BRONZE WORK.
Bronzing is the latest improvement in waxwork, and if properly made cannot be detected from the most expensive artistic bronze. It answers for table, mantel, and bracket ornaments, and may be exposed to dust and air without sustaining the slightest injury. It can be dusted with a feather duster like any piece of furniture, and is a very desirable and inexpensive ornament.
The colors required in bronze are: Silver bronze, gold bronze, copper bronze, fire bronze, and green bronze.
THE ART OF MAKING A VASE IN BRONZE.
For instruction, let us take a vase to be finished in copper bronze. First the vase must be molded. The casting material is one part wax, one part spermaceti, two parts mutton tallow. Melt the three articles together and color with burnt umber. Have a coil of fine hair wire, cut into one-half inch lengths, and when the mixture is melted to the consistency of thick cream stir in the cut wire by degrees until there is a sprinkling of it throughout the mixture; then pour into the elastic mold and let stand till perfectly cold and solid; then loosen the sections of the mold and take it out. Should any of the ends of the wire project, they can be cut with a pair of sharp scissors. Trim the seams caused by the sections of the mold; then take a piece of soft flannel cloth, dip it in the refined spirits of turpentine and polish the vase with it, after which it is ready for bronzing.
Take copper bronze No. 4000, and with the tinting brush bronze the vase evenly, and polish it with a soft piece of white silk. Now take another brush and with copper bronze No. 6000 give it the last coat The vase is now ready for draping. The most simple drapery is an ivy vine. Take an embossed ivy leaf (or embossed muslin leaves, as they are named), lay a fine wire along its midrib, leaving two or three inches of wire for stem; cover the leaf with brown sheet wax, press them together well with the finger and thumb to make the wax adhere to the leaf, get the impression, and hold the wire firmly; then lay another piece of wax on the under side, press the edges together and cut away the superfluous wax, leaving the edge plain (the ivy leaf is not serrated), cover the wire stem with wax and the leaf is ready for bronzing. Rub both sides with turpentine, give one coat of bronze No. 4000, then the last coat of bronze No. 6000. When all the leaves are finished, weave them into a spray, grading them from large to small till the end of the vine is reached, then bronze and drape around the vase in an easy, natural way.
The natural fall leaves, pressed, make pretty draperies for these kinds of vases. Sprays of mixed leaves, oak leaves and acorns, small maple leaves, the holly leaf and berry, mixed ivy and fern leaves, and many other kinds of leaves and vines are equally pretty.
THE ART OF MAKING A MOTTO IN BRONZE.
Take a box frame of the ordinary motto-frame size (gilt face) and line it with either crimson or royal purple velvet, and it is ready for any design. The word “Welcome” is the simplest to begin with. Take a thick blotting pad, lay it on a table, rub some arrowroot or rice power over its upper surface, and lay a sheet of either calla or pond lily wax, extra thick, on this powdered surface. Select the style of letter preferred; German text is very appropriate for the motto “Welcome.” Cut the pattern letters out in pasteboard, or any kind of thick paper, if tin letter-cutters are not convenient.
Begin with the letter W. Lay it on the sheet of wax and cut out the waxen letter after the pattern with a penknife previously dipped in water. Next cut the E, and so on till the seven letters are cut out, care being taken to powder the blotter every time a new sheet of wax is laid on. Lay the back of the box on the table, having melted glue ready, and with a camel's-hair brush apply a small portion of it to the back of each letter as it is set in its relative position, pressing it gently against the velvet with the palm of the hand. The letters should be set an inch apart, and when all on the frame should be set away until the glue is thoroughly dry and the waxen letters adhere firmly to the velvet, then they are ready for ornamenting. This is done in various ways, and all depends on the artist's taste, but a few suggestions may not be amiss.
