THE TOILET, PERFUMERY,Etc.Hair Restorers and Invigorators.—There are hundreds; Lyon's, Wood's, Barry's, Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, Driscol's, Phalon's, Haskel's, Allen's, Spaulding's, etc. But, though all under different names, are similar in principle, being vegetable oils dissolved in alcohol, with the addition of spirit of soap, and an astringent material, such as tincture of catechu, or infusion of bark. The best is to dissolve one ounce of castor oil in one quart of 95 alcohol, and add one ounce of tincture of cantharides, two ounces of tincture of catechu, two ounces of lemon juice, two ounces of tincture of cinchona; and to scent it, add oil of cinnamon, or oil of rosemary, or both.To Make the Hair Soft and Glossy.—Put one ounce of castor oil in one pint of bay rum or alcohol, and color it with a little of the tincture of alkanet root. Apply a little every morning.Instantaneous Hair Dye.—Take one drachm of nitrate of silver, and add to it just sufficient rain water to dissolve it,and no more; then take strong spirit of ammonia, and gradually pour on the solution of silver, until it becomes as clear as water, (the addition ofthe ammonia at first makes it brown); then wrap round the bottle two or three covers of blue paper, to exclude the light—otherwise it will spoil. Having made this, obtain two drachms of gallic acid; put this into another bottle which will contain one-half pint; pour upon it hot water, and let it stand until cold—when it is fit for use.Directions to Dye the Hair.—First wash the head, beard, or moustaches with soap and water; afterwards with clean water. Dry, and apply the gallic acid solution, with a clean brush. When it is almost dry, take a small tooth comb, and with a fine brush, put on the teeth of the comb a little of the silver solution, and comb it through the hair, when it will become a brilliant jet black. Wait a few hours; then wash the head again with clean water. If you want to make a brown dye, add double or treble the quantity of water to the silver solution, and you can obtain any shade of color you choose.To Prevent Gray Hair.—When the hair begins to change color, the use of the following pomade has a beneficial effect in preventing the disease extending, and has the character of even restoring the color of the hair in many instances: Lard, 4 ounces: spermaceti, 4 drachms: oxide of bismuth, 4 drachms. Melt the lard and spermaceti together, and when getting cold stir in the bismuth; to this can be added any kind of perfume, according to choice. It should be used whenever the hair requires dressing. It must not be imagined that any good effect speedily results; it is, in general, a long time taking place, the change being very gradual.Liquid Rouge for the Complexion.—Four ounces of alcohol, two ounces of water, twenty grains of carmine; twenty grains of ammonia, six grains of oxalic acid, six grains of alum—mix.Vinegar Rouge.—Cochineal, three drachms; carmine lake, three drachms; alcohol, six drachms; mix, and then put into one pint of vinegar, perfumed with lavender; let it stand a fortnight, then strain for use.Pearl Powder for Complexion.—Take white bismuth, one pound; starch powder, one ounce; orris powder, one ounce. Mix and sift through lawn. Add a drop of otto of roses or neroli.Pearl Water for the Complexion.—Castile soap, one pound; water, one gallon. Dissolve, then add alcohol, one quart; oil of rosemary and oil of lavender, each two drachms. Mix well.Complexion Pomatum.—Mutton grease, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces; powdered French chalk, two ounces; mix.Feuchtwanger's Tooth Paste.—Powdered myrrh, two ounces; burnt alum, one ounce; cream tartar, one ounce; cuttlefish bone, four ounces: drop lake, two ounces; honey, half a gallon; mix.Spanish Vermilion for the Toilette.—Take an alkine solution of bastard saffron, and precipitate the color with lemon juice; mix the precipitate with a sufficient quantity of finely powdered French chalk and lemon juice, then add a little perfume.Fine Tooth Powder.—Powdered orris root, one ounce; peruvian bark, one ounce; prepared chalk, one ounce; myrrh, one-half ounce.To Make Brown Teeth White.—Apply carefully over the teeth, a stick dipped in strong acetic or nitric acid, and immediately wash out the mouth with cold water. To make the teeth even, if irregular, draw a piece of fine cord betwixt them.Superior Cologne Water.—Alcohol, one gallon: add oil of cloves, lemon, nutmeg and bergamot, each one drachm; oil neroli, three and a half drachms; seven drops of oils of rosemary, lavender and cassia; half a pint of spirits of nitre; half a pint of elder-flower water. Let it stand a day or two, then take a cullender and at the bottom lay a piece of white cloth, and fill it up, one-fourth of white sand, and filter through it.Smelling Salts.—Super carbonate of ammonia, eight parts; put it in coarse powder into a bottle, and pour out lavender oil one part.Oil of Roses—for the Hair.—Olive oil, two pints: otto of roses, one drachm; oil of rosemary, one drachm; mix. It may be colored by steeping a little alkanet root in the oil (by heat) before scenting it.Arnica Hair Wash.—When the hair is falling off and becoming thin, from the too frequent use of castor, Macassar oils, &c., or when premature baldness arises from illness, the arnica hair wash will be found of great service in arresting the mischief. It is thus prepared: take elder water, half a pint; sherry wine, half a pint; tincture of arnica, half an ounce; alcoholic ammonia, 1 drachm—if this last named ingredient is old, and has lost its strength, then two drachms instead of one may be employed. The whole of these are to be mixed in a lotion bottle, and applied every night to the head with a sponge. Wash the head with warm water twice a week. Soft brushes only must be used during the growth of the young hair.Ammoniacal Pomatum for Promoting the Growth of Hair.—Take almond oil, quarter of a pound; white wax, half an ounce; clarified lard, three ounces; liquid ammonia, a quarter fluid ounce; otto of lavender, and cloves, of each one drachm. Place the oil, wax and lard in a jar, which set in boiling water; when the wax is melted, allow the grease to cool till nearly ready to set, then stir in theammonia and the perfume, and put into small jars for use. Never use a hard brush, nor comb the hair too much. Apply the pomade at night only.Bandoline for the Hair.—This mixture is best made a little at a time. Pour a tablespoonful of boiling water on a dozen quince seeds, and repeat when fresh is required.Artificial Bear's Grease.—Bear's grease is imitated by a mixture of prepared veal suet and beef marrow. It may be scented at pleasure. The following are some of the best compounds sold by that name:1. Prepared suets, 3 ounces; lard, 1 ounce; olive oil, 1 ounce; oil of cloves, 10 drops; compound tincture of benzoin, 1 drachm. Mix.2. Lard, 1 pound; solution of carbonate of potash, 2 ounces. Mix.3. Olive oil, 3 pints; white wax, 3 ounces; spermaceti, 1 ounce; scent with oil of roses and oil of bitter almonds.Bears' Oil.—The best description of lard oil, properly perfumed, is far preferable to any other kind of oil.Cosmetic Soap, for Washing the Hands.—Take a pound of castile soap, or any other nice old soap; scrape it fine; put it on the fire with a little water, stir it to a smooth paste; turn it into a bowl; or any kind of essence; beat it with a silver spoon till well mixed; thicken it with Indian meal, and keep it in small pots, closely covered; exposure to the air will harden it.Cosmetic Wash for the Hair.—Red wine, one pound; salt, one drachm; sulphate of iron, two drachms; boil for a few minutes, add common verdigris, one drachm; leave it on the fire two minutes; withdraw it, and add two drachms of powdered nutgall. Rub the hair with the liquid, in a few minutes dry it with a warm cloth, and afterwards wash with water.To Remove Dandruff.—Take a thimbleful of powdered refined borax, let it dissolve in a teacupful of water, first brush the head well, then wet a brush and apply it to the head. Do this every day for a week, and twice a week for a few times, and you will effectually remove the dandruff.To Make the Complexion Fair.—Take emulsion of bitter almonds, one pint; oxymuriate of quicksilver, two and a half grains; sal ammonia, one drachm. Use moderately for pimples, freckles, tanned complexions.Eau de Cologne—Cologne Water.—Oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, oil of lemon, oil of neroli, each one ounce; oil of cinnamon, halfan ounce; spirit of rosemary, fifteen ounces; highly rectified spirits, eight pints. Let them stand fourteen days; then distil in a water bath.2. Essential oils of bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange-peel and rosemary, each twelve drops; cardamon seeds, one drachm, rectified spirits, one pint. It improves by age.Eau de Rosieres.—Spirits of roses, 4 pints; spirits of jessamine, one pint; spirits of orange flowers, one pint; spirits of cucumber, two and a quarter pints; spirits of celery seed, two and a quarter pints; spirits of angelica root, two and three quarter pints; tincture of benzoin, three quarters of a pint; balsam of Mecca, a few drops.Eau de Violettes.—Macerate five ounces of fine orris root in a quart of rectified spirits, for some days, and filter.Esprit de Bouquet.—Oil of lavender, oil of cloves and oil of bergamot, each two drachms; otto of rose, and oil of cinnamon, each, twenty drops; essence of musk, one drachm; rectified spirits, one pint. Mix.Essence of Ambergris.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; ambergris, 24 grains. Let it stand for three days in a warm place, and filter.Essence of Bergamot.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; bergamot-peel, four ounces: as above.Essence of Cedrat.—Essence of bergamot, one ounce; essence of neroli, two drachms.Essence of Cloves.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; bruised cloves, one ounce.Essence for the Headache.—Spirits of wine, two pounds; roche alum, in fine powder, two ounces; camphor, four ounces; essence of lemon, half an ounce; strong water of ammonia, four ounces. Stop the bottle close, and shake it daily, for three or four days.Essence of Lavender.—Essential oil of lavender, three and a half ounces; rectified spirits, two quarts; rose water, half a pint; tincture of orris, half a pint.Essence of Lemon.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; fresh lemon-peel, four ounces.Essence of Musk.—Take one pint proof spirit, and add two drachms musk. Let it stand a fortnight, with frequent agitation.Essence of Neroli.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; orange-peel, cut small, three ounces; orris root in powder, one drachm; musk, two grains.Essence for Smelling Bottles.—Oil of lavender and essence of bergamot, each one drachm; oil of orange-peel, eight drops; oil of cinnamon, four drops; oil of neroli, two drops; alcohol and strongest water of ammonia, each two ounces.Essence of Verbena Leaf.—Take rectified spirits of wine, half a pint; otto of verbena, half a drachm; otto of bergamot, one drachm; tincture of tolu, quarter of an ounce. Mix them together, and it is ready for use. This sweet scent does not stain the handkerchief and is very economical.Essence of Violets.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; orris root, one ounce. Other essences in the same manner.Eye Water.—Take one pint of rose water, and add one teaspoonful each of spirits of camphor and laudanum. Mix and bottle. To be shaken and applied to the eyes as often as necessary. Perfectly harmless.Honey Water.—Rectified spirits, eight pints; oil of cloves, oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, each half an ounce; musk, eight grains; yellow sandus shavings, four ounces; digest for eight days and add two pints each of orange flower and rose water.Lavender Water.—Oil of lavender, four ounces; spirit, three quarts; rose water, one pint. Mix and filter.Lisbon Water.—To rectified spirit, one gallon, add essential oils of orange-peel and lemon-peel, of each three ounces, and otto of roses, one quarter of an ounce.Odoriferous Lavender Water.—Rectified spirit, five gallons; essential oil of lavender, twenty ounces; oil of bergamot, five ounces; essence of ambergris, half an ounce.2. Oil of lavender, three drachms; oil of bergamot, twenty drops; nerolic, six drops; otto of roses, six drops; essence of cedrat, eight drops; essence of musk, twenty drops; rectified spirit, twenty-eight fluid ounces; distilled water, four ounces.Queen of Hungary's Water.—Spirit of rosemary, four pints; orange flower water, one quarter of a pint; essence of neroli, four drops.FACE PAINTS.Almond Bloom.—Boil one ounce of Brazil dust in three pints of distilled water, and strain; add six drachms of isinglass, 2 drachms of cochineal, one ounce of alum, and eight drachms of borax; boil again and strain through a fine cloth.Fine Carmine.—(prepared from cochineal) is used alone, or deduced with starch, &c. And also the coloring matter of safflower and other vegetable colors, in the form of pink saucers, &c.Face Powder.—Starch, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces.Face Whites.—French chalk is one of the most innocent; finely powdered. White starch is also used.Rouge.—Mix vermillion with enough gum tragacanth dissolved in water to form a thin paste; add a few drops of almond oil, place the mixture in rouge pots, and dry by a very gentle heat.Turkish Rouge.—Take half pint alcohol and one ounce of alkanet; macerate ten days and pour off the liquid, which should be bottled. This is the simplest and one of the best articles of the kind.Caution.—White lead, and all cosmetic powders containing it should never be applied to the skin, as it is the most dangerous article that could be used.Mouth Pastiles, for Perfuming the Breath.—Extract of licorice, three ounces; oil of cloves, one and a half drachms; oil of cinnamon, fifteen drops. Mix, and divide into one-grain pills, and silver them.2. Catechu, seven drachms; orris powder, forty grains; sugar, three ounces; oil of rosemary, (or of clove, peppermint, or cinnamon,) four drops. Mix, and roll flat on an oiled marble slab, and cut into very small lozenges.Oil for the Hair.—A very excellent ready-made oil for the hair which answers all common purposes, is made by mixing one part brandy with three parts of sweet oil. Add any scent you prefer.Oil of Roses.—Fine olive oil, one pint; otto of roses, sixteen drops. If required red, color with alkanet root, and strain before adding the otto. For common sale essence of bergamot or of lemon is often substituted, wholly or in part, for the expensive otto.HUNTERS' AND TRAPPERS' SECRETS.The following secret applies toallanimals, as every animal is attracted by the peculiar odor in a greater or less degree; but it is best adapted to land animals, such as Foxes, Minks, Sables, Martins, Wolves, Bears, Wild Cats, &c., &c.Take one half pound strained honey, one quarter drachm musk, three drachms oil of lavender, and four pounds of tallow, mix the whole thoroughly together, and make it into forty pills, or balls, and place one of these pills under the pan of each trap when setting it.The above preparation will most wonderfully attract all kinds of animals, and trappers and others who use it will be sure of success.To Catch Foxes.—Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, each equal parts, and rub them over the trap before setting it. Set in the usual way.To Catch Mink.—Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, and rub over the trap. Bait with fish or birds.To Catch Muskrat.—In the female muskrat near the vagina is a small bag which holds from 30 to 40 drops. Now all the trapper has to do, is to procure a few female muskrats and squeeze the contents of a bag into a vial. Now, when in quest of muskrats, sprinkle a few drops of the liquid on the bushes over and around the trap. This will attract the male muskrats in large numbers, and if the traps are properly arranged, large numbers of them may be taken.***In trapping Muskrats, steel traps should be used, and they should be set in the paths and runs of the animal, where they come upon the banks, and in every case the trap should be set under the water, and carefully concealed; and care should be taken that it has sufficient length of chain to enable the animals to reach the water after being caught, otherwise they are liable to escape by tearing or gnawing off their legs.To Catch Beaver.