Part 41

«Strong Twine.»—An extraordinarily strong pack thread or cord, stronger even than the so-called “Zuckerschnur,” may be obtained by laying the thread of fibers in a strong solution of alum, and then carefully drying them.

«Preservation of Fishing Nets.»—The following recipe for the preservation of fishing nets is also applicable to ropes, etc., in contact with water. Some have been subjected to long test.

For 40 parts of cord, hemp, or cotton, 3 parts of kutch, 1 part of blue vitriol, 1⁠/⁠2 part of potassium chromate, and 2 1⁠/⁠2 parts of wood tar are required. The kutch is boiled with 150 parts of water until dissolved, and then the blue vitriol is added. Next, the net is entered and the tar added. The whole should be stirred well, and the cordage must boil 5 to 8 minutes. Now take out the netting, lay it in another vessel, cover up well, and leave alone for 12 hours. After that it is dried well, spread out in a clean place, and coated with linseed oil. Not before 6 hours have elapsed should it be folded together and put into the water. The treatment with linseed oil may be omitted.

CORDAGE LUBRICANT: See Lubricants.

CORDAGE WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.

CORDIALS: See Wines and Liquors.

«CORKS:»

«Impervious Corks.»—Corks which have been steeped in petrolatum are said to be an excellent substitute for glass stoppers. Acid in no way affects them and chemical fumes do not cause decay in them, neither do they become fixed by a blow or long disuse. {224}

«Non-Porous Corks.»—For benzine, turpentine, and varnish cans, immerse the corks in hot melted paraffine. Keep them under about 5 minutes; hold them down with a piece of wire screen cut to fit the dish in which you melt the paraffine. When taken out lay them on a screen till cool. Cheap corks can in this way be made gas- and air-tight, and can be cut and bored with ease.

«Substitute for Cork.»—Wood pulp or other ligneous material may be treated to imitate cork. For the success of the composition it is necessary that the constituents be mingled and treated under special conditions. The volumetric proportions in which these constituents combine with the best results are the following: Wood pulp, 3 parts; cornstalk pith, 1 part; gelatin, 1 part; glycerine, 1 part; water, 4 parts; 20 per cent formic-aldehyde solution, 1 part; but the proportions may be varied. After disintegrating the ligneous substances, and while these are in a moist and hot condition they are mingled with the solution of gelatin, glycerine, and water. The mass is stirred thoroughly so as to obtain a homogeneous mixture. The excess of moisture is removed. As a last operation the formic aldehyde is introduced, and the mass is left to coagulate in this solution. The formic aldehyde renders the product insoluble in nearly all liquids. So it is in this last operation that it is necessary to be careful in producing the composition properly. When the operation is terminated the substance is submitted to pressure during its coagulation, either by molding it at once into a desired form, or into a mass which is afterwards converted into the finished product.

CORKS, TO CLEAN: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under Miscellaneous Methods.

CORK TO METAL, FASTENING: See Adhesives, under Pastes.

CORK AS A PRESERVATIVE: See Preserving.

CORKS, WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.

«CORN CURES:»

I.—Salicylic-Acid Corn Cure.—Extract cannabis indica, 1 part, by measure; salicylic acid, 10 parts, by measure; oil of turpentine, 5 parts, by measure; acetic acid, glacial, 2 parts, by measure; cocaine, alkaloidal, 2 parts, by measure; collodion, elastic, sufficient to make 100 parts. Apply a thin coating every night, putting each layer directly on the preceding one. After a few applications, the mass drops off, bringing the indurated portion, and frequently the whole of the corn, off with it.

II.—Compound Salicylated Collodion Corn Cure.—Salicylic acid, 11 parts, by weight; extract of Indian hemp, 2 parts, by weight; alcohol, 10 parts, by weight; flexible collodion, U. S. P., a sufficient quantity to make 100 parts, by weight.

The extract is dissolved in the alcohol and the acid in about 50 parts, by weight, of collodion, the solutions mixed, and the liquid made up to the required amount. The Indian hemp is presumably intended to prevent pain; whether it serves this or any other useful purpose seems a matter of doubt. The acid is frequently used without this addition.

III.—Extract of cannabis indica, 90 grains; salicylic acid, 1 ounce; alcohol, 1 ounce; collodion enough to make 10 ounces. Soften the extract with the alcohol, then add the collodion, and lastly the acid.