Take a two-inch fern-cutter and cut the ferns out of double sheet wax; then bronze them as directed on both sides, either with gold or silver bronze. Begin with draping the letter W. Take the stem end of the fern leaf and with the bead end of the curling-pin fasten it to the lower side of the letter; then turn it over and fasten it down in the middle, letting the point turn outward. Set the ferns on the letters in such a way as not to obscure their form, i. e., the form of the letters. If the motto is made in white wax it should be frosted with diamond dust.
A pretty style of motto is clasped hands in the center, of pure white wax, surrounded with sprays of fine flowers and buds, finished in fire bronze.
Another style of motto is a vase in the center, from which vines in different colors of bronze run. Green, fire, and copper bronzing should have a light background; silver and gold bronzing should have a dark background.
THE ART OF MAKING A FLORAL BASKET IN BRONZE.
Take a medium-sized basket (chip or any solid substance), brush it with glue on the inside, fill it with moss, and set it away to dry till the moss is stuck to the basket. The moss should be raised in the center in the form of a mound. Have the wax sheeted in carmine. Make the center of the basket in roses, rosebuds, and carnations, as they are the most durable. Mold the petals over the embossed muslin petals and bronze them with fire bronze—Nos. 4000 and 6000—as previously directed. Drape the basket and the handle in smilax, having the wax for the smilax sheeted in chrome green; then mold over the embossed muslin leaves, bronze in green bronze, and drape loosely. Such a basket makes a pretty table ornament.
DIRECTIONS FOR BRONZING.
All kinds of ornaments may be made in bronze—small animals, fish, shells, birds, statuary, etc. The mixture for casts should be the same shade as the bronze used.
Fish may be bronzed in silver, gold, and copper bronze; shells in silver, copper, gold, and some may be tinted with fire bronze on the exterior of the shell, but the interior of almost all shells must be tinted with paint; dogs in zinc, silver, and copper; birds in almost any shade.
GREEN BRONZE STATUARY.
Prepare the mixture in chrome green No. 1. A little rosin may be added and a thick sprinkling of cut wire. Trim the object and rub with spirits of turpentine, then apply the green bronze—the two numbers, as directed.
COPPER BRONZE STATUARY.
Prepare the mixture in burnt umber and proceed as directed.
BRONZING STATUETTES.
Statuettes, or any object in plaster of Paris, may be made to resemble bronze by first rendering the plaster nonabsorbent with drying linseed oil and then painting it with a varnish made by grinding waste gold leaf with honey or gum water.
Another method is by first painting the article, after it has been rendered nonabsorbent, of a dark color made of Prussian blue, yellow ochre, and verditer, ground in oil. Before this becomes quite dry, bronze powder of several colors should be dusted on those most prominent parts which may be supposed to have worn bright. Plaster casts may also be made to resemble bronze to a certain extent by merely brushing them over with graphite, which is a brilliant blacklead.
METHOD OF MAKING EMBOSSED MUSLIN LEAVES.
Take a piece of green muslin or calico and size it well with isinglass, then take the natural leaf, lay the sized piece of muslin over it on the under or veined side of the leaf, let the muslin remain on it till almost dry and the impression is set; then with a pair of sharp scissors cut the muslin around the leaf, either plain or serrated.
The impression may be taken of any leaf or flower in this way. The use of muslin leaves tends to make the work more durable and is found very convenient for the artist.
THE ART OF MAKING EXOTIC LEAVES.