—In trapping for beaver, set the trap at the edge of the water or dam, at the point where the animals pass from deep to shoal water, and always beneath the surface, and fasten it by means of a stout chain to a picket driven in the bank, or to a bush or tree. A flat stick should be made fast to the trap by a cord a few feet long, which, if the animal chanced to carry away the trap, would float on the water and point out its position. The trap should then be baited with the following preparation, called"The Beaver Medicine."This is prepared from a substance called castor, and is obtained from the glandulous pouches of themaleanimal.The contents of five or six of these castor bags are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves and thirty grains of cinnamon in fine powder, and the whole well stirred together with as much whiskey as will give it the consistency of mixed mustard. This preparation must be left closely corked up, and in four or five days the odor becomes powerful; and this medicine smeared upon the bits of wood, &c., with which the traps are baited, will attract the beaver from a great distance, and wishing to make a close inspection, the animal puts its legs into the trap and is caught.***The same caution in regard to length of chain should be observed for Beaver, as for Otters, Muskrats, &c., for unless they can reach the water they are liable to get out of the trap and escape.Chinese Art of Catching Fish.—Take Cocculus Indicus, pulverize and mix with dough, then scatter it broadcast over the water, as you would sow seed. The fish will seize it with great avidity, and will instantly become so intoxicated that they will turn belly up on top of the water, by dozens, hundreds, or thousands, as the case may be. All that you now have to do, is to have a boat, or other convenience to gather them up, and as you gather put them in a tub of clean water and presently they will be as lively and healthy as ever.This means of taking fish, and the manner of doing it, has, heretofore, been known to but few. The value of such knowledge admits of no question. This manner of taking fish does not injure the flesh in the least.Secret Art of Catching fish.—Put the oil of rhodium on the bait, when fishing with the hook, and you will always succeed.To Catch Fish.—Take the juice of smallage or lovage, and mix with any kind of bait. As long as there remain any kind of fish within many yards of your hook, you will find yourself busy pulling them out.To Catch Abundance of Eels, Fish, &c.—Get over the water after dark, with a light and a dead fish that has been smeared with the juice of stinking glawdin—the fish will gather round you in large quantities, and can easily be scooped up.THE FINE ARTS AND SCIENCES.To Transfer Engravings to Plaster Casts.—Cover the plate with ink, polish its surface in the usual way, then put a wall of paper round; then pour on it some fine paste made with plaster of Paris. Jerk it to drive out the air bubbles, and let it stand one hour, when you have a fine impression.The New and Beautiful Art of Transferring on to Glass.—Colored or plain Engravings, Photographs, Lithographs, Water Colors, Oil Colors, Crayons, Steel Plates, Newspaper Cuts, Mezzotinto, Pencil, Writing, Show Cards, Labels,—or in fact anything.Directions.—Take glass that is perfectly clear—window glass will answer—clean it thoroughly; then varnish it, taking care to have it perfectly smooth; place it where it will be entirely free from dust; let it stand over night; then take your engraving, lay it in clear water until it is wet through (say ten or fifteen minutes), then lay it upon a newspaper, that the moisture maydry from the surface, and still keep the other side damp. Immediately varnish your glass thesecondtime, then place your engraving on it, pressing it down firmly, so as to exclude every particle of air; next rub the paper from the back, until it is of uniform thickness—so thin that you can see through it, then varnish it thethirdtime, and let it dry.Materials Used for the Above Art.—Take two ounces balsam of fir, to one ounce of spirits of turpentine; apply with a camel's hair brush.To Make Wax Flowers.—The following articles will be required to commence wax work: 2 lbs. white wax, ¼ lb. hair wire, 1 bottle carmine, 1 ultramarine blue, 1 bottle chrome yellow, 2 bottles chrome green, No. 1; 2 bottles chrome green, No. 2; 1 bottle rose pink, 1 bottle royal purple, 1 bottle scarlet powder, 1 bottle balsam fir, 2 dozen sheets white wax. This will do to begin with. Now have a clean tin dish and pour therein a quart or two of water; then put in about 1 lb. of the white wax and let it boil; when cool enough, so the bubbles will not form on top, it is ready to sheet, which is done as follows:—Take half of a window pane, 7×9, and, after having washed it clean, dip into a dish containing weak soap-suds; then dip into the wax and draw out steadily and plunge it into the suds, when the sheet will readily come off. Lay it on a cloth or clean paper to dry. Proceed in like manner until you have enough of the white; then add enough of the green powder to make a bright color, and heat and stir thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed; then proceed as for sheeting whitewax. The other colors are rubbed into the leaves after they are cut out, rubbing light or heavy according to shade.For patterns you can use any natural leaf, forming the creases in wax with the thumb nail or a needle; to put the flowers together or the leaves on to the stem, hold in the hand until warm enough to stick. If the sheeted wax is to be used in Summer, put in a little balsam of fir to make it hard. If for Winter, none will be required.You can make many flowers without a teacher; but one to assist, in the commencement, would be a great help; though the most particular thing about it is to get the wax sheeted. The materials I have suggested can be procured at any drug store, and will cost from $3 to $4.50.How to Charm Those Whom You Meet and Love.—When you desire to make any one "Love" you with whom you meet, although not personally acquainted with him, you can very readily reach him and make his acquaintance, if you observe the foregoing instructions, in addition to the following directions: Suppose you see him coming towards you in an unoccupied mood, or is recklessly, or passively walking past you, all that remains for you to do at that moment is to concentrate your thought and send it into him as before explained; and, to your astonishment, if he was passive, he will look at you, and now is your time to send a thrill to his heart, by looking him carelessly, though determinately, into his eyes, and praying with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, that he may read your thought, and receive your true Love, which God designs we should bear one another. This accomplished, and you need not and must not wait for a cold-hearted, fashionable, and popular Christian introduction; neither should you hastily run into his arms, but continue operating in this psychological manner; not losing any convenient opportunity to meet him at an appropriate place, when an unembarrassed exchange of words will open the door, to the one so magnetized. At this interview, unless prudence sanction it, do not shake hands, but let your manners and loving eyes speak with Christian charity and ease; wherever, or whenever you meet again, at the first opportunity grasp his hand, in an earnest, sincere and affectionate manner, observing at the same time, the following important directions, viz.:—As you take his bare hand in yours, press your thumb gently, though firmly, between the bones of the thumb and forefinger of his hand, and at the very instant when you press thus on the blood vessels, (which you can before ascertain to pulsate,) look him earnestly and lovingly, though not pertly or fiercely, into his eyes, and send all your heart's, mind's and soul's strength into his organization, and he will be your friend, and if you find him not to be congenial, you have him in your power, and by carefully guarding against evil influences,you can reform him to suit your own purified, Christian, and loving taste.Mesmerism.—If you desire to mesmerise a person, who has never been put into that state, nor in the least affected, the plan is to set him in an easy posture, and request him to be calm and resigned. Take him by both hands, or else by one hand and place your other gently on his forehead. But with whatever part of his body you choose to come in contact, be sure to always touch two points, answering to thepositiveandnegativeforces. Having taken him by both hands, fix your eyes upon his, and, if possible, let him contentedly and steadily look you in the face. Remain in this position until his eyes close. Then place both your hands on his head, gently pass them to his shoulders, down the arms, and off at the ends of his fingers. Throw your hands outward as you return them to his head, and continue these passes till he can hear no voice but yours. He is then entirely in the mesmeric state. When a person is in the mesmeric state, whether put there by yourself or some one else, you can awake him by the upward passes: or else do it by an impression, as follows: Tell him, "I will countthree, and at the same instant I saythree, I will slap my hands together, and you will be wide awake and in your perfect senses. Are you ready?" If he answers in the affirmative, you will proceed to count "one,two, THREE!" The wordthreeshould be spoken suddenly, and in a very loud voice, and at the same instant the palms of the hands should be smitten together. This will instantly awake him.To Make Magic Photographs.—Take, in the first place, an ordinary print—a card-picture, for instance—on albumen paper, beneath the negative in the usual way, and, when sufficiently printed, let it be carefully washed in the dark room, so as to remove all the free nitrate of silver, etc. Now immerse it in the following solution, also in the dark room: saturated solution bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), one ounce; hydrochloric acid, one drachm. The saturated solution is previously prepared by putting into water more bichloride of mercury than it will dissolve by shaking in about twelve hours. The print will gradually be bleached in this liquid, in the ordinary meaning of the word—that is, it will disappear; but the fact is, the print is still there—its color alone is changed, a double salt having been formed of mercury and silver, which is white, as many of our readers, who have been in the habit of intensifying with a mercurial salt, are aware. As soon as the print has quite disappeared, the paper is thoroughly washed and dried in the dark room; it is also preserved between folds of orange-colored paper, in order to keep it from the action of light, for the surface is still in some measure sensitive to light. The bleaching of the print—that is, its conversion into awhite salt—is effected more quickly by keeping it in motion in the mercurial solution. As we said before, the print has not been bleached in reality—the substance which originally formed it is still there, together with a new substance, a salt of mercury. But the two salts of silver and mercury may be easily brought out and made visible by several solutions, such as sulphide of ammonium, solution of hydrosulphuric acid; in fact, any of the soluble sulphides, ammonia and hyposulphite of soda. The latter salt is used in preference to the others. Small pieces of blotting-paper, therefore, of the same size as the prints, are cut out and steeped in a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda and then dried. The magic photographs are packed as before stated, between folds of orange-colored paper; the papers dipped in hyposulphite of soda are the developers, and may be packed between two sheets of common writing-paper. The development of the image is effected in the following manner: place the albumen paper which contains the whitened print on a pane of glass, print side upward; on this lay the dry piece of blotting-paper that has been previously dipped in hyposulphite of soda. Moisten the latter thoroughly, then place over it a pane of glass, and upon this a weight, to bring the two pieces of paper into intimate contact. In a very short time the picture will appear in all its original detail, and of a sepia tone.Writing on the Arm.—The conjurer's explanation was a great lesson in "spiritualism." I next asked him to elucidate the trick of writing on the arm. On the occasion of my visit to Mr. Forster, when the raps indicated the second pellet, he required the "spirit" present to write the initials on his bare arm. Mr. Forster placed his arm under the table for a moment, then rested it in front of a lamp burning on the table, and quickly rolled up the sleeve of his coat. The skin was without stain or mark. He passed his hand over it once or twice, and the initials of the names I had written on the second pellet seemed to grow on the arm in letters of crimson. "It's a trick I do every night. It goes with the audience like steam," said the conjurer. "Very simple. Well, suppose a name. What name would you like?" "Henry Clay," I replied. Down went the conjurer's arm under the table. In a few seconds he raised it and exposed the bare forearm without mark upon it. He doubled up his fist tightly so as to bring the muscles of the arm to the surface, and rubbed the skin smartly with his open hand. The letters "H. C." soon appeared upon it in well-defined writing of a deep red color. "There you have it, gentlemen; that's the blood-red writing. Very simple. All you have to do is take a lucifer match, and write on your arm with the wrong end of it. If you moisten the skin with a little salt water first, all the better. Then wet the palm of the other hand, rub your arm with it. Sendup the muscles and the blood-red writing will come out. It will fade away in less than no time. If you look under the table, you will see that I have a little piece of pointed wood. I can move my arm under that and write the letters without using the other hand. But that's a trick which wants practice."Electrical Psychology.—The most easy and direct mode to produce electro psychological communication is to take the individual by the hand, in the same manner as though you were going to shake hands. Press your thumb on theUlnar nerve, which spreads its branches to the ring and little finger, an inch above the knuckle, and in range of the ring finger. Lay the ball of the thumb flat so as to cover the minute branches of this nerve of motion and sensation. When you first take him by the hand, request him to place his eyes upon yours, and to keep them fixed, so that he may see every emotion of your mind expressed in the countenance. Continue this pressure for a half a minute or more. Then request him to close his eyes, and with your fingers gently brush downward several times over the eyelids. Throughout the whole process feel within yourself a fixed determination to close them, so as to express that determination fully in your countenance and manner. Then place your hand on the top of his head and press your thumb firmly on the organ of Individuality, bearing partially downward, and with the other thumb still pressing the ulnar nerve, tell him—you can not open your eyes!Remember, that your manner, your expression of countenance, your motions, and your language must all be of the most positive character. If he succeed in opening his eyes, try it once or twice more, because impressions, whether physical or mental, continue to deepen by repetition. In case, however, that you cannot close his eyes, nor see any effect produced upon them, you should cease making any further efforts, because you have now fairly tested that his mind and body both stand in a positive relation as it regards the doctrine of impressions. If you succeed in closing the subject's eyes by the above mode, you may then request him to put his hands on his head, or in any other position you choose, and tell him,you can not stirthem! In case you succeed, request him to be seated, and tell him,you can not rise!If you are successful in this, request him to put his hands in motion, and tell him,you can not stop them!If you succeed, request him to walk the floor, and tell him,you can not cease walking!And so you may continue to perform experiments involving muscular motion and paralysis of any kind that may occur to your mind, till you can completely control him, in arresting or moving all the voluntary parts of his system.How to Make Persons at a Distance Think of You.