Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes

HENLEY’S BOOK OF RECIPES (continued 21)

Reading edition

Lettering On Glass.

—White lettering on glass and mirrors produces a rich effect. Dry zinc, chemically pure, should be used. It can be obtained in any first-class paint store and is inexpensive. To every teaspoonful of zinc, 10 drops of mucilage should be added. The two should be worked up into a thick paste, water being gradually added until the mixture is about the consistency of thick cream. The paint should then be applied with a camel’s-hair brush.

Another useful paint for this purpose is Chemnitz white. If this distemper color is obtained in a jar, care should be exercised to keep water standing above the color to prevent drying. By using mucilage as a sizing these colors will adhere to the glass until it is washed off. Both mixtures are equally desirable for lettering on block card-board.

Any distemper color may be employed on glass without in any way injuring it. An attractive combination is—first to letter the sign with Turkey red, and then to outline the letters with a very narrow white stripe. The letter can be rendered still more attractive by shading one side in black.

Signs On Show Cases.

—Most show cases have mirrors at the back, either in the form of sliding panels or spring doors. Lettering in distemper colors on these mirrors can easily be read through the fronts or tops of cases. If the mirror is on a sliding panel, it will be necessary to detach it from the case in order to letter it. When the mirror is on a spring door the sign can be lettered with less trouble.

By tracing letters in chalk on the outside of the glass, and then painting them on the inside, attractive signs can be produced on all show cases; but painting letters on the inside of a show case glass is more or less difficult, and it is not advisable to attempt it in very shallow cases.

“Spatter” Work.

—Some lettering which appears very difficult to the uninitiated is, in fact, easily produced. The beautiful effect of lettering and ornamentation in the form of foliage or conventional scrolls in a speckled ground is simple and can be produced with little effort. Pressed leaves and letters or designs cut from newspapers or magazines may be tacked or pasted on cardboard or a mat with flour paste. As little paste as possible should be used—only enough to hold the design in place. When all the designs are in the positions desired, a toothbrush should be dipped in the ink or paint to be employed. A toothpick or other small piece of wood is drawn to and fro over the bristles, which are held toward the sign, the entire surface of which should be spattered or sprinkled with the color. When the color is dry the designs pasted on should be carefully removed and the paste which held them in place should be scraped off. This leaves the letters and other designs clean cut and white against the “spatter” background. The beginner should experiment first with a few simple designs. After he is able to produce attractive work with a few figures or letters he may confidently undertake more elaborate combinations.

Lettering On Mirrors.

—From a bar of fresh common brown soap cut off a one-inch-wide strip across its end. Cut this into 2 or 3 strips. Take one strip and with a table-knife cut from two opposite sides a wedge-shaped point resembling that of a shading pen, but allow the edge to be fully

inch thick. Clean the mirror thoroughly and proceed to letter in exactly the same manner as with a shading pen.

To Fill Engraved Letters On Metal Signs.

—Letters engraved on metal may be filled in with a mixture of asphaltum, brown japan, and lampblack, the mixture being so made as to be a putty-like mass. It should be well pressed down with a spatula. Any of the mass adhering to the plate about the edges of the letters is removed with turpentine, and when the cement is thoroughly dried the plate may be polished.

If white letters are desired, make a putty of dry white lead, with equal parts of coach japan and rubbing varnish. Fill the letters nearly level with the {458} surface, and when hard, apply a stout coat of flake white in japan thinned with turpentine. This will give a clean white finish that may be polished.

The white cement may be tinted to any desired shade, using coach colors ground in japan.

Tinseled Letters, Or Chinese Painting On Glass.

—This is done by painting the groundwork with any color, leaving the letter or figure naked. When dry, place tin foil or any of the various colored copper foils over the letters on the back of the glass, after crumpling them in the hand, and then partially straightening them out.

LICE KILLERS: See Insecticides.

LICHEN REMOVERS: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under Miscellaneous Methods and Household Formulas.

LICORICE:

Stable Solutions Of Licorice Juice.

—A percolator, with alternate layers of broken glass, which have been well washed, first with hydrochloric acid and plentifully rinsed with distilled water, is the first requisite. This is charged with pieces of crude licorice juice, from the size of a hazel nut to that of a walnut, which are weighted down with well-washed pebbles. The percolate is kept for 3 days in well corked flasks which have been rinsed out with alcohol beforehand. Decant and filter and evaporate down rapidly, under constant stirring, or

in vacuo

. The extract should be kept in vessels first washed with alcohol and closed with parchment paper, in a dry place—never in the cellar.

To dissolve this extract, use water, first boiled for 15 minutes. The solution should be kept in small flasks, first rinsed with alcohol and well corked. If to be kept for a long time, the flasks should be subjected for 3 consecutive days, a half hour each day, to a stream of steam, and the corks paraffined.

There is frequently met with in commerce a purified juice that remains clear in the mixtura solvens. It is usually obtained by supersaturation with pure ammonia, allowing to stand for 3 days, decanting, filtering the decanted liquor, and quick evaporation. Since solutions with water alone rapidly spoil, it is well to observe with them the precautions common for narcotic extracts.

To Test Extract Of Licorice.

—Mere solubility is no test for the purity of extract of licorice. It is, therefore, proposed to make the glycyrrhizin content and the nature of the ash the determining test. To determine the glycyrrhizin quantitatively proceed as follows: Macerate

ounce of the extract, in coarse powder, in 10 fluidounces distilled water for several hours, with more or less frequent agitation. When solution is complete, add 10 fluidounces alcohol of 90 per cent, filter and wash the filter with alcohol of 40 per cent until the latter comes off colorless. Drive off the alcohol, which was added merely to facilitate filtration, by evaporation in the water bath; let the residue cool down and precipitate the glycyrrhizin by addition of sulphuric acid. Filter the liquid and wash the precipitate on the filter with distilled water until the wash water comes off neutral. Dissolve the glycyrrhizin from the filter by the addition of ammonia water, drop by drop, collecting the filtered solution in a tared capsule. Evaporate in the water bath, dry the residual glycyrrhizin at 212° F., and weigh. Repeated examinations of known pure extracts have yielded a range of percentage of glycyrrhizin running from 8.06 per cent to 11.90 per cent. The ash should be acid in reaction and a total percentage of from 5.64 to 8.64 of the extract.

LIGHT, INACTINIC: See Photography.

LIGNALOE SOAP: See Soap.

LIMEADE: See Beverages, under Lemonades.

LIME AS A FERTILIZER: See Fertilizers.

LIME, BIRD.

Bird lime is a thick, soft, tough, and sticky mass of a greenish color, has an unpleasant smell and bitter taste, melts easily on heating, and hardens when exposed in thin layers to the air. It is difficult to dissolve in alcohol, but easily soluble in hot alcohol, oil of turpentine, fat oils, and also somewhat in vinegar. The best quality is prepared from the inner green bark of the holly (Ilex aquifolium), which is boiled, then put in barrels, and submitted for 14 days to slight fermentation until it becomes sticky. Another process of preparing it is to mix the boiled bark with juice of mistletoe berries and burying it in the ground until {459} fermented. The bark is then pulverized, boiled, and washed. Artificial bird lime is prepared by boiling and then igniting linseed oil, or boiling printing varnish until it is very tough and sticky. It is also prepared by dissolving cabinetmakers’ glue in water and adding a concentrated solution of chloride of zinc. The mixture is very sticky, does not dry on exposure to the air, and has the advantage that it can be easily washed off the feathers of the birds.

LIME JUICE: See Essences and Extracts.

LIME-JUICE CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.

LIME WAFERS: See Confectionery.

LINEN, TO DISTINGUISH COTTON FROM: See Cotton.

LINEN DRESSING: See Laundry Preparations.

LINIMENTS:

For External Use Only.

—I.—The following penetrating oily liniment reduces all kinds of inflammatory processes:

Paraffine oil 4 ounces

Capsicum powder ¹/₂ ounce

Digest on a sand bath and filter. To this may be added directly the following: Oil of wintergreen or peppermint, phenol, thymol, camphor or eucalyptol, etc.

II.— Camphor 2 ounces

Menthol 1 ounce

Oil of thyme 1 ounce

Oil of sassafras 1 ounce

Tincture of myrrh 1 ounce

Tincture of capsicum 1 ounce

Chloroform 1 ounce

Alcohol 2 pints

LINIMENTS FOR HORSES: See Veterinary Formulas.

LINOLEUM:

Composition For Linoleum, Oilcloth, Etc.

—This is composed of whiting, dried linseed oil, and any ordinary dryer, such as litharge, to which ingredients a proportion of gum tragacanth is to be added, replacing a part of the oil and serving to impart flexibility to the fabric, and to the composition a pasty mass the property of drying more rapidly. In the production of linoleum, the whiting is replaced in whole or in part by pulverized cork. The proportions are approximately the following by weight: Whiting or powdered cork, 13 parts; gum tragacanth, 5 parts; dried linseed oil, 5

parts; siccative,

part.

Dressings For Linoleum.

—A weak solution of beeswax in spirits of turpentine has been recommended for brightening the appearance of linoleum. Here are some other formulas:

I.— Palm oil 1 ounce

Paraffine 18 ounces

Kerosene 4 ounces

Melt the paraffine and oil, remove from the fire and incorporate the kerosene.