IV.—Resorcin, 1 part, by weight; salicylic acid, 1 part, by weight; lactic acid, 1 part, by weight; collodion elasticum, 10 parts, by weight. Paint the corn daily for 5 or 6 days with the above solution and take a foot bath in very hot water. The corn will readily come off.

«Corn Plaster.»—Yellow wax, 24 parts, by weight; Venice turpentine, 3 parts, by weight; rosin, 2 parts, by weight; salicylic acid, 2 parts, by weight; balsam of Peru, 2 parts, by weight; lanolin, 4 parts, by weight.

«Corn Cure.»—Melt soap plaster, 85 parts, by weight, and yellow wax, 5 parts by weight, in a vapor bath, and stir finely ground salicylic acid, 10 parts, by weight, into it.

«Removal of Corns.»—The liquid used by chiropodists with pumice stone for the removal of corns and callosities is usually nothing more than a solution of potassa or concentrated lye, the pumice stone being dipped into the solution by the operator just before using.

«Treatment of Bunions.»—Wear right and left stockings and shoes, the inner edges of the sole of which are perfectly straight. The bunion is bathed night and morning in a 4 per cent solution of carbolic acid for a few minutes, followed by plain water. If, after several weeks, the bursa is still distended with fluid, it is aspirated. If the bunion is due to flatfoot, the arch of the foot must be restored by a plate. When the joints are enlarged because of gout or {225} rheumatism, the constitutional conditions must be treated. In other cases, osteotomy and tenotomy are required.

«The Treatment of Corns.»—Any corn may be speedily and permanently cured. The treatment is of three kinds—preventive, palliative, and curative.

I.—The preventive treatment lies in adopting such measures as will secure freedom from pressure and friction for the parts most liable to corns. To this end a well-fitting shoe is essential. The shoes should be of well-seasoned leather, soft and elastic, and should be cut to a proper model.

II.—The palliative treatment is generally carried out with chemical substances. The best method, is, briefly, as follows: A ring of glycerine jelly is painted around the circumference of the corn, to form a raised rampart. A piece of salicylic plaster mull is then cut to the size and shape of the central depression, and applied to the surface of the corn. This is then covered with a layer of glycerine jelly, and before it sets a pad of cotton wool is applied to the surface. This process is repeated as often as is necessary, until the horny layer separates and is cast off.

If the point of a sharp, thin-bladed knife be introduced at the groove which runs around the margin of the corn, and be made to penetrate toward its central axis, by the exercise of a little manual dexterity the horny part of the corn can be easily made to separate from the parts beneath.

III.—Any method of treatment to be curative must secure the removal of the entire corn, together with the underlying bursa. It is mainly in connection with the latter structure that complications, which alone make a corn a matter of serious import, are likely to arise. Freeland confidently advises the full and complete excision of corns, on the basis of his experience in upward of 60 cases.

Every precaution having been taken to render the operation aseptic, a spot is selected for the injection of the anæsthetic solution. The skin is rendered insensitive with ethyl chloride, and 5 minims of a 4 per cent solution of cocaine is injected into the subcutaneous tissue beneath the corn. After a wait of a few minutes the superficial parts of the site of the incision are rendered insensitive with ethyl chloride. Anæsthesia is now complete.

Two semielliptical incisions meeting at their extremities are made through the skin abound the circumference of the growth, care being taken that they penetrate well into the subcutaneous tissue. Seizing the parts included in the incision with a pair of dissecting forceps, a wedge-shaped piece of tissue—including the corn, a layer of skin and subcutaneous tissue, and the bursa if present—is dissected out. The oozing is pretty free, and it is sometimes necessary to torsion a small vessel; but the hemorrhage is never severe. The edges of the wound are brought together by one or two fine sutures; an antiseptic dressing is applied, and the wound is left to heal—primary union in a few days being the rule. The rapidity of the healing is often phenomenal. There is produced a scar tissue at the site of the corn, but this leads to no untoward results.

«Cosmetics»

«COLD CREAM.»

I.—Oil of almonds 425 parts Lanolin 185 parts White wax 62 parts Spermaceti 62 parts Borax 4.5 parts Rose water 300 part

Melt together the first four ingredients, then incorporate the solution of borax in the rose water.