—Let it be particularly remembered that "Faith" and concentration of thought arepositively needful to accomplish aught in drawing others to you or making them think of you. If you have not the capacity or understanding how to operate an electric telegraph battery, it is no proof that an expert and competent person should fail doing so; just so in this case; if faith, meditation, or concentration of thought fail you, then will you also fail to operate upon others. First, you must have an yearning for the person you wish to make think of you; and secondly, you must learn to guess at what time of day or night he may be unemployed, passive, so that he be in a proper state to receive the thought which you dispatch to him. If he should be occupied in any way, so that his nervous forces were needed to complete his task, his "Human Battery," or thought, would not be in a recipient or passive condition, therefore your experiment would fail at that moment. Or if he were under heavy narcotics, liquors, tobacco, or gluttonous influences, he could not be reached at such moments. Or, if he were asleep, and you operated to affect a wakeful mind or thought, you would fail again at the moment. To make a person at a distance think of you, whether you are acquainted with him or not, matters not; I again repeat, find out or guess at what moment he is likely to be passive; by this I mean easy and careless: then, with the most fervent prayer, or yearning of your entire heart, mind, soul and strength, desire he may think of you; and if you wish him to think on any particular topic in relation to you, it is necessary for you to press your hands, when operating on him, on such mental faculties of your head as you wish him to exercise towards you. This demands a meagre knowledge of Phrenology. His "Feeling Nature," or "Propensities," you cannot reach through these operations, but when he once thinks of you, (if he does not know you he imagines such a being as you are,) he can easily afterwards be controlled by you, and he will feel disposed to go in the direction where you are, if circumstances permit, and he is his own master, for, remember, circumstances alter cases. I said, you cannot reach his "Feeling," but only his "Thinking Nature," truly, but after he thinks of you once, his "Feeling Nature," or propensities, may become aroused through his own organization. In conclusion on this topic, let me say, that if you wish the person simply to think of you, one operation may answer; but on the contrary, if you wish him to meet you, or go where you are, all you have to do is to persevere in a lawful and Christian manner to operate, and I assure you, in the course of all natural things, that is, if no accident or very unfavorable circumstances occur, he will make his way towards you, and when he comes within sight, or reaching distance of you, it will be easy to manage him.How to Make Large Noses Small.—Dr. Cid, an inventive surgeon of Paris, noticed that elderly people, who for a long time haveworn eyeglasses supported on the nose by a spring, are apt to have this organ long and thin. This he attributes to the compression which the spring exerts on the arteries by which the nose is nourished. The idea occurred to him that the hint could be made useful. Not long afterward, a young lady of fifteen years consulted him, to see if he could restore to moderate dimensions her nose, which was large, fleshy, and unsightly. The trait, he found, was hereditary in her family, as her mother and sister were similarly afflicted. This was discouraging, as hereditary peculiarities are particularly obstinate. But the doctor determined to try his method; he took exact measurements, and had constructed for her a "lunette pince-nez"—a spring and pad for compressing the artery—which she wore at night and whenever she could conveniently in daytime. In three weeks a consolatory diminution was evident, and in three months the young lady was quite satisfied with the improvement in her features.Jockey Tricks.—How to make a horse appear as though he was badly Foundered.—Take a fine wire and fasten it tight around the fetlock, between the foot and the heel, and smooth the hair over it. In twenty minutes the horse will show lameness.—Do not leave it on over nine hours.—To make a horse lame.—Take a single hair from his tail, put it through the eye of a needle, then lift the front leg, and press the skin between the outer and the middle tendon or cord, and shove the needle through, cut off the hair each side and let the foot down; the horse will go lame in twenty minutes.—How to make a horse stand by his food and not take it.—Grease the front teeth and the roof of the mouth with common beef tallow, and he will not eat until you wash it out; this in conjunction with the above will consummate a complete founder.—How to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind.—Saw between the upper teeth to the gums.—How to put a young countenance on a horse.—Make a small incision in the sunken place over the eye, insert the point of a goose quill and blow it up; close the external wound with thread and it is done.—To cover up the heaves.—Drench the horse with one-fourth pound of common bird shot, and he will not heave until they pass through him.—To make a horse appear as if he had the glanders.—Melt four ounces of fresh butter and pour it into his ear.—To distinguish between distemper and glanders.—The discharge from the nose in glanders will sink in water; in distemper it floats.—How to make a true pulling horse baulk.—Take tincture of cantharides one ounce, and corrosive sublimate one drachm; mix, and bathe his shoulder at night.—How to nerve a horse that is lame.—Make a small incision about half way from the knee to the joint on the outside of the leg, and at the back part of the shin bone you will find a small white tendon or cord, cut it off and close the external wound with a stitch, and he will walk off on the hardest pavement and not limp a particle.To Bore Holes in Glass.—Any hard steel tool will cut glass with great facility when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill-bow may be used, or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus easily smoothed by a flat file. Flat window glass can readily be sawed by a watch spring saw by aid of this solution. In short, the most brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as brass by the use of cutting tools kept constantly moist with camphorized oil of turpentine.To Etch upon Glass.—Procure several thick, clear pieces of crown glass, and immerse them in melted wax, so that each may receive a complete coating, or pour over them a solution of wax in benzine. When perfectly cold draw on them, with a fine steel point, flowers, trees, houses, portraits, etc. Whatever parts of the drawing are intended to be corroded with the acid, should beperfectlyfree from the least particle of wax. When all these drawings are finished the pieces of glass must be immersed one by one in a square leaden box or receiver, where they are to be submitted to the action of hydrofluoric acid gas, made by acting on powdered fluor-spar by concentrated sulphuric acid.FARMERS' DEPARTMENT.How to get New Varieties of Potatoes.—When the vines are done growing and are turned brown; the seed is ripe: then take the balls and string with a large needle and strong thread; hang them in a dry place where they will gradually dry and mature, without danger or injury from frost. In the month of April, soak the ball for several hours from the pulp; when washed and dried, they are fit for sowing in rows, in a bed well prepared in the garden; they will sprout in a fortnight; they must be attended to like other vegetables. When about two inches high, they may be thinned and transplanted into rows. As they increase in size, they should be hilled. In the autumn many of them will be of the size of a walnut, and from that to a pea. In the following spring they should be planted in hills, placing the large ones together,—they will in the second season attain their full size, and will exhibit several varieties of form, and may then be selected to suit the judgment of the cultivator. I would prefer gathering the balls from potatoes of a good kind. The first crops from seeds thus obtained will be productive, and will continue so for many years, gradually deteriorating, until they will need a renewal by the process.To Destroy Rats.—Fill any deep smooth vessel of considerable capacity to within six inches of the top with water, cover the surface with bran, and set the vessel in a place most frequented by these pests. In attempting to get at the bran they will fall in and be drowned. Several dozen have been taken by this simple method at a time.To Kill Rats in Barn and Rick.—Melt hog's lard in a bottle plunged in water of temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit: introduce into it half an ounce of phosphorus for every pound of lard; then add a pint of proof spirits or whiskey; cork the bottle firmly after its contents have been to 150 degrees, taking it out of the water and agitating till the phosphorus becomes uniformly diffused, making a milky looking fluid. The spirit may be poured off on the liquor cooling; and you then have a fatty compound, which, after being warmed gently, may be incorporated with a mixture of wheat flour, or sugar, flavored with oil of rhodium, or oil of anise-seed, etc., and the dough, on being made into pellets, should be laid at the rat holes; being luminous in the dark, and agreeable both to the palates and noses, it is readily eaten, and proves certainly fatal. The rats issue from their holes and seek for water to quench their burning thirst, and they commonly die near the water.Rat Poison.—Flour, six pounds; sugar, one pound; sulphur, four pounds; phosphorus, four pounds.To Banish and Prevent Mosquitoes from Biting.—Dilute a little of the oil of thyme with sweet oil, and dip pieces of paper in it. Hang in your room, or rub a little on the hands and face when going to bed.To Keep Milk Sweet in the Hottest Weather.—Put a spoonful of horse-radish in a pan of milk; this will keep it sweet for several days longer than without.RECIPES FOR HORSES.Blistering Liniment.—Powdered Spanish flies, one ounce; spirits turpentine, six ounces. Rub on the belly for pain in the bowels, or on the surface for internal inflammation.Cathartic Powder.—To cleanse out horses in the spring, making them sleek and healthy; black sulphuret of antimony, nitre, and sulphur, each equal parts. Mix well together, and give a tablespoonful every morning.Cough Ball for Horses.—Pulverized ipecac, three-quarters of an ounce; camphor, two ounces; squills, half an ounce. Mix with honey to form into mass, and divide into eight balls. Give one every morning.Diuretic Balls.—Castile soap scraped fine, powdered resin, each three teaspoonfuls; powdered nitre, four teaspoonfuls; oil of juniper, one small teaspoonful; honey, a sufficient quantity to make into a ball.To prevent Horses being Teased by Flies.—Boil three handfuls of walnut leaves in three quarts of water; sponge the horse (before going out of the stable) between and upon the ears, neck and flank.To Prevent Botts.—Mix a little wood-ashes with their drink daily. This effectually preserves horses against the botts.Liniment for Galled Backs of Horses.—White lead moistened with milk. When milk cannot be procured, oil may be substituted. One or two ounces will last two months or more.Remedy for Strains in Horses.—Take whiskey, one half pint: camphor, one ounce; sharp vinegar, one pint. Mix. Bathe the parts affected.Another.—Take opodeldoc, warm it, and rub the strained part two or three times a day.Lotion for Blows, Bruises, Sprains, etc.—One part laudanum, two parts oil origanum, four parts water ammonia, four parts oil of turpentine, four parts camphor, thirty-two parts spirits of wine. Put them into a bottle, and shake them until mixed.Fever Ball.—Emetic tartar and camphor, each half an ounce; nitre, two ounces. Mix with linseed meal and molasses to make eight balls. Give one twice a day.Liniment for Sprains, Swellings, etc.—Aqua ammonia, spirits camphor, each, two ounces; oil origanum and laudanum, each, half an ounce. Mix.Lotion for Mange.—Boil two ounces tobacco in one quart water: strain; add sulphur and soft soap, each, two ounces.Purgative Ball.—Aloes, one ounce; cream tartar and castile soap, onequarterof an ounce. Mix with molasses to make a ball.CONFECTIONERS' DEPARTMENT.Ginger Candy.—Boil a pound of clarified sugar until, upon taking a drop of it on a piece of stick, it will become brittle when cold. Mix and stir up with it, for a common article, about a teaspoonful of ground ginger; if for a superior article, instead of the ground ginger add half the white of an egg, beaten up previously with fine sifted loaf sugar, and twenty drops of strong essence of ginger.Ginger Lozenges.—Dissolve in one-quarter of a pint of hot water half an ounce of gum arabic; when cold, stir it up with one and a half pounds of loaf sugar, and a spoonful of powdered ginger, or twelve drops of essence of ginger. Roll and beat the whole up into a paste; make it into a flat cake, and punch out the lozenges with a round stamp; dry them near the fire, or in an oven.Peppermint Lozenges.—Best powdered white sugar, seven pounds; pure starch, one pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage.Peppermint, Rose or Hoarhound Candy.—They may be made as lemon candy. Flavor with essence of rose or peppermint or finely powdered hoarhound. Pour it out in a buttered paper, placed in a square tin pan.To Clarify Sugar for Candies.—To every pound of sugar, put a large cup of water, and put it in a brass or copper kettle, over a slow fire, for half an hour; pour into it a small quantity of isinglass and gum Arabic, dissolved together. This will cause all impurities to rise to the surface; skim it as it rises. Flavor according to taste.All kinds of sugar for candy, are boiled as above directed. When boiling loaf sugar, add a tablespoonful of rum or vinegar, to prevent its becoming too brittle whilst making.Loaf sugar when boiled, by pulling and making into small rolls, and twisting a little, will make what is called little rock, or snow. By pulling loaf sugar after it is boiled, you can make it as white as snow.Common Twist Candy.—Boil three pounds of common sugar and one pint of water over a slow fire for half an hour, without skimming. When boiled enough take it off; rub the hands over with butter; take that which is a little cooled, and pull it as you would molasses candy, until it is white; then twist or braid it, and cut it up in strips.Fine Peppermint Lozenges.—Best powdered white sugar, 7 pounds; pure starch, 1 pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage.Everton Taffee.—To make this favorite and wholesome candy, take 1½ pounds of moist sugar, 3 ounces of butter, a teacup and a half of water and one lemon. Boil the sugar, butter, water, and half the rind of the lemon together, and when done—which will be known by dropping into cold water, when it should be quite crisp—let it stand aside till the boiling has ceased, and then stir in the juice of the lemon. Butter a dish, and pour it in about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The fire must be quick, and the taffee stirred all the time.Candy Fruit.—Take 1 pound of the best loaf sugar; dip each lump into a bowl of water, and put the sugar into your preserving kettle. Boil it down and skim it until perfectly clear, and in a candying state. When sufficiently boiled, have ready the fruits you wish to preserve. Large white grapes, oranges separated into small pieces, or preserved fruits, taken out of their syrup and dried, are very nice. Dip the fruits into the prepared sugar while it is hot; put them in a cold place; they will soon become hard.Popped Corn.—Dipped in boiling molasses and stuck together forms an excellent candy.Molasses Candy.—Boil molasses over a moderately hot fire, stirring constantly. When you think it is done, drop a little on a plate, and if sufficiently boiled it will be hard. Add a small quantity of vinegar to render it brittle and any flavoring ingredient you prefer. Pour in buttered tin pans. If nuts are to be added strew them in the pans before pouring out the candy.Liquorice Lozenges.—Extract of liquorice, 1 pound, powdered white sugar, 2 pounds. Mix with mucilage made with rosewater.Fig Candy.—Take 1 pound of sugar and 1 pint of water, set over a slow fire. When done, add a few drops of vinegar and a lump of butter, and pour into pans in which split figs are laid.Puds in Candy.—Can be made in the same manner, substituting stoned raisins for the figs. Common molasses candy is very nice with all kinds of nuts added.Scotch Butter Candy.—Take 1 pound of sugar, 1 pint of water: dissolve and boil. When done add 1 tablespoonful of butter, and enough lemon juice and oil of lemon to flavor.Icing for Cakes.—Beat the whites of two small eggs to a high froth; then add to them a quarter of a pound of white, ground, or powdered sugar; beat it well until it will lie in a heap; flavor with lemon or rose. This will frost the top of a common-sized cake. Heap what you suppose to be sufficient in the centre of the cake, then dip a broad-bladed knife in cold water, and spread the ice evenly over the whole surface.Saffron Lozenges.