Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information Part 57

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 Gla.s.s.--To polish plate gla.s.s 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 quant.i.ties 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 quant.i.ty 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 h.o.a.rhound 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.--Pota.s.sium 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 sh.o.r.e 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.

A Receipt for Marshmallows, as Made by Confectioners.--Dissolve one-half pound of gum arabic in one pint of water, strain, and add one-half pound of fine sugar, and place over the fire, stirring constantly until the syrup is dissolved, and all of the consistency of honey. Add gradually the whites of four eggs well beaten. Stir the mixture until it becomes somewhat thin and does not adhere to the finger. Flavor to taste, and pour into a tin slightly dusted with powdered starch, and when cool divide into small squares.

A Receipt for Making Compressed Yeast.--This yeast is obtained by straining the common yeast in breweries and distilleries until a moist ma.s.s is obtained, which is then placed in hair bags, and the rest of the water pressed out until the ma.s.s is nearly dry. It is then sewed up in strong linen bags for transportation.

How to Tell the Age of Eggs.--We recommend the following process (which has been known for some time, but has been forgotten) for finding out the age of eggs, and distinguishing those that are fresh from those that are not. This method is based upon the decrease in the density of eggs as they grow old. Dissolve two ounces of kitchen salt in a pint of water. When a fresh-laid egg is placed in this solution it will descend to the bottom of the vessel, while one that has been laid on the day previous will not quite reach the bottom. If the egg be three days old it will swim in the liquid, and if it is more than three days old it will float on the surface, and project above the latter more and more in proportion as it is older.

A Recipe for Making Court Plaster.--Isingla.s.s 125 grains, alcohol 1-3/4 fluid ounces, glycerine 12 minims, water and tincture of benzoin each sufficient quant.i.ty. Dissolve the isingla.s.s in enough water to make the solution weigh four fluid ounces. Spread half of the latter with a brush upon successive layers of taffeta, waiting after each application until the layer is dry. Mix the second half of the isingla.s.s solution with the alcohol and glycerine, and apply in the same manner. Then reverse the taffeta, coat it on the back with tincture of benzoin, and allow it to become perfectly dry. There are many other formulas, but this is official. The above quant.i.ties are sufficient to make a piece of court plaster fifteen inches square.

One of the Very Best Scouring Pastes Consists of--Oxalic acid, 1 part; Iron peroxide, 15 parts; Powdered rottenstone, 20 parts; Palm oil, 60 parts; Petrolatum, 4 parts. Pulverize the oxalic acid and add rouge and rottenstone, mixing thoroughly, and sift to remove all grit; then add gradually the palm oil and petrolatum, incorporating thoroughly.

Add oil of myrbane, or oil of lavender to suit. By subst.i.tuting your red ashes from stove coal, an inferior representative of the foregoing paste will be produced.

How to Manufacture Worcestershire Sauce.--A. Mix together 1-1/2 gallons white wine vinegar, 1 gallon walnut catsup, 1 gallon mushroom catsup, 1/2 gallon Madeira wine, 1/2 gallon Canton soy, 2-1/2 pounds moist sugar, 19 ounces salt, 3 ounces powdered capsic.u.m, 1-1/2 ounces each of pimento and coriander, 1-1/2 ounces chutney, 3/4 ounce each of cloves, mace and cinnamon, and 6-1/2 drachms a.s.safoetida dissolved in pint brandy 20 above proof. Boil 2 pounds hog's liver for twelve hours in 1 gallon of water, adding water as required to keep up the quant.i.ty, then mix the boiled liver thoroughly with the water, strain it through a coa.r.s.e sieve. Add this to the sauce.

A Good Receipt for Making Honey, Without Using Honey as One of the Ingredients,--5 lbs. white sugar, 2 lbs. water, gradually bring to a boil, and skim well. When cool add 1 lb. bees' honey, and 4 drops peppermint. To make of better quality add less water and more real honey.

What the Chemical Composition of Honey is.--Princ.i.p.ally of saccharine matter and water, about as follows: Levulose 33-1/2 to 40 per cent., dextrose 31-3/4 to 39 per cent., water 20 to 30 per cent., besides ash and other minor const.i.tuents.

