Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 113

2. IRON-COLOURED:--Plumbago, in fine powder.

3. RED:--Sulphate of copper, 100 parts; carbonate of soda, 60 parts; mix, and apply heat until they unite into a ma.s.s; then cool, powder, and add of copper filings, 15 parts; again well mix, and keep the compound at a white heat for about twenty minutes; lastly, when cold, reduce the 'residuum' to an impalpable powder, wash it in pure water, and dry it.

4. SILVER:--Bis.m.u.th and tin, of each 1 oz.; melt them together, and add of quicksilver, 1 to 1-1/2 oz.; when cold, powder it.

_Obs._ The above are used by painters, j.a.panners, &c. See BISULPHIDE OF TIN (TIN), POWDERS, &c.

=BRONZ'ING.= The process of giving a bronze-like, or an antique metal appearance, to the surface of copper, bra.s.s, and other metals. The following methods are recommended for this purpose:--

1. To the surface of the article, first thoroughly cleaned and polished, evenly apply with a brush the common crocus powder ('jewellers' rouge'), previously made into a smooth paste with water. When dry, place it in an iron ladle, or on a common fire-shovel, and expose it over a clear fire for about one minute; lastly, when sufficiently cold, polish it with a plate-brush. This gives a very rich appearance, similar to that on tea-urns; the shade depending on the duration and the degree of heat employed.

2. As the last, but subst.i.tuting finely powdered plumbago for crocus powder. Equally beautiful, but deeper coloured and more permanent than that produced by No. 1.

3. As the preceding, but employing mixtures of plumbago and crocus in various proportions according to the shade desired.

4. A dilute solution of liver of sulphur (sulphurated potash), or of hydrosulphate of ammonia is applied with a camel-hair pencil to the metal previously slightly warmed; when dry, the surface is either left rough or brushed off. If liver of sulphur has been used, it will be better to wash it first in clean hot water; but without the slightest friction. This gives the appearance of very antique bronze.

5. Verdigris, 2 oz.; and sal-ammoniac, 1 oz.; are dissolved in vinegar, 1 pint; and the mixture is diluted with water until it tastes only slightly metallic, when it is boiled for a few minutes, and filtered for use.

Copper medals, &c. (thoroughly clean) are steeped in the liquor at the boiling-point until the desired effect is produced. Care must be taken not to keep them in it too long. When taken out they are carefully washed in hot water, and dried. Effect as the last.

6. Verdigris and vermilion, of each 2 oz.; alum and sal-ammonia, of each 5 oz. (all in fine powder); vinegar, q. s. to form a thin paste. This is spread over the surface of the copper, which is then uniformly warmed by the fire, and afterwards well washed and dried. The tint may be deepened by repeating the process. The addition of a little blue vitriol inclines the colour to a chestnut-brown; and a little borax to a yellowish-brown.

Used by the Chinese for copper tea-urns, &c.

7. Sal-ammonia, 1 oz.; cream of tartar, 3 oz.; common salt, 3 oz.; hot water, 1 pint; dissolve; then add of nitrate of copper, 2 oz., dissolved in 1/2 a pint of water; mix well, and with it repeatedly moisten the article (placed in a damp situation) by means of a soft brush. Produces a very antique appearance.

8. Salt of sorrel, 1 oz.; sal-ammoniac, 3 oz.; distilled vinegar, 1 quart; dissolve. As the last. Much used for bronze figures.

9. A very weak solution of bichloride of platinum, applied with a hair pencil or by immersion. Used for binding screws, holders, and other small articles of copper and bra.s.s.

10. Sulphate of iron and sulphate of copper, of each 1 oz.; water, 1 pint; dissolve; wash the surface of the articles with it; let them dry; then apply a solution of verdigris, 2 oz. dissolved in strong vinegar, 1/4 pint; when dry, polish them with a soft brush, and either some plumbago or colcothar. Used for tin castings.

11. The articles (properly cleaned) are either immersed in, or washed over, with a solution of sulphate of copper or of verdigris. In a short time they acquire a coating of pure metallic copper, and are then washed.

This only answers with iron and steel goods. It is admirably suited for iron castings.

12. An antique appearance may be given to silver by either exposing it to the fumes of hydrosulphate of ammonia, or immersing it for a very short time in a solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia, or in dilute nitric acid.

=Bronzing, Sur'face.= A term commonly applied to the process of imparting a bronze-like or metallic appearance to the prominent portions of the surfaces of figures made of paper, wood, plaster of Paris, &c. It is effected by first giving them a coat of oil-varnish or size, and when this is nearly dried, applying, with a 'dabber' of cotton, or a camel-hair pencil, any of the ordinary metallic bronze-powders before referred to.

Sometimes the powder is placed in a little bag of muslin, and dusted over the surface. The articles should be afterwards varnished.

Paper is bronzed by mixing the bronze-powders up with a little weak gum-water, and burnishing the surface when dry and hard.

=Electrotypes, to Bronze. Green.= Steep the medal or figure in a strong solution of common salt, or sugar, or sal-ammoniac, for a few days; wash in water, and allow to dry slowly; or suspend it over a vessel containing a small quant.i.ty of bleaching powder, and cover over. The length of time it is allowed to remain will determine the depth of colour.

=Brown.= Add four or five drops of nitric acid to a wine-gla.s.sful of water. The object is rubbed over with this gently, and allowed to dry, and when dry subjected to a gradual and equal heat; the surface will be darkened in proportion to the heat applied.

=Black.= Wash the surface over with a little dilute solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia, and dry at a gentle heat.

=BROOM.= The common name of the plant _spar'tium scopa"rium_. A useful diuretic; of great service in dropsy. See DECOCTION.

=Broom Ashes.= From broom-stalks burnt. Formerly used as a diuretic in dropsy.

