Five dollars, according to this key, would be eaa. But generally anextra letter is used to prevent repeating the mark for 0. If the signfor a second 0 in this case were y, we would have eay instead of eaa.TIME IN WHICH MONEY DOUBLES.
"A DOLLAR SAVED, A DOLLAR EARNED."The way to accumulate money is to save small sums with regularity. Asmall sum saved daily for fifty years will grow at the following rate:
[Transcriber's note: The figures from 1 to 90 cents assume about 5.5%interest. The one dollar amount ($475,208) assumes about 10% interest.]SHORT INTEREST RULES.To find the interest on a given sum for any number of days, at any rateof interest, multiply the principal by the number of days and divide asfollows:
TRADE DISCOUNTS.Wholesale houses usually invoice their goods to retailers at "list"prices. List prices were once upon a time supposed to be retail prices,but of late a system of "long" list prices has come into vogue in manylines of trade--that is, the list price is made exorbitantly high, sothat wholesalers can give enormous discounts. These discounts, whetherlarge or small, are called trade discounts, and are usually deducted ata certain rate per cent from the face of invoice.The amount of discount generally depends upon size of bill or terms ofsettlement, or both. Sometimes two or more discounts are allowed. Thus30% and 5% is expressed 30 and 5 meaning first a discount of 30% andthen 5% from the remainder.30 and 5 is not 35% but 33-1/3%. 10, 5 and 3 off means three successivediscounts.A wholesale house allowing 10, 5 and 3 off gets more for its goods thanit would at 18 off.HOW TO DETECT COUNTERFEIT MONEY.In the space at disposal here, it is impossible of course to give acomplete illustrated counterfeit detector, but the following simplerules, laid down by Bank Note Examiner Geo. R. Baker, will be foundextremely valuable:Examine the form and features of all human figures: if graceful, andfeatures distinct, examine the drapery. Notice whether the folds lienaturally, and observe whether the fine strands of the hair are plainand distinct.Examine the lettering. In a genuine bill is absolutely perfect. Therehas never been a counterfeit put out but was more or less defective inthe lettering.Counterfeiters rarely, if ever, get the imprint or engraver's nameperfect. The shading in the background of the vignette and over andaround the letters forming the name of the bank, on a good bill, is evenand perfect; on a counterfeit, it is uneven and imperfect.The die work around the figures of the denomination should be of thesame character as the ornamental work surrounding it.Never take a bill deficient in any of these points.Big Trees.--Of ninety-two redwood trees in Calaveras Grove, Cal., tenare over thirty feet in diameter, and eighty-two have a diameter of fromfifteen to thirty feet. Their ages are estimated at from 1,000 to 3,500years. Their height ranges from 150 to 237 feet.FACTS OF GENERAL INTEREST.A hawk flies 150 miles per hour; an eider duck 90 miles; a pigeon, 40miles.A man's working life is divided into four decades: 20 to 30, bronze; 30to 40, silver; 40 to 50, gold; 50 to 60, iron. Intellect and judgmentare strongest between 40 and 50.Hair which is lightest in color is also lightest in weight. Light orblond hair is generally the most luxuriant, and it has been calculatedthat the average number of hairs of this color on an average person'shead is 140,000; while the number of brown hairs is 110,000, and blackonly 103,000.Goldsmith received $300 for "The Vicar of Wakefield;" Moore, $15,500 for"Lalla Rookh;" Victor Hugo, $12,000 for "Hernani;" Chateaubriand,$110,000 for his works; Lamartine, $16,000 for "Travels in Palestine;"Disraeli, $50,000 for "Endymion;" Anthony Trollope, $315,000 forforty-five novels; Lingard, $21,000 for his "History of England;" Mrs.Grant received over $600,000 as royalty from the sale of "The PersonalMemoirs of U. S. Grant."One woman in 20, one man in 30 is barren--about 4 per cent. It is foundthat one marriage in 20 is barren--5 per cent. Among the nobility ofGreat Britain, 21 per cent have no children, owing partly tointermarriage of cousins, no less than 4-1/2 per cent being married tocousins.The largest bells are the following, and their weight is given in tons:Moscow, 216: Burmah, 117; Pekin, 53; Novgorod, 31; Notre Dame, 18;Rouen, 18; Olmutz, 18; Vienna, 18; St. Paul's, 16; Westminster, 14;Montreal, 12; Cologne, 11; Oxford, 8; St. Peter's, 8. Bell metal shouldhave 77 parts copper and 23 tin.American life averages for professions (Boston): Storekeepers, 41.8years; teamsters, 43.6 years; laborers. 44.6 years; seamen, 46.1 years;mechanics, 47.3 years; merchants, 48.4 years; lawyers, 52.6 years;farmers, 64.2 years.A camel has twice the carrying power of an ox; with an ordinary load of400 lb. he can travel 12 to 14 days without water, going 40 miles a day.Camels are fit to work at 5 years old, but their strength begins todecline at 25, although they live usually till 40.The checks paid in New York in one year aggregate $77,020,672,494, whichis more than nine times the value of all the gold and silver coin inexistence.Pounds of water evaporated by 1 lb. of fuel as follows: Straw. 1.9;wood, 3.1; peat, 3.8; coke or charcoal. 6.4; coal, 7.9; petroleum, 14.6.The average elevation of continents above sea level is: Europe, 670feet; Asia, 1,140 feet; North America. 