Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 94

=Black, Sun'derland.= Newcastle-black.

=Black, Tur'ner's.= Paris-black.

=Black, Vine'-twig.= Frankfort-black.

=Black Wheat'= (hwete'-) Carbonised wheat. It has a good colour, a full body, and dries hard and quickly with oil.

=BLACK'BERRY.= The popular name of _ru'bus frutico'sus_ (Linn.) or the common 'bramble.' Fruit (BLACK'BERRIES; MRES DE RONCE, Fr.), antis...o...b..tic and wholesome, but in excess apt to sicken; twigs used in dyeing black; root astringent, formerly used in hooping-cough.

=Blackberry, Amer'ican.= The _ru'bus villo'sus_ (Ait.). Root astringent and tonic; officinal in the Ph. U. S.

=BLACK PUDDING.= A pudding made of the blood of the pig, mixed with groats and fat. It contains about 11 per cent. of nitrogenous matter.

=BLACK'ING.= _Syn._ CIRAGE (des bottes), NOIR (pour les souliers), Fr.; SCHWaRZE, SCHUHSCHWaRZE, Ger. An article too well known to require description.

_Hist., &c._ Blacking, and other polishes for leather, were undoubtedly in common use among the ancients; but the compound to which we now more particularly apply the name is of comparatively modern invention. The latter appears to have been first introduced into England from Paris, during the reign of Chas. II, but was not in common use among the ma.s.ses of our population much before the middle of the 18th century.

The general and still increasing use of blacking as a polish for boots and shoes by all cla.s.ses of the inhabitants of civilised countries, has given an extent and importance to its manufacture which a stranger to the subject would scarcely be led to suspect. The princely establishments of some of the firms who compound this sable article cannot fail to have arrested the attention of the pa.s.senger through the streets of this great metropolis; whilst the enormous fortune acquired by one of their late members, and, for the most part, bequeathed by him for purposes of charity and philanthropy, has invested both the donor and his craft with an interest and notoriety which they did not previously possess. At the present time the consumption of blacking is greater than at any former period; and of this, as of many other articles, England is the princ.i.p.al manufactory for the world, alike distinguished for the extent of her trade and the excellent quality of this product of her industry. In truth, England excels all other nations in the manufacture of common shoe-blacking; and perhaps in no other country is an equal attention paid to the cleanliness and appearance of the external clothing of the feet.

_Prep._ I. LIQUID BLACKING:--

1. Take of bone-black, 16 parts; treacle, 12 parts; oil of vitriol, 3 parts; sperm oil,[190] 2 parts; gum-arabic, 1 part; strong vinegar, or sour beer, 48 to 50 parts[191] (all by weight); place the bone-black in a capacious wooden, stone-ware, or enamelled iron vessel,[192] add the oil, and rub them well together; next gradually add the treacle, and actively and patiently grind or rub the ma.s.s, after each addition, until the oil is perfectly killed, and finally for some time afterwards, to ensure complete admixture; then cautiously dilute the vitriol with about three times its bulk of water, and add it, in separate portions, to the former mixture, observing to stir the whole together, as rapidly as possible, on each addition of the acid, and for some minutes after the whole is added, so as to render the ma.s.s thoroughly smooth and h.o.m.ogeneous; let it stand, covered over, for two or three days, or longer, stirring it, in the mean time, for 15 or 20 minutes daily; lastly, having dissolved the gum in the vinegar, add the solution gradually to the rest, and stir the whole together briskly for some time, and again daily for 3 or 4 days. It may be further diluted, at will, with a little more vinegar or beer, or with water; but unnecessary or excessive dilution should be avoided, as the richness and quality of the blacking become proportionately reduced. If all the ingredients (except the vitriol) be made hot before admixture, the shining quality of the product will be greatly improved, and the process may be shortened.[193]

[Footnote 190: Sperm oil is commonly regarded as the best for blacking; but pale seal oil is thought by some to be quite as good. The cod-liver oil of the curriers, if clear, is less expensive, and probably better than either of them. Common olive oil, and refined rape oil, are, however, those most generally used by the blacking-makers.]

[Footnote 191: That is, 3 to 3-1/2 times the weight of the ivory-black.]

[Footnote 192: Metallic vessels must be avoided.]