—Finely powdered hay-saffron, 1 ounce; finely powdered sugar, 1 pound; finely powdered starch, 8 ounces. Mucilage to mix.Chocolate Cream.—Chocolate, scraped fine, ½ ounce; thick cream, 1 pint; sugar (best), 3 ounces; heat it nearly to boiling, then remove it from the fire, and mill it well. When cold add the whites of four or five eggs; whisk rapidly and take up the froth on a sieve; serve the cream in glasses, and pile up the froth on the top of them.Candied Lemon or Peppermint for Colds.—Boil 1½ pounds sugar in a half pint of water, till it begins to candy around the sides; put in 8 drops of essence; pour it upon buttered paper, and cut it with a knife.VALUABLE MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, FOR THE HOUSEHOLD AND EVERY DAY REQUIREMENTS.Alum in Starch.—For starching muslins, ginghams, and calicoes, dissolve a piece of alum the size of a shellbark, for every pint of starch, and add to it. By so doing the colors will keep bright for a long time, which is very desirable when dresses must be often washed, and the cost is but a trifle.Cider Yeast.—Take cider from sour apples before it ferments, scald, skim thoroughly, and pour, while hot, upon flour enough to make a stiff batter. When cool, add yeast of any kind, and let it rise, stirring it down as often as it tries to run over for several days, then put it in a cool place (where it will not freeze), and you will have something equal to the best hop yeast. It will keep until May without any further labor.To Destroy Cockroaches.—The following is said to be effectual: These vermin are easily destroyed, simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the peelings in the morning, and renew them at night.Fire Kindlers.—Take a quart of tar and three pounds of resin, melt them, bring to a cooling temperature, mix with as much sawdust, with a little charcoal added, as can be worked in; spread out while hot upon a board, when cold break up into lumps of the size of a large hickory nut, and you have, at a small expense, kindlingmaterial enough for a household for one year. They will easily ignite from a match and burn with a strong blaze, long enough to start any wood that is fit to burn.Remedy against Moths.—An ounce of gum camphor and one of the powdered shell of red pepper are macerated in eight ounces of strong alcohol for several days, then strained. With this tincture the furs or cloths are sprinkled over, and rolled up in sheets. Instead of the pepper, bitter apple may be used. This remedy is used in Russia under the name of the Chinese tincture for moths.Substitute for Yeast.—Boil one pound of flour, one quarter pound of brown sugar and a little salt in two gallons of water for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle and cork close, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four hours.To make Ley.—Have a large tub or cask and bore a hole on one side for a tap, near the bottom; place several bricks near the hole and cover them with straw. Fill the barrel with strong wood ashes. Oak ashes are strongest, and those of appletree wood make the whitest soap. Pour on boiling water until it begins to run, then put in the tap and let it soak. If the ashes settle down as they are wet, fill in until full.Tomato Wine.—Take ripe, fresh tomatoes, mash very fine, strain through a fine sieve, sweeten with good sugar, to suit the taste, set it away in an earthen or glass vessel, nearly full, cover tight, with exception of a small hole for the refuse to work off through during its fermentation. When it is done fermenting it will become pure and clear. Then bottle, and cork tight. A little salt improvesitsflavor; age improves it.To Color Brown on Cotton or Woolen.—For ten pounds of cloth boil three pounds of catechu in as much water as needed to cover the goods. When dissolved, add four ounces of blue vitriol; stir it well; put in the cloth and let it remain all night; in the morning drain it thoroughly; put four ounces of bi-chromate of potash in boiling water sufficient to cover your goods; let it remain 15 minutes; wash in cold water; color in iron.To Cleanse and Brighten Faded Brussels Carpet.—Boil some bran in water and with this wash the carpet with a flannel and brush, using fuller's earth for the worst parts. When dry, the carpet must be well beaten to get out the fuller's earth, then washed over with a weak solution of alum to brighten the colors. Some housekeepers cleanse and brighten carpets by sprinkling them first with fine salt and then sweeping them thoroughly.To give Stoves a Fine, Brilliant Appearance.—A teaspoonful of pulverized alum mixed with stove polish will give a stove a fine luster, which will be quite permanent.Method of Keeping Hams in Summer.—Make bags of unbleached muslin; place in the bottom a little good sweet hay; put in the ham, and then press around and over it firmly more hay; tie the bag and hang up in a dry place. Ham secured in this way will keep for years.How to Cause Vegetables and Fruits to Grow to an Enormous Size and also to Increase the Brilliancy and Fragrancy of Flowers.—A curious discovery has recently been made public in France, in regard to the culture of vegetable and fruit trees. By watering with a solution of sulphate of iron, the most wonderful fecundity has been attained. Pear-trees and beans, which have been submitted to this treatment, have nearly doubled in the size of their productions, and a noticeable improvement has been remarked in their flavor. Dr. Becourt reports that while at the head of an establishment at Enghien, or the sulphurous springs, he had the gardens and plantations connected with it watered, during several weeks of the early Spring, with sulphurous water, and that not only the plantations prospered to a remarkable extent, but flowers acquired a peculiar brilliancy of coloring and healthy aspect which attracted universal attention.Drying Corn.—With a sharp knife shave the corn from the ear, then scrape the cob, leaving one-half the hull clinging to the cob. Place a tin or earthen vessel two-thirds full of this "milk of corn" over a kettle of boiling water, stir frequently until dry enough to spread upon a firm cloth without sticking, when the wind and sun (away from dust and flies) will soon complete the process. To prepare for the table, put in cold water, set it where it will become hot, but not boil, for two hours; then season with salt and pepper, boil for ten minutes; add of butter and white sugar a tablespoonful of each just before ready to serve.To Destroy Lice on Chickens.—The following will kill lice on the first application: Put six cents worth of crackedCoculus Indicusberries into a bottle that will hold a half pint of alcohol: fill the bottle with alcohol, and let it stand twenty-four hours. When the hen comes off with the young chickens, take the mixture, and with a small cotton rag, wet the head of each chicken enough to have it reach through the little feathers to the skin; also, with the same rag, wet the hen under her wings. Be careful that no child, nor any one else uses it, because it adeadly poison.Cracked Wheat.—For a pint of the cracked grain, have two quarts of water boiling in a smooth iron pot over a quick fire; stir in the wheat slowly; boil fast and stir constantly for the first half hour of cooking, or until it begins to thicken and "pop up;" then lift from the quick fire, and place the pot where the wheat will cook slowly for an hour longer. Keep it covered closely, stir now andthen, and be careful not to let it burn at the bottom. Wheat cooked thus is much sweeter and richer than when left to soak and simmer for hours, as many think necessary. White wheat cooks the easiest. When ready to dish out, have your moulds moistened with cold water, cover lightly, and set in a cool place. Eat warm or cold with milk and sugar.How to Have Green Pea Soup in Winter.—Sow peas thickly in pots and boxes, say six weeks before the soup is wanted. Place them in a temperature of 60° or so, close to the glass in a house or pit. Cut the plants as soon as they attain a height of from three to six inches, and rub them through a sieve. The shoots alone will make a fair soup. Mixed with dry peas, also passed through a sieve, no one could scarcely distinguish color or flavor from that of real green pea soup. There is, however, considerable difference in the flavor of pea leaves, as well as of the peas themselves. The best marrows, such as Ne Plus Ultra and Veitche's Perfection, yield the most piquant cuttings. Also the more light the plants receive the higher the flavor, plants drawn up or at all blanched, being by no means comparable with those well and strongly grown.In the spring, a few patches or rows may be sown in open quarters expressly for green cuttings. These are most perfect and full flavored when four inches high. When too long, the flavor seems to have run to wood, and the peculiar aroma of green peas is weaker.There is yet another mode of making green pea soup at any season at very short notice. Chip the peas by steeping them in water and leaving them in a warm place for a few days. Then slightly boil or stew, chips and all, and pass them through a sieve. The flavor is full and good, though such pea soup lacks color. It is astonishing how much the mere vegetation of seeds develops their more active and predominant flavor or qualities; a fact that might often be turned to useful account in the kitchen in the flavoring of soups or dishes, with turnips, celery, parsley, etc.Composition for Restoring Scorched Linen.—Boil, to a good consistency, in half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of fuller's earth, an ounce of hen's dung, half an ounce of cake soap, and the juice of two onions. Spread this composition over the whole of the damaged part; and if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads actually consumed, after suffering it to dry on, and letting it receive a subsequent good washing or two, the place will appear full as white and perfect as any other part of the linen.To Remove Indelible Ink Stains.—Soak the stained spot in strong salt water, then wash it with ammonia. Salt changes the nitrate of silver into chloride of silver, and ammonia dissolves the chloride.To Cook Cauliflower.—Choose those that are close and white and of middle size, trim off the outside leaves, cut the stalk off flat at the bottom, let them lie in salt and water an hour before you boil them. Put them into boiling water with a handful of salt in it, skim it well and let it boil slowly till done. Fifteen minutes will suffice for a small one, and twenty will be long enough for a large one. If it is boiled a minute or two after it is done the flavor will be impaired.To Pickle String Beans.—Place them in a pan with alternate layers of salt and leave them thus for 24 hours. Drain them and place them in a jar with allspice, cloves, pepper and a little salt. Boil enough vinegar to cover them, pour over them and let them stand till the next day, boil the vinegar the second time, and pour it on again. The next day boil the vinegar for the last time, pour it over the beans, and when quite cold, cover the jar tightly and set in a cool closet.How to Cause a Baby to Thrive and Grow.—Try the milk first drawn from a cow that is fresh, add one-quarter water, and a little sugar. If the milk constipates, sweeten it with molasses, or mix with it a small quantity of magnesia. Abjure soothing syrups, and for colic give catnip or smellage tea. Give the baby a tepid bath at night as well as in the morning, rubbing him well with the hand. After the bath, let him feed and then sleep. We find open air the best of tonics for babies.Ourstakes his naps out of doors in the shade during the warm weather, and his cheeks are two roses.To Can Gooseberries without Breaking them.—Fill the cans with berries, and partly cover with water, set the jars into a vessel of water, and raise the temperature to the boiling point. Boil eight minutes, remove from the kettle, cover with boiling water, and seal immediately. If sugar is used, let it be pure white, and allow eight ounces to a quart of berries. Make into a syrup, and use in the cans instead of water. The glass cans with glass tops, a rubber and a screw ring, we have found the simplest and most perfect of the many kinds offered for sale in the market.Ready Mode of Mending Cracks in Stoves, Pipes and Iron Ovens.—When a crack is discovered in a stove, through which the fire or smoke penetrates, the aperture may be completely closed in a moment with a composition consisting of wood ashes and common salt made up into paste with a little water, and plastered over the crack. The good effect is equally certain, whether the stove, etc., be cold or hot.To Keep Milk from Turning Sour.—Add a little sub-carbonate of soda, or of potash. This by combining with, and neutralizing the acetic acid formed, has the desired effect, and keeps the milkfrom turning sooner than it otherwise would. The addition is perfectly harmless, and does not injure the taste.Strawberry Vinegar.—Put four pounds of very ripe strawberries, nicely dressed, into three quarts of the best vinegar, and let them stand three or four days; then drain the vinegar through a jelly-bag, and pour it on the same quantity of fruit. Repeat the process in three days for a third time. Finally, to each pound of the liquor thus obtained, add one pound of fine sugar. Bottle, and let it stand covered, but not tightly corked, one week; then cork it tight, and set it in a cool,dryplace, where it will not freeze. Raspberry vinegar is made the same way.Cider Vinegar.—After cider has become too sour for use, set it in a warm place, put to it occasionally the rinsings of the sugar basin or molasses jug, and any remains of ale or cold tea; let it remain with the bung open, and you will soon have the best of vinegar.To Give Luster to Silver.—Dissolve a quantity of alum in water, so as to make a pretty strong brine, and skim it carefully; then add some soap to it, and dip a linen rag in it, and rub over the silver.To Make Water-Proof Porous Cloth.—Close water-proof cloth fabrics, such as glazed oil-cloth, India-rubber, and gutta-percha cloth are completely water-proof, but do not permit perspiration and the exhaled gases from the skin to pass through them, because they are air-tight as well as water-tight. Persons who wear air-tight garments soon become faint, if they are undergoing severe exercise, such as that to which soldiers are exposed when on march. A porous, water-proof cloth, therefore, is the best for outer garments during wet weather, for those whose duties or labor causes them to perspire freely. The best way for preparing such cloth is by the following process: Take 2¼ pounds of alum and dissolve this in 10 gallons of boiling water; then in a separate vessel dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 gallons of water, and mix the two solutions. The cloth is now well handled in this liquid, until every part of it is penetrated; then it is squeezed and dried in the air, or in a warm apartment, then washed in cold water and dried again, when it is fit for use. If necessary, the cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before being washed. The liquor appears curdled, when the alum and lead solutions are mixed together. This is the result of double decomposition, thesulphateof lead, which is an insoluble salt, being formed. The sulphate of lead is taken up in the pores of the cloth, and it is unaffected by rains or moisture, and yet it does not render the cloth air-tight. Such cloth is also partially non-inflammable. A solution of alum itself will render cloth, prepared as described, partially water-proof, but it is not so good as the sulphate of lead. Such cloth—cotton or woolen—sheds rain like the feathers on the back of a duck.To Cleanse Carpet.—1 teaspoonful liquid ammonia in one gallon warm water, will often restore the color of carpets, even if produced by acid or alkali. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with the carpet down, and a few drops are visible, this will remove it. Or, after the carpet is well beaten and brushed, scour with ox gall, which will not only extract grease but freshen the colors—1 pint of gall in 3 gallons of warm water, will do a large carpet. Table floor-cloths may be thus washed. The suds left from a wash where ammonia is used, even if almost cold, cleanses these floor-cloths well.To Keep Hams.—After the meat has been well cured by pickle and smoke, take some clean ashes from bits of coal; moisten them with a little water so that they will form a paste, or else just wet the hams a little, and rub on the dry ashes. Rubbed in thoroughly they serve as a capital insect protector, and the hams can be hung up in the smoke-house or wood-chamber without any danger of molestation.