1,150 feet; South America, 1,100feet.A body weighing 140 lb. produces 3 lb. ashes; time for burning, 55minutes.The seven largest diamonds in the world weigh, respectively, as follows;Kohinoor, 103 carats; Star of Brazil, 126 carats; Regent of France, 136carats; Austrian Kaiser, 139 carats; Russian Czar, 195 carats; Rajah ofBorneo, 367 carats; Braganza, 1,880 carats. The value of the above isnot regulated by size, nor easy to estimate, but none of them is worthless than $500,000.According to Orfila, the proportion of nicotine in Havana tobacco is 2per cent; in French, 6 per cent; and Virginia tobacco, 7 per cent. Thatin Brazilian is still higher.One horsepower will raise 16-1/2 tons per minute a height of 12 inches,working 8 hours a day. This is about 9,900 foot-tons daily, or 12 timesa man's work.Good clear ice two inches thick will bear men to walk on; four inchesthick will bear horses and riders; six inches thick will bear horses andteams with moderate loads.One pair of rabbits can become multiplied in four years into 1,250,000.Australia ships 6,000,000 rabbit skins yearly to England.The largest of the Pyramids, that of Cheops, is composed of four milliontons of stone, and occupied 100,000 men during 20 years, equal to anoutlay of $200,000,000. It would now cost $20,000,000 at a contractprice of 36 cents per cubic foot.One tug on the Mississippi can take, in six days, from St. Louis to NewOrleans, barges carrying 10,000 tons of grain, which would require 70railway trains of fifteen cars each.Comparative Scale of Strength.--Ordinary man, 100; Byron's Gladiator,173; Farnese Hercules, 362; horse, 750.A man will die for want of air in five minutes; for want of sleep, inten days; for want of water, in a week; for want of food, at varyingintervals, dependent on various circumstances.The average of human life is 33 years. One child out of every four diesbefore the age of 7 years, and only one-half of the world's populationreach the age of 17. One out of 10,000 reaches 100 years. The averagenumber of births per day is about 120,000, exceeding the deaths by about15 per minute. There have been many alleged cases of longevity in allages, but only a few are authentic.The various nations of Europe are represented in the list of Popes asfollows: English, 1; Dutch, 1; Swiss, 1; Portuguese, 1; African, 2;Austrian, 2; Spanish, 5; German, 6; Syrian, 8; Greek, 14; French, 16;Italian, 200. Eleven Popes reigned over 20 years; 69, from 10 to 20; 57,from 5 to 10; and the reign of 116 was less than 5 years. The reign ofPiux IX was the longest of all, the only one exceeding 25 years.A knot, in sailor phrase, is a nautical mile, 6,080 feet, or 800 feetmore than a land mile.The Garden of the Gods is near Colorado Springs and consists of a tractsome 50 acres in area surrounded by mountains and ravines of redsandstone. A number of large upright rocks, some as high as 350 feet,have given the beautiful valley its name. It is entered by a very narrowpass called the "Beautiful Gate."The Trans-Siberian Railway is 6,003 miles long and was built at a costof $201,350,860.The longest reigns in English history were; Victoria, 64 years; GeorgeIII., 60; Henry III, 56; Edward III, 50; Elizabeth, 45; Henry VIII., 38.The highest mountain in North America is Mt. McKinley, at the headwatersof the Suswhitna and Kuskokwim rivers, Alaska. Its height is 20,464feet.The largest viaduct in the world was designed and built by Americanengineers for the English railway in Burma. It crosses the Gokteikgorge, eighty miles from Mandalay. It is 2,260 feet long and 325 feethigh, and was constructed in 1900.The degrees of alcohol in wines and liquors are: Beer, 4.0; porter, 4.5;ale, 7.4; cider, 8.6; Moselle, 9.6; Tokay, 10.2; Rhine, 11.0; orange,11.2; Bordeaux, 11.5; hock, 11.6; gooseberry, 11.8; Champagne, 12.2;claret, 13.3; Burgundy, 13.6; Malaga, 17.3; Lisbon, 18.5; Canary, 18.8;sherry, 19.0; vermouth, 19.0; Cape, 19.2; Malmsey, 19.7; Marsala, 20.2;Madeira, 21.0; Port, 23.2; Curacoa, 27.0; aniseed, 33.0; Maraschino,34.0; Chartreuse, 43.0; gin, 51.6; brandy, 53.4; rum, 53.7; Irishwhisky, 53.9; Scotch, 54.3. Spirits are said to be "proof" when theycontain 57 per cent. The maximum amount of alcohol, says Parkes, that aman can take daily without injury to his health is that contained in 2oz. Brandy, 1/4 pt. of sherry, 1/2 pt. of claret, or 1 pt. of beer.The measurement of that part of the skull which holds the brain isstated in cubic inches thus: Anglo-Saxon, 105; German, 105; negro, 96;ancient Egyptian, 93; Hottentot, 58; Australian native, 58. In all racesthe male brain is about ten per cent heavier than the female. Thehighest class of apes has only 16 oz. of brain. A man's brain, it isestimated, consists of 300,000,000 nerve cells, of which over 3,000 aredisintegrated and destroyed every minute. Everyone, therefore, has a newbrain once in sixty days. But excessive labor, or lack of sleep,prevents the repair of the tissues, and the brain gradually wastes away.Diversity of occupation, by calling upon different portions of the mindor body successively, affords, in some measure, the requisite repose toeach. But in this age of overwork there is no safety except in thatperfect rest which is the only natural restorative of exhausted power.The King James version of the Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746words, 31,173 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books. The word and occurs46,277 times. The word Lord occurs 1,855 times. The word Reverend occursbut once, which is in the 9th verse of the 111th Psalm. The middle verseis the 8th verse of the 118th Psalm. The 21st verse of the 7th chapterof Ezra contains all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J.The 19th chapter of II Kings and the 37th chapter of Isaiah are alike.The longest verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther. Theshortest verse is the 35th verse of the 11th chapter of St. John. Thereare