II.—Tragacanth 125 parts Boric acid 100 parts Glycerine 140 parts Expressed oil of almonds 50 parts Glyconine 50 parts Oil of lavender 0.5 parts Water enough to make 1,000 parts

Mix the tragacanth and the boric acid with the glycerine; add the almond oil, lavender oil, and egg glycerite, which have been previously well incorporated, and, lastly, add the water in divided portions until a clear jelly of the desired consistency is obtained.

III.—Oil of almonds 26 ounces Castor oil (odorless) 6 ounces Lard (benzoated) 8 ounces White wax 8 ounces Rose water (in winter less, in summer more, than quantity named) 12 ounces Orange-flower water 8 ounces Oil of rose 15 minims Extract of jasmine 6 drachms Extract of cassia 4 drachms Borax 2 ounces Glycerine 4 ounces

{226}

Melt the oil of sweet almonds, wax, and lard together, and stir in the castor oil; make a solution of the borax in the glycerine and rose and orange-flower waters; add this solution, a little at a time, to the melted fat, stirring constantly to insure thorough incorporation; finally add the oil of rose dissolved in the extracts, and beat the ointment until cold.

IV.—Spermaceti (pure), 1⁠/⁠4 ounce; white wax (pure), 1⁠/⁠4 ounce; almond oil, 1⁠/⁠4 pound; butter of cocoa, 1⁠/⁠4 pound; lanolin, 2 ounces.

Melt and stir in 1 drachm of balsam of Peru. After settling, pour off the clear portion and add 2 fluidrachms of orange-flower water and stir briskly until it concretes.

«Camphorated Cold Cream.»—

Oil of sweet almonds 8 fluidounces White wax 1 ounce Spermaceti 1 ounce Camphor 1 ounce Rose water 5 fluidounces Borax (in fine powder) 4 drachms Oil of rose 10 drops

Melt the wax and spermaceti, add the oil of sweet almonds, in which the camphor has been dissolved with very gentle heat; then gradually add the rose water, in which the borax has previously been dissolved, beating or agitating constantly with a wooden spatula until cold. Lastly add the oil of rose.

«Petrolatum Cold Cream.»—

Petrolatum (white) 7 ounces Paraffine 1⁠/⁠2 ounce Lanolin 2 ounces Water 3 ounces Oil of rose 3 drops Alcohol 1 drachm

A small quantity of borax may be added, if desirable, and the perfume may be varied to suit the taste.

«LIP SALVES:»

«Pomades for the Lips.»—Lip pomatum which is said always to retain a handsome red color and never to grow rancid is prepared as follows:

I.—Paraffine 80.0 parts Vaseline 80.0 parts Anchusine 0.5 parts Bergamot oil 1.0 part Lemon peel 1.0 part

II.—Vaseline Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, white 1,000 parts Wax, white 300 part Geranium oil, African. 40 parts Lemon oil. 20 parts

III.—Rose Pomade.—

Almond oil 1,000 parts Wax, white 300 parts Alkannin 3 parts Geranium oil 20 parts

IV.—Yellow Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, white. 1,000 parts Wax, white 200 parts Spermaceti 200 parts Saffron surrogate. 10 parts Clove oil. 20 parts

V.—White Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, white 1,000 parts Wax, white. 300 parts Bitter almond oil, genuine. 10 parts Lemon oil 2 parts

VI.—Paraffine 49.0 parts Vaseline. 49.0 parts Oil of lemon. 0.75 parts Oil of violet 0.75 parts Carmine, quantity sufficient.

«Lipol.»—For treating sore, rough, or inflamed lips, apply the following night and morning, rubbing in well with the finger tips: Camphor, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; menthol, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; eucalyptol, 1 drachm; petrolatum (white), 1 pound; paraffine, 1⁠/⁠2 pound; alkanet root, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; oil of bitter almonds, 15 drops; oil of cloves, 10 drops; oil of cassia, 5 drops. Digest the root in the melted paraffine and petrolatum, strain, add the other ingredients and pour into lip jars, hot.

«MANICURE PREPARATIONS:»

«Powdered Nail Polishes.»—

I.—Tin oxide 8 drachms Carmine 1⁠/⁠4 drachm Rose oil. 6 drops Neroli oil. 5 drops

II.—Cinnabar. 1 drachm Infusorial earth. 8 drachms

III.—Putty powder (fine). 4 drachms Carmine. 2 grains Oil of rose. 1 drop

IV.—White castile soap. 1 part Hot water 16 parts Zinc chloride solution, 10 per cent, quantity sufficient.

Dissolve the soap in the water and to the solution add the zinc-chloride solution until no further precipitation occurs. Let stand over night; pour off the supernatant fluid, wash the precipitate {227} well with water, and dry at the ordinary temperature. Carmine may be added if desired.

«Polishing Pastes for the Nails.»—

I.—Talcum. 5 drachms Stannous oxide. 3 drachms Powdered tragacanth 5 grains Glycerine 1 drachm Rose water, quantity sufficient. Solution of carmine sufficient to tint.

Make paste.

For softening the nails, curing hangnails, etc., an ointment is sometimes used consisting of white petrolatum, 8 parts; powdered castile soap, 1 part; and perfume to suit.

II.—Eosine 10 grains White wax 1⁠/⁠2 drachm Spermaceti 1⁠/⁠2 drachm Soft paraffine 1 ounce Alcohol, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the eosine in as little alcohol as will suffice, melt the other ingredients together, add the solution, and stir until cool.

«Nail-Cleaning Washes.»—

I.—Tartaric acid 1 drachm Tincture of myrrh 1 drachm Cologne water 2 drachms Water 3 ounces

Dissolve the acid in the water; mix the tincture of myrrh and cologne, and add to the acid solution.

Dip the nails in this solution, wipe, and polish with chamois skin.

II.—Oxalic acid 30 grains Rose water 1 ounce

«Nail Varnish.»—

Paraffine wax 60 grains Chloroform 2 ounces Oil of rose 3 drops

«POMADES:»

I.—Beef-Marrow Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, yellow 20,000 parts Ceresine, yellow 3,000 parts Beef marrow 2,000 parts Saffron substitute 15 parts Lemon oil 50 parts Bergamot oil 20 parts Clove oil 5 parts Lavender oil. 10 parts

II.—China Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, yellow 20,000 parts Ceresine, yellow 5,000 parts Brilliant, brown 12 parts Peru balsam 50 parts Lemon oil 5 parts Bergamot oil 5 parts Clove oil 5 parts Lavender oil 5 parts

III.—Crystalline Honey Pomade.—Nut oil, 125 drachms; spermaceti, 15 drachms; gamboge, 2 drachms; vervain oil, 10 drops; cinnamon oil, 20 drops; bergamot oil, 30 drops; rose oil, 3 drops. The spermaceti is melted in the nut oil on a water bath and digested with the gamboge for 20 minutes; it is next strained, scented, and poured into cans which are standing in water. The cooling must take place very slowly. Instead of gamboge, butter color may be used. Any desired scent mixture may be employed.

IV.—Herb Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, yellow 20,000 parts Ceresine, yellow 5,000 parts Chlorophyll 20 parts Lemon oil 50 parts Clove oil 20 parts Geranium oil, African 12 parts Curled mint oil. 4 parts

V.—Rose Pomade.—

Vaseline oil, white 20,000 parts Ceresine, white 5,000 parts Alkannin 15 parts Geranium oil, African 50 parts Palmarosa oil 30 parts Lemon oil 20 parts

VI.—Strawberry Pomade.—When the strawberry season is on, and berries are plenty and cheap, the following is timely:

Strawberries, ripe and fresh 4 parts Lard, sweet and fresh 25 parts Tallow, fresh 5 parts Alkanet tincture, quantity sufficient. Essential oil, quantity sufficient to perfume.

Melt lard and tallow together on the water bath at the temperature of boiling water. Have the strawberries arranged on a straining cloth. Add the alkanet tincture to the melted grease, stir in, and then pour the mixture over the berries. Stir the strained fats until the mass {228} begins to set, then add the perfume and stir in. A little artificial essence of strawberries may be added. The odor usually employed is rose, about 1 drop to every 2 pounds.

VII.—Stick Pomade.—

Tallow 500 parts Ceresine 150 parts Wax, yellow 50 parts Rosin, light 200 parts Paraffine oil (thick) 300 parts Oil of cassia. 5 parts Oil of bergamot 5 parts Oil of clove 2 parts

VIII.—Vaseline Pomade.—Melt 250 parts of freshly rendered lard and 25 parts of white wax at moderate heat and mix well with 200 parts of vaseline. Add 15 parts of bergamot oil, 3 parts of lavender oil, 2 parts of geranium oil, and 2 parts of lemon oil, mixing well.