Hair Restorers and Invigorators.—There are hundreds; Lyon's, Wood's, Barry's, Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, Driscol's, Phalon's, Haskel's, Allen's, Spaulding's, etc. But, though all under different names, are similar in principle, being vegetable oils dissolved in alcohol, with the addition of spirit of soap, and an astringent material, such as tincture of catechu, or infusion of bark. The best is to dissolve one ounce of castor oil in one quart of 95 alcohol, and add one ounce of tincture of cantharides, two ounces of tincture of catechu, two ounces of lemon juice, two ounces of tincture of cinchona; and to scent it, add oil of cinnamon, or oil of rosemary, or both.
To Make the Hair Soft and Glossy.—Put one ounce of castor oil in one pint of bay rum or alcohol, and color it with a little of the tincture of alkanet root. Apply a little every morning.
Instantaneous Hair Dye.—Take one drachm of nitrate of silver, and add to it just sufficient rain water to dissolve it,and no more; then take strong spirit of ammonia, and gradually pour on the solution of silver, until it becomes as clear as water, (the addition ofthe ammonia at first makes it brown); then wrap round the bottle two or three covers of blue paper, to exclude the light—otherwise it will spoil. Having made this, obtain two drachms of gallic acid; put this into another bottle which will contain one-half pint; pour upon it hot water, and let it stand until cold—when it is fit for use.
Directions to Dye the Hair.—First wash the head, beard, or moustaches with soap and water; afterwards with clean water. Dry, and apply the gallic acid solution, with a clean brush. When it is almost dry, take a small tooth comb, and with a fine brush, put on the teeth of the comb a little of the silver solution, and comb it through the hair, when it will become a brilliant jet black. Wait a few hours; then wash the head again with clean water. If you want to make a brown dye, add double or treble the quantity of water to the silver solution, and you can obtain any shade of color you choose.
To Prevent Gray Hair.—When the hair begins to change color, the use of the following pomade has a beneficial effect in preventing the disease extending, and has the character of even restoring the color of the hair in many instances: Lard, 4 ounces: spermaceti, 4 drachms: oxide of bismuth, 4 drachms. Melt the lard and spermaceti together, and when getting cold stir in the bismuth; to this can be added any kind of perfume, according to choice. It should be used whenever the hair requires dressing. It must not be imagined that any good effect speedily results; it is, in general, a long time taking place, the change being very gradual.
Liquid Rouge for the Complexion.—Four ounces of alcohol, two ounces of water, twenty grains of carmine; twenty grains of ammonia, six grains of oxalic acid, six grains of alum—mix.
Vinegar Rouge.—Cochineal, three drachms; carmine lake, three drachms; alcohol, six drachms; mix, and then put into one pint of vinegar, perfumed with lavender; let it stand a fortnight, then strain for use.
Pearl Powder for Complexion.—Take white bismuth, one pound; starch powder, one ounce; orris powder, one ounce. Mix and sift through lawn. Add a drop of otto of roses or neroli.
Pearl Water for the Complexion.—Castile soap, one pound; water, one gallon. Dissolve, then add alcohol, one quart; oil of rosemary and oil of lavender, each two drachms. Mix well.
Complexion Pomatum.—Mutton grease, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces; powdered French chalk, two ounces; mix.
Feuchtwanger's Tooth Paste.—Powdered myrrh, two ounces; burnt alum, one ounce; cream tartar, one ounce; cuttlefish bone, four ounces: drop lake, two ounces; honey, half a gallon; mix.
Spanish Vermilion for the Toilette.—Take an alkine solution of bastard saffron, and precipitate the color with lemon juice; mix the precipitate with a sufficient quantity of finely powdered French chalk and lemon juice, then add a little perfume.
Fine Tooth Powder.—Powdered orris root, one ounce; peruvian bark, one ounce; prepared chalk, one ounce; myrrh, one-half ounce.
To Make Brown Teeth White.—Apply carefully over the teeth, a stick dipped in strong acetic or nitric acid, and immediately wash out the mouth with cold water. To make the teeth even, if irregular, draw a piece of fine cord betwixt them.
Superior Cologne Water.—Alcohol, one gallon: add oil of cloves, lemon, nutmeg and bergamot, each one drachm; oil neroli, three and a half drachms; seven drops of oils of rosemary, lavender and cassia; half a pint of spirits of nitre; half a pint of elder-flower water. Let it stand a day or two, then take a cullender and at the bottom lay a piece of white cloth, and fill it up, one-fourth of white sand, and filter through it.
Smelling Salts.—Super carbonate of ammonia, eight parts; put it in coarse powder into a bottle, and pour out lavender oil one part.
Oil of Roses—for the Hair.—Olive oil, two pints: otto of roses, one drachm; oil of rosemary, one drachm; mix. It may be colored by steeping a little alkanet root in the oil (by heat) before scenting it.
Arnica Hair Wash.—When the hair is falling off and becoming thin, from the too frequent use of castor, Macassar oils, &c., or when premature baldness arises from illness, the arnica hair wash will be found of great service in arresting the mischief. It is thus prepared: take elder water, half a pint; sherry wine, half a pint; tincture of arnica, half an ounce; alcoholic ammonia, 1 drachm—if this last named ingredient is old, and has lost its strength, then two drachms instead of one may be employed. The whole of these are to be mixed in a lotion bottle, and applied every night to the head with a sponge. Wash the head with warm water twice a week. Soft brushes only must be used during the growth of the young hair.
Ammoniacal Pomatum for Promoting the Growth of Hair.—Take almond oil, quarter of a pound; white wax, half an ounce; clarified lard, three ounces; liquid ammonia, a quarter fluid ounce; otto of lavender, and cloves, of each one drachm. Place the oil, wax and lard in a jar, which set in boiling water; when the wax is melted, allow the grease to cool till nearly ready to set, then stir in theammonia and the perfume, and put into small jars for use. Never use a hard brush, nor comb the hair too much. Apply the pomade at night only.
Bandoline for the Hair.—This mixture is best made a little at a time. Pour a tablespoonful of boiling water on a dozen quince seeds, and repeat when fresh is required.
Artificial Bear's Grease.—Bear's grease is imitated by a mixture of prepared veal suet and beef marrow. It may be scented at pleasure. The following are some of the best compounds sold by that name:
1. Prepared suets, 3 ounces; lard, 1 ounce; olive oil, 1 ounce; oil of cloves, 10 drops; compound tincture of benzoin, 1 drachm. Mix.
2. Lard, 1 pound; solution of carbonate of potash, 2 ounces. Mix.
3. Olive oil, 3 pints; white wax, 3 ounces; spermaceti, 1 ounce; scent with oil of roses and oil of bitter almonds.
Bears' Oil.—The best description of lard oil, properly perfumed, is far preferable to any other kind of oil.
Cosmetic Soap, for Washing the Hands.—Take a pound of castile soap, or any other nice old soap; scrape it fine; put it on the fire with a little water, stir it to a smooth paste; turn it into a bowl; or any kind of essence; beat it with a silver spoon till well mixed; thicken it with Indian meal, and keep it in small pots, closely covered; exposure to the air will harden it.
Cosmetic Wash for the Hair.—Red wine, one pound; salt, one drachm; sulphate of iron, two drachms; boil for a few minutes, add common verdigris, one drachm; leave it on the fire two minutes; withdraw it, and add two drachms of powdered nutgall. Rub the hair with the liquid, in a few minutes dry it with a warm cloth, and afterwards wash with water.
To Remove Dandruff.—Take a thimbleful of powdered refined borax, let it dissolve in a teacupful of water, first brush the head well, then wet a brush and apply it to the head. Do this every day for a week, and twice a week for a few times, and you will effectually remove the dandruff.
To Make the Complexion Fair.—Take emulsion of bitter almonds, one pint; oxymuriate of quicksilver, two and a half grains; sal ammonia, one drachm. Use moderately for pimples, freckles, tanned complexions.
Eau de Cologne—Cologne Water.—Oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, oil of lemon, oil of neroli, each one ounce; oil of cinnamon, halfan ounce; spirit of rosemary, fifteen ounces; highly rectified spirits, eight pints. Let them stand fourteen days; then distil in a water bath.
2. Essential oils of bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange-peel and rosemary, each twelve drops; cardamon seeds, one drachm, rectified spirits, one pint. It improves by age.
Eau de Rosieres.—Spirits of roses, 4 pints; spirits of jessamine, one pint; spirits of orange flowers, one pint; spirits of cucumber, two and a quarter pints; spirits of celery seed, two and a quarter pints; spirits of angelica root, two and three quarter pints; tincture of benzoin, three quarters of a pint; balsam of Mecca, a few drops.
Eau de Violettes.—Macerate five ounces of fine orris root in a quart of rectified spirits, for some days, and filter.
Esprit de Bouquet.—Oil of lavender, oil of cloves and oil of bergamot, each two drachms; otto of rose, and oil of cinnamon, each, twenty drops; essence of musk, one drachm; rectified spirits, one pint. Mix.
Essence of Ambergris.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; ambergris, 24 grains. Let it stand for three days in a warm place, and filter.
Essence of Bergamot.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; bergamot-peel, four ounces: as above.
Essence of Cedrat.—Essence of bergamot, one ounce; essence of neroli, two drachms.
Essence of Cloves.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; bruised cloves, one ounce.
Essence for the Headache.—Spirits of wine, two pounds; roche alum, in fine powder, two ounces; camphor, four ounces; essence of lemon, half an ounce; strong water of ammonia, four ounces. Stop the bottle close, and shake it daily, for three or four days.
Essence of Lavender.—Essential oil of lavender, three and a half ounces; rectified spirits, two quarts; rose water, half a pint; tincture of orris, half a pint.
Essence of Lemon.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; fresh lemon-peel, four ounces.
Essence of Musk.—Take one pint proof spirit, and add two drachms musk. Let it stand a fortnight, with frequent agitation.
Essence of Neroli.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; orange-peel, cut small, three ounces; orris root in powder, one drachm; musk, two grains.
Essence for Smelling Bottles.—Oil of lavender and essence of bergamot, each one drachm; oil of orange-peel, eight drops; oil of cinnamon, four drops; oil of neroli, two drops; alcohol and strongest water of ammonia, each two ounces.
Essence of Verbena Leaf.—Take rectified spirits of wine, half a pint; otto of verbena, half a drachm; otto of bergamot, one drachm; tincture of tolu, quarter of an ounce. Mix them together, and it is ready for use. This sweet scent does not stain the handkerchief and is very economical.
Essence of Violets.—Spirits of wine, half a pint; orris root, one ounce. Other essences in the same manner.
Eye Water.—Take one pint of rose water, and add one teaspoonful each of spirits of camphor and laudanum. Mix and bottle. To be shaken and applied to the eyes as often as necessary. Perfectly harmless.
Honey Water.—Rectified spirits, eight pints; oil of cloves, oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, each half an ounce; musk, eight grains; yellow sandus shavings, four ounces; digest for eight days and add two pints each of orange flower and rose water.
Lavender Water.—Oil of lavender, four ounces; spirit, three quarts; rose water, one pint. Mix and filter.
Lisbon Water.—To rectified spirit, one gallon, add essential oils of orange-peel and lemon-peel, of each three ounces, and otto of roses, one quarter of an ounce.
Odoriferous Lavender Water.—Rectified spirit, five gallons; essential oil of lavender, twenty ounces; oil of bergamot, five ounces; essence of ambergris, half an ounce.
2. Oil of lavender, three drachms; oil of bergamot, twenty drops; nerolic, six drops; otto of roses, six drops; essence of cedrat, eight drops; essence of musk, twenty drops; rectified spirit, twenty-eight fluid ounces; distilled water, four ounces.
Queen of Hungary's Water.—Spirit of rosemary, four pints; orange flower water, one quarter of a pint; essence of neroli, four drops.
Almond Bloom.—Boil one ounce of Brazil dust in three pints of distilled water, and strain; add six drachms of isinglass, 2 drachms of cochineal, one ounce of alum, and eight drachms of borax; boil again and strain through a fine cloth.
Fine Carmine.—(prepared from cochineal) is used alone, or deduced with starch, &c. And also the coloring matter of safflower and other vegetable colors, in the form of pink saucers, &c.
Face Powder.—Starch, one pound; oxide of bismuth, four ounces.
Face Whites.—French chalk is one of the most innocent; finely powdered. White starch is also used.
Rouge.—Mix vermillion with enough gum tragacanth dissolved in water to form a thin paste; add a few drops of almond oil, place the mixture in rouge pots, and dry by a very gentle heat.
Turkish Rouge.—Take half pint alcohol and one ounce of alkanet; macerate ten days and pour off the liquid, which should be bottled. This is the simplest and one of the best articles of the kind.
Caution.—White lead, and all cosmetic powders containing it should never be applied to the skin, as it is the most dangerous article that could be used.
Mouth Pastiles, for Perfuming the Breath.—Extract of licorice, three ounces; oil of cloves, one and a half drachms; oil of cinnamon, fifteen drops. Mix, and divide into one-grain pills, and silver them.
2. Catechu, seven drachms; orris powder, forty grains; sugar, three ounces; oil of rosemary, (or of clove, peppermint, or cinnamon,) four drops. Mix, and roll flat on an oiled marble slab, and cut into very small lozenges.
Oil for the Hair.—A very excellent ready-made oil for the hair which answers all common purposes, is made by mixing one part brandy with three parts of sweet oil. Add any scent you prefer.
Oil of Roses.—Fine olive oil, one pint; otto of roses, sixteen drops. If required red, color with alkanet root, and strain before adding the otto. For common sale essence of bergamot or of lemon is often substituted, wholly or in part, for the expensive otto.
The following secret applies toallanimals, as every animal is attracted by the peculiar odor in a greater or less degree; but it is best adapted to land animals, such as Foxes, Minks, Sables, Martins, Wolves, Bears, Wild Cats, &c., &c.
Take one half pound strained honey, one quarter drachm musk, three drachms oil of lavender, and four pounds of tallow, mix the whole thoroughly together, and make it into forty pills, or balls, and place one of these pills under the pan of each trap when setting it.
The above preparation will most wonderfully attract all kinds of animals, and trappers and others who use it will be sure of success.
To Catch Foxes.—Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, each equal parts, and rub them over the trap before setting it. Set in the usual way.