The begonia rex makes a beautiful parlor plant. Five or seven leaves make a nice-sized plant: Select five or seven healthy begonia leaves of different sizes, as no two leaves of the rex are of one size on the same plant. Cut the leaves closely off the stem and immerse them in a solution of cold water and castile soap. Leave them in this twelve hours before using. Melt the wax to the consistency of cream, in chrome green, permanent green, dark olive-green, and verdigris-green. Now take a leaf out of the soapsuds and lay it on a marble slab, keeping the under surface or veined side uppermost; then with a camel's-hair brush lay on the melted wax in different shades, following the shades of the natural leaf. The soapsuds having made the leaf transparent, all the shades and spots can be plainly seen on the veined side, which is the side the waxen leaf has to be formed on. The belt of light green over the silvery markings of the leaf should be put on with verdigris-green. Begin the leaf in the center and continue on each side of the midrib till the edge is reached and the leaf has a thick coating of wax. Then lay a wire along the midrib or center of the leaf, fasten it in the wax by pressing, care being taken to leave it long enough for eight or nine inches of stem. Wire must also be laid on all the side ribs or veins leading to the midrib. These small wires are all brought to the center wire and laid evenly by its side till they all come to the stem, where they are all twisted around it to form one long, thick stem. Give the leaf another coating of dark olive-green wax (this covers the wires), then finish with a thin coating of burnt umber tinted with Vandyke brown, and the under surface of the leaf is finished. Remove the natural leaf from the waxen and tint the veins lightly with carmine. Brush a little carmine loosely on the darkest shade in the center of the leaf, and before it sticks blow off as much as possible, when enough will be left to give it that reddish-green tint peculiar to the begonia rex leaf. The next is to finish the silver belt or silvery leaf-markings midway between the center and the edge of the leaf. This strip must be rubbed with spirits of turpentine; then with the tinting brush apply a coating of silver bronze (Nos. 4000 and 6000), care being taken that the bronze does not scatter over the leaf. Now the leaf is finished.
If the work is done according to directions, the waxen leaf will be a true copy of the original. Continue in the same way till all the leaves are made, then wax the stems and run them through the begonia stemming, when they may be arranged in their natural growing manner in a flowerpot filled with moss; or, if preferred, the flowerpot may be filled with wax, in terre-verte green, and the stems must be placed in it before the wax gets hard.
HOW TO MAKE BEGONIA STEMMING.
Procure the bristles of a very young pig, five or six weeks old. After washing, put them in a very strong solution of chloride of lime and let them remain in it till whitened; then rinse well in warm water till free from chlorine. Color them while damp, some in different shades of green and some in different shades of brown. After the bristles are ready, the next thing is to make the stemming. Take a square piece of cambric and fasten it in a stretcher, then give it a thick coating of mastic varnish, and when the varnish is dry cut the cambric on a true bias into straight strips of different widths, from an inch to two inches, and half a yard in length. Lay one of these strips on a table or some smooth surface, add another coat of varnish, then cover it with glaucous green flock, care being taken to leave a narrow margin bare on one side to lap under the other when the piping is being made. Dip the bristles in mastic varnish, sprinkle them thickly over the flock, and leave for twenty-four hours to dry; when thoroughly dry, revarnish the bare edge, and turn it in underneath the other edge, thus forming the strip into a pipe, ready to receive the wire stems of the leaves. Brown and crimson flock may be used.
For begonia rex, use crimson flock; for the rubra, use glaucous flock; and for the palmata, use brown flock. Very good stemming may be made by tinting canton flannel, which has a very long nap or pile.
GERANIUM LEAVES—ROSE GERANIUM.
This leaf is of a dark chrome green. Prepare the wax in two shades, dark chrome green and light; immerse the leaves in soapsuds for six hours; take out of the soapsuds and lay it on the marble slab. As there is neither shading nor marking on the leaf, all that is required is to give it a coat of dark chrome green, thick enough to prevent the wires from showing; then lay the wires over the veins and coat them over with a light shade of green. Remove the natural leaf, and as the texture of the rose geranium leaf is rather rough, rub it over with green flock mixed with hair powder. The stems may be left in different lengths.
The best directions that we can give for the tinting and marking of leaves is to copy from nature. The cyclamen leaf is well adapted for the practice of marking and tinting.
The leaf of the pond lily, lotus, canna, maranta, rubber tree, magnolia, camellia, orange, and all leaves which have a waxy surface, should either be varnished or bronzed.
All kinds of leaves may be made by the foregoing directions.—Popular Art Instructor.
DECALCOMANIA.
This is another name for a style that has been in vogue for an indefinite, period of time, and comes under the head of transferring. It is almost superfluous to mention the variety of purposes to which decalcomania may be applied, as it can be transferred upon everything for which ornamentation is required, and the variety of designs which are printed especially for it is so great that something may easily be procured to suit the taste of the most fastidious.