no words or names of more than six syllables.SOME OF NATURE'S WONDERS.The human body has 240 bones.Man's heart beats 92,160 times in a day.A salmon has been known to produce 10,000,000 eggs. Some female spidersproduce 2,000 eggs. A queen bee produces 100,000 eggs in a season.There are 9,000 cells in a square foot of honeycomb.It requires 2,300 silkworms to produce one pound of silk.It would take 27,600 spiders to produce one pound of web.THE RULE OF THE ROAD.The "rule of the road" in the United States is "turn to the right"; inEngland it is the reverse. The rule holds in this country in the casewhere two vehicles going in opposite directions meet. When one vehicleovertakes another the foremost gives way to the left and the otherpasses by on the "off side"; and when a vehicle is crossing thedirection of another it keeps to the left and crosses in its rear. Thesetwo rules are the same in this country as in England, and why the ruleconcerning meeting vehicles should have been changed it is impossible tosay.CANARY BIRDS.How to Keep Them Healthy and in Good Song.Place the cage so that no draught of air can strike the bird.Give nothing to healthy birds but rape, hemp, canary seed, water,cuttle-fish bone, and gravel, paper or sand on floor of cage.A bath three times a week;The room should not be overheated.When moulting keep warm and avoid all draughts of air.Give plenty of German summer rape seed. A little hard-boiled egg mixedwith cracker, grated fine, once or twice a week, is excellent.Feed at a certain hour in the morning.Diseases and Cures.Husk or Asthma.--The curatives are aperients, such as endive, watercresses, bread and milk, and red pepper.Pip.--Mix red pepper, butter and garlic and swab out the throat.Sweating.--Wash the hen in salt and water, and dry rapidly.Costiveness.--Plenty of green food and fruit.Obstruction of the Rump Gland--Pierce with a needle. Press the inflamedmatter out, and drop fine sugar over the wound.Lice.--Keep a saucer of fresh water in the cage and the bird will freeitself.Overgrown Claws or Beak.--Pare carefully with a sharp knife.Moulting.--Give plenty of good food and keep warm. Saffron and a rustynail put in the drinking water is excellent.Loss of Voice.--Feed with paste of bread, lettuce and rape seed withyoke of egg. Whisky and sugar is an excellent remedy.RECIPES, TRADE SECRETS ETC.Toothache Cure.--Compound tinct. benzoin is said to be one of the mostcertain and speedy cures for toothache; pour a few drops on cotton, andpress at once into the diseased cavity, when the pain will almostinstantly cease.Toothache Tincture.--Mix tannin, 1 scruple; mastic, 3 grains; ether, 2drams. Apply on cotton wool, to the tooth, previously dried.Charcoal Tooth Paste.--Chlorate of potash, 1/2 dram; mint water, 1ounce. Dissolve and add powdered charcoal, 2 ounces; honey, 1 ounce.Excellent Mouth Wash.--Powdered white Castile soap, 2 drams; alcohol, 3ounces; honey, 1 ounce; essence or extract jasmine, 2 drams. Dissolvethe soap in alcohol and add honey and extract.Removing Tartar from the Teeth.--This preparation is used by dentists.Pure muriatic acid, one ounce; water, one ounce; honey, two ounces; mixthoroughly. Take a toothbrush, and wet it freely with this preparation,and briskly rub the black teeth, and in a moment's time they will beperfectly white; then immediately wash out the mouth well with water,that the acid may not act on the enamel of the teeth. This should bedone only occasionally.Test for Glue.--The following simple and easy test for glue is given: Aweighed piece of glue (say one-third of an ounce) is suspended in waterfor twenty-four hours, the temperature of which is not above fiftydegrees Fahrenheit. The coloring material sinks, and the glue swellsfrom the absorption of the water. The glue is then taken out andweighed; the greater the increase in weight the better the glue. If itthen be dried perfectly and weighed again, the weight of the coloringmatter can be learned from the difference between this and the originalweight.Bad Breath.--Bad breath from catarrh, foul stomach or bad teeth may betemporarily relieved by diluting a little bromo chloralum with eight orten parts of water, and using it as a gargle, and swallowing a few dropsbefore going out. A pint of bromo chloralum costs fifty cents, but asmall vial will last a long time.Good Tooth Powder.--Procure, at a druggist's, half an ounce of powderedorris root, half an ounce of prepared chalk finely pulverized, and twoor three small lumps of Dutch pink. Let them all be mixed in a mortar,and pounded together. The Dutch pink is to impart a pale reddish color.Keep it in a close box.Another Tooth Powder.--Mix together, in a mortar, half an ounce of redPeruvian bark, finely powdered, a quarter of an ounce of powdered myrrh,and a quarter of an ounce of prepared chalk.A Safe Depilatory.--Take a strong solution of sulphuret of barium, andadd enough finely powdered starch to make a paste. Apply to the roots ofthe hair and allow it to remain on a few minutes, then scrape off withthe back edge of a knife blade, and rub with sweet oil.Quick Depilatory for Removing Hair.--Best slaked lime, 6 ounces;orpiment, fine powder, 1 ounce. Mix with a covered sieve and preserve ina dry place in closely stoppered bottles. In using mix the powder withenough water to form a paste, and apply to the hair to be removed. Inabout five minutes, or as soon as its caustic action is felt on theskin, remove, as in shaving, with an ivory or bone paper knife, washwith cold water freely, and apply cold cream.Tricopherus for the Hair.