touch any other animal food. Kings eat them plain as readily as do the humble tradesmen. After the victory of Muhldorf, when the Kaiser Ludwig sat at a meal with his burggrafs and great captains, he determined on a piece of luxury--"one egg to every man, and two to the excellently valiant Schwepperman." Far more than fish--for it is watery diet--eggs are the scholar's fare. They contain phosphorus, which is brain food, and sulphur, which performs a variety of functions in the economy. And they are the best of nutriment for children, for, in a compact form, they contain everything that is necessary for the growth of the youthful frame. Eggs are, however, not only food--they are medicine also. The white is the most efficacious of remedies for burns, and the oil extractable from the yolk is regarded by the Russians as an almost miraculous salve for cuts, bruises and scratches. A raw egg, if swallowed in time, will effectually detach a fish bone fastened in the throat, and the white of two eggs will render the deadly corrosive sublimate as harmless as a dose of calomel. They strengthen the consumptive, invigorate the feeble, and render the most susceptible all but proof against jaundice in its more malignant phase. They can also be drunk in the shape of that "egg flip" which sustains the oratorical efforts of modern statesmen. The merits of eggs do not even end here. In France alone the wine clarifiers use more than 80,000,000 a year, and the Alsatians consume fully 38,000,000 in calico printing and for dressing the leather used in making the finest of French kid gloves. Finally, not to mention various other employments for eggs in the arts, they may, of course, almost without trouble on the farmer's part, be converted in fowls, which, in any shape, are profitable to the seller and welcome to the buyer. Even egg shells are valuable, for aliopath and homeopath alike agree in regarding them as the purest of carbonate of lime.

History of Big Ships.--In the history of mankind several vessels of extraordinary magnitude have been constructed, all distinctively styled great, and all unfortunately disastrous, with the honorable exception of Noah's Ark. Setting aside this antediluvian craft, concerning the authenticity of whose dimensions authorities differ, and which, if Biblical measures are correct, was inferior in size to the vessel of most importance to modern shipowners, the great galley, constructed by the great engineer Archimedes for the great King Hiero II., of Syracuse, is the first illustration. This ship without a name (for history does not record one) transcended all wonders of ancient maritime construction. It abounded statues and painting, marble and mosaic work. It contained a gymnasium, baths, a garden, and arbored walks. Its artillery discharged stones of 3 cwt., and arrows 18 ft. in length. An Athenian advertising poet, who wrote a six-line puff of its glories, received the royal reward of six thousand bushels of corn. Literary merit was at a higher premium in the year 240 B.C., than it is to-day. The great ship of antiquity was found to be too large for the accommodation of the Syracusan port, and famine reigning in Egypt, Hiero, the charitably disposed, embarked a cargo of ten thousand huge jars of salted fish, two million pounds of salted meat, twenty thousand bundles of different clothes, filled the hold with corn, and consigned her to the seven mouths of the Nile, and since she weighed anchor nothing more has been heard of her fate. The next great ship worthy of mention is the mythical Saracen encountered in the Mediterranean Sea by the crusading fleet of Richard CÏur de Lion, Duke of Guienne and King of England, which, after much slaughter and damage incident to its infidel habit of vomiting Greek fire upon its adversaries, was captured and sunk. Next in rotation appears the Great Harry, built by Henry VIII., of England, and which careened in harbor during the reign of his successor, under similar circumstances to those attending the Royal George in 1782--a dispensation that mysteriously appears to overhang a majority of the ocean-braving constructions which, in defiance of every religious sailor's superstition that the lumber he treads is naturally female, are christened by a masculine or neutral title. In the year 1769, Mark Isambard Brunel, the Edison of his age, as his son was the Ericsson of that following, permitted himself to be born at Hacqueville; near Rouen, France, went to school, to sea, and into politics; compromised himself in the latter profession, and went to America in 1794, where he surveyed the canal now connecting Lake Champlain with the Hudson River at Albany, N.Y. There he turned architect, then returned to Europe, settled, married, and was knighted in England. He occupied eighteen years of his life in building an unproductive tunnel beneath the river Thames at London; invented a method of shuffling cards without using the hands, and several of her devices for dispensing with labor, which, upon completion, were abandoned from economical motives. On his decease, his son and heir, I.K. Brunel, whose practical experience in the Thames Tunnel job, where his biographers assert he had occasion more than once to save his life by swimming, qualified him to tread in his father's shoes, took up his trade. Brunel, Jr., having demonstrated by costly experiments, to the successful proof, but thorough exasperation, of his moneyed backers, that his father's theory for employing carbonic acid gas as a motive power was practicable enough, but too expensive for anything but the dissipation of a millionaire's income, settled down to the profession of engineering science, in which he did as well as his advantages of education enabled him. Like all men in advance of their time, when he considered himself the victim of arbitrary capitalists ignoring the bent of his genius, he did his best work in accordance with their stipulations. He designed the Great Western, the first steamship (paddle-wheel) ever built to cross the Atlantic; and the Great Britain, the original ocean screw steamer. Flushed with these successes, Brunel procured pecuniary support from speculative fools, who, dazzled by the glittering statistical array that can be adduced in support of any chimerical venture, the inventor's repute, and their unbaked experience, imagined that the alluring Orient was ready to yield, like over-ripe fruit, to their shadowy grasp; and tainted as he evidently was with hereditary mania, Brunel resolved to seize the illusionary immortality that he fondly imagined to be within his reach.