To Catch Mink.—Take oil of amber, and beaver's oil, and rub over the trap. Bait with fish or birds.
To Catch Muskrat.—In the female muskrat near the vagina is a small bag which holds from 30 to 40 drops. Now all the trapper has to do, is to procure a few female muskrats and squeeze the contents of a bag into a vial. Now, when in quest of muskrats, sprinkle a few drops of the liquid on the bushes over and around the trap. This will attract the male muskrats in large numbers, and if the traps are properly arranged, large numbers of them may be taken.
***In trapping Muskrats, steel traps should be used, and they should be set in the paths and runs of the animal, where they come upon the banks, and in every case the trap should be set under the water, and carefully concealed; and care should be taken that it has sufficient length of chain to enable the animals to reach the water after being caught, otherwise they are liable to escape by tearing or gnawing off their legs.
To Catch Beaver.—In trapping for beaver, set the trap at the edge of the water or dam, at the point where the animals pass from deep to shoal water, and always beneath the surface, and fasten it by means of a stout chain to a picket driven in the bank, or to a bush or tree. A flat stick should be made fast to the trap by a cord a few feet long, which, if the animal chanced to carry away the trap, would float on the water and point out its position. The trap should then be baited with the following preparation, called
"The Beaver Medicine."
This is prepared from a substance called castor, and is obtained from the glandulous pouches of themaleanimal.
The contents of five or six of these castor bags are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves and thirty grains of cinnamon in fine powder, and the whole well stirred together with as much whiskey as will give it the consistency of mixed mustard. This preparation must be left closely corked up, and in four or five days the odor becomes powerful; and this medicine smeared upon the bits of wood, &c., with which the traps are baited, will attract the beaver from a great distance, and wishing to make a close inspection, the animal puts its legs into the trap and is caught.
***The same caution in regard to length of chain should be observed for Beaver, as for Otters, Muskrats, &c., for unless they can reach the water they are liable to get out of the trap and escape.
Chinese Art of Catching Fish.—Take Cocculus Indicus, pulverize and mix with dough, then scatter it broadcast over the water, as you would sow seed. The fish will seize it with great avidity, and will instantly become so intoxicated that they will turn belly up on top of the water, by dozens, hundreds, or thousands, as the case may be. All that you now have to do, is to have a boat, or other convenience to gather them up, and as you gather put them in a tub of clean water and presently they will be as lively and healthy as ever.
This means of taking fish, and the manner of doing it, has, heretofore, been known to but few. The value of such knowledge admits of no question. This manner of taking fish does not injure the flesh in the least.
Secret Art of Catching fish.—Put the oil of rhodium on the bait, when fishing with the hook, and you will always succeed.
To Catch Fish.—Take the juice of smallage or lovage, and mix with any kind of bait. As long as there remain any kind of fish within many yards of your hook, you will find yourself busy pulling them out.
To Catch Abundance of Eels, Fish, &c.—Get over the water after dark, with a light and a dead fish that has been smeared with the juice of stinking glawdin—the fish will gather round you in large quantities, and can easily be scooped up.
To Transfer Engravings to Plaster Casts.—Cover the plate with ink, polish its surface in the usual way, then put a wall of paper round; then pour on it some fine paste made with plaster of Paris. Jerk it to drive out the air bubbles, and let it stand one hour, when you have a fine impression.
The New and Beautiful Art of Transferring on to Glass.—Colored or plain Engravings, Photographs, Lithographs, Water Colors, Oil Colors, Crayons, Steel Plates, Newspaper Cuts, Mezzotinto, Pencil, Writing, Show Cards, Labels,—or in fact anything.
Directions.—Take glass that is perfectly clear—window glass will answer—clean it thoroughly; then varnish it, taking care to have it perfectly smooth; place it where it will be entirely free from dust; let it stand over night; then take your engraving, lay it in clear water until it is wet through (say ten or fifteen minutes), then lay it upon a newspaper, that the moisture maydry from the surface, and still keep the other side damp. Immediately varnish your glass thesecondtime, then place your engraving on it, pressing it down firmly, so as to exclude every particle of air; next rub the paper from the back, until it is of uniform thickness—so thin that you can see through it, then varnish it thethirdtime, and let it dry.
Materials Used for the Above Art.—Take two ounces balsam of fir, to one ounce of spirits of turpentine; apply with a camel's hair brush.
To Make Wax Flowers.—The following articles will be required to commence wax work: 2 lbs. white wax, ¼ lb. hair wire, 1 bottle carmine, 1 ultramarine blue, 1 bottle chrome yellow, 2 bottles chrome green, No. 1; 2 bottles chrome green, No. 2; 1 bottle rose pink, 1 bottle royal purple, 1 bottle scarlet powder, 1 bottle balsam fir, 2 dozen sheets white wax. This will do to begin with. Now have a clean tin dish and pour therein a quart or two of water; then put in about 1 lb. of the white wax and let it boil; when cool enough, so the bubbles will not form on top, it is ready to sheet, which is done as follows:—Take half of a window pane, 7×9, and, after having washed it clean, dip into a dish containing weak soap-suds; then dip into the wax and draw out steadily and plunge it into the suds, when the sheet will readily come off. Lay it on a cloth or clean paper to dry. Proceed in like manner until you have enough of the white; then add enough of the green powder to make a bright color, and heat and stir thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed; then proceed as for sheeting whitewax. The other colors are rubbed into the leaves after they are cut out, rubbing light or heavy according to shade.
For patterns you can use any natural leaf, forming the creases in wax with the thumb nail or a needle; to put the flowers together or the leaves on to the stem, hold in the hand until warm enough to stick. If the sheeted wax is to be used in Summer, put in a little balsam of fir to make it hard. If for Winter, none will be required.
You can make many flowers without a teacher; but one to assist, in the commencement, would be a great help; though the most particular thing about it is to get the wax sheeted. The materials I have suggested can be procured at any drug store, and will cost from $3 to $4.50.
How to Charm Those Whom You Meet and Love.—When you desire to make any one "Love" you with whom you meet, although not personally acquainted with him, you can very readily reach him and make his acquaintance, if you observe the foregoing instructions, in addition to the following directions: Suppose you see him coming towards you in an unoccupied mood, or is recklessly, or passively walking past you, all that remains for you to do at that moment is to concentrate your thought and send it into him as before explained; and, to your astonishment, if he was passive, he will look at you, and now is your time to send a thrill to his heart, by looking him carelessly, though determinately, into his eyes, and praying with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, that he may read your thought, and receive your true Love, which God designs we should bear one another. This accomplished, and you need not and must not wait for a cold-hearted, fashionable, and popular Christian introduction; neither should you hastily run into his arms, but continue operating in this psychological manner; not losing any convenient opportunity to meet him at an appropriate place, when an unembarrassed exchange of words will open the door, to the one so magnetized. At this interview, unless prudence sanction it, do not shake hands, but let your manners and loving eyes speak with Christian charity and ease; wherever, or whenever you meet again, at the first opportunity grasp his hand, in an earnest, sincere and affectionate manner, observing at the same time, the following important directions, viz.:—As you take his bare hand in yours, press your thumb gently, though firmly, between the bones of the thumb and forefinger of his hand, and at the very instant when you press thus on the blood vessels, (which you can before ascertain to pulsate,) look him earnestly and lovingly, though not pertly or fiercely, into his eyes, and send all your heart's, mind's and soul's strength into his organization, and he will be your friend, and if you find him not to be congenial, you have him in your power, and by carefully guarding against evil influences,you can reform him to suit your own purified, Christian, and loving taste.
Mesmerism.—If you desire to mesmerise a person, who has never been put into that state, nor in the least affected, the plan is to set him in an easy posture, and request him to be calm and resigned. Take him by both hands, or else by one hand and place your other gently on his forehead. But with whatever part of his body you choose to come in contact, be sure to always touch two points, answering to thepositiveandnegativeforces. Having taken him by both hands, fix your eyes upon his, and, if possible, let him contentedly and steadily look you in the face. Remain in this position until his eyes close. Then place both your hands on his head, gently pass them to his shoulders, down the arms, and off at the ends of his fingers. Throw your hands outward as you return them to his head, and continue these passes till he can hear no voice but yours. He is then entirely in the mesmeric state. When a person is in the mesmeric state, whether put there by yourself or some one else, you can awake him by the upward passes: or else do it by an impression, as follows: Tell him, "I will countthree, and at the same instant I saythree, I will slap my hands together, and you will be wide awake and in your perfect senses. Are you ready?" If he answers in the affirmative, you will proceed to count "one,two, THREE!" The wordthreeshould be spoken suddenly, and in a very loud voice, and at the same instant the palms of the hands should be smitten together. This will instantly awake him.
To Make Magic Photographs.—Take, in the first place, an ordinary print—a card-picture, for instance—on albumen paper, beneath the negative in the usual way, and, when sufficiently printed, let it be carefully washed in the dark room, so as to remove all the free nitrate of silver, etc. Now immerse it in the following solution, also in the dark room: saturated solution bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate), one ounce; hydrochloric acid, one drachm. The saturated solution is previously prepared by putting into water more bichloride of mercury than it will dissolve by shaking in about twelve hours. The print will gradually be bleached in this liquid, in the ordinary meaning of the word—that is, it will disappear; but the fact is, the print is still there—its color alone is changed, a double salt having been formed of mercury and silver, which is white, as many of our readers, who have been in the habit of intensifying with a mercurial salt, are aware. As soon as the print has quite disappeared, the paper is thoroughly washed and dried in the dark room; it is also preserved between folds of orange-colored paper, in order to keep it from the action of light, for the surface is still in some measure sensitive to light. The bleaching of the print—that is, its conversion into awhite salt—is effected more quickly by keeping it in motion in the mercurial solution. As we said before, the print has not been bleached in reality—the substance which originally formed it is still there, together with a new substance, a salt of mercury. But the two salts of silver and mercury may be easily brought out and made visible by several solutions, such as sulphide of ammonium, solution of hydrosulphuric acid; in fact, any of the soluble sulphides, ammonia and hyposulphite of soda. The latter salt is used in preference to the others. Small pieces of blotting-paper, therefore, of the same size as the prints, are cut out and steeped in a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda and then dried. The magic photographs are packed as before stated, between folds of orange-colored paper; the papers dipped in hyposulphite of soda are the developers, and may be packed between two sheets of common writing-paper. The development of the image is effected in the following manner: place the albumen paper which contains the whitened print on a pane of glass, print side upward; on this lay the dry piece of blotting-paper that has been previously dipped in hyposulphite of soda. Moisten the latter thoroughly, then place over it a pane of glass, and upon this a weight, to bring the two pieces of paper into intimate contact. In a very short time the picture will appear in all its original detail, and of a sepia tone.
Writing on the Arm.—The conjurer's explanation was a great lesson in "spiritualism." I next asked him to elucidate the trick of writing on the arm. On the occasion of my visit to Mr. Forster, when the raps indicated the second pellet, he required the "spirit" present to write the initials on his bare arm. Mr. Forster placed his arm under the table for a moment, then rested it in front of a lamp burning on the table, and quickly rolled up the sleeve of his coat. The skin was without stain or mark. He passed his hand over it once or twice, and the initials of the names I had written on the second pellet seemed to grow on the arm in letters of crimson. "It's a trick I do every night. It goes with the audience like steam," said the conjurer. "Very simple. Well, suppose a name. What name would you like?" "Henry Clay," I replied. Down went the conjurer's arm under the table. In a few seconds he raised it and exposed the bare forearm without mark upon it. He doubled up his fist tightly so as to bring the muscles of the arm to the surface, and rubbed the skin smartly with his open hand. The letters "H. C." soon appeared upon it in well-defined writing of a deep red color. "There you have it, gentlemen; that's the blood-red writing. Very simple. All you have to do is take a lucifer match, and write on your arm with the wrong end of it. If you moisten the skin with a little salt water first, all the better. Then wet the palm of the other hand, rub your arm with it. Sendup the muscles and the blood-red writing will come out. It will fade away in less than no time. If you look under the table, you will see that I have a little piece of pointed wood. I can move my arm under that and write the letters without using the other hand. But that's a trick which wants practice."
Electrical Psychology.—The most easy and direct mode to produce electro psychological communication is to take the individual by the hand, in the same manner as though you were going to shake hands. Press your thumb on theUlnar nerve, which spreads its branches to the ring and little finger, an inch above the knuckle, and in range of the ring finger. Lay the ball of the thumb flat so as to cover the minute branches of this nerve of motion and sensation. When you first take him by the hand, request him to place his eyes upon yours, and to keep them fixed, so that he may see every emotion of your mind expressed in the countenance. Continue this pressure for a half a minute or more. Then request him to close his eyes, and with your fingers gently brush downward several times over the eyelids. Throughout the whole process feel within yourself a fixed determination to close them, so as to express that determination fully in your countenance and manner. Then place your hand on the top of his head and press your thumb firmly on the organ of Individuality, bearing partially downward, and with the other thumb still pressing the ulnar nerve, tell him—you can not open your eyes!Remember, that your manner, your expression of countenance, your motions, and your language must all be of the most positive character. If he succeed in opening his eyes, try it once or twice more, because impressions, whether physical or mental, continue to deepen by repetition. In case, however, that you cannot close his eyes, nor see any effect produced upon them, you should cease making any further efforts, because you have now fairly tested that his mind and body both stand in a positive relation as it regards the doctrine of impressions. If you succeed in closing the subject's eyes by the above mode, you may then request him to put his hands on his head, or in any other position you choose, and tell him,you can not stirthem! In case you succeed, request him to be seated, and tell him,you can not rise!If you are successful in this, request him to put his hands in motion, and tell him,you can not stop them!If you succeed, request him to walk the floor, and tell him,you can not cease walking!And so you may continue to perform experiments involving muscular motion and paralysis of any kind that may occur to your mind, till you can completely control him, in arresting or moving all the voluntary parts of his system.