A few of the articles that may be decorated can be mentioned by way of showing what a variety this style of ornamentation will embrace: All kinds of crockery, china, porcelain, vases, glass, bookcases, folios, boxes, lap desks, ribbons, dresses, etc. The method of transferring beautiful designs is so simple, and all the materials requisite for the art so easily procured, that it brings it within the means of everyone. Flat surfaces are more suitable than concave or convex ones for this style of decorating, for when the surface is curved the design has to be cut to accommodate the shape, and in this way is often spoiled unless done by the most careful and skillful hand. The materials required are cement, copal varnish, designs, a duck-quill sable, and a flat camel's-hair brush.
Cut your designs neatly with a small pair of scissors, apply the cement by means of the sable to the article to be decorated, place on your design and press equally over its entire surface to exclude the air; dampen it a little and keep pressing equally so that the design may adhere firmly in every part. When the cement is sufficiently dry dampen again with water (a little more freely) and remove the paper. Be careful in manipulating this process, or you will remove some of the colored part with it. If such should occur, instantly replace it as well as you are able, or, if you have a knowledge of Oriental painting, your panacea will be in that. You can retouch with these colors and bring it back nearly to its original beauty. In case you have no knowledge of Oriental painting, match the colors as nearly as possible with water-color paints, allow time to dry, and varnish with copal.
Sometimes the cement becomes too thick for use. It may be restored to its proper flowing consistency by placing the bottle in a bed of warm sand, and can then be applied while warm. If you apply your design to a dark groundwork, it would be desirable to give your picture a coating of Winsor and Newton's Chinese white. The reason for this is that some parts of the picture are semi-transparent, and these would lose their brilliancy if transferred directly upon a dark background without first painting.
TO TRANSFER ON WOOD.
Dissolve some salt in soft water, float your engraving on the surface—picture side uppermost—and let it remain about an hour. The screen, box or table on which you wish to transfer the design should be of bird's-eye maple or other light-colored hardwood, varnished with the best copal or transfer varnish.
Take the picture from the water, dry a little between blotters, place the engraving—picture side downwards—on the varnished wood and smooth it nicely. If the picture entirely covers the wood after the margin has been cut off so that no varnish is exposed, lay over it a thin board, on which place a heavy weight, and leave it for twenty-four hours. If you wish but a small picture in the center of the surface of the wood, apply the varnish only to a space the size of the picture. Dip your finger in the solution of salt and water and commence rubbing off the paper; the nearer you come to the engraving the more careful you must be, as a hole in it will spoil your work. Rub slowly and patiently until you have taken off every bit of the paper and left only the black lines and touches of your picture on the wood, in an inverted direction. Finish up with two or three coats of copal varnish.
TO TRANSFER ON SILK.
Apply a coating of mastic varnish to the design and allow it to dry; then with a brush wash the paper surrounding the design carefully; this removes from the paper the preparation, which would otherwise soil the silk. Apply a second coating of the same varnish, and when this is slightly dried place the design upon the silk or other fabric to be decorated, and with the roller press it well down. With the brush wet the back of the paper covering the design, when the paper may be at once lifted off. Another method is to cut out the design carefully and cover it with a thin coating of mastic varnish, and lay it upon the silk or other fabric (which should be dampened) and roll thoroughly with a rubber roller; dampen the back of the paper with the brush and lift it off as previously directed.
TO MAKE WAX FLOWERS.
The following articles will be required to commence waxwork: Two pounds white wax, one quarter pound hair wire, one bottle carmine, one bottle ultramarine blue, one bottle chrome yellow, two bottles chrome green No. 1, one bottle each of rose pink, royal purple, scarlet powder, and balsam fir; two 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 one pound 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 soapsuds; then dip into the wax, and draw it 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 white wax. 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 $3.00 to $4.50.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Dear lady subscriber, if you are a housekeeper, or ever intend to be one, this chapter will more than repay you for what you have given for this book. It will tell you how to save a large percentage of your household expenses, and also how to have a great many of the articles you use in your daily household work of a superior quality—vastly better than the ones you are using at the present time.