How to Clean Carpets on the Floor to Make Them Look Bright.--To a pailful of water add three pints of oxgall, wash the carpet with this until a lather is produced, which is washed off with clean water.

How to Take Out Varnish Spots from Cloth.--Use chloroform or benzine, and as a last resource spirits of turpentine, followed after drying by benzine.

Flour Paste for all Purposes.--Mix 1 pound rye flour in lukewarm water, to which has been added one teaspoonful of pulverized alum; stir until free of lumps. Boil in the regular way, or slowly pour on boiling water, stirring all the time until the paste becomes stiff.

When cold add a full quarter pound of common strained honey, mix well (regular bee honey, no patent mixture).

How to Make Liquid Glue.--Take a wide mouthed bottle, and dissolve in it 8 ounces beet glue in 1/2 pint water, by setting it in a vessel of water, and heating until dissolved. Then add slowly 2-1/2 ounces strong nitric acid 36 deg. Baume, stirring all the while. Effervescence takes place, with generation of fumes. When all the acid has been added, the liquid is allowed to cool. Keep it well corked, and it will be ready for use at any time.

How the World is Weighed and Its Density and Ma.s.s Computed.--The density, ma.s.s, or weight of the earth was found by the observed force of attraction of a known ma.s.s of lead or iron for another ma.s.s; or of a mountain by the deflection of a torsion thread or plumb line. In this manner the mean density of the earth has been found to be from 4.71 to 6.56 times the weight of water, 5.66 being accredited as the most reliable. The weight of a cubic foot of water being known, and the contents of the earth being computed in cubic feet, we have but to multiply the number of cubic feet by 5.66 times the weight of 1 cubic foot of water to obtain the weight of the earth in pounds, or units of gravity at its surface, which is the unit usually used. Another method of determining the mean density of the earth is founded on the change of the intensity of gravity in descending deep mines.

A Theory as to the Origin of Petroleum.--Professor Mendelejef has recently advanced the theory that petroleum is of purely mineral origin and that the formation of it is going on every day. He has, moreover, succeeded in producing artificial petroleum by a reaction that he describes, and he states that it is impossible to detect any difference between the natural product and the manufactured article. His theory is as follows: [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'Infilration']

Infiltration of water, reaching a certain depth, come into contact with incandescent ma.s.ses of carburets of metals, chiefly of iron, and are at once decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen unites with the iron, while the hydrogen seizes on the carbon and rises to an upper level, where the vapors are condensed in part into mineral oil, and the rest remains in a state of natural gas. The petroleum strata are generally met with in the vicinity of mountains, and it may be granted that geological upheavals have dislocated the ground in such a way as to permit of the [Transcriber's Note: The original text reads 'admistoin']

admission of water to great depths. If the center of the earth contains great ma.s.ses of metallic carburets, we may, in case this theory is verified, count upon an almost inexhaustible source of fuel for the day when our coal deposits shall fail us.

How Vaseline is Purified.--The residuum from which vaseline is made is placed in settling tanks heated by steam, in order to keep their contents in a liquid state. After the complete separation of the fine c.o.ke it is withdrawn from these tanks and pa.s.sed through the bone black cylinders, during which process the color is nearly all removed, as well as its empyreumatic odor.

The Latest and Best Process Employed by Cutters and Others in Etching Names and Designs on Steel.--Take copper sulphate, sulphate of alum and sodium chloride, of each 2 drachms, and strong acetic acid 1-1/2 ounces, mixed together. Smear the metal with yellow soap and write with a quill pen without a split.

The History of the Discovery of Circulation of the Blood recapitulated, divides itself naturally into a series of epoch-making periods: 1. The structure and functions of the valves of the heart, Erasistratus, B.C. 304.

2. The arteries carry blood during life, not air, Galen, A.D. 165.

3. The pulmonary circulation, Servetus, 1553. 4. The systemic circulation, Caesalpinus, 1593. 5. The pulmonic and systemic circulations, Harvey, 1628.

