TRADE "SECRETS 
 
 PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 A COLLECTION OF 
 
 RECIPES, PROCESSES AND FORMQL^, 
 
 I [I \ I It WE BEEN OFFERED F( IR SALE BY VARIOUS PERSONS AT 
 
 PRICKS RANGING FROM TWENTY-FIVE LENTS TO 
 
 FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. 
 
 WITH NOTES, CORRECTIONS, ADDITIONS AND SPECIAL 
 HINTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN PHIN, 
 
 AUTIIOIJ OF "IIDW TO USB THE MICROSCOPE," "CHEMICAL HISTORY OF THE SIX 
 DAYS OF CREATION," "THE WORKSHOP COMPANION," ETC, ETC. 
 
 ASSISTED BY AN EXPERIENCED AND SKILFUL PHARMACIST. 
 
 NEW YORK i 
 
 INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY. 
 
 1887. 
 
 [Copyright secured, 1887, by John Phin.] 
 
. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Thb present work was prepared by the author for the purpose 
 of collecting and presenting in a compact form all those recipes 
 and so-called "trade secrets" which have been so extensively 
 advertised and offered for sale. During fifteen years' connection 
 with several technical journals the author has had occasion to 
 examine, either personally or through competent experts, a large 
 number of these recipes. Many of those which have been offered 
 for sale needed no examination ; they were no " secrets," but old 
 and well known formulae, and the selling of them at prices ranging 
 from 25 cents to $10 was simply a fraud. Well known formu'33 
 for inks, cements and washing flxids have been thus offered, and 
 it is a notable fact that in no case have we obtained anything really 
 new or any important improvement when we have purchased such 
 recipes. In most cases the formulae are sent just as they are copied 
 from standard books of recipes ; in others slight changes have been 
 made, but in no case has such change been an improvement. 
 
 In many cases these advertisements of "valuable recipes" are 
 put out by boys, who frequently operate under high-sounding 
 names of companies which exist only on paper; in their circulars 
 they offer to send recipes for anything, and when they get an order 
 for something they have not got, they go to the nearest public 
 library and copy the formula which seems to come nearest to the 
 wants of their customer. 
 
 It is needless to say that in many cases the recipes thus furnished 
 will be found defective or misleading. The private formulee of the 
 preparations that are manufactured and sold by prominent houses 
 have never been published, and the formulae given by the recipe 
 books are mere guesses by pharmacists and others. The difficulty 
 of making a correct analysis of complicated organic mixtures is so 
 great that no reliance can be placed in the conclusions of these 
 men. 
 
iT PEFFACE. 
 
 Those articles of manufacture which require extensive plant — 
 sucb as the acids and more important chemicals— we have entirely 
 omitted, for the simple reason that no man in his senses would 
 undertake the manufacture of these compounds on a commercial 
 scale without first employing a competent and thoroughly educated 
 chemist ; and yet the description of the apparatus, etc., ust d in their 
 production occupies a large space in most books of recipes. 
 
 There are several important products, such as celluloid, oleo- 
 margarine, etc , all mention of which has been omitted, bt^cause 
 they are protected by patents, and therefore cannot be lawfully 
 manufactured by the public at large. Moreover, in regard to such 
 manufactures, we may remark that wherever any article is covered 
 by a patent, the most complete and exact description of the best 
 methods of producing it may be obtained from the Patent Office 
 by the payment of a trifling fee — a few cents for every hundred 
 words. 
 
 Most of those who advertise recipes for sale hold out, as an 
 Inducement to purchase, the alleged fact that enormous fortunes 
 have been made, and may be made, by manufacturing the articles 
 and placing them on the market. In offering this little book we 
 make no sich claims. Making a good article and making money 
 by it are two entirely different things. In every case, howtver, 
 we have endeavored to give the formula for a really good article, 
 for we firmly believe with Barnum that the sure road to fortune is 
 first to get a good thing, and then to advertise it. 
 
 In examining and testing the various formu'se which we 
 have givtn, great care has been exercised, and we are coLfident 
 that the reader will find that the notes and explanations which we 
 have added will prove of more value than the cost of this book • 
 and as many of the recipes are really of great value even to those 
 who never expect to sell a dollar's worth of the products, the author 
 trusts that none of his numerous readers will be disappointed. 
 
 JOHN PAIN. 
 
 March, 1887. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Amongst those persons who have no special trade, and who 
 have been accidentally thrown out of employment, many are 
 found who desire to establish a small manufacturing business for 
 themselves, and who are led by the gorgeous promises of dealers 
 in formulae and recipes to invest their little capital in some such 
 enterprise— too often only to lose it. " How to Makb Money " is 
 the refrain which is continually sounding in their ears, and while 
 they have no desire to shirk work — and hard work at that — they 
 are compelled to avoid the ordinary trades and pursuits, simply 
 because they have never been trained to them. And just in pro- 
 portion to the pressure of their necessities is the greatness of their 
 hopes, the eagerness of their expectations. That success may 
 sometimes be attained by such persons is no doubt true, and our 
 object in this introduction is to point out the mo3t frequent causes 
 of failure, and to describe, as far as our space will allow, those 
 special matters of general detail which are essential to success, 
 both in manufacturing and in making money by the manufacture. 
 These two features of any business will be found to be entirely 
 distinct, and must receive separate and careful attention. It does 
 not follow that because a man has secured a good formula, and 
 has acquired the skill necessary to make a good article, that there- 
 fore he is going to make money by it, even though the product 
 is an article in very general demand. Moreover, the operator 
 must not suppose that when he has secured a good recipe and tbe 
 materials and utensils for compounding it, that he is possession 
 of everything necessary for the production of the desired article. 
 The simplest recipe in this book cannot be prepared of good 
 quality and in presentable shape without a certain amount of skill 
 and experience; and for the production of some articles, such as 
 the bleaching liquid, composed of peroxide of bydrogeD, much 
 skill and a good deal of experience will be needed. We do not 
 
vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 say tbis by way of discouragement, but for the purpose of impress- 
 ing upon our readers the necessity for a thorough study of any 
 subj ct tbey may undertake. It is only in this way that excellence 
 can be attained, even in a corn plaster, and, other things being 
 equal, excellence will always command the market. 
 
 The fact that even the most simple operation can not always 
 be performed merely by following written directions, is so well 
 known to operators in the laboratory and so doubted by those 
 who have had no experience, that it is worth while to relate a 
 couple of instances. 
 
 When guG cotton first became common, a friend of ours who 
 bad a most excellent amateur laboratory, and who was quite a 
 skilful operator, attempted to prepare some. He tried several 
 times and failed. A friend who had learned the process in 
 another laboratory called on him one evening, took the same 
 materials and the same apparatus and produced some cotton of 
 great explosive power, and what was most extraordinary, the next 
 time the amateur tried it he succeeded perlectly, though he says 
 his friend's method of working seemed to be in no way different 
 from that which be himself first used. 
 
 Babbage, in that most interesting work of his, "The Economy 
 of Machinery and Manufactures," quotes the following from the 
 evideuce of Mr. Ostler before a Committee of the British House of 
 Commons. It seems that Mr. Ostler had received an order for 
 $2500 worth of doll's eyes, and he tells bow he tried to manufac- 
 ture them. "I went into the country and endeavored to make 
 them. I had some of the most ingenious glass toy-makers in the 
 kingdom in my service, but when I showed it to them, they shook 
 their beads and said tbey had often seen the article before but 
 could not make it. I engaged them by presents to use their best 
 exertions, but after trying aud wasting a great deal of time for 
 three or four weeks, I was obliged to relinquish the attempt. 
 Soon afterwards I engaged in another branch of business (chandelier 
 furniture), and took no more notice of it. About eighteen months 
 ago I resumed the trinket trade, and then determined to think of 
 the doll's eyes, and about eight months since I accidentally met 
 with a poor fellow who had impoverished himself by drinking, 
 and who was dying in a consumption, in a state of great want. I 
 showed him ten sovereigns, and he said he would instruct me 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 in the process. He was in such a state that he could not bear the 
 effluvia of his own lamp, but though I was very conversant with 
 the manual part of the business, and it related to things I was 
 daily in the habit of seeing, I felt I could do nothing from his 
 description. (I mention this to show how difficult it is to convey 
 by description the mode of working ) He took me into his garret, 
 where the poor fellow had economized to such a degree that he 
 actually used the entrails and fat of poultry from Leadenball 
 Market to save oil (the price of the article having been latterly so 
 much reduced by competition at home ) In an instant, before I 
 had seen him make three, I felt competent to make a gross, and 
 the difference between his mode and that of my own workmen 
 was so trifling, that I felt the utmost astonishment." Mr. Ostler 
 concluded by saying that he then made doll's eyes in large 
 quantities. 
 
 It will in general be found that mechanical operations are 
 best learned by the instruction of a living teacher ; but on the 
 other band, most of the compounds found in commerce may be 
 very successfully produced by those who are competent to follow 
 n correct and clearly expressed formula. Some of the most com- 
 mon causes of failure on the part of the inexperienced are the 
 following: 
 
 1. Impure materials. The extent to which adulteration and 
 substitution is carried in many branches of trade is very great. 
 Not long ago a competent chemist had occasion to examine several 
 samples of what purported to be sulphide of antimony, or black 
 antimony, as it is sometimes called. In many cases it was adul- 
 terated with ground coal and similar matters, to the extent of fifty 
 percent , and quite a number of the samples did not contain a 
 particle of antimony! Now, sulphide of antimony is a substance 
 in very general use. and it is easy to see the effects of such adul- 
 teration upon the results obtained by the manufacturer. 
 
 Impurity in the materials used may arise from two causes— the 
 foreign matters with which many natural substances are mixed 
 may not have been removed, or cheaper materials may have been 
 actually added. Thus, common salt cannot be obtained in a pure 
 state naturally, and carbonate of soda has to undergo expensive 
 and tedious processes before the crude sabs are rendered pure. 
 But too often it happens that the dealer, for the sake of a little 
 
viii INTKODUCTION. 
 
 additional profit, actually adds some cheap material to the article 
 he has for sale. 
 
 Impurities act in several ways. They may merely lessen the 
 strength of the article; this is the least harmful of any, though it 
 is apt to throw the operator out in his proportions. Thus, sand 
 in sugar, provided the sand is pure, will not do much harm in tea 
 or coffee; it will merely sink to the bottom and be thrown away. 
 It will, however, require a greater proportional quantity of the 
 adulterated article to produce the same amount of sweetuess. 
 But if such adulterated sugar be used to sweeten puddings or cake, 
 the sand will be swallowed with the rest of the food, and may 
 cause serious injury. 
 
 Sometimes impurities seriously affect the keeping qualities of 
 the product. This is particularly the case when such impurities 
 have a strong affinity for moisture and cause the manufactured 
 article to become damp. Many salts attract moisture from the 
 atmosphere, some to such an extent that if exposed freely in 
 ordinary dry weather they will attract enough to form a perfect 
 solution. This is notably the case with salt of tartar and many 
 chlorides. Common salt containing any of these deliquescent 
 salts could not be put up in paper or cloth packages; it would 
 soon become wet, while perfectly pure salt would remain dry, and 
 the same would be true of any compound of which such impure 
 salt formed a constituent. 
 
 2 Uiing the wrong ingredient is frequently a cause of failure, 
 and for this the published recipes are often to blame. Thus, in 
 one much vaunted book of recipes we are directed to use nut galls, 
 wheu ox gall is evidently the article required ; white vitriol is 
 described by another as sulphate of copper, rendered white by 
 desiccation, whereas white vitriol is sulphate of zinc; and even in 
 the English translation of that standard work, l, Wagner , s Chemical 
 Technology," the leaves of the rice plant are namtd as a food for 
 silk-worm9, when the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis), is the 
 one that is meant. 
 
 3. Using articles of an improper degree of strength often 
 causes failure. S >metimes the difficulty is that the materials are 
 not sufficiently diluted; sometimes it is the opposite. Thus, 
 glycerine, used as a toilet preparation, will in some cases produce 
 great discomfort if not sufficiently diluted. Alcohol, if too pure, 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 will not answer for cements into the composition of which gelatine 
 or isinglass enters. On the other hand, un'ess a'cohol is nearly 
 free from water it will not make a good varnish, and if the acid 
 used in converting paper into what is known as vegetahle parch- 
 ment be not strong enough, the paper will be destroyed instead of 
 being strengthened. This may be illustrated in a very striking 
 and curious manner by sprinkling the paper with water ; wherever 
 it has been moistened, the acid, being diluted at these spots, will 
 make holes, while the parts that were left dry will be converted 
 into a hard, tough, parchment like fabric. 
 
 4. Failure often results from a wrong method of compounding 
 materials of the right kind and of excellent qualities. Thus, in a 
 formula now before us, for diamond cement, for which we paid 
 twenty five cents, a list of the constituents is given, and the vendor 
 coolly tells us to " Mix.'' They won't mix. If we take the several 
 ingredients and put them one after another in a bottle and shake 
 them together, the result will certainly not be diamond cement. 
 
 5. The mere order in which the constituents are added to each 
 other is often of vital importance. Consequently, in attempting to 
 follow a well-approved formula, do not try to change this order, 
 unless you have first satisfied yourself that the new method is an 
 improvement. 
 
 6. The temperature at which the ingredients are brought 
 together is a very important matter. Thus, it would be difficult 
 to combine resin and an alkali so as to form a soap, if both were 
 at the ordinary temperature of the air. At the boiling point they 
 unite easily and thoroughly. 
 
 7. In many cases it is necessary to reduce the ingredients first 
 of all t# a state of very fine powder, and the excellence of the 
 result will depend greatly upon the thoroughness with which the 
 grinding is done. This is especially the case with gunpowder 
 and several kinds of fireworks. The ineredients, if mixed together 
 in coarse powder, burn in slow, sizzling fashion, whereas, if 
 properly comminuted and combined, they burn with explosion, or 
 with a brilliant and intense light, as the case may be. 
 
 8. In some manufactures failure is cau ed by improper local 
 conditions. Thus, in the manufacture of alcohol, beer, etc., the 
 character of the water supply is of the utmost importance, and it 
 is believed that some most prosperous concerns owe their wonder* 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ful success to this cause. In the finer departments of dyeing, the 
 same thing holds true, and certain cities and localities have 
 become famous for the excellence of their products. 
 
 Various cases of this kind might be named, all depending 
 upon widely different causes. Thus, for example, the Italian 
 macaroni has always maintained its reputation for excellence, and 
 especially for its superiority to that manufactured in England. At 
 first it was thought that this superiority was due to the special 
 skill of the workmen employed, but when the Italian workmen 
 and their utensils were transported to Great Britain they suc- 
 ceeded no better than the Eaglishmen. It was then found that in 
 order to produce macaroni in perfection it was necessary to use 
 Italian wheat; but, of course, the added expense of importation, 
 and the higher cost of living in England, rendered futile all hope 
 of financial success in such an enterprise. I. seems to us, how- 
 ever, that it is possible that in this country wheat might be found 
 which for the manufacture of macaroni would prove superior even 
 to that from Italy. 
 
 Another article of manufacture for which Italy has long been 
 pre eminent is catgut, as used for fiddle s'rings, etc These 
 strings are made from the entrails of sheep, and as England and 
 Scotland are famous countries for sheep, it was supposed that no 
 better could be found for the manufacture of this article. It was 
 soon discovered, however, that the strings made from the entrails 
 of the fat and young sheep of England were far inferior to those 
 furnished by animals which were lean and hardy, from having to 
 seek their pasture on steep and barren hill sides. 
 
 Still another instance of the influence of local circumstances on 
 the character of the manufactured article is to be found in the case 
 of silk-worm gut, eo much used by anglers. This comes almost 
 entirely from Italy, and is prepared by immersing the '' worms" 
 in vinegar, pulling them apart and drying the silky thread which 
 is thus produced. Now it is found that Italian vinegar gives 
 results that are far superior to anything that can be elsewhere pro- 
 duced. This may arise from one of several causes. It may be on 
 account of the strength of the article ; or it may be caused by the 
 presence of some other vegetable acid, such as the tartaric, which 
 is not found in malt or other vinegar not prepared from grapes ; 
 or it may be due to the purity of the Italian vinegar and the 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 absence of such foreign matter as sulphuric acid, pyroligneous 
 acid, and other things known to exist in small proportion in many 
 samples of English and American vinegar. 
 
 Even the more subtle climatic influences of heat, light and 
 direct sunshine may render a manufacture successful at one place 
 and a failure at another. The following illustration of this truth 
 is related by the celebrated chemist, Sir Humphrey Davy : "A man- 
 ufacturer of carmine, who was aware of the superiority of French 
 color, went to Lyons for the purpose of improving his process, and 
 bargained with the most celebrated manufacturer in that capital 
 for the acquisition of his secret, for which he was to pay a thousand 
 pounds. He was shown all the processes, and saw a beautiful 
 color produced, yet he found not the least difference between the 
 French mode of fabrication and that which he had constantly 
 adopted. He appealed to the manufacturer, and insisted that he 
 must have concealed something. The manufacturer assured him 
 that he had not, and invited him to see the process a second time. 
 He minutely examined the water and the materials, which were 
 the same as his own ; and, very much surprised, said, ' I have lost 
 my labor and my money, for the air of England does not permit 
 us to make good carmine.' 'Stay,' says the Frenchman, 'do not 
 deceive yourself : what kind of weather is it now?' 'A bright, 
 sunny day,' said the Englishman. 'And such are the days,' said 
 the Frenchman, 'on which I make my color. Were I to attempt 
 to manufacture it on a dark and cloudy day, my result would be 
 the same as yours. Let me advise you. my friend, always to make 
 carmine on bright, sunny days.' 'I will,' says the Englishman, 
 ' but I fear I shall make very little in London."' 
 
 In regulating the quantity of any compound that is to be manu- 
 factured at one time, it will of course be found that the larger this 
 quantity is, the less is the proportional expanse of manufacture. 
 Great care must however be taken to keep the proportions correct, 
 and this is obviously to be done only by multiplying or dividing the 
 quantities by the same number; addition or subtraction, canuot be 
 permitted. Thus, if the formula calls for 8 parts of A, 3 of B and 
 5 of C, we must not add or subtract any given quantity from 
 these numbers, or the proportions will be chauged If we wished 
 to get a less quantity than 8, 3 and 5 would give, and if we sub- 
 stracted 3 from each of the quantities, we would get 5 parts of A, 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 none at all of B, and 2 part9 of C, making 7 parts in all. If we 
 wished about this amount, we could get it by dividing all the 
 quantities by 2; we would then have 4 parts of A, 1^ of B, and 
 2£ of C, making 8 parts in all. In this case the proportions would 
 remain unaltered. 
 
 The manner in which the articles are put up is important from 
 several points of view. In the first place, the neatness and elegant 
 appearance of any article always has considerable influence on its 
 sale. This is seen most clearly perhaps in the case of perfumes, 
 where the style of label and the general character of the "get up'* 
 will almost enable a good judge to determine the quality of the 
 article. A label that is plain simply from its cheapness, or one 
 that is overloaded with tawdry floral fl igree-work, is always 
 indicative of something cheap. On the other hand, an artistic but 
 moderately plain label has a contrary effect upon the better class 
 of purchasers ; and as the tastes of the people are getting educated 
 to this, the manufacturer must study this aspect of his subject if 
 he would command success. At the same time, it is well to bear 
 in mind that a label which would prove attractive to educated 
 persons might not please the untutored tastes of freshly imported 
 factory operatives, and if the article is meant for them, their 
 "fancy" must be suited. The American girls that work in fac- 
 tories and similar positions are in general more cultivated, and 
 this should not be forgotten. 
 
 Labels for many fancy articles, such as perfumes, etc , may be 
 obtained cheaply from men who make a business of manufacturing 
 these things, and who are consequently enabled to offer at a cheap 
 rate, designs that to the single small manufacturer would be so 
 expensive as to be prohibitory. Indeed, label printing has now 
 become a separate business, and if a label for even a razor-paste 
 is wanted, it is better to go to these meu than to get the work 
 done in an ordinary job printing office. Not only do they do the 
 work more cheaply, from the fact that they have special tools and 
 facilities, but the labels have a certain professional air which 
 exerts a powerful, though not easily described influence upon the 
 purchaser. 
 
 The character of the vessel or case in which the articles are put 
 up also deserves careful study, and will depend greatly upon the 
 character of the goods. Liquids are, of course, put up in bottles, 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 whicn may be of glass, earthenware, tin, or piper. The latter, if 
 properly prepared, so &s to be waterproof, make9 a cheap and 
 excellent bottle. We have seen ink put up in such bottles and 
 kept for years It seems to us, however, that wilh a proper sys- 
 tem of moulds and stamping tools, bottles might be made of cUy 
 very cheaply and neatly. Such bottles, if well hurned and glazed, 
 are quite as good as glass, and as they are far less liable to break- 
 age, they deserve in many cases to have the preference. The old 
 liquid blacking was put up in very serviceable, wide mouthed 
 earthenware bottles. 
 
 The stopper is another important feature of such bottles. Of 
 course, nothing equals a goad glass stopper, well ground, but it 
 is expensive. Corks are to be preferred, and if soft, and thor- 
 oughly well saturated with paraffiae, they will close any bottle very 
 tightly, and will resist the action of corrosive liquids. Stoppers 
 may also be made of any soft elastic wood. Tney are cheaply 
 turned by boys, and may be made quite ornamental. The part 
 which acts as a stopper should be well soaked in melted paraffiae. 
 
 It is a great advantage to corks to have them topped with 
 wooden discs, firmly glued in place with waterproof glue It adds 
 not only to their appearance, but to their durability, and it obviates 
 the necessity for a corkscrew. 
 
 It has of late become quite common for manufacturers to put 
 up a small corkscrew with each corked bottle (ink, patent medi- 
 cine, etc. ) This is a great convenience; and as such corkscrews 
 are manufactured in quantity at a very cheap rate, such liberality 
 pays. 
 
 Paraffiae paper, or waxed paper, as it is often called, enables 
 us to form very neat and serviceable packages. This material is 
 of special advantage where we have to deal with deliquescent 
 powders, and other matters that are liable to be affected by the 
 atmosphere. A good, heavy paraffiae paper, managed with care, 
 may be made to form a receptacle almost as tfficient as a glass 
 bottle. 
 
 While the financial success of any manufacturing undertaking 
 does not depend altogether upon the real excellence of the article 
 offered for sale, it is unquestionable that q lality has a very im- 
 portant iufluence in this direction in regard to everything, except, 
 perhaps, patent medicines. So far as these are concerned, the 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 actual quality of the medicines seems to have very little influence 
 upon the extent of the sales. Advertising, and other methods of 
 prest nting them to the public, are the great agents in creating a 
 demand for such goods. 
 
 It is therefore imperative that he who undertakes the manu- 
 facture of any article should make a -careful study of everything 
 onnected with it, — the best methods of preparing it, the action 
 of the ingredients one upon the other, the simplest and best 
 methods of applying it, etc., etc. He who relies upon a recipe 
 alone will fail, where the thorough and careful worker will suc- 
 ceed most satisfactorily. 
 
 The name that is selected for any article will frequently have 
 an important influence on the extent of its sale, and it is well for 
 the manufacturer to study this point with great care. High- 
 sounding names do not always prove very attractive. 
 
 While it is a fact that some very large manufacturing concerns 
 have risen from such small beginnings as the unaided efforts of 
 one man, who at first did all the work of preparing, packing, 
 labelling, selling and collecting, yet it is equally true that where 
 one has succeeded many hundreds have failed. Moreover, that 
 which succeeded a few years ago will not succeed now; the pro- 
 gress of science and the arts has left it behind, and the manufac- 
 turer on a small scale stands no chance whatever. A striking 
 instance of this is seen in the manufacture of the matches so com- 
 monly used for obtaining a light. F.fiy years ago chemists manu- 
 factured their matches on a small scale, and charged and obtained 
 enormous prices. Of course, under such circumstances they made 
 a profit. Then single families devoted themselves to fie manu- 
 facture; the elder members performed the more difficult opera- 
 tions, while even the younger children found profitable employ- 
 ment in making cheap paper boxes to hold the finished products. 
 Now, however, the business has passed into the hands of a few 
 manufacturers, whose productions are of enormous value; and it 
 is safe to say that these manufacturers can furnish the finished 
 article for iess than the small manufacturer could buy the raw 
 material ! 
 
 Before entering upon the manufacture and sale of any article, 
 a careful estimate should be made of the amount of capital 
 required, and of the means of procuring it. It matters not whether 
 
INTRODUCTION. iv 
 
 this amount is one dollar or one hundred thousand dollars ; if the 
 amount on hand is not equal to that which is required, the business 
 will be up-hill work. It is said that "a stern chase is a long 
 chase," and when the capital has to be made out of the business 
 the chase will prove a long one indeed. Therefore, since the 
 amount of capital required for various undertakings differs very 
 materially, see that the enterprise which Is chosen Is one that does 
 not make too heavy demands upon the amount at command. In 
 general it will be found that where the competition is most 
 severe the capital Deeded will be greatest. Thus, to manufacture 
 perfumery will need more than would be required in the manu- 
 facture of a grease extractor ; and to establish an ink factory will 
 take more than would be needed for the manufacture of rat 
 poison. 
 
 •In estimating the cost of any preparation, spec'al attention 
 must be paid to the varying prices of the ingredients when these 
 are bought under different conditions Let us take, for example, 
 a very common article— ink. One of the clref ingredients used in 
 the manufacture of ordinary black ink is sulphate of iron. If we 
 buy an ounce of this article at an ordinary drug store, the charge 
 will probably be five or ten cents. If we buy a few pounds from 
 any large establishment the price will probably be six cents per 
 pound. If we procure a hundred pounds from a wholesale house 
 the charge per pound will probably be less than half this, and if 
 we procure it from the manufacturer it will be a great deal lower 
 still. On even moderately large quantities of product this differ 
 ence iu price of the articles used is sufficient to seriously affect the 
 income of the manufacturer. 
 
 As a general rule it will be found that it is of little use to try 
 and compete with established manufacturers unless we adopt some 
 new methods of sale, some specially attractive manner of putting 
 up the articles, or some noticeable improvement in the articles 
 themselves. That th's might be done in many cases, however, is 
 beyond a doubt Let us take even the well-worn subject of ink — 
 an article which is manufactured on a very large scale by several 
 establishments possessing abundant capital, and fitted up with all 
 the appliances necessary to control the market. To such an extent 
 does this apply to this article, that it is sold to the trade at rates 
 with which the small producer cannot possibly compete, and yet 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 we have known of dozens of persons who have attempted to make 
 a living by manufacturing and selling ink on a small scale. Tbey 
 managed to secure a good recipe; by care and skill they produced 
 a really good article ; it was neatly put up, and success seemed 
 almost assured. But somehow or other the enterprise always 
 failed And yet it is possible that by striking out in some new 
 direction, success might be assured.- The novelty nvght take one 
 of several phases. Tbus, it might be in price. At present, so far 
 as we can learn by irquiry in several stores, the cheapest bottle of 
 ink is five cents. Now these small bottles are very frequently 
 bought by persons who wish to write only one or two letters ; they 
 do not care to keep a supply on hand, and if they were offered a 
 three-cent bottle of really fair quality, they would probably take 
 it. The price should be printed clearly on the label, the quality 
 of the ink guaranteed, and the name of the manufacturer should 
 be distinct. The bottles might be quite small, as this would be 
 no objection, so far as the persons we have described are con- 
 cerned, and to many it would be an attraction. Every school-girl 
 would exclaim, "Oh. how cunning!" and the price being only 
 three cents, many would buy them out of curiosity. 
 
 The mails now offer great facilities for the sale of small articles, 
 and quite a business is carried on by many in this way. Unfor- 
 tunately, however, the mails have been abused by many who have 
 used them for fraudulent purposes, and the public have become 
 wary, so that it requires some time and considerable advertising, 
 as well as a very attractive subject, to establish a paying business 
 in this way. But there are many subjects which are so thoroughly 
 adapted to the mails— that is to say, those who need them are so 
 widely scattered, and the articles th mselves are so easily and so 
 safely transmitted, that a business of this kind offers great tempta- 
 tions Of course, it must be borne in mind that no liquids or glass 
 bottles can be sent by mail without subjecting the sender to heavy 
 penalties. Neither can any compound which is liable to injure 
 letters, books or papers be so sent. But there are numerous pre- 
 parations which may be sent cheaply and with perfect safety, and 
 the firld 19 not only inviting, but lucrative. There are houses in 
 N»w York that have grown up from small beginnings uutil their 
 mail business has reached thousands of d 'liars per day. 
 
 A very effectual way of increasing the sale of any product, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 indeed of creating a sale where none previously existed, consists 
 in furnishing full and accurate information in regard to its quali- 
 ties and the best methods of u^ing it. This may often be done 
 by means of neat and compact circulars, which should not be in 
 the shape of what are known as " broadsides" or leaflets, for these 
 soon find their way into the waste-basket, but in small books or 
 pamphlets of four or more pages Such pamphlets, if got up 
 without much display, and without a great deal of "blowing," 
 may be made to convey really useful information, and will be 
 accepted as such, and preserved where a more obtrusively adver- 
 tising sheet would be thrown aside. There are many subjects 
 which might be thus treated for advertising purposes, and yet 
 with the pill so gilt or sugar coated that the real intent of the 
 publisher would be forgotten. Let us take as an example the 
 case of a person who sets out to make and sell poison for the 
 destruction of vermin— rats, mice. etc. There are several such 
 poisons in the market, and by giving to one of them a new name, and 
 telling innumerable falsehoods about it, report Bays that a small for- 
 tune has been made. VVc refer, of course, to "Hough ou Rats," 
 which is nothing more or less than common white arsenic of very 
 impure quality, although it is frequently asserted that it does not 
 contain any arsenic at all. But suppose some person whose tastes 
 and opportunities led him in that direction, should prepare a good 
 article of phosphorous paste, put it, up in neat and attractive form, 
 and offer it for sale And suppose he should at the same time 
 print and distribute a neat little tract on the destruction of vermin, 
 describing their habits, and giving a few anecdotes of their cun- 
 ning aud sagacity, ending with a short description of the different 
 poisons in u«ie — arsenic, strychnine, caibonate of baryta, etc, — 
 detailing their qualities, stating the orj -ctions to them, and linally 
 presenting phosphorus as the most eligible, aud giving the reasons 
 therefor Can any one believe that such a tract if well prepared 
 and wide'y distributed, would not create a market for the new 
 poison? or rather we should say, perhaps, for the old poison in 
 its new shape ? 
 
 Other subjects might be handled in a similar manner, and with 
 equally good prospects of satisfactory results Thus, a furniture 
 polisher or renovator might be made known through the medium 
 of a small tract upon the care and repair of furniture. A razor- 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 paste might be heralded by a page or two on bow to keep a razor 
 in order, and how to shave ; a scouring or cleansing fluid, by one 
 on the care and cleaning of garments ; and so on to the end of the 
 chapter. 
 
 la these days of rigid economy the most earnest efforts are 
 made to utilize every part of what would otherwise be waste, and 
 the success that has been attained in some directions has been 
 indeed wonderful. A few instances will impress this upon our 
 readers more fully than any amount of argument. 
 
 A few years ago, comparatively, the waste matters, tar, etc., 
 from our gas factories, were allowed to flow away and be wasted, 
 or even to inflict positive injury by polluting our streams, etc. 
 Now all this matter is saved, and the products obtained from it 
 are of the utmost value. The beautiful dyes that render the pro- 
 ducts of our looms so gorgeous; the cement which protects our 
 roofs from the action of the rain; the flavoring extracts with 
 which our soda-water, puddings, blanc mange, etc , are rendered 
 palatable, and numerous other important products, are obtaiaed 
 from these waste matters, and it is even proposed to extend their 
 value by extracting from them the material necessary for sweeten- 
 ing our tea and coffee. 
 
 The entrails of slaughtered animals were at one time a mere 
 source of annoyance, which proved a nuisance and threatened 
 pestilence. These are now utilized for the purpose of making the 
 best and strongest kind of cords. 
 
 Tin scraps are even now thrown in vast quantities into pits 
 and waste places, and frequently threaten to become a nuisance. 
 In some cases they have been converted into products of great 
 value, and the field is yet open for further developments in this 
 direction. 
 
 These are but a few instances out of many. There is scarcely 
 any field more promising than the utilization of waste material, 
 but it will require careful study, cautious experiment, and con- 
 siderable time, labor and money to make them productive. 
 
 It may be set down as one of the few axioms that hold good in 
 business that, with the exseption of such staple commodities as 
 wheat, iron, cloth, etc , for which there is a known market and a 
 fixed price, the sales, and consequently the financial success of the 
 manufacturer or dealer, will depend upon the amount and kind of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 advartiaing that be gives to his business. Of all the great fortunes 
 that have been made, outside of Wall street and of real estatei 
 nine-tenths owe their existence to judicious and enterprising adver- 
 tising. At the same time it must be acknowledged that quite as 
 much money bus been wasted in useless advertising as ever was 
 made by tbose who advertised wisely and well, aud we know of 
 no way in wnich money may be squandered more easily than by 
 advertising in the wrong way and in the wrong medium. 
 