There was not much the matter with the brain of Brunel, Jr., but that little was enough; a competent railroad surveyor, a good bridge builder, he needed to be held within bounds when handling other people's funds; for the man's ambition would have lead him to undertake to bridge the Atlantic. He met with the speculators required in this very instance of the constructors of the Great Eastern. This monstrous ship has been described so often, that it would be a cruelty to our readers to inflict the story upon them again.

Natural Gas the Fuel of the Future.--The house of the near future will have no fireplace, steam pipes, chimneys, or flues. Wood, coal oil, and other forms of fuel are about to disappear altogether in places having factories. Gas has become so cheap that already it is supplanting fuels. A single jet fairly heats a small room in cold weather. It is a well known fact that gas throws off no smoke, soot, or dirt. In a brazier filled with chunks of colored glass, and several jets placed beneath, the glass soon became heated sufficiently to thoroughly warm a room 10x30 feet in size. This design does away with the necessity for chimneys, since there is no smoke; the ventilation may be had at the window. The heat may be raised or lowered by simply regulating the flow of gas. The colored glass gives all the appearance of fire; there are black pieces to represent coal, red chunks for flames, yellowish white glass for white heat, blue glass for blue flames, and hues for all the remaining colors of spectrum. Invention already is displacing the present fuels for furnaces and cooking ranges and glass, doing away with delay and such disagreeable objects as ashes, kindling wood, etc. It has only been within the past few years that natural gas has been utilized to any extent, in either Pennsylvania, New York or Ohio. Yet its existence has been known since the early part of the century. As far back as 1821, gas was struck in Fredonia, Chautauqua county, N.Y., and was used to illuminate the village inn when Lafayette passed through the place some three years later. Not a single oil well of the many that have been sunk in Pennsylvania has been entirely devoid of gas, but even this frequent contact with what now seems destined to be the fuel of the future bore no fruit of any importance until within the past few years. It had been used in comparatively small quantities previous to the fall of 1884, but it was not until that time that the fuel gave any indication of the important role it was afterward to fill. At first ignored, then experimented with, natural gas has been finally so widely adopted that to-day, in the single city of Pittsburgh, it displaces daily 10,000 tons of coal, and has resulted in building cities in Ohio and the removal thereto of the glass making industries of the United States. The change from the solid to the gaseous fuel has been made so rapidly, and has effected such marked results in both the processes of manufacture and the product, that it is no exaggeration to say that the eyes of the entire industrial world are turned with envious admiration upon the cities and neighborhoods blessed with so unique and valuable a fuel. The regions in which natural gas is found are for the most part coincident with the formations producing petroleum. This, however, is not always the case; and it is worthy of notice that some districts which were but indifferent oil-producers are now famous in gas records. The gas driller, therefore, usually confines himself to the regions known to have produced oil, but the selection of the particular location for a well within these limits appears to be eminently fanciful. The more scientific generally select a spot either on the anticlinal or synclinal axis of the formation, giving preference to the former position. Almost all rock formations have some inclination to the horizon, and the constant change of this inclination produces a series of waves, the crests of which are known as anticlines, and the troughs as synclines. Many drillers suppose that the gas seeks the anticlines and the oil the synclines, but others, equally long-headed, discard entirely all theory of this kind, and drill wherever it may be most convenient or where other operators have already demonstrated the existence of gas. It will surprise many of our readers to know that the divining rod, that superstitious relic of the middle ages, is still frequently called upon to relieve the operator of the trouble of a rational decision. The site having been selected, the ordinary oil-drilling outfit is employed to sink a hole of about six inches in diameter until the gas is reached. In the neighborhood of Pittsburgh, this is usually found at a depth of 1,300 to 1,500 feet, in what is known as the Third Oil Sand, a sandstone of the Devonian period. Where the gas comes from originally is an open question. When the driller strikes gas, he is not left in any doubt of the event, for if the well be one of any strength, the gas manifests itself by sending the drill and its attachments into the air, often to a height of a hundred feet or more. The most prolific wells are appropriately called "roarers." During the progress of the drilling, the well is lined with iron piping. Occasionally this is also blown out, but as a rule the gas satisfies itself with ejecting the drill. When the first rush of gas has thrown everything movable out of its way, the workmen can approach, and chain the giant to his work. The plant at the well is much simpler than one would suppose. An elbow joint connects the projecting end of the well piping with a pipe leading to a strong sheet-iron tank. This collects the salt water brought up with the gas. Ordinarily, about half a barrel accumulates in twenty four hours. A safety valve, a pressure indicator, and a blow-off complete the outfit. When the pressure exceeds a prescribed limit, the valve opens, and the gas escapes into the blow-off. This is usually 30 feet high or more, and the gas issuing from the top is either ignited or permitted to escape into the atmosphere. The pipe line leading from the tank to the city is of course placed underground. Beyond a little wooden house, the blow-off, and a derrick, the gas farms differ little in appearance from those producing less valuable crops. The pressure of the gas at the wells varies considerably. It is generally between 100 and 325 pounds. As much as 750 pounds per square inch has been measured, and in many cases the actual pressure is even greater than this, but, as a rule, it is not permitted to much exceed 20 atmospheres in any receiver or pipe. The best investment for parties of small means that we know of is in town lots in North Baltimore, Ohio. It is on the main line of the B. & O. Railroad and the center of the oil and natural gas discoveries in Ohio. Property is bound to double in value. For further information, address, W.A. Rhodes, North Baltimore, Ohio.