6. The capillaries, Malpighi, 1661.

How to Make Hand Fire Grenades.--Make your hand grenades. Fill ordinary quart wine bottles with a saturated solution of common salt, and place them where they will do the most good in case of need. They will be found nearly as serviceable as the expensive hand grenades you buy. Should a fire break out, throw them with force sufficient to break them into the center of the fire. The salt will form a coating on whatever object the water touches, and make it nearly incombustible, and it will prove effectual in many cases, where a fire is just starting, when the delay in procuring water might be fatal.

How the Kind of White Metal is Made That is Used in the Manufacture of Cheap Table Ware.--How same can be hardened and still retain its color? The following are formulas for white metal. Melt together: (a) Tin 82, lead 18, antimony 5, zinc 1, copper 4 parts. (b) Bra.s.s 32, lead 2, tin 2, zinc 1 part. For a hard metal, not so white, melt together bis.m.u.th 6 parts, zinc 3 parts, lead 13 parts. Or use type metal--lead 3 to 7 parts, antimony 1 part.

What Metal Expands Most, for the Same Change in Temperature?--For one degree Centigrade the following are coefficients of linear expansion: aluminum, 0.0000222; silver, 0.0000191 to 0.0000212; nickel, 0.0000128; copper, 0.0000167 to 0.0000178; zinc, 0.0000220 to 0.0000292; bra.s.s, 0.0000178 to 0.0000193; platinum, 0.0000088.

Heavy Timbers.--There are sixteen species of trees in America, whose perfectly dry wood will sink in water. The heaviest of these is the black iron wood (confalia feriea) of Southern Florida, which is more than 30 per cent. heavier than water. Of the others, the best known are lignum vitae (gualac.u.m sanctum) and mangrove (chizphora mangle).

Another is a small oak (quercus gsisea) found in the mountains of Texas, Southern New Mexico and Arizona, and westward to the Colorado desert, at an elevation of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. All the species in which the wood is heavier than water belong to semi-tropical Florida or the arid interior Pacific region.

Highest Point Reached by Man was by balloon 27,000 feet. Travelers have rarely exceeded 20,000 feet, at which point the air from its rarity is very debilitating.

Has a Rate of Speed Equal to Ninety Miles an Hour, ever Been Attained by Railroad Locomotive?--It is extremely doubtful if any locomotive ever made so high a speed. A mile in 48 seconds is the shortest time we have heard of. A rate of 70 to 75 miles per hour has been made on a spurt, on good straight track. The Grant Locomotive Works could make such an engine. Sixty miles an hour for a train is considered a very high rate of speed, and is seldom attained in practice for more than a short run.

The Fastest Boat in the World.--Messrs. Th.o.r.n.ycroft & Co., of Chiswick, in making preliminary trials of a torpedo boat built by them for the Spanish navy, have obtained a speed which is worthy of special record. The boat is twin-screw, and the princ.i.p.al dimensions are: Length 147 ft. 6 in., beam 14 ft. 6 in., by 4 ft. 9 in. draught. On a trial at Lower Hope, on April 27, the remarkable mean speed of 26.11 knots was attained, being equal to a speed of 30.06 miles an hour, which is the highest speed yet attained by any vessel afloat.

Staining and Polishing Mahogany.--Your best plan will be to sc.r.a.pe off all the old polish, and well gla.s.s paper; then oil with linseed oil both old and new parts. To stain the new pieces, get half an ounce of bichromate of potash, and pour a pint of boiling water over it; when cold bottle it. This, used with care, will stain the new or light parts as dark as you please, if done as follows:--wipe off the oil clean, and apply the solution with a piece of rag, held firmly in the hand, and just moistened with the stain. Great care is required to prevent the stain running over the old part, for any place touched with it will show the mark through the polish when finished. You can vary the color by giving two or more coats if required. Then repolish your job altogether in the usual way. Should you wish to brighten up the old mahogany, use polish dyed with Bismarck brown as follows:--Get three pennyworth of Bismarck brown, and put it into a bottle with enough naphtha or methylated spirits to dissolve it. Pour a few drops of this into your polish, and you will find that it gives a nice rich red color to the work, but don't dye the polish too much, just tint it.

Value of Eggs for Food and Other Purposes.--Every element that is necessary to the support of man is contained within the limits of an egg sh.e.l.l, in the best proportions and in the most palatable form.