--Castor oil, alcohol, each 1 pint; tinct.cantharides, 1 ounce; oil bergamot, 1/2 ounce; alkanet coloring, tocolor as wished. Mix and let it stand forty-eight hours, with occasionalshaking, and then filter.Liquid Shampoo.--Take bay rum. 2-1/2 pints; water, 1/2 pint; glycerine,1 ounce; tinct. cantharides, 2 drams; carbonate of ammonia, 2 drams;borax, 1/2 ounce; or take of New England rum, 1-1/2 pints; bay rum, 1pint; water, 1/2 pint; glycerine, 1 ounce; tinct. cantharides, 2 drams,ammon. carbonate, 2 drams; borax, 1/2 ounce; the salts to be dissolvedin water and the other ingredients to be added gradually.Cleaning Hair Brushes.--Put a teaspoonful or dessertspoonful of aquaammonia into a basin half full of water, comb the loose hairs out of thebrush, then agitate the water briskly with the brush, and rinse it wellwith clear water.Hair Invigorator.--Bay rum, two pints; alcohol, one pint; castor oil,one ounce; carb. ammonia, half an ounce; tincture of cantharides, oneounce. Mix them well. This compound will promote the growth of the hairand prevent it from falling out.For Dandruff.--Take glycerine, four ounces; tincture of cantharides,five ounces; bay rum, four ounces; water, two ounces. Mix and apply oncea day, and rub well into the scalp.Mustache Grower.--Simple cerate, 1 ounce; oil bergamot, 10 minims;saturated tinct. of cantharides, 15 minims. Rub them togetherthoroughly, or melt the cerate and stir in the tincture while hot, andthe oil as soon as it is nearly cold, then run into molds or rolls. Tobe applied as a pomade, rubbing in at the roots of the hair. Care mustbe used not to inflame the skin by too frequent application.Razor-strop Paste.--Wet the strop with a little sweet oil, and apply alittle flour of emery evenly over the surface.Shaving Compound.--Half a pound of plain white soap, dissolved in asmall quantity of alcohol, as little as can be used; add a tablespoonfulof pulverized borax. Shave the soap and put it in a small tin basin orcup; place it on the fire in a dish of boiling water; when melted, addthe alcohol, and remove from the fire; stir in oil of bergamotsufficient to perfume it.Cure for Prickly Heat.--Mix a large portion of wheat bran with eithercold or lukewarm water, and use it as a bath twice or thrice a day.Children who are covered with prickly heat in warm weather will be thuseffectually relieved from that tormenting eruption. As soon as it beginsto appear on the neck, face or arms, commence using the bran water onthese parts repeatedly through the day, and it may probably spread nofarther. If it does, the bran water bath will certainly cure it, ifpersisted in.To Remove Corns from Between the Toes.--These corns are generally morepainful than any others, and are frequently situated as to be almostinaccessible to the usual remedies. Wetting them several times a daywith hartshorn will in most cases cure them. Try it.Superior Cologne Water.--Oil of lavender, two drams; oil of rosemary,one dram and a half; orange, lemon and bergamot, one dram each of theoil; also two drams of the essence of musk, attar of rose, ten drops,and a pint of proof spirit. Shake all together thoroughly three times aday for a week.Inexhaustible Smelling Salts.--Sal tartar, three drams; muriate ammonia,granulated, 6 drams; oil neroli. 5 minims; oil lavender flowers, 5minims; oil rose, 3 minims; spirits ammonia, 15 minims. Put into thepungent a small piece of sponge filling about one-fourth the space, andpour on it a due proportion of the oils, then put in the mixed saltsuntil the bottle is three-fourths full, and pour on the spirits ofammonia in proper proportion and close the bottle.Volatile Salts for Pungents.--Liquor ammon., 1 pint; oil lavenderflowers, 1 dram; oil rosemary, fine, 1 dram; oil bergamot, 1/2 dram; oilpeppermint, 10 minims. Mix thoroughly and fill pungents or keep in wellstoppered bottle. Another formula is, sesqui-carbonate of ammonia,small pieces, 10 ounces; concentrated liq. ammonia, 5 ounces. Put thesesqui-carb. in a wide-mouthed jar with air-tight stopper, perfume theliquor ammonia to suit and pour over the carbonate; close tightly thelid and place in a cool place; stir with a stiff spatula every other dayfor a week, and then keep it closed for two weeks, or until it becomeshard, when it is ready for use.Paste for Papering Boxes.--Boil water and stir in batter of wheat or ryeflour. Let it boil one minute, take off and strain through a colander.Add, while boiling, a little glue or powdered alum. Do plenty ofstirring while the paste is cooking, and make of consistency that willspread nicely.Aromatic Spirit of Vinegar.--Acetic acid, No. 8. pure, 8 ounces;camphor, 1/2 ounce. Dissolve and add oil lemon, oil lavender flowers,each two drams; oil cassia, oil cloves, 1/2 dram each. Thoroughly mixand keep in well stoppered bottle.Rose-Water.--Preferable to the distilled for a perfume, or for ordinarypurposes. Attar of rose, twelve drops; rub it up with half an ounce ofwhite sugar and two drams carbonate magnesia, then add gradually onequart of water and two ounces of proof spirit, and filter through paper.Bay Rum.--French proof spirit, one gallon; extract bay, six ounces. Mixand color with caramel; needs no filtering.Fine Lavender Water.--Mix together, in a clean bottle, a pint ofinodorous spirit of wine, an ounce of oil of lavender, a teaspoonful ofoil of bergamot, and a tablespoonful of oil of ambergris.The Virtues of Turpentine.