[Footnote 193: By taking the 'parts' ordered in this and the other formulae as so many 1/4 _lbs._, _lbs._, 1/4 _cwts._, or _cwts._, the proportions of each ingredient for any quant.i.ty of blacking, from a 1/4 of a _lb._, or a 1/4 _pint_, up to 2 _tons_, or nearly 450 _galls._, will be at once seen; and so on of even larger quant.i.ties. See Concluding Remarks (_infra_).]

2. Ivory-black, 16 parts; treacle, 8 parts; oil of vitriol, 4 parts; (diluted with) water, 2 parts; oil, 2 parts; gum-arabic, 1 part; soft water (for the final dilution, instead of vinegar), 64 parts; mixed, &c., as before. Excellent.

3. As the last; but taking only 6 parts of treacle, 1 part of oil, and omitting the gum-arabic. Good. A commoner article of liquid blacking does not sell.

4. (Bryant and James's INDIA-RUBBER LIQUID BLACKING. Patent dated 1836.) Take of india rubber (in small pieces), 18 _oz._; hot rape oil, 9 _lbs._ (say 1 _gall._); dissolve; to the solution add of ivory-black (in very fine powder), 60 _lbs._; treacle, 45 _lbs._; mix thoroughly; further add of gum-arabic, 1 _lb._, dissolved in vinegar (No. 24), 20 galls.; reduce the whole to a perfect state of smoothness and admixture by trituration in a paint-mill; throw the compound into a wooden vessel, and add, very gradually, of sulphuric acid, 12 _lbs._; continue the stirring for 1/2 an hour, repeating it daily for 14 days; then add of gum-arabic (in fine powder), 3 _lbs._;[194] again mix well, and repeat the stirring for 1/2 an hour daily for 14 days longer, when the liquid blacking will be ready for use or for bottling. The quality is very excellent; but this, probably, does not depend on the presence of the india rubber, but on the general correctness of the proportions, and the care and completeness with which they are mixed.

[Footnote 194: This should be gently rubbed through a sieve, held over the blacking by one person, whilst another stirs the ma.s.s a.s.siduously with the spatula.]

5. (_Without Vitriol._) Take of ivory-black (in very fine powder), 2 _lbs._; treacle, 1-1/2 lb.; sperm oil, 1/4 pint; mix, as before; then add of gum-arabic, 1 _oz._; (dissolved in) strong vinegar, 1/2 pint; mix well; the next day further add of good vinegar, or strong sour beer, 3 to 4 pints (or q. s.); stir briskly for a 1/4 of an hour, and again once a day for a week. Excellent. A cheaper, but inferior article, may be made by the reductions and omissions noticed above.

6. From paste-blacking (see _below_), by reducing it with sufficient vinegar, sour beer, or water, to give it the liquid form.[195]

[Footnote 195: It is sometimes convenient to prepare liquid blacking in this way from a stock of 'paste-blacking' already on hand.]

II. PASTE BLACKING:--

1. Qualities from good to super-excellent may be made from any of the preceding formulae, by simply omitting the final dilution with the vinegar, sour beer, or water, therein ordered at the end of the process.

2. (Bryant and James's INDIA-RUBBER PASTE BLACKING.--Patent dated 1836.) Of india-rubber oil, ivory black, treacle, and gum-arabic, the same as for their liquid blacking (see I, 4, _above_), but dissolving the last in only 12 _lbs._ (say 5 quarts), instead of 20 galls. of vinegar; grinding to a smooth paste in a colour-mill, and then adding of oil of vitriol, 12 lbs.

as before. The ma.s.s is to be stirred daily for a week, when it will be fit for use, or potting.[196] Excellent.

[Footnote 196: The final addition of the 3 _lbs._ of powdered gum, ordered in the formula of their liquid blacking, is not mentioned by the patentees; and we therefore presume they do not intend it to be made. If made, it should be at the end of the week, and the daily stirring must then be continued for another week. This addition, or omission, enables us to produce two qualities from the same formula.]

3. Ivory-black, 1 cwt.; treacle, 28 lbs.; rape oil (or other cheap oil), 1 gall.; mix, as before; then add of oil of vitriol, 21 _lbs._; (diluted with) water, 2 _galls._; mix them quickly and thoroughly by forcible stirring with a strong wooden spatula, and as soon as admixture is complete, but whilst still fuming, put the cover on the tub, and leave it till the next day, when (without further stirring) it will be fit for use or sale.[197] Good ordinary. Used for packets and tins.