II.— Yellow wax 5 ounces

Oil turpentine 11 ounces

Amber varnish 5 ounces

Melt the wax, add the oil, and then the varnish. Apply with a rag.

Treatment Of Newly Laid Linoleum.

—The proper way to cleanse a linoleum flooring is first to sweep off the dust and then wipe up with a damp cloth. Several times a year the surface should be well rubbed with floor wax. Care must be had that the mass is well pulverized and free from grit. Granite linoleum and figured coverings are cleansed without the application of water. A floor covering which has been treated from the beginning with floor wax need only be wiped off daily with a dry cloth, either woolen or felt, and afterwards rubbed well with a cloth filled with the mass. It will improve its appearance, too, if it be washed several times a year with warm water and a neutral soap.

LINOLEUM, CLEANING AND POLISHING: See Household Formulas.

LINOLEUM ON IRON STAIRS OR CEMENT FLOORS, TO GLUE: See Adhesives, under Glues.

LINSEED OIL:

Bleaching Of Linseed Oil And Poppyseed Oil.

—In order to bleach linseed oil and poppyseed oil for painting purposes, thoroughly shake 2.5 parts of it in a glass vessel with a solution of potassium permanganate, 50 parts, in 1,250 parts of water; let stand for 24 hours in a warm temperature, and then mix with 75 parts of pulverized sodium sulphite. Now shake until the latter has dissolved and add 100 parts of crude hydrochloric acid, 20°. Agitate frequently and wash, after the previously brown mass has become light colored, with water, in which a little

{460}

chalk has been finely distributed, until the water is neutral. Finally filter over calcined Glauber’s salt.

Adulteration Of Linseed Oil.

—This is common, and a simple and cheap method of testing is by nitric acid. Pour equal parts of the linseed oil and nitric acid into a flask, shake vigorously, and let it stand for 20 minutes. If the oil is pure, the upper stratum is of straw yellow color and the lower one colorless. If impure, the former is dark brown or black, the latter pale orange or dark yellow, according to the admixtures to the oil.

The addition of rosin oil to linseed oil or other paint oils can be readily detected by the increase in specific gravity, the low flash point, and the odor of rosin on heating; while the amount may be approximately ascertained from the amount of unsaponifiable oil left after boiling with caustic soda.

LIP SALVES AND LIPOL: See Cosmetics.

LIPOWITZ METAL: See Alloys.

LIQUEURS: See Wines and Liquors.

LIQUOR AMMONII ANISATUS: See Ammonia.

LIQUORS: See Wines and Liquors.

LITHOGRAPHERS’ LACQUER: See Lacquers.

LITHOGRAPHS: See Pictures and Engravings.

LIVER-SPOT REMEDIES: See Cosmetics.

LOCKSMITH’S VARNISH: See Varnishes.

LOCOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.

LOCUST KILLER: See Insecticides.

LOUSE WASH: See Insecticides.

LUBRICANTS

Oil For Firearms.

—Either pure vaseline oil, white, 0.870, or else pure white-bone oil, proof to cold, is employed for this purpose, since these two oils are not only free from acid, but do not oxidize or resinify.

Leather Lubricants.

—Russian tallow, 1 pound; beeswax, 6 ounces; black pitch, 4 ounces; common castor oil, 3 pounds; soft paraffine,

pound; oil of citronella,

ounce. Melt all together in a saucepan, except the citronella, which add on cooling. Stir occasionally.

Machinery Oils.

—I.—The solid fat, called bakourine, a heavy lubricant which possesses extraordinary lubricating qualities has a neutral reaction and melts only at about 176° to 188° F. It is prepared as follows:

A mixture is made of 100 parts of Bienne petroleum or crude naphtha, with 25 parts of castor oil or some mineral oil, and subjected to the action of 60 or 70 parts of sulphuric acid of 66° Bé. The acid is poured in a small stream into the oil, while carefully stirring. The agitation is continued until a thick and blackish-brown mass is obtained free from non-incorporated petroleum. Very cold water of 2 or 3 times the weight of the mass is then added, and the whole is stirred until the mass turns white and becomes homogeneous. It is left at rest for 24 hours, after which the watery liquid, on the surface of which the fat is floating, must be poured off. After resting again from 3 to 4 days, the product is drawn off, carefully neutralized with caustic potash, and placed in barrels ready for shipping.

II.—Melt in a kettle holding 2 to 4 times as much as the volume of the mass which is to be boiled therein, 10 parts, by weight, of tallow in 20 parts of rape oil on a moderate fire; add 10 parts of freshly and well burnt lime, slaked in 30 or 40 parts of water; increase the fire somewhat, and boil with constant stirring until a thick froth forms and the mass sticks to the bottom of the kettle. Burning should be prevented by diligent stirring. Then add in portions of 10 parts each, gradually, 70 parts of rape oil and boil with a moderate fire, until the little lumps gradually forming have united to a whole uniform mass. With this operation it is of importance to be able to regulate the fire quickly. Samples are now continually taken, which are allowed to cool quickly on glass plates. The boiling down must not be carried so far that the samples harden on cooling; they must spin long, fine threads, when touched with the finger. When this point is reached add, with constant stirring, when the heat has abated sufficiently (which may be tested by pouring in a few drops of water), 25 to 30 parts of water. Now raise the fire, without {461} ceasing to stir, until the mass comes to a feeble, uniform boil. In order to be able to act quickly in case of a sudden boiling over, the fire must be such that it can be removed quickly, and a little cold water must always be kept on hand. Next, gradually add in small portions, so as not to disturb the boiling of the mass, 500 parts of paraffine oil (if very thick, 800 to 900 parts may be added), remove from the fire, allow the contents of the kettle to clarify, and skim off the warm grease from the sediment into a stirring apparatus. Agitate until the mass begins to thicken and cool; if the grease should still be too solid, stir in a little paraffine oil the second time. The odor of the paraffine oil may be disguised by the admixture of a little mirbane oil.

For Cutting Tools.

—The proportion of ingredients of a lubricating mixture for cutting tools is 6 gallons of water, 3

pounds of soft soap, and

gallon of clean refuse oil. Heat the water and mix with the soap, preferably in a mechanical mixer; afterwards add the oil. A cast-iron circular tank to hold 12 gallons, fitted with a tap at the bottom and having three revolving arms fitted to a vertical shaft driven by bevels and a fast and loose pulley, answers all requirements for a mixer. This should be kept running all through the working day.

For Highspeed Bearings.

—To prevent heating and sticking of bearings on heavy machine tools due to running continuously at high speeds, take about

of flake graphite, and the remainder kerosene oil. As soon as the bearing shows the slightest indication of heating or sticking, this mixture should be forcibly squirted through the oil hole until it flows out between the shaft and bearing, when a small quantity of thin machine oil may be applied.

For Heavy Bearings.

—An excellent lubricant for heavy bearings can be made from either of the following recipes:

I.— Paraffine 6 pounds

Palm oil 12 pounds

Oleonaphtha 8 pounds

II.— Paraffine 8 pounds

Palm oil 20 pounds

Oleonaphtha 12 pounds

The oleonaphtha should have a density of 0.9. First dissolve the paraffine in the oleonaphtha at a temperature of about 158° F. Then gradually stir in the palm oil a little at a time. The proportions will show that No. II gives a less liquid product than No. I. Quicklime may be added if desired.

For Lathe Centers.

—An excellent lubricant for lathe centers is made by using 1 part graphite and 4 parts tallow thoroughly mixed.

Sewing Machine Oil.

—I.—Petroleum oils are better adapted for the lubrication of sewing machines than any of the animal oils. Sperm oil has for a long time been considered the standard oil for this purpose, but it is really not well adapted to the conditions to which a sewing machine is subjected. If the machine were operated constantly or regularly every day, probably sperm oil could not be improved on. The difficulty is, however, that a family sewing machine will frequently be allowed to stand untouched for weeks at a time and will then be expected to run as smoothly as though just oiled. Under this kind of treatment almost any oil other than petroleum oil will become gummy. What is known in the trade as a “neutral” oil, of high viscosity, would probably answer better for this purpose than anything else. A mixture of 1 part of petrolatum and 7 parts of paraffine oil has also been recommended.

II.— Pale oil of almonds 9 ounces

Rectified benzoline 3 ounces

Foreign oil of lavender 1 ounce

Petroleum Jellies And Solidified Lubricants.

Petroleum jelly, vaseline, and petrolatum are different names for the same thing.

The pure qualities are made from American stock thickened with hot air until the desired melting point is attained. Three colors are made: white, yellow, and black of various qualities. Cheaper qualities are made by using ceresine wax in conjunction with the genuine article and pale mineral oil. This is the German method and is approved of by their pharmacopœia. Machinery qualities are made with cylinder oils, pale mineral oils, and ceresine wax.

I.— Yellow ceresine wax 11 parts

White ceresine wax 6 parts

American mineral oil, ⁹⁰³/₉₀₇ 151 parts

Melt the waxes and stir in the oil. To make white, use all white ceresine wax. To color, use aniline dyes soluble in oil to any shade required.

II.— Ceresine wax 1 pound

Bloomless mineral oil, Sq. 910 1 gallon

Melt the wax and add the oil, varying according to the consistency required. To color black, add 28 pounds lampblack to 20 gallons oil. Any wax will do, according to quality of product desired.