--After a housekeeper fully realizes the worthof turpentine in the household, she is never willing to be without asupply of it. It gives quick relief to burns, it is an excellentapplication for corns, it is good for rheumatism and sore throat, and itis the quickest remedy for convulsions or fits. Then it is a surepreventive against moths: by just dropping a trifle in the bottom ofdrawers, chests and cupboards, it will render the garments secure frominjury during the summer. It will keep ants and bugs from closets andstore-rooms by putting a few drops in the corners and upon the shelves;it is sure destruction to bedbugs, and will effectually drive them awayfrom their haunts if thoroughly applied to all the joints of thebedstead in the spring cleaning time, and injures neither furniture norclothing. A spoonful of it added to a pail of warm water is excellentfor cleaning paint. A little in suds washing days lightens laundrylabor.A Perpetual Pasteis a paste that may be made by dissolving an ounce ofalum in a quart of warm water. When cold, add as much flour as will makeit the consistency of cream, then stir into it half a teaspoonful ofpowdered resin, and two or three cloves. Boil it to a consistency ofmush, stirring all the time. It will keep for twelve months, and whendry may be softened with warm water.Paste for Scrap Books.--Take half a teaspoonful of starch, same offlour, pour on a little boiling water, let it stand a minute, add morewater, stir and cook it until it is thick enough to starch a shirtbosom. It spreads smooth, sticks well and will not mold or discolorpaper. Starch alone will make a very good paste.A Strong Paste.--A paste that will neither decay nor become moldy. Mixgood clean flour with cold water into a thick paste well blendedtogether; then add boiling water, stirring well up until it is of aconsistency that can be easily and smoothly spread with a brush; add tothis a spoonful or two of brown sugar, a little corrosive sublimate andabout half a dozen drops of oil of lavender, and you will have a pastethat will hold with wonderful tenacity.A Brilliant Paste.--A brilliant and adhesive paste, adapted to fancyarticles, may be made by dissolving caseine precipitated from milk byacetic acid and washed with pure water in a saturated solution of borax.A Sugar Paste.--In order to prevent the gum from cracking, to ten partsby weight of gum arabic and three parts of sugar add water until thedesired consistency is obtained. If a very strong paste is required, adda quantity of flour equal in weight to the gum, without boiling themixture. The paste improves in strength when it begins to ferment.Tin Box Cement.--To fix labels to tin boxes either of the following willanswer: 1. Soften good glue in water, then boil it in strong vinegar,and thicken the liquid while boiling with fine wheat flour, so that apaste results. 2. Starch paste, with which a little Venice turpentinehas been incorporated while warm.Paper and Leather Paste.--Cover four parts, by weight, of glue, withfifteen parts of cold water, and allow it to soak for several hours,then warm moderately till the solution is perfectly clear, and dilutewith sixty parts of boiling water, intimately stirred in. Next prepare asolution of thirty parts of starch in two hundred parts of cold water,so as to form a thin homogeneous liquid, free from lumps, and pour theboiling glue solution into it with thorough stirring, and at the sametime keep the mass boiling.Commercial Mucilage.--The best quality of mucilage in the market is madeby dissolving clear glue in equal volumes of water and strong vinegar,and adding one-fourth of an equal volume of alcohol, and a smallquantity of a solution of alum in water. Some of the cheaperpreparations offered for sale are merely boiled starch or flour, mixedwith nitric acid to prevent their gelatinizing.Acid-Proof Paste.--A paste formed by mixing powdered glass with aconcentrated solution of silicate of soda makes an excellent acid-proofcement.Paste to Fasten Cloth to Wood.--Take a plump pound of wheat flour, onetablespoonful of powdered resin, one tablespoonful of finely powderedalum, and rub the mixture in a suitable vessel, with water, to auniform, smooth paste; transfer this to a small kettle over a fire, andstir until the paste is perfectly homogeneous without lumps. As soon asthe mass has become so stiff that the stirrer remains upright in it,transfer it to another vessel and cover it up so that no skin may formon its surface. This paste is applied in a very thin layer to thesurface of the table; the cloth, or leather, is then laid and pressedupon it, and smoothed with a roller. The ends are cut off after drying.If leather is to be fastened on, this must first be moistened withwater. The paste is then applied, and the leather rubbed smooth with acloth.Paste for Printing Office.--Take two gallons of cold water and one quartwheat flour, rub out all the lumps, then add one-fourth pound of finelypulverized alum and boil the mixture for ten minutes, or until a thickconsistency is reached. Now add one quart of hot water and, boil again,until the paste becomes a pale brown color, and thick. The paste shouldbe well stirred during both processes of cooking. Paste thus made willkeep sweet for two weeks and prove very adhesive.To Take Smoke Stains from Walls.--An easy and sure way to remove smokestains from common plain ceilings is to mix wood ashes with thewhitewash just before applying. A pint of ashes to a small pail ofwhitewash is sufficient, but a little more or less will do no harm.To Remove Stains from Broadcloth.--Take an ounce of pipe clay, which hasbeen ground fine, mix it with twelve drops of alcohol and the samequantity of spirits of turpentine. Whenever you wish to remove anystains from cloth, moisten a little of this mixture with alcohol and rubit on the spots. Let it remain till dry, then rub it off with a woolencloth, and the spots will disappear.To Remove Red Stains of Fruit from Linen.