It is a fact not generally known that a great many of the articles used in daily household work cost little more than one-tenth of the price the consumer pays for them. We propose to show the ladies of our great Continent how to have, in most instances, better articles than those they are in the habit of purchasing, and at a small percentage of the cost. To do this, we have, by our own personal investigation, gathered a number of valuable recipes together, and have paid for the privilege of using them. Remember, these are not common recipes, but a full explanation of the manufacture of different articles needed in every household; and they combine the embodied wisdom of practical and successful men and women of the past and present.
We give in this chapter a number of recipes which have never before been published, and which, once possessing, you will never wish to be without, as they are truly marvelous discoveries. The first three every mother should have; the remainder no housekeeper should be without.
No. 1 is
HEALING SALVE.
This salve heals all sores, chaps, cuts, bruises, sore lips, chafed limbs, roughness, etc. It is invaluable as a healing ointment and may be applied to the tenderest skin without injury, and yet it will heal the most painful sores. A three-ounce box will only cost you ten cents, and the directions are so plain that a child can follow them.
Recipe: Take one ounce of sweet oil, one-half ounce of camphor gum, and one-half ounce of mutton tallow. Melt all together over a slow fire, and stir continually until cold.
To use: Rub on part affected at night; wash off in the morning with warm water and castile soap.
MAGNETIC CROUP CURE.
This is the best remedy for croup ever discovered. It will save parents much trouble and anxiety. With this remedy all that is necessary is (if you have any fear of croup on putting your child to bed) to take a piece of brown paper large enough to cover the throat and chest and spread it with the ointment and put across the throat and lungs; place over that several thicknesses of flannel so as to keep the stomach warm, and keep in place with a string or bandage. Put the child to bed, and you need have no fear of croup that night. This ointment is also excellent for cuts, bruises or sores. Twelve cents will make enough to last a year, even if you use it frequently.
Recipe: One-half pound of lard, quarter of a pound of raisins, quarter pound of fine cut chewing tobacco. In the morning place the tobacco in a tin can and cover it with water; set it on the stove and let it cook and boil all day, replacing the water when it is necessary; then squeeze all the juice from the tobacco. The next morning chop your raisins, put them in the tobacco water and cook well till noon; then again squeeze the raisins out of this water. Now to this water add the lard and let them simmer together until the water is evaporated. Now the croup remedy is ready for use. On putting the child to bed, if you fear an attack, take a piece of brown paper large enough to cover the throat and chest and spread it over with the ointment and put it across the throat and lungs. Place over that and tie several thicknesses of flannel; put the child to bed, cover up warmly, and you need have no fear of croup that night.
If taken with croup unexpectedly, on hearing the cough, spread a piece of brown paper with the ointment and lay it across the throat and chest; then heat flannel as hot as can be borne and lay over the paper; change in about ten minutes for another hot cloth. If no fire is on while waiting for it, heat cloths on a lamp chimney. As soon as you get the stomach covered and warm, give a teaspoonful of melted butter; repeat the dose in five minutes.
No. 3 is
WORM ELIXIR.
The best remedy for worms known. No mother should be without it. Also, if given occasionally it is a splendid preventive. Children will never be troubled with worms who are given a dose of this once a month, or fortnight.
Recipe: Take gum myrrh and aloes, of each one ounce; saffron, sage leaves, and tansy leaves, of each half an ounce; tincture in a pint of brandy two weeks, and give to children a teaspoonful once a week to once a month as a preventive. They will never be troubled with worms as long as you do this.
WORM VERMIFUGE.
Make a strong decoction of sage, two parts; wormseed, one part; strain, and add sugar enough to make into candy, and let the child eat of it. Infallible.
No. 4 is
BRILLIANT SELF-SHINING STOVE POLISH.