[Footnote 197: The object here is to make the product as spongy and light as possible, so that the purchaser may fancy he has a great deal for his money.]

4. As the last; but adding with the ivory-black, &c., 14 to 28 _lbs._ of coal-soot[198] (sifted), omitting one half of the oil, and diluting the vitriol with an extra gall. of water. Inferior. Chiefly used for 1_d._ and 1/2_d._ packets.[199]

[Footnote 198: This is also to give bulk.]

[Footnote 199: A still more common article is vended in the north of England, and in Scotland, in which the oil is omitted altogether. The sale of such blackings (?) is disreputable, when it is remembered that a really good article may be made for 2_d._ to 2-1/2_d._ per _lb._]

5. (GERMAN BLACKING). Ivory-black, 1 part; treacle, 1/2 part; sweet oil, 1/8 part; mix, as before; then stir in a mixture of hydrochloric acid, 1/8 part; oil of vitriol, 1/4 part (each separately diluted with twice its weight of water before mixing them). This forms the ordinary paste-blacking of Germany, according to Liebig.

6. (_Without Vitriol._) As I, 5 (_ante_); but with the omission of the last 1/2 gall. of 'vinegar.'

_Concluding Remarks._--To produce a first-rate article of blacking it is absolutely necessary that the ingredients be of the best quality, and used in the proper proportions; and that the order of their admixture, and the general manipulations, be conducted under ordinary circ.u.mstances, in the manner described in the first of the above formulae. The proportions of the treacle and the oil (the most expensive of the ingredients) should not be stinted; and, indeed, that of the latter may be safely increased in quant.i.ty, without materially affecting the polish, and with manifest advantage as far as the softness and durability of the leather to which it is applied is concerned. The manipulations required in the manufacture of both paste-blacking and liquid blacking are essentially the same; the difference between the two articles, when the same materials are used, depending entirely on the quant.i.ty of liquid added. Thus, as noticed before, by diluting paste-blacking with water, vinegar, or beer-bottoms, it may be converted into liquid blacking of a nearly similar quality; and, by using less fluid matter, the ingredients of liquid blacking will produce paste blacking. One thing must, however, be observed, and that is, that the ivory-black used for liquid blacking should be reduced to a much finer powder than for paste blacking; as, if this is not attended to, it is apt to settle at the bottom, and to be with difficulty again diffused through the liquid. Persons who object to the use of blacking containing oil of vitriol may employ formula I, 5, or II, 6 (_above_). The vitriol, however, greatly contributes to promote the shining properties of the blacking; and, in small quant.i.ties, or in the proper proportion, is not so injurious to the leather as some persons have represented; as it wholly unites itself to the lime of the bone-phosphate contained in the ivory-black, and is thus neutralised, insoluble sulphate of lime, and an acid phosphate or superphosphate, being formed. It is the latter that gives the acidity to a well-made sample of blacking, and not the sulphuric acid originally added to it. In this way the larger portion of the ivory-black is reduced to a state of extremely minute division, and with the other ingredients forms a strongly adhesive paste, which clings to the surface of the leather, and is susceptible of receiving a high polish by friction when in a scarcely dry state. This is the reason why lamp-black should never be employed for blacking to the exclusion of the necessary proportion of bone-black, as it has no earthy base to absorb or neutralise the acid, which, if left in a free state, would prove very hurtful to the leather. Oil of vitriol is now employed in the manufacture of all the more celebrated and expensive blackings; and that simply because no other substance is known so efficient, and so little injurious to the leather.

In the common blackings of Germany, hydrochloric acid is often used to the entire exclusion of oil of vitriol; but blacking so prepared possesses several disadvantages from which that of England is free. In the best German blackings only a small portion of this acid is used, as may be seen by reference to formula II, 5 (_above_). The addition of white-of-egg, isingla.s.s, and similar articles[200] to blacking, always proves injurious, as they tend to stiffen the leather and to make it crack, without at all improving its polishing properties. Even gum-arabic, in quant.i.ty, is on this account objectionable. Oil has an opposite tendency, and, as already stated, the quant.i.ty commonly used may be increased with advantage. Resin oil should be particularly avoided.

[Footnote 200: In Scotland, flour-paste soured by keeping is often subst.i.tuted for part of the treacle in the common blackings; with the effect, however, of greatly impairing their polishing qualities, and causing the leather to rapidly become stiff and to crack. Further, such blacking will not keep, often growing mouldy and hard in two or three weeks.]