White Petroleum Jelly.—

White tasteless oil 4 parts

White ceresine wax 1 part

Solidified Lubricants.—

I.— Refined cotton oil 2 parts

American mineral oil, ⁹⁰³/₉₀₇ 2 parts

Oleate of alumina 1 part

Gently heat together.

II.— Petroleum jelly 120 parts

Ceresine wax 5 parts

Slaked lime ¹/₂ part

Water 4 ¹/₂ parts

Heat the wax and the petroleum jelly gently until liquid; then mix together the water and lime. Decant the former into packing receptacles, and add lime and water, stirring until it sets. For cheaper qualities use cream cylinder oil instead of petroleum jelly.

Wagon And Axle Greases:

For Axles Of Heavy Vehicles.—I.—Tallow (free from acid), 19 ¹/₂ parts; palm oil, 14 parts; sal soda, 5 ¹/₂ parts; water, 3 parts, by weight. Dissolve the soda in the water and separately melt the tallow, then stir in the palm oil. This may be gently warmed before adding, as it greatly facilitates its incorporation with the tallow, unless the latter be made boiling hot, when it readily melts the semi-solid palm oil. When these two greases are thoroughly incorporated, pour the mixture slowly into the cold lye (or soda solution), and stir well until the mass is homogeneous. This lubricant can be made less solid by decreasing the tallow or increasing the palm oil.

II.—Slaked lime (in powder), 8 parts, is slowly sifted into rosin oil, 10 parts. Stir it continuously to incorporate it thoroughly, and gently heat the mixture until of a syrupy consistency. Color with lampblack, or a solution of turmeric in a strong solution of sal soda. For blue grease, 275 parts of rosin oil are heated with 1 part of slaked lime and then allowed to cool. The supernatant oil is removed from the precipitated matter, and 5 or 6 parts of the foregoing rosin-oil soap are stirred in until all is a soft, unctuous mass.

For Axles Of Ordinary Vehicles.—I.—Mix 80 parts of fat and 20 parts of very fine black lead; melt the fat in a varnished earthen vessel; add the black lead while constantly stirring until it is cold, for otherwise the black lead, on account of its density, would not remain in suspension in the melted fat. Axles lubricated with this mixture can make 80 miles without the necessity of renewing the grease.

II.—Mix equal parts of red American rosin, melted tallow, linseed oil, and caustic soda lye (of 1.5 density).

III.—Melt 20 parts of rosin oil in 50 parts of yellow palm oil, saponify this with 25 parts of caustic soda lye of 15° Bé., and add 25 parts of mineral oil or paraffine.

IV.—Mix residue of the distillation of petroleum, 60 to 80 parts; tallow, 10 parts; colophony, 10 parts; and caustic soda solution of 40° Bé., 15 parts.

A Grease For Locomotive Axles.—Saponify a mixture of 50 parts tallow, 28 parts palm oil, 2 parts sperm oil. Mix in soda lye made by dissolving 12 parts of soda in 137 parts of water.

Miscellaneous Lubricants:

For Cotton Belts.—Carefully melt over a slow fire in a closed iron or self-regulating boiler 250 parts of caoutchouc or gum elastic, cut up in small pieces; then add 200 parts of colophony; when the whole is well melted and mixed, incorporate, while carefully stirring, 200 parts of yellow wax. Then heat 850 parts of train oil, mixing with it 250 parts of talc, and unite the two preparations, constantly stirring, until completely cold.

Chloriding Mineral Lubricating Oils.—A process has been introduced for producing industrial vaselines and mineral oils for lubrication, based on the treatment of naphthas, petroleums, and similar hydrocarbides, by means of chlorine or mixtures of chlorides and hypochlorides, known under the name of decoloring chlorides. Mix and stir thoroughly 1,000 parts of naphtha of about 908 density; 55 parts of chloride of lime, and 500 parts of water. Decant and wash.

Glass Stop Cock Lubricant.—(See also Stoppers).

Pure rubber 14 parts

Spermaceti 5 parts

Petroleum 1 part

Melt the rubber in a covered vessel and then stir in the other ingredients. A little more petroleum will be required when the compound is for winter use. {463}

Hard Metal Drilling Lubricant.—For drilling in hard metal it is recommended to use carbolic acid instead of another fatty substance as a lubricant, since the latter, by decreasing the friction, diminishes the “biting” of the drill, whereas the carbolic acid has an etching action.

Plaster Model Lubricant.—Take linseed oil, 1,000 parts; calcined lead, 50 parts; litharge, 60 parts; umber, 30 parts; talc, 25 parts. Boil for 2 hours on a moderate fire; skim frequently and keep in well-closed flasks.

Graphite Lubricating Compound.—Graphite mixed with tallow gives a good lubricating compound that is free from any oxidizing if the tallow be rendered free from rancidity. The proportions are: Plumbago, 1 part; tallow, 4 parts. The plumbago being stirred into the melted tallow and incorporated by passing it through a mixing mill, add a few pounds per hundredweight of camphor in powder to the hot compound.

Lubricants For Redrawing Shells.—Zinc shells should be clean and free from all grit and should be immersed in boiling hot soap water. They must be redrawn while hot to get the best results. On some shells hot oil is used in preference to soap water.

For redrawing aluminum shells use a cheap grade of vaseline. It may not be amiss to add that the draw part of the redrawing die should not be made too long, so as to prevent too much friction, which causes the shells to split and shrivel up.

For redrawing copper shells use good thick soap water as a lubricant. The soap used should be of a kind that will produce plenty of “slip.” If none such is to be had, mix a quantity of lard oil with the soap water on hand and boil the two together. Sprinkling graphite over the shells just before redrawing sometimes helps out on a mean job.

Rope Grease.—For hemp ropes, fuse together 20 pounds of tallow and 30 pounds of linseed oil. Then add 20 pounds of paraffine, 30 pounds of vaseline, and 60 pounds of rosin. Finally mix with 10 pounds of graphite, first rubbed up with 50 pounds of boiled oil. For wire ropes fuse 100 pounds of suint with 20 pounds of dark colophony (rosin). Then stir in 30 pounds of rosin oil and 10 pounds of dark petroleum.

Sheet Metal Lubricant.—Mix 1 quart of whale oil, 1 pound of white lead, 1 pint of water, and 3 ounces of the finest graphite. This is applied to the metal with a brush before it enters the dies.

Steam Cylinder Lubricant.—To obtain a very viscous oil that does not decompose in the presence of steam even at a high temperature, it is necessary to expose neutral wool fats, that have been freed from wool-fatty acids, such as crude lanolin or wool wax, either quite alone or in combination with mineral oils, to a high heat. This is best accomplished in the presence of ordinary steam or superheated steam at a heat of 572° F., and a pressure of 50 atmospheres, corresponding with the conditions in the cylinder in which it is to be used. Instead of separating any slight quantities of acid that may arise, they may be dissolved out as neutral salts.

Wooden Gears.—An excellent lubricating agent for wooden gears consists of tallow, 30 parts (by weight); palm oil, 20 parts; fish oil, 10 parts; and graphite, 20 parts. The fats are melted at moderate heat, and the finely powdered and washed graphite mixed with them intimately by long-continued stirring. The teeth of wooden combs are kept in a perfectly serviceable condition for a much longer time if to the ordinary tallow or graphite grease one-tenth part of their weight of powdered glass is added.

Tests For Lubricants.

In testing lubricants in general, a great deal depends upon the class of work in which they are to be employed. In dealing with lubricating greases the specific gravity should always be determined. The viscosity is, of course, also a matter of the utmost importance. If possible the viscosity should be taken at the temperature at which the grease is to be subjected when used, but this cannot always be done; 300° F. will be found to be a very suitable temperature for the determination of the viscosity of heavy lubricants. Although one of the standard viscosimeters is the most satisfactory instrument with which to carry out the test, yet it is not a necessity. Provided the test be always conducted in exactly the same manner, and at a fixed temperature, using a standard sample for comparison, the form of apparatus used is not of great importance. Most dealers in scientific apparatus will provide a simple and cheap instrument, the results obtained with which will be found reliable. With the exercise of a little ingenuity any one can fit up a viscosimeter for himself at a very small outlay.

Acidity is another important point to {464} note in dealing with lubricating greases. Calculated as sulphuric acid, the free acid should not exceed .01 per cent, and free fatty acids should not be present to any extent. Cylinder oil should dissolve completely in petroleum benzine (specific gravity, .700), giving a clear solution. In dealing with machine oils the conditions are somewhat different. Fatty oils in mixture with mineral oils are very useful, as they give better lubrication and driving power, especially for heavy axles, for which these mixtures should always be used. The specific gravity should be from .900 to .915 and the freezing point should not be above 58° F. The flash point of heavy machine oils is not a matter of great importance. The viscosity of dynamo oils, taken in Engler’s apparatus, should be 15–16 at 68° F. and 3 ¹/₂–4 at 122° F. In dealing with wagon oils and greases it should be remembered that the best kinds are those which are free from rosin and rosin products, and their flash point should be above 212° F.

To Test Grease.—To be assured of the purity of grease, its density is examined as compared with water; a piece of fat of the size of a pea is placed in a glass of water. If it remains on the surface or sinks very slowly the fat is pure; if it sinks rapidly to the bottom the fat is mixed with heavy matters and coom is the result.

LUBRICANTS FOR WATCHMAKERS: See Watchmakers’ Formulas.

LUPULINE BITTERS: See Wines and Liquors.

LUSTER PASTE.

This is used for plate glass, picture frames, and metal. Five parts of very finely washed and pulverized chalk; 5 parts of Vienna lime, powdered; 5 parts of bolus, powdered; 5 parts of wood ashes, powdered; 5 parts of English red, powdered; 5 parts of soap powder. Work all together in a kneading machine, to make a smooth, even paste, adding spirit. The consistency of the paste can be varied, by varying the amount of spirit, from a solid to a soft mass.

LUTES: See Adhesives.

MACHINE OIL: See Lubricants.

MACHINERY, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

MAGIC: See Pyrotechnics.

MAGNESIUM CITRATE.

Magnesium carbonate 10 ounces

Citric acid 20 ounces

Sugar 21 ounces

Oil of lemon ¹/₂ drachm

Water enough to make 240 ounces

Introduce the magnesium carbonate into a wide-mouthed 2-gallon bottle, drop the oil of lemon on it, stir with a wooden stick: then add the citric acid, the sugar, and water enough to come up to a mark on the bottle indicating 240 ounces. For this purpose use cold water, adding about half of the quantity first, and the remainder when the substances are mostly dissolved. By allowing the solution to stand for a half to a whole day, it will filter better and more quickly than when hot water is used.

MAGNESIUM ORGEAT POWDER: See Salts, Effervescent.

MAGNESIUM FLASH-LIGHT POWDERS: See Photography.

MAGNETIC CURVES OF IRON FILINGS, THEIR FIXATION.

One of the experiments made in every physical laboratory in teaching the elements of magnetism and electricity is the production of the magnetic curves by sprinkling iron filings over a glass plate, after the well-known method.

For fixing these curves so that they may be preserved indefinitely, a plate of glass is warmed on the smooth upper surface of a shallow iron chest containing water raised to a suitable temperature by means of a spirit-lamp. A piece of paraffine is placed on the glass, and in the course of 3 or 4 minutes spreads itself evenly in a thin layer over the surface. The glass plate is removed, the surplus paraffine running off. The image is formed with iron filings on the cooled paraffine, which does not adhere to the iron, so that if the image is unsatisfactory the filings may be removed and a new figure taken. To fix the curves, the plate of glass is again placed on the warming stove. Finally, the surface of the paraffine is covered with white paint, so that the curves appear black on a white ground. Very well-defined figures may thus be obtained. A similar though much simpler process consists in covering one surface of stiff white paper with a layer of paraffine, by warming {465} over an iron plate, spreading the filings over the cooled surface, and fixing them with a hot iron or a gas flame.

MAGNOLIA METAL: See Alloys.

MAHOGANY: See Wood.

MALTED FOOD: See Foods.

MALTED MILK: See Milk.

MALT, HOT: See Beverages.

MANGANESE ALLOYS: See Alloys.

MANGANESE STEEL: See Steel.

MANGE CURES: See Veterinary Formulas.

MANICURE PREPARATIONS: See Cosmetics.

MANTLES.

These are prepared after processes differing slightly from one another, but all based on the original formula of Welsbach—the impregnation of vegetable fibers with certain mineral oxides in solution, drying out, and arranging on platinum wire.

Lanthanum oxide 30 parts

Yttrium oxide 20 parts

Burnt magnesia 50 parts

Acetic acid 50 parts

Water, distilled 100 parts

The salts are dissolved in the water, and to the solution another 150 parts of distilled water are added and the whole filtered. The vegetable fiber (in its knitted or woven form) is impregnated with this solution dried, and arranged on platinum wire. In the formula the acetic acid may be replaced with dilute nitric acid. The latter seems to have some advantages over the former, among which is the fact that the residual ash where acetic acid is used has a tendency to ball up and make a vitreous residue, while that of the nitric acid remains in powdery form.

Self-igniting Mantles.

—A fabric of platinum wire and cotton thread is sewed or woven into the tissue of the incandescent body; next it is impregnated with a solution of thorium salts and dried. The thorium nitrate in glowing gives a very loose but nevertheless fireproof residue. A mixture of thorium nitrate with platinic chloride leaves after incandescence a fire-resisting sponge possessing to a great extent the property of igniting gas mixtures containing oxygen. Employ a mixture of 1 part of thorium nitrate to 2

parts of platinic chloride.

MANURES: See Fertilizers.

MANUSCRIPT COPYING: See Copying.

MAPLE: See Wood.

MARASCHINO: See Wines and Liquors.

MARBLE CEMENTS: See Adhesives.

MARBLE CLEANING: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

MARBLE COLORS: See Stone.

MARBLE ETCHING: See Etching.

MARBLE, IMITATION: See Plaster.

MARBLE, PAINTING ON: See Painting.

MARBLE POLISHING: See Polishes.

MARBLING CRAYONS: See Crayons.

MARGERINE: See Butter.

MARKING FLUID:

MATCHES

(See also Phosphorus.)

Manufacture Of Matches.

—Each factory uses its own methods and chemical mixtures, though, in a general way the latter do not vary greatly. It is

{466}

impossible here to give a full account of the different steps of manufacture, and of all the precautions necessary to turn out good, marketable matches. In the manufacture of the ordinary safety match, the wood is first comminuted and reduced to the final shape and then steeped in a solution of ammonium phosphate (2 per cent of this salt with 1 or 1

per cent of phosphoric acid), or in a solution of ammonium sulphate (2

per cent), then drained and dried. The object of this application is to prevent the match from continuing to glow after it has been burned out. Next the matches are dipped into a paraffine or stearine bath, and after that into the match bath proper, which is best done by machines constructed for the purpose. Here are a few formulas:

I.— Potassium chlorate 2,000 parts

Lead binoxide 1,150 parts

Red lead 2,500 parts

Antimony trisulphide 1,250 parts

Gum arabic 670 parts

Paraffine 250 parts

Potassium bichromate 1,318 parts

Directions: See No. II.

II.— Potassium chlorate 2,000 parts

Lead binoxide 2,150 parts

Red lead 2,500 parts

Antimony trisulphide 1,250 parts

Gum arabic 670 parts

Paraffine 250 parts

Rub the paraffine and antimony trisulphide together, and then add the other ingredients. Enough water is added to bring the mass to a proper consistency when heated. Conduct heating operations on a water bath. The sticks are first dipped in a solution of paraffine in benzine and then are dried. For striking surfaces, mix red phosphorus, 9 parts; pulverized iron pyrites, 7 parts; pulverized glass, 3 parts; and gum arabic or glue, 1 part, with water, quantity sufficient. To make the matches water or damp proof, employ glue instead of gum arable in the above formula, and conduct the operations in a darkened room. For parlor matches dry the splints and immerse the ends in melted stearine. Then dip in the following mixture and dry:

Red phosphorus 3.0 parts

Gum arabic or tragacanth 0.5 parts

Water 3.0 parts

Sand (finely ground) 2.0 parts

Lead binoxide 2.0 parts

Perfume by dipping in a solution of benzoic acid.

III.—M. O. Lindner, of Paris, has patented a match which may be lighted by friction upon any surface whatever, and which possesses the advantages of being free from danger and of emitting no unpleasant odor. The mixture into which the splints are first dipped consists of

Chlorate of potash 6 parts

Sulphide of antimony 2 parts

Gum 1 ¹/₂ parts

Powdered clay 1 ¹/₂ parts

The inflammable compound consists of

Chlorate of potash 2 to 3 parts

Amorphous phosphorus 6 parts

Gum 1 ¹/₂ parts

Aniline 1 ¹/₂ parts

Red or amorphous is substituted for yellow phosphorus in the match heads. The composition of the igniting paste is given as follows:

By weight

Soaked glue (1 to 5 of water) 37.0 parts

Powdered glass 7.5 parts

Whiting 7.5 parts

Amorphous phosphorus (pure) 10.0 parts

Paraffine wax 4.0 parts

Chlorate of potash 27.0 parts

Sugar or lampblack 7.0 parts

Silicate of soda may be substituted for the glue, bichromate of potash added for damp climates, and sulphur for large matches.

The different compositions for tipping the matches in use in different countries and factories all consist essentially of emulsions of phosphorus in a solution of glue or gum, with or without other matters for increasing the combustibility, for coloring, etc.

I.—English.—Fine glue, 2 parts, broken into small pieces, and soaked in water till quite soft, is added to water, 4 parts, and heated by means of a water bath until it is quite fluid, and at a temperature of 200° to 212° F. The vessel is then removed from the fire, and phosphorus, 1 ¹/₂ to 2 parts, is gradually added, the mixture being agitated briskly and continually with a stirrer having wooden pegs or bristles projecting at its lower end. When a uniform emulsion is obtained, chlorate of potassa, 4 to 5 {467} parts; powdered glass, 3 to 4 parts; and red lead, smalt, or other coloring matter, a sufficient quantity (all in a state of very fine powder), are added, one at a time, to prevent accidents, and the stirring continued until the mixture is comparatively cool. The above proportions are those of the best quality of English composition. The matches tipped with it deflagrate with a snapping noise.

II.—German (Böttger).—Dissolve gum arabic, 16 parts, in the least possible quantity of water; add of phosphorus (in powder), 9 parts, and mix by trituration. Then add niter, 14 parts; vermilion or binoxide of manganese, 16 parts, and form the whole into a paste as directed above. Into this the matches are to be dipped, and then exposed to dry. As soon as they are quite dry they are to be dipped into very dilute copal varnish or lac varnish, and again exposed to dry, by which means they are rendered waterproof, or at least less likely to suffer from exposure in damp weather.

III. (Böttger.)—Glue, 6 parts, is soaked in a little cold water for 24 hours, after which it is liquefied by trituration in a heated mortar; phosphorus, 4 parts, is added, and rubbed down at a heat not exceeding 150° F.; niter (in fine powder), 10 parts, is next mixed in, and afterwards red ocher, 5 parts, and smalt, 2 parts, are further added, and the whole formed into a uniform paste, into which the matches are dipped, as before. This is cheaper than the previous one.

IV. (Diesel.)—Phosphorus, 17 parts; glue, 21 parts; red lead, 24 parts; niter, 38 parts. Proceed as above.

Matches tipped with II, III, or IV, inflame without fulmination when rubbed against a rough surface, and are hence termed noiseless matches by the makers.

Safety Paste For Matches.

—The danger of explosion during the preparation of match composition may be minimized by addition to the paste of the following mixture: Finely powdered cork, 3 parts, by weight; oxide of iron, 15 parts; flour, 23 parts; and water, about 40 parts. In practice, 30 parts of gum arabic are dissolved in water, 40 parts, and to the solution are added powdered potassium chlorate, 57 parts, and when this is well distributed, amorphous phosphorus, 7 parts, and powdered glass, 15 parts, are stirred in. The above mixture is then immediately introduced, and when mixing is complete, the composition can be applied to wooden sticks which need not have been previously dried or paraffined. The head of the match is finally coated with tallow, which prevents atmospheric action and also spontaneous ignition.

Most chemists agree that the greatest improvement of note in the manufacture of matches is that of Landstrom, of Jonkoping, in Sweden. It consists in dividing the ingredient of the match mixture into two separate compositions, one being placed on the ends of the splints, as usual, and the other, which contains the phosphorus, being spread in a thin layer upon the end or lid of the box. The following are the compositions used: (a) For the splints: Chlorate of potassa, 6 parts; sulphuret of antimony, 2 to 3 parts; glue, 1 part. (b) For the friction surface: Amorphous phosphorus, 10 parts; sulphuret of antimony or peroxide of manganese, 8 parts; glue, 3 to 6 parts; spread thinly upon the surface, which has been previously made rough by a coating of glue and sand. By thus dividing the composition the danger of fire arising from ignition of the matches by accidental friction is avoided, as neither the portion on the splint nor that on the box can be ignited by rubbing against an unprepared surface. Again, by using the innocuous red or amorphous phosphorus, the danger of poisoning is entirely prevented.

MATCH MARKS ON PAINT, TO REMOVE: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

MATCH PHOSPHORUS, SUBSTITUTE FOR: See Phosphorus Substitute.

MATRIX MASSES

Matrix For Medals, Coins, Etc.

—I.—Sharp impressions of coins, medals, etc., are obtained, according to Böttger, with the following: Mix molten, thinly liquid sulphur with an equal quantity of infusorial earth, adding some graphite. If a sufficient quantity of this mass, made liquid over a flame, is quickly applied with a spatula or spoon on the coin, etc., an impression of great sharpness is obtained after cooling, which usually takes place promptly. Owing to the addition of graphite the articles do not become dull or unsightly.

II.—Bronze and silver medals should always be coated with a separating grease layer. The whole coin is greased slightly and then carefully wiped off again with a little wadding, but in such a manner {468} that a thin film of grease remains on the surface. Next, a ring of strong cardboard or thin pasteboard is placed around the edge, and the ends are sealed together. Now stir up a little gypsum in a small dish and put a teaspoonful of it on the surface of which the mold is to be taken, distributing it carefully with a badger’s-hair brush, entering the finest cavities, which operation will be assisted by blowing on it. When the object is covered with a thin layer of plaster of Paris, the plaster, which has meanwhile become somewhat stiffer, is poured on, so that the thickness of the mold will be about ¹/₂₀ of an inch. The removal of the cast can be effected only after a time, when the plaster has become warm, has cooled again, and has thoroughly hardened. If it be attempted to remove the cast from the metal too early and by the use of force, fine pieces are liable to break off and remain adhering to the model. In order to obtain a positive mold from the concave one, it is laid in water for a short time, so that it becomes saturated with the water it absorbs. The dripping, wet mold is again provided with an edge, and plaster of Paris is poured on. The latter readily flows out on the wet surface, and only in rare cases blisters will form. Naturally this casting method will furnish a surface of pure gypsum, which is not the case if the plaster is poured into a greased mold. In this case the surface of the cast contains a soapy layer, for the liquid plaster forms with oil a subsequently rather hard lime soap. The freshly cast plaster must likewise be taken off only when a quarter of an hour has elapsed, after it has become heated and has cooled again.

MATS FOR METALS: See Metals.

MATZOON.

Add 2 tablespoonfuls of bakers’ yeast to 1 pint of rich milk, which has been slightly warmed, stirring well together and setting aside in a warm room in a pitcher covered with a wet cloth for a time varying from 6 to 12 hours, according to the season or temperature of the room. Take from this, when curdled, 6 tablespoonfuls, add to another pint of milk, and again ferment as before, and continue for five successive fermentations in all, when the product will have become free from the taste of the yeast. As soon as the milk thickens, which is finally to be kept for use, it should be stirred again and then put into a refrigerator to prevent further fermentation. It should be smooth, of the consistence of thick cream, and of a slightly acid taste.

The milk should be prepared fresh every day, and the new supply is made by adding 6 tablespoonfuls of the previous day’s lot to a pint of milk and proceeding as before.

The curd is to be eaten with a spoon, not drunk, and preferably with some bread broken into it. It is also sometimes eaten with sugar, which is said not to impair its digestibility.

MAY WINE: See Wines and Liquors.

MEAD.

In its best form Mead is made as follows: 12 gallons of pure, soft water (clean rain water is, next to distilled water, best) are mixed with 30 gallons of expressed honey in a big caldron, 4 ounces of hops added, and the whole brought to a boil. The boiling is continued with diligent skimming, for at least an hour and a half. The fire is then drawn, and the liquid allowed to cool down slowly. When cold, it is drawn off into a clean barrel, which it should fill to the bung, with a little over. A pint of fresh wine yeast or ferment is added, and the barrel put in a moderately warm place, with the bung left out, to ferment for from 8 to 14 days, according to the weather (the warmer it is the shorter the period occupied in the primary or chief fermentation). Every day the foam escaping from the bung should be carefully skimmed off, and every 2 or 3 days there should be added a little honey and water to keep the barrel quite full, and in the meantime a pan or cup should be inverted over the hole, to keep out dust, insects, etc. When fermentation ceases, the procedure varies. Some merely drive in the bung securely and let the liquor stand for a few weeks, then bottle; but the best German makers proceed as follows, this being a far superior process: The liquor is removed from the barrel in which it fermented to another, clean, barrel, being strained through a haircloth sieve to prevent the admission of the old yeast. A second portion of yeast is added, and the liquid allowed to pass through the secondary fermentation, lasting usually as long as the first. The bung is driven into the barrel, the liquid allowed to stand a few days to settle thoroughly and then drawn off into bottles and stored in the usual way. Some add nutmeg, cinnamon, etc., prior to the last fermentation. {469}

MEASURES: See Weights and Measures.

MEASURES, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

MEAT EXTRACT CONTAINING ALBUMEN: See Foods.

MEAT PEPTONOIDS: See Peptonoids.

MEAT PRESERVATIVES: See Foods.

MEAT PRODUCTS (ADULTERATED): See Foods.

MEDAL IMPRESSIONS: See Matrix Mass.

MEDALS, CLEANING AND PRESERVING: See Cleaning Compounds.

MEDALLION METAL: See Alloys.

MEDICINE DOSES: See Doses.

MEERSCHAUM:

To Color A Meerschaum Pipe.

—I.—Fill the pipe and smoke down about one-third, or to the height to which you wish to color. Leave the remainder of the tobacco in the pipe, and do not empty or disturb it for several weeks, or until the desired color is obtained. When smoking put fresh tobacco on the top and smoke to the same level. A new pipe should never be smoked outdoors in extremely cold weather.

II.—The pipe is boiled in a preparation of wax, 8 parts; olive oil, 2 parts; and nicotine, 1 part, for 10 or 15 minutes. The pipe absorbs this, and a thin coating of wax is held on the surface of the pipe, and made to take a high polish. Under the wax is retained the oil of tobacco, which is absorbed by the pipe; and its hue grows darker in proportion to the tobacco used. A meerschaum pipe at first should be smoked very slowly, and before a second bowlful is lighted the pipe should cool off. This is to keep the wax as far up on the bowl as possible; rapid smoking will overheat, driving the wax off and leaving the pipe dry and raw.

To Repair Meerschaum Pipes.

—To cement meerschaum pipes, make a glue of finely powdered and sifted chalk and white of egg. Put a little of this glue on the parts to be repaired and hold them pressed together for a moment.

To Tell Genuine Meerschaum.

—For the purpose of distinguishing imitation meerschaum from the true article, rub with silver. If the silver leaves lead pencil-like marks on the mass, it is not genuine but artificial meerschaum. If no such lines are produced, the article is genuine.

MENTHOL COUGH DROPS: See Confectionery.

MENTHOL TOOTH POWDER: See Dentifrices.

MERCURY SALVES: See Ointments.

MERCURY STAINS, TO REMOVE: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

METACARBOL DEVELOPER: See Photography.

METALS AND THEIR TREATMENT

METAL CEMENTS: See Adhesives and Lutes.

METAL CLEANING: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

METAL INLAYING: See Damaskeening.

METAL POLISHES: See Polishes.

METAL PROTECTIVES: See Rust Preventives.

METAL VARNISHES: See Varnishes.

METALS, HOW TO ATTACH TO RUBBER: See Adhesives, under Rubber Cements.

METALS, SECURING WOOD TO: See Adhesives.

Metals, Brightening And Deadening, By Dipping:

Brightening Pickle.—To brighten articles by dipping, the dipping liquid must not be too hot, otherwise the pickled surface turns dull; neither must it be prepared too thin, nor must wet articles be entered, else only tarnished surfaces will be obtained.

For a burnish-dip any aqua fortis over 33° Bé., i. e., possessing a specific gravity of 1.30, may be employed. It is advisable not to use highly concentrated aqua fortis, to reduce the danger of obtaining matt work. It is important that the quantity of oil of vitriol, which is added, {470} is correct. It is added because the action of the aqua fortis is very uncertain. Within a short time it becomes so heated in acting on the metals that it turns out only dull work, and pores or even holes are apt to be the result of the violent chemical action. If the aqua fortis is diluted with water the articles do not become bright, but tarnish. For this reason sulphuric acid should be used. This does not attack the metals; it only dilutes the aqua fortis and distributes the heat generated in pickling over a larger space. It is also much cheaper, and it absorbs water from the aqua fortis and, therefore, keeps it in a concentrated state and yet distributed over the space.

In the case of too much oil of vitriol the dilution becomes too great and the goods are tarnished; if too little is added, the mixture soon ceases to turn out bright articles, because of overheating. On this experience are based the formulas given below.

Dip the articles, which must be free from grease, into the pickle, after they have been either annealed and quenched in diluted sulphuric acid or washed out with benzine. Leave them in the dipping mixture until they become covered with a greenish froth. Then quickly immerse them in a vessel containing plenty of water, and wash them out well with running water. Before entering the dipped articles in the baths it is well to remove all traces of acid, by passing them through a weak soda or potassium cyanide solution and washing them out again. If the brightly dipped goods are to remain bright they must be coated with a thin spirit or zapon lacquer.

Following are two formulas for the pickle:

I.— Aqua fortis, 36° Bé., by weight 100 parts

Oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid), 66° Bé., by weight 70 parts

Cooking salt, by volume 1 ¹/₂ parts

Shining soot (lampblack), by volume 1 ¹/₂ parts

II.— Aqua fortis, 40° Bé., by weight 100 parts

Oil of vitriol, 66° Bé., by weight 100 parts

Cooking salt, by volume 2 parts

Shining soot, by volume 2 parts

Matting Or Deadening Pickle.—When, instead of brilliancy, a matted appearance is desired for metals, the article is corroded either mechanically or chemically. In the first case it is pierced with fine holes near together, rubbed with emery powder or pumice stone and tamponned. In the other case the corrosion is effected in acid baths thus composed:

Nitric acid of 36° Bé., 200 parts, by volume; sulphuric acid of 56° Bé., 200 parts, by volume; sea salt, 1 part, by volume; zinc sulphate, 1 to 5 parts, by volume.

With this proportion of acids the articles can remain from 5 to 20 minutes in the mixture cold; the prominence of the matt depends on the length of time of the immersion. The pieces on being taken from the bath have an earthy appearance which is lightened by dipping them quickly in a brightening acid. If left too long the matted appearance is destroyed.

Cotton Matt.—This matt, thus called on account of its soft shade, is rarely employed except for articles of stamped brass, statuettes, or small objects. As much zinc is dissolved in the bath as it will take. The pieces are left in it from 15 to 30 minutes. On coming from the bath they are dull, and to brighten them somewhat they are generally dipped into acids as before described.

Silver Matt.—Articles of value for which gilding is desired are matted by covering them with a light coating of silver by the battery. It is known that this deposit is always matt, unless the bath contains too large a quantity of potassium cyanide. A brilliant silvering can be regularly obtained with electric baths only by adding carbon sulphide. Four drachms are put in an emery flask containing a quart of the bath fluid and allowed to rest for 24 hours, at the end of which a blackish precipitate is formed. After decanting, a quart is poured into the electric bath for each quart before every operation of silvering.

Dangers Of Dipping.—The operation of dipping should be carried out only in a place where the escaping fumes of hyponitric acid and chlorine can pass off without molesting the workmen, e. g., under a well-drawing chimney, preferably in a vapor chamber. If such an arrangement is not present the operator should choose a draughty place and protect himself from the fumes by tying a wet sponge under his nose. The vapors are liable to produce very violent and dangerous inflammations of the respiratory organs, coming on in a surprisingly {471} quick manner after one has felt no previous injurious effect at all.

Coloring Metals:

Fusion Point Of Metals.

—The point of fusion of common metals is as follows: Antimony, 808° F.; aluminum, 1,160° F.; bismuth, 517° F.; copper, 1,931° F.; gold, 1,913° F.; iron, 2,912° F.; lead, 850° F.; nickel, 2,642° F.; platinum, 3,225° F.; silver, 1,750° F.; tin, 551° F.; zinc, 812° F. Mercury, which is normally fluid, congeals at 38° below zero, F., this being its point of fusion.

To Produce Fine Leaves Of Metal.

—The metal plate is laid between parchment leaves and beaten out with hammers. Although films obtained in this manner reach a high degree of fineness, yet the mechanical production has its limit. If very fine films are desired the galvano-plastic precipitation is employed in the following manner:

A thin sheet of polished copper is entered in the bath and connected with the {474} electric conduit. The current precipitates gold on it. In order to loosen it, the gilt copper plate is placed in a solution of ferric chloride, which dissolves the copper and leaves the gold behind. In this manner gold leaf can be hammered out to almost incredible thinness.

Metal Foil.

Tin foil is the most common foil used, being a combination of tin, lead, and copper, sometimes with properties of other metals.

I Per cent II Per cent III Per cent

Tin 97.60 98.47 96.21

Copper 2.11 0.38 0.95

Lead 0.04 0.84 2.41

Iron 0.11 0.12 0.09

Nickel — — 0.30

I is a mirror foil; III is a tin foil.

Tin Foils for Capsules.—

I Per cent II Per cent

Tin 20 22

Lead 80 77

Copper — 1

Tin Foils for Wrapping Cheese, etc.—

I Per cent II Per cent III Per cent

Tin 97 90 92

Lead 2.5 7.8 7

Copper 0.5 0.2 1

Tin Foils, for Fine Wrapping, I and II; for Tea Boxes, III.—

I Per cent II Per cent III Per cent

Tin 60 65 40

Lead 40 35 58.5

Copper — — 1.5

Imitation Gold Foils.—

Deep gold Per cent Pure gold Per cent Pale gold Per cent

Copper 84.5 78 76

Zinc 15.5 22 14

Deep gold Per cent Deep gold Per cent Gold Per cent

Copper 91 86 83

Zinc 9 14 17

reddish dark yellow pale yellow

Imitation Silver Foil.—Alloy of tin and zinc: harder than tin and softer than zinc: Zinc, 1 part; tin, 11 parts.

To Attach Gold Leaf Permanently.—Dissolve finely cut isinglass in a little water, with moderate heat, which must not be increased to a boil, and add as much nitric acid as has been used of the isinglass. The adhesive will not penetrate the cardboard or paper.

METH: See Mead.

METHEGLIN: See Mead.

METHYL SALICYLATE, TO DISTINGUISH FROM OIL OF WINTERGREEN: See Wintergreen.

METOL DEVELOPER: See Photography.

METRIC WEIGHTS: See Weights and Measures.

MICE POISON: See Rat Poison.

MICROPHOTOGRAPHS: See Photography.

MILK:

Determining Cream.

—An apparatus for determining cream in milk consists of a glass cylinder having a mark about half its height, and a second mark a little above the first. The milk is added up to the lower mark, and water up to the second. The amount of water thus added is about one-fourth the volume of the milk, and causes the cream to rise more quickly. The tube is graduated between the two marks in percentages of cream on the undiluted milk. A vertical blue strip in the side of the cylinder aids the reading of the meniscus.

Formaldehyde In Milk, Detection Of.

—To 10 parts of milk add 1 part of fuchsine sulphurous acid. Allow to stand 5 minutes, then add 2 parts of pure hydrochloric acid and shake. If formaldehyde is not present, the mixture remains yellowish white, while if present a blue-violet color is produced. This test will detect 1 grain of anhydrous formaldehyde in 1 quart of milk.

Malted Milk.

—To malt milk, add the following:

Powdered malt 1 ounce

Powdered oat meal 2 ounces

Sugar of milk 4 ounces

Roasted flour 1 pound

Milk Extracts.

—These are made from skimmed milk freed from casein, sugar and albumen, and resemble meat extracts. The milk is slightly acidulated with phosphoric or hydrochloric acid, and evaporated

in vacuo

to the

{475}

consistency of thick syrup. During the crystallization of the sugar, the liquid is sterilized.

Modification Of Milk For Infants.

—For an ill child note the percentages of milk taken; decide, if indigestion is present, which ingredient of the milk, fat or proteid, or both, is at fault, and make formula accordingly.

After allowing the milk to stand 8 hours, remove the top 8 ounces from a quart jar of 4 per cent fat milk by means of a dipper, and count this as 12 per cent fat cream. Count the lowest 8 ounces of the quart fat-free milk. From these the following formula may be obtained, covering fairly well the different percentages required for the different periods of life.

First Week.

12 per cent cream. Fat-free milk.

Fat 2.00 Cream 3 ¹/₄ oz.

Sugar 5.00 Milk 1 ¹/₂ oz.

Proteids 0.75 Milk sugar 2 meas.

Second Week.

Fat 2.50 Cream 4 ¹/₄ oz.

Sugar 6.00 Milk 1 ¹/₄ oz.

Proteids 1.00 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₂ meas.

Third Week.

Fat 3.00 Cream 5 oz.

Sugar 6.00 Milk 1 oz.

Proteids 1.00 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₂ meas.

Four to Six Weeks.

Fat 3.50 Cream 5 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 6.50 Milk 1 ³/₄ oz.

Proteids 1.00 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₂ meas.

Six to Eight Weeks.

Fat 3.50 Cream 5 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 6.50 Milk 3 ¹/₄ oz.

Proteids 1.50 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₄ meas.

Two to Four Months.

Fat 4.00 Cream 6 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 7.00 Milk 2 ¹/₄ oz.

Proteids 1.50 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₂ meas.

Four to Eight Months.

Fat 4.00 Cream 6 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 7.00 Milk 4 ³/₄ oz.

Proteids 2.00 Milk sugar 2 ¹/₄ meas.

Eight to Nine Months.

Fat 4.00 Cream 6 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 7.00 Milk 7 ¹/₂ oz.

Proteids 2.50 Milk sugar 2 meas.

Nine to Ten Months.

Fat 4.00 Cream 6 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 7.00 Milk 10 ¹/₂ oz.

Proteids 3.00 Milk sugar 1 ¹/₂ meas.

Ten to Twelve Months.

Fat 4.00 Cream 6 ³/₄ oz.

Sugar 5.00 Milk 11 ³/₄ oz.

Proteids 3.50 Milk sugar ¹/₂ meas.

After Twelve Months.

Unmodified cow’s milk.

Preservation Of Milk

(see also Foods).—I.—Shortly after the milk is strained add to it from 1 per cent to 2 per cent of a 12-volume solution of hydrogen peroxide, and set it aside for 10 to 12 hours. It thus acquires the property of keeping perfectly sweet and fresh for 3 or 4 days, and is far preferable to milk sterilized by heat. Two points are worthy of notice in the process. The addition of oxygenated water should be made as soon after it is taken from the cow, strained, etc., as possible; the peroxide appears to destroy instantly all anaërobic microbes (such as the bacillus of green diarrhea of childhood), but has no effect upon the bacillus of tuberculosis. This process is to be especially recommended in the heat of summer, and at all times in the milk of cattle known to be free of tuberculosis.

II.—Fresh milk in bottles has been treated with oxygen and carbonic acid under pressure of some atmospheres. By this method it is said to be possible to preserve milk fresh 50 to 60 days. The construction of the bottle is siphon-like.

Milk Substitute.

—Diamalt is a thick syrupy mass of pleasant, strong, somewhat sourish odor and sweetish taste, which is offered as a substitute for milk. The preparation has been analyzed. Its specific gravity is 1.4826; the percentage of water fluctuates between 24 and 28 per cent; the amount of ash is 1.3 per cent. There are present: Lactic acid, 0.718 to 1.51; nitrogenous matter, 4.68 to 5.06 per cent; and constituents rich in nitrogen, about 68 per cent. The latter consist principally of maltose. Dissolved in water it forms a greenish-yellow mixture. Turbidness is caused by starch grains, yeast cells, bacteria, and a shapeless coagulum.

MILK AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CELLULOID, BONE, AND IVORY: See Casein.

MILK, CUCUMBER: See Cosmetics.

MILK OF SOAP: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under Miscellaneous Methods.

MINARGENT: See Alloys. {476}

MINERAL WATERS: See Waters.

MINOFOR METAL: See Alloys.

MINT CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.

MIRRORS

(See also Glass.)

Mirror Silvering.

—Mirror silvering is sometimes a misnomer, inasmuch as the coating applied to glass in the manufacture of mirrors does not always contain silver. In formula I it is an amalgam of mercury and tin.

I.—A sheet of pure tin foil, slightly larger than the glass plate to be silvered, is spread evenly on a perfectly plane stone table having a raised edge, and is well cleaned from all dust and impurity. The foil must be free from the slightest flaw or crack. The tin is next covered uniformly to a depth of ¹/₈ of an inch with mercury, preference being given by some to that containing a small proportion of tin from a previous operation. The glass plate, freed from all dust or grease, and repolished if necessary, is then carefully slid over the mercury. This part of the work requires skill and experience to exclude all air bubbles, and even the best workmen are not successful every time. If there is a single bubble or scratch the operation must be repeated and the tin foil is lost; not a small expense for large sizes. When this step has been satisfactorily accomplished the remainder is easy. The glass plate is loaded with heavy weights to press out the excess of mercury which is collected and is used again. After 24 hours the mirror is lifted from the table and placed on edge against a wall, where it is left to drain well.

II.—Solution No. 1 is composed as follows: To 8 ounces of distilled water, brought to a boil, add 12 grains of silver nitrate and 12 grains of Rochelle salts. Let it come to a boil for 6 to 7 minutes; then cool and filter.

Solution No. 2 is made as follows: Take 8 ounces of distilled water, and into a small quantity poured into a tumbler put 19 grains of silver nitrate. Stir well until dissolved. Then add several drops of 26° ammonia until the solution becomes clear. Add 16 grains more of nitrate of silver, stirring well until dissolved. Add balance of distilled water and filter. The filtering must be done through a glass funnel, in which the filter paper is placed. The solution must be stirred with a glass rod. Keep the solutions in separate bottles marked No. 1 and No. 2.

Directions for Silvering: Clean the glass with ammonia and wipe with a wet chamois. Then take half and half of the two solutions in a graduating glass, stirring well with a glass rod. Pour the contents on the middle of the glass to be silvered. It will spread over the surface of itself if the glass is laid flat. Leave it until the solution precipitates.

Silvering Globes.

—The insides of globes may be silvered, it is said, by the following methods:

I.—Take ¹/₃ ounce of clean lead, and melt it with an equal weight of pure tin; then immediately add ¹/₂ ounce of bismuth, and carefully skim off the dross; remove the alloy from the fire, and before it grows cold add 5 ounces of mercury, and stir the whole well together; then put the fluid amalgam into a clean glass, and it is fit for use. When this amalgam is used for silvering, it should be first strained through a linen rag; then gently pour some ounces of it into the globe intended to be silvered; the alloy should be poured into the globe by means of a paper or glass funnel reaching almost to the bottom of the globe, to prevent it splashing the sides; the globe should be turned every way very slowly, to fasten the silvering.

II.—Make an alloy of 3 ounces of lead, 2 ounces of tin, and 5 ounces of bismuth. Put a portion of this alloy into the globe and expose it to a gentle heat until the compound is melted; it melts at 197° F.; then by turning the globe slowly round, an equal coating may be laid on, which, when cold, hardens and firmly adheres.

Resilvering Mirrors

—If mirrors coated with amalgam become damaged they may sometimes be successfully repaired by one of the following processes:

I.—Place the old mirror in a weak solution of nitric acid—say 5 per cent—which immediately removes the silver. Rinse it a little, and then clean very thoroughly with a pledget of cotton-wool and a mixture of whiting and ammonia. Rouge will answer in place of whiting, or, as a last extreme, finest levigated pumice, first applied to a waste glass to crush down any possible grit. This cleaning is of the utmost importance, as upon its thoroughness depends eventual success. Front, back, and edges must alike be left in a state above suspicion. The {477} plate is then again flowed with weak acid, rinsed under the tap, then flowed back and front with distilled water, and kept immersed in a glass-covered dish of distilled water until the solutions are ready.

The depositing vessel is the next consideration, and it should be realized that unless most of the silver in the solution finds its way on to the face of the mirror it were cheaper that the glass should be sent to the professional mirror-maker. The best plan is to use a glass dish allowing a ¹/₁₆ inch margin all round the mirror, inside. But such a glass dish is expensive, having to be made specially, there being no regular sizes near enough to 4 x 7 or 8 x 5 (usual mirror sizes). If too large, a dish must perforce be used, the sides or ends of which should be filled up with sealing wax. Four strips of glass are temporarily bound together with 2 or 3 turns of string, so as to form a hollow square. The side pieces are ¹/₈ inch longer outside, and the end pieces ¹/₈ inch wider than the mirror glass. This frame is placed in about the center of the dish, moistened with glycerine, and the molten wax flowed outside of it to a depth of about ³/₄ of an inch or more. For economy’s sake, good “parcel wax” may be used, but best red sealing wax is safer. This wax frame may be used repeatedly, being cleaned prior to each silvering operation. It is the only special appliance necessary, and half an hour is a liberal time allowance for making it.

Use a stock solution of silver nitrate of the strength of 25 grains to 1 ounce of distilled water: Take 2 drachms of silver nitrate stock solution and convert it to ammonia nitrate, by adding ammonia drop by drop until the precipitate is redissolved. Add 3 ¹/₂ ounces of distilled water.

In another measure take 80 drops (approximately 74 minims) of 40 per cent formalin. Pour the solution of ammonio nitrate of silver into the measure containing the formalin, then back into the original measure, and finally into the dish containing the glass to be silvered. This should be done rapidly, and the dish containing the mirror well rocked until the silvering is complete, which may be ascertained by the precipitation of a black, flocculent deposit, and the clearing of the solution. The actual process of silvering takes about 2 minutes.

Cleanliness throughout is of the greatest importance. The vessels in which the solutions are mixed should be well rinsed with a solution of bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, then washed out three or four times under the tap, and finally with distilled water. For cleansing, dip the glass for a short time in a solution of bichromate of potash, to which a little sulphuric acid is added. The glass is afterwards well rinsed for a minute or two under the tap, flooded with distilled water, and dried with a clean linen cloth. A little absolute alcohol is then rubbed on with a soft linen handkerchief, which is immediately rolled into a pad and used for well polishing the surface. The cleaning with alcohol is repeated to avoid risk of failure.

After the mirror has been silvered, hold it under the tap and allow water to flow over it for about 3 minutes. Rinse it with distilled water, and stand it up on edge on blotting paper. When it is quite dry take a pad of very soft wash-leather, spread a small quantity of finest opticians’ rouge on a sheet of clean glass, and well coat the pad with rouge by polishing the sheet of glass. A minute quantity of rouge is sufficient. Afterwards polish the mirror by gently rubbing the surface with the pad, using a circular stroke.

It will be seen that with this process it is unnecessary to suspend the mirror in the silvering solution, as usually recommended. The mirror is laid in the dish, which is a distinct advantage, as the progress of the silvering may be watched until complete. The film also is much more robust than that obtained by the older methods.

II.—Clean the bare portion of the glass by rubbing it gently with fine cotton, taking care to remove any trace of dust and grease. If this cleaning be not done very carefully, defects will appear around the place repaired. With the point of a penknife cut upon the back of another looking glass around a portion of the silvering of the required form, but a little larger. Upon it place a small drop of mercury; a drop the size of a pin’s head will be sufficient for a surface equal to the size of the nail. The mercury spreads immediately, penetrates the amalgam to where it was cut off with the knife, and the required piece may be now lifted and removed to the place to be repaired. This is the most difficult part of the operation. Then press lightly the renewed portion with cotton; it hardens almost immediately, and the glass presents the same appearance.

Clouding Of Mouth Mirrors.

—By means of the finger, slightly moistened, apply a film of soap of any brand or kind to the mirror; then rub this off with a clean, dry cloth; the mirror will be as

{478}

bright and clear as ever. Breathing on it will not affect its clearness and the mirror does not suffer from the operation.

Magic Mirrors.

—Among the many amusing and curious articles which the amateur mechanic can turn out, metallic mirrors having concealed designs on them, and which can be brought into view by breathing on the polished surface, are both funny and easy to produce. To produce steel mirrors either tough bronze or good cast mottled iron discs should be used, and the design should be on the bottom of the cast disc, as this is the soundest and densest part of the metal. The method of working is different with bronze and iron, and bronze will be dealt with first.

The cast disk of bronze should be turned up level on both sides, and the edges should be turned or shaped up, the metal being about half an inch thick. On the side which was at the bottom in casting, a line should be drawn to allow for working up the border or frame of the mirror, and on the rest of the smooth surface the design should be drawn, not having too much detail. It is best to mark the lines with a sharp scriber, to prevent their effacement during working. When the disk is marked out, it should be laid on a smoothly planed iron block, and the lines punched to a depth of about ¹/₄ inch, a punch with round edges being used. Then the disk should be turned down to just below the surface of the punched-in metal, and the border or edge formed, finishing smoothly, but without burnishing. The back can be turned down and, with the outer edge, burnished; but the inside of the edge and the face of the mirror should be polished with fine abrasive powder, and finished with fine rouge. When dry, the mirror will appear equally bright all over; but when breathed on the design will show, again disappearing as the moisture is removed. The metal punched in will be more dense than the rest of the surface, and will also be very slightly raised, this being imperceptible unless the polishing has been too long continued.

With iron mirrors a good mottled iron must be used, selecting hematite for preference; but in any case it must be chillable metal. Preferably it should be melted in a crucible, as this causes the least change in the metallic content, and as the metal can be made hot and fluid, it works well. The design must be worked out in iron of about ¹/₈ inch in thickness, and must be level, as it has to touch the molten metal in the bottom of the mold. If preferred, the design may be cast and ground flat, but this depends largely on the design. The chill pattern should be coated with plumbago, and in molding the disk pattern of about ¹/₄ inch in thickness should be laid on a board, and on this the design—chill—should be placed, and the mold should be rammed up from the back in the ordinary manner. The casting should be allowed to get cold in the mold, and should then be removed and dressed in the usual way. It should then be ground bright all over on emery wheels of successively finer grades, and the mirror surface should be buffed and polished until a steely mirror surface is produced. With a good mottled iron the chilled design will not show until the surface is breathed on or rubbed with a greasy rag, but will then show clearly.

MIRROR ALLOYS: See Alloys.

MIRRORS, FROSTED: See Glass.

MIRROR-LETTERING: See Lettering.

MIRROR POLISHES: See Polishes.

MIRRORS, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

MIRRORS, TO PREVENT DIMMING OF: See Glass.

MIRROR VARNISH: See Varnishes.

MITE KILLER: See Insecticides.

MIXING STICKS FOR PAINT: See Paint.

MODELING WAX: See Wax, Modeling.

MOISTURE: See Insulation.

MOLDS:

Molding Sand.

—A high grade of molding sand should be fat, i. e., strongly mixed with clay. Naturally the molds of this sand should be employed only in a perfectly dry state. The fat molding sand is prepared artificially from quartz sand (fine sprinkling sand), fat clay, free

{479}

from lime and ferric oxide (red ocher). The molding sand is fixed by breaking up the loose pieces in which it is partly dug; next it is passed through a fine sieve and mixed up to one-third of its volume with charcoal dust, or, better still, with lampblack, which, owing to its looseness and fatness, does not detract so much from the binding qualities of the sand. The utility of the sand may be tested by pressing the finger into it, whereupon the fine lines of the skin should appear sharply defined; its binding power is ascertained by dropping a lump pressed together with the hand from a height, which is increased until it breaks.

MOLDS OF PLASTER: See Plaster.

Lettering On Glass.

Signs On Show Cases.

“Spatter” Work.

Lettering On Mirrors.

To Fill Engraved Letters On Metal Signs.

Tinseled Letters, Or Chinese Painting On Glass.

LICORICE:

Stable Solutions Of Licorice Juice.

To Test Extract Of Licorice.

LIME, BIRD.

LINIMENTS:

For External Use Only.

LINOLEUM:

Composition For Linoleum, Oilcloth, Etc.

Dressings For Linoleum.

Treatment Of Newly Laid Linoleum.

LINSEED OIL:

Bleaching Of Linseed Oil And Poppyseed Oil.

Adulteration Of Linseed Oil.

LUBRICANTS

Oil For Firearms.

Leather Lubricants.

Machinery Oils.

For Cutting Tools.

For Highspeed Bearings.

For Heavy Bearings.

For Lathe Centers.

Sewing Machine Oil.

Petroleum Jellies And Solidified Lubricants.

White Petroleum Jelly.—

Solidified Lubricants.—

Wagon And Axle Greases:

Miscellaneous Lubricants:

Tests For Lubricants.

LUSTER PASTE.

MAGNESIUM CITRATE.

MAGNETIC CURVES OF IRON FILINGS, THEIR FIXATION.

MANTLES.

Self-igniting Mantles.

MARKING FLUID:

MATCHES

Manufacture Of Matches.

Safety Paste For Matches.

MATRIX MASSES

Matrix For Medals, Coins, Etc.

MATZOON.

MEAD.

MEERSCHAUM:

To Color A Meerschaum Pipe.

To Repair Meerschaum Pipes.

To Tell Genuine Meerschaum.

METALS AND THEIR TREATMENT

Metals, Brightening And Deadening, By Dipping:

Coloring Metals:

Fusion Point Of Metals.

To Produce Fine Leaves Of Metal.

Metal Foil.

MILK:

Determining Cream.

Formaldehyde In Milk, Detection Of.

Malted Milk.

Milk Extracts.

Modification Of Milk For Infants.

Preservation Of Milk

Milk Substitute.

MIRRORS

Mirror Silvering.

Silvering Globes.

Resilvering Mirrors

Clouding Of Mouth Mirrors.

Magic Mirrors.

MOLDS:

Molding Sand.

MOLES: