Part 3 (1/2)
90. TO GIVE LEATHER A BEAUTIFUL METALLIC l.u.s.tRE.--Levigate one ounce of soft lead-coloured plumbago, and an equal quant.i.ty (in bulk) of lamp-black, in a gill of alcohol; then add half an ounce of loaf sugar, moistened with water and grind all together. The leather must first be brushed over smoothly with this composition, and when dry, it must be brushed hard and quickly with a dry smooth brush; or may be rubbed with a piece of woollen cloth. This blacking will be found useful for some ornamental purposes, but may be rather too brilliant for boots and shoes. This composition, however, may be mixed occasionally with other kinds of blacking, and will tend to increase their brightness.
91. AN EASY METHOD OF EXTRACTING THE ESSENCE OF ROSES.--Take the leaves of roses, and pound or bruise them: then stratify them with an equal weight of muriate of soda, in a glazed earthern vessel:--when thus filled to the top, cover it well, and set it in the cellar, and let it remain at rest a month or more. Afterwards, strain off the essence therefrom, through a strong cloth by pressure. The essence thus procured, is quite equal if not superior for culinary purposes, to that which is procured by distillation.
92. TO PREPARE VARIOUS KINDS OF ESSENCES.--The manner of extracting the essential oils, being attended with considerable expense of preparations, of stills, &c. a particular description of the process, would not, it is presumed, be sufficiently interesting to warrant its insertion. But the manner of reducing the oils to the state in which they are more generally sold, and is distinguished by the term ”essences” is as follows. To half a pint of alcohol, add one ounce of any of the essential oils, (lemon, cinnamon, foxberry, peppermint, &c.) and shake them together; set the mixture in a warm place for a few minutes, and if then any opaque or milky appearance remains, a little more alcohol must be added. When this has become clear, it may be diluted occasionally with new rum. The essences of foxberry and cinnamon are coloured with a few drops of tincture of red saunders; and the essence of lemon, with tincture of turmeric.
93. TO PREPARE SODA WATER.--Only two articles are requisite for this preparation; one of which is super-carbonate of soda, or of pota.s.s (sal eratus,) and the other is citric or tartaric acid. The super-carbonates are formed by pa.s.sing a stream of carbonic acid gas (which is produced by adding muriatic acid to pulverized marble) through a solution of soda or pota.s.s in water;--then evaporating till it crystallizes. Citric acid is prepared from the juice of lemons; and tartaric acid (which is more generally employed) is procured from super-tartrate of pota.s.s. But these being common articles of commerce, a more minute description of the process of preparing them, may not, in this place, be expedient. The compound called soda powders, consists of about ten grains of either of the super-carbonates, with an equal quant.i.ty of either of the acids, in each paper; this compound being dissolved in a gla.s.s of water, produces violent effervescence, and if drank off at the time, gives the water a smart and agreeable acid taste. The salt and acid, if mixed in powder, must be kept perfectly dry; otherwise, they would act on each other, and soon be spoiled. On this account, they are frequently prepared in separate papers, and sold by sets. Soda water is similarly prepared on the larger scale; the salts and acid being put into a cask of water, which is so confined, that the carbonic acid can have no other vent than by forcing out the water through a pipe fixed for the purpose with a tube, &c.
94. TO PRODUCE METALLIC TREES. _Process 1._--Mix one part of a saturated solution of nitrate of silver, with twenty parts of pure water, and pour the mixture upon two parts of mercury in a phial.
After some time (the mercury being left standing quietly,) the branches and the figure of a tree, formed of brilliant silver, will appear to grow from the mercury in a very beautiful manner. The silver in solution being thus robbed of its oxygen by the metallic mercury, and consequently precipitated.
95. _Process 2._--Dissolve two drachms of acetate of lead, in six ounces of water; filter the solution, and pour it into a clean wide phial. Then suspend a granule of zinc, by a thread or wire fastened to the cork of the phial, in the middle of the solution, and place the phial where it will not be disturbed. After a few hours the lead, being de-oxydized by the zinc, will be precipitated on the zinc, in the shape of leaves, which will have a very brilliant appearance.
96. TO TIN COPPER BY BOILING.--Boil half a pound of granulated tin, and six ounces of super tartrate of pota.s.s in three pints of water; when they have boiled half an hour, put in any piece of copper ware, and continue the boiling fifteen minutes longer. The copper may then be taken out, and will have been handsomely coated with tin.
97. A METAL THAT WILL MELT IN HOT WATER.--Melt together eight parts of bis.m.u.th, five of lead and three of tin. This alloy, though hard and brilliant, when cold, is so easily fusible that it may be melted on a paper, being held over the flame of a candle. Tea spoons may be made of this compound metal, which may be melted by putting them in a cup of hot tea.
98. ILl.u.s.tRATION OF CALICO PRINTING.--It frequently occurs, that substances of different colours, or even without colour, by coming in contact, produce colours very different from that of either of the ingredients when separate; thus, if a sheet of paper be striped in one direction with a hair pencil dipped in a solution of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s; and then crossed with a solution of sulphuric acid, diluted with five times as much water, it will be colourless; but dip it in a mixture of a weak solution of sulphate of iron, and infusion of nut galls, and it will instantly become a beautiful plaid; the ground being purple, striped one way with black and crossed with white. If a similar paper be striped with sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, and crossed with infusion of galls, and afterward dipped in a solution of sulphate of iron, it will become purple, yellow, black and white. Dip a piece of white calico in a cold solution of sulphate of iron and let it dry.
Then imprint any figures upon it with a strong solution of colourless citric acid, and let this dry also. If the piece be then well washed in warm water, and afterwards boiled in a decoction of log-wood, the ground will be dyed either a slate or a black colour, according to the strength of the metallic solution, while the printed figures will remain beautifully white. Stain some parts of a sheet of paper a purple brown, with a mixture of infusion of galls and sulphate of iron; stain other parts green with a mixture of tinctures of turmeric and litmus; stain other parts purple with juice of red cabbage; other parts red with tincture of litmus and muriatic acid; other parts yellow with tincture of turmeric; wash the remainder of the sheet with a solution of sulphate of iron, which will remain white. Then print, or draw with a camel-hair pencil, any figure or figures on every part of the paper, with a solution of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s. On the purple brown, the figure will be black; on the green it will be purple; on the purple it will be green; on the red it will be blue; on the yellow, red; and on the white, it will take a yellow colour. Thus the figure will appear in colors different from the ground in every part. Immerse a piece of white cotton in a solution of sulphate of iron--it will remain white; dip another piece in tincture of turmeric, it will take a yellow; wet another piece with juice of red cabbage, containing also, a few drops of muriatic acid,--it will be red; dye another piece green, by immersing it in a mixture of tincture of turmeric and litmus; and another, purple by a mixture of infusion of galls and sulphate of iron. Let them dry; then immerse them all together in a solution of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s. The white will be changed to a yellow; the yellow to a red; the red to green; the green to purple; and the purple to black; and it is not improbable that some black might be materially changed or bleached by the same simple solution.
99. TO PREPARE AN IMITATION OF GOLD BRONZE.--Melt two ounces of tin, and mix with it one ounce of mercury; when this is cold pulverize it and add one ounce of muriate of ammonia, and one ounce of sulphur, and grind them all together. Put the compound in a flask and heat it in a clear fire (carefully avoiding the fumes) till the mercury sublimes, and rises in vapour. When the vapour ceases to rise, take the gla.s.s from the fire. A flaky gold colored powder will remain in the flask, which may be applied to ornamental work in the manner of gold bronze, of which it is a tolerable imitation.
100. TO PROCURE THE EXHILARATING GAS.--Put a quant.i.ty of nitrate of ammonia into a flask, and apply the heat of a lamp, which must be gentle, and well regulated. The salt will in a short time liquify, and must then be kept quietly simmering, avoiding violent ebullition. The gas will be evolved, and rise through the neck of the flask, and may be collected in a bladder containing a small quant.i.ty of water, and should be allowed to stand a few hours, and s.h.i.+fted into another bladder, or silk varnished bag before it is used. Though this gas is not fitted to support life, yet it may be respired for a short time, and the effects produced by it upon the animal frame, are its most extraordinary properties. The effects of this gas, are in general, highly pleasurable, and resemble those attendant on the agreeable period of intoxication. Exquisite sensations of pleasure; an irresistible propensity to laughter; a rapid flow of vivid ideas; a strong incitement to muscular motion, are the ordinary feelings produced by it. And what is exceedingly remarkable, is, that the intoxication thus produced, instead of being succeeded by the debility subsequent to intoxication by ardent spirits, does, on the contrary, generally render the person who takes it, cheerful and high spirited for the remainder of the day.
101. CONSTRUCTION OF A GALVANIC PILE OR BATTERY.--Procure fifty or more thin plates of copper, and the same number of plates of zinc, all of which may be about the size of a dollar, but not so thick. The copper and zinc plates, may be either cast in moulds, or may be cut out of rolled plates of the metals. In addition to the plates of copper and zinc, it is necessary to be provided with an equal number of pieces of woollen cloth, rather smaller than the metallick plates in size. Let these be soaked in a solution of muriate of soda, till they have thoroughly imbibed it; then take them out of the solution, and squeeze them gently, to force out the superabundant water. Then, having provided a circular piece of wood, rather larger than the plates, cover it with tin foil, and on this lay a plate of zinc, upon that a plate of copper, and then a piece of moistened cloth; next a plate of zinc, &c. Continue this arrangement of zinc, copper and cloth, till all the pieces that have been provided are laid on. As the pile began with zinc, it must be concluded with copper. This pile may be braced occasionally with strips of gla.s.s to prevent its being overthrown, Fix the end of a piece of metallic wire, in contact with the base, and lay the end of another piece upon the top of the pile; if thus, the opposite ends of the wire be brought in contact with each other, or if they are connected by any conducting body, so as to form a circuit of conductors, the pile will afford a constant and powerful current of the galvanic fluid through them for many hours. If the hands be moistened, and one of them applied to each of the wires, a shock will be received. Gold and other metals have been melted, and even burnt; and pota.s.s, soda and lime have been reduced to their respective metallic states, by being made to form part of a galvanic circuit. When the pile is not in use, it should be taken down, which will preserve it from wear, and the plates will require to be cleansed occasionally, which may be easily done by diluted muriatic acid.
102. CONSTRUCTION OF THE OXY-HYDROGEN BLOW-PIPE.--This useful instrument consists of a cubical vessel, made of tin plate, being from ten to twenty inches in length, breadth and height. The inside is divided into four equal apartments, by two part.i.tions, crossing each other in the centre. The two front apartments are covered at the top, and each of them have a tube fixed in the front side, near the top, with a stopc.o.c.k. The other apartments are open at the top, and communicate with those in front, by a small aperture near the bottom of each. These apartments being all filled with water, those in front are filled, the one with oxygen, and the other with hydrogen gas, which is done by forcing the gases into them through the tubes in front, which causes the water to recede through the aperture at the bottom, and consequently, part of the water is forced over the top of the other apartments; or rather, may run off through small tubes, fixed for the purpose, near the top, similar to those in front. When the front apartments are filled with the gases, (which may be known by the bubbling in the others) the tubes are stopped, and two leaden pipes are fixed in them, the opposite ends of which, are so placed, that the two streams of gas, when expelled from the gas holders, may come in contact very near the ends of the pipes. When the tubes are open, the pressure of the water will expel the gases, and will consequently settle, and must be replenished, so as to keep the apartments nearly full. When the two streams of gas are ignited at the point of contact, a flame is produced of sufficient intensity to burn gold, silver, copper or tin, with a very brilliant combustion.
103. TO MAKE A DRY PHOSPh.o.r.eSCENT POWDER.--Take some thick oyster sh.e.l.ls, wash them, and calcine by keeping them red hot in an open fire for half an hour: then, select the clearest and whitest parts, and reduce them to powder. Mix three parts of this powder, with one of the flour of sulphur; fill a crucible with this compound, pressing or beating it down as hard and solid as may be, without breaking the crucible. Set the crucible in the fire, and heat it moderately at first, but increase the heat gradually for an hour, in which time it must approach nearly to a white heat. Then let it cool, and again select from the ma.s.s, the whitest and purest parts, which must be preserved in a phial with a gla.s.s stopper. This powder has the peculiar property of imbibing the rays of the sun in the day time, and emitting them again in the night; or if the phial containing it, be exposed for a few minutes to the direct rays of the sun and then carried into a dark room, light enough will be evolved to render it distinctly visible.
104. CURIOUS EXPERIMENT OF PRECIPITATION.--Set five gla.s.ses on the table, and nearly fill one of them with a solution of sulphate of iron; and another with a solution of sulphate of copper; a third with a solution of nitrate of bis.m.u.th; pour into the fourth, a solution of nitro-muriate of cobalt, and into the fifth a solution of acetate of lead, or sulphate of zinc. These liquid solutions may all be diluted so as to be colourless. Then pour into each gla.s.s, a few drops of a colourless solution of prussiate of pota.s.s. The contents of the first gla.s.s will be instantly changed to a full blue colour; those of the second to a reddish brown; those of the third, to a yellow; the fourth to a green, and the fifth to a white. Thus five distinct colours will be given, by the addition of one colourless solution.
105. TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL SOFT GLa.s.s FOR JEWELRY.--Take six ounces of clean fine white sand, three ounces of red lead, three ounces of pure sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, one ounce of nitrate of pota.s.s, half an ounce of borate of soda, and two drachms of a.r.s.enic; mix and pound them all together. Put the compound in a crucible, and set it in a common fire, often stirring it with an iron rod, till it is well melted, and becomes transparent. This compound will liquify very easily without any great heat, if the sand is fine, (which sometimes requires to be ground or pounded in a gla.s.s or flint mortar,) and if it be kept melted awhile, will become beautifully transparent, and may be cast or blown in the manner of other gla.s.s. This gla.s.s may be changed to a red or ruby colour, by adding and fusing together with it, a small quant.i.ty of finely powdered precipitate of gold, (gold precipitated from solution in nitro-muriatic acid by the addition of tin.) It may be also changed to blue by the addition of zaffre, (an ore of cobalt,) and magnesia: a green colour may be given by a precipitate of copper; and yellow by calcined iron, and white by calcined bones. This subject is treated of largely in the _Handmaid of the Arts_, to which, for further information on the subject, the reader is referred.
106. COMPOSITION OF VARIOUS KINDS OF GLa.s.s.--The best flint gla.s.s is composed of 129 lbs. of white sand, 50 lbs. of red lead, 40 lbs. of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, 20 lbs. of nitrate of pota.s.s, and 5 oz. of magnesia. The best crown gla.s.s is composed of 60 lbs. of white sand, 30 lbs. of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, 15 lbs. of nitrate of pota.s.s, 1 lb. of borate of soda and 1/2 lb. of a.r.s.enic. The composition of common green window gla.s.s, is 120 lbs. of white sand, 30 lbs. of sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, 60 lbs. of wood ashes, 20 lbs. of muriate of soda and 5 lbs. of a.r.s.enic. The composition for looking gla.s.s plates, is 60 lbs. of clean white sand, 25 lbs. of purified sub-carbonate of pota.s.s, 15 lbs. of nitrate of pota.s.s, and 7 lbs. of borate of soda.
Common green bottle gla.s.s is made from 200 lbs. of wood ashes, and 100 lbs. of sand. The materials for making gla.s.s, is first reduced to powder; then mixed and exposed to a strong heat, in suitable pots and furnaces, till the whole ma.s.s liquifies and becomes thoroughly commixed and transparent.