--Moisten the cloth and hold itover a piece of burning sulphur; then wash thoroughly, or else the spotsmay reappear.To Remove Oil Stains.--Take three ounces of spirits of turpentine andone ounce of essence of lemon, mix well, and apply it as you would anyother scouring drops. It will take out all the grease.Iron Stainsmay be removed by the salt of lemons. Many stains may beremoved by dipping the linen in some buttermilk, and then drying it in ahot sun; wash it in cold water; repeat this three or four times.To Remove Oil Stains from Wood.--Mix together fuller's earth and soaplees, and rub it into the boards. Let it dry and then scour it off withsome strong soft soap and sand, or use lees to scour it with. It shouldbe put on hot, which may easily be done by heating the lees.To Remove Tea Stains.--Mix thoroughly soft soap and salt--say atablespoonful of salt to a teacupful of soap, rub on the spots, andspread the cloth on the grass where the sun will shine on it. Let it lietwo or three days, then wash. If the spots are wet occasionally whilelying on the grass, it will hasten the bleaching.To Remove Stains from Muslin.--If you have stained your muslin orgingham dress, or similar articles, with berries, before wetting withanything else, pour boiling water through the stains and they willdisappear. Before fruit juice dries it can often be removed by coldwater, using a sponge and towel if necessary.To Remove Acid Stains.--Stains caused by acids may be removed by tyingsome pearlash up in the stained part; scrape some soap in cold, softwater, and boil the linen until the stain is gone.To Disinfect Sinks and Drains.--Copperas dissolved in water, one-fourthof a pound to a gallon, and poured into a sink and water drainoccasionally, will keep such places sweet and wholesome. A littlechloride of lime, say half a pound to a gallon of water, will have thesame effect, and either of these costs but a trifle.A preparation may be made at home which will answer about as well as thechloride of lime. Dissolve a bushel of salt in a barrel of water, andwith the salt water slake a barrel of lime, which should be made wetenough to form a thin paste or wash.To Disinfect a Cellar.--A damp, musty cellar may be sweetened bysprinkling upon the floor pulverized copperas, chloride of lime, or evencommon lime. The most effective means I have ever used to disinfectdecaying vegetable matter is chloride of lime in solution. One pound maybe dissolved in two gallons of water. Plaster of Paris has also beenfound an excellent absorbent of noxious odors. If used one part withthree parts of charcoal, it will be found still better.How to Thaw Out a Water Pipe.--Water pipes usually freeze up whenexposed, for inside the walls, where they cannot be reached, they are orshould be packed to prevent freezing. To thaw out a frozen pipe, bundlea newspaper into a torch, light it, and pass it along the pipe slowly.The ice will yield to this much quicker than to hot water or wrappingsor hot cloths, as is the common practice.To Prevent Mold.--A small quantity of carbolic acid added to paste,mucilage and ink, will prevent mold. An ounce of the acid to a gallon ofwhitewash will keep cellars and dairies from the disagreeable odor whichoften taints milk and meat kept in such places.Thawing Frozen Gas Pipe.--Mr. F. H. Shelton says: "I took off from overthe pipe, some four or five inches, just a crust of earth, and then puta couple of bushels of lime in the space, poured water over it, andslaked it, and then put canvas over that, and rocks on the canvas, so asto keep the wind from getting underneath. Next morning, on returningthere, I found that the frost had been drawn out from the ground fornearly three feet. You can appreciate what an advantage that was, forpicking through frozen ground, with the thermometer below zero, is nojoke. Since then we have tried it several times. It is an excellent planif you have time enough to let the time work. In the daytime you cannotafford to waste the time, but if you have a spare night in which towork, it is worth while to try it."How to Test a Thermometer.--The common thermometer in a japanned ironcase is usually inaccurate. To test the thermometer, bring water intothe condition of active boiling, warm the thermometer gradually in thesteam and then plunge it into the water. If it indicates a fixedtemperature of two hundred and twelve degrees, the instrument is a goodone.Indelible Ink.--An indelible ink that cannot be erased, even with acids,can be obtained from the following recipe: To good gall ink add a strongsolution of Prussian blue dissolved in distilled water. This will form awriting fluid which cannot be erased without destruction of the paper.The ink will write greenish blue, but afterward will turn black.To Get a Broken Cork Out of a Bottle.--If, in drawing a cork, it breaks,and the lower part falls down into the liquid, tie a long loop in a bitof twine, or small cord, and put it in, holding the bottle so as tobring the piece of cork near to the lower part of the neck. Catch it inthe loop, so as to hold it stationary. You can then easily extract itwith a corkscrew.A Wash for Cleaning Silver.--Mix together half an ounce of fine salt,half an ounce of powdered alum, and half an ounce of cream of tartar.Put them into a large white-ware pitcher, and pour on two ounces ofwater, and stir them frequently, till entirely dissolved. Then transferthe mixture to clean bottles and cork them closely. Before using it,shake the bottles well. Pour some of the liquid into a bowl, and washthe silver all over with it, using an old, soft, fine linen cloth. Letit stand about ten minutes, and then rub it dry with a buckskin. It willmake the silver look like new.To Remove the Odor from a Vial.