How to Make Persons at a Distance Think of You.—Let it be particularly remembered that "Faith" and concentration of thought arepositively needful to accomplish aught in drawing others to you or making them think of you. If you have not the capacity or understanding how to operate an electric telegraph battery, it is no proof that an expert and competent person should fail doing so; just so in this case; if faith, meditation, or concentration of thought fail you, then will you also fail to operate upon others. First, you must have an yearning for the person you wish to make think of you; and secondly, you must learn to guess at what time of day or night he may be unemployed, passive, so that he be in a proper state to receive the thought which you dispatch to him. If he should be occupied in any way, so that his nervous forces were needed to complete his task, his "Human Battery," or thought, would not be in a recipient or passive condition, therefore your experiment would fail at that moment. Or if he were under heavy narcotics, liquors, tobacco, or gluttonous influences, he could not be reached at such moments. Or, if he were asleep, and you operated to affect a wakeful mind or thought, you would fail again at the moment. To make a person at a distance think of you, whether you are acquainted with him or not, matters not; I again repeat, find out or guess at what moment he is likely to be passive; by this I mean easy and careless: then, with the most fervent prayer, or yearning of your entire heart, mind, soul and strength, desire he may think of you; and if you wish him to think on any particular topic in relation to you, it is necessary for you to press your hands, when operating on him, on such mental faculties of your head as you wish him to exercise towards you. This demands a meagre knowledge of Phrenology. His "Feeling Nature," or "Propensities," you cannot reach through these operations, but when he once thinks of you, (if he does not know you he imagines such a being as you are,) he can easily afterwards be controlled by you, and he will feel disposed to go in the direction where you are, if circumstances permit, and he is his own master, for, remember, circumstances alter cases. I said, you cannot reach his "Feeling," but only his "Thinking Nature," truly, but after he thinks of you once, his "Feeling Nature," or propensities, may become aroused through his own organization. In conclusion on this topic, let me say, that if you wish the person simply to think of you, one operation may answer; but on the contrary, if you wish him to meet you, or go where you are, all you have to do is to persevere in a lawful and Christian manner to operate, and I assure you, in the course of all natural things, that is, if no accident or very unfavorable circumstances occur, he will make his way towards you, and when he comes within sight, or reaching distance of you, it will be easy to manage him.
How to Make Large Noses Small.—Dr. Cid, an inventive surgeon of Paris, noticed that elderly people, who for a long time haveworn eyeglasses supported on the nose by a spring, are apt to have this organ long and thin. This he attributes to the compression which the spring exerts on the arteries by which the nose is nourished. The idea occurred to him that the hint could be made useful. Not long afterward, a young lady of fifteen years consulted him, to see if he could restore to moderate dimensions her nose, which was large, fleshy, and unsightly. The trait, he found, was hereditary in her family, as her mother and sister were similarly afflicted. This was discouraging, as hereditary peculiarities are particularly obstinate. But the doctor determined to try his method; he took exact measurements, and had constructed for her a "lunette pince-nez"—a spring and pad for compressing the artery—which she wore at night and whenever she could conveniently in daytime. In three weeks a consolatory diminution was evident, and in three months the young lady was quite satisfied with the improvement in her features.
Jockey Tricks.—How to make a horse appear as though he was badly Foundered.—Take a fine wire and fasten it tight around the fetlock, between the foot and the heel, and smooth the hair over it. In twenty minutes the horse will show lameness.—Do not leave it on over nine hours.—To make a horse lame.—Take a single hair from his tail, put it through the eye of a needle, then lift the front leg, and press the skin between the outer and the middle tendon or cord, and shove the needle through, cut off the hair each side and let the foot down; the horse will go lame in twenty minutes.—How to make a horse stand by his food and not take it.—Grease the front teeth and the roof of the mouth with common beef tallow, and he will not eat until you wash it out; this in conjunction with the above will consummate a complete founder.—How to cure a horse from the crib or sucking wind.—Saw between the upper teeth to the gums.—How to put a young countenance on a horse.—Make a small incision in the sunken place over the eye, insert the point of a goose quill and blow it up; close the external wound with thread and it is done.—To cover up the heaves.—Drench the horse with one-fourth pound of common bird shot, and he will not heave until they pass through him.—To make a horse appear as if he had the glanders.—Melt four ounces of fresh butter and pour it into his ear.—To distinguish between distemper and glanders.—The discharge from the nose in glanders will sink in water; in distemper it floats.—How to make a true pulling horse baulk.—Take tincture of cantharides one ounce, and corrosive sublimate one drachm; mix, and bathe his shoulder at night.—How to nerve a horse that is lame.—Make a small incision about half way from the knee to the joint on the outside of the leg, and at the back part of the shin bone you will find a small white tendon or cord, cut it off and close the external wound with a stitch, and he will walk off on the hardest pavement and not limp a particle.
To Bore Holes in Glass.—Any hard steel tool will cut glass with great facility when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill-bow may be used, or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus easily smoothed by a flat file. Flat window glass can readily be sawed by a watch spring saw by aid of this solution. In short, the most brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as brass by the use of cutting tools kept constantly moist with camphorized oil of turpentine.
To Etch upon Glass.—Procure several thick, clear pieces of crown glass, and immerse them in melted wax, so that each may receive a complete coating, or pour over them a solution of wax in benzine. When perfectly cold draw on them, with a fine steel point, flowers, trees, houses, portraits, etc. Whatever parts of the drawing are intended to be corroded with the acid, should beperfectlyfree from the least particle of wax. When all these drawings are finished the pieces of glass must be immersed one by one in a square leaden box or receiver, where they are to be submitted to the action of hydrofluoric acid gas, made by acting on powdered fluor-spar by concentrated sulphuric acid.
How to get New Varieties of Potatoes.—When the vines are done growing and are turned brown; the seed is ripe: then take the balls and string with a large needle and strong thread; hang them in a dry place where they will gradually dry and mature, without danger or injury from frost. In the month of April, soak the ball for several hours from the pulp; when washed and dried, they are fit for sowing in rows, in a bed well prepared in the garden; they will sprout in a fortnight; they must be attended to like other vegetables. When about two inches high, they may be thinned and transplanted into rows. As they increase in size, they should be hilled. In the autumn many of them will be of the size of a walnut, and from that to a pea. In the following spring they should be planted in hills, placing the large ones together,—they will in the second season attain their full size, and will exhibit several varieties of form, and may then be selected to suit the judgment of the cultivator. I would prefer gathering the balls from potatoes of a good kind. The first crops from seeds thus obtained will be productive, and will continue so for many years, gradually deteriorating, until they will need a renewal by the process.
To Destroy Rats.—Fill any deep smooth vessel of considerable capacity to within six inches of the top with water, cover the surface with bran, and set the vessel in a place most frequented by these pests. In attempting to get at the bran they will fall in and be drowned. Several dozen have been taken by this simple method at a time.
To Kill Rats in Barn and Rick.—Melt hog's lard in a bottle plunged in water of temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit: introduce into it half an ounce of phosphorus for every pound of lard; then add a pint of proof spirits or whiskey; cork the bottle firmly after its contents have been to 150 degrees, taking it out of the water and agitating till the phosphorus becomes uniformly diffused, making a milky looking fluid. The spirit may be poured off on the liquor cooling; and you then have a fatty compound, which, after being warmed gently, may be incorporated with a mixture of wheat flour, or sugar, flavored with oil of rhodium, or oil of anise-seed, etc., and the dough, on being made into pellets, should be laid at the rat holes; being luminous in the dark, and agreeable both to the palates and noses, it is readily eaten, and proves certainly fatal. The rats issue from their holes and seek for water to quench their burning thirst, and they commonly die near the water.
Rat Poison.—Flour, six pounds; sugar, one pound; sulphur, four pounds; phosphorus, four pounds.
To Banish and Prevent Mosquitoes from Biting.—Dilute a little of the oil of thyme with sweet oil, and dip pieces of paper in it. Hang in your room, or rub a little on the hands and face when going to bed.
To Keep Milk Sweet in the Hottest Weather.—Put a spoonful of horse-radish in a pan of milk; this will keep it sweet for several days longer than without.
Blistering Liniment.—Powdered Spanish flies, one ounce; spirits turpentine, six ounces. Rub on the belly for pain in the bowels, or on the surface for internal inflammation.
Cathartic Powder.—To cleanse out horses in the spring, making them sleek and healthy; black sulphuret of antimony, nitre, and sulphur, each equal parts. Mix well together, and give a tablespoonful every morning.
Cough Ball for Horses.—Pulverized ipecac, three-quarters of an ounce; camphor, two ounces; squills, half an ounce. Mix with honey to form into mass, and divide into eight balls. Give one every morning.
Diuretic Balls.—Castile soap scraped fine, powdered resin, each three teaspoonfuls; powdered nitre, four teaspoonfuls; oil of juniper, one small teaspoonful; honey, a sufficient quantity to make into a ball.
To prevent Horses being Teased by Flies.—Boil three handfuls of walnut leaves in three quarts of water; sponge the horse (before going out of the stable) between and upon the ears, neck and flank.
To Prevent Botts.—Mix a little wood-ashes with their drink daily. This effectually preserves horses against the botts.
Liniment for Galled Backs of Horses.—White lead moistened with milk. When milk cannot be procured, oil may be substituted. One or two ounces will last two months or more.
Remedy for Strains in Horses.—Take whiskey, one half pint: camphor, one ounce; sharp vinegar, one pint. Mix. Bathe the parts affected.
Another.—Take opodeldoc, warm it, and rub the strained part two or three times a day.
Lotion for Blows, Bruises, Sprains, etc.—One part laudanum, two parts oil origanum, four parts water ammonia, four parts oil of turpentine, four parts camphor, thirty-two parts spirits of wine. Put them into a bottle, and shake them until mixed.
Fever Ball.—Emetic tartar and camphor, each half an ounce; nitre, two ounces. Mix with linseed meal and molasses to make eight balls. Give one twice a day.
Liniment for Sprains, Swellings, etc.—Aqua ammonia, spirits camphor, each, two ounces; oil origanum and laudanum, each, half an ounce. Mix.
Lotion for Mange.—Boil two ounces tobacco in one quart water: strain; add sulphur and soft soap, each, two ounces.
Purgative Ball.—Aloes, one ounce; cream tartar and castile soap, onequarterof an ounce. Mix with molasses to make a ball.
Ginger Candy.—Boil a pound of clarified sugar until, upon taking a drop of it on a piece of stick, it will become brittle when cold. Mix and stir up with it, for a common article, about a teaspoonful of ground ginger; if for a superior article, instead of the ground ginger add half the white of an egg, beaten up previously with fine sifted loaf sugar, and twenty drops of strong essence of ginger.
Ginger Lozenges.—Dissolve in one-quarter of a pint of hot water half an ounce of gum arabic; when cold, stir it up with one and a half pounds of loaf sugar, and a spoonful of powdered ginger, or twelve drops of essence of ginger. Roll and beat the whole up into a paste; make it into a flat cake, and punch out the lozenges with a round stamp; dry them near the fire, or in an oven.
Peppermint Lozenges.—Best powdered white sugar, seven pounds; pure starch, one pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage.
Peppermint, Rose or Hoarhound Candy.—They may be made as lemon candy. Flavor with essence of rose or peppermint or finely powdered hoarhound. Pour it out in a buttered paper, placed in a square tin pan.
To Clarify Sugar for Candies.—To every pound of sugar, put a large cup of water, and put it in a brass or copper kettle, over a slow fire, for half an hour; pour into it a small quantity of isinglass and gum Arabic, dissolved together. This will cause all impurities to rise to the surface; skim it as it rises. Flavor according to taste.
All kinds of sugar for candy, are boiled as above directed. When boiling loaf sugar, add a tablespoonful of rum or vinegar, to prevent its becoming too brittle whilst making.
Loaf sugar when boiled, by pulling and making into small rolls, and twisting a little, will make what is called little rock, or snow. By pulling loaf sugar after it is boiled, you can make it as white as snow.
Common Twist Candy.—Boil three pounds of common sugar and one pint of water over a slow fire for half an hour, without skimming. When boiled enough take it off; rub the hands over with butter; take that which is a little cooled, and pull it as you would molasses candy, until it is white; then twist or braid it, and cut it up in strips.
Fine Peppermint Lozenges.—Best powdered white sugar, 7 pounds; pure starch, 1 pound; oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix with mucilage.
Everton Taffee.—To make this favorite and wholesome candy, take 1½ pounds of moist sugar, 3 ounces of butter, a teacup and a half of water and one lemon. Boil the sugar, butter, water, and half the rind of the lemon together, and when done—which will be known by dropping into cold water, when it should be quite crisp—let it stand aside till the boiling has ceased, and then stir in the juice of the lemon. Butter a dish, and pour it in about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The fire must be quick, and the taffee stirred all the time.
Candy Fruit.—Take 1 pound of the best loaf sugar; dip each lump into a bowl of water, and put the sugar into your preserving kettle. Boil it down and skim it until perfectly clear, and in a candying state. When sufficiently boiled, have ready the fruits you wish to preserve. Large white grapes, oranges separated into small pieces, or preserved fruits, taken out of their syrup and dried, are very nice. Dip the fruits into the prepared sugar while it is hot; put them in a cold place; they will soon become hard.
Popped Corn.—Dipped in boiling molasses and stuck together forms an excellent candy.
Molasses Candy.—Boil molasses over a moderately hot fire, stirring constantly. When you think it is done, drop a little on a plate, and if sufficiently boiled it will be hard. Add a small quantity of vinegar to render it brittle and any flavoring ingredient you prefer. Pour in buttered tin pans. If nuts are to be added strew them in the pans before pouring out the candy.
Liquorice Lozenges.—Extract of liquorice, 1 pound, powdered white sugar, 2 pounds. Mix with mucilage made with rosewater.
Fig Candy.—Take 1 pound of sugar and 1 pint of water, set over a slow fire. When done, add a few drops of vinegar and a lump of butter, and pour into pans in which split figs are laid.
Puds in Candy.—Can be made in the same manner, substituting stoned raisins for the figs. Common molasses candy is very nice with all kinds of nuts added.
Scotch Butter Candy.—Take 1 pound of sugar, 1 pint of water: dissolve and boil. When done add 1 tablespoonful of butter, and enough lemon juice and oil of lemon to flavor.
Icing for Cakes.—Beat the whites of two small eggs to a high froth; then add to them a quarter of a pound of white, ground, or powdered sugar; beat it well until it will lie in a heap; flavor with lemon or rose. This will frost the top of a common-sized cake. Heap what you suppose to be sufficient in the centre of the cake, then dip a broad-bladed knife in cold water, and spread the ice evenly over the whole surface.
Saffron Lozenges.—Finely powdered hay-saffron, 1 ounce; finely powdered sugar, 1 pound; finely powdered starch, 8 ounces. Mucilage to mix.
Chocolate Cream.—Chocolate, scraped fine, ½ ounce; thick cream, 1 pint; sugar (best), 3 ounces; heat it nearly to boiling, then remove it from the fire, and mill it well. When cold add the whites of four or five eggs; whisk rapidly and take up the froth on a sieve; serve the cream in glasses, and pile up the froth on the top of them.
Candied Lemon or Peppermint for Colds.—Boil 1½ pounds sugar in a half pint of water, till it begins to candy around the sides; put in 8 drops of essence; pour it upon buttered paper, and cut it with a knife.
Alum in Starch.—For starching muslins, ginghams, and calicoes, dissolve a piece of alum the size of a shellbark, for every pint of starch, and add to it. By so doing the colors will keep bright for a long time, which is very desirable when dresses must be often washed, and the cost is but a trifle.
Cider Yeast.—Take cider from sour apples before it ferments, scald, skim thoroughly, and pour, while hot, upon flour enough to make a stiff batter. When cool, add yeast of any kind, and let it rise, stirring it down as often as it tries to run over for several days, then put it in a cool place (where it will not freeze), and you will have something equal to the best hop yeast. It will keep until May without any further labor.
To Destroy Cockroaches.—The following is said to be effectual: These vermin are easily destroyed, simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the peelings in the morning, and renew them at night.
Fire Kindlers.—Take a quart of tar and three pounds of resin, melt them, bring to a cooling temperature, mix with as much sawdust, with a little charcoal added, as can be worked in; spread out while hot upon a board, when cold break up into lumps of the size of a large hickory nut, and you have, at a small expense, kindlingmaterial enough for a household for one year. They will easily ignite from a match and burn with a strong blaze, long enough to start any wood that is fit to burn.
Remedy against Moths.—An ounce of gum camphor and one of the powdered shell of red pepper are macerated in eight ounces of strong alcohol for several days, then strained. With this tincture the furs or cloths are sprinkled over, and rolled up in sheets. Instead of the pepper, bitter apple may be used. This remedy is used in Russia under the name of the Chinese tincture for moths.
Substitute for Yeast.—Boil one pound of flour, one quarter pound of brown sugar and a little salt in two gallons of water for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle and cork close, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four hours.
To make Ley.—Have a large tub or cask and bore a hole on one side for a tap, near the bottom; place several bricks near the hole and cover them with straw. Fill the barrel with strong wood ashes. Oak ashes are strongest, and those of appletree wood make the whitest soap. Pour on boiling water until it begins to run, then put in the tap and let it soak. If the ashes settle down as they are wet, fill in until full.
Tomato Wine.—Take ripe, fresh tomatoes, mash very fine, strain through a fine sieve, sweeten with good sugar, to suit the taste, set it away in an earthen or glass vessel, nearly full, cover tight, with exception of a small hole for the refuse to work off through during its fermentation. When it is done fermenting it will become pure and clear. Then bottle, and cork tight. A little salt improvesitsflavor; age improves it.
To Color Brown on Cotton or Woolen.—For ten pounds of cloth boil three pounds of catechu in as much water as needed to cover the goods. When dissolved, add four ounces of blue vitriol; stir it well; put in the cloth and let it remain all night; in the morning drain it thoroughly; put four ounces of bi-chromate of potash in boiling water sufficient to cover your goods; let it remain 15 minutes; wash in cold water; color in iron.
To Cleanse and Brighten Faded Brussels Carpet.—Boil some bran in water and with this wash the carpet with a flannel and brush, using fuller's earth for the worst parts. When dry, the carpet must be well beaten to get out the fuller's earth, then washed over with a weak solution of alum to brighten the colors. Some housekeepers cleanse and brighten carpets by sprinkling them first with fine salt and then sweeping them thoroughly.
To give Stoves a Fine, Brilliant Appearance.—A teaspoonful of pulverized alum mixed with stove polish will give a stove a fine luster, which will be quite permanent.
Method of Keeping Hams in Summer.—Make bags of unbleached muslin; place in the bottom a little good sweet hay; put in the ham, and then press around and over it firmly more hay; tie the bag and hang up in a dry place. Ham secured in this way will keep for years.
How to Cause Vegetables and Fruits to Grow to an Enormous Size and also to Increase the Brilliancy and Fragrancy of Flowers.—A curious discovery has recently been made public in France, in regard to the culture of vegetable and fruit trees. By watering with a solution of sulphate of iron, the most wonderful fecundity has been attained. Pear-trees and beans, which have been submitted to this treatment, have nearly doubled in the size of their productions, and a noticeable improvement has been remarked in their flavor. Dr. Becourt reports that while at the head of an establishment at Enghien, or the sulphurous springs, he had the gardens and plantations connected with it watered, during several weeks of the early Spring, with sulphurous water, and that not only the plantations prospered to a remarkable extent, but flowers acquired a peculiar brilliancy of coloring and healthy aspect which attracted universal attention.
Drying Corn.—With a sharp knife shave the corn from the ear, then scrape the cob, leaving one-half the hull clinging to the cob. Place a tin or earthen vessel two-thirds full of this "milk of corn" over a kettle of boiling water, stir frequently until dry enough to spread upon a firm cloth without sticking, when the wind and sun (away from dust and flies) will soon complete the process. To prepare for the table, put in cold water, set it where it will become hot, but not boil, for two hours; then season with salt and pepper, boil for ten minutes; add of butter and white sugar a tablespoonful of each just before ready to serve.
To Destroy Lice on Chickens.—The following will kill lice on the first application: Put six cents worth of crackedCoculus Indicusberries into a bottle that will hold a half pint of alcohol: fill the bottle with alcohol, and let it stand twenty-four hours. When the hen comes off with the young chickens, take the mixture, and with a small cotton rag, wet the head of each chicken enough to have it reach through the little feathers to the skin; also, with the same rag, wet the hen under her wings. Be careful that no child, nor any one else uses it, because it adeadly poison.
Cracked Wheat.—For a pint of the cracked grain, have two quarts of water boiling in a smooth iron pot over a quick fire; stir in the wheat slowly; boil fast and stir constantly for the first half hour of cooking, or until it begins to thicken and "pop up;" then lift from the quick fire, and place the pot where the wheat will cook slowly for an hour longer. Keep it covered closely, stir now andthen, and be careful not to let it burn at the bottom. Wheat cooked thus is much sweeter and richer than when left to soak and simmer for hours, as many think necessary. White wheat cooks the easiest. When ready to dish out, have your moulds moistened with cold water, cover lightly, and set in a cool place. Eat warm or cold with milk and sugar.
How to Have Green Pea Soup in Winter.—Sow peas thickly in pots and boxes, say six weeks before the soup is wanted. Place them in a temperature of 60° or so, close to the glass in a house or pit. Cut the plants as soon as they attain a height of from three to six inches, and rub them through a sieve. The shoots alone will make a fair soup. Mixed with dry peas, also passed through a sieve, no one could scarcely distinguish color or flavor from that of real green pea soup. There is, however, considerable difference in the flavor of pea leaves, as well as of the peas themselves. The best marrows, such as Ne Plus Ultra and Veitche's Perfection, yield the most piquant cuttings. Also the more light the plants receive the higher the flavor, plants drawn up or at all blanched, being by no means comparable with those well and strongly grown.
In the spring, a few patches or rows may be sown in open quarters expressly for green cuttings. These are most perfect and full flavored when four inches high. When too long, the flavor seems to have run to wood, and the peculiar aroma of green peas is weaker.
There is yet another mode of making green pea soup at any season at very short notice. Chip the peas by steeping them in water and leaving them in a warm place for a few days. Then slightly boil or stew, chips and all, and pass them through a sieve. The flavor is full and good, though such pea soup lacks color. It is astonishing how much the mere vegetation of seeds develops their more active and predominant flavor or qualities; a fact that might often be turned to useful account in the kitchen in the flavoring of soups or dishes, with turnips, celery, parsley, etc.
Composition for Restoring Scorched Linen.—Boil, to a good consistency, in half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of fuller's earth, an ounce of hen's dung, half an ounce of cake soap, and the juice of two onions. Spread this composition over the whole of the damaged part; and if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads actually consumed, after suffering it to dry on, and letting it receive a subsequent good washing or two, the place will appear full as white and perfect as any other part of the linen.
To Remove Indelible Ink Stains.—Soak the stained spot in strong salt water, then wash it with ammonia. Salt changes the nitrate of silver into chloride of silver, and ammonia dissolves the chloride.
To Cook Cauliflower.—Choose those that are close and white and of middle size, trim off the outside leaves, cut the stalk off flat at the bottom, let them lie in salt and water an hour before you boil them. Put them into boiling water with a handful of salt in it, skim it well and let it boil slowly till done. Fifteen minutes will suffice for a small one, and twenty will be long enough for a large one. If it is boiled a minute or two after it is done the flavor will be impaired.
To Pickle String Beans.—Place them in a pan with alternate layers of salt and leave them thus for 24 hours. Drain them and place them in a jar with allspice, cloves, pepper and a little salt. Boil enough vinegar to cover them, pour over them and let them stand till the next day, boil the vinegar the second time, and pour it on again. The next day boil the vinegar for the last time, pour it over the beans, and when quite cold, cover the jar tightly and set in a cool closet.
How to Cause a Baby to Thrive and Grow.—Try the milk first drawn from a cow that is fresh, add one-quarter water, and a little sugar. If the milk constipates, sweeten it with molasses, or mix with it a small quantity of magnesia. Abjure soothing syrups, and for colic give catnip or smellage tea. Give the baby a tepid bath at night as well as in the morning, rubbing him well with the hand. After the bath, let him feed and then sleep. We find open air the best of tonics for babies.Ourstakes his naps out of doors in the shade during the warm weather, and his cheeks are two roses.
To Can Gooseberries without Breaking them.—Fill the cans with berries, and partly cover with water, set the jars into a vessel of water, and raise the temperature to the boiling point. Boil eight minutes, remove from the kettle, cover with boiling water, and seal immediately. If sugar is used, let it be pure white, and allow eight ounces to a quart of berries. Make into a syrup, and use in the cans instead of water. The glass cans with glass tops, a rubber and a screw ring, we have found the simplest and most perfect of the many kinds offered for sale in the market.
Ready Mode of Mending Cracks in Stoves, Pipes and Iron Ovens.—When a crack is discovered in a stove, through which the fire or smoke penetrates, the aperture may be completely closed in a moment with a composition consisting of wood ashes and common salt made up into paste with a little water, and plastered over the crack. The good effect is equally certain, whether the stove, etc., be cold or hot.
To Keep Milk from Turning Sour.—Add a little sub-carbonate of soda, or of potash. This by combining with, and neutralizing the acetic acid formed, has the desired effect, and keeps the milkfrom turning sooner than it otherwise would. The addition is perfectly harmless, and does not injure the taste.
Strawberry Vinegar.—Put four pounds of very ripe strawberries, nicely dressed, into three quarts of the best vinegar, and let them stand three or four days; then drain the vinegar through a jelly-bag, and pour it on the same quantity of fruit. Repeat the process in three days for a third time. Finally, to each pound of the liquor thus obtained, add one pound of fine sugar. Bottle, and let it stand covered, but not tightly corked, one week; then cork it tight, and set it in a cool,dryplace, where it will not freeze. Raspberry vinegar is made the same way.
Cider Vinegar.—After cider has become too sour for use, set it in a warm place, put to it occasionally the rinsings of the sugar basin or molasses jug, and any remains of ale or cold tea; let it remain with the bung open, and you will soon have the best of vinegar.
To Give Luster to Silver.—Dissolve a quantity of alum in water, so as to make a pretty strong brine, and skim it carefully; then add some soap to it, and dip a linen rag in it, and rub over the silver.
To Make Water-Proof Porous Cloth.—Close water-proof cloth fabrics, such as glazed oil-cloth, India-rubber, and gutta-percha cloth are completely water-proof, but do not permit perspiration and the exhaled gases from the skin to pass through them, because they are air-tight as well as water-tight. Persons who wear air-tight garments soon become faint, if they are undergoing severe exercise, such as that to which soldiers are exposed when on march. A porous, water-proof cloth, therefore, is the best for outer garments during wet weather, for those whose duties or labor causes them to perspire freely. The best way for preparing such cloth is by the following process: Take 2¼ pounds of alum and dissolve this in 10 gallons of boiling water; then in a separate vessel dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 gallons of water, and mix the two solutions. The cloth is now well handled in this liquid, until every part of it is penetrated; then it is squeezed and dried in the air, or in a warm apartment, then washed in cold water and dried again, when it is fit for use. If necessary, the cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before being washed. The liquor appears curdled, when the alum and lead solutions are mixed together. This is the result of double decomposition, thesulphateof lead, which is an insoluble salt, being formed. The sulphate of lead is taken up in the pores of the cloth, and it is unaffected by rains or moisture, and yet it does not render the cloth air-tight. Such cloth is also partially non-inflammable. A solution of alum itself will render cloth, prepared as described, partially water-proof, but it is not so good as the sulphate of lead. Such cloth—cotton or woolen—sheds rain like the feathers on the back of a duck.
To Cleanse Carpet.—1 teaspoonful liquid ammonia in one gallon warm water, will often restore the color of carpets, even if produced by acid or alkali. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with the carpet down, and a few drops are visible, this will remove it. Or, after the carpet is well beaten and brushed, scour with ox gall, which will not only extract grease but freshen the colors—1 pint of gall in 3 gallons of warm water, will do a large carpet. Table floor-cloths may be thus washed. The suds left from a wash where ammonia is used, even if almost cold, cleanses these floor-cloths well.
To Keep Hams.—After the meat has been well cured by pickle and smoke, take some clean ashes from bits of coal; moisten them with a little water so that they will form a paste, or else just wet the hams a little, and rub on the dry ashes. Rubbed in thoroughly they serve as a capital insect protector, and the hams can be hung up in the smoke-house or wood-chamber without any danger of molestation.