Part 113

Cut or grate the squill into very small pieces, and fry it in the lard and suet until it has acquired a dark-brown color and {614} the fats have taken up the characteristic squill odor; then to the mess add the other substances, and stir well together.

II.—Squill, bruised 4 ounces Bacon, chopped fine 6 ounces Flour or meal, enough. Water, enough.

Make into a stiff mass, divide into small cakes, and bake.

«Phosphorus Poisons.»—Next to the squill in value as a poison comes phosphorus in the shape of an electuary, or in pills. For readily preparing the electuary, when needed or ordered, it is a good plan to keep on hand a phosphorated syrup made as follows:

To 200 parts of simple syrup, in a strong flask, add 50 parts of phosphorus and 10 parts of talc powder; place the container in a suitable vessel and surround it with water heated to 120° to 130° F., and let it stand until the phosphorus is melted. Now, cork the flask well, tie down the cork, and agitate until the mixture is completely cold. As a measure of precaution, the flask should be wrapped with a cloth.

To make the poison take 50 parts of rye flour and mix with it 10 parts of powdered sugar. To the mixture add about 40 parts of water and from 30 to 40 parts of the phosphorated syrup, and mix the mass thoroughly.

While it is best to make the phosphorated syrup fresh every time that it is required, a stable syrup can be made as follows:

Heat together very carefully in a water bath 5 parts of phosphorus, 3 parts of sublimed sulphur, and 30 parts of water, until the phosphorus is completely melted and taken up; then add 30 parts of wheat flour and 6 parts of ground mustard seed, and work up, with the addition of warm water from time to time, if necessary, into a stiff paste, finally adding and working in from 1 to 2 parts of oil of anise.

Borax in powder, it may be noticed, is also useful as a preservative of phosphorated paste or the electuary.

Mühsam gives the following formula for an electuary of phosphorus for this purpose:

I.—Phosphorus, granulated 1 part Rye flour 30 parts Simple syrup 10 parts Mustard seed, powdered 1 part Sublimed sulphur 1 part Water 10 parts

Proceed as indicated above.

Hager’s formula for “Phosphorus globules” is as follows:

II.—Phosphorus, amorphous 10 parts Glycerine 20 parts Linseed, powdered 100 parts Meat extract 15 parts Quark, recently coagulated, quantity sufficient.

Mix, and make a mass, and divide into 200 globules, weighing about 15 grains each. Roll in wheat flour, in which a little powdered sugar has been mixed.

Phosphorus electuary, made as indicated above, may be smeared upon bits of fried bacon, which should be tacked firmly to a bit of board or to the floor. It is essential that either flour or sugar, or both, be strewn over the surface of the phosphorus.

The most convenient in practice, on the whole, are the phosphorus globules, either made after Hager’s formula, or, more readily, by adding rye flour and sugar to the electuary and working up to a pill mass, or barium carbonate and plaster may be added.

«Arsenical Poisons.»—The following are some of the formulas given by Hager for preparing globules, or pills, of arsenic:

I.—Arsenic, white, powdered 100 parts Soot from the kitchen 5 parts Oil of anise 1 part Lard, sufficient. Wheat flour, sufficient.

Make into 400 globules.

II.—Beef suet 500 parts Rye flour 500 parts Arsenic, white, powdered 50 parts Ultramarine 10 parts Oil of anise 1 part

Melt the suet, and add to the flour, mix in the other ingredients, and work up while hot, beating the mass with a roller. Make 1,000 globules.

«Strychnine Poisons.»—The strychnine preparations are also valuable in the destruction of rats and mice. The first of these in point of usefulness is strychnine-wheat, or strychnine-oats (Strychninweizen or Strychninhafer), in the proportion of 1 part of strychnine to 100 or 150 parts of wheat or oat flour, prepared by dissolving 1 part of strychnine in 40 to 50 parts of hot water, mixing well up with the flour, and drying in the water {615} bath. Strychnine may also be used on fresh or salted meat, sausage, etc., by insertion of the powder, or the heads of fried fish are opened and the powder strewn on the inside. The latter is an especially deadly method, since the odor of the fish acts as a powerful lure, as also do the bits of bacon or other fats used in frying fish. Strong cheese is also a good vehicle for strychnine, acting as a powerful lure for the rodents.

Strychnine sulph 1 drachm Sugar milk 3 drachms Prussian blue 5 grains Sugar 1⁠/⁠2 ounce Oat flour 1⁠/⁠2 ounce

«Nux Vomica Poison.»—

Oatmeal 1 pound Powdered nux vomica 1 ounce Oil of anise 5 drops Tincture of asafetida 5 drops

«Barium Poison.»—

Barium carbonate 4 ounces Sugar 6 ounces Oatmeal 6 ounces Oil of anise 4 drops Oil of caraway 4 drops

RAZOR PAPER: See Paper.

«RAZOR PASTES:»

See also Pastes.

The razor pastes, razor creams, etc., on the market, have for their cutting, or sharpening, agent jewelers’ rouge, or rouge and emery. When emery is used it should be ground to an impalpable powder and levigated.

I.—The simplest formula is a mixture in equal parts of rouge and emery powder, rubbed up with spermaceti ointment. Coke is also used as a cutting agent. Suet, prepared lard, in fact, any greasy or soapy substance, will answer for the vehicle.

II.—Melt 1,000 parts of beef tallow and pour 250 parts of oil to it. To this mixture, which is uniformly combined by thorough stirring, add in the same manner 150 parts of washed emery, 100 parts of tin ashes, and 50 parts of iron oxide. The stirring of these ingredients must be continued until the mass is cool, as otherwise they would be unevenly distributed. The leather of the strop should be rubbed with this grease, applying only small quantities at a time. This renders it possible to produce a very uniform coating, since little quantities penetrate the fibers of the leather more easily.

III.—Tin putty (tin ashes) 2 parts Colcothar 2 parts Forged iron scales or filings 1 part Pure levantine honing stone finely powdered 7 parts Beef suet 3 parts

All the ingredients with the exception of the suet should be finely powdered. The suet is melted, the ingredients poured in, and the whole thoroughly mixed to form a doughy mass.

IV.—Colcothar 1 1⁠/⁠2 parts Pumice stone 1 1⁠/⁠2 parts Graphite 4 1⁠/⁠2 parts Bloodstone (red hematite) 2 parts Iron filings 1 part

These ingredients are finely powdered, washed, and mixed with the following:

Grafting wax 2 parts Soap 2 parts Lard 2 parts Olive oil 2 parts

Naturally the fatty ingredients are to be heated before the solid substances are commingled with them.

The side of the blade to be polished should be treated with the following compositions:

_a._ Tin ashes (tin putty) rubbed down to a fine powder on a honing stone and mixed with axle grease.

_b._ Washed graphite mingled with olive oil.

REDUCERS: See Photography.

REDUCING PHOTOGRAPHS, SCALE FOR: See Photography.

REFLECTOR METAL: See Alloys.

«REFRIGERANTS.»

I.—Potassium nitrate 2 pounds Ammonium chloride 2 pounds Water 5 pints

II.—Potassium nitrate 2 1⁠/⁠2 pounds Ammonium chloride 2 1⁠/⁠2 pounds Sodium sulphate 4 pounds Water 9 pints

III.—Ammonia nitrate 4 pounds Water 4 pints

IV.—Sodium sulphate 8 parts Dilute hydrochloric acid 5 parts

{616}

V.—Snow 1 part Water 1 part Sulphuric acid 4 parts

VI.—Snow 3 parts Calcium chloride 4 parts

«Refrigeration»

If water to be frozen is placed in a tin bucket or other receptacle it can be readily congealed by putting it in a pail containing a weak dilution of sulphuric acid and water. Into this throw a handful of common Glauber salts, and the resulting cold is so great that water immersed in the mixture will be frozen solid in a few minutes, and ice cream or ices may be quickly and easily prepared. The cost is only a few cents. The same process in an ice-cream freezer will do the trick for ice cream.

«Home-Made Refrigerators.»—I.—Partly fill with water a shallow granite-ware pan. Place it in an open, shady window where there is a good draught of air. In this put bottles of water, milk, and cream (sealed), wrapped with wet cloths reaching into the water. Put butter in an earthen dish deep enough to prevent water getting in. Over this turn an earthen flower-pot wrapped with a wet cloth reaching into the water. The pan should be fixed every morning and evening. With several of these pans one can keep house very comfortably without ice.

II.—Procure a wire meat-safe—that is, a box covered by wire netting on three sides, with a fly-proof door. On top place a deep pan filled with water. Take a piece of burlap the height of the pan and safe, and of sufficient length to reach around the entire safe. Tack it fast where the door opens and closes. Tuck the upper edge in the water. Place it where there is a draught and where the dripping will do no damage. This constitutes a well-ventilated refrigerator that costs nothing but water to maintain.

III.—Take a store box, any convenient size, and place in this a smaller box, having the bottom and space around the sides packed with sawdust. Have a galvanized iron pan made, the size of the inside box and half as deep, to hold the ice. Have the pan made with a spout 6 inches long to drain off the water as the ice melts. Bore a hole the size of the spout through the double bottom and sawdust packing to admit the spout. Short legs may be nailed on the sides of the box and a vessel set underneath to catch the drippings. Put on a tight board cover. A shelf may be placed in the box above the ice. This box will keep ice for three days.

IV.—Select a large cracker box with a hinged cover. Knock out the bottom and cut windows in each side, leaving a 3-inch frame, over which tack wire gauze. In the coolest part of the cellar dig away the earth to a level depth of 3 inches and fit the box into the space.

Mix plaster of Paris to a consistency of thick cream and pour into the box for a 1⁠/⁠2-inch thick bottom. Twenty-four hours will harden it sufficiently. Put a hook and catch on the lid. A box of this sort can be cleaned easily, and insects cannot penetrate it.

«To Drain a Refrigerator.»—I.—Have a stout tin funnel made, 7 inches in diameter at the top. The tube portion should be at least 8 inches long and of uniform diameter. Bore a hole through the floor directly under the drain-pipe of the refrigerator; insert the funnel, then force a piece of rubber tubing (a tight fit) over the funnel from the cellar side. Pass the tubing through a hole cut in the screen frame of a cellar window, and drain into any convenient place. This avoids the necessity of continually emptying the drain-pan, and prevents the overflow that frequently occurs when it is forgotten.

II.—This simple device saves the inconvenience of having a drip-pan under the refrigerator: If the refrigerator is placed near the outer wall get a piece of rubber hose long enough to reach from the waste pipe to the outside of the wall. Bore a hole through the wall under the refrigerator, where baseboard and floor meet. Attach the hose to the waste-pipe and pass through the hole in the wall. A small trough outside should carry the water away from the house.

REFRIGERATORS, THEIR CARE: See Household Formulas.

REPLATING: See Plating.

RESILVERING OF MIRRORS: See Mirrors.

REVOLVER LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.

RHUBARB AS A REMEDY FOR CHOLERA: See Cholera Remedies. {617}

RIBBONS FOR TYPEWRITERS: See Typewriter Ribbons.

RICE PASTE: See Adhesives.

RICE POWDER: See Cosmetics.

RIFLE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricants.

RING, HOW TO SOLDER A JEWELED: See Solders.

RINGS ON METAL, PRODUCING COLORED: See Plating.

ROACH EXTERMINATORS: See Insecticides.

ROBURITE: See Explosives.

RODINAL DEVELOPER: See Photography.

«ROLLER COMPOSITIONS FOR PRINTERS.»

Rollers for transferring ink to types have to possess special properties, which have reference both to the nature of the ink and that of the types to which it is to be transferred. They must be as little liable as possible to changes of temperature. They must be sticky, but only just sticky enough, and must have elasticity enough to exert a uniform pressure over the varying surface with which they meet in the form. Originally, the composition was one of glue and molasses in varying proportions, and the only practical improvement that has been made is the addition of glycerine. This being slightly hygroscopic, helps to keep the roller at the right degree of softness, and being practically unfreezable, it is a great assistance in keeping the rollers from hardening in cold weather.

The recipes given in technical works for printing roller compositions are numerous and very different. All contain glue and molasses, and it is the practice to put a larger proportion of glue in rollers to be used in the summer than in those intended for winter use. The following is a selection of recipes:

I.—Soak 8 pounds of glue in as much water as it will absorb. When there is no visible water, treat the glue till melted, and add 7 pounds of hot molasses.

II.—Glue (summer) 8 pounds Glue (winter) 4 pounds Molasses 1 gallon

III.—Molasses 12 pounds Glue 4 pounds

IV.—Molasses 24 pounds Glue 16 pounds Paris white 2 pounds

V.—Glue or gelatin 64 pounds Water 48 pounds Linseed oil 96 pounds Molasses or sugar 64 to 96 pounds Chloride of calcium 3 pounds Powdered rosin 8 pounds

Soak the glue in the water and then liquefy by heat. Then stir in the oil, first heated to 150° F. Then add the molasses and the chloride of calcium, and finally the fused rosin. The latter ingredient is only to be added when very tough rollers are required. This recipe is interesting from the inclusion in it of the hygroscopic salt, chloride of calcium, the object of which is obviously to keep the rollers moist.

ROOFS, HOW TO LAY GALVANIZED: See Household Formulas.

ROOFS, PREVENTION OF LEAKAGE: See Household Formulas.

ROOF PAINTS: See Paint.

ROOM DEODORIZER: See Household Formulas.

«ROPES.»

To protect ropes, cordage, and cloths made of flax and hemp against rot, it has been recommended to leave them for 4 days in a solution of copper sulphate, 20 parts by weight to a liter, then allow them to dry, and then, to prevent the copper sulphate being washed away by the water, place in tar or a solution of soap—1 to 10. In the latter case an insoluble copper soap is formed. To secure the same result with twine, the following process has been recommended: Place the string for an hour in a solution of glue, then allow to dry, and place in a solution of tannin. After removal from the tannin, again dry, and soak in oil. The process first described has been shown by experience to be very effective; but to prevent the washing away of the copper sulphate, it is advisable to use the solution of soap in preference to the tar, as articles steeped in the latter substance are apt to become stiff, and consequently brittle. The {618} treatment with glue and tannin in the second process has the drawback that it tends to make the string too stiff and inflexible, and thus impair its usefulness.

ROPE LUBRICANTS: See Lubricant.

ROPES, WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.

ROSE CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.

ROSEWOOD: See Wood.

ROSE POWDERS: See Cosmetics.

ROSIN, TESTS FOR, IN EXTRACTS: See Foods.

ROSIN OIL: See Oil.

ROSIN STICKS: See Depilatories.

«ROT:»

«Remedies for Dry Rot.»—A good remedy for dry rot is petroleum. The sick parts of the wood are painted with it, which causes the fungi to die, turn black, and finally drop off. The best preventive of dry rot is plenty of draught. If the portions are already affected so badly that they must be removed and renewed, the freshly inserted wood is coated with “carbolineum” to prevent a fresh appearance of dry rot. Another remedy is ordinary salt, which is known to have a highly hygroscopic action. It absorbs the moisture of the wood, whereby it is itself dissolved, thus gradually impregnating the planks, etc. In order to combat dry rot with salt, proceed as follows: Throw salt into boiling water until a perfectly saturated solution is obtained. With this repeatedly wash the wood and masonry afflicted with dry rot. Wherever practicable the salt may be sprinkled direct upon the affected place.

ROUGE: See Cosmetics.

«ROUGE FOR BUFF WHEELS.»

The rouge employed by machinists, watchmakers, and jewelers, is obtained by directly subjecting crystals of sulphate of iron or copperas to a high heat by which the sulphuric acid is expelled and the oxide of iron remains. Those portions least calcined, when ground, are used for polishing gold and silver. These are of bright crimson color. The darker and more calcined portions are known as “crocus,” and are used for polishing brass and steel. Others prefer for the production of rouge the peroxide of iron precipitated by ammonia from a dilute solution of sulphate of iron, which is washed, compressed until dry, then exposed to a low red heat and ground to powder. Of course, there are other substances besides rouge which are employed in polishing, as powdered emery, kieselguhr, carborundum, rotten stone, etc.

ROUGE POWDER: See Polishes.

ROUGH STUFF: See Wood.

ROUP CURES: See Veterinary Formulas.

«Rubber»

«ARTIFICIAL RUBBER.»

Austin G. Day tried hundreds of experiments and took out many patents for rubber substitutes. He was in a measure successful, his “Kerite” compound proving of great value and being a result of his seeking for something that would wholly supplant rubber. As far back as 1866 he made public the results of some of his work, giving as formulas for rubber substitutes the following compounds:

I.—Linseed oil 2 pounds Cottonseed oil 1 pound Petroleum 2 pounds Raw turpentine 2 pounds Sulphur 2 pounds

Boil 2 hours.

II.—Linseed oil 2 pounds Cottonseed oil 1 pound Petroleum 1 pound Raw turpentine 2 pounds Castor oil 1 pound Sulphur 2 pounds

Boil 1⁠/⁠2 hour.

III.—Linseed oil 2 pounds Cottonseed oil 1 pound Petroleum 1 pound Raw turpentine 1⁠/⁠2 pound Liquid coal tar 3 pounds Peanut oil 1 pound Spirits turpentine 1 pound Sulphur 4 pounds

Boil 35 minutes.

IV.—Linseed oil 2 pounds Cottonseed oil 1 pound Petroleum 2 pounds Raw turpentine 1⁠/⁠2 pound Liquid coal tar 2 pounds {619} Spirits turpentine 1 pound Rubber [ ] pound Sulphur 2 pounds

Boil 1 hour.

In 1871 Mr. Day had brought his experimenting down to the following formula:

V.—Cottonseed oil 14 pounds Linseed oil 14 pounds Asphaltum 8 pounds Coal tar 8 pounds Sulphur 10 pounds Camphor 1⁠/⁠2 pound

In this the tar and asphaltum were first mixed with the cottonseed oil, after which was added the linseed oil and camphor, and, last of all, the sulphur, when the temperature was about 270° F.

A substitute designed to be used in rubber compounding in place, say, of reclaimed rubber, was made as follows:

VI.—Cottonseed oil 27 pounds Coal tar 30 pounds Earthy matter 5 pounds

To be mixed and heated to 300° F., and then strained and cooled to 200° F. Then were added 27 pounds linseed oil, the heat raised to 220° F., and 15 to 18 pounds of sulphur added, the heat being continually raised until the mass was sulphurized. When the heat reached 240° F., 1 to 1 1⁠/⁠2 ounces of nitric acid were added, and at 270° to 280° F., from 1 to 3 ounces camphor were added to help the sulphurization. The resultant compound was used on the following basis:

VII.—Para rubber 20 pounds Litharge 5 pounds Sulphur 1 pound Above compound 20 to 40 pounds

Mr. Day did not insist on the compound quoted, but advised that the proportions be varied as widely as the exigencies of the case might demand. Whiting, barytes, infusorial earth, white lead, blacks, in fact almost any of the oxides, carbonates, or earthy materials commonly used in compounding, were used in connection with his substitute, as also were any grades of crude rubber. Among other ingredients that he found of use in making his substitutes were vegetable and animal waxes, together with ozokerite and paraffine. These were only used in small quantities, and always in connection with the linseed and cottonseed oils, and generally asphaltum or coal tar. One of his compounds also called for a quantity of golden sulphuret of antimony, presumably to assist in the sulphurization, and a small amount of tannic acid.

Another line of experimenting that is interesting, and that will yet produce good results, although so far it has not amounted to much, is in the use of cellulose. A very simple formula is of French origin and calls for the treating of cellulose with sulphuric acid, washing, drying, granulating, treating with resinate of soda—which is afterwards precipitated by sulphate of alumina—then drying and molding under pressure. As a matter of fact, the resultant mass would not be mistaken for rubber. An English formula is more like it. This consists of

VIII.—Cellulose 15 pounds Pitch 25 pounds Asphalt 20 pounds Silica 20 pounds Mastic 5 pounds Bitumen 5 pounds Rosin 10 pounds Coal tar 12 pounds

This makes a thick gummy varnish which is of little use except as for its waterproof qualities. Allen’s formula for a cellulose substitute might have a value if it were carried further. It is made up of 100 pounds of rosinous wood pulp treated with animal gelatin, 100 pounds asphalt, and 10 pounds asphalt oil, all heated and molded.

The Greening process, which is English, is more elaborate than Allen’s, but seems a bit laborious and costly. This process calls for the treatment of the cellulose by a mixture of sulphuric acid and nitrate of potash, and, after drying, a treatment to a bath of liquid carbonic acid. When dry again, it is mixed in a retort with refined rosin, gum benzoin, castor oil, and methylated alcohol. The distillate from this is dried by redistilling over anhydrous lime.