--The odor of its last contents may beremoved from a vial by filling it with cold water, and letting it standin any airy place uncorked for three days, changing the water every day.To Loosen a Glass Stopper.--The manner in which apothecaries loosenglass stoppers when there is difficulty in getting them out is to pressthe thumb of the right hand very hard against the lower part of thestopper, and then give the stopper a twist the other way, with the thumband forefinger of the left hand, keeping the bottle stiff in a steadyposition.To Soften Boots and Shoes.--Kerosene will soften boots and shoes whichhave been hardened by water, and render them as pliable as new.To Remove Stains, Spots, and Mildew from Furniture.--Take half a pint ofninety-eight per cent alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverizedresin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil, shake well andapply with a brush or sponge. Sweet oil will remove finger marks fromvarnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.To Freshen Gilt Frames.--Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dustingthem, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whitesof three eggs. Scraped patches should be touched up with gold paint.Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oilpaintings. Other methods should not be employed without some skill.To Fill Cracks in Plaster.--Use vinegar instead of water to mix yourplaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not"set" for twenty or thirty minutes, whereas if you use water the plasterwill become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it.Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife.To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glassware.--Immerse the article in a potfilled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boilthe water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resistany sudden change of temperature.To Remove Paint from Window-Glass.--Rub it well with hot, sharp vinegar.To Clean Stovepipe.--A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stovewill clean out the stovepipe.To Brighten Carpets.--Carpets after the dust has been beaten out may bebrightened by scattering upon them cornmeal mixed with salt and thensweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets shouldbe thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side,after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia andwater.To Keep Flowers Freshexclude them from the air. To do this wet themthoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wetnewspaper, then place in a cool spot. To preserve bouquets, put a littlesaltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets, and the flowers willlive for a fortnight.To Preserve Brooms.--Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boilingsuds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough andpliable. A carpet wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in thismanner.To Clean Brassware.--Mix one ounce of oxalic acid, six ounces of rottenstone, all in powder, one ounce of sweet oil, and sufficient water tomake a paste. Apply a small proportion, and rub dry with a flannel orleather. The liquid dip most generally used consists of nitric andsulphuric acids, but this is more corrosive.To Keep Out Mosquitoes.--If a bottle of the oil of pennyroyal is leftuncorked in a room at night, not a mosquito, nor any other blood-sucker,will be found there in the morning.To Kill Cockroaches.--A teacupful of well bruised plaster of Paris,mixed with double the quantity of oatmeal, to which a little sugar maybe added, although this last named ingredient is not essential. Strew iton the floor, or into the chinks where they frequent.To Destroy Ants.--Drop some quicklime on the mouth of their nest, andwash it with boiling water, or dissolve some camphor in spirits of wine,then mix with water, and pour into their haunts; or tobacco water, whichhas been found effectual. They are averse to strong scents. Camphor, ora sponge saturated with creosote, will prevent their infesting acupboard. To prevent their climbing up trees, place a ring of tar aboutthe trunk, or a circle of rag moistened occasionally with creosote.To Prevent Moths.--In the month of April or May, beat your fur garmentswell with a small cane or elastic stick, then wrap them up in linen,without pressing them too hard, and put betwixt the folds some camphorin small lumps; then put your furs in this state in boxes well closed.When the furs are wanted for use, beat them well as before, and exposethem for twenty-four hours to the air, which will take away the smell ofthe camphor. If the fur has long hair, as bear or fox, add to thecamphor an equal quantity of black pepper in powder.To Get Rid of Moths--1. Procure shavings of cedar wood, and inclose in muslin bags, which canbe distributed freely among the clothes.2. Procure shavings of camphor wood, and inclose in bags.3. Sprinkle pimento (allspice) berries among the clothes.4. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of the musk plant.5. To destroy the eggs, when deposited in woolen cloths, etc., use asolution of acetate of potash in spirits of rosemary, fifteen grains tothe pint.Bed Bugs.--Spirits of naphtha rubbed with a small painter's brush intoevery part of the bedstead is a certain way of getting rid of bugs. Themattress and binding of the bed should be examined, and the same processattended to, as they generally harbor more in these parts than in thebedstead. Ten cents' worth of naphtha is sufficient for one bed.Bug Poison.--Proof spirit, one pint; camphor, two ounces; oil ofturpentine, four ounces; corrosive sublimate, one ounce. Mix. Acorrespondent says: "I have been for a long time troubled with bugs, andnever could get rid of them by any clean and expeditious method, until afriend told me to suspend a small bag of camphor to the bed, just in thecenter, overhead. I did so, and the enemy was most effectually repulsed,and has not made his appearance since--not even for a reconnoissance!"This is a simple method of getting rid of these pests, and is worth atrial to see if it be effectual in other cases.Mixture for Destroying Flies--Infusion of quassia, one pint; brownsugar, four ounces; ground pepper, two ounces. To be well mixedtogether, and put in small, shallow dishes when required.To Destroy Fliesin a room, take half a teaspoonful of black pepper inpowder, one teaspoonful of brown sugar, and one tablespoonful of cream,mix them well together, and place them in the room on a plate, where theflies are troublesome, and they will soon disappear.To Drive Flies from the House.--A good way to rid the house of flies isto saturate small cloths with oil of sassafras and lay them in windowsand doors. The flies will soon leave.Aging Oak.--Strong ammonia fumes may be used for aging oak. Place thepiece to be fumed, with an evaporating dish containing concentratedammonia, in a box, and close it airtight. Leave for 12 hours and finishwith a wax polish, applying first a thin coat of paraffine oil and thenrubbing with a pomade of prepared wax made as follows: Two ounces eachof yellow and white beeswax heated over a slow fire in a clean vessel(agate ware is good) until melted. Add 4 oz. turpentine and stir tillentirely cool. Keep the turpentine away from the fire. This will givethe oak a lustrous brown color, and nicking will not expose a differentsurface, as the ammonia fumes penetrate to a considerable depth.OPPORTUNITY.They do me wrong who say I come no moreWhen once I've knocked and failed to find you in;For every day I stand outside your door,And bid you wake and ride, to fight and win.Wail not for precious chances passed away,Weep not for golden ages on the wane;Each night I burn the records of the day;At sunrise every soul is born again.Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped;To vanished hopes be blind and deaf and dumb;My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,But never bind a moment yet to come.Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep:I lend my arm to all who say. "I can."No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deepBut yet might rise and be again a man!Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow?Then turn from blotted archives of the past.And find the future's pages white as snow.Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell!Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell.Each night a star to guide to Heaven!--Walter Maloney.WEIGHTS AND MEASURESTroy Weight.--24 grains make 1 pennyweight, 20 pennyweights make 1ounce. By this weight, gold, silver and jewels only are weighed. Theounce and pound in this are same as in Apothecaries' weight.Apothecaries' Weight.--20 grains make one scruple. 3 scruples make 1dram. 8 drams make 1 ounce, l2 ounces make 1 pound.Avoirdupois Weight.--6 drams make 1 ounce, 16 ounces make 1 pound, 25pounds make 1 quarter, 4 quarters make 1 hundredweight, 2,000 poundsmake 1 ton.Dry Measure.--2 pints make 1 quart, 8 quarts make 1 peck, 4 pecks make 1bushel, 36 bushels make 1 chaldron.Liquid or Wine Measure.--4 gills make 1 pint, 2 pints make 1 quart, 4quarts make 1 gallon. 31-1/2 gallons make 1 barrel, 2 barrels make 1hogshead.Time Measure.--60 seconds make 1 minute, 60 minutes make 1 hour, 24hours make 1 day, 7 days make 1 week, 4 weeks make 1 lunar month, 28,29, 30 or 31 days make 1 calendar month (30 days make 1 month incomputing interest). 52 weeks and 1 day, or 12 calendar months make ayear; 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds make 1 solar year.Circular Measure.--60 seconds make 1 minute, 60 minutes make 1 degree,30 degrees make 1 sign, 90 degrees make 1 quadrant, 4 quadrants or 360degrees make 1 circle.Long Measure.--Distance--3 barleycorns 1 inch, 12 inches 1 foot. 3 feet1 yard. 5-1/2 yards 1 rod, 40 rods 1 furlong, 8 furlongs 1 mile.Cloth Measure.--2-1/2 inches 1 nail, 4 nails 1 quarter, 4 quarters 1yard.Miscellaneous.--3 inches 1 palm, 4 inches 1 hand, 9 inches 1 span, 18inches 1 cubit, 21.8 inches 1 Bible cubit. 2-1/2 feet 1 military pace.Square Measure.--144 square inches 1 square foot, 9 square feet 1 squareyard, 30-1/4 square yards 1 square rod, 40 square rods 1 rood, 4 roods 1acre.Surveyors' Measure.--7.92 inches 1 link, 25 links 1 rod, 4 rods 1 chain,10 square chains or 160 square rods 1 acre, 640 acres 1 square mile.Cubic Measure.--l,728 cubic inches 1 cubic foot. 27 cubic feet 1 cubicyard, 128 cubic feet 1 cord (wood), 40 cubic feet 1 ton (shipping),2,150.42 cubic inches 1 standard bushel, 268.8 cubic inches 1 standardgallon, 1 cubic foot four-fifths of a bushel.Metric Weights.--10 milligrams 1 centigram, 10 centigrams 1 decigram, 10decigrams 1 gram, 10 grams 1 dekagram, 10 dekagrams 1 hektogram, 10hektograms 1 kilogram.Metric Measure.--(One milliliter--Cubic centimeter).--10 milliliters 1centiliter, 10 centiliters 1 deciliter, 10 deciliters 1 liter, 10 liters1 dekaliter, 10 dekaliters 1 hektoliter, 10 hektoliters 1 kiloliter.Metric Lengths.--10 millimeters 1 centimeter, 10 centimeters 1decimeter, 10 decimeters 1 meter, 10 meters 1 dekameter, 10 dekameters 1hektometer, 10 hektometers 1 kilometer.Relative Value of Apothecaries' and Imperial Measure.