 It is sometimes said that advertising is like learning — a little 
 being a dangerous thing. This is not true, at least so far as our 
 experience goes. No matter how small the extent of the adver- 
 tising, provided other conditions are right, some good results will 
 follow; but all experience shows that if we double our advertising 
 we will nearly quadruple the results — always provided, of course, 
 that we advertise something that is wanted, and that we advertise 
 it wisely. Hence the secret of the success of those who spend 
 hundreds of thousands uf dollars in advertisements ; the very air 
 seems to be full of the subject. Wherever we turn, we are con- 
 fronted with a notice of their goods, until their names and the 
 names of their manufactures become so associated with the sub- 
 ject that, whenever we think of anything in that line, we think 
 of them. So it was with Spalding's glue ; this glue, in its day, 
 was so extensively advertised, that the very thought of glue 
 brought Spalding's glue to mind. Such advertising is sure to 
 succeed, but it requires the command of enormous capital. 
 
 Advertising is an art which requires much study to attain 
 success, though it is exceedingly difficult to lay down any general 
 rules for the guidance of the advertiser. One or two points, how- 
 ever, may be noted as importaut. 
 
 Where the article is in general demand, circulation is the great 
 point to be looked for in the advertising mediuna. It is a well- 
 known fact that the circulation of many journals is greatly ovei- 
 stated, and it re quires considerable acumen and good judgment on 
 thepaitof the advertiser to make a judicious selection in this 
 respect. 
 
 The character of the circulation cannot be safely neglected, 
 and this is particularly the case in regard to advertisements which 
 appeal to particular classes. Thus an article, specially used by 
 physicians, if advertised in one of the New York dailies, whose 
 
xx INTRODUCTION. 
 
 circulation mounts into the hundreds of thousands, might not be 
 as well presented as if it were advertised in a medical journal of 
 as many hundred?. If the article is intended for the use of people 
 of means and education, it is useless to advertise it in the very 
 cheap and sensational daily and weekly journals. The magazines 
 and the more respectable class of dailies and weeklies will be found 
 to be the best medium. 
 
 Circulars are an efficient means of advertising, provided they 
 are properly distributed. It must be borne in mind, however, that 
 if distributed by mail, the postage alone amounts to a good deal 
 ($10 per thousand) and it is very difficult to make such a selection 
 of addresses as will yield anything like satisfactory results. It is 
 true that in a circular we can say a great deal more than can be 
 said in au advertisement, uuless we incur enormous expense for 
 the latter. The best way probably is to combine both the journal- 
 istic and circular methods, and this can be done by means of a 
 small but attractive advertisement offering a descriptive circular. 
 If the advertisement describes the circular as containing special 
 and valuable information, and states that it is sent free, large num- 
 bers of people will apply for it, and then the advertiser obtains 
 at once a list of persons specially interested in the subject on 
 hand. 
 
 As we have already stated, however, the art of advertising is 
 one that will demand much study, in order to make it successful ; 
 and while it is impossible to lay down any rules for guidance, 
 there are four causes of failure which, may be mentioned as sub- 
 jects of avoidance. These are : 
 
 1. Advertising in j >urnals. of which the rates are greatly too 
 high in proportion to their circulation. 
 
 2 Advertising in journals that do not reach the right parties. 
 
 3 Inserting advertisement which do not attract and hold the 
 attention of possible customers. 
 
 4 Advertising articles which, from their general character or 
 inferior quality, are not wanted. 
 
 Advertising rray be carried on with one or both of two distinct 
 objects in view. We may either seek to reach the customer 
 directly, or we may try to induce him to ask for our goods at the 
 store in which he usually trades. The latter is the most 
 effective plan in building up a large trade, and the most ingenious 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 dev ; ce9 have been adopted by some famous houses for the pur- 
 pose of carrying it out It is related of the celebrated house of 
 Day & Mirtin, that they secured a wonderful demand for their 
 blacking by the following device : They hired several good-look- 
 ing young men, and dressing each one up in a different livery, 
 sent them out amongst the tradespeople of London One of them 
 would enter a store or shop, a3 it is called in England, and ask 
 for a package of Day & Martin's blacking. If the proprietor had 
 it on hand, the blacking was purrhased and carried off. with a 
 few strong words in its commendation. The shopkeeper was sure 
 to replenish his stock a9 soon as it got low. If he did not have 
 it, he would be sure to recommend something which he claimed 
 to be equally good, if not better. But it was of no use — " His 
 Lordship," the liveried footman's master, would not allow the use 
 of aoy blacking but Day & Martin's. In an hour or two another 
 liveried footman came in and repeated the same story, and after 
 three or four bad thus called, the shopkeeper would be sure to lay 
 in a supply. Having it on band, he would be as sure to try and 
 sell it, and thus it is said that an enormous demand was created 
 for this article. 
 
 Those who seek to reach customers directly must either com- 
 mand a local trade or they must deal by mail or express. It often 
 happens that the neighbors of the manufacturer are his first and 
 be9t customers; from these reputation, with its consequent sales, 
 spreads to distaut parts, and in time the business grows to huge 
 proportions. A business built up in this way is fr« quently of slow 
 but very enduring growth, and such a mode of increase is generally 
 a sure sign of the excellence of the article manufactured. 
 
 Where customers are to be secured by mail or express, the goods 
 must be compaci, and easily and fafely packed, so as to be readily 
 and cheaply transported without risk of injury to themselves or of 
 damage to other goods which may be carried with them at the same 
 time. And this feature will frequently decide the nature of the 
 trade upon which the manufactu<er may be inclined to enter, and 
 the character of the advertising in which he may invest. 
 
 To explain our meaning further, let us take the subject of ink. 
 If put up in glass bottles, it would be impossible to command more 
 than the most limited trade by attempting to reach consumers 
 directly. The goods must, in this case, be sold to retailers, who 
 
xiii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 will find the individual customers and induce them to buy. But 
 if a portable article of really good quality were offered, it might be 
 sold freely through the mails : an^ if jt presented any special 
 novel'}', thousands of orders might be obtained, so that quite an 
 extensive mail business might be transacted with all parts of the 
 country. To complete the outfit, a good article of steel pen, with 
 a neat little holder, might accompany it, and thus a traveller's 
 outfit might be offered under very attractive conditions For such 
 a purpose, the best ink would probably be that suggested by 
 Bottger, which consists of paper saturated with one of the aniline 
 colors. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that in describing the various possible 
 enterprises which have been mentioned throughout this introduc- 
 tion, we have not intended to suggest the actual adoption of the 
 business to which tbey might give rise. They have been selected 
 merely as illustrations of general principles. 
 
 No man need attempt to establish a business of the kind that 
 we have indicated unless he can bring to his aid a certain amount 
 of originality and a very thorough knowledge of the special sut j -ct 
 in hand. This knowledge should be based on something more 
 than the mere reading of recipe books ; the general principles 
 involved must be thoroughly mastered, and then such special 
 processes selected as will be mtst likely to enable the manufac- 
 turer to meet the wants of those whose custom he desires. 
 
TRADE SECRETS:" 
 
 A COLLECTION OF 
 
 RECIPES, PROCESSES AND FORMULAE. 
 
 Amandine. 
 
 This ia a favorite preparation, used to whiten and soften the 
 akin, and also to prevent its chapping Tn use, a portion of the 
 compound, about half the size of a small filbert, is rubbed with a 
 few drops of warm water, and the resulting rich white lather 
 applied to the bands, arms face and neck In a short time, and 
 whilst the water on it is still milky, the skin is gently wiped with a 
 soft napkin. 
 
 The following is the method of preparing a superior article : 
 Take fine almond oil, 7 lbs ; simple syrup. 4 oz ; white soft soap, 
 or saponaceous cream, i e., crone d'Aroande, 1 oz ; otto of 
 almonds. 1 oz • otto of bergamnt, 1 oz ; otto of cloves, 4- < z. Rub 
 the syrup with the soft soap until the mixture is homogeneous, 
 then rub in the oil by degrees ; the perfume having been pre- 
 viously mixed with the oil. 
 
 In the manufacture of amandine the difficulty is to get in the 
 quantity of oil indicated, without which it does not assume that 
 transparent jelly appearauce which good amandine should have. 
 To attain this end, the oil is put into '' a runner," that is, a tin or 
 glass vessel, at. the bottom of which is a small faucet, spigot, or 
 tap. The oil being put into this vessel is allowed to run slowly 
 into the mortar in which the amandine i9 being made, just as fast 
 as the maker finds that he can incorporate it with the pa9te of soap 
 and s\rup; and so long as this takes place, the result will always 
 have a jelly texture to the hand If, however, the oil be put into 
 the mortar quicker than the workman can blend it with the paste, 
 then the paste becomes " oiled," and may be considered as "done 
 for,'' unless, indeed, the whole process be gone through again, 
 starting off with fresh svrup and soap, using up the greasy mass 
 as if it were pure oil This liability to '• go off" increases as the 
 amandine nears the finish ; hence extra caution and plenty of 
 "elbow grease " must be used during the addition of the last two 
 pounds of oil. If the oil bs not, perfectly fresh, or if the tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere be above the average of summer heat, it 
 
24 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 will be almost impossible to get the whole of the oil given in the 
 formula into combination; when the mass becomes bright and of 
 a crystalline lustre, it will be well to stop the further addition of 
 oil to it. 
 
 This and similar compounds should be potted as quickly as 
 made, and the lids of the pots banded either with strips of tin- 
 foil or paper, to exclude air When the amandine is filled into the 
 jirs. the top or face of it is marked or ornamented wiih a tool 
 made to the size of half the diameter of the interior of the jar, in 
 a similar way to a saw ■ a piece of lead or tortoise-shell, beiDg ser- 
 rated with an angular file, or piece of an old saw, will do very 
 well; place the marker on the amandine, and turn the jar gently 
 round. 
 
 Aromatic Vinegar, 
 
 This is a compound of strong acetic acid, with certain power- 
 ful essential oils, or aromatic herbs It has a'ways been held in 
 very high repute as a disinfec'ant, and as a prophylactic (pre- 
 ventive) in contagious fevers It is sometimes known as Thieves' 1 
 Vinegar, for the curious origin of which name see the close of this 
 art cie There are several formulae the following being most in 
 repute-. — Edinburgh Pharmacopeia: Concentrated acetic acid, 1^ 
 pints; rosemary and tDyme, dried, of each, 1 oz ; lavender, also 
 dried, £ < z. ; cloves, bruised, j drachm. Macerate for seven days, 
 strain, express strongly, and rilter the liquor. 
 
 Henry's aromatic vinegar is prepared by dissolving oils of 
 cloves, lavender, rosemary, and the like, in concentrated acetic 
 acid. Camphorated acetic acid is sometimes substituted for aio- 
 matic vinegar The formula for this preparation is as follows: 
 "Take of acetic acid, G fluid ounces; camphor, | an ounce; 
 alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Reduce the camphor to powder by 
 means of the alcohol, then add the acid and dissolve." The 
 editors of the 'United States Dispensatory" say : " In the present 
 state of knowledge, it is hardly necessary to observe that ueither 
 the original nostrum nor its substitute has any other power of pro- 
 tecting the system against disease, than such as may depend on 
 iis slightly stimulant properties, and its influence over the ima gi- 
 nation " As knowledge has advanced, however, we have learned 
 that m»ny of the essential oils have a very powerful effect, upon 
 those gi-rms. etc , upon which contagion, or rather infection, is 
 supposed to depend, so that the thieves may not have been so far 
 wrong after all 
 
 Thibvbs' Vinbgar. — This compound was so called because 
 four thievt-s confessed that during the plague at Marseilles, they 
 p'undered the dead with impunity, by using it as a disinfectant. 
 The formula for so called thitvei? vinegar (Le vinaigre des quatres 
 voleurs). is as follows : Dried leaves, or tops of rosemary and sage, 
 of each. 4 < z ; dried flowers < f lavender 2 < z ; cloves, 1 drachm; 
 distilled vinegar, 1 gallon. Digest, for seven days, press and filter. 
 
VINEGAR-AXLE GREASE. 25 
 
 Aromatic Rosk Vinegar.— Rod roses, picked and dried, \ lb ; 
 best vinegar. 4 pints; macerate for fourteen days, stirring occa- 
 sionally, then strain, and afterwards Alter. 
 
 Aromatic Lavbndrr Vinhgar —Fresh lavender flowers. ^ lb. - 
 vinegar, S pints. Macerate, etc., as directed in preceding recipe. 
 
 Artificial Honey. See Honey, artificial. 
 
 Axle Grease. 
 
 Some years ago, before the era rif cheap petroleum, tbe manu- 
 facture of axle grease out of refuse fats was quite a paying busi- 
 ness. Now, owing to the cheapness of the heavy petroleum oils, 
 there is not so much opportunity to make money, and it is found 
 more profitable to convert even cheap and rancid fats into soap. 
 But as the plaut required for the manufacture of axle grease is 
 not nearly so extensive or so costly as that needed for a soap fac- 
 tory, there will always be places and occasions where a business of 
 this kind may be established. 
 
 Almost any kind of fat may be employed, and some kinds, such 
 as bad butter, may be utilized for this purpose that are unfit for 
 anything else. In order to make them fit for lubricating purposes 
 they must be carefully rendered— that is, melted and freed from 
 impurities If mixed with a proportion of plumbago, the quality 
 and appearance are greatly improved, and for heavy wagous tbe 
 grease should be hardened bv being partially converted into soap 
 by being boiled with caustic soda The manufacturer would do 
 well to put up two kinds of axle grease — one for light and ihe 
 other for heavy wagons They may be named No 1 and No 2, 
 and should differ materially in hardness. For fine light wagons 
 and carriages the grease should be comparatively soft, but for 
 bulb kinds the plumbago will be found a most valuable addition. 
 
 Success in this branch of business will depend greatly upon the 
 sources of supply for greas-e and plumbago The latter is chiefly 
 in tbe hands of one firm, but the grease may be obtained from 
 centres of butter trade, Irom kuackers' yards, glue factories, etc., 
 etc. Any special ncipe has very little to do with success, simply 
 because ihe manufacturer cannot afford to buv staple articles of 
 grease. He must confine himself to waste products, and as these 
 vary in their characteristics, so he must vary his lieatment He 
 must, therefore, make a special study of the subject and not 
 depend upon any one recipe. 
 
 The rtctpe usually sold for this purpose is that of the celebrated 
 "Booth's Axle Grease," which was oiiginally designed chuflv for 
 railroad pmposes The fob owing are the directions given in the 
 original patent: Dissolve ^ lb common soda in 1 gallou of water, 
 add 3 lbs of tallow, and G lbs palm oil (or 10 lbs palm oil on))) ; 
 heat them together to 200 or 210 deg F.; mix, and keep the mix- 
 ture constantly stirred till the composition is cooled down to 60 
 or 70 deg. F. A thinner composition is made with £ lb. of soda, 
 
26 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 a gallon of water, a gallon of rape-oil, and \ lb. of tallow, or 
 palm oil. 
 
 Thi8 is, no doubt, a most excellent preparation, but " there is 
 no money in it." 
 
 Baldness. See Hair. 
 
 Balsam of Honey. 
 
 A pleasant compound for softening and whitening the skin, 
 preventing cbaps, etc It is thus prepared : Take of finest pale 
 honey. 4 oz ; glycerine, 1 oz.; unite with a gentle heat, and when 
 nearly cold add alcohol, 1 oz., essence of ambergris, 6 drops, and 
 bottle it at once. 
 
 Barometer, or Storm Glass. 
 
 This is an article for which there seems to be considerable 
 demand, although it is well known that its indications are not 
 quite reliable. But as the formula is in market, we give it ; Take 
 2£ drs of camphor, 38 grs. of nitre, and 38 grs of sal ammonihc ; 
 dissolve them in 9 drs. of water, and 6 drs of rectified spirit, with 
 a gentle beat This is placed in a glass tube, covered with a brass 
 cap with a small hole to admit air. Or i' may be put in an eau 
 de Cologne, or other long bottle, tied over with bladder. Its 
 various changes are supposi d to indicate changes of weather, but 
 the indications are not to be relied on By the sale of the instru- 
 ment itself a large fortune must have been made, if we may judge 
 by the numbers that are to be seen. 
 
 Black-boards, Liquid Slating for 
 
 L ; quid slating, as it is sometimes called, is a liquid by means 
 of which any smooth board or wall may be converted into a 
 black board for school or other purposes It consists essentially 
 of a paint or varnish, mixed with some powder that will give it 
 sufficient roughness to cause th chalk or crayon to make a mark, 
 and yet not be so rough as to grind these articles away unneces- 
 fa-'ly. The liqud may be anything which, when dry, is not easily 
 acted upon by water, and the powder should be light and sharp 
 Emery and iron oxide, which are sometimes recommended, are 
 too heavy and are difficult to apply, from tbe fact that they 
 sink to the bottom of the liquid in spite of constant stirring. 
 Pumice-stone, finely ground and well sifted, is very good ; so is 
 rottenstone A very coarse diatomaceous earth or tripoli would 
 answer well, but most of the material of this kind that can 
 be had is too fine, and does not. give a cutting suiface. The sur- 
 face when finished should be a dead black, and not a shiny, glisten- 
 ing one Lampblack is the color usually employed, but it is 
 probable that a carefully prt pared bone black, made from the 
 hardest and most solid bones, and sifted so as to take out the 
 coarse, and also the extremely fine particles, would make the best 
 
BLACKING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. 27 
 
 material. A small quantify of some very dark and intense b'ue 
 might he add« d to improve the color. The liquid might he any of 
 those nami d hereafter, or it might consist of at*mall prop rtion of 
 quick drying oil, thinned with some cheap solvent like benzine. 
 Trie black board is constantly coming into more extensive use in 
 our schools, and a good slating Tqiid will always command a 
 sale, to a certain extent It is, therefore, worth while to experi- 
 ment on the subject, looking to the production of a cheap as well 
 as a good anicle. The following are the recipes generally sold 
 under tins bead : 
 
 1 Take alcohol (95 per cent ) 4 pints ; shellac, 8 oz ; lamp- 
 black, 12 drachms; ultramarine blue, 2 drachma ; powdered rotten- 
 stone, 4 i z ; powdered pumice stone, 6 oz First dissolve the 
 shellac in the alcohol, then add the other ingredients, finely 
 powdered, and shake well. To apply the stating, have the surface 
 of the board smooth and perfectly free from grease. Shake well 
 the bottle containing the preparation, pour out a small quantity 
 only into an old tea cup, and apply it with a new flat varnish 
 brush as rapidly as possible. Keep the bottle well corked, and 
 shake it up every time before pouring out the liquid. 
 
 2 Instead of alcohol take a solution of borax in water; dis- 
 solve the shellac in this, and color with lamp-black, adding a little 
 pumice stone 
 
 3. Dilute silicate of soda (water glass) with an equal bulk of 
 water, and add sufficient lamp black to color it. The lamp-black 
 should be ground with water and a little of the silicate before 
 being added to the rest of the liquid. 
 
 Blacking for Boots and Shoes. 
 
 Biacbiug is in such universal demand that there is always a 
 market for a good article, but the economical manufacture of 
 something, that is at least as good as the best, requires a pretty 
 extensive outfit, and we doubt very much if the manufacture of 
 blacking can be made to pay on a small scale. Years ago blacking 
 was, in many cases, an article of household manufacture, but 
 to day it is made almost entirely by certain large manufacturers. 
 That there is money in a superior article there can be no doubt. 
 It seems to u«, however, that in order to realize the best results, 
 both financially and as regards the quality of the product, some 
 of the materials should be manufactured also. I his is specially 
 true of the coloring matter, which is usually bone black. In 
 many districts the materials for the manufacture of bone black 
 may be obtained cheaply, and in considerable quantity, and by 
 preparing it himself the manufacturer will get a better article at a 
 cheaper rate. 
 
 A good blacking should preserve the leather, give a fine gloss, 
 with little labor, and maintain its brilliancy in the presence of 
 considerable moisture. In almost every recipe where bone-black 
 is directed to be used, sulphuric acid is also employed, and if the 
 
28 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 proportion of sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol is not too great, the 
 lime of the hone black will so combine with the acid that the 
 destructive qualities of the latter will be completely neutralized ; 
 but if too much acid is used, the leather to which the Marking 
 is applied will soon be rendered rotten. And if instead of genuine 
 bone black, some merely carbonaceous pigment be used, such as 
 lamp black or Franktort black, the acid will not be neutralized, 
 and the leather to which the blacking is applied will be injured 
 This is a point that is sometimes overlooked by those who have 
 not had considerable practical experience. 
 
 The old recipes directed sugar, treacle or molasses as an agglu- 
 tinant, but since the introduction of glycerine as a cheap article of 
 commerce, it has been found that great advantage is obtained by 
 substituting some of this liquid for a portion of the molasses If 
 too much glycerine be used, the brilliancy of the gloss will be 
 impaired. One part of g'ycerine to three of molasses will serve 
 to soften and improve the leather, without affecting the other 
 qualities. 
 
 Since glucose possesses properties almost identical with 
 molasses, and since it is now manufactured at a cost which is 
 merely nominal, it is not improbable that this substance might be 
 used to good advantage in the manufacture of blacking. 
 
 It is sometimes found advisable to remove a part of the lime 
 from bone black by dissolving it in muriatic acid. The process is 
 somewhat troublesome and expensive, but it greatly improves the 
 product, as it prevents that greyish appearance which too much 
 lime is apt to give A good deal depends, however, on the quality 
 of the bone-black and the way in which it is manufactured If it 
 is exposed to the air to any extent whatever, during the process of 
 burning, it will lose its coloring power. The bone black found in 
 commerce generally contains an unusual proportion of lime, a cir- 
 cumstance which is due to two causes One is that much of the 
 fats or solid carbohydrides are removed from the bones before they 
 are charred. This is done for the value of the grease or fat. 
 Another is that much of the bone-black that is sold has been 
 charred two or three times, having been first used for decolorizing 
 sugar. Indeed, almost all the bone-black that is found in market 
 is made with a view to the decolorizing and purifying of sugar 
 and other organic compounds, and not for the purpose of forming 
 a pigment, and we have found th>-t very different methods of pre- 
 paration are required if we would secure the best product for 
 each of these purposes Bone black, made from unprepared 
 bones, contains much more carbon ; has, consequently, much 
 greater coloring power, and will produce an article of blacking of 
 such superior quality that it will always pay the manufacturer to 
 prepare his own bone black. When bone black has been deprived 
 of its lime, the caution previously given in regard to the use of an 
 excess of sulphuric acid, must be carefully attended to. 
 
 Other kinds of black have been used, but none have been 
 
BLACKING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. 29 
 
 found to give such good results as good hone-black Common 
 lamp black lias not bod 3/ enough; Frankfoit black, which is made 
 by charring the twigs and seeds ot the vin<\ is better, but does not 
 equal bone-black Neither does the black made by roasting the 
 kernels <r pits of funis But since a certain shining or glossy 
 quality, which is found to be detrimental to these colors, when 
 used as paints, seems to he rather an advantage in the manufacture 
 of blacking, it is quite possible that the charcoal from sea-weed 
 would prove of special value. This material can he had in unlim- 
 ited quantities along the coast, so that the ouly expense would be 
 that of collecting, drying and charring it. 
 
 Franc ; s tells us that, the ol j-ct of the oil of vitriol is to promote 
 the shining and the drying, and he says that it is not injurious, if 
 used in small quantities ; but it ia unnecessary, and has the t fleet 
 of producing a whiteness upon the leather if it be not polished 
 immediately after it is laid on '"Blacking will always dry well 
 if nm de wiih vinegar, and shine well if sugar candy be substituted 
 for sugar." The great objection 10 this substitution, however, is 
 the extra cost 
 
 The following is his formula for a blacking without sulphuric 
 acid: Bone black, 4 oz ; molasses, 2 oz ; vinegar, ^ pint; sper- 
 maceti oil, a teaspoonful The bone black must be very finely 
 ground, and the oil is first mixed with it. The molasses are then 
 added, and lastly the vinegar If the ingredients are of the best 
 quality, this blacking will be found exce»dingly good. 
 
 The addition of oil to blacking lends to soften and preserve 
 the leather, but if too much be added, it increases the d fficulty of 
 getting a good "shine." The oil chosen should be some cheap, 
 non drying fat oil. Coarse neatsfoot oil is often used, and would 
 be preferred if it could always be had cheaply. 
 
 It is said that the enly improvement that has been introduced 
 in the manufacture of blacking since the early days of the cele- 
 brated Day & Martin is, a ft w hours after the conclusion of the 
 mixture of the ingredients (but before adding the vinegar, if 
 any), to simmer the whole very gently for about eight or ten 
 minu'e*, observing to stir it thoroughly all the time The fire 
 must then be withdrawn, and the pan covered over until it is quite 
 cold, when half an hour's vigorous stirring will finish the proctss. 
 In this way a degree of maturity and brilliancy wiil be imparted 
 to the product, which, without the application of heat, it would 
 take months to acquire, if. indeed, it ever reached it. 
 
 The beating must of course be performed either in stoneware, 
 enamelled or wooden vessels, otherwise the acids will &ct it ju- 
 riously. Mixtures are readily heated in wooden vessels by means 
 of s'eam, which may be passed through in coils of leaden pipe. 
 Lead, when exposed to the action ot sulphuric acid, becomes 
 quickly coated with a layer of sulphate of lead, which prevents 
 further action on this metal. 
 
 It is a curious fact that while a blacking, which put ports to be 
 
30 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 French, will be in greatest demand in this country. Frenchmen 
 pr« fer a blacking which claims to be English Thus Labou'aye 
 tells us that " the blacking which is generally employed is that 
 which is dried aud polished hv means of a bru«h. and which goes 
 by the name of English blocking " And he further tells us that 
 "there are a multitude of recipes for preparing this article, into 
 which ivory or bone black, su'phuric acid, and a gummy or 
 saccharine matter always enter. The reripe, which gives a good 
 blacking at the lowest possible price, is the one to be preferred, 
 and the following combines these important points : Take of 
 
 " Ivory black 2 kilogrammes. 
 
 Molasses 2 " 
 
 Su phuric acid. siroDg 40 " 
 
 Powdered gall nuts 12 " 
 
 Sulphate of iron 12 " 
 
 Water 2 litres. 
 
 [The kilogramme is 2*2 pouuos, and the litre is 1 06 quarts ] 
 
 *• Pour the molasses into an earthen vesstl, of a capacity of 10 
 litres, and mix in, little by little, the ivory black [or rather the 
 bone-black, for the French d« fine ivory black as an animal char- 
 coal made from selected bones] The gal'-nuts are to be hoiled for 
 one hour in a litre of water, and then filtered. The sulphate of 
 iron is to be dissolved in the remainder of the water, and half the 
 solution is to be mixed with the ivory black and the molasses. To 
 the remainder of the solution is added the sulphuric acid, stirring 
 constantly, and the whole is poured, little by little, with constant 
 stirring, into the vessel containing the molasses and ivory black. 
 A lively effervesence ensues, the volume of the mass increases 
 very much, and it becomes quite thick. Finally the infusion of 
 nut galls is added, and the whole mixed well together. 
 
 •' The result is a soft paste. If gum has been added to the black- 
 ing, it will have solidified, because it combines with the oxide of 
 iron, forming an almost insoluble compound. If a liquid black- 
 ing is desired, the mass should be diluted with 5 litres of water, 
 well stirred, and bottled quickly, the whole being stirred vigor- 
 ously, so as to avoid the formation of the deposit which, without 
 this precaution, would certainly be formed ." 
 
 This is substantially the old English recipe which, with a few 
 changes, such as we have already noted, gives most excellent 
 results. 
 
 The following is a favorite recipe, which yields an excellent 
 liquid blacking. By diminishing the proportion of beer or vinegar, 
 a paste blacking of any degree of consistence is produced : 
 
 Take of bone-black, 16 parts ; molasses, 12 pans; oil of vitriol, 
 3 parts ; oil, of any good, fat, non drying kind, 2 parts; gum 
 arabic, 1 part; strong vinegar, or sour beer, 48 to 50 pans (all by 
 weight); place the bone-black in a capacious wooden, stoneware, 
 or enamelled iron vessel, add the oil, and rub them well together; 
 next gradually add the molasses, and actively aud patiently grind 
 
BLACKING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. 31 
 
 or rub the mass, after each addition, until the oil is perfectly 
 killed, and finally for some time afterwards, to ensure complete 
 admixture; then cautiously dilute the vitriol with about three 
 times its bulk of water, and add it, in separate portions, to the 
 former mixture, observing to stir the whole together as rapidly as 
 possible on each addition of the acid, and for some minutes after 
 the whole is added, so as to render the mass thoroughly smooth 
 acd homogeneous; let it stand, covered over, for two or three 
 days, or longer, stirring it in the meantime for fifteen or twenty 
 minutes daily ; lastly, having dissolved the gum in the vinegar, 
 add the solution gradually to the rest, and stir the whole together 
 briskly for some time, and again daily for three or four days. It 
 may be further dilut« d, at will with a little more vinegar or beer, 
 or with water; but unnecessary or excessive dilution should be 
 avoided, as the richness and quality of the blacking bec< me pro- 
 portionately reduced If all the ingrediems (» xc« pt the vitriol) be 
 made hot btfore admixture, the shining quality of the product, will 
 be greatly improved, the process may be shortened, and the 
 necessity for suhstquent. heating in a measure avoided. Remem- 
 ber, however, that the mixture of cold oil of vitriol with cold 
 water produces a liquid of almost a boiling temperature 
 
 It is said that the following formula for German Paste Blacking 
 is by the celebrated chemist, Liebig: 
 
 Ivory black. 1 part; molasses, i part; sweet oil £ part ; mix 
 as directed in the previous r« eipe ; i ben stir in a mixture of hydro- 
 chloric acid. £ part ; oil of vitriol, { part (each separately diluted 
 with twice its weight of water before mixing them ) 
 
 A recipe for a so called waterproof blacking has been exten- 
 sively sold, being copied from various recipe books, most of 
 which, however, give it in a very mutilated form. Cooley recom- 
 mends it very highly but whether from experience or mere hear- 
 say we know not. The following are the ontrmal directions given 
 by the patentees. James & Br\ant : Dissolve 18 oz of caoutchouc in 
 about 9 pounds of hot rape oil To this solution 60 pounds of fine 
 ivory (t)one?) black and 45 pounds of molasses are to he added, 
 along with 1 pound of finely ground gum arahio. previously dis- 
 8olv« d in 20 gallons < f v uegar of strength No 27 These mixed 
 ingredients are to be finely triturated in a paint mi'l till the mix- 
 ture b> comes p'rbclly smooth To this varnish 12 pounds of 
 sulphuric acid are to be now added in small successive quantities, 
 with powerful stirring for haf-an-hour. The blacking Urns com- 
 pounded is allowed to stand for 14 flays, it being stirred for half- 
 an hour daily ; at the end of which time 3 pounds of finely giound 
 gum arabic are added, after which, the stirring is repeated half an- 
 h< ur daily for fourteen days longer, when the liquid blacking is 
 ready for use. 
 
 In making the paste blacking, the patentees prescribe the 
 above quantities of india rubber oil, ivory black, molasses, and 
 gum arabic, the latter being dissolved in only 12 pounds of 
 
S2 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPE& 
 
 vinegar. These ingredients are to be well mixed, and then ground 
 together in a mill until they form a perfectly smooth pat»te. To 
 this paste 12 pounds of sulphuric acid are to be added in small 
 quantities at a lime, with powerful stirriog, which is to be con- 
 tinued for half an hour afier the last portion of the acid has been 
 in'.roduced. This paste will be found fit for use in about seven 
 days. 
 
 Dressing for Ladirs' Shoes, eto — Boil for half an hour 20 
 parts of bruised gall nuts and 10 parts of logwood in 500 parts of 
 water; strain the liquor and add lO parts sulphate of iron and 2£ 
 parts sulphate of copper, and allow the whole to stand 12 hours. 
 The next day the clear fluid is drawn from the sediment and 
 heated, and 00 parts of gum arabic dissolved in it, and finally 60 
 parts of syrup and 150 parts of alcohol added 
 
 This is evidently a badly made ink, thickened with gum and 
 syrup, and preserved with alcohol. 
 
 French Dkhssing for Boots, Shoes, Hand-Bags, bto — 
 Vinegar 2 pints; water, 1 pint; glue, £ lb.; logwood chips, 
 £lb; finely powdered indigo, £ oz ; solt soap, £<z ; isinglass, 
 £ < z Soak the isinglass and glue in the water and beat until 
 dissolved. Bail the logwood in the vinegar for 20 minutes and 
 strain. Add the hot solution of glue and isinglass, and stir in the 
 indigo and soft soap. 
 
