Part 34

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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