IX.—Witch-Hazel Jelly.—

Oil of sweet almonds 256 parts Extract of witch-hazel fluid 10 parts Glycerine 32 parts oft soap 20 parts Tincture of musk, quantity sufficient to perfume.

Mix in a large mortar the glycerine and soft soap and stir until incorporated. Add and rub in the witch-hazel, and then add the oil, slowly, letting it fall in a very thin, small stream, under constant agitation; add the perfume, keeping up the agitation until complete incorporation is attained. Ten drops of musk to a quart of jelly is sufficient. Any other perfume may be used.

«Colors for Pomade.»—Pomade may be colored red by infusing alkanet in the grease; yellow may be obtained by using annotto in the same way; an oil-soluble chlorophyll will give a green color by admixture.

In coloring grease by means of alkanet or annotto it is best to tie the drug up in a piece of coarse cloth, place in a small portion of the grease, heat gently, squeezing well with a rod from time to time; and then adding this strongly colored grease to the remainder. This procedure obviates exposing the entire mass to heat, and neither decantation nor straining is needed.

«Brocq’s Pomade for Itching.»—

Acid phenic 1 part Acid salicylic 2 parts Acid tartaric 3 parts Glycerole of starch 60 to 100 parts

Mix and make a pomade.

«White Cosmetique.»—

Jasmine pomade 2 ounces Tuberose pomade 2 ounces White wax 2 ounces Refined suet 4 ounces Rose oil 15 minims

Melt the wax and suet over a water bath, then add the pomades, and finally the otto.

«Glycerine and Cucumber Jelly.»—

Gelatin 160 to 240 grains Boric acid 240 grains Glycerine 6 fluidounces Water 10 fluidounces

Perfume to suit. The perfume must be one that mixes without opalescence, otherwise it mars the beauty of the preparation. Orange-flower water or rose water could be substituted for the water if desired, or another perfume consisting of

Spirit of vanillin (15 grains per ounce) 2 fluidrachms Spirit of coumarin (15 grains per ounce) 2 fluidrachms Spirit of bitter almonds (1⁠/⁠8) 8 minims

to the quantities given above would prove agreeable.

«Cucumber Pomade.»—

Cucumber pomade 2 ounces Powdered white soap 1⁠/⁠2 ounce Powdered borax 2 drachms Cherry-laurel water 3 ounces Rectified spirit 3 ounces Distilled water to make 48 ounces

Rub the pomade with the soap and borax until intimately mixed, then add the distilled water (which may be warmed to blood heat), ounce by ounce, to form a smooth and uniform cream. When 40 ounces of water have been so incorporated, dissolve any essential oils desired as perfume in the spirit, and add the cherry-laurel water, making up to 48 ounces with plain water.

«ROUGES AND PAINTS:»

«Grease Paints.»—Theatrical face paints are sold in sticks, and there are many varieties of color. Yellows are obtained with ocher; browns with burnt umber; and blue is made with ultramarine. These colors should in each case be levigated finely along with their own weight {229} of equal parts of precipitated chalk and oxide of zinc and diluted with the same to the tint required, then made into sticks with mutton suet (or vaseline or paraffine, equal parts) well perfumed. By blending these colors, other tints may thus be obtained.

«White Grease Paints.»—

I.—Prepared chalk 4 av. ounces Zinc oxide 4 av. ounces Bismuth subnitrate 4 av. ounces Asbestos powder 4 av. ounces Sweet almond oil, about 2 1⁠/⁠2 fluidounces Camphor 40 grains Oil peppermint 3 fluidrachms Esobouquet extract 3 fluidrachms

Sufficient almond oil should be used to form a mass of proper consistence.

II.—Zinc oxide. 8 parts Bismuth subnitrate 8 parts Aluminum oxychloride 8 parts Almond oil, quantity sufficient, or 5–6 parts. Perfume, quantity sufficient.

Mix the zinc, bismuth, and aluminum oxychloride thoroughly; make into a paste with the oil. Any perfume may be added, but that generally used is composed of 1 drachm of essence of bouquet, 12 grains of camphor, and 12 minims of oil of peppermint for every 3 1⁠/⁠2 ounces of paste.

«Bright Red.»—

Zinc oxide 10 parts Bismuth subnitrate 10 parts Aluminum oxychloride 10 parts Almond oil, quantity sufficient.