 French Blacking. — The following article requires no polish- 
 ing It is to lie applied wiih a sponge and allowed to dry. Take 
 molastes, 4 < z ; lampblack. £ cz ; yeast, a tablespoouful ; the 
 whites of two eggs; olive oil, a teaspoonful ; oil of turpentine, a 
 teaspoonful. Mix well. 
 
 It is very evident that such a mixture would not keep well. 
 
 Aut matio or Shif Shining Dkessing — Gum arabic, 16 oz ; 
 molajses or coarse brown sugar, 6 oz ; good black ink. 1 pint; 
 strong vinegar, 8 oz.; alcohol and sweet oil, of each 4 oz Dissolve 
 the sum in the ink, add the oil, and nib together until they foim 
 a smooth emulsion Then add the vinegar and w«>rk that in 
 thoroughly which may be done by i-haking on the small scale, 
 or by iriiuralmg larger quantities. At the close add the alcohol, 
 mix it well in, and bottle the bquid immediately. 
 
 When well made of good materials this polish gives a beautiful 
 gloss to all kinds of leather, but as it is not water-proof, it is only 
 adapted to clean dry weather or indoor use. 
 
 Bleaching Liquid. 
 
 This name has been given to several compounds, and the one 
 generally recognized by this term is a solution of chloride of lime. 
 All Hie liquids of th s class, however, including L'ibarraque's 
 Fluid and Javelle Water, are corrosive, and for some purposes 
 inadmissible. Oue of the most powerful, and certainly the least 
 injurious to most materials, is the peroxide of hydrogen, or 
 
BLEACHING LIQUID-CEMENTS. 33 
 
 Thenard's oxygenated water. It is to be found in market at a 
 very bigh price, put up in small bottles, and used by ladi( 
 changing the color of the hair to a beautiful golden hue, and it is 
 probably the only hair colorant that does not exert an injurious 
 influence on the health. For bleaching ivory, bone, and similar 
 easily corroded materials, it is the only thing that should ever be 
 used. 
 
 It is somewhat difficult to prepare by those who have had no 
 experience, and those who undertake its manufacture should by 
 all means study the subject carefully in the larger chemical books 
 before entering upon the work to any great extent. But like 
 many other things, it can be made easily and cheaply if the proper 
 appliances are used. The following directions will form a guide 
 to those who wish to experiment on the subject: 
 
 Expose fragments of perfectly pure baryta to a current of 
 oxygen gas, in a green glass tube heated to a dull redness, so 
 as to form a deutoxide of barium. To 7 oz of water add as much 
 pure hydrochloric acid as will dissolve 4 drs. of baryta ; add to 
 this by degrees, 3 drs. of pulverized deutoxide of barium, and 
 when this is dissolved, add sulphuric acid, drop by drop, till the 
 baryta falls down in the state of sulphate. Then add more 
 deutoxide, and precipitate by sulphuric acid as before. Then 
 filter the solution ; and repeat the solution and precipitation 
 several times, till about 3 oz. of deutoxide of barium are used, 
 filtering the liquid after every second repetition. Sulphate of 
 silver is then added to remove the hydrochloric acid, and after- 
 wards pure baryta, to throw down the sulphuric acid, and a few 
 drops of diluted sulphuric acid to remove any excess of baryta. 
 
 This energetic compound must not be confounded with the 
 oxygen water formed by impregnating water with oxygen gas ; 
 nor with the oxygenous aerated water of Searle, which is water 
 strongly charged with protoxyde of nitrogen. 
 
 Cements. 
 
 It is an old adage, that "accidents will occur even in the best 
 regulated families," and when these accidents take the form of 
 the breakage of a piece of furniture or crockery ware, the first 
 thing the good housewife generally looks for is some cement with 
 which to repair damages; and so strong is this instinct, that 
 we have known a very frugal housekeeper to spend twenty five 
 cents for cement wherewith she might mend a five-cent teacup! 
 And all this, of course, works to the advantage of the small man- 
 ufacturer of these goods. The following are a few well known 
 and thoroughly-tried formulae for producing saleable articles. The 
 goods may be put up in various ways ; some, like the liquid 
 cement, must be put up in small bottles; others are best put up in 
 tin boxes, while a very excellent cement for some articles of 
 earthenware may be formed into rolls, wrapped in paper, and sold 
 at a cheap rate. Manufacturers of cement frequently furnish 
 
34 TEADE SECEETS AND PEIYATE EECIPES. 
 
 samples, showing the strength of their wares, and this is a capital 
 idea. A person who sees a broken plate cemented together, and 
 a weight of many pounds supported by the joint, is always per- 
 suaded that the cement is good, although such tests really prove 
 nothing- A plate of glass, six inches wide and a quarter of an 
 inch thick, exposes a surface of one-and-a-half square inches on 
 the joint. Now, a rock weighing 75 lbs. makes quite a show, and 
 if the joint will hold up such a block without parting, it would 
 seem that the cement must be extraordinarily pood ; and yet the 
 force to which the joint is subjected is only 50 lbs. per square 
 inch, an 1 almost anything will stand that. 
 
 In selecting a cement for sale to the public, one must be chosen 
 which will keep well, and which is easily applied. There are 
 several excellent cements, such as white of eggs and lime, Sorel's 
 cement, etc., that set very toon after they are mixed. Such 
 cements cannot be made a merchantable article, and consf qnently 
 the recipes are of no use to the small manufacturer, although 
 recipes for them have been sold at astonishingly high prices. A 
 very good cement consists of plaster of paris, mixed wilh a solu- 
 tion of gum arabic to a thinnisb paste. This cement is beautifully 
 white, and will join two pieces of china or crockery very firmly, 
 but as it sets in a few minutes, it would ioim a solid, useless mass 
 as s^on as bottled. 
 
 For this reason white lead, red lead and similar compounds 
 should never form an ingredient in cements that are to be kept for 
 any length of time, though they are invaluable when the com- 
 pound is to be applied as soon as used. The following recipe has 
 been sold at very high prices : Take g'ue, 26 oz : white lead, 6 oz ; 
 wa'er, 3 pints : alcohol, 1 pint. Dissolve the glue over the fire in 
 a proper glue pot, mix in the white lead, and when cold add the 
 alcohol, and bottle. Now, this forms an admirable cement while 
 fresh, but after a time the white lead combines with the glue and 
 the article loses its strength. If good whiting had been substi- 
 tuted for the white lead, the cement would have kept much longer, 
 though it might not have been any better to begin with. The 
 game is true of oil and varnish. There is hardly any cement 
 better than good white lead ground in quick drying oil or varnish, 
 and it will join white china or earthenware so that the joint is 
 almost imperceptible, but, if bottled it soon spoils But good var- 
 nish ground up with enough sulphate of barytes to give it color, 
 will keep for a long time if well corked, ?nd forms a most excel- 
 lent cement. Sulphate of barytes is known as " Paris white," but 
 as there is a good deal of confusion in regard to the names of 
 white pigments, considerable care must be taken to get the right 
 thing. 
 
 The following recipes give good results, and the articles keep 
 well : 
 
 Diamond Cbment— Soak £ rz of isinglass in 4 cz water for 24 
 hours ;_evaporate in.a water bath to 2 oz., add 2 oz. rectified spirit 
 
CEMENTS. 95 
 
 (alcohol of 85 per cent ), and strain through linen. M'x this solu- 
 tion while warm with a solution of beet gum mastic in 2 « z alcohol; 
 ad ii I dracbm powdered gam ammoniac, and triturate together 
 umil perfectly incorporated, avoiding loss of the alcohol by evapo- 
 ration as much a^ possible. 
 
 Instantaneous Chmunt. — A solution of 1 part of amber in 2 
 parts of bisulphide ol carbon forms a cement which is very strong, 
 and which dries so rapidly that the articles can be used in a few 
 minutes afier ihey have been mended Bisulphide of carbon is 
 now comparatively cheap, Out its odor is rather objectionable. 
 This soon passes off, however. 
 
 Botany Bay Ckmbnt — This famous cement is composed of a 
 gum resin called B itauy Bay gum and brick dust melted together. 
 Botany Bay gum is produced by a plant which grows iu New 
 Holland, and is not iilwajs obtainable bere The best substitute is 
 a mixture of 3 parts of shellac and 1 part of pale resin (colophony). 
 This may be mixed with very finely powdered brick dust for a 
 reddish cement, or with plaster of Pans or sulphate of baryta for 
 a white article. It should be put up in rolls about the size of a 
 lead pencil and 3 inches long, and wrapped in paper, giving full 
 directions for its use. It is applied by heating the article until it 
 will melt the cement; the latter is then applied thinly to the 
 brokeu edges, the parts are pressed into close contact and allowed 
 to cool. 
 
 Unfortunately this cement softens with the heat of boiling 
 water, so that articles washed in hot water must be handled care- 
 fully. But when cold it is very strong. 
 
 WatkkproofCemknt. — The following is an old and tried recipe: 
 Take a'e, 1 pint; best Russian isinglass, 2 oz ; soak in a close 
 vessel for 12 hours, and then put them into a common glue kettle 
 and boil until the isinglass is dissolved ; then add 4 oz of the 
 best common glue, and dissolve it with the other; then slowly 
 add li oz of boiled linseed oil, stirring all the time while adding, 
 and until well mixed. When cold it will resemble india-rubber. 
 When you wish to use this, dissolve what you need in a sufficient 
 quantity of ale, to have the consistence of thick glue. It may be 
 used for earthenware, china, glass or leather; for harness; bands 
 for machinery ; cloth belts for cracker machines for bakers, etc. 
 If for leather, shave off as if for sewing, apply the cement with a 
 brush while hot, layiug a weight to keep each joint firmly for 6 to 
 10 hours, or over uight. If colored red with a little bole, or white 
 with a little fine plaster of Paris, it might be put up in wide-mouthed 
 bottles or earthen pots, closely covered, and sold as waterproof glue, 
 with full directions for use. 
 
 When plaster of Paris is used for this and similar purposes, it is 
 not best to use that which will set. Pure plaster, which has 
 been moistened and allowed to set, may be had at a cheap rate 
 from the Italian image makers, stereotypers, and others. This 
 
36 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 should be ground to a very fine powder, and used instead of fresh 
 plaster. It bus no tendency to set, and acts merely as a coloring 
 matter and a diffused solid, the latter being a very important 
 function in some compositions. 
 
 There is scarcely any cement better than a pure article c<>f lime 
 mixed with the white of egg. The best lime for this purpose is 
 said to be that from oyster shells. The shells should be thor- 
 oughly cleaned, well burned, air-slacked and finely powdered. 
 Such a powder put up in long, green glass bottles would be a 
 great convenience to the public and a source of revenue to the 
 manufacturer. A little white of egg is easily procured at any 
 time, but good lime is not so easily obtained. As much of tho 
 powder as will lie upon a dime, if made into a thin paste with 
 white of egg, will mend almost any common bowl, plate or tea- 
 cup. Full directions should accompany each bottle. 
 
 Chilblains. 
 
 Various remedies are in market for these annoying sores, most 
 of the remedies, however, being of a domestic character, so that 
 there is not much room for the preparations of the pharmacist. 
 The recipes usually sold for chilblain remedies are these : 
 
 Chilblain Salve. — Mutton tallow and lard, of each f lb. ; melt 
 in an iron vessel and add hydrated oxyde of iron2oz., stirring 
 continually with an iron spoon until the mass is of an uniform 
 black color; then let it cool and add Venice turpentine, 2 oz. ; 
 Armenian bole, 1 oz. ; oil of bergamot, 1 dr.; rub up the bole with 
 a little olive oil before putting it in. 
 
 Lhjeune's Balsam for Chilblains. — Camphor, 1 dr. ; tincture 
 of benzoin, 5 drs. ; dissolve, and add iodide of potassium, 5 drs. ; 
 extract of lead, 10 grs. ; spirit of wine, reduced to proof with rose 
 water, 2£ oz. ; dissolve 10 drs. of white soap in 2h oz. of the same 
 diluted spirit, by a gentle heat ; mix the solutions whilst still 
 warm, and add any perfume. Let it cool in wide-mouthed bottles, 
 and cork. 
 
 Chilblain Liniment. — Camphorated spirits, 2 oz. ; Goulard's 
 extract, 1 oz. Mix. To be applied three or four times a day. 
 
 Cider. 
 
 Genuine cider cannot be made from anything but the juice of 
 apples, properly expressed and fermented. Anything else is a 
 fraud. Some of the recipes for artificial cider that have been sold 
 do not give an article having anything of the flavor of cider, and 
 the stuff cannot be sold for cider to any person who has ever 
 tasted the real article. Such, for example, is that which directs 
 2 lb. of sugar or molasses; 1 oz tartaric acid ; 4 tablespoonfuls of 
 yeast ; 2 gallons of water. Dissolve the sugar in part of the 
 water, made hot, and then mix the whole. 
 
 Other recipes of a similar stamp have been sold, but none of 
 
CIDER— CORNS. 37 
 
 them will enable the user to produce an article having the flavor 
 and character of real cider. lu some cases the recipe directs the 
 use of a portion of reul cider, or the mixture of some of the 
 "cheese" from a cider press. This, of course, gives a sort of 
 dilute cider, hut cannot give satisfaction; and besides, the vendor 
 of such stuff, which is very easily detected by any chemist who 
 chooses to spend five minutes in examining it, lays himself liable to 
 heavy penalties in most States. Our advice to our readers, there- 
 fore, is to let such mixtures alone, and to put no faith in any one 
 who promises to furnish a recipe for "cider without apples." 
 
 Corns. 
 
 Corns arc such a common ailment that any good remedy is 
 sure to have quite a run. Very few people care to consult a 
 doctor, and yei corns are so annoying that something must be 
 done, and so the first cheap remedy that presents itself is the one 
 that is usually bought, unless indeed the sufferer should have some 
 special remedy recommended by a friend, and this is often the 
 case. 
 
 Most of the recipes direct the use of powerful caustics — in 
 some cases too powerful to be safe, lhus, the following is one 
 that has been freely sold : 
 
 Celebrated Three-Minute Salve.— For removing corns and 
 warts. It never fails. Caustic potash, 1 lb ; extract belladona, 
 A oz ; peroxide manganese, 2 oz. Mix and make into a salve 
 with a little lard. Put up in ^-oz. tin boxes ; sells for 25 cents. 
 Apply to the corn or wart, and in three minutes it will come off. 
 
 Caustic potash is the old potential cautery, or lapis infernalis 
 (infernal atone). The peroxide of manganese would merely serve 
 to color the compound, and the lard would aid in the formation 
 of a soft soap. Caustic potash should not be sold for such pur- 
 poses without sufficient warning as to its powerful effect. Such a 
 preparation is altogether too strong, and the article usually sold 
 consists chiefly of a strong solution of carbonate of potash. A 
 powder sold for the same purpose, consists of carbonate of potash 
 colored with ochre or bole. A pinch is placed on the corn, 
 and confined by means of a piece of adhesive plaster or rag. Sir 
 Humphrey Davy's name has been given to a remedy which 
 consists of carbonate of potash and salt of sorrel, similar*/ 
 applied. The following is one of the advertised Corn and Bunion 
 remedies: Carbonate of soda, 1 oz., finely powdered and mixed 
 with 4 oz. of lard. Applied on linen rag every night: the outer 
 skin to be pared off every two or three days. It may be varied 
 thus : Dried soda (carbonate?) 4 drs ; powder blue (smalts), a 
 scruple ; lard, 4 drs. ; mix. 
 
 Another caustic for corns is prepared as follows: Tincture of 
 iodine, 4 drs. ; iodide of iron, 12 grs. ; chloride of antimony, 
 4 drs. ; mix, and apply with a camel-hair brush, after paring the 
 
38 TRADE SECEETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 corn. It is said to cure in three applications, and we have heard 
 it very highly recommended by persons who had used it. 
 
 Strong acetic acid, sold in hermetically staled glass tubes, is 
 also recommend) d for this purpose. 
 
 The following recipe has been sold at high prices; of its value 
 we know nothing. Mix 3 drs. salicylic acid, 32 grs. extract of 
 Indian hemp, and 3 oz of collodion. Apply once a day to the 
 hard skin by means of a small brush. The skin is said to con- 
 tract to a horn like crust, and to become detached from the parts 
 underneath it, so that it can be easily removed without the 
 slightest pain. 
 
 Most of the corn plasters that are sold contain verdigris, or 
 acetate of copper. The following are favorite formulee : 
 
 1. Galbanum plaster, 1 oz. ; prepared verdigris, 1 scruple ; 
 melt, and mix. 
 
 2. Galbanum, 1 oz. ; black pitch, ^ oz ; simple diachylon, 
 £ oz. ; verdigris, a scruple ; sal ammoniac, a scruple. Melt the 
 first three together, and add the last two in fine powder. 
 
 3 Plaster of ammoniacum with quicksilver, 1£ oz ; soap 
 plaster, h oz ; opium in fine powder, i dr. 
 
 Plasters or pads, which act mechanically by relieving the 
 pressure from the corn, are also great favorites. Any suitable 
 adhesive plaster is spread on soft thick leather (buckskin), which 
 is afterwards cut to a suitable size by means of a gun-punch or 
 wad-cutter, and a hole punched in the centre. They are some- 
 times made of amadou, vulcanized india rubber, or a close, com- 
 pact felt. 
 
 Court Plaster. 
 
 This is a very convenient application for slight wounds or cuts, 
 and is easily made. It is found of various colors, chiefly black and 
 flesh-colored, and this depends altogether upon the color of the 
 silk used, though if only white silk were at hand it would be easy 
 to color it slightly with a little alkanet, or any other vegetable 
 coloring matter. The following formula gives good results : 
 
 Soak isinglass in a little warm water for 24 hours, then evapo- 
 rate nearly all the water by gentle heat, dissolve the residue in 
 a little proof spirits of wine (alcohol of 85 per cent), and strain the 
 whole through a piece of open linen. The strained mass should 
 be a stiff jelly when cool. Now stretch a piece of silk or sarsanet 
 on a wooden frame, and fix it ti^ht with tacks or packthread. 
 Melt the jelly, and apply it to the silk thinly and evenly with 
 a badger-nair or any very fine brush. A second coating must 
 be applied when the first has dried, and in some cases even a third 
 is given. When thoroughly dry, apply over the whole surface 
 two or three coatings of balsam of Peru. Plaster thus made is 
 said to be very pliable and never breaks. The quality of court 
 plaster depends upon the quality of the silk used, and also upon 
 the care taken to exclude all irritating and poisonous matter. 
 
COURT PLASTER— EGGS. 39 
 
 Many of the dyed silks are absolutely poisonous, and if the isin- 
 glass is kept too long in water, so as to become tainted, it may 
 cause serious injury. 
 
 Eggs. 
 
 'I tie recipes usually sold for preserving eggs depend for their 
 success upon the exclusion of air and the destruction of any germs 
 of putrefaction that may be present on the outside of the egg. If 
 decay baa once commenced inside the eggs, all efforts to preserve 
 them will prove futile. 
 
 To exclude the air the eggs may be coated with some greasy 
 or resinous substance. Butter, lard, tallow, wax and size have 
 been recommended, but of substances acting in this way, nothiDg 
 seems so efficient, as paraffine. One pound is said to be enough 
 for 1500 eggS, and as ibis material is not liable to become rancid 
 or to suffer other changes, it seems peculiarly well adapted to the 
 purpose. M. Dnrand, of Biois, proposes to preserve eggs by 
 coating them with silicate of soda. 
 
 Various pickles have been recommended for preserving eggs. 
 Common lime-water answers fairly well, as the lime is deposited 
 on the shell, forming a coating which excludes all air, and besides, 
 the caustic lime destroys all ^erms of putrefaction on the outside. 
 Common salt has also been used with good success. These pickles 
 act by their power to exclude air and to prevent incipient putre- 
 faction. 
 
 Another class of pickles act by placing the eggs in an atmos- 
 phere from which all oxygen has been removed. Prominent 
 amongst these are sulphurous acid, which miy be used either as 
 pure gas. a watery solution of the gas, or as sulphite of some 
 alkali. When used as pure gas the eggs are closely packed in an 
 air-tight bex, over which is placed temporarily another box of 
 exactly the same size, hut without, any bottom. Sulphur-matches, 
 such as are used for sulphurizing wine casks and smothering bees, 
 are burned in this upper box. and when the lower box containing 
 the eggs has been saturated with the gas, the upper box is 
 removed, and the lid of the egg box tightly screwed on and the 
 joints made air tight. The latter point is most easily accomplished 
 by having a narrow strip of rubber laid over the edge of the box. 
 
 Such is the method for the large scale. Any kind of glass, 
 earthenware, or wooden jar may be used. Metal will not answer. 
 If the operation be carefully performed eggs may be kept in this 
 way for a long lime. A solution of sulphite of lime is one of the 
 most convenient forms of applying this method. This salt is pro- 
 duced cheaply on the large scale, and is sold by the Rumford 
 Chemical Works, of Providence, R. I. A solution of half a pound 
 in a gal ion of water makes a good pickle and preserves eggs very 
 effectually. 
 
 In all c°.ses the eggs must be fresh to begin with, and they 
 must be kept in a cool place— and indeed, under these conditions, 
 eggs will keep a long time without any preparation. 
 
40 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Beyond what we have stated there are no "secrets" for pre- 
 serving eggs. Various complicated formulae have been sold, but 
 they are no better than the simple solutions we have named, and 
 are vastly more expensive. Their superior value consists wholly 
 in their power to put money in the pockets of the vendors. The 
 following recipes have been freely offered for sale. One of the 
 earliest recipes is that of Jayne (patented in England in 1791), and 
 is as follows : 
 
 Take a bushel of lime, 2 lbs. of salt, ^ lb of cream of tartar, 
 and water sufficient to form a solution strong enough to float an 
 egg. It is claimed that eggs may be preserved in this liquid for 
 two years. 
 
 The following has had strong claims made for it : The fresh 
 eggs are carefully placed in a mixture of five kilogrammes of 
 alum, dissolved in five litres of water, heated to from 45 deg. to 
 50 deg. O, and left in that liquid for from thirty to forty minutes; 
 the eggs are next drained, and in the meantime the solution of 
 alum is heated to a boiling point. The eggs are again immersed 
 in the liquid and kept therein from ten to fifteen seconds ; after 
 having been drained and cooled, they are packed in either dry 
 bran, sawdust, cork dust, sifted ashes, or in cotton-wool. 
 
 We give the following as one that will satisfy the most exact- 
 ing stickler for a complicated formula : Dissolve in one gallon of 
 water 12 oz of quicklime ; 6 oz. common salt ; 1 dr. soda ; i dr. 
 saltpetre ; i dr. tartar, and 1? dr. borax. The fluid is brought into 
 a barrel, and sufficient quicklime to cover the bottom is then 
 poured in. Upon this is placed a layer of eggs, quicklime is again 
 thrown in, and so on until the barrel is filled, so that the liquor 
 stands about ten inches deep over the last layer of eggs. The 
 barrel is then covered with a cloth, upon which is also scattered 
 some lime. 
 
 Face Powders, etc. 
 
 However much these things may be condemned and ridiculed, 
 there is always a demand for them, and it is as well that a simple 
 and harmless preparation should be placed in the market as that 
 those foolish persons who use such things should injure them- 
 selves with the use of poisonous metals. One of the most inno- 
 cent kind is prepared from Venetian talc, or French chalk, finely 
 levigated. These are sometimes calcined, to increase their white- 
 ness ; but this diminishes their unctuosity and adhesiveness. 
 Digestion with vinegar, and subsequent washing, are practiced for 
 the same purpose. Flake white (a fine variety of white lead) was 
 formerly much used, but is now generally condemned as unsafe ; 
 it is al30 liable to become brown under certain circumstances. 
 Pearl or bismuth white (magistery of bismuth) is less injurious 
 when pure, but is subject to the latter inconvenience. M. Thenard 
 recommends oxide of zinc, with an equal weight of French chalk 
 prepared by vinegar. Magnesia is said to be employed by some, 
 
PACE POWDERS. 41 
 
 and white starch is often used fortlie same purpose. Flake white, 
 pearl white, and similar compounds, contain lead or bismuth, and 
 should be studiously avoided. 
 
 RoUGB is prepared from carmine and the coloring matter of 
 safflower, by mixing them with finely levigated French chalk or 
 talc, generally with the addition of a few drops of olive or almond 
 oil. Sometimes fine white starch is used as the reducing ingre- 
 dient. It is used in the form of powder, pomade, and crepons — 
 the latter being pieces of crape imbued with the coloring matter. 
 Liquid rouge is prepared as follow - : 
 
 Carmine, \ oz ,; strong liquor of ammonia (not weaker than 
 •900), 1 oz.; put them into a stoppered bottle, set it in a cool place, 
 and occasionally agitate it for two or three days, to effect a solu- 
 tion ; then add of rose-water, 1 pint ; and after admixture, further 
 add of esprit de rose, h fi. oz.; pure rectified spirit, 1 fl. oz ; again 
 well agitate, and set ihe whole aside for a week ; lastly, decant 
 the clear portion from the dregs (if any), for use or sale. Very 
 fine. A cheaper article is made by omitting a portion of the car- 
 mine, and the whole of the esprit and spirit; and a still inferior 
 one by substituting H oz. of silver-grain cochineal (in powder) for 
 the carmine, with digestion for a week in the ammonia previously 
 diluted with one-half of the water. 
 
 Spanish Lady's Rouge. — This is properly "rouge crepons," 
 though cotton wool, which has been repeatedly wetted with a 
 strong ammoniacal solution of carmine and dried, is usually sold 
 for it. The true "crepons" are pieces of white woolen crape, 
 dyed with rouge. The crepon, either dry or moistened with 
 alcohol, is rubbed on the cheeks until a sufficient tinge is pro- 
 duced. Pieces of silk are also prepared and used in the same 
 way. Some writers assert that this way of using rouge is superior 
 to all others. The author of "Cosmetics and the Art of the Com- 
 plexion" says "the effect produced defies detection, and is per- 
 fectly harmless." 
 
 As there is a hesitancy on the part of many ladies to ask for 
 these articles in stores or public places, the sale of them, through 
 the post office, offers a special opportunity for establishing an 
 extensive mail business. 
 
 Bloom of Almonds.— Boil 1 oz. of ground Brazil wood in 2j 
 pints of soft water for 30 minutes, adding the juice of two lemons 
 towards the end ; strain and add £ oz. of isinglass, \ oz. of 
 powdered cochineal, 1 oz. of alum, and £ oz. of borax ; boil again 
 for 4 or 5 minutes, and strain througli muslin. Glass or earthen- 
 ware vessels must be used, as metals injure its color. 
 
 Laird's Bloom of Youth. — A careful analysis of this article 
 by Prof. Chandler revealed the fact that it consists chieiiy of oxide 
 of zinc, held in suspension in a colorless liquid. It owes its popu- 
 larity entirely to the advertising enterprise of the manufacturer. 
 
 Rowland's Kalydor. — This is a solution of bichloride of mer- 
 cury in milk of almonds. 
 
42 TRADE SECKETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Fire Extinguishing Powders and Liquids. 
 
 There is no doubt but that the efficiency of water in extinguish- 
 ing fires is greatly increased by the addition of certain salts. 
 These act in two ways : They cause the water to adhere to the 
 surfaces against which it is thrown, and to wet them instead of 
 glancing off in spherical drops, as we see when a little clean water 
 falls on a hot stove. They also coat the surface of the wood or 
 other burning material, and render it partially incombustible. 
 Such salts cannot be used on the large scale, as the expense would 
 be too great, but where a few tubs or buckets of water are kept in 
 a house or office, for the purpose of preventing accidents from 
 fire, they are of great value, as they not only greatly increase the 
 effective value of any given quantity of water, but they prevent 
 it from becoming putrid or tainted, and so requiring frequent 
 change. 
 
 Water glass or silicate of soda was one of the earliest articles 
 suggested, and it is one of the best. The most convenient 
 form, however, would be a powder, put up in packages, each one 
 of which would be sufficient for a common siz? pail of water. 
 Such a composition might be formed of alum, 2 parts ; sulphate 
 of ammonia, 1 part ; common salt, 4 parts. Grind to a fine 
 powder, and make up into ^-pound packages. 
 
 The powder known as Vienna Fire Extinguishing Powder is 
 composed of sulphate of iron, 4 parts ; sulphate of ammonia, 16 
 parts. This quantity is sufficient for 100 parts of water. Other 
 formula are: Sulphate of soda, 3 parts; bicarbonate of soda, 2 
 parts; sal-ammoniac, 5 parts; or, sal-ammoniac, 3 parts; bicar- 
 bonate of soda, 4 parts ; common salt, 3 parts. 
 
 Flavoring Extracts— Artificial. 
 
 Prof. Maisch, in the American Journal of Plmrmacy, gives a 
 series of formulce for preparing these artificial extracts, and these 
 formu !E have been copied with numerous errors, and sold quite 
 freely to those who are not familiar with the pages of that excel- 
 lent journal. The following are not the ones commonly sold, 
 but those which have been revised by Prof. Maisch, after the 
 original formu'ae of Kletz'msky. These formulae are giveu in 
 paits by measure for 100 parts alcohol, and wheuever acids are 
 used, they are tn be previously dissolved in alcohol : 
 
 Apple. — Aldehyde, 2 parts ; chloroform, acetic ether, nitrous 
 ether, and oxalic acid, each 1 ; glycerine, 4 ; amylvaltrianic 
 ether, 10. 
 
 Apiuoot — Butyric ether, 10; valerianic ether, 5; glycerine, 4; 
 amylic alcohol, 2 ; amyl-butyric ether, chloroform, cenanthic ether, 
 and tartaiic acid, each 1. 
 
 Banana —Consists usually of butyric ether and amyl-acetic 
 ether, equal parts, dissolved in about 5 parts alcohol. 
 
FLAVORING EXTRACTS, ARTIFICIAL. 43 
 
 Blackberry. — Tincture of orris root (1 to 8), 1 pint; acetic 
 ether, 30 drops ; butyric ether, 00 drop3. 
 
 Black Cherry. — Benzoic ether, 5; acetic etber, 10 j oil of 
 perfiico (peach kernels) and benzoic acid, each 2; oxalic acid, 1. 
 
 Chbbbt.— Benzoic ether, acetic ether, each 5; glycerine, 3 ; 
 cenanthie ether and benzoic acid, each 1. 
 
 Cubbant — Acetic ether, tartaric acid, each 5; benzoic acid, 
 succinic acid, benzoic ether, aldehyde, and ojuanthic acid, each 1. 
 
 Gkai'z. -(E ianthic ether, glycerine, each 10; tartaric acid, 5 ; 
 succinic acid, 8; aldehyde, chloroform; and formic ether, each 2 ; 
 and methyl-salicylic ether, 1. 
 
 Lemon. — Oil of lemon, acetic ether, and tartaric acid, each 
 10; glycerine, 5; aldehyde, 2; chloroform, nitrous ether, and 
 succinic ether, each 1. 
 
 Melon.— Sebacylic ether, 10; valerianic ether, 5; glycerine, 
 3; butyric ether, 4; aldehyde, 2; formic ether, 1. 
 
 Nkotakimb —Extract of vanilla, 2 parts; essence of lemon, 2; 
 essence of pineapple, 1. 
 
 Orange.— Oil of orange and glycerine, each 10; aldehyde and 
 chloroform, each 2; acetic ether, 5; benzoic ether, formic ether, 
 butyric ether, amyl-acetic ether, methyl-salicylic ether, and tar- 
 taric acid, each 1. 
 
 Peach. — Formic ether, valerianic ether, butyric ether, acetic 
 ether, glycerine, and oil of pcrsico, each 5 ; aldehyde and amylic 
 alcohol, each 2; sebacylic ether, 1. 
 
 Pear. — Acetic ether, 5; amyl-acetic ether and glycerine, each 2. 
 Pineapple.— Amyl-butyric ether, 10; butyric ether, 5; gly- 
 cerine, 3 ; aldehyde and chloroform, each 1. 
 
 Plum— Glycerine, 8; acetic ether and aldehyde, each 5; oil of 
 persico, 4 ; butyric ether, 2 ; formic ether, 1. 
 
 Raspberry. — Acetic ether aud tartaric acid, each 5 ; glycerine, 
 4; aldehyde, formic ether, benzine ether, butyric ether, amyl- 
 butyric etber, acetic ether, ceaanthic ether, methyl-salicylic ether, 
 nitrous ether, sebacylic ether, aud succinic acid, each 1. 
 
 Strawberry.— Butyric ether and acetic ether, each 5; amyl- 
 acetic ether, 3; amyl-butyric ether and glycerine, each 2; formic 
 ether, nitrous ether, and methyl-salicylic ether, each 1. 
 
 The different manufacturers of artificial fruit essences doubt- 
 less prepare them by formulae of their own, and this explains the 
 difference in the flivor, which is particularly noticeable on largely 
 diluting them with water. If the essences have been prepared 
 with a dilute alcohol, their odor is more prominent, and they are 
 apparently stronger; bur on raixiQg a small quantity with a large 
 amount of water in given proportions, the true flavoring strength 
 may be better discerned. 
 
U TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 The red color of strawberry and raspberry essences is produced 
 by aniline rod (fuchsine), the bluish tint of which is conveniently 
 neutralized by a little caramel. If caramel alone is used for 
 coloring; essence, a yellow or brown color is obtained, according 
 to the quantity used. 
 
 Fly Paper. 
 
 There are two kinds of fly paper in market ; one is merely 
 coated with a sticky composition which holds the flies when they 
 alight on it and keeps them until they die of exhaustion ; the 
 other contains a veritable poison which causes death in a few 
 minutes or seconds. 
 
 Of the sticky papers, the best are coated with artificial bird- 
 lime, prepared by boiling any vegetable oil with a little resin. 
 Rape-seed oil, linseed oil, or any of the cheap oils answer well. 
 After the resin and oil have been compounded they may be made 
 into a sort of emulsion with a little honey or molasses. The fol- 
 lowing formula gives good results : Resin, 1 lb. ; raw linseed oil, 
 1 lb. ; molasses, 4 oz. Melt the resin, add the oil little by little, 
 and while still warm beat up with the molasses.* 
 
 The objection to the sticky fly-paper, as a marketable article, is 
 the difficulty of packing them so that they will not consolidate 
 into a mass, and so become worthless. The above material might 
 be sold in pots or wide-mouthed bottles, and be smeared by the 
 purchaser on a stick or paper. And for a thick liquid like 
 factitious bird-lime, pots made of strawboard, coated on the inside 
 with size or glue, would answer admirably, and be very cheap. 
 But anything involving trouble on the part of the buyer or user 
 is objectionable. The article must be sold ready to use at once 
 without any special preparation. 
 
 The poisonous fly papers are not open to these objections, asd 
 if well dried will keep indefinitely. Cooley gives the following 
 formula : Treacle (molasses), honey, or moist sugar, mixed with 
 about 1 12th of their weight of orpiment (yellow tersulphide of 
 arsenic.) Paper is to be soaked in the mixture, dried and cut 
 into suitable pieces, which are to be laid on a plate containing a 
 little water. The water dissolves the mixture, bringing it back to 
 to the condition of a syrup, which the flies drink with great 
 eagerness. 
 
 A more efficient poison is made by boiling white arsenic in 
 caustic potash or soda until a strong solution of arseniate of potash 
 or soda has been formed. This is then mixed with sugar or 
 molasses and used as the previous syrup. The advantage of using 
 an arseniate of an alkali is that it forms a true solution, instead of 
 a mere syrup through which a poisonous powder is diffused. 
 
 * A recipe given in " Tcchno-Chemical Receipts," by Brannt, directs us to take 
 " 6 parts of colophony , 4 parts of rape-seed oil, and 3 of resin." Will the learned 
 author tell us the difference between colophony and resin? 
 
FLY TAPER. 45 
 
 Neither white arsenic nor the yellow orpiment dissolves freely in 
 water. 
 
 These arsenical preparations are, however, quite objectionable 
 from the fact thut they have a sweet taste, and if they fell into the 
 hands of very young children tlwy would be eagerly sucked, with 
 fatal results. Fortunately, there are other substances which have 
 a very disagreeable taste to human beings, and are not poisonous 
 to them, and yet are quite attractive and fatally poisonous to flies. 
 Redwood's formula for such a liquid is : 
 
 Small quassia chips, + oz. ; water, 1 pint; boil ten minutes, 
 strain, and add 4 oz. of molasses. Flies will drink this with 
 avidity, and are soon destroyed by it. It may also be employed to 
 saturate paper, which may be used as previously directed. 
 
 Quassia, as sold in small quantities, is quite expensive com- 
 pared with what it is in large amounts. It is imported in the 
 form of small logs or billets, and these have been used quite 
 extensively of late for the purpose of turning the quassia cups, 
 for which there has been such a demand. The chips of these 
 turners can frequently be had for a mere trifle, and at any rate, it 
 would always pay to use a bye product rather than to buy the 
 entire log and convert it into chips or sawdust. Such chips 
 might be steeped in cold water, at the rate of two pounds to the 
 gallon of water. They should remain in the liquid for 48 hours, 
 and the chips should then be boiled in half the quantity of fresh 
 water for two or three hours. The two liquids should then be 
 mixed together, and 2 lbs. of good sugar (which need not be quite 
 white), added to each gallon, and the whole well mixed together 
 until the sugar is dissolved. A fair quality of blotting-paper, of 
 fancy colors, may now be cut into circles of about five inches in 
 diameter, and the edges may be scalloped, so as to give it a 
 pretty appearance. These circles are to be well soaked iu the 
 liquid and afterwards thoroughly dried. One of them placed in 
 a common dinner-plate, and saturated with water, will attract a 
 great many flies to their certain destruction. 
 
 The liquid might be boiled down to a thick syrup and sold in 
 small bottles. The cost of the bottles would, however, amount to 
 a large percentage of the selling price, and "fly-paper" has now 
 become such a standard article that it is improbable that it could 
 be displaced by anything that was not very novel and attractive. 
 
 The paper discs might be made quite attractive in appearance 
 if properly cut, with neat scalloped edges. This would require 
 the use of a steel knife or punch, by which a large number might 
 be cut at one stroke in a press. Failing this, small square sheets, 
 of a size to lie on a common dinner-plate, would probably be best. 
 They should be put up in packages, enclosed in cheap envelopes, 
 with a description of the article, full directions for use, and a 
 note in regard to the dangerous character of arsenical poisons 
 printed on the back in neat form, avoiding unnecessary and tawdry 
 display. 
 
46 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Foot Powders. 
 
 Many persons are troubled with tender feet, and, which is quite 
 as bad, the odor is frequently exceedingly offensive, and not easily 
 removed by ordinary washing or bathing, or if removed, it returns 
 so speedily as to practically render ordinary washing ineffective. 
 The disease is known as bromidrosis. Louis XIV. , according to 
 Fragon, suffered from it to such a degree that the worst courtezans 
 in Paris fainted away at the first whiff of his perfumed feet. 
 Henry IV. bad the same redolent perfume, but this did not pre- 
 vent the diplomatic Queen Marguerite from occupying the same 
 couch ; and she pardoned her liege lord's legendary infidelities as 
 well as the loud smell of his royal toes. One day he was so redo- 
 lent that Madame de Verneuil, one of his court favorites, said to 
 him : " Sire, it is fortunate you are king ; without that your pres- 
 ence would not be tolerated — you stink worse than carrion." We 
 may remark, en passant, that the soldiers of the German army have 
 hereditary bromidrosis, and are said to be obliged by law to use a 
 deodorant powder of salicylic acid upon their feet. 
 
 Various powders and washes have been prepared and sold for 
 the purpose of remedying this evil. The following are amongst 
 the best : 
 
 Sub-nitrate of bismuth has been highly recommended. It is 
 to be applied with slight friction to the surface, and if offered for 
 sale it may be colored and perfumed. 
 
 Spooner, who is a most excellent authority, gives the following 
 as an efficient astringent powder for sore feet : Sulphate of copper, 
 1 oz .; prepared chalk, 4 oz.; powdered alum, 1 oz.; bole, 2 oz. 
 Grind together to an impalpable powder. 
 
 M. Paulcke prepares a mixture of salicylic acid, soap, talc and 
 starch, in the form of powder, to be applied to the feet, which, 
 whilst rendering them firm, is said to induce an agreeable softness, 
 and to remove all unpleasant smell arising from perspiration. 
 
 Freckles. 
 
 These harmless spots are the dread of ladies who pride them- 
 selves on their complexion, and consequently an endless variety of 
 nostrums, warranted to remove them, have been published and 
 sold. A most excellent lotion for removing freckles may be pre- 
 pared by mixing one part of good Jamaica rum with two parts of 
 lemon juicc'or weak vinegar. 
 
 A Pomade fok Fkfoklks is prepared thus : Take of citrine 
 ointment and oil of almonds, of each, 1 drachm; spermaceti 
 ointment, f oz ; otto of roses, 3 drops. Mix well in a Wedge- 
 wood ware mortar, using a wooden or bone knife. 
 
 A more powerful lotion, but one which should he used only 
 under medical advice, is comp 'teed as follows : Bichloride of mer- 
 cury, 6 grains; Hydrochloric acid ('pure, ep. gr. 1 16) 1 fl. drachm; 
 distilled water, \ pint. Mix, and add of alcohol and rose water, of 
 each 2 fl. oz ; glycerine, 1 oz. 
 
FRUIT PRESERVER— FUMIGATING PASTILS. 47 
 
 To be applied with the floger9 night and morning, or oftener. 
 Rowland's Kalydor seems to owe its efficacy in removing 
 freckles, to the same ingredients as the above lotion. 
 
 Fruit and Cider Preserver. 
 
 This is the sulphite of lime (not the sulphate), and is used for 
 preventing fermentation in cider, wine and fruit. When used for 
 cider and wine it answers a very good purpose, because by com- 
 bining with oxygen it forms sulphate of lime, which sinks to the 
 bottom, and does not mix with the liquid. But when U9ed with 
 fruits or very thick syrups it does not answer so well, as it is 
 difficult to separate it from the solid food. 
 
 Sulphite of lime, specially prepared for preserving wine and 
 cider, is manufactured by the Rumford Chemical Work9, Provi- 
 dence, R. I , in immense quantities, and sold by them at a rate 
 that leaves no margin to the small manufacturer. A recipe which 
 merely directs the use of their product, may be of value to the 
 consumer, but there is no money to be made by it. 
 
 Fumigating Pastils. 
 
 At one time these were in great request, but of late years the 
 demand has fallen off. They possess very little power, except 
 that of disguising evil odors, audit they are used as a substitute 
 for more energetic measures, they may prove indirectly dangerous. 
 Recipes for their manufacture, with very extravagant claims as to 
 their wondetful health preserving properties, are frequently offered 
 for sale. We therefore give one or two of the best: 
 
 The pastils consist essentially of charcoal, made into a paste 
 wilh mucilage, and mixed with nitre to make it burn, and with 
 perfumes to give the odor. The charcoal should be of the lightest 
 kind — that from basswood, willow or alder being the best. The 
 dry ingredients should be first reduced to fine powder, and the 
 balsams and essential oils (if any) being added, the whole should 
 be thoroughly and perfectly incorporated, after which the mixture 
 should be beaten to the consisteuce of a stiJ ductile mass or 
 dough with the mucilage. Gum tragacanth, owing to its greater 
 thickening and binding powers, is generally preferred to gum 
 arabic 
 
 They are generally made into small cones of about 7-8'.hs of an 
 inch in height, and half an inch in diameter at the base, and 
 where many are to be made, a proper mould is the best way of 
 forming them. Thi9 may be a mould like a bullei mould, but 
 made of cast-iron, or ev n some composition of lead, hardened 
 with a mixture of other metals. Such a mould is cheaply and 
 easilv made by any mechanic. 
 
 The following are a f> w favorite formulse: 
 
 1. Gum benzoin, 4 oz ; cascarilla, 1 oz ; nitre, £ oz ; charcoal, 
 8 oz ; oils of nutmeg and cloves, of each £ fl;iitl drachm; gum 
 tragacanth, 3 drachms. Grind the powders together, add liie oils, 
 
48 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 and having previously made a mucilage of the tragacanth, beat 
 the whole into a ductile mass, adding, if necessary, a sufficient 
 quantity of cold water. The pastils are then moulded and dried 
 in the air. The essential oils may be omitted, or styrax, balsam 
 of Peru or myrrh may be substituted for them. 
 
 2. Paris Formula. — Benzoin, 2 oz.; balsam of tolu and yellow 
 sandal wood, of each 4 drachms; nitre, 2 drachms ; labdanum, 1 
 drachm ; charcoal, 6 oz. Reduce to powder, mix thoroughly and 
 make into a stiff paste with gum tragacanth. Form into small 
 cones and dry them in the air. 
 
 3. Formula of Henry and Guibourt. — Powdered benzoin, 16 
 parts ; balsam of tolu and powdered sandal wood, each 4 parts ; 
 charcoal powder, 48 parts ; powdered tragacanth and labdanum, 
 each 1 part; powdered nitre and gum-arabic, each 2 parts ; make 
 into a paste with 12 parts cinnamon water, form into cones and 
 dry. 
 
 4 The following formula is somewhat complex, but gives very 
 fine results : Take the charcoal of any light wood, 200 parts ; gum 
 benzoin, 100 parts; powdered sandal wood, 50 parts; balsam of 
 tolu, 50 parts ; Storax (Styrax calamita), 50 parts ; gum olibanum, 
 50 parts ; cascarilla bark, 100 parts ; cloves, 40 parts ; cinnamon 
 (Ceylon), 40 parts ; potassium nitrate, 75 parts. Reduce the 
 ingiedients to powder, and mix them with oil of Ceylon cinnamon, 
 5 parts ; oil of cloves, 5 parts ; oil of lavender, 5 parts ; balsam of 
 Peru, 10 parts ; camphor, powdered, 1 part. Then add mucilage 
 of tragacanth sufficient to make a mass which is to be formed into 
 conical cylinders about f to 1 inch high, and ending at the bottom 
 in three projections. Dry them in a warm place. 
 
 The good burning qualities of the pastils depend greatly on 
 the completeness of the mixture and the moderate compactness 
 of the mass. If they burn too slowly, a little more nitre may be 
 added; if too fast, the quantity of nitre may be slightly lessened. 
 Animal perfumes, such as musk, civet, or ambergris, should never 
 be used in pastils, as they give off a very offensive odor in burn- 
 ng. Yet, strange to say, they are sometimes recommended. 
 
 Furniture Polish.— See Polisli. 
 
 Gall. 
 
 The gall usually employed is that of the ox, and it is used quite 
 extensively in its crude state by the scourers of woollen cloth, 
 clothes renovators, etc. It rapidly extracts grease and oil from 
 textile fabrics, and seldom, if ever, injures the colors. Indeed, 
 as a general rule, it brightens most colors, and hence with many 
 housekeepers it is a favorite cleansing agent for carpets, dresses, 
 etc. When used for such purposes it is generally diluted with 
 water — a pint of gall being added to a pailful of water. 
 
 Ox gall may be kept indefinitely by mixing it with a small pro- 
 portion of alcohol, and it is then quite as efficient as before, if 
 not more so. 
 
GALL-GANTEINE. 49 
 
 Purified gall is used by artists to fix chalk and pencil drawings 
 before tinting them, and to remove the greasiness from ivory, 
 tracing-paper, etc. For this purpose it is sometimes required to 
 be rendered as colorless as possible. It has been found very 
 difficult to bleach ox-gall without destroying its most valuable 
 properties. Indeed, for many purposes, the crude gall, simply 
 mixed with a little alcohol and filtered, is found to be superior to 
 any other preparation. A little gall, so prepared, mixed with 
 india-ink, improves greatly both its flowing and its indelible 
 qualities. The quantity used must be very small. We presume 
 it would be useful with other dark colors. Its deep tint would be 
 objectionable when used with the lighter colors. 
 
 Refined ox-gall is prepared in several ways, of which the 
 following are the best : 
 
 1. Fresh ox gall is allowed to repose for 12 or 15 hours, after 
 which the clear portion is decanted, and evaporated to the con- 
 sistence of a thick syrup by the heat of a water bath ; it is then 
 spread thinly on a di9h, and exposed in a warm situation near the 
 fire, of*to a current of dry air, until nearly dry; it is, lastly, put 
 into wide-mouthed bottles or pots, and carefully tied over with a 
 bladder. In this state it will keep for years in a cool situation. 
 For use a little is dissolved in water. 
 
 2. Fresh gall, 1 pint; boil, skim, add powdered alum, 1 oz. ; 
 boil again till the alum is dissolved, and when sufficiently cool 
 pour it into a bottle, and loosely cork it down. In a similar man- 
 ner boil and skim another pint of gall, add to it 1 oz of common 
 salt, and again boil, cool, and bottle it, as above. In three months 
 decant the clear from both bottles, and mix them in equal quanti- 
 ties ; the clear portion must then be separated from the coagulum 
 by subsidence or filtration. 
 
 Ox gall Soap— Gall soap, for the washing of fine silken cloths 
 and ribbons, is prepared in the following manner : In a vessel of 
 copper 1 pound cocoanut oil is heated to 60 deg. Fahr., and A pound 
 caustic soda is added, with constant stirring. In another vessel 
 h pound white Venetian turpentine is heated, and when quite hot 
 stirred into the copper kettle. This kettle is then covered and left 
 for four hours, being gently heated, after which the fire is increased 
 until the contents are perfectly clear ; then 1 pound ox-gall is added. 
 After this, sufficient perfectly dry Castile soap is stirred into the 
 mixture to cause the whole to yield but little under the pressure of 
 the finger; for which purpose, from 1 to 2 pounds of snap are 
 required for the above quantity. After cooling, the soap is cut 
 into pieces. It is excellent, and will not injure the finest colors. 
 
 Some of the Western slaughter-houses would furnish a tine 
 field for the establishment of a factory for purified ox gall and of 
 ox gall soap. 
 
 Ganteine. 
 
 This composition is sold for cleaning kid gloves, which it does 
 
50 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 very fairly under most conditious. It is sometimes improperly 
 called Saponfne. It is thus prepared : Dissolve 3 oz of soap by 
 heat in 2 oz. of water, and when nearly cold add 2 oz. of eau de 
 Javelle, and 1 dr. of water of ammonia; form a paste, which is to 
 be rubbed over the glove with flannel till sufficiently clean. 
 
 Glass Cutting. 
 
 A recipe for "cutting glass without a diamond" has often been 
 sold for considerable sums — from five to twenty- five dollars having 
 to our knowledge been paid for the so-called "secret.'' It is no 
 secret at all, but an old and well-known method, and consists in the 
 use either of a pastil or a red-hot poker or sharp-pointed rod of 
 iron. The method has its uses, though for cutting flat glass, such 
 as window-panes, and for cutting rounds or ovals out of flat glass, 
 the diamond is the best tool ; and, if the operator has no diamond, 
 it will always pay to carry the job to a glazier rather than waste 
 time and make a poor job by other and inferior means. But in 
 some cases the pastil or the hot poker is very convenient, and a 
 little practice will enable the operator to shape small rounds or 
 ovals with great rapidity, ease and precision. When bottles, or 
 flasks are to be cut, the diamond is still the best tool in skilful 
 hands; but ordinary operators will succeed best with pastils, or a 
 red hot poker with a pointed end ; aud we have never found any 
 difficulty in cutting off broken flasks so as to make dishes, or in 
 carrying a cut spirally rouud a long bottle so as to cut it into the 
 form of a corkscrew. And, by the way, when so cut, glass exhibits 
 considerable elasticity, and the spiral may be elongated like a 
 ringlet. The process is very simple. The line of the cut should 
 be marked by chalk or by pasting a thin strip of paper alongside 
 of it; then make a file mark to commence the cut ; apply the pastil 
 or the hot iron, and a crack will start ; and this crack will follow 
 the pastil wherever we choose to lead it. In this way j its are easily 
 made out of old bottles, and broken vessels of different kinds may 
 be cut up into new forms. Flat gla=s may also be cut into the 
 most intricate and elegant forms. Strings wet with turpentine, 
 friction, etc , are very inferior to this method. 
 
 Good pastils for cutting glass might form an article of mer- 
 chandize, and the following is the formula for preparing them : 
 
 1 Dissolve 100 parts of gum arable in 240 parts of water and 
 mix the solution with a paste prepared by grinding 40 parts of 
 powdered gum trau'aeanth with 640 pans of hot water Then 
 having dissolved 20 parts of storax aud 20 parts of berz >in in 90 
 parts of alcohol, strain this solution and add H to the mixed 
 mucilage. Finally mix the whole intimately with 240 to 280 parts 
 of pulverized charcoal so as to make ihe mass uniform throughout. 
 The charcoal should be finely powdered and we 1 Bifted. The 
 dou fe hy mass thus formed is rolled into a flat cake and then cut 
 into square stripes or rods which are rolled between two boards, 
 well dusted with powdered charcoal, until they form cylindrical 
 
GLASS CUTTING -LIQUID GLUE. 51 
 
 rods about one-third of au inch in diameter. These are then 
 allowed to dry slowly, after which they are fl r for u««. 
 
 2. Dissolve 8 to 10 parts of pim tragacanth in 100 parts of hot 
 water, add to the mixture with constant stirring. 30 parts of 
 acetate of lead and 75 parts of finely powdered and sifted charcoal. 
 Form into rods or pencils as directed in the previous recine. 
 
 To use these pastils take one and point it like a lead pencil ; 
 set it on fire by holding it in the flame of a lamp or candle and 
 apply it as previously directed. 
 
 Such pastils are easily and cheaply made, and are very con- 
 venient when it is desired to cut glass in irregular forms. They 
 might be put up in neat paper boxes, with printed directions on 
 the cover. 
 
 Clue, Liquid. 
 
 Various attempts have been made to produce glue in a liquid 
 form and of as good quality as the glue prepared in the ordinary 
 methods. It is generally conceded, however, that such an article 
 has not yet been produced. Spalding's glue, out of which a for- 
 tune was said to have been made, is not exactly a liquid, as it 
 requires to be warmed, and in this respect resembles carpenters' 
 glue. Indeed, a very neat little article of glue, glue pot and brush 
 has been placed on the market at an exceedingly low figure, and is 
 really a capital device. 
 
 Spalding's glue was simply glue dissolved in very strong 
 vinegar. The acid has a tendency to keep the glue more liquid 
 than it would otherwise have been. Nitric acid keeps glue in a 
 perfectly liquid form, but it injures its strength, and besides it cor- 
 rodes any metals with which it may come in contact. The follow- 
 ing are a few of the favorite recipes in this line : 
 
 Dumouun's Liquid akd Unaltbkabie Glue.— This is one of 
 the oldest forms and one of the best. It is prepared as follows: 
 Soak 8 oz. of best glue in 4- pint of water in a wide-mouthed 
 bottle and melt by heating the bottle in a water-bath. Then 
 add slowly 2h oz. of nitric acid, spec. gr. 1 330, stirring con- 
 stantly. Effervescence takes place under escape of nitrous acid 
 gas. 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 moment. It does not gelatinize, or putrefy, or ferment. 
 It is applicable to many domestic uses, such as mending china, 
 wood, etc. 
 
 An iron glue pot cannot be used in making this liquid glue, as 
 the acid would act on the metal. Glass or earthenware must be 
 used. 
 
 Liquid Gluk — Macerate 6 parts of glue in 16 parts of water, 
 uatil itie glue is swollen and soft. Add 1 part of hydrochloric 
 acid, and li parts sulphate of zinc, and let ihe mixture be kept 
 for ten or twelve hours at a temperature of 68 deg. to 70 deg Cent. 
 (154 deg. to 158 deg. Fahr.) Answers admirably for attaching 
 
52 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 labels to tin and to glass when exposed to damp. This also must 
 be prepared and kept in glass or earthenware vessels. 
 
 A Nearly Liquid Glub. — A very strong glue may be made by 
 dissolving 4 ounces of glue in 16 ounces of strong acetic acid by 
 the aid of heat. It is semi- solid at ordinary temperatures, but 
 needs only to be warmed, by placing the vessel containing it in 
 hot water for a short time, to be ready for use. 
 
 A solution of shellac in alcohol is sometimes sold for liquid 
 glue, but it has not the properties of real glue. 
 
 Mouth Glue, Pocket Mucilage. — At one time this article was 
 in great demand, but the almost universal use of liquid mucilage, 
 sold in bottles, has driven it out of the market. It is put up in 
 cakes, which on being moistened either with water or in the 
 mouth, soften sufficiently to coat any surface on which they are 
 rubbed with a thin coat of glue which adheres quite firmly. For 
 some purposes they are very convenient, and if properly presented 
 and advertised would no doubt even now command a good sale. 
 The recipes are old and well known, and maybe found in any good 
 book of recipes, though often sold as "secrets.'' We give one or 
 two of the best. If it be desired to make them still softer, substi- 
 tute a little glycerine for a portion of the sugar : 
 
 1. Soak 4 oz. best glue and 1 oz. isinglass in water until soft. 
 Pour off the superfluous water, and add 1 oz. of brown sugar. 
 Melt the whole together with a gentle heat, and allow it to 
 evaporate until quite thick. Pour into a flat-bottomed dish that 
 is quite cold ; if placed on ice, so much the better, as it will pre- 
 vent the glue sticking to it. When solid, cut into cakes. 
 
 2. Glue, 5 oz ; sugar, 1 oz. ; dissolved in water, boiled down, 
 poured into moulds and dried. 
 
 Glycerine Balsam. 
 
 This is a very excellent preparation for softening and whiten- 
 ing the skin and for preventing and removing chaps and chilblains. 
 It is an admirable substitute for lip salve, and for roughness and 
 chaps of the hands during winter it has perhaps no equal. 
 For the latter purpose a small quantity should be applied at bed 
 time and well rubbed in, the friction being continued until the 
 surface of the skin appears dry, or nearly so. The following is the 
 most approved formula: Melt together, by a gentle heat, in a 
 glazed earthen vessel, white wax, 1 ounce; spermaceti, 2 ounces; 
 oil of almonds, i pint. When quite liquid, add glycerine, 3 
 ounces; balsam of Peru, ^ ounce. Stir the mixture until nearly 
 cold, and then pour it into pots or china or glazed earthenware 
 boxes. 
 
 Glycerine Jelly. — Used as an application to chaps and rough- 
 ened parts of the skin. It may be made of pure glycerine thick- 
 ened with tragacanth powder, and scented with otto of roses. 
 An imitation may be prepared in the following manner (Pharm. 
 
GLYCERINE BALSAM— GBEASB EXTRACTOR. 53 
 
 Journal): Mix good soft soap h dr. intimately with purified honey 
 2 drs., gradually add pale olive oil 5 oz , stirring without inter- 
 mission until all is taken up. Care must be taken not to mix in 
 the oil too fast. Finally, perfume as desired. 
 
 Another formula is as follows: Transparent soap, 1 oz.; water, 
 4oz.; glycerine, 24 oz. Dissolve the soup in the water by heat, 
 adding 5 oz of the glycerine. When dissolved add remaining 19 
 oz. of glycerine and sufficient water to make the whole weight 29 
 oz. When nearly cold add any suitable perfume, and pour into a 
 glass vessel to get cold. Put up in boxes like "Camphor Ice." 
 
 Grease Extractor. 
 
 Under various names, such as "Scouring Drops," "Lightning 
 Renovators," etc., various compounds have been extensively sold 
 for removing grease-spots and other stains, and, of course, the 
 recipes for these articles are in great demand. Almost any of 
 them will remove a fresh grease-spot ; very few of them will take 
 out an old paint stain that has sunk well into the fabric. The 
 easiest thing to remove is the grease of a tallow candle, and this is 
 the article which is generally selected for exhibition by those who 
 sell these things at fairs and on street corners. 
 
 Balls kok Removing Grease and Paint Spots krom Cloth, kto. 
 — Fuller's earth, 30 parts ; French chalk, 1 part ; yellow soap, 20 
 parts; pearlash, 15 parts. Make into a paste with spirits of tur- 
 pentine, and give it a slight c dor with a little yellow ochre, and 
 then cut it iuto cakes. This form, omitting the French chalk, is 
 that which is so very generally sold about the streets. 
 
 Scouring Dbops fok Removing Grease. — 1. Alcohol (95 p.c), 
 6 oz ; camphor, 2 oz.: rectified essence of lemon, 8 oz. 
 
 2. Camphine, 3 oz.; essence of lemon, 1 oz.; mix. Some direct 
 them to be distilled together. 
 
 3. French. Camphine, 8 oz. ; pure alcohol, 1 oz. ; sulphuric 
 ether, 1 oz ; essence of lemon, 1 dr. 
 
 4. Spirit of wine, a pint; white soap, 3 oz. ; ox-gall, 3 oz. ; 
 essence of lemon, { oz. 
 
 Lightning Renovator. —Aqua ammonia, 2 oz.; soft water, 1 
 qt; saltpetre, 1 tea-spoon; variegated shaving soap, 1 oz , finely 
 shaved or scraped ; mix all, shake well, and it will be a little 
 better to stand a few hours or days before using, which gives the 
 soap a chance to dissolve. 
 
 Directions. — Pour upon the place a sufficient amount to well 
 cover any grease or oil which may get spilled or daubed upon 
 coats, pants, carpets, etc , sponging and rubbing well, and apply- 
 ing again if necessary to saponify the grease in the garment ; then 
 wash off with clear cold water. 
 
 The saltpetre might, we think, be safely omitted. For an 
 article for sale, put up in bottles, the quantity of water might be 
 reduced to just the quantity required to make a clear solution of 
 
U TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 the soap, and the directions should state that a little may be 
 poured into a tea-cup and mixed with four times its bulk of 
 water. 
 
 Another very excellent renovator consists of water, 2 quarts ; 
 washing soda, | lb.; alcohol, 1 pint; one ox gall. Dissolve the 
 soda in the water, allow it to stand, and pour off the clear liquid. 
 Mix the gall thoroughly with the alcohol, aud add to it the solution 
 of soda, stirring constantly. Bottle securely. 
 
 Gut, Silkworm 
 
 The raising of silkworms has recently become, in this country, 
 a favorite pursuit with amateurs. The following method of util- 
 izing these interesting insects and of producing an article that will 
 always be in considerable demand cannot fail to be of value to 
 many of our readers. 
 
 To manufacture fine gut for angling take the best and largest 
 silkworms you can procure, just when they are about to spin, and 
 which may be known by their refusing to eat, having a fine silk 
 thread hanging from their mouths. The worms must first be 
 thrown into strong vinegar, and kept there covered close for twelve 
 hours, if the summer be warm ; or fifteen hours in cooler weather; 
 when taken out, they must be pulled asunder, and you will see two 
 transparent guts of a greenish yellow color, as thick as a small 
 straw, bent double, the rest of the inside resembling boiled spin- 
 ach ; you can make no mistake. If you find the guts soft, or break 
 upon stretching them, you must let them lie longer in the vinegar; 
 when fit to draw out, stretch it gently with both hands, till of a 
 proper length, or nearly so. The gut drawn out must be fastened 
 on a thin piece of board, by putting each end in a slit made at the 
 ends of the board. It is now to be placed in the sun to dry. 
 
 It would seem that the character of the vinegar has a great 
 influence upon the quality of the product. It must be pure and 
 strong. That made from grape wine seems to succeed best, but 
 further experiment is needed in this direction. 
 
 Hair, Preparations for 
 
 The hair is such an important feature in the personal appear- 
 ance of every man and woman, that preparations calculated to add 
 to its good looks will always command a market ; and if they are 
 well advertised, they will probably have au extensive sale, whether 
 they are good for anything or not. As an example of this fact we 
 may refer to Rowland's Macassar Oil, of which Cooley says : 
 "I have, at different times, tried it myself as a hair cosmetic, and 
 have known others do the same, but its pretended effi cts were all 
 moonshine. It is undoubtedly a good, nicely-scented hair oil, 
 pleasant in use, and elegantly 'put up,' and that is all that can be 
 said in its favor, except the agreeable fact, to its proprietors, that 
 it has made their fortunes." 
 
 Preparations for use on the hair may be divided into four classes : 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR HAIR. 55 
 
 1. Pomades, oila and fixatures for improving its general appear- 
 ance ; 2 Preparations which tend to promote the growth of the 
 hair; 8. i lair dyes; 4. Depilatories, or preparations for removing 
 superfluous hair. 
 
 Pomades and hair oils are manufactured in almost infinite 
 variety of name and appearance, but they all consist essentially of 
 some grease or oil, colored and perfumed. The fatty matter that 
 is used should be selected for its non liability to become rancid; 
 it may be colored red with alkanet root, a rich yellow by the addi- 
 tion of a little palin oil, or green by means of spinach or any other 
 green vegetable; and it may be perfumed according to taste. 
 Further than this there is little to be said; the recipes number 
 thousands, but they all consist of slight changes in a standard 
 formula. Cooley gives the following formula for Macassar Oil: 
 Castor oil, reddened with alkanet root, 1 pint; alcohol, 95 per ct., 
 £ pint ; oil of nut meg, £ fi drachm ; oils of rosemary and origanum, 
 each 15 drops; Neroh, 10 drops: essence of musk, 4 or 5 drops ; 
 otto of roses, 20 grains. Mix, agitate for some time, and in a week 
 decant and separate the clear portion from the rest, if necessary. 
 The odor of the otto must perceptibly predominate. Should the 
 ingredients not mix thoroughly on brisk agitation, place the bottle, 
 corked tight, in a little warm water for a short time, and then 
 agitate it, cautiously at first, until cold. 
 
 Fixature, or baudoline, is simply the jelly of carrigeen moss, 
 quince seed or gum arabic. perfumed, and sometimes colored. 
 
 Formu'se for preparations for increasing the growth of the hair 
 are great favorites with the vendors of such things. A boy, whose 
 beard is just beginning to "sprout," and who wishes to "sport" 
 an elegant moustache, will rather give a dollar to some unknown 
 advertiser for a recipe which he can make up himself than pay 25 
 cents to an apothecary for the preparation itself, because in the 
 latter case he runs the risk of being joked or laughed at. Conse- 
 quently, we find that recipes for making hair grow on the face 
 command a very extensive sale ; and the ques'ion naturally arises : 
 Are there any preparations which will really have this effect? 
 
 The question is one that cannot be answered with a simple yes 
 or no. The result will depend upon the special conditions of the 
 case. If the hair has fallen out from old age and the hair follicles 
 are dead, no preparation wiil renew them; and it has been said 
 that the most sublime instance of faith is to be seen when a bald 
 man is found buying from a bald barber a bottle of stuff "warranted 
 to make the hair grow under any conditions." But if the bair on 
 the lip of a boy is ready to start, or if the bair of the heart has been 
 lost from some temporary cause, there are many preparations which 
 will hasten its growth ; and when the stuff is applied at the same 
 time that Nature herself is vigorously at work, the growth is often 
 quite sudden and rapid, and the preparation gets credit for doiog 
 that which would have been done almost as well without it But 
 as one success, in such cases, will attract more attention than a 
 
56 TRADE SECEETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 hundred failures, almost any preparation sold for this purpose is 
 sure to acquire considerable reputation. 
 
 The agents which in almost every case produce any noticeable 
 results are stimulants or irritants, such as oil of cloves, origanum 
 or cassia, cantharides and Croton oil. The more irritant essential 
 oils have long been favorite additions to hair oils ; cantharides 
 have been recommended by no less authorities than Dupuytren 
 and Erasmus Wilson, and Croton oil has recently been recom- 
 mended a3 the most efficient of all. Great care must of course be 
 taken to avoid anything like excessive action on the part of these 
 irritants, or the desired result will be prevented instead of being 
 promoted. If the parts to which the "hair restorative" is applied 
 be blistered instead of being merely stimulated, the hair-roots will 
 be injured, so that even the hair then present, if any, will fall off. 
 
 The following are the formulce usually sold for the preparation 
 of hair restoratives under various names : 
 
 Ddpuytrkn's Pomade. — This is the most celebrated of all, and 
 the following is the original formula : Take of prepared beef- 
 marrow, 12 oz ; melt by the aid of a gentle heat, and add of Baume 
 Nerval, 4 oz ; balsam of Peru and oil of almonds, of each 3 oz. Mix 
 thoroughly, and add of alcoholic extract of cantharides, 36 grains, 
 dissolved in 3 fluid drachms of rectified spirit. Stir the mass until 
 it concretes. It is said that in some cases Dupuytren was in the 
 habit of doubling and even trebling the proportion of the extract of 
 cantharides; but the caution previously given must be observed. 
 Dupuytren's Pomade is held in high esteem on the Continent of 
 Europe as a hair cosmetic. 
 
 The Baume Nerval is a noted ointment in French pharmacy, 
 and is thus prepared : Expressed oil of mace and prepared 
 ox-marrow, of each 4 oz., melted together by a gentle heat; oil of 
 rosemary, 2 drachms ; oil of cloves, 1 drachm ; camphor, 1 drachm ; 
 balsam of tolu, 2 drachms. The last two are to be dissolved in 
 4 fluid drachms of alcohol, and added to the other ingredients, the 
 whole being stirred until cold. 
 
 Cazenavb's Pomade is similar, but not so complicated ; as the 
 cantharides are the really active ingredient, it is probably quite 
 as good. The formula is beef-marrow, 4 oz.; tincture of can- 
 tharides (Paris codex), \ fluid oz ; cinnamon, coarsely powdtred, 
 £ oz. Melt them together by the heat of a water-bath ; stir until 
 the spirit in the tincture has evaporated ; decant the clear portion, 
 and again stir until the mass concretes. It is cheaper and more 
 convenient to omit the powdered cinuamon and to strongly scent 
 with oil of cinnamon (or of cassia) after the removal of the vessel 
 from the bath. Dr. Cattell scents it with the oils of origanum and 
 bergamot ; and others employ the oils of nutmeg and lavender for 
 the purpose. It is said to be quite efficient in cases of weak hair 
 and remediable baldness. It is ordered to be used night and 
 morning, the head being washed with soap and water, and after- 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR HAIR. 57 
 
 wards with salt and water and wiped dry each time before apply- 
 ing it, or at least once a day. 
 
 Iodine has also been used as an agent for promoting the growth 
 of hair, and " Ioduretted Pomade " is a favorite prescription with 
 some. It is thus made : Take of iodine and iodide of potassium, 
 each 1 drachm ; alcohol, 2 fluid drachms ; rub them well together, 
 and add of lard, £ lb., and mix thoroughly. It must be kept in 
 well-closed glass or porcelain vessels, and nothing metallic must 
 touch it. 
 
 Croton oil, one of the latest of the remedies for baldness, is 
 employed by simply adding it to oil or pomade, and stirring or 
 agitating the two together until admixture or solution be complete. 
 The formula adopted by the eminent French physician who intro- 
 duced this remedy, and who speaks in the most confident and 
 enthusiastic way of the success attending its use, is this : Take of 
 Croton oil, 12 drops ; oil of almonds, 4 drachms. Mix. A little is 
 to be well rubbed on the scalp twice a day, and the part is to be 
 kept covered with a waterproof cap. We are assured that soft 
 down will appear in three weeks. Cooley says that he has tried a 
 number of experiments with Croton oil, thus used, in partial loss 
 of hair and baldness, and is compelled to bear testimony to its 
 efficacy in several apparently hopeless cases in which even can- 
 tharadine had failed. 
 
 If the recipes for pomades and oils are "numberless," the 
 same may also be said of dyes. These dyes vary in composition, 
 from common writing ink and marking-ink to leaden combs and 
 various preparations of lead. All these are highly injurious to the 
 health, and their manufacture and sale should never be under- 
 taken under any circumstances whatever. Dyes containing lead 
 or silver are often sold as "purely vegetable" dyes, and the 
 deluded users are attacked with paralysis and various ailments 
 whose cause they cannot trace. No punishment is too great for 
 such frauds. 
 
 Of the really vegetable dyes there are two which are quite effi- 
 cient and entirely harmless. One is the fluid obtained from the 
 cashew nut, or anacardium occldentale, and the other is pyrogallic 
 acid. As the acid, when used for a dye, does not require purifica- 
 tion, it may be used in its crude state as obtained by the distilla- 
 tion of coarsely powdered Aleppo galls. Of such acid take 1 oz.; 
 of hot distilled water, 6 oz ; dissolve the acid in the water, and 
 when cool add 3 fluid oz. of alcohol. 
 
 Depilatories or preparations for renewing the hair are never in 
 such demand as to constitute a merchantable article. When such 
 things are needed they are in general prepared by the druggist 
 from the ordinary and well-known formulae. Of late it has been 
 discovered that one of the most efficient means of destroying hair 
 on parts where it is not wanted is electricity. 
 
58 TEADE SECEETS AND PEIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Harness-Dressing— Harness Polish. 
 
 In the recipes that are sold for these preparations great errors 
 are committed, and much evil done by the recommendation of 
 articles that do positive damage to harness leather. Therefore, we 
 trust that those who undertake to manufacture these articles will 
 carefully study the subject and offer nothing but that which is of 
 real excellence. 
 
 There are two very distinct parts of all harness, and each 
 requires, or, at least, will bear very distinct treatment. Those 
 parts which require to be pliable and soft should never be dressed 
 with shellac varnishes or drying oils, as all such compounds tend 
 to make the leather hard in a short time, so that it soon cracks and 
 becomes weak. There are some parts, however, such as the 
 saddles, blinders, etc , which are never expected to bend. Var- 
 nish does not hurt these parts, but, on the contrary, greatly 
 improves their appearance. 
 
 The government harness dressing is said to be prepared as 
 follows : One gallon of neatsfoot oil, two pounds of Bayberry 
 tallow, two pounds beeswax, two pounds of beef tallow. Put the 
 above in a pan over a moderate fire. When thoroughly dissolved 
 add two quarts of castor oil, then while on the fire stir in one 
 ounce of lampblack. Mix well, and strain through a fine cloth to 
 remove sediment; let cool. 
 
 A composition which not only softens the harness but blackens 
 it at the same time, is made as follows : Put into a glazed pipkin 2 
 oz. of black resin; place it on a gentle fire; when melted, add 3 
 cz. of beeswax. When this is melted, take it from the fire, add | 
 oz. of floe lampblack, and i dr. of Prussian blue in fine powder; 
 stir them so as to be perfectly mixed, and add sufficient spirits of 
 turpentine to form a thin paste ; let it cool. To use it appiy a coat 
 with a piece of linen rag pretty evenly all over the harness ; then 
 take a soft polishing brush and brush it over, so as to obtain a 
 bright surface. 
 
 Blacking for Harness. — Molasses, £ lb., lampblack, 1 oz ; 
 yeast, a spoonful; sugar candy, olive oil, gum tragacanth and 
 isinglass, each 1 cz : and the gall of an ox. Mix with two pints 
 of stale beer, and let it stand before the fire for an hour. 
 
 The following formula has been frequently sold and repeatedly 
 republished, and is a good example of the ordinary defective direc- 
 tions for preparing technical compositions. In compounding this 
 blacking, the isinglass should be softened in part of the water, and 
 the gum dissolved in another part, before any mixture is attempted. 
 Then to the hot solution of these, add the other ingredients, mix- 
 ing tbem in thoroughly. It does not seem to us, however, that the 
 resulting product would be of great value: Molasses, 8 parts; 
 lampblack, 1 ; sweet oil, 1 ; gum-arabic, 1 ; isinglass, 1 ; water, 
 32. Apply heat to the whole ; when cold, add 1 oz. spirits of 
 
HARNESS DRESSING AND POLISH-HONEY. 59 
 
 wine, and apply with sponge. If it should get hard, place the 
 bottle in warm water a short time 
 
 IIaknkss LACQnKK. — Dissolve 40 parts of shellac, 10 parts of 
 Saodarac and 5 parts of mastic in 500 parts of alcohol To pre- 
 vent :he lacquer from becoming brittle, add to the solution 21 to 
 30 p\rts of V n'ce turpentine, aud finally sufficient aniline black 
 (nigrosine) dissolved ia ale >hol. This gives a beautiful black 
 polish, and may be s-ifely used on the saddles, blinders and other 
 parts which are not subject to bending and strain. 
 
 Honey. 
 
 The great improvements made in bee culture, during recent 
 years, have enabled bee keepers to produce honey at such a cheap 
 rate that all kinds of artificial or imitation honey are at a discount, 
 except perhaps the cheap stuff known as glucose This can be 
 made at such a cheap rate that it has driven every other substitute 
 out of the market. Notwithstanding the fact that the "dura 
 illia" of certain college professors, have successfully enabled them 
 to resist any bad influences from glucose, it is a fact that the 
 average glucose found in market is not adapted to all digestive 
 organs, aud the Bale of any sueh stuff, either as honey or as an 
 adulterant of pure honey, is to be condemned. The only substi- 
 tute for pure honey that can be permitted is that recommended by 
 Lang9troth, the father of modern bee keeping, and consists simply 
 in the dilution of certain kinds of strong honey by mixture with 
 pure syrup. Many varieties of honey are so strong and pungent 
 that they cannot be endured by persons of delicate tastes and 
 stomachs, but when diluted they form a very delicious article, just 
 as a little flavoring material is a great improvement to cakes aud 
 puddings, but woud be unendurable if taken in its pure state. 
 
 The following are the usual recipes for '• making " honey. The 
 first is simply a diluted honey, and is compounded thus : 
 
 Good common sugar, 5 lbs ; water, 2 ibs.; bring gradually to a 
 boil, skimming when cool ; add 1 lb. bees' honey aud 4 drops 
 essence of peppermint. If you desire a better article, use white 
 sugar, and h lb less water, £ lb. more honey. 
 
 The next is sugar-syrup, flivored and perfumed: Common 
 sugar, 4 lbs.; water 1 pint; let them come to a boil, and skim. 
 Then add pulverized alum, \ oz ; remove from the fire, and stir in 
 cream of-tartar, ^ oz , aud water, or extract of rose, 1 tablespoonful, 
 and it is fit for use. 
 
 The followiug is more complicated : White or very light-colored 
 sugar, 10 lbs ; water, 3 lbs.; cream tartar, 20 oz.; strong vinegar, 2 
 tablespoonfuls; white of an egg well beaten; bees' honey, £ lb.; 
 Lubin's extract of honeysuckle, 10 drops. Put on the sugar and 
 water in a suitable kettle ou the fire ; when lukewarm stir in the 
 cream tartar and vinegar; add the egg; when the sugar is dis- 
 solved put in the honey and stir till it comes to a boil ; take it off, 
 let it stand a few minutes ; strain, then add the extract of honey- 
 suckle last ; stand over night, and it is ready for use. 
 
60 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECDPES. 
 
 Hyacinths, Artificial. 
 
 It is said that a very pleasant perfume, having the odor of hya- 
 cinths, may be prepared from oil of turpentine by leaving it for a 
 long time in contact with a mixture of nitric acid and alcohol. 
 Crystals of terpine form. By boiling an aqueous solution of 
 terpine with a small quantity of sulphuric or other acid, terpinol is 
 formed, and may be separated by distillation. It has the odor of 
 hyacynths. 
 
 Ink. 
 
 Recipes for the manufacture of ink seem to be great favorites 
 with those who deal in "formulae." The quantity of ink that is 
 consumed is something wonderful, and as it can be easily manu- 
 factured, on even a very small scale, it offers strong temptations 
 to embryo manufacturers, very few of whom succeed, however. 
 There are quite a number of very large ink factories in this coun- 
 try; these establishments turnout enormous quantities at a very 
 small cost per gallon, and they employ the most energetic and 
 tempting methods of inducing the public to buy their wares. That 
 there is still room is, however, probably true, but to those who 
 select this branch for their special field we would recommend a 
 careful perusal of the principles laid down in our Introduction. 
 
 One of the largest items of expense in the conduct of an ink 
 business is that of selling. Here the small manufacturer has the 
 advantage, for if his wares are put up in a fairly attractive man- 
 ner he may by personal exertions get rid of quite a quantity of his 
 goods, and thus make a profit out of this part of the business. 
 But the whole concern must be conducted with the greatest 
 economy. The materials must be purchased at the lowest whole- 
 sale price, the cheapest labor must be employed for every depart- 
 ment that admits of it, and the refuse which would ordinarily go 
 to waste must be utilized as far as possible. Thus, the dregs of 
 ordinary black ink, which many persons would throw away, 
 should be thoroughly ground up, mixed with a suitable liquid, 
 packed in the cheapest kind of packages, and sold for " marking 
 ink " — that is, ink for marking boxes and bales. For such ink 
 there is always a good demand, and the packages are generally of 
 fair size. 
 
 One of the heaviest items of expense is the cost of packages or 
 bottles, and it will only be by careful examination and extended 
 inquiry that this expense can be kept within proper limits. Just 
 the kind of bottle or vessel to use, and where to get it, are ques- 
 tions which will repay a good deal of time and inquiry on the part 
 of the manufacturer. 
 
 The recipes that have been published for making ink are so 
 numerous that they would fill a good-sized volume. The follow- 
 ing are a few of the best. The reader who desires to make a 
 
INK. CI 
 
 further study of the subject would do well to consult Spon's 
 "Workshop Receipts" (Second Series.) 
 
 In the recipes generally given for making ink, it is recom- 
 mended to boil the ingredients. A much better plan is to powder 
 the galls and macerate them in cold water. By this latter process 
 more time is of course necessary to make it; but then the ink is 
 very superior, and entirely free from extractive matter which has 
 no inky quality, and which only tends to clog the pen and to turn 
 the ink ropy and mouldy. 
 
 Most inks, especially those made with iron and galls, are liable 
 to mould and decompose. The formation of mould may, to a cer- 
 tain extent, be prevented by the use of creosote, carbolic acid, or 
 cloves, and most of the better class of inks in market are pre- 
 pared so as to resist this evil. 
 
 Black Ink. — 1. In 1 gallon of water macerate 1 lb. of finely 
 powdered Aleppo galls for two weeks, and strain off the liquid. 
 Dissolve 5\ oz. sulphate of iron and 5 oz. gum-arabic in as little- 
 water as ie necessary, and mix the two liquids with constant stir- 
 ring. Keep in a tall bottle, allow it to settle for some days, and it 
 will be ready for use. 
 
 2. Take gall-nuts, broken, 1 lb. ; sulphate of iron, \ lb ; gum 
 acacia and sugar candy, of each % lb. ; water, 3 quarts. Place the 
 whole of these ingredients in a vessel where they can be agitated 
 once a day ; after standing for a fortnight or three weeks the ink 
 is ready for use. Logwood and similar materials are often advised 
 to be used in conjunction with the gall-cuts, but they serve no 
 good purpose unless it be to make a cheaper article, which fades 
 rapidly. 
 
 3. It is said that the juice of elderberries, to which sulphate of 
 iron has been added, makes a good ink. The best formula is said 
 to be 12£ pints juice and £ oz. each sulphate of iron and crude 
 pyroligneous acid. Such an ink would probably attack steel pens. 
 The materials are, however, plentiful and cheap. 
 
 Rungk's Black Ink. — Runge, in 1848, discovered that a dilute 
 solution of the coloring matter of logwood, to which had been 
 added a small quantity of neutral chromate of potassium, pro- 
 duces a deep black liquid, which remains clear, does not deposit, 
 and may be employed as an ink. The original recipe of the 
 inventor is as follows : Digest \ lb. logwood in chips for 12 hours 
 in 3 pints boiling water. Simmer down gently to 1 quart ; filter 
 and add 20 grains yellow chromate of potassa. 
 
 Perfectly neutral litmus paper is not affected by it ; it does not 
 attack pens ; it is very cheap, and so easily penetrates writing 
 paper that it cannot be removed by washing even with a sponge — 
 in a word, it has all the properties of an excellent ink. On expo- 
 sure to the air in an inkstand, it sometimes decomposes very 
 rapidly, its coloring matter being deposited in the form of large 
 black flakes, which leave a colorless liquid above them. This 
 
62 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 gelatinisation is a groat defect in this ink, particularly as the pre- 
 cise conditions that determine it are not known. Different means 
 have been propost d to prevent this action ; tue best seema to be 
 that of the addition of carbonate of soda, recommended by 
 Bot'ger. 
 
 The following modification of the original formula is more 
 easily prepared : Dissolve 16 parts of extract of logwood in 1000 
 parts of water, and add 1 part of neutral potassium chromate 
 (yellow chromate of potassa ) 
 
 This recipe has been very widely published, but the modifica- 
 tion by B>ttg<r gives better results: Take extract of logwood, 15 
 parts; water, 1000 parts; crystallised carbonate of sodium, 4 parts; 
 neutral chromate of potassium, 1 part. Dissolve the extract of 
 logwood in 900 parts of water, allow it to deposit, decant, heat to 
 ebullition, and add the carbonate of soda; lastly, add drop by 
 drop, with constant stirring, a solution of the neutral chromate in 
 100 parts of water The ink thus obtained has a fine bluish black 
 color; it flows well from the pen, and dries readily. 
 
 Alizaiunk Ink.— That which is called in trade " alizarine ink'' 
 has nothing in common with alizarine, either natural or artificial. 
 The name was applied to an improved kind of ink over 30 years 
 ago. It is a writing fluid in wuich the iron is maintained in a 
 ferrous (protoxide) condition, aud in perfect soluliou, which is 
 accomplished by slightly acidulatiug the liquid with acetic or 
 sometimes with sulphuric acid. The liquid nas usually a rather 
 pale greenish or bluish color, aud the writing is at first green, not 
 black. Not long afterwards, however, the acid menstruum 
 evaporates, leaving a very thin layer of the ferrous tannate, which 
 gradually oxidises in the air, and turns to black ferric tannate. 
 Contrary to what might be expecte'd, steel pens are not usually 
 much corroded by properly prepared alizarine inks ; the first coat- 
 ing of oxide which is produced upon the pen generally adheres so 
 firmly that further action is very much retarded The very pale 
 tint of such a writing fluid is frequently heightened by the addition 
 of some indigo solution, best in form of indigo-carmine. A good 
 formula for making so called alizarine ink is the following: 
 Powdered nut-galls, 40 parts ; solution of acetate of iron, 15 parts; 
 gum arabic, 10 parts ; wood-vinegar, 10 parts ; indigo carmine, 5 
 parts; and water, 100 parts. Prepare the solution of acetate of 
 iron by pouring a sufficient quantity of wood vinegar upon scrap- 
 iron contained in a cask, and allow it to act upon the iron for at 
 least 8 days. Macerate the powdered nut galls for 8 days with 
 the 100 parts of water, mixed with the 10 parts of wood-vinegar. 
 Before mixing the strained liquid obtained from the nut gall with 
 the iron solution, it is necessary to ascertain whether the quantity 
 of acetic acid present is sufficient to keep the ferrous acetate in 
 solution. For this purpose 10 volumes of the liquid nut gall 
 extract are mixed with one volume of the iron solution. If a clear 
 mixture results, and of a dark-green color, in thin layers, the 
 
INK. 63 
 
 liquid contains enough acid ; but if a black opaque liquid results, 
 the acid is d< flcient. In the latter case more wood vinegar must 
 be very gradually and cautiously added from a measured volume, 
 until the liquid is clear and dark green, and the n quisite amount 
 of acid, determined by this experiment, must be added to the 
 extract of nut galls. The gum-arabic is next, dissolved in the 
 latter, the iron solution then added, and finally the indigo carmine, 
 or as much thereof as may be n quired to produce the desired tint. 
 Bi.ub Ink. — Take 6 drachms pure Prussian blue and 1 drachm 
 oxalic acid. Grind in a mortar with a little water until they form 
 a perfectly smooth paste. Dissolve a sufficient quantity of this 
 paste in water to give the proper tint. 
 
 Carmine Ink— French Process — Take 22 grammes (340 grains) 
 of the best carmine, add to it 65 grammes (2 ounces) of caustic 
 ammonia, add 1 gramme (15$ grains) of white num-arabic Leave 
 the mixture until the gum is entirely dissolved This ink is un- 
 doubtedly dearer than that prepared in the ordinary way, but it is 
 incomparably more beeutiful and more durable, for experience has 
 proved that letters written with this ink have for forty years been 
 preserved without the slightest alteration. 
 
 Rhd Ink.— Boil ^ lb. of Brazil wood, |-oz of gum, A; oz. of sugar, 
 and A < z of alum in a sufficient quantity of vinegar. 
 
 Aniline-Inks —The following formu'se for aniline inks are from 
 recent authoiities, and are said to give superior results: 
 
 1. Alcoholic Solutions. — General Formu'je: D.ssolve 15 parts 
 of aniline color in 150 parts of strong alcohol in a vessel of glass 
 or enamelled iron for three hours ; then add 1000 parts distilled 
 water; heat gently for some hours — in fact, till the odor of the 
 alcohol has quite disappeared ; then add a solution consisting of 
 60 parts of powdered gum-arabic in 250 parts of water. 
 
 2 Special Formula for Violet : Digest £ oz aniline violet in 1 
 oz. alcohol iu a suitable vessel, as above, for three hours; then 
 add 1 quart of distilled water, and heat gently till odor of spirit is 
 dissipated. Then add 2 drachms gum arabic dissolved iu £ pint 
 water, and allow the whole to settle. This will bear dilution, if 
 desired, with an additional quantity of distilled water. 
 
 3. Special Formula for Blue: Dissolve 15 grains aniline blue in 
 1 oz. alcohol, and add 6 oz. in distilled water. Boil in proper 
 vessel, as above, until odor of alcohol has disappeared. Then add 
 3 drachms powdered gum arabic dissolved in 4 oz distilled water. 
 Finally filter. It will be perceived that there is considerable 
 difference in the above special formu te but there can be no harm 
 in making it too strong, as it is no difficult matter to dilute with 
 distilled water to taste. 
 
 Aqueous Solutions. — 1. Magenta: 1 oz to the gallon of boiling 
 distilled water. 2. Violet : i oz. to a gallon ditto. 3, Blue : 1 oz,, 
 to 10 pints ditto. 4. Green •" 1 oz. to 5 pints ditto. 
 
64 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Ink powders were at one time in great request as a means of 
 providing portable ink, but tbey have fallen into disuse for several 
 reasons. One is that they furnished a very striking example of a 
 bad method of combining good ingredients. To take the compo- 
 nents of ink, grind them together and dump them into water, is 
 not just the best way of making ink and never gave good results, 
 though this method of combining the ingredients of a formula is 
 very often the one advised by those who sell recipes and are too 
 ignorant or too lazy to work the matter out fully. 
 
 Since the aniline inks came into use, however, we have a means 
 of providing a portable ink of good quality and easily used. If 
 thick blotting paper be saturated with such ink, dried and cut into 
 pieces, one of these pieces if soaked in a little water will furnish a 
 very excellent ink. For travellers and those who use ink only 
 occasionally this form of portable ink is quite a convenience, and 
 as it is somewhat of a curiosity, it might form a good article for 
 sale through the mails, as it can be sent to any part of the country 
 easily, safely and cheaply. 
 
 Ink Eraser. 
 
 Some persons think that no desk can be completely furnished 
 without a bottle of ink eraser. The basis of the most efficient 
 erasers is chlorine — generally in the form of chloride of lime, 
 though sometimes the chlorine is set free by the action of an acid, 
 and in that case the liquid is in reality a solution of chlorine. 
 The following is a favorite formula for an eraser of this kind : 
 
 Take of chloride of lime, 1 lb., thoroughly pulverized, and 4 
 quarts of soft water. The above must be thoroughly shaken when 
 first put together. It is required to stand 24 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. The eraser is used by reversing the penholder 
 into the fluid, and applying it, without rubbing, to the word, 
 figure or blot required to be erased. When the ink has dis- 
 appeared, absorb the fluid with a blotter, and the paper when dry 
 is immediately ready to write upon again. Chloride of lime has 
 before been used with acids for the purpose as above proposed ; 
 but in all previous processes the chloride of lime has been mixed 
 with acids that burn and destroy the paper. 
 
 When the chlorine is once set free, however, it is very apt to 
 escape in the form of gas, and the liquid soon loses its power. 
 The only way to avoid this is to furnish the chloride and the acid 
 separately, in bottles marked respectively 1 and 2. Then, if the 
 solution of chloride (No, 1) be applied to the writing, and a little 
 of the acid be applied to the chloride, the chlorine is disengaged 
 in absolute contact with the coloring matter, and has all the power 
 of a chemical agent in what is called the nascent state, a condition 
 in which most chemicals are vastly more effective than in their 
 
JAVELLE WATEB— JPOROSOOP] 65 
 
 ordinary state. Care should be taken to avoid mixing the liquids 
 by dipping the same penholder into both. 
 
 Brannt, in his "Techno-Chemical Receipt Book," gives the fol- 
 lowing formula for an erasing powder, of which, however, we 
 doubt the efficiency : Mix thoroughly equal parts of alum, amber, 
 sulphur and saltpetre, and keep the mixture in a well-closed 
 jar. By sprinkling some of the powder upon an ink-stain or 
 recently-written characters, and rubbing with a white linen rag, 
 the stain or characters will at once disappear from the paper. 
 
 Javelle Water, or Eau de Javelle. 
 
 Cooley and some others call this liquid "Javelle's Bleaching 
 Liquid," whereas the name was derived from the town of Javelle, 
 in France, where a manufacturer sold a liquor which had the 
 property of bleaching cloth by an immersion of some hours only. 
 The following is the original recipe given by Gray in his 
 "Operative Chemist:" 2\ lbs. common salt, 2 lbs. of sulphuric 
 acid, and | lb. of black manganese are mixed in a retort and 
 heated, and the gas which comes over is condensed in 2 gallons of 
 water in which 5 lbs. of potash have been dissolved. This liquor 
 is diluted with twelve times its bulk of water. 
 
 This procesB is available only by chemists, however. The fol- 
 lowing gives good results : Take 4 lbs. carbonate of soda, and 1 lb. 
 chloride of lime ; put the soda into a kettle, add 1 gallon of boiling 
 water, and boil for from 10 to 15 minutes ; then stir in the chloride 
 of lime, breaking down all lumps with a wooden spatula or stirrer. 
 Pour into large glass bottles. When cold and settled it will be 
 ready for use. 
 
 This forms a very efficient bleaching liquid, and one which is 
 not difficult to remove from the bleached fabric. Old and stained 
 engravings and books, as well as linen and cotton goods that have 
 become yellow with dirt and age, may be rendered snowy white 
 by the application of this liquid. It is quite as efficient as the 
 peroxide of hydrogen, but is more corrosive, and cannot well be 
 applied to ivory and similar easily injured articles. But as it is 
 easily prepared, it offers opportunities which the peroxide does 
 not command. It commands a considerable sale wherever it is 
 known. 
 
 Microscopes. 
 
 A few years ago somebody advertised quite extensively that 
 for ten cents he would furnish full directions for making "A 
 microscope magnifying 10,000 times ! ! " and he also offered to 
 send a microscope of this power for 25 cents. As this was an 
 astonishing offer, the advertiser made a good deal of money out of 
 it. We procured the directions, and also one of the microscopes. 
 The latter was merely a piece of sheet-lead, with a little glass bead 
 stuck in a hole in the centre. The directions told us to fuse the 
 end of a thin rod of glass in the flame of a spirit lamp, and mount 
 
66 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 this little globule in a piece of sheet-lead or between two pieces of 
 thin sheet-brass. 
 
 That the advertiser lived up to the Utter of his promises was 
 probably true. If by times we mean areas, a magnifying power of 
 10,000 times is only a power of 100 diameters, for 100 X 100 gives 
 10,000. A globule of the tenth of an inch in diameter would give 
 a magnifying power of 100 diameters, and so the promise was 
 fulfilled. As sent out, however, the microscopes were miserable 
 affairs, and the directions were imperfect, and even inaccurate. 
 But if well made, these fused globules will enable us to see a great 
 deal, and it was by means of them that many of the older micro- 
 scopists made their great discoveries. 
 
 The following is the most satisfactory method of manufacturing 
 such microscopes : Take a narrow strip of flint glass, which may 
 be either a glass rod or a piece cut or broken from a piece of flint- 
 glass-ware. A piece of tubing may be used, but there is danger 
 that the hollow in the centre will leave a mark, owing to dust or 
 dirt that cannot be easily removed. We have used with great 
 success a slender triangular piece of glass, obtained by breaking a 
 piece of fine table glass-ware by careful blows. Such fine ware is, 
 of course, not always to be obtained in a broken or useless con- 
 dition, but when it can be had, it is very useful to the amateur 
 optician. A pointed piece of such glass, or a piece of good rod, 
 free from streaks and air-bubbles, is to be heated in the flame of a 
 spirit lamp or a Bunsen burner with a very blue flame. The end 
 may then be drawn slowly out, and it will form a thread or fine 
 rod of any diameter we may choose to give it. The end of this 
 thread is then to be heated in the flame until it fuses and forms a 
 little globule at the end. By giving plenty of time, a good strong 
 heat, and by turning the globule constantly on its axis, it will form 
 an almost perfect sphere, with the surface clear and well fused. 
 Be very careful not to bring the melted glass into the yellow or 
 reducing part, of the flame, for if you do, the lead which forms 
 part of the flint-glass will be reduced, and will give a bluish, 
 opaque color to the globule, and render it useless. The best 
 results are generally obtained by holding the thread perpendi- 
 cularly while cooling, as when held horizontally the globule is apt 
 to become distorted. Make one or two dozen of these, and in 
 separating them from the glass thread leave about an eighth of an 
 inch of the latter attached to each globule, to serve as a handle in 
 the next step of the process, which consists in inserting them to 
 about half their depth in a plate of cement, which may consist of 
 shellac, thickened with very dry and finely-powdered pumice- 
 stone. To form such a wax plate, melt some shellac in a ladle or 
 large iron spoon, mix it carefully with as much powdered pumice- 
 stone as can be conveniently stirred in, remove it from the fire, 
 stir well until it begins to stiffen, and then pour it out on a flat 
 metal plate— the surface of a smoothing-iron answering very well 
 for very small plates. Instead of shellac, which is expensive, the 
 
MICROSCOPES. 67 
 
 ordinary pitch used by opticians may be used with equally good 
 effect. There are several recipes for preparing this pitch, the fol- 
 lowing being very good. The first we have tried with excellent 
 results. 
 
 1. Pitch, 5 parts; wood ashes, finely powdered and well sifted, 
 1 part ; tallow, 1 part, less or more, according to the temperature 
 of the season. 
 
 2. Beeswax, 1 oz. ; resin, 15 oz. ; melt and add 5 oz. of 
 whiting, previously heated red hot and still warm. 
 
 3. Resin, 1 lb. ; melt, and add dry and warm plaster, 4 oz. 
 This forms a very strong cement for rough purposes. 
 
 The plate of cement should be from one-half to three-quarters 
 of an inch thick, and the little globules are easily fastened into it 
 by seizing them by the small handles left on them, holding them 
 by a pair of forceps in a lamp llame until they are hot enough to 
 melt the cement, and then pressing them in to about half their 
 depth or a little more. When quite cold they will be very securely 
 held. The little handles, or tails, are now nipped off with a pair 
 of cutting pliers, and the globules ground all at once on a fine 
 grindstone, or, still better, on a metal plate charged with emery. 
 When they have been reduced nearly to the surface of the plate of 
 cement, they should be ground with emery of the finest kind, and 
 as soon as all scratches have been removed they should be polished 
 on a buff leather with crocus martis or putty powder. When the 
 polishing is complete they may be removed from the cement by 
 means of a small chisel, and any cement that adheres may be 
 dissolved off by means of alcohol. They now form little lenses, 
 nearly hemispherical, with one side perfectly fl*t, and they may 
 be mounted by simply pressing them into hohs drilled in brass, 
 lead, wood, or vulcanite. The plate in which they are inserted 
 should be neatly formed, and if the material is not black naturally, 
 it should be stained or varnished black. 
 
 Microscopes made in this way are often capable of showing a 
 great deal. We have one now before lis by which we can easily 
 see the corpuscles, or, as they are sometimes called, the globules, 
 of human blood, and we can readily see the difference between the 
 blood of a man and that of a frog. We can also see clearly the 
 peculiar form and structure of the sling of the bee, the eye of the 
 fly, and the hairs from different animals. The "eels'' in paste 
 and in vinegar, and the animalcules in water are quite visible 
 under it, and the scales from a butterfly's wing look somewhat 
 like feathers. 
 
 These microscopes can be made very cheaply. Mounted in 
 frames of close, black wood (which might be auy good, hard, 
 close grained wood, dyed black and oiled), they should not cost 
 more than three or four cents apiece, if the coarser parts of the 
 work is done by boys and girls. The objection to them is that 
 they are trying to the eyes, and not very easily used by those who 
 are unaccustomed to them. It is impossible to make lenses of 
 
68 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 this kind of low power that will work well, and those of very high 
 power are so difficult to use that they should never be offered for 
 sale. Globules an eighth of an inch in diameter, and a little over, 
 give the most satisfactory results. They are suitable only for 
 transparent objects ; and a little book of 12 or 16 pages should 
 accompany each microscope, giving a detail of the methods of 
 using the microscope, and a description of the objects that may be 
 seen by it. 
 
 Mouth Pastils. 
 
 Dry compounds for perfuming or correcting the breath : 
 Caohou Akomatisk. — The basis of these compounds, as the 
 name implies, was originally catechu, with which various odorifer- 
 ous substances were combined. The catechu, however, is now 
 often omitted. The following are some of the most approved 
 forms : 
 
 1. Extract of liquorice, 3 oz.; oil of cloves, 1^ drs.; oil of cin- 
 namon, 15 drops. Mix, and divide into one-grain pills, and silver 
 them. 
 
 2. (M. Chevallier's.) Chocolate powder and ground coffee, of 
 each H oz.; prepared charcoal, 1 oz.; sugar, 1 oz.; vanilla (pul- 
 verised with the sugar), 1 oz,; mucilage, q. s. Make into 
 lozenges of any form, of which 6 to 8 may be used daily to disin- 
 fect the breath. 
 
 3. (Jachou de Bologne. Bologna Catechu : Extract of liquorice, 3 
 oz ; water, 3 oz. Dissolve by heat in a water-bath, and add 
 catechu, 1 oz.; gum-arabic, i oz.; evaporate to the consistence of 
 an extract, and add (in powder) h drachm each of mastic, cascar- 
 illa, charcoal and orris. Remove from the fire, and add oil of 
 peppermint -i drachm ; essence of ambergris and essence of musk, 
 each 5 drops; roll it flat on an oiled marble slab, and cut it into 
 very small lozenges. Or it may be rolled into small pills, and 
 silvered. They are chiefly used by smokers. 
 
 4. Catechu, 7 drachms ; orris powder, 40 grains ; sugar, 3 oz ; 
 oil of rosemary (or of peppermint, cloves or cinnamon), 4 drops, 
 or q. s. Proceed as for the last. 
 
 5. Cachou Aromatise : Extract of liquorice and water, of each 
 3i oz. Dissolve in a water-bath, and add Bengal catechu, in pow- 
 der, 462 grains, and gum-arabic, in powder, 231 grains : evaporate 
 to an extract, and then incorporate the following substances, first 
 reduced to a fine powder: Mastic, cascarilla, charcoal and orris 
 root, of each 30 grains ; melt the mass to a proper consistence, 
 remove it from the fire, and then add oil of pepperment, 30 drops; 
 tinctures of ambergris and musk, of each 5 drops ; pour it now 
 on an oiled slab, and spread it out, by means of a roller, to the 
 thickness of a dime. When cool, apply some folds of blotting- 
 paper to absorb any adherent oil, moisten the surface with water, 
 and cover it with sheets of silver leaf. Allow it to dry, and finally 
 divide it into thin strips, and these again into small pieces, about 
 the size of a fenugreek seed. 
 
MOUTH PASTILS MUCILAGE. 69 
 
 Pastils or lozenges, with chlorine, for disinfecting the breath : 
 1. Sugar, flavored with vanilla, 1 OZ ; i> iwdered tragacanth, 20 
 grains: liquid chloride of soda, q a; any essential oil, 2 » i r< . [ > -». 
 Form a paste, and divide into lozenges of 15 grains each. 2. Dry 
 chloride of lime, 2 drachms ; sugar, 8 oz ; starch, 1 oz ; gum 
 tragacanth, 1 drachm ; carmine, 2 grains. Form into small 
 lozenges. 
 
 Mucilage. 
 
 The demand for mucilage is so large that it gives employment 
 to several manufacturers on the large scale. The standard muci- 
 lage, and the best, is a solution of good gum arabic, but as this is 
 rather expensive, the cheaper gum, Senegal, which possesses very 
 similar properties, is generally substituted for it. None of the 
 other gums have the peculiar toughness and adhesiveness of the 
 true gum-arabic or gum-acacia. But as cheapness is an important 
 feature of common mucilage, and as an article of extraordinary 
 strength is not absolutely necessary, a good substitute rinds a ready 
 market. The chief substitutes for the true gum are : 
 
 1. Gum Senegal. This more nearly resembles the true gum 
 than does anything else. 
 
 2. Dextiine, or British gum. This furnishes a very strong and 
 pleasant mucilage. 
 
 3. Saccharate of lime. 
 4 Casein Mucilage. 
 
 Nos. 3 and 4 furnish a mucilage which costs very little, and 
 answers fairly for many purposes. 
 
 Saccharate of lime, which is a combination of lime aud sugar, is 
 easily made as follows : The granulated sugar of the stores is dis- 
 solved in three times its weight of boiling water, and one-fourth of 
 its weight of slacked lime is added and well stirred in. The whole 
 is again heated to the boiling point, and the liquid is then put 
 aside in a covered vessel and allowed to stand lor several days, 
 being stirred occasionally. It is finally allowed to settle and the 
 clear liquid poured off for use. 
 
 Mucilage made in this way is very cheap, possesses great 
 adhesive powers, and answers all the purposes of gum arabic. It 
 is not quite as pleasant to use, and when once it is dried it is diffi- 
 cult to soak it oil. It is also apt, to clog the brush. 
 
 Casein mucilage is made by dissolving casein in a solution of 
 borax ; and Wagner, who is high authority, says, that as regards 
 adhesive properties it far surpasses a solution of gum-arabic, and he 
 recommends It as the best kind of glue or paste for paper-hanging, 
 bookbinders, and even as glue for joiners. The casein is prtpared 
 from skim milk by any acids, or by rennet, and after being 
 separated from the whey, and well washed, it is dissolved in a cold 
 solution of borax. 
 
 There are other solutions which might be used for the pur- 
 poses named, but none of them present the advantages that belong 
 
70 TKADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 to those that we have described. As mucilage and portable glue 
 will always be in demand, they seem to offer a fair field for enter- 
 prise on a small scale. 
 
 Pharoah's Serpents. 
 
 The chemical toy sold under this name consist of the powder 
 of pulphocyanide of mercury made ug in a capsule of tin-foil in a 
 conical mass about three-eighths of an inch in height. Ignited at 
 the apex, an ash is protruded, long and serpentine in shape. The 
 fumes evolved are very poisonous. 
 
 A very excellent imitation of the original, and one which has 
 the great advantage of being entirely harmless, may be thus pre- 
 pared : Bichromate potass, 2 parts; nitrate potassa, 1 part; and 
 white sugar, 3 parts. Pulverize each of the ingredients separately, 
 and then mix them thoroughly. Make small paper cones of the 
 desired s ; ze, and press the mixture into them. They are now 
 ready for use, but must be kept from light and moisture. 
 
 Plate Powders. 
 
 These are powders for cleaning plate and jewelry. They 
 should be very soft and free from grit, as any hard particles will 
 be sure to scratch such soft metals as silver and gold, and destroy 
 the beautiful mirror-like polish which they have when they leave 
 the hands of the manufacturer. Flale powders are in considerable 
 request, and are generally put up in boxes of paper or wood. 
 
 Various kinds of diatomaceous earth have been used for this 
 purpose, and strange to say they have been sold quite extensively 
 by jewelers. The powerful action of these earths, prominent 
 amoDgst which is the so-called electro silicon, is shown by the fact 
 that they will quickly and thoroughly polish a piece of dirty tin or 
 brass. Such action is altogether too rough for silver or gold, and 
 would be the destruction of fine work in the precious metals. 
 
 Several of the recipes that are sold recommend the addition of 
 quicksilver, or its compounds. Any such article will infallibly 
 ruin any article of silver or gold with which it may be brought 
 into contact, and to sell such material as an article for cleaning 
 plate ought to be a prison offence. 
 
 The following preparations are the best that are known, and 
 they may be used with in.plicit confidence : 
 
 One way in which they may be prepared is to boil them with 
 water, with pieces of muslin ; the finer particles are entangled in 
 the fibres of the muslin, which are dried and sold for use. 
 
 1. Jewhleks' Rodgb —Dissolve green vitriol in hot water, and 
 add a solution of pearlash as long as it throws down a precipitate. 
 Wash the precipitate repeatedly with warm water, drain it on 
 calico, and finally calcine it till it assumes a bright red color. 
 Great care must be taken not to heat it too strongly, as it then 
 becomes so hard that it will cut steel rapidly, and is altogether too 
 powerful for use with the softer metals. 
 
PLATE POWDERS-POISONS FOR VERMIN. 71 
 
 It. is sometimes made by calcining the sulphate of iron with 
 a strong heat, till oxide of iron only remains. It is then triturated 
 with water, and prepared in the s ime way as prepared chalk. 
 
 2. Fkbnoii Platk Powdbb.— Mix one part of jewelers' rouge 
 with 12 of carbonate cf magnesia. 
 
 3 Finest putty powder, 1 oz ; levigated chalk, 5 oz A little 
 rouge may be added to color it. Putty powder is oxide of tin, 
 prepared specially for polishing. It may be obtained from dealers 
 in polishing materials. 
 
 4 Pkkpakkd Whiting — Whiting is simply a natural carbonate 
 of lime, prepared by grinding and washing chalk As usually 
 found in the stores it is apt to be gritty and rough, but if well 
 prepared by regrinding and careful washing it forms one of the 
 very best of plate powders. A delicate rose tint may be given to 
 it by the addition of a little rouge. 
 
 Pkbpared Chalk — This is a manufactured article, prepared by 
 adding a solution of carbonate of soda to a solution of chioride of 
 calcium (both cheap salts), so long as a precipitate is thrown 
 down. The solutions should be carefully filtered through paper 
 before being mixed, and dust should be rigorously excluded. The 
 white powder which falls down is carbonate of lime, or chalk, and 
 when carefully washed and dried it forms a most excellent polishing 
 powder for the softer metals. The particles are almost impal- 
 pable, but seem to be crystalline, for they polish quickly and 
 smoothly, though they seem to wear away the material so little 
 that its form or sharpness is not injured to any perceptible degree. 
 When used as plate powder it would be well to pass it through a 
 grinding-mil), so as to render it still finer and sotter. 
 
 Platb Boiling Powder —Equal parts of cream of tartar, alum 
 and common salt. A small quantity added to the water in which 
 plate is boiled gives it a silvery whiteness. 
 
 Poisons for Vermin. 
 
 Insect powders are undoubtedly the best and most cleanly 
 destroyers of fully developed insects, but they have no effect upon 
 eggs. AVhere it is desired to make thorough work of bed bugs and 
 similar vermin in furniture which cannot be conveniently 
 exposed to hot steam, the best precaution is a solution of bichloride 
 of mercury in dilute alcohol. Alcohol is used in preference to 
 water, because its power of moistening greasy or varnished sur- 
 faces, and of penetrating into cracks that are filled with dust, is 
 much greater than that of water. Indeed, water will roll in drops 
 off a dusty surface to which alcohol will adhere and thoroughly 
 moisten. The alcohol need not be very strong. Half alcohof and 
 half water answers very well, and in each quart of this liquid 
 ought to be dissolved 2 ounces of bichloride and 2 ounces of cam- 
 phor. This liquid, if applied to the cracks of furniture, etc., by 
 means of a small brush, will effectually destroy all vermin— old, 
 young and eggs. 
 
72 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIYATE RECIPES. 
 
 It is a rank poison, and must not be applied to human beings or 
 other living creatures. For such purpose the best poison is tinc- 
 ture of larkspur. 
 
 Phosphorous Paste for Rats, Miok, eto. — Introduce 1 drachm 
 of phosphorus into a Florence flask, or any thin glass bottle, and 
 pour over it 1 oz. of alcohol. Immerse the flask in water, andheat 
 very gradually until the phosphorus is melted, then put a well- 
 fitting cork into the mouth of the flask, and shake briskly until 
 cold. The phosphorus is now reduced to a finely divided state. 
 This, after pouring off the spirit, is to be mixed in a mortar, with 
 H oz. of lard. Five oz. of flour and lh oz. of brown sugar, previ- 
 ously mixed together, are now added, and the whole made into a 
 paste with a little water. Cheese may be substituted for sugar 
 when the paste is intended for rats or mice. There is no danger 
 whatever of spontaneous ignition either duriDg or after the pre- 
 paration of this paste. 
 
 Polish for Furniture. 
 
 In these days, when natural or unpainted woods are coming 
 into fashion, good polish is in demand. The following are 
 favorite recipes : 
 
 Furniture Cream. — 1. Soft water, 1 gallon; soap, 4 oz.; bees- 
 wax, in shavings, 1 lb.; boil together, and add 2 oz. of pearlash. 
 To be diluted with water, laid on with a paint-brush, and polished 
 off with a hard brush or cloth. 
 
 2 Wax, 3 oz ; pearlash, 2 oz ; water, 6 oz. Heat them 
 together, and add 4 oz. of boiled oil and 5 oz spirit of turpentine. 
 
 3. The name is sometimes given to a mixture of 1 oz. of white 
 or yellow wax, with 4 oz. of oil of turpentine. 
 
 Forniture Paste. — 1. Melt 1 lb. of beeswax with £ pint of lin- 
 seed oil, and add i oz of alkanet root. Keep it at a moderate heat 
 till sufficiently colored, then remove from the fire, add i pint of 
 oil of turpentine, strain through muslin, and put it into small 
 gallipots to cool. 
 
 2. Scrape 4 oz. of wax, and put it into a pipkin with as much 
 oil of turpentine as will cover it, and \ oz. of powdered resin ; 
 melt with a gentle heat, and stir in sufficient Indian red to 
 color it. 
 
 3. Equal weights of beeswax, spirit of turpentine and linseed 
 oil. 
 
 Furniture Oil — 1. Linseed oil, 1 pint ; alkanet, h oz. Digest 
 in a warm place till colored, and strain. 
 
 2 The same with \ pint of oil of turpentine. 
 
 3. Linseed oil, 1 pint; alkanet root, 1 oz ; rose 'pink, 1 oz. 
 Let them stand in earthen vessel all night. 
 
 4 A quart of Unseed oil, 6 oz. of distilled vinegar, 3 oz. of 
 spirit of turpentine, 1 oz. of hydrochloric acid, and 2 oz. spirit of 
 wine. 
 
POLISH FOR FURNITURE-POUNCE. 73 
 
 6. Linseed oil, 8oz.; vinegar, 4 <■■/. ; oil of turpentine, mucilage, 
 rectified spirit, each h oz ; butter of antimony, J oz ; hydrochloric 
 acid, 1 oz. Mix 
 
 0. Linseed oil, 10 oz ; black resin, 4 cz ; vinegar, 4 oz ; recti- 
 tified spirit, 3 oz ; butter of antimony, 1 oz ; spirit of salts, 2 oz. 
 Melt the resin, add the oil, take it oil the fire, and stir it in the 
 vinegar; let it boil for a few minutes, stirring it; when cool put 
 it into a bottle, add the other ingredients, shaking all together. 
 The last two are especially used for reviving French polish. 
 
 7. Linseed oil, 1 pint; oil of turpentine, \ pint ; rectified spirit, 
 4 oz ; powdered resin, li oz ; rose pink, i oz Mix. 
 
 8. Linseed oil, 14 oz.; vinegar, \\ oz.; hydrochjoric acid, i oz. 
 Mix. 
 
 Holtzapffel, than whom there is no better authority, quotes, 
 approvingly, the following by J. Rhodes : "I know of no better or 
 more durable polish for teak or furniture woods than may be pre- 
 pared by melting three or four pieces of sandarach, of the size of 
 a walnut or small egg, and pouring upon it a botlleful of linseed 
 oil, rendered drying by litharge or other drier, and after boiling 
 them together for an hour, gradually adding, while cooling, a tea- 
 spoonful of Venice turpentine. If too thick it may be thinned 
 with spirits of turpentine. It should be rubbed on the furniture, 
 and after a little time, during which it may be exposed to the sun, 
 rubbed off. The rubbing should be repeated daily, and the 
 polish should not be again applied for eight or ten days, after 
 which it may be slightly applied every one or two months. Water 
 does not injure this polish, and any stain or scratch may be rubbed 
 over with the polish, which caunot be done with the French 
 polish." 
 
 Polishing Cloth — This is cloth saturated with soap and polish- 
 ing powder, so that it cleans and polishes any metal surface very 
 effectually. The term " Magic" is generally prefixed to the name, 
 but what there is that is magical about it is a mystery. The fol- 
 lowing is the usual formula : 
 
 Dissolve 8 ounces of soap in 40 ounces of water, and stir in 4 
 ounces of polishing powder, which may be pumice-stone powder, 
 Tripoli, finely powdered emery, or any other material suitable for 
 the work to be performed. Tripoli, or fine diatomaceous earth, is 
 generally to be preferred. With the pasty mass thus produced, 
 thoroughly saturate stout unbleached muslin, and dry it. The 
 cloth is cut into pieces, 4 to 6 inches square, and is applied by 
 rubbing the article to be polished until it is bright. The appear- 
 ance of the cloth is improved by coloring it red, which may easily 
 be done with a little aniline. 
 
 Pounce. 
 
 In the olden times a pounce-box formed part of the furniture 
 of every desk, being used to brush over the surface of parch- 
 ment to take off its greasiness, and also to prevent ink from 
 
74 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 sinking into the substance of paper, the sizing of which had been 
 disturbed by the knife in scraping out. The liquid used on liueu, 
 previous to writing on it with maiking ink, and to prevent the 
 spreading of the ink, is called Liquid Pounce. The colored pow- 
 ders used by pattern-drawers, for sprinkling over pricked papers, 
 are also called '' pounce." 
 
 The old fashioned pounce has gone almost entirely out of use, 
 but the recipe for it is still offered for sale, with glowing accounts 
 of what may be done with it — how writings may be altered, 
 amended and improved, and how poor paper may be made equal 
 to the finest ! It may, therefore, be well to give the formula 
 generally used for preparing it : 
 
 1. Gum sandarac, pounded very fine. This was the material 
 generally used for parchment and paper. 
 
 2. Cuttlefish bone, well dried ; yellow resin and burnt alum, 
 in equal quantities, finely powdered and well mixed together. 
 This and No. 1 were applied to the surface by means of a cylin- 
 drical roll of list, called a rubber, and in the case of erasures the 
 surface was burnished with a smooth bone oi ivory handle, so as 
 to restore the polish. 
 
 3. The liquid pounce, used with marking-ink, is composed of: 
 Carbonate of soda, 1 oz.; gum arabic, 2 drachms, dissolved in 6 
 oz of rain-water. 
 
 Packers rub the surface of porous and greasy woods, as the 
 heads of boxes, cases, casks, &c, with whiting or powdered resin, 
 to make them bear the ink. This powder is sometimes called 
 pounce. 
 
 Razor-Strops, 
 
 A good razor-strop is indispensable, not only to the barber and 
 to those who shave themselves, but to all who require exceedingly 
 shaip cutting tools. The surgeon, the wood carver, the micro- 
 scopist, and many other artists, are greatly aided in their work by 
 the use of a good strop. 
 
 The basis of the best strop is good hard leather. By hard 
 leather, we do not mean leather that has been rendered stiff and 
 hard by alternate wetting and drying, but leal her that is so close and 
 firm in texture as to be compressed with dilliculty. Leather that 
 is soft, yields to the pressure of the edge of the tool, and rises up 
 when this edge passes over it. Instead of a sharp edge, formed by 
 two planes meeting each other, a blunt edge, formed by the meet- 
 ing of two curved surfaces, is the result, and such an edge can 
 never cut cleanly and well. This arises partly from the defective 
 form, and also from the great increase in the cutting angle of the 
 edge. 
 
 Good hard calfskin probably makes the best surface for a strop. 
 Excellent pieces may in general be obtained from the bookbinders 
 for a trifle, and they are easily attached to the wooden holder by 
 means of a little glue. Two surfaces are generally employed — 
 
RAZOll STROPS. 75 
 
 one in its natural condition, and the other after being rubbed 
 with some very hard but fine powder. Of the powders that have 
 been suggested, the following give good results : 
 
 1. Coicothar or crocus, well burned and very finely pu'veriz'd. 
 The crocus used for plate polishing is too soft, but by heating, it 
 becomes so hard that it polishes steel quite rapidly. 
 
 2. Emery, brought to a state of the very finest powder by 
 grinding and washing. 
 
 3. The charcoal of wheat straw, or the straw of grasses growing 
 in swamps or marshy places. This charcoal owes its efficacy to 
 the small quantity of silica which it contains. 
 
 4. Diatomaceous earth. Of this, the famous Tripoli powder is 
 a good example. Such earth is found quite extensively in this 
 country. In its natural state the particles are too coarse, and the 
 earth is apt to be gritty from the presence of fine pand. It should 
 be well ground in a mortar and carefully washed. 
 
 5. The fine carbonaceous dust deposited in gas retorts during 
 the process of making gas. The particles of this black dust are 
 as hard as diamonds, and cut steel rapidly — they are, in fact, very 
 minute diamonds. All these powders ought to be carefully 
 washed, or rather "elutriated," so as to separate the coarser par- 
 ticles and the impalpable dust, which does no good, but, on the 
 contrary, clogs the cutting action of the material. After being 
 carefully washed the powder is dried, and either mixed with a 
 little tallow and wax, or the leather is first rubbed very lightly 
 with the greasy mixture, and then very lightly coated with the 
 powder. When made into cakes with grease the material is known 
 as " razor paste," and is sold as such Crocus, in the form of cakes 
 and sticks, can also be found in most tool stores. 
 
 Diamond dust, or the powder produced by rubbing diamonds 
 against each other in the process of cutting and polishing them, 
 possesses very powerful cutting qualities, and when properly 
 used on suitable " laps " or metal blocks, it enables us to give a 
 very keen edge to every species of cutlery. Cooley tells us that 
 "the discovery, or assumed discovery, of this fact, a few years 
 since, led certain knaves to extensively advertise and puff a spuri- 
 ous preparation (powdered quartz) under the name of diamond 
 dust. In a short time the demand for the fictitious article became 
 immense. It soon, however, acquired a bad notoriety. Instead 
 of sharpening cutting instruments it infallibly destroyed their 
 edge, and was particularly unfortunate in converting razors into 
 saws. This discovery was not made until it was in the hands of 
 the majority of the adults in the kingdom; nor before the scamps 
 who had manufactured it and vended it had realized a moderate 
 fortune." 
 
 It is very evident, however, that the evil effects in this case 
 arose from wrong methods of manufacture and preparation. 
 Quartz crystals, which have been frequently sold as "diamonds," 
 under the names of " California diamonds," " Alaska diamonds," 
 
76 TRADE SECRETS AND PEIYATE RECIPES. 
 
 etc., etc., were ground as fiuely as ordinary stamping mills would 
 grind them ; the powder was bolted or sifted, and in this state 
 placed on the market. Now, it is the last degree of pulverization 
 that costs in this case. It is easy to reduce the quartz to coarse 
 powder, and not very difficult to obtain a tolerably fine powder; 
 but to get a quartz powder sufficiently fine and free from coarse 
 particles to serve as a polisher or sharpener for cutlery is a more 
 difficult matter. From experiments that we have made it would 
 seem that pulverized quartz might be a very valuable grinding 
 and polishing material, and as it can be had in almost unlimited 
 quantities for nothing, it offers a fine field for enterprise. When 
 thoroughly ground, it should first be sifted or bolted, aud then 
 washed or elutriated, so as to separate all grit. 
 
 Rennet. 
 
 Milk, curdled by means of rennet, forms not only a delicious 
 dessert, but a great treat and valuable food in the sick room. It 
 cannot always be obtained, but it is readily prepared so as to keep 
 for an indefinite time. 
 
 Rennet is simply the fourth, or true digesting stomach of the 
 calf, which has been freed from membranes, the other skin, and 
 fatty matters, and then cured, either by being steeped in strong 
 brine or covered with dry salt for a few hours, after which it is 
 hung up to dry. Calves' stomachs thus prepared are called 
 "veils," and somewhat resemble parchment. 
 
 The Bavarian mode of curing consists in turning out the con- 
 tents of the skin of the stomach, wiping off all specks or dirt with 
 a cloth, and then blowing up the skin, or filling it with air like a 
 bladder. The ends are tied with a string, and a little salt applied 
 to this part only. The skin, treated in this way, soon dries per- 
 fectly, and is as sweet and c'ean as can be desired. Salt neutral- 
 izes in some degree the action of rennet, therefore the rennets 
 treated on the Bavarian plan are much more effective than those 
 cured in the old way. When the rennets cured on this plan are 
 dry, the air may be expelled, and the skins can be packed away in 
 a small space, and ate easily kept clear of insects. The defect in 
 salted rennets is, that the salt in wet weather accumulates damp- 
 ness, and if care be not taken to keep them in a dry place, they 
 drip, and thus lose their strength. 
 
 The essence of rennet may be prepared as follows : Chop up a 
 fresh calf's stomach as finely as possible, pour upon it two litres of 
 water in which 100 grams of common salt has been dissolved, and 
 shake well. After twelve hours add 200 c.c. of 90 deg. alcohol, and 
 allow the whole to stand, with frequent stirring, in a closed jar for 
 three weeks, then decant, and add sufficient blotting paper to 
 cover it. After several weeks, during which the vessel must be 
 kept well closed, the essence of rennet is drawn off into bottles 
 and preserved. A liquor prepared in this way was, when fresh, 
 capable of curdling 0000 times its volume of milk, and, being kept 
 
RENNET SEALING WAX. 77 
 
 in & well-corked bottle, it was found, after two years, to have 
 diminished in activity only from 1 in 6000 to one in 5401. 
 
 Distilled or rain water gives a more active essence than spring 
 water, and it is advantageous to miuce the stomach as fiuely as 
 possible. 
 
 The way to use rennet is to cut off a bit of suitable size (a piece 
 an inch square is large enough to coagulate several gallons of 
 milk), and soak it for some hours in water; then add the whole 
 to the milk, a little warmed. The mixture is now very gradually 
 heated to something above blood-heat, or about 120 (leg. Very soon 
 it undergoes a great change, and a solid white curd is separated 
 from the whey. This curd may be used to make cheese, or it 
 may, when cold, be eaten with a little milk or cream. 
 
 Sealing Wax. 
 
 Sealing wax is again coming into fashion, and as a consequence 
 recipes for manufacturing it are freely offered. The number of 
 the formulae that may be found is almost unlimited, but to pro- 
 duce a really flue article requires a good deal of skill and 
 experience. 
 
 The old sealing wax found on deeds and charters was real wax 
 colored with vermillion. It had no holding power, and was 
 employed simply to retain an impression of the seal. When used 
 to secure packages, these were tied with cords or ribbons, the 
 ends of which were embedded in the wax. Modern sealing wax 
 is a fusible cement, which holds two pieces of paper or cloth 
 together veiy strongly. The basis of the best sealing wax is shellac, 
 mixed with resin, earthy matter, to give it body and coloring 
 matter. Sometimes it is perfumed by the addition of benzoin or 
 storax, which are added just before the wax is allowed to cool. 
 
 In the cheaper kinds of wax, resin forms the chief ingredient, 
 but it causes the wax to become too liquid wdien melted, so that it 
 ruDS into drops too easily. Of late years a cheap resin from New 
 Zealaud has been substituted, with good results, for the more 
 expensive shellac. 
 
 The coloring matters used are ultramarine and cobalt blue for 
 blues, chromate of lead for yellow, vermillion, or cinnabar, for 
 red, bone black for black, etc. For the cheaper reds, the red oxide 
 of iron is generally used. Chalk, magnesia, plaster of Paris, zinc 
 white, sulphate of baryta, Kaolin, diatomaceous earth, etc., are 
 used to give body, to increase the weight (wax is always sold by 
 the pound), and to prevent the too rapid fusion of the mass. 
 
 The following formuke seem to be favorites : 
 
 Red. 1. Fine Carmine Wax : Venice turpentine, 2 oz ; finest 
 shellac, 4 oz.; colophony, 1 oz.; Chinese vermillion, 11 oz.; mag- 
 nesia (moistened with oil of turpentine). 1\ drachms. 
 
 2. Finest Red: Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; shellac, 7 oz.; cin- 
 nabar, 4 oz.; carbonate of magnesia (with oil of turpentine), U 
 drachms. 
 
78 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 3. As the last, with only 3i oz. of cinnabar. 
 
 4. Venice turpentine, 4 oz.; shellac, 6i oz.; colophony, i oz.; 
 cinnabar, 2i oz ; magnesia (with oil of turpentine), 1A- drachms. 
 
 5. Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; shellac, 6 oz.; colophony, % oz.; 
 cinnabar, ljf oz ; magnesia as before. 
 
 6. As the last, but use colophony and cinnabar, each li oz, 
 
 7. Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; shellac, 5| oz ; colophony, 1A oz.; 
 cinnabar, 1| oz ; magnesia as before. 
 
 8. English : Venice turpentine, 2 oz.; shellac, 4 oz.; vermillion, 
 1 oz 
 
 9. Spanish : Venice turpentine, 8 oz ; shellac, 2 oz.; colophony, 
 4 oz ; vermillion, 1 oz. Remove from the fire, and add | oz. of 
 rectified spirit. 
 
 Bkown: 1. Light Brown : Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; shellac, 
 7A oz.; brown earth (English umber?), A oz ; cinnabar, £ oz ; 
 prepared chalk, A oz ; carbonate of magnesia, moistened with oil 
 of turpentine. H drachms. 
 
 2. Light Brown (second quality) : Venice turpentine, 4 oz.; 
 shellac, 7 oz ; resin, 3 oz ; English umber, 3 oz.; cinnabar, { oz ; 
 prepared chalk, 1 oz.; magnesia as the last. 
 
 3. Dark Brown: Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; fine shellac, 1\ oz.; 
 English umber, 1| oz ; magnesia as before. 
 
 4. Dark Brown (second quality): Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; 
 shellac, 7 oz.; colophony, 3 oz ; English umber, H oz.; magnesia 
 as before. 
 
 Bluk. 1. Shellac, 2 parts ; dammar resin, 2 parts ; Burgundy 
 pitch, 1 part ; Venice turpentine, 1 part ; artificial ultramarine, 3 
 parts. 
 
 2. Light Blue : As the last, with 1 part of dry sulphate of 
 lead. 
 
 3. Dark Blue: Venice turpentine, 3 oz ; finest shellac, 7 oz.; 
 clear amber or black resin, 1 oz.; Prussian blue, 1 oz ; carbonate 
 of magnesia, \\ drachms. The last two to be made into a stiff 
 paste with oil of turpentine, and added to the melted shellac and 
 Venice turpentine. 
 
 Black. 1. Venice turpentine, 4A oz ; shellac, 9 oz ; colophony, 
 A oz.; lamp black mixed to a paste with oil of turpentine, q s. 
 
 2. Inferior: Venice turpentine, 4 oz.; shellac, 8 oz.; colophony, 
 3 oz., and sufficient lamp black mixed with oil of turpentine to 
 color it. 
 
 3. Shellac, 8 oz.; Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; lamp black, 6 oz. 
 
 4. Common, for bottles: Resin, G oz ; shellac, 2 oz ; Venice 
 turpentine, 2 oz ; lamp black, q. s 
 
 Gkken. Venice turpentine, 2 oz ; shellac, 4 oz ; colophony, 1-} 
 oz ; King's yellow, $ oz.; Prussian blue, ^ oz ; magnesia as for 
 brown. 
 
 Gold. 1. Venice turpentine, 4 oz ; fine shellac, 8 oz ; leaf- 
 gold, 14 sheets, bronze powder, A oz ; magnesia (made into a 
 paste with oil of turpentine), \\ drachms, 
 
SHAMPOOING LIQUro-SILVER-PLATIN*; MIXTURES. 79 
 
 2. Use gold talc instead of gold leaf and bronze. — Oka v. 
 
 Makrlrd. — Melt each colored wax separately, and just as they 
 begin to grow solid, mix together. — Gray. 
 
 Ykixow. — Venice turpentine, 2 oz. ; shellac, 4 oz. ; colophony, 
 1 1 oz ; King's yellow, :,' oz. ; magnesia as before. 
 
 Common Bottle Wax.- 1. Dark resin, 18 oz. ; shellac, 1 oz. ; 
 beeswax, 1 oz. Mix together, and color with red lead, Venetian 
 red, or lamp black. 
 
 2. Resin, 19 oz. ; beeswax, 1 oz. ; color as before. 
 
 Transparent Sealing Wax. — The materials used for making 
 this kind of sealing wax must be of the best quality. Fine 
 bleached shellac is used and mixed with mastic and very fine 
 viscid, light colored turpentine to give the transparency. The fol- 
 lowing formula? furnish a ground mass which may be colored to 
 suit: 
 
 1. Bleached shellac, 30; turpentine, 30; mastic, 00; chalk, 20. 
 
 2. Bleached shellac, 30 ; turpentine, 35 ; mastic, 40 ; zinc white, 
 20. 
 
 Avrnturine Sealing Wax is made by stirring finely powdered 
 yellow or bronze-colored mica into melted transparent wax. 
 
 Shampooing Liquid. 
 
 The following are the formulce generally offered for sale: 
 
 1. Salt of tartar, 2 oz. ; alcohol, 1 pint ; clear rain water, 1 
 quart ; perfume to suit. 
 
 2. Aqua ammonia, 4 oz. ; salt of tartar, i oz. ; alcohol, 4 oz. ; 
 soft water, 1 quart ; perfume to suit. 
 
 3. Aqua ammonia, 2 oz. ; saltpetre, J oz ; castile soap, finely 
 scraped, 1 oz. ; perfume to suit. 
 
 4. Soft water, 1 quart ; sesquicarbonate of ammonia and car- 
 bonate of potash, of each 1 oz ; tincture of cantharides, 8 fl. oz. ; 
 alcohol, 1 pint ; good rum, 5 quarts. Agitate the whole together, 
 adding a little scent or not, at will. 
 
 Silver-Plating Mixtures. 
 
 A great deal of money has been made by the sale of these mix- 
 tures, which under some circumstances are really valuable and use- 
 ful. Many of the articles that are sold for this purpose contain 
 mercury or quicksilver instead of real silver, and they invariably 
 destroy the articles to which they are applied. Silvering fluids or 
 powders containing mercury should never be used unless the 
 articles are to be afterwards exposed to a red heat so as to drive off 
 the mercury. A silvering fluid which is very commonly sold io 
 housekeepers under the name of Novargent or Plate Renovit>r, 
 consists merely of nitrate of mercury or quicksilver. When rut>b?d 
 on a copper cent or a brass stair-rod it gives it at once a bright 
 silvery surface, but the brightness soon fades, and the article, if 
 brass, becomes black and dirty, while if it should be a piece of 
 
«0 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 plated ware, it will be ruined. This is the stuff usually sold on 
 street corners by peddlers who pretend to convert a copper cent 
 into a silver piece and claim that this is the great secret of the 
 counterfeiters. Silvering fluids and powders are of real value and 
 are used in many of the arts Thus it is frequently desired to 
 lightly silver a me al surface, such as brass or copper, so as to make 
 any figures eugiaved thereon appear more distinct. Clock faces, 
 dials and the scales of thermometers and barometers are cases in 
 point, and if the surface be well lacquered with white lacquer after 
 being silvered, such a coating is very durable. Stair rods and sim- 
 ilar articles, if well silvered with good silvering powder aud then 
 lacquered with good lacquer, will present a white silvery appear- 
 ance for a long time. Plated goods should be re coated by the 
 electro-platiug process and never with silvering powder. It is 
 generally claimed by the manufacturers of these mixtures that the 
 coating of silver may be made of any thickness by repeating the 
 operation. Tiiis is not true, aud no such claim should ever be made. 
 The coating is exceedingly thin, and if exposed to much wear soon 
 rubs off. It i3 not a deposit like the electro plate, but is produced 
 by the solution of part of the brass or other metal and the deposi- 
 tion of silver in its place. But when well lacquered with a solution 
 of colorless shellac, the silvering thus produced will retain its 
 beauty for years. 
 
 1. Silvkiung Powdkr.— Nitrate of silver, 30 grains; common salt, 
 30 grains; cream tartar, 200 grains. Mix. Moisten with water and 
 rub on the article with wash leather. Gives a white silvery appear- 
 ance to brass, copper, etc. 
 
 2. Novakgknt. — Add common salt to a solution of nitrate of silver 
 until the silver has all been precipitated. Wash the white pre- 
 cipitate of chloride of silver aud add a strong solution of hypo- 
 sulphite of soda until the white chloride is dissolved. Mix the 
 resulting clear liquid with pipe-clay which has been finely powdered 
 and thoroughly washed. In some recipes whiting is directed to 
 be used instead of pipeclay. Genuine whiting is a carbonate of 
 lime, and would act injuriously on the salt of silver. Pipeclay is 
 perfectly inert in this respect. 
 
 3. 1 oz. of nitrate of silver dissolved in one quart of rain or dis- 
 tilled water. When thoroughly dissolved, add a few crystals of 
 hyposulphite of soda, which will at first form a brown precipitate, 
 but which rcdissolves if sufficient hyposulphite has been employed. 
 The solution may be used by simply dipping a sponge in it, and 
 rubbing it over the article to be coaled. A solution of gold may be 
 made and used in the same manner. 
 
 All these preparations may be put up in small bottles, and if 
 closed witli corks that have been well coated with paraffine will 
 keep for years if carefully excluded from the light. 
 
 Skins, Preparation of 
 
 In many localities skins of various kinds may be had cheaply 
 
1 l;i I' \ RATION OP SKINS. 81 
 
 aid iu large quantitiu, and if nicely prepared with the hair, wool 
 01 fur on, they may be converted into quite a number of useful 
 articles. Thus beautiful mats may be made of the skins of sheep, 
 gcats and large dogs; the skins of lambs, cats, small dogs and 
 similar animals may be made into excellent gloves and mittens, 
 while the skins of rabbits, cats and other small animals make 
 excellent chest protectors, etc., and if neatly finished with pretty 
 binding, etc., command a ready sale. The following methods of 
 preparing them have been tested and found to give good results: 
 
 To Pkki'ake Siikhi* Skins bob Mats.— 1. Make a strong soap 
 lather with hot water and let it stand till cold ; wash the fresh skin 
 in it, carefully squeezing out all the dirt from the wool ; wash it 
 in cold water till all the soap is taken out. Dissolve a pound each 
 of salt and alum in 2 gallons of hot water, and put the skin into a 
 tub sufficient to cover it; let it soak for 12 hours and hang it over 
 a pole to drain. When well drained, stretch it carefully on a 
 board to dry, anil stretch several times while drying. Before it is 
 quite dry sprinkle on the flesh side 1 oz each of finely pulverized 
 alum and saltpetre, rubbing them in well. Try if the wool be firm 
 on the skin ; if not, let it remain a day or two, then rub again with 
 alum ; fold the Ile3h sides together and hang in the shade for two 
 or three days, turning them over each day till quite dry. Scrape 
 the flesh side with a blunt knife and rub It with pumice or rotten- 
 stone. Very beautiful mittens can be made of lambs' skins pre- 
 pared in this way. 
 
 2 The skins with the wool on are thoroughly cleansed from all 
 impurities and foreign matter that may adhere to them by washing 
 in running water, and by scraping the flesh side in the usual man- 
 ner by the knife. The skius are then rounded, as it is termed, by 
 cutting off all the extraneous and ragged parts, when they are 
 ready to be tanned ; the skius are for that purpose stretched upon 
 frames, and laid upon trestles with the flesh side of the skin 
 upwards; an infusiou of sumach in the proportion of 1 lb. to a 
 gallon of water is then poured over the skin, and the tanning mat- 
 ter is well worked into the pores of the skin by the aid of the knife. 
 When dry, the reverse, or wool side of the skin, is next placed 
 upwards, and thoroughly washed with a strong alkaline soap and 
 water, and afterwards in fair water, by which means the grease 
 and filth are removed ; when this is dry, the skin undergoes a sec- 
 ond operation of tanning with the sumach as before mentioned, 
 and after being dried, its harsh ami rigid surface is rendered 
 smooth and soft by rubbing it over with pumice-stone. In order 
 to dye it of any color, before it is taken off the frame, its face or 
 woolly part is dipped into a bath of the required tint, prepared in 
 the ordinary manner for dyeing wool; the washing must now 
 again be repeated to get rid of the excess of coloring matter which 
 adheres to it. The skins being then dried and trimmed to the pro- 
 per shape are considered complete rugs, and are ready for sale. 
 
 3. The following process has been found to succeed very well 
 
82 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 with sheep skins, dour skins anil similar hides : Tack the skin up">n 
 a board with the flesh side out, and then scrape with a blunt knile ; 
 next rub it over hard with pulverised chalk, until it will absorb no 
 more. Then take the skin off from the board and cover it with 
 pulverized alum ; double half-way over, with the flesh side in cm- 
 tact ; then roll tight together and keep dry for three days, alter 
 which unfold and stretch it again on a board or floor, and dry in 
 the air, and it will be ready for use. 
 
 Skins of Rabbits, Cats and Small Animals. — Lay the skin 
 on a smooth board, the fur side undermost, and fasten it down 
 with tinned tacks. Wash it over first with a solution of salt: then 
 dissolve 2j oz. of alum in 1 pint of warm water, and with a sponge 
 dipped in this solution, moisten the surface all over; repeat this 
 every now and then for three days. When the skin is quite dry 
 take out the tacks, and rolling it loosely the long way. the hair 
 side in, draw it quickly backwards and forwards through a large 
 smooth ring until it is quite soft, and then roll it the contrary way 
 of the skin and repeat the operation. Skins prepared in this way 
 are useful in many experiments, and they make good gloves and 
 chest protectors. 
 
 Smut in Wheat. 
 
 What is ordinarily known as smut in wheat is a fungus which 
 seems to thrive most luxuriantly when growing on the wheat plant. 
 The fine spores (equivalent to seeds) are often carried by the wind, 
 and so affect fields that would otherwise be free from this pest ; 
 but the most common method of propagation is by the adhesion of 
 the spores to the seed grains, when they grow in due time and 
 destroy the young grain. 
 
 An effective remedy, and one which has been thoroughly tried, 
 consists in soakiug the seed wheat in a strong solution of sulphate 
 of copper (blue vitriol), after which it should be thoroughly rolled 
 in quick lime. Oxide of copper is in this way deposited on the 
 grain and covered with an adhesive coating of plaster of Paris. 
 The process is simple and inexpensive, and the recipe has been 
 sold for large sums. 
 
 Soldering Fluid. 
 
 This is an old and well-known preparation, but the recipe for 
 it is often sold at a high price as a "secret." The ordinary fluid 
 is merely a solution of chloride of zinc, prepared by dissolving 
 common zinc in chlorhydric acid (also called hydrochloric acid, 
 muriatic acid and spirit of salt), until the acid is fully saturated. 
 This solution has long been known as one of the very best cleansing 
 fluxes for low temperatures, such as those used in soft soldering. 
 Melted solder at once flows over and adheres to any metallic 
 surface that has been moistened with the fluid and heated to the 
 melting point of the solder. It will clean off dirt, and even rust to 
 a slight extent, but the latter is always best removed by scraping. 
 
SOLDERING FLUID. 83 
 
 Small "kits" for mending tinware command a ready sale, and 
 by cartful attention to the get up of the articles, quite a business 
 might be done in them. A soldering iron is unnecessary, as the 
 majority of people are unable to use it with any good effect. A 
 candle or a small lamp is far more convenient, and for fine work 
 an alcohol lamp is the best thing to use, as it gives no smoke. 
 The solder should he good, and may either be in drops or cut into 
 little squares about as heavy as No 1 shot, or it mny be cut into 
 long narrow strips. This is done by pouring the melted solder, 
 well stirred, into a flat bottomed metallic vessel like a frying pan, 
 rolling it out thinner if necessary, and cutting it up with powerful 
 shears into narrow strips. If conveniences for rolling the solder 
 cannot be had, the best plan will be to cast it into plates as thin as 
 possible, and cut it up into little squares. 
 
 With a little care and skill obtained by practice, solder may be 
 made into drops in somewhat the same way that shot is manufac- 
 tured. A box is made of sheet iron by simply turning up the sides 
 of a piece about five inches square. The bottom is punched full 
 of holes about a sixteenth of hii inch in diameter, and a piece of 
 stout wire or band-iron is fastened to it to serve as a handle. To 
 prevent the solder from attaching itself to this sieve, the latter 
 should be brushed over with oil and heated until the oil decom- 
 poses and leaves a black surface, which should then be wiped 
 clean, but not to such an extent as to expose the metallic surface. 
 In use, the sieve is held over a pail of water; the melted solder is 
 poured into it, and as the latter flows through the holes it separates 
 into drops, which congeal as they reach the water. The size and 
 form of the drops will depend upon the temperature of the solder, 
 the height at which the sieve is held above the water, and the 
 temperature of the latter. Of course, the size of the holes in the 
 sieve and their distance apart will also have much to do with the 
 result. Holes about a sixteenth of an inch in diameter and half an 
 inch apart will be about right A little practice will soon enable 
 the operator to get the drops right. 
 
 Another form in which the solder may be used is that of thin 
 leaf or sheet. Indeed, we have often used the ordinary tinfoil 
 used in wrapping tobacco and in making the caps of bottles; and 
 a cheap article of this kind, containing a large proportion of lead, 
 could be obtained frem the tinfoil manufacturers, and would serve 
 admirably. 
 
 The "kit" and the method of using it should be about as 
 follows : 
 
 1. Solder, in the form of drops, slender bars or thin sheet. 
 If in drops, they should be contained in a neat little box. 
 
 2. Soldkking Fluid, prepared as previously directed. Many 
 experts think that the addition of a little sal-ammoniac improves 
 the fluid. The sal-ammoniac should be dissolved in water until 
 the latter is saturated, and then I part of this solution should be 
 
84 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 mixed with 3 parts of the solution of zinc. The fluid should be in 
 a bottle, well corked with a paraffined cork. 
 
 3. Tin Patches.— These should be square, oblong and circular 
 pieces of tin of various sizes. Circular pieces may be obtained in 
 any quantity for almost nothing from any manufacturer of tinware, 
 as they are considered waste, and are in general thrown away. 
 As they come from the factory they are concave or dish-shaped, 
 and must be made perfectly flat by being hammered on a perfectly 
 flat anvil. A drop press would be better, as it would do the work 
 more rapidly and more properly. 
 
 4. A small swab of cloth attached firmly to a short stick. All 
 these things should be packed in a neat paper box, with a proper 
 label. Various names might be devised for it, such as "The 
 Housekeeper's Friend," "The Universal Tinker," etc., etc. Full 
 directions should accompany each kit, and these may either be 
 pasted on the inside of the box cover, or, which is better, got up 
 in the form of a neat little pamphlet, which may then be used as 
 an advertisement of the most effective kind. The pamphlet or 
 little book should not be more than 2.j by 4^ inches, and from four 
 to eight pages, and will cost but a trifle. With such a kit any 
 little piece of mending may be done to tinware and similar articles 
 very easily, very cheaply, and very well. Suppose a kettle has a 
 small hole in the bottom. The outer surface of the kettle is scraped 
 clean around the hole by means of an old knife ; the metal is then 
 moistened with soldering fluid, a tin patch (as supplied with the 
 kit) is laid over it, a drop or two of solder is laid at the edge of the 
 patch, and the patch and kettle are heated at this spot by means of 
 a lamp, a candle or a hot poker until the solder melts. As soon as 
 the solder melts, the lamp or poker is taken away, and the patch 
 is held firmly in place by the pressure of a piece of wood until the 
 whole has cooled a little. The article is then mended neatly and 
 durably. The soldering fluid should be carefully washed off, and 
 the spot rubbed with a little oil or tallow, so as to prevent rust. 
 
 The soldering fluid itself may be put up in bottles, and will 
 find a ready sale in hardware stores, as amateurs and others find it 
 much easier to use than resin or oil. 
 
 Starch Polish. 
 
 Quite a number of recipes for "Starch Polish," "Laundry 
 Gloss," "Lustiine," etc., are in market; but the basis of the best 
 seems to consist of white wax, spermaceti, paraffine, or a mixture 
 of these. Various additions, such as salt, borax, etc., are often 
 prescribed, but they are quite useless. The following very absurd 
 recipe has been frequently sent out, and is copied into "Techno- 
 Chemical Receipts:" Take spermaceti, gum-arabic and borax, of 
 each If oz ; glycerine, 4} oz.; distilled water, li pints, and some 
 sweet-scented essence. Four spoonfuls of lustrine are directed to 
 be added to 4£ oz boiling starch. 
 
 Equal parts of white wax and spermaceti, melted together, 
 
STARCH POLISH-STOVE POLISH-STYPTICS. 85 
 
 poured into flat, dishes so as to form cakes a quarter of an inch 
 thick, mid then cut into ritihI) disks about half an inch in diameter 
 by means of a common gun punch or a tin tube, make as good a 
 shirt polish as can be had Paraltine may be substituted for the 
 wax. One of the small cakes serves for a pint of boiling starch. 
 The polish should be added to the starch while the latter is hot, 
 and the whole well stirred, so as to form an emulsion. 
 
 In selling this article there will be a good deal in a name and 
 in the neat manner in which the article is put up. 
 
 Stove Polish. 
 
 The best stove polish is undoubtedly the pure carbon known as 
 graphite, plumbago or black lead, and the stock of this is controlled 
 by one or two large concerns. Several recipes for liquid polish 
 have been sold. The following are the ones usually sent out. 
 We know nothing as to their good or bad qualities. 
 
 1. Mix 2 parts of copperas [evidently sulphate of copper or blue 
 copperas— En.], 1 of bone black, 1 of black lead, with sufficient 
 water to form a creamy paste. This will produce a very enduring 
 polish on a stove or other iron article, and after two applications 
 it will not require polishing again for a long time, as the copperas 
 will produce a jet black enamel and cause the black lead to per- 
 manently adhere to the iron. 
 
 3. Black lead, 1 lb.; water, 4oz.; turpentine, 4oz. ; sugar, 1 oz. 
 Mix thoroughly. To be applied with a sponge, brush or rag. 
 [We should think that the old directions, " When taken, to be 
 well shaken," would apply to this recipe.] 
 
 3. Black lead made into a thin paste with a weak solution of 
 silicate of soda or water glass. To be well rubbed when applied. 
 [This seems to be one of the most promisiug of the numerous 
 recipes afloat.— Ed.] 
 
 Styptics. 
 
 Sometimes a very small vein lying near the surface is cut, and 
 bleeds profusely and persistently. No danger need be appre- 
 hended, but the bleeding is annoying. Such wounds are common 
 to those who shave themselves, and it is frequently inconvenient 
 to have to wait for the bleeding to stop of its own accord. For 
 such wounds the following styptic pastes and powders are in 
 demaud : 
 
 1. Powdered alum, gum tragacanth and tannin, equal parts. 
 Mix, and keep in well corked bottle. 
 
 2. Resin, 4 dr.; eum arabic, 1 dr.; catechu, 1 dr. Powder 
 separately and mix thoroughly. This is the French officinal 
 powder. 
 
 3. Baths's Styptio Wash. — Alum and white vitriol, of each 
 i oz.; water, 3 pints. Dissolve and filter. 
 
 This is powerfully astringent, and is used as a wash for ulcers, 
 eruptions, etc., and sometimes as an injection. 
 
86 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 4. Eaton's Styptic Wash.— Green vitriol, calcined, 1 dr.; 
 proof spirit, tinged yellow with a little oak bark, 2 lbs. 
 
 5. Styptic Pastk. — Equal quantities of white, green and blue 
 vitriol, flour and bole, ground to a fine powder and made into a 
 paste with a little vinegar. 
 
 6 Impkovbd Collodion Styptic. — Take collodion, 100 parts ; 
 carbolic acid, 10; tannin, 5; benzoic acid, 5. Mix, and keep in 
 closely-stoppered bottle. It is best applied by means of a camel- 
 hair brush, which may be kept in the mixture attached to the 
 stopper. This preparation has a dark brown color, leaves, after 
 evaporation, a tightly adhering film, coagulates the blood instan- 
 taneously to a crusty mass, and the wound under this covering 
 heals in a very short time. 
 
 It has been proved that hens which have their combs frost- 
 bitten do not lay until the injury is quite healed; and as this 
 accident is liable to occur just at the time when eggs command 
 the highest price, the loss to the poultry keeper is apt to be heavy. 
 To prevent this the operation of •'dubbing" has been introduced. 
 This consists in cutting oft' the combs and wattles of the birds as 
 soon as they are full grown The operation is performed by 
 rue ins of a pair of stout shears, and is attended with very little 
 danger. Sometimes, however, the bleeding is quite profuse, and 
 in such cases the application of one of the foregoing powders or 
 washes would prove very efficient. A powder would be most 
 easily put up and transported, and is as good as any other form. 
 
 Vinegar. 
 
 Vinegar is an article in such general use that it always com- 
 mands a market, and as it may be manufactured on any scale, 
 from one gallon to millions, recipes for its preparation are in con- 
 siderable demand. That a really good article of vinegar would 
 command a wide sale and yield a handsome profit there can be no 
 doubt, but the quality would require to be decidedly superior. 
 By good vinegar we mean an article having the following qualities: 
 1, purity ; 2, strength ; 3, fine flavor. It i-> easy to make strong 
 vinegar and pure vinegar out of very poor materials, but to get a 
 pure and strong article with a truly fine flavor is not so easy. 
 Moreover, as it is very easy to give an apparent strength to vinegar 
 by means of cheap mineral acids, the temptation to this form of 
 adulteration is very great, although the wrong done is equally 
 great. Vinegar is a wholesome and pleasant condiment which 
 greatly aids digestion in many cases, and its functions in this 
 respect cannot in any way be performed by sulphuric acid, 
 although a few drops of the latter will apparently give to several 
 gallons of weak vinegar a great degree of strength. 
 
 If we except the vinegar obtained by the distillation of wood, 
 etc., all vinegar is produced from sugar, which is, however, first 
 converted iuto alcohol. When vinegar is made from grain, 
 
VlNEGAIt-WAKlllN'C FLUIDS AND COMPOUNDS. 87 
 
 potatoes, etc., the starch is first converted into sugar, which is 
 then changed to alcohol, and this alcohol by oxidation is converted 
 into acetic acid, which is the active principle of all vinegar. So 
 far as mere strength is concerned, therefore, it matters not whether 
 we use grain, potatoes, fruits or corn sugar; in every case we will 
 get a vinegar which, hy proper management, will be pure and 
 strong. The flavor, however, may not be up to the mark, 
 and it is in this direction that success will probably attend the 
 efforts of the careful manufacturer. The flavor is imparted to the 
 vinegar by the ethereal essences of the fruits, etc., used in the 
 manufacture; and by care in the selection and treatment of these 
 fruits it would be possible to produce a table vinegar which, when 
 neatly bottled, would command a high price for table purposes. 
 
 Ordinary vinegar is made by the fermentation and acetification 
 of cider, wine, molasses, etc., and the management requires no 
 great skill. All that is wanted is a temperature above 50 deg. F. 
 aud plenty of air, and the process will proceed of its own accord. 
 
 In France the grocers keep three or more barrels in constant 
 use. As soon as one is emptied of its contents, a quantity of wine, 
 mixed witi a little vinegar, is poured in so as to rill it two-thirds 
 full, and it is allowed to stand. Barrel No. 2 should now be ready 
 to supply vinegar, and is drawn upon while the contents of barrels 
 Nos. 1 and 3 are working. By the time No. 2 is empty, No. 3 is 
 ready, so No. 2 is charged afresh, and the daily supply is drawn 
 from No. 3. By the time No. 3 is empty No. 1 will be ready. 
 
 The recipes offered for sale are quite numerous, and differ but 
 very slightly from the following : 
 
 Vinegar from Sugar. — Put 9 lbs. of brown sugar to every six 
 gallons of water; boil it for a quarter of an hour, and then pour it 
 in a tub in a lukewarm state; put to it a pint of good yeast, let it 
 work four or five days, stir it up three or four times a day, then 
 turn it into a clean barrel, iron-hooped, and set full in the sun. 
 
 Vinegar from Sorghum. — For 40 gals, take 8 gallons of syrup; 
 put this in first, then fill with rain water. If you can get filtered 
 cistern water it will make the vinegar clearer. Add a teacupful 
 of hop yeast, then set the barrel in a warm place with bung open. 
 
 Washing Fluids and Compounds. 
 
 Ever since Eve changed her primitive fig-leaf for garments of 
 more complicated and elaborate construction, washing has been a 
 burden to the sex — in fact, a part of the primeval curse, if we may 
 judge it by the sentence theu pronounced — "In the sweat of thy 
 brow shalt thou eat bread ;" for although this may be said to apply 
 only to ihe mau, yet so far as our observation has gone, au opera- 
 tion more sweaty than that of washing on a hot day it would be 
 difficult to find. Hence any means which will promise to lessen 
 this labor will always command a wide and liberal support, and 
 hence the liberal patronage found by every recipe which has for 
 its title, " Washing Made Easy." 
 
88 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 The majority of the recipes for washing compounds are simply 
 slight mollifications of the well-known chemical formula for the pre- 
 paration of caustic potpsh or caustic soda. As usually found in mar- 
 ket, soda and potash are in the form of carbonates, and they do not 
 exert the same intensity of action that these alkalies show when 
 deprived of their carbonic acid. But when such carbonates are 
 mixed with lime that is freshly burned— or, as it is sometimes 
 called, caustic — the lime seizes the carbonic acid and forms with it 
 an iusoluble compound (chalk), which falls to the bottom, while 
 the alkali becomes pure and wonderfully energetic. It will dissolve 
 grease and many kinds of dirt at once, and without any necessity 
 for the mechanical action of rubbing. Unfortunately, however, if 
 concentrated, it will corrode many kinds of cloth, and at all times 
 it exerts a severe and strong action on the skin of the hands and 
 arms. 
 
 Ammonia is a milder alkali, which is often substituted for the 
 caustic potash and soda, and a small quantity added to the water 
 in which clotbes are washed will often save a good deal of labor. 
 
 Borax is also frequently used as a cleansing agent, and with 
 good effect. Borax consists of soda and boracic acid, and as the 
 acid is quite weak it fails to fully neutralize the alkaline character 
 of the soda, and the latter acts much in the way that washing soda 
 acts. 
 
 Turpentine has been frequently recommended as a valuable 
 addition to washing compounds, but the most diveise opinions 
 prevail in regard to its ustfulness. Some persons claim for it an 
 almost magic effect in cleaning and bleaching clothes; others 
 condemn it as most injurious. On which side the truth lies we 
 are unable to say, as we have had very little experience in the 
 matter. It is, however, a well known fact that turpentine exerts 
 a powerful bleaching action under some conditions, as witness 
 its usefulness in bleaching ivory. But to get the proper effect 
 it must not be applied in too great quantity, and it must be well 
 exposed to light and air. It is possible, therefore, that failure in 
 its use as an ingredient in washing C"mpounds results from using 
 it in too great quantity, and in not exposing the clothes afterwards 
 to a process of grass bleaching. 
 
 Javelle water is a very effective agent in bleaching clothes, but 
 not in washiug them, for which, however, we have seen it recom- 
 mended. Javelle water should never be mixed with the ordinary 
 washing suds, but when used it should be employed separately. 
 The clothes should first be slightly "soured'' with a little acid, 
 for which sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or pale vinegar may 
 be used. They should then be steeped for a short time in a solution 
 of the Javelle water, and afterwards thoroughly riused out in clean 
 water, so as to remove all traces of the chemicals. 
 
 As regards the recipes usually offered for sale for washing 
 compounds the following are the principal ones in market: 
 
 1. Sal-soda, three pounds; best uuslacked lime, three quarters 
 
WASHING FLUIDS AND COMPOUNDS. 89 
 
 of a pound; hot water, four gallons. Slake the lime in sufficient 
 boiling water ; add to it the sal-soda, previously dissolved in the 
 four gallons of hot water; stir the whole thoroughly, and allow it 
 to rest and settle ; pour off the clear liquid ; bottle in clean bottles, 
 and cork tight for use. To two pails of water add one pint of 
 washing fluid, and boil the clothes in it. (It is belter to boil the 
 water before adding the fluid.) 
 
 Tins preparation in the proportions given does not injure the 
 linen, and diminishes the amount of soap and rubbing considerably. 
 
 The following has been widely distributed, but does no'„ seem 
 to us a very judicious combination : 
 
 2. Take two pounds of the best brown soap ; cut it up and put 
 it in a clean pot, adding one quart of clean soft water. Set over 
 the fire, and melt thoroughly, stirring it up from the bottom 
 occasionally. Then take from the fire, and stir in one tablespoon- 
 ful real white wine vinegar, two large tablespoonfuls of hartshorn, 
 and seven large tablespoonfuls of spirit of turpentine. Having 
 stirred the ingredients well together, put the mixture Immediately 
 into a stone jar; cover without delay, lest the hartshorn evaporate. 
 Keep it always closely covered. When going to wash, nearly fill 
 a six or eight gallon tub with soft water, as hot as you can bear 
 your hand in, and stir in two large tablespoonfuls of the mixture. 
 Putin as many white clothes as the water will cover; let them 
 soak about an hour, moving them about in the water occasionally. 
 It will only be necessary to rub with the hands such parts as are 
 badly soiled ; the ordinary dirt will soak out. Wring out and rinse 
 well through two cold waters. 
 
 3. One and one quarter pound of washing soda, \ pound borax, 
 and dissolve in 4 quarts water by boiling. When tue mixture ia 
 cold add about one half a teacupful of water of ammonia (harts- 
 horn), and bottle for use, taking care to keep the fluid corked from 
 the air. For use take a cupful to a pailful of water. 
 
 4. Sal-soda and borax, \ lb. each ; gum camphor, 1 oz.; alcohol, 
 h pint. Dissolve the soda and borax in one gallon of boiling rain 
 water, pour in two gallons of cold rain water, add the camphor 
 first dissolved in the alcohol, stir well and bottle for use. Four 
 tablespoonfuls of the preparation are to be mixed with a pint of 
 soft soap, and the clothes boiled in a suds made of this. It is all 
 the better if the clothes are soaked over night, before putting them 
 into the suds. 
 
 5. Boll 2 lbs of soap to a paste, dilute this with Gi gallons of 
 water; add 1 teaspoonful of s-pirit of turpentine and 2tablespoon- 
 fuls of ammonia, and heat the mixture thoroughly. The water 
 must be as warm as the hand will bear. The dry clothes arc then 
 soaked in this for two hours previously to washing them. The tub 
 containing them must be well covered. The suds can be again 
 heated and used once more by adding £ tablespoouful of spirit of 
 turpentine and 1 tablespoouful of ammonia. 
 
90 TRADE SECRETS AND PRIVATE RECIPES. 
 
 Yeast. 
 
 The manufacture of yeast gives rise to quite an extensive 
 business in this country, as a very large proportion of the familiea 
 make their own bread. Yeast as ordinarily sold is in the form of 
 cakes, and for the preparation of them the recipes are quite 
 numerous. The following are the usual ones : 
 
 1. Yeast Cakes. — Put into 3 pints of water a handful of hops, 
 and nearly a quart of pared potatoes, cut into small pieces. Boil 
 for ^ an hour, and strain, while scalding hot, into sufficient flour to 
 make a stiff batter. Stir it weli, adding 1 tablespoonful of fresh 
 yeast, and set it in a warm place to rise. When light, mix it stiff 
 with Indian meal, roll out thin, and cut into round cakes or square 
 pieces about 2k inches in diameter. Dry these thoroughly, and 
 they will remain good for months if kept in a moderately dry place. 
 
 2. Good sized potatoes, 1 doz.; hops, 1 large handful ; yeast, k 
 pint ; corn meal, sufficient quantity. 
 
 Boil the potatoes, after peeling, and rub them through a 
 colander, boil the hops in two quarts of water, and strain into the 
 potatoes ; then scald sufficient Indian meal to make them the con- 
 sistence of emptyings, and stir in the yeast and let rise; then, with 
 unscalded meal thicken so as to roll out and cut into cakes, drying 
 quickly, at first, to prevent souring. They keep better, and soak 
 up quicker, than if made with flour. 
 
 An important point in regard to the keeping qualities of yeast 
 cakes is that it should neither be too dry nor too damp. It 
 perfectly dry it seems to lose all its power, and if too damp it 
 decomposes and beconis putrid. 
 
Deceptive and Fraudulent Recipes. 
 
 In the previous pages we have given only those recipes which 
 are really good, or are defective through some obvious mistake 
 either on the part of the originator or copyist. Such mistakes are 
 at all times liable to occur, but they do not lay the vendor of the 
 recipe open to the charge of fraud, since no fraudulent intent is 
 apparent. Of such worthless recipes the number is very great, 
 and the wrong consists in the fact that the vendors sell and recom- 
 mend them without any positive knowledge as to their value or 
 efficiency. 
 
 Many of these recipes are remarkable for their complicated 
 character, and for the introduction of useless and often expensive 
 ingredients, which are ordered merely for the purpose of giving a 
 technical appearance to the formula. Amongst the favorite sub- 
 jects for which such recipes and "secrets" are offered for sale are 
 the welding and tempering of steel, the taming of horses, the 
 trapping of game and wild animals, and the catching of fish. 
 There is a certain air of mystery about all these, which aids greatly 
 in persuading the uninitiated that experts peiform their work by 
 means of some " secret" rather than by the careful and judicious 
 application of common knowledge and skilled experience. 
 
 Welding and tempering recipes are great favorites, and the 
 most extravagant claims are made for many of them, although 
 their composition is most absurd. The following has been offered 
 to us on three several occasions, we agreeing to pay for it provided 
 substantially the same thing was not to be found in our private 
 collection. We never were obliged to pay for it. Here it is : 
 
 "To make Ikon take a Bright Polish i.ikk Steel. — Pulverize 
 and dissolve the following articles in 1 qt. hot water: blue vitriol, 
 1 oz ; borax, 1 oz ; prussiate of potash, 1 oz.; charcoal, 1 oz.; salt, 
 ipint; then add 1 gal. linseed oil; mix well; bring your iron or 
 steel to the proper heat, and cool in the solution. It is said the 
 manufacturers of the Judson governor paid $100 for this recipe, 
 the object being to case-harden iron so that it would take a bright 
 polish like steel." 
 
 Any person familiar with the working of iron and steel knows 
 that the above will not case-harden, and that so far as hardening 
 and tempering are concerned, it is no better than coarse fish oil. 
 
 Other recipes for welding are equally absurd, and many of them 
 quite injurious. There are no "secrets" about the matter that 
 
92 DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT EECIPES. 
 
 are worth anything, and that are not to be found in the standard 
 works on working and tempering steel. The following is another 
 sample of these complicated but worthless formulae : 
 
 Substitute for Borax. — Alum, 2 oz.; dilute with water and 
 mix with 2 oz. potash, boil in a pot half an hour over a gentle fire, 
 take it out of the water, add 2 oz. gem salt in powder, as much of 
 alkaline salt, 3 lbs. honey, and 1 of cow's milk ; mix all together, 
 set it in the sun for three days, and the borax is ready for use. 
 This will go twice as far in a blacksmith's shop as common borax. 
 
 But many of these recipes are not only worthless, but actually 
 dangerous ; as where certain parties offer for sale a powder which 
 is warranted to prevent any oil or burning fluid — no matter how 
 poor— from exploding. This powder consists of alum, common 
 salt, and a little sal-ammoniac, and is not only entirely worthless 
 for the purpose for which it is sold, but is actually dangerous, 
 from the fact that it engenders undue confidence, and in this way 
 is likely to lead to accidents. No powder can be produced which 
 will make a safe oil out of one that is unsafe. 
 
 Similar recipes are sold for the manufacture of burning fluids 
 which are claimed to be perfectly safe. One of these, that for 
 " The Great Northern Light Burning Fluid," is as follows : 
 
 Get good deodorized benzine, GO to 65 gravity, and to each bbl. 
 of 42 gals, add 2 lbs. pulverized alum, 3A oz. gum camphor, and 
 3i oz. oil of sassafras, or 2 oz. oil bergamot ; stir up and mix 
 thoroughly together, and it will soon be ready for use. 
 
 The only recommendation which such a fluid has is that it is 
 cheap, since benzine is a bye-product for which the demand is 
 scarcely ever equal to the supply. But none of the drugs prescribed 
 in the above formula will render benzine non-explosive. 
 
 Strange to say, amongst the recipes in greatest request are those 
 for fraudulent imitations of articles for which there is a general 
 demand. Imitation wine, brandy, gin, and various articles of 
 domestic use can always be sold in large quantities, and the profit 
 on such sales used to be enormous until competition cut it down 
 here as it does in everything else. Such recipes, however, are not 
 legitimate subjects of sale, and fortunately they are rarely of any 
 use. To make a fair article of imitation brandy requires more than 
 a mere recipe; skill, experience and well-trained taste must be 
 employed, or the result will be anything but a saleable product. 
 
 Professed secrets for the taming of horses and other animals 
 are often subjects of sale, but it rarely happens that they are of 
 any use to the purchaser. Success in such operations depends 
 chiefly upon skill, judgment and powerful personal influence; 
 and though these may, in a measure, be imparted by instruction 
 and careful traiuing, yet success does not depend upon any 
 "secret." The celebrated Rarey probably told all he knew about 
 his methods of taming horses, yet none of his pupils ever attained 
 the success shown by their master, and very few were ever able to 
 accomplish anything at all. 
 
DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT RECIPES. 93 
 
 The power which certain individuals are able to exert over 
 animals is often very wonderful, and that it is a personal and 
 individual qualification is unquestionable. Even animals so low 
 in the scale of life as insects are amenable to such influences, and 
 it is a thoroughly proved fact that there are certain individuals 
 whom even irritated bees will not sting. Of course we do not now 
 allude to the tricks of those so called "Bee Kings" who exhibit 
 bees at fairs, and handle them as if they were so much wheat. 
 Their control depends upon two things : The influence of the 
 queen or mother bee, and the fact that bees when gorged with 
 honey will not sting unless they are subjected to actual violence. 
 Taking advantage of these two principles, bees may be made to 
 cluster in festoons from the beard, the arm, or from a pole ; and 
 they may be made to walk from one box to another without the 
 least difficulty. But over bees which are in their own hive and 
 with their own queen, but irritated without being gorged, these 
 mountebanks have no power; although it is on record that certain 
 persons have shown complete immunity from their stings, while 
 others, even professional bee-keepers, were unable to stand their 
 ground. 
 
 In the case of the horse and other animals this principle obtains 
 to a still greater extent, and men have been known who could 
 subdue otherwise vicious horses by their mere presence. Whether 
 Borrow intended to relate fact or fiction iu his story of the Irish 
 blacksmith, told in " Lavengro," we do not know. It is apparently 
 told as true, and Borrow was a trustworthy author. He tells us 
 that in a wild part of Ireland he had occasion to have bis horse 
 shod, and the following is his graphic account of the effect on the 
 horse of certain words uttered by the smith: "Can you do this, 
 agrah?" said the smith, and he uttered a word which I had never 
 heard before, in a sharp, pungent tone. The effect upon myself 
 was somewhat extraordinary ; a strange thrill ran through me ; 
 but with regard to the cob it was terrible ; the animal forthwith 
 became like one mad, and reared and kicked with the utmost 
 desperation. 
 
 '• Can you do that, agrah ?'' said the smith. 
 " What is it ?'* said I, retreating; "I never saw the horse so 
 before.'' 
 
 "Go between his legs, agrah," said the smith, — "his hinder 
 legs;" and he again showed his fury. 
 
 " I dare not," said I ; "he would kill me.'' 
 "He would kill ye I And how do you know that, agrah ?" 
 "I feel he would,'' said I ; " something tells me so." 
 "And it tells ye the truth, agrah ; but it's a fine beast, and it's 
 a pity to see him in such a state : Is agam an't leigas" — and here 
 he uttered another word in a voice singularly modified, but sweet, 
 and almost plaintive. The effect of it was as instantaneous as 
 that of the other — but how different ! The animal lost all its fury, 
 and became at once calm and gentle. The smith went up to it, 
 
94 DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT RECIPES. 
 
 coaxed it and patted it, making use of various sounds of endear- 
 ment ; then, turning to me, and holding out once more the grimy 
 hand, he said: "And now ye will be giving me the Sassenach 
 tenpence, agrah ?" 
 
 Such is Borrow's account of a most remarkable experience. 
 He gives it as a fact, and 
 
 " I know not how the truth may be ; 
 I tell the tale as 'twas told to me." 
 
 The stories told about the exploits of the Irish horse-tamer, 
 Sullivan, known as the " Whisperer," are quite as marvellous, 
 but some of the best authorities believe that they are greatly 
 exaggerated. 
 
 The command which some persons are able to exert over 
 savage animals, such as lions and tigers, is often so great as to be 
 marvelous, but it does not depend upon any secret which can be 
 imparted to others and we very rarely hear of a lion-tamer 
 instructing pupils with any degree of success. The power is a 
 personal endowment which cannot be imparted. 
 
 The same is true of the so called mesmeric influence. Some 
 persons have the power of inducing the hypnotic condition in 
 others, but this is not a power which depends upon any secret 
 act or word that can be imparted by means of a recipe or formula, 
 though the recipe-mongers claim that it is, and offer to furnish 
 directions. 
 
 It is true that there are certain "secrets" known to burglars 
 and horse-thieves, by which some dogs may be quieted and some 
 horses made to follow one like a dog. These methods depend 
 upon the influence exerted by the females at certain seasons over 
 the male of the same species, and can be described and explained 
 by any veterinary surgeon, though, for obvious reasons, we cannot 
 explain them fully in this place. 
 
 The very same principles furnish the most potent means of 
 attracting and trapping wild animals and fish, and the most suc- 
 cessful methods are those which follow them mo3t closely in 
 practice. Various vegetable and animal drugs possess an odor 
 which produces a similar effect, and the rubbing of baits, traps, 
 etc., with them has been practiced from time immemorial. We 
 all know how the cat is attracted by valerian, and oils of anise, 
 rhodium, amber, and sweet fennel seem to have similar attractions 
 for other animals. So have assafcelida, musk and similar perfumes. 
 The following are some of the directions usually given : 
 
 Fish Oil is made by mincing eels, bass, trout, or other small 
 fish, and allowing the pieces to remain in a loosely corked bottle 
 exposed to the rays of the sun for two or three weeks during the 
 heat of summer, until a sort of oil is generated, which, owing to 
 its very intense odor, is perceived by wild animals at an immense 
 distance and forms a most attractive scent. 
 
 Muskkat Musk, a most powerful scent, is an oil obtained from 
 that animal, and is contained in glandular sacs situated near the 
 anus. 
 
DECEPTIVE AND FltAUWT.KXT IJKCIPKS. 95 
 
 Castokrum, called Bark-ttoru by the fur traders, R i8 a fatty 
 substance of an intensely strong odor contained in similar sacs in 
 the back parts of the beaver. Il forms a more attractive scent for 
 that animal than any other. 
 
 Ottkr Musk, derived in a similar way from the otter, is very 
 successful in attracting that animal. 
 
 A mixture composed of equal parts of fish oil, assaf<etida, 
 muskrat musk and oil of anise, is said by old trappers to be the 
 most attractive scent obtainable for almost any animal. The odor 
 reaches far and wide, forming what a Frenchman would call 
 "one grand stink" of the first magnitude. It is used on baits for 
 traps, and for sceuting trails leading to the traps by sprinkling it 
 in successive drops on the ground. 
 
 A rank codfish drawn along on the earth by means of a string, 
 in a direction leading to the traps, will also answer this last named 
 purpose very well. 
 
 Muskrat musk and skunk musk mixed are said to be very 
 effective, and the recipe has been sold for $75. 
 
 A singular recipe for this purpose, which has been said to have 
 been sold for large sums, is the following: 
 
 "Take unslaked lime, h lb ; sal-ammoniac, 3 oz ; or muriate of 
 ammonia, 3 oz. Mix and pulverize ; keep in a corked bottle a few 
 days until a thorough admixture takes place. For mink, sprinkle 
 on the bait around the trap. Keep it in a closely-stoppered 
 bottle." 
 
 This is simply a mixture for generating ammonia. 
 
 But while some of the recipes we have just enumerated may bo 
 worthless or defective in some points, and so tend to raise expecta- 
 tions which are not fulfilled, there is a certain class of advertise- 
 ments for which this excuse cannot be offered. Their very incep- 
 tion indicates fraud and a desire to deceive. In regard to them a 
 few words may not be out of place. 
 
 First on the list of such recipes are those of which that by 
 "Rev." Inman is a type. These recipes are offered gratis to those 
 who are afflicted with certain common diseases (such as consump- 
 tion, rheumatism, etc.); but when the patient takes them to a 
 druggist to be made up he fiuds that one or more of the ingredients 
 are not to be obtained through the ordinary channels of trade, and 
 he is forced'to apply to the vendor of the recipe in order to have 
 the prescription filled. Of course the latter can supply the needed 
 article, for it is probably some cheap and worthless drug, easily 
 procured under its common name, but entirely unknown to phar- 
 macists under the fanciful name used by the advertiser of the 
 recipe. This necessary correspondence, however, serves as an 
 entering wedge for Inman or any other of his class; he manages 
 in this way to get an order for the medicine, when, if he had 
 advertised it for sale in the first place, he never would have 
 secured a customer. The fraud is a clever one, but it is old, and 
 has been so frequently exposed that one would think that nobody 
 
9G DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT RECIPES. 
 
 could be taken in by it. And yet such vampires seem to thrive, 
 for they do business on a large scale, showing that the influence of 
 even the best journals is not quite co-extensive with humanity. 
 As last as the old and well informed drop off, new victims, 
 unfamiliar with these "tricks that are vain," grow up to take 
 their places. 
 
 Another kind of fraudulent recipe professes to instruct in some 
 art, and to tell some secret of great value, when the "secret" is 
 really no secret at all, and the process entirely worthless. One of 
 the best illustrations of this is the famous "butter secret," so-called. 
 Dealers in this secret insert advertisements stating that for a small 
 consideration they can furnish a recipe for a powder, which, when 
 added to milk, will cause the production of an unusual quantity of 
 butter. They even show the powder, and by its action they 
 manage to produce from ordinary milk a mass which they pretend 
 to be butter, and which they claim would have been very nice if 
 the milk had not been too hot, or too cold, or something else. 
 But there is the butter apparently, such as it is. Now in this case 
 the butter is no butter at all, but only curd, and the whole thing 
 is a fraud. The following is the composition of the " Butter- 
 powder:" 
 
 "Take 4 oz. pulverized alum, ^ oz. pulverized gum-arabic, 
 50 gr. of pepsin ; place in a bottle for use as required. A tea- 
 spoonful of this mixture added to 1 pint of new milk will, upon 
 churning, make 1 lb. of butter." 
 
 In the same class may be placed the recipes for "Egg-powder" 
 and "Butter-powder," as well as the articles themselves. These 
 articles are sold as substitutes for eggs and butter in making cake, 
 but all those that have come under our notice were simply the 
 ordinary baking powder colored with a little turmeric, so as to 
 give the cake or bread the rich yellow which is imparted by eggs 
 and butter. Of course, these powders cause cake and pastry to 
 rise, just as ordinary baking powders act, but they contain none of 
 the nutriment and richness of the real eggs and butter. 
 
NEW HOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO., 
 15 Dey Street, New York. 
 
 Any of these books will !><■ sent to any pari of the world on 
 receipt of price. Canadian bills aud fractional currency received 
 at par. British postage stamps received al the rateof two cents 
 for one penny. U. S. postage stamps received for fractional parts 
 u£ a dollar. 
 
 New editions of our large catalogue are issued from lime to 
 time, and will l>r sen! free t<> any address. Hfr* Liberal terms 
 
 TO AirKNTS. 
 
 Trade "Secrets" and Private Recipes. 
 
 A Collection of Recipes, Processes and Formulae tbal have been offered for 
 Bale at prices varying from 25 cents to (500. With Notes, Corrections, Ad- 
 ditions and Special Hints for Improvements. Edited by John Phin, assisted 
 by an experienced and skilful Pharmacist. Cloth, Gilt Title, - - 60c. 
 
 This work was prepared by the author for i he purpose of collecting and pre- 
 senting In a compact form all those recipes and so-called "trade secrets" which 
 have been bo extensively advertised and offered for Bale. It is not by any 
 means a clap-trap book, though it exposes many clap-traps. It contains a 1 it ere 
 amount of valuable Information thai cannot be readily found elsewhere, and u 
 u r ives not only the formulae, etc., tor manufacturing an immense variety of arti- 
 cles, bnl Important and trustworthy hints as to the best waj of making money 
 outol them. Even as a book of recipes it is worth more than its price to any 
 one who is interested in the subjects on which it treats. 
 
 The Workshop Companion. Part II. {Nearly Ready.) 
 
 A Collection of Useful and Reliable Recipes, Rules, Processes, Methods. 
 Wrinkles and Practical Hints. For the Household and the Shop. Neatly 
 bound. Paper, 35c. Cloth. 60c 
 
 The extraordinary number which has been sold of the First Part of the 
 "Workshop Companion," proves conclusively thai such a little work was 
 needed. Having received frequent inquiries for information upon subjects 
 which were not discussed in the First Part, we have had a Second Pari pre- 
 pared lor the purpose of supplying the information thus called for. The Second 
 I art has been edited with the same care and thoroughness which did so much 
 towards rendering Part 1. a favorite with every worker. The best sources of 
 knowledge have been consulted, and the more important articles have been 
 confided to the hands ol specialists of well-known ability. 
 
 The two parts will also be Issued in one volume, printed on extra paper, and 
 
 handsomely bound in cloth, with silt stamp, under the title of Thk, PRACTICAL 
 
 ^'Assistant. Price, $1.00 
 
PRACTICAL BOOKS FOR PRACTICAL MEN. 
 
 The Steel Square and Its Uses. By Hodgson. 
 
 Second and Enlarged Edition. $1.00 
 
 This is the only complete work on The Steel Square and Tt s Uses ever published. 
 Jt is thorough, exhaustive, clear and easily understood. Confounding terrasand 
 scientific phrases have been religiously avoided where possible, and everything 
 in the book has been made so plain that a boy twelve years of age, possessing 
 ordinary intelligence, can understand it from end to end. 
 
 The new edition is illustrated with over seventy-five wood cuts, showing how 
 the Square maj be used for solving almost every problem in the whole Art of 
 Carpentry. 
 
 Stair-Building Made Easy. 
 
 Being a Full and Clear Description of the Art of Building the Bodies. Car- 
 riages and Cases for all kinds of Stairs and Steps. Together with Illustra- 
 tions showing the Manner of Laying Out Stairs, Forming Treads and Riser-. 
 Building Cylinders, Preparing Strings, with Instructions for Making Car- 
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 is added an Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Stair-Building, and Designs 
 for Newels, Balusters, Brackets Stair-Mouldings, and Sections of Hand- 
 Rails. By Fred. t. Hodgson, cloth, Gilt, $1.00 
 
 This work takes hold at the very beginning of the subject, and carries the 
 student along by easy stages, until the entire subject of Stair-Building has been 
 unfolded, so far as ordinary practice can ever require. Tins book and the en" 
 on Hand-Railing, described below, cover nearly the whole subject of Staik- 
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 A New System cf Hand-Railing. 
 
 Or, How to Cut Hand-Bailing for Circular and other Stairs, Square from the 
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 This is a book 61 164 closely printed pages, forming a Dictionary of Practical 
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 Illustrated by Over 300 Engravings. Being a Guide lotha Correcl Working 
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 practical and reliable, and at tin- same time is written In a style bo plain that 
 
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 Their Use, Care and Abuse. How to Select and How to File Them. By 
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 scriptions of Tools, Appliances and Materials. All the Redoes, Rules, and 
 Directions have been carefully Revised and Corrected by Practical Men ol 
 great experience, bo thai they will be found thoroughly trustworthy < loth, 
 
 (Hit, SI. (Ml 
 
 Mechanical Draughting. 
 
 The Student's Illustrated Guide to Practical Draughting. A series ol' Prac- 
 tical instruction^ tor Machinists, Mechanics, Apprentices, and students at 
 Engineering Establishments and Technical Institutes By T. P. PEMBERTON, 
 Draughtsman and Mechanical Engineer. Illustrated with numerous en- 
 gravings. Cloth, Gilt, $1.00 
 
 This tea simple but thorough book, by a draughtsman ol twenty-five years 1 
 experience. It Is Intended for beginners and self-taught students, as well as for 
 those who pursue the study under the direction of a readier. 
 
 Lectures in a Workshop. 
 
 ByT. P. Pkmiskrton, formerly Associate Editor of the "Technologist;" 
 author of " The Student's Illustrated Guide to Practical Draughting." With 
 an appendix containing the famous papers by Whitworth "On Plane Me- 
 tallic Surfaces or True planes;" ••on an Uniform System of Screw Threads;" 
 "Address t<> the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Glasgow;" "On 
 standard Decimal Measures of Length." Cloth, Gilt, - - - Si. on 
 
 We have here a sprightly, fascinating book, full of valuable hints, interesting 
 anecdotes and sharp Bayings. It is not a compilation of dull sermons or drj 
 mathematics, but a live* readable book. The papers by Whitworth, now first 
 made accessible to the American reader, form the basis of OUT modern Bystems 
 
 Of accurate work. 
 
 How to Use The Microscope. 
 
 By John - Phin. Fifth Edition. Greatly enlarged, with over eighty Illustra- 
 tions in the Text, and six full page Engravings, printed on heavj tint 
 paper. Cloth, Gilt, Si. no 
 
 This is not a book describing what may be seen by the microscope, bur a Simple 
 and practical work, telling how to use the instrument in its application to the 
 
 arts. It ha- I u prepared tor the use of those who, having no knowledge of 
 
 the use of the microscope, or, indeed, of any scientific apparatus, desire simple 
 and practical instruction in the best methods of managing the instrument and 
 preparing objects. 
 
1 he Engineer's Slide Rule and Its Applications. 
 
 A Complete Investigation of the Principles upon which 
 the Slide Bule is Constructed, together with the Method 
 of its Application to all the Purposes of the Practical 
 Mechanic. By William Toukes. - - 25 cents. 
 
 Rhymes of Science : Wise and Otherwise. 
 
 By O. W. Holmes, Bret Harte, Ingoldsby, Prof. Forbes, 
 Prof. J. TV. M<-Q. Bankine, Hon. B. W. Baymond, and 
 others. With Illustrations. Cloth, Gilt Title, 50 cents. 
 
 "We advise all our readers into whose souls the sunlight of fun ever 
 enters to purchase this little book. " Making light of cereous things " 
 has been said, by a high authority, to be " a, wicked profession," but the 
 genius which can balance the ponderosity of an ichthyosaur upon the 
 delicate point of a euphonious rhyme, or bear aloft a bulky lepto- 
 rhyncus on the sparkling foam of a soul-stirring love ditty, is worthy- 
 worthy of a purchaser.— Philadelphia Medical Neics. 
 
 Instruction in the Art of Wood Engraving. 
 
 A Manual of Instruction in the Art of Wood Engraving; 
 with a Description of the Necessary Tools and Apparatus, 
 and Concise Directions for their Use; Explanation of 
 the Terms Used, and the Methods Employed for Pro- 
 ducing the Various Classes of Wood Engravings. By 
 S. E. Fuller. Fully Illustrated with Engravings by the 
 author, separate sheets of engravings for transfer 
 and practice being added. New Edition, Neatly 
 Bound, ------ 50 cents. 
 
 What to Do in Case of Accident. 
 
 What to Do and How to Do It in Case of Accident. A 
 Book for Everybody. 12 mo., Cloth, Gilt Title, 50 cents. 
 
 This is one of the most useful books ever published. It tells exactly 
 what to do in case of accidents, such as Severe Cuts, Sprains, Disloca- 
 tions, Broken Bones, Burns with Fire, Scalds, Burns with Corrosive 
 Chemicals, Sunstroke, Suffocation by Foul Air, Hanging, Drowning, 
 Frost-Bite. Fainting, Stings, Bites, Starvation, Lightning, Poisons, 
 Accidents from Machinery and from the Falling of Scaffolding, Gun- 
 shot Wounds, etc., etc. It ought to be In every house, for young and 
 old are Liable to accident, and the directions given in this book might 
 be the mourn* of suviug many a valuable life. 
 
THE WORKSHOP COMPANION. 
 
 A Collection of Useful stiul Reliable Recipe*. 
 
 Boles, Proceeoeo, Methods, Wrialdeo, 
 
 and Practical Iliats, 
 
 ron tup: housemiow .i.vn the: shop. 
 
 ( !< INTENTS. 
 
 Abyssinian Gold:— Accidents, General Rules;— Alabaster, how to work, polish and 
 clean;— -Alcohol:— Alloys, rules for making, and 26 recipes;— Amber, how to work, 
 polish and mend ;— Annealing and Hardening glass, copper, steel, etc. ;— Arsenical 
 Soap -—Arsenical Powder ; — Heeswax, how to bleach:— Blackboards, how to make ;— 
 Brass' how to work, polish, color, varnish, whiten, deposit by electricity, clean, etc., 
 etc • —Brazing and Soldering: — Bronzing brass, wood, leather, etc.; — Burns, how to 
 cure— Case-hardening;— Catgut, how prepared ;— Cements, general rules for using, and 
 56 recipes for preparing;— Copper, working, welding, depositing ;— Coral, artificial: — 
 Cork, working;— Crayons for Blackboards ;— Curling brass, iron, etc. ;— Liquid Cu- 
 ticle '—Etching copper, steel, glass;— Eye, accidents to;— Fires, to prevent ;— Clothes on 
 Fire '_Kireproof Dresses;— Fly Papers ;— Freezing Mixtures, 6 recipes ;— Fumigating 
 Pastils;— C.ilding metal, leather, wood, etc. .—Class, cutting, drilling, turning in the 
 lathe, fitting stoppers, removing tight stoppers, powdering, packing, imitating ground 
 ashing glass vessels, etc. : — Grass, Dry, to stain; — Guns, to make shoot close, 
 to keep from rusting, to brown the barrels of, etc., etc. ; — Handles, to fasten ;— Irk-, 
 rules for selecting and preserving, and 34 recipes for ;— Ink Eraser ;— Inlaying; — Iron, 
 forging welding, case-hardening, zincing, tinning, do. in the cold, brightening, etc., 
 etc ;— Ivory, to work, polish, bleach, etc. ;— Javelle Water ;_ Jewelry and Gilded Ware, 
 care of, cleaning, coloring, etc. ; — Lacquer, how to make and apply: — Laundry' Gloss ; — 
 Skeleton Leaves:— Lights, signal and colored, also for tableaux, photography, etc., 25 
 recipes; — Lubricators, selection of, 4 recipes for ; — Marble, working, polishing, clean- 
 ing; — Metals, polishing ; — Mirrors, care of, to make, pure silver, etc., etc. : — Nickel, 
 to plate with without a battery; — Noise, prevention of; — Painting Bright Metals: — 
 Paper, adhesive, barometer, glass, tracing, transfer, waxed, etc. ; — Paper, to clean, take 
 creases out of, remove water stains, mount drawing paper, to prepare for varnishing, 
 etc , etc. ;— Patina: — Patterns, to trace:— Pencils, inde'ible; — Pencil Marks, to fix; — 
 Pewter:— Pillows for Sick Room, cheap and good ;— Plaster-of-Paris. how to work; — 
 Poisons, antidotes for, 12 recipes: — Polishing Powders, preparation and use of (six 
 pages); — Resins, their properties, etc.: — Saws, how to sharpen; — Sieves; — Shellac, 
 properties and uses of; — Silver, properties of, oxidized, old, cleaning, to remove ink 
 stains from, to dissolve from plated goods, etc.. etc. : — Silvering metals, leather, iron. 
 etc. : — Size, preparation of various kinds of: — Skins, tanning and curing, do with hair 
 on; — Stains, to remove from all kinds of goods; — Steel, tempering and working (six 
 pages); — Tin, properties, methods of working; — Varnish, 21 recipes for; — Varnishing. 
 directions for; — Voltaic Batteries: — Watch, care of; — Waterproofing, 7 recipes for; — 
 Whitewash: — Wood Floors, waxing, staining, and polishing; — Wood, polishing : — - 
 Wood, staining, 17 recipes; — Zinc, to pulverize, black varnish for. 
 
 164 closely-printed pases, neatly bound. Sent bv mail for S6 cents 
 (postage stamps receive.!), 
 
A \EW SERIES OF PRACTICAL BOOKS. 
 
 WORK MANUALS. 
 
 The intention of the publishers is to give in this Series a number of small books which 
 will give Thorough and Reliable Information in the plainest possible language, upon the 
 
 ARTS OF* EVERYDAY LIFE. 
 
 Each volume will be by some one who is not only practically familiar with his subject, 
 but who has the ability to make it clear to others. The volumes will each contain from 
 50 to 75 pages . will be neatly and clearly printed on good paper and bound in tough 
 and durable binding. The price will be 25 cents each, or Jive for (hie Dollar. 
 
 The following are the titles of the volumes already issued. Others will follow at 
 short intervals. 
 
 I. Cements and Glue. 
 
 A Practical Treatise on the Preparation and Use of All Kinds of Cements, Glue 
 and Paste. By John Phin, Editor of the Youtig Scientist and the A merica* 
 y our na I of Microscopy 
 Every- mechanic and householder will find this volume ot almost everyday use. It 
 
 contains nearly 200 recipes for the preparation of Cements for almost every conceivable 
 
 purpose. 
 
 II. The Slide Rule, and How to Use It. 
 
 This is a compilation of Explanations, Rules and Instructions suitable for mechanics 
 and others interested in the industrial arts. Rules are given for the measurement of 
 all kinds of boards and planks, timber 11 the round or square, glaziers' work and paint- 
 ing, brickwork, paviors' work, tiling and slating, the measurement of vessels of various 
 shapes, the wedge, inclined planes, wheels and axles, levers, the weighing and meas- 
 urement of metals and all solid bodies, cylinders, cones, globes, ortagon rules and 
 formulae, the measurement of circles, and a comparison of French and English measures, 
 with much other information, useful to builders, carpenters, bricklayers, glazieis, 
 paviors, slaters, machinists and other mechanics. 
 
 Possessed of this little Book and a good Slide Rule, mechanics might carry in their 
 pockets some hundreds ot times the power of calculation that they now have in the- 
 heads, and the use of the instrument is very easily acquired. 
 
 III. Hints for Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers. 
 
 Being a selection of Useful Rules, Data, Memoranda, Methods and Suggestions 
 for House, Ship, and Furniture Painting, Paperhanging, Gilding, Color Mixing, 
 and other matters Useful and Instructive to Painters and Decorators. Prepared 
 with Special Reference to the Wants of Amateurs. By an Old Hand. 
 
 IV. Construction, Use and Care of Drawing Instruments. 
 
 Being a Treatise on Draughting Instruments, with Rules for their Use and Care, 
 Explanations of Scale ., Sectors and Protractors. Together with Memoranda for 
 Draughtsmen, Hints on Purchasing Paper, Ink, Instruments, Pencils, etc. Alsoa 
 Price List of all materials required by Draughtsmen. Illustrated with twenty-four 
 Explanatory Illustrations. By Fred. T, Hodgson. 
 
 V. The Steel Square. 
 
 Some Difficult Problems in Carpentry and Joinery Simplified and Solved by the 
 aid of the Carpenters' Steel Square, together with a Full Description of the Tool. 
 and Explanations of the Scales, Lines and Figures on the Blade and Tongue, and 
 How to Use them in Everyday Work. Showing how the Square may be Used 
 in Obtaining the Lengths and Bevels of Rafters, Hips, Groins, Braces, Brackets, 
 Purlins, Collar-Beams, and Jack-Raftcis. Also, its Application in Obtaining 
 the Bevels and Cuts for Hoppers, Spiing Mouldings, Octajons, Diminished 
 Styles, etc., etc. Illustrated by Numerous Wood-cuts. By Fred. T. Hodgson, 
 Author of the ''Carpenters' Stce' Square. 
 JVote.— This work is intended as an elementary introduction for the u.cof thoie who 
 have not time to study Mr. Hodgson's larger work on the same subject. 
 
GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 
 
 3 3 
 
 25 000 
 
 2 3584