=Broom, Salt of.= Obtained by dissolving broom ashes in water, and filtering and evaporating the solution. It consists princ.i.p.ally of carbonate of pota.s.sa. It was formerly used in dropsy, and as an antacid, &c.

=BROSSe DE CORAIL.= [Fr.] The root of lucerne (_medicago sativa_), cleaned, dried, and hammered at the end. Used as a tooth-brush.

=BROTH.= _Syn._ JUS (coctis carnibus), JUS'CULUM, L.; BOUILLON, JUS, Fr.; FLEISCHBRuHE, Ger. In _cookery_, the liquor in which flesh has been boiled. Broth is distinguished from soup by its inferior strength and quant.i.ty of seasoning, &c. It contains much of the nutriment of the meat.

We extract the following from Dr Letheby's work 'On Food':--

"A nutritious broth, containing the alb.u.men of the meat or chicken, may be obtained by infusing a third of a pound of minced meat or chicken in 14 oz. of _cold_ water, to which a few drops (4 or 5) of muriatic acid and a little salt (from 10 to 18 grains) have been added. After digesting for an hour or so, it should be strained through a sieve, and the residue washed with five ounces of water, and pressed, The mixed liquids thus obtained will furnish about a pint of _cold extract of meat_, containing the whole of the soluble const.i.tuents of the meat (alb.u.men, creatin, creatinin, &c.), and it may be drunk cold, or slightly warmed, the temperature not being raised above 100 F., for fear of coagulating the alb.u.men."

=Broth, Scotch.= This, which is in very general use amongst the middle and working cla.s.ses of Scotland, is made as follows:--Put into a pot three quarts of cold water along with a cupful of Scotch barley, and let it boil; add two pounds of neck of mutton. Allow it to stew gently for an hour, skimming occasionally. Then add turnips cut in squares, and onions sliced, and carrots and turnips uncut. The half of a small cabbage chopped in moderately fine pieces may be put in instead of all these vegetables; and leeks may be used instead of onions. Stew the whole for an hour longer. The broth is now ready. Season with salt and serve in a tureen.

The meat is served in a separate dish, with the uncut pieces of turnip and carrot and a little of the broth as gravy. Any meat may be employed in the same way. Broths and soups contain the greater part of the saline matter of the meat, the crystalline principles, viz. creatin and creatinin, some of the alb.u.men and fat, and an amount of gelatin, dependent upon the duration of the boiling process. They also contain nearly all the odorous matters of the meat. Cold water extracts from one sixth to one fourth of the solid ingredients of meat. The presence of a large quant.i.ty of highly nitrogenous crystalline principles in broths and soups accounts for their restorative powers. These, which are the _creatin_ and _creatinin_, bear a close resemblance to the thein of tea and coffee, and the _theobrominae_ of cocoa, in their physiological effects.

Broth is contra-indicated for children at the breast, as it not unfrequently induces sickness, disorders the bowels, and induces fever.

The same applies to beef tea. When, however, broth and beef tea are used as clysters in such quant.i.ties that can be retained, they act most beneficially. See BOILING, SOUP, &c.

=BROWN DYE.= Every shade of brown may be produced, almost at will, by mixtures of reds and yellows with blues and blacks; or directly by simple dyes. The following are examples:--

_a._ For COTTON:--

1. Give the goods a mixed mordant of acetate of alumina and acetate of iron, followed by a bath of madder or of madder and fustic. Excess of acetate of alumina turns it on the AMARANTH TINT; the acetate of iron darkens it.

2. First 'gall' the goods, then turn them for a short time through the black bath; next give them a mordant of sulphate of copper, then pa.s.s them through a decoction of fustic, afterwards through a bath of madder, and again through the solution of sulphate of copper; drain, dry, rinse well, and finish with a boil in soap and water. This gives a CHESTNUT-BROWN.

3. First give the goods a mordant of alum, then a bath of madder, and next a bath of fustic to which a little green copperas has been added. This gives a CINNAMON-BROWN.

_b._ For LINEN:--This varies little from that commonly employed for cotton.

_c._ For SILK:--

1. One of the above mordants is followed by a bath made by mixing equal parts of the decoctions of logwood, fustic, and Brazil-wood. The shade may be varied by altering the proportions of the decoctions; Brazil-wood reddening, logwood darkening, and fustic yellowing, the tint.

2. Annotta, 4 oz.; and pearlash, 1 lb.; are dissolved in boiling water, q.

s.; the silk is pa.s.sed through it for two hours, then taken out, and squeezed dry; it is next pa.s.sed through a mordant of alum, and then through a bath of Brazil-wood, followed by another of logwood to which a little green copperas has been added.

_d._ For WOOL:--

1. Boil the cloth in a mixed mordant of alum, common salt, and water, then dye it in a bath of logwood to which a little green copperas has been added. 2 oz. of alum, and 1 oz. of salt, are required for every lb. of wool.

2. Boil the goods in a mordant of alum and sulphate of iron, then pa.s.s them through a bath of madder. The more copperas the darker will be the dye. Good proportions are 2 parts of alum and 3 of copperas.

3. Give a mordant of alum and tartar, then pa.s.s the goods through a madder bath; next run them through a bath of galls and sumach or logwood to which a little acetate or sulphate of iron has been added.

4. Mordant the cloth as last, dye in a madder bath, remove the cloth, add a little acetate or sulphate of iron, and again pa.s.s it through the bath as long as necessary.

5. Give the cloth a light blue ground with indigo, and then a mordant of alum; rinse, and lastly run it through a bath of madder.

6. A mordant of alum and tartar, followed by, first a bath of madder, and afterwards a bath of weld or fustic to which a little iron-liquor has been previously added. In this way every shade, from MORDORe and CINNAMON to DARK CHESTNUT, may be produced.