Chapter IV: Part I: Miscellaneous (2)

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.

The removal of either deep-seated freckles or moles is, as before hinted, not always an easy task, but nitric acid is perhaps about as good an agent for the purpose as any other. The mole should be surrounded by a little “cell” or ring of wax, so that the acid can be applied direct without fear of disorganizing the adjacent skin. As, however, nitric acid by itself sometimes occasions a good deal of smarting, etc., when applied, it is better to avoid this by mixing cocaine with it. The mixture given below answers the purpose very well indeed:

Nitric acid 1 drachm.
Cocaine 6 grains.

This should be kept ready for use in a small bottle with a good-fitting stopper. The end of a glass rod dipped in and then cautiously applied to the surface of the mole or freckle, the process being repeated once or twice a day, and the unsightly spot has its vitality destroyed without pain, being then easily and effectually removed.

Preparation for Red Noses.

This formula was procured from a friend of the author residing at Little Rock, Ark. I can vouch for its efficacy in his case, as it removed the unnatural color in a few days, and he told me that others had tried it with equally gratifying results. It is translated from a formula of a young physician, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College:

Oxide of zinc 1/4 ounce.
Corrosive sublimate 2 grains.
Sulphur (precip.) 1/2 ounce.
Glycerine 1/4 ounce.
Calamine 3 drachms.
Rose water, sufficient to make 8 ounces.

Mix and apply with a small, soft sponge. The medical works say little about the red nose. The cause is usually attributed to drinking, but gluttony, tight lacing, nasal catarrh, chronic enlargement of the tonsils, exposure to strong sunlight, etc., all contribute to a reddening of the nasal organ.

Other Toilet Preparations.

The following formula, prescribed by the late Dr. Tilbury Fox, is a very soothing application, and is a great favorite with ladies who have flushed faces:

=Calamine Face Lotion.=

Levigated calamine 120 grains.
Oxide of zinc 60 grains.
Glycerine 60 drops.
Rose water, sufficient to make 3 ounces.

Be sure and get the white calamine, and not the red. Apply with a small, soft sponge and allow to dry on, the excess of powder being lightly dusted off with a soft cloth.

=Lotion for Chapped Hands, Face, and Lips.=

Glycerine 3 drachms.
Strained honey 1 drachm.
Cologne 1 drachm.
Oil of bitter almonds 3 drops.
Alcohol 4 ounces.
Water 1-1/2 ounces.

Mix and apply with a soft sponge while the skin is damp, and wipe dry with a towel. This is the best preparation of its class.

=Lip Salve.=

For healing and softening the lips, preventing them from cracking, etc., the following is an elegant preparation:

Petrolatum 2 ounces.
White wax, or paraffine 1/2 ounce.
Tannin 1/2 drachm.
Oils of lavender and bergamot, each 1/4 drachm.
Oil of rose geranium 1/2 drachm.

Melt the petrolatum and wax together and add the tannin while cooling; add the oils and stir until cold. When it is desired to color the lips add 20 grains of carmine. This is done by reducing the carmine to a fine powder in a mortar and rub with a small portion of the salve until it is thoroughly incorporated, and then mix the remainder gradually.

=Pimple Lotion.=

Carbolic acid 1/2 drachm.
Borax 2 drachms.
Glycerine 1 ounce.
Tannin 1 drachm.
Alcohol 1-1/2 ounces.
Rose water 5 ounces.

Mix and dissolve. Apply night and morning.

=Manicure Powder.=

This is used for polishing and cleaning the nails:

Powdered pumice stone 4 ounces.
Powdered French chalk 1/4 ounce.
Carmine (No. 40) in powder 1/4 drachm.
Bulk perfume (violet or rose) 1/8 ounce.

=Manicure Salve.=

This is for softening the nails, curing hang-nails, etc.:

Petrolatum 1 ounce.
Powdered castile soap 2 drachms.
Oil of bergamot 15 drops.

Mix thoroughly and apply upon going to bed, wearing a pair of gloves.

=Best Bay Rum.=

Oil of bay leaves 4 fluid drachms.
Oil of pimenta 30 minims.
Oil of bergamot 60 minims.
Acetic ether 30 minims.
Concentrated lye 4 drachms.
Deodorized alcohol 7 pints.
Water 9 pints.
Color sufficient with grass green.

Mix the oils and dissolve them in the alcohol; to this gradually add the lye, previously dissolved in the water, then add the acetic ether and coloring matter, and let stand a few days and filter through a glass funnel into a glass vessel.

=Fine Rose Water.=

Oil of rose 15 drops.
White sugar 1/2 ounce.
Carbonate of magnesia 2 drachms.
Water 2 pints.
Alcohol 2 ounces.

Add the oil to the alcohol, rub with magnesia and sugar, then add the water and filter.

=Hoyt’s German Cologne.=

Oil of bergamot 1 ounce.
Oil of Neroli 1/4 ounce.
Oil of lemon 1 ounce.
Oil of sandal wood 1/2 ounce.
Camphor 20 grains.
Deodorized alcohol 7 pints.
Rose water 1 pint.

Mix, let stand 30 days, and then filter.

=Hair Tonic.=

Tincture red cinchona 3 ounces.
Glycerine 1-1/2 ounces.
Jamaica rum 1 ounce.
Tannic acid 1/2 drachm.
Tincture cantharides 2 drachms.
Tincture capsicum 1 drachm.
Cologne, sufficient to make 9 ounces.

Apply once or twice a day, rubbing well into the scalp.

=Clifford’s Shampoo Compound.=

Borax 3 ounces.
Salts of tartar 1 ounce.

Mix, and dissolve 1 ounce of the mixture in 1 pint of water when wanted for use.

=Quillaya Sea Foam.=

Tincture of quillaya 1 ounce.
Bay rum 1 ounce.
Water 6 ounces.

This is much better than the old form containing ammonia.

=Cream Hair Oil.=

Pure winter-strained lard oil 2 ounces.
Strong solution of borax 2 ounces.

Perfume with bergamot or any desired odor. This makes an elegant, creamy preparation, and is one of the best that can be made. The addition of 1/4 ounce of tincture of cantharides to the above amount will stop the hair from falling out and assist Nature in supplying new hair. A great many persons are prejudiced against hair oils, but they have been used for ages, and will continue to be used. Some hair actually demands oil, owing to a lack of that supplied by nature.

=Pomade Hair-Grower.=

Petrolatum 1/2 pound.
Tincture cantharides 3/4 ounce.
Oil of cinnamon 15 minims.
Oil of bergamot 60 minims.
Oil of citronella 30 minims.
Oil of cloves 5 minims.

Melt the petrolatum and add the tincture of cantharides, and while cooling add the other ingredients.

=Perspiration Powder.=

Salicylic acid 15 grains.
Carbolic acid 10 drops.
Burnt alum (powdered) 1 drachm.
Starch (powdered) 2 ounces.
French chalk (powdered) 1 ounce.
Oil of lemon 20 drops.

Mix thoroughly, and apply by dusting the powder into the stockings and gloves.

=Corn and Wart Salve.=

Caustic soda or potassa 1 ounce.
Water 1 ounce.
Starch (powdered) 1/4 ounce.
Glycerine 2 ounces.

Mix the starch with the glycerine, heat, and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Dissolve the potassa in the water heated to a boiling point and add the other mixture to it. This preparation needs to be applied only once or twice. Spread a little of the salve on the corn, bunion, or wart. Do not touch the healthy skin. Allow it to remain several hours and then soak the part in warm water.

=German Corn-Killer.=

A very popular liquid preparation for removing corns, etc., is prepared as follows:

Salicylic acid 3/4 drachm.
Extract of Indian hemp 8 grains.
Collodion 3/4 ounce.

Apply once a day to the hard skin by means of a small brush.

Chilblains.

In the treatment of chilblains we give a detailed list of formulas from the works and practice of a number of the most eminent physicians and surgeons.

OINTMENT TO BE USED AT NIGHT.

Dr. Bartholow’s prescription is as follows:

Carbolic acid 1 drachm.
Tincture of iodine 2 drachms.
Tannic acid 2 drachms.
Simple cerate 4 ounces.

POWDER TO PREVENT CHILBLAINS.

Dr. Bandt gives the following prescription:

Sodium borate 3 parts.
Alum and benzoin, each 2 parts.
Mustard 12 parts.
Orris root and bran, each 10 parts.
Almond-skins 30 parts.

Mix with a little water and apply.

WASH FOR NON-ULCERATED CHILBLAINS.

Dr. Beasley’s prescription is as follows:

Sulphate of aluminum and potash 1 part.
Vinegar and weak alcohol, of each 25 parts.

Dissolve and filter. Apply night and morning.

OINTMENT FOR NON-ULCERATED CHILBLAINS.

Dr. Giacomini’s prescription is as follows:

Prepared lard 8 parts.
Chrystallized acetate of lead 1 part.
Distilled cherry laurel water 2 parts.

Mix, and apply night and morning.

FOR UNBROKEN CHILBLAINS.

Sulphuric acid 1 drachm.
Spirits of turpentine 1 drachm.
Olive oil 3 drachms.

Mix the oil and turpentine first, then gradually add the acid. Apply by rubbing on two or three times a day.

FOR UNBROKEN CHILBLAINS.

Lard 4 ounces.
Turpentine 1 ounce.
Camphor 2 ounces.
Oil of rosemary 15 drops.

Rub in with continued friction.

FOR BROKEN CHILBLAINS.

Yellow wax }
Olive oil } of each, 3 ounces.
Camphorated oil }
Goulard’s extract 1-1/2 ounces.

Melt the wax with the oil, then add the camphorated oil and Goulard extract.

How to Make an Incubator.

[_From Scientific American Supplement._]

Experiments with the incubator here given have been made all over the country. It is one that is in actual use, and has always given satisfaction. Having secured permission from the originator, we here illustrate it for the benefit of our readers.

To make this incubator get your tinner to make you a tank 15 inches wide, 30 inches long, and 12 inches deep, of galvanized iron or zinc, the iron being preferable. On the top should be a tube 1 inch in diameter and 8 inches high. In front should be another tube, 9 inches long, to which should be attached a spigot, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Having made your tank, have what is called the ventilator made, which is a box with a bottom but no top. The ventilator should be 8 inches deep, and 1 inch smaller all round than the tank, as the tank must rest on inch boards. In the ventilator should be four or six tin tubes 1/2 inch in diameter and 6 inches long. They should extend through the bottom, so as to admit air from below, and to within 2 inches of the top or a little less. Now make an egg drawer, which is a frame of wood 3 inches deep having no top or bottom, except that the front should be boxed off and filled with sawdust, which is covered over afterward with a piece of muslin to keep the sawdust from spilling. This box in front of the drawer exactly fits the opening in Fig. 3, when the drawer is in its place. Of course the egg drawer must be made longer than the tank and ventilator, in order to allow for this space which it fills in the opening, which is the packing all around the incubator. The bottom of the egg drawer should be made by nailing a few slats lengthwise to the under side, or rather, fitting them in nicely, and over the slats in the inside of the drawer a piece of thick, strong muslin should be tightly drawn. On this muslin the eggs are placed, in the same position as if laid in a hen’s nest, and it allows the air to pass through to the eggs for ventilation. The eggs can be turned by hand, marked for designation, or an egg turner may be made by fastening slats crosswise to one on each side running lengthwise, something like a window lattice, and when the eggs are placed between these slots by merely pushing the frame the eggs will turn over, exactly on the same principle that an egg will roll when it is pushed by a block, a book, or anything else; but we believe the method is patented, and do not advise infringement.

_Observe that the tubes on the top and the spigot are quite long,
in order that they may extend through the packing of sawdust which
is to surround it. This tank is to have a close-fitting covering
(top and sides) of wood, to resist pressure of water. The bottom is
not to be covered._]

_Shows the thick packing, which is noticed at the opening. This
extends all around. The front of the egg drawer (Fig. 4) fits in
its place in order to complete the surrounding packing, when the
incubator is closed, as at Fig. 1._]

_The space just in front of the eggs is the portion partitioned
off to fit in the opening at Fig. 3. The egg drawer is therefore_
LONGER _than the tank and ventilator._]