Dr Ure has recommended the use of a little copperas[201] in blacking; with the object, we presume, of striking a black with the tan in the leather; but except with new, or nearly new leather, this effect would not occur, whilst its presence, if not objectionable, would otherwise be useless.

[Footnote 201: The proportion recommended by Dr Ure is 1/4 _oz._ to each _lb._ of bone-black, dissolved in 10 parts of water, and to be added with the vitriol.]

The only improvement that has been introduced in the manufacture of blacking since the early days of the celebrated Day & Martin is, a few hours after the conclusion of the mixture of the ingredients (but before adding the vinegar, if any), to simmer the whole very gently, for about 8 or 10 minutes, observing to stir it a.s.siduously all the time. The fire must then be withdrawn, and the pan covered over until it is quite cold, when half an hour's l.u.s.ty stirring will finish the process.[202] In this way a degree of maturity and brilliancy will be imparted to the product, which, without the application of heat, it would take months to acquire, if, indeed, it ever reached it.

[Footnote 202: A capacious enamelled cast-iron boiler, with a concave bottom, should be used for this purpose; in which case the ingredients can be mixed in it, and thus the trouble of removal avoided. If a common copper or cast-iron boiler be employed, the blacking must not be allowed to remain in it longer than necessary to give it the 'simmer,' at the conclusion of which it should be turned out into a wooden tub or vat to cool.]

As it is generally more convenient to measure than to weigh liquids, it may be useful to remind the reader that, in round numbers,

1 gal. of oil weighs 9-1/4 _lbs._ 1 " sour beer " 10-1/4 "

1 " vinegar } " 10 "

1 " water }

We may here further remark that the blackings of different houses vary considerably in some of their properties; as also do those of even the same maker by age. Some blackings dry off rapidly and give a very brilliant polish with very little labour; whilst others take a little longer to 'dry off,' and somewhat more labour to polish them. The former are best adapted to hasty use, and when a very brilliant surface is desired; the latter when depth of polish, without extreme brilliancy, satisfies the wearer. The first best meets the requirements of fashionable life; the last those of the middle cla.s.ses and pedestrians exposed to dirt, mud, and the various vicissitudes of travelling and weather. To the one belong the 'blackings' of Everett, Day & Martin, &c.; to the other, those of Warren, Bryant & James, and most of the smaller manufacturers, with nearly all the paste-blacking of the more respectable shops. Time, however, equalises the qualities of these two cla.s.ses. Blackings which are crude, moist, and oily lose these properties, and become drier and more brilliant by age. The practice of several of the first-cla.s.s West-end boot and shoe makers is never to use a blacking which they have not had in their stock at least a twelvemonth.

Blacking, both liquid and paste, should be stored in a cool and moderately dry cellar; and when in use should be kept corked or otherwise excluded from the air. Exposure or desiccation destroys most of its best qualities.

The present annual value of the blacking consumed in the United Kingdom is estimated at 562,500_l._, or about 4-1/2_d._ per head for the whole population; while the collective yearly value of that exported is about 35,000_l._

[See b.a.l.l.s, BLACKING, BONE-BLACK, BOOTS AND SHOES, LEATHER, SULPHURIC ACID, &c.; also _below_.]

=Blacking, Automat'ic.= _Syn._ SELF-SHI"NING BLACKING, SPAN'ISH j.a.pAN, &c. _Prep._ 1. Gum-arabic, 4 _oz._; treacle or coa.r.s.e moist sugar, 1-1/2_oz._; good black ink, 1/4 pint; strong vinegar, 2 _oz._; rectified spirit of wine and sweet oil, of each 1 _oz._; dissolve the gum in the ink, add the oil, and rub them in a mortar or shake them together for some time, until they are thoroughly united; then add the vinegar, and lastly the spirit.

2. Lamp-black, 3/4 _oz._; indigo (in fine powder), 1 _dr._; put them in a mortar, or basin, and rub them with sufficient mucilage (made by dissolving 4 _oz._ of gum in 1/4 pint of strong vinegar) to form a thin paste; add very gradually of sweet oil, 1 _oz._; and triturate until their union is complete, adding toward the end the rest of the mucilage; then further add of treacle, 1-1/2 _oz._; and afterwards, successively, of strong vinegar, 2 _oz._; rectified spirit, 1 _oz._; lastly, bottle for use.