This is one of the greatest inventions of the age. It has been the result of a large amount of study on the part of the inventor to perfect a polish that would work easily and satisfactorily in a perfectly dry state, thereby obviating the disagreeable task of mixing and preparing. A good stove polish is an absolute necessity in every family. To be assured that this is the best you need give it only one trial. Now, remember, first, that this polish requires no water or mixing like the various cake and powder polishes; second, that it is self-shining and no labor is required; and third, that it has no equal in the world.
Below are the recipe and directions for preparing this polish. You can prepare enough in ten minutes to last a year. A box holding two ounces will cost but three cents.
Recipe: Get from the hardware store plumbago (blacklead), pulverize it finely and it is ready for use.
Directions for use: Use a damp woolen rag, dip in the polish and apply to the stove; then rub with a dry cloth, and a most beautiful polish will appear.
No. 5 is
WONDERFUL STARCH ENAMEL.
For polishing shirt bosoms, collars, cuffs, lace curtains, etc., putting on the same gloss and hard pearl finish as when bought at the store new. Every lady should use the wonderful enamel for the following reasons: It enables an ordinary ironer to compete with any laundry; it makes the clothes clear and white; it makes clothes iron smoothly, and prevents the iron sticking; it makes old linen look like new; and it saves a woman many hours' hard work each week. It is easily made, and five cents' worth will last an ordinary family six months.
Recipe: Melt half a pound of refined paraffine wax in a tin pan over a slow fire. When melted remove from the fire and add twenty drops of oil of citronella. Take a tin pan and oil with sweet oil, put the pan on a level table, and pour in enough of the hot wax to make a depth of an eighth of an inch. When cool, but not cold, cut in pieces about the size of an ordinary candy lozenge. Lay them aside to cool, but do not let them touch each other.
Directions for use: To a pint of boiling starch stir in one cake. Use starch while warm.
No. 6 is
ROYAL WASHING POWDER
—the laundress' assistant; warranted not to injure the finest fabric. No acid; no potash. In the wash room it saves time, labor, expense, muscle, temper, and hands. The clothes will come out cleaned and white, without wear or tear or rubbing on washboards, therefore will last twice as long. For housecleaning it is unequaled. One girl can wash more clothes, paint, walls, windows or floors in a day with perfect ease with this powder than she could in four days with hard labor, soap, and scrubbing brush, and the paint will look new and bright. It only requires to be tested to be appreciated. Packages of one pound will only cost seven cents.
Recipe: Mix any quantity of soda ash with an equal quantity of carbonate of soda crushed into coarse grains. Have a thin solution of glue or decoction of linseed oil ready, into which pour the soda until quite thick. Spread out in a warm apartment to dry. When dry shake up well and pack away for use. Use as other washing powders.
No. 7 is
MAGIC ANNIHILATOR.
Removes all kinds of grease and oil spots from every kind of wearing-apparel—such as coats, pants, vests, dress goods, carpets, etc.—without injury to the finest silks or laces. It will shampoo like a charm, raising the lather in proportion to the amount of dandruff and grease in the hair. A cloth wet with it will remove all grease from door knobs, window sills, etc., handled by kitchen domestics in their daily round of kitchen work. For cleaning silver, brass, and copper ware it cannot be beaten. It is certain death to bedbugs, for they will never stop after they have encountered the Magic Annihilator. It is useful for many other things. A quart bottle costs about ten cents.
Recipe: To make half a gallon, take aqua ammonia, one pint; soft water, one-half gallon; best white soap, one-half pound; saltpetre, one ounce. Shave the soap fine, add the water, boil until the soap is dissolved, then add the saltpetre, stirring until dissolved. Now strain, let the suds settle, skim off the dry suds, add the ammonia, and bottle and cork at once.
Directions for use: For grease spots, pour upon the article to be cleaned a sufficient quantity of the Magic Annihilator, rubbing well with a clean sponge and applying to both sides of the article. Upon carpets and coarse goods where the grease is hard and dry use a stiff brush and wash out with clear cold water. For shampooing, take a small quantity, with an equal quantity of water; apply to the hair with a stiff brush, brushing into the scalp, and wash out with clear water. For killing bedbugs, apply to the places they frequent.
No. 8 is
I X L BAKING POWDER.
An unsurpassed article. Can be relied on for strength and purity. So many of the baking powders sold contain injurious substances and are altogether unreliable. This powder can be relied on for strength and purity. It produces the most delightfully white, light and flaky biscuits. For cakes it is unsurpassed. Try it and be convinced. This powder is composed of the very best and purest substances, and therefore is perfectly wholesome. Any lady can prepare enough in a few minutes to last her six months. It will only cost a trifle—not one-quarter of what you would have to pay your grocer for the same amount.
Recipe: Take one pound of tartaric acid (in crystals), one and one-half pounds bicarbonate of soda, and one and one-half pounds of potato or corn starch. Each must be powdered separately, well dried by a slow fire, and well mixed through a sieve. Pack hard in a tin, or paper glazed on the outside. Buy the articles from a druggist.
Directions for use: For biscuits, pie crust, johnnycake, etc., use three teaspoonfuls to one quart of flour or meal; for cakes, two teaspoonfuls to a teacup of flour. Mix well with the flour.
ELECTRIC POWDER.
This is one of the best articles on our list—something that every housekeeper needs. It is used for gold, silver, plated ware, German silver, copper, brass, tin, steel, window glass, or any material where a brilliant luster is required. To make two ounces costs but three cents, and it is the best article of its kind known.
Recipe: To one pound best quality whiting add one-half pound cream tartar and three ounces calcined magnesia. Mix thoroughly together and store away for use.
Directions for use: Use the polish dry, with a piece of canton flannel moistened with water or alcohol, and finish with the polish dry.
No. 10 is
FRENCH POLISH OR DRESSING FOR LEATHER.
This is a grand article. All that is necessary is to have your boots clean and apply this dressing with a sponge. The boots appear like the very best French leather. Much hard work is saved, as no brushing is required. To make a quart vessel full will only cost about twenty cents.
Recipe: Mix half a pint of the best vinegar with a quarter pint of soft water; stir into it one ounce of glue (broken up), two ounces log-wood chips, one-sixteenth ounce of finely-powdered indigo, one-sixteenth ounce of the best soft soap, one-sixteenth ounce of isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire, let it boil ten minutes or more; then strain, bottle and cork. When cold it is fit for use. Apply with a sponge.
No. 11 is
ARTIFICIAL HONEY.
Equal to bee honey, and often mistaken by the best judges to be genuine. It is palatable and luxurious. All persons are more or less aware that honey should be used in every household, and it would be so if every family could have it at a very moderate price. As a health-establishing nutriment in the chamber of the invalid, and as a delicious luxury for the well, honey cannot be too highly recommended. Any one using this honey regularly will find that he is strengthened and refreshed by it. He will have greater energy and if at all inclined to dyspepsia will find himself greatly helped. This honey costs but eight cents per pound to prepare, and our directions are so simple a child ten years old can follow them.
Recipe: Take two ounces of slippery elm bark and put into three quarts of warm water and let it stand four hours; strain and add eight pounds of white sugar; boil four minutes; then add one pound of bee honey while hot. Flavor with a drop of the oil of peppermint and a drop of the oil of rose.
Any lady will readily see what a saving the possession of the above recipes may cause in her household expense. Thus, you can get a ten cent box of stove polish for three cents, a twenty-five cent package of washing powder for seven cents, a twenty-five cent box of starch enamel for five cents, etc. Any of the articles contained in the list will take but a short time to prepare a large supply.
POISONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES.
The first thing to do in a case of poisoning is to cause the ejection of the poison by vomiting. To do this, place mustard mixed with salt on the tongue and give large quantities of lukewarm water; or, tickle the throat with a feather. These failing, instantly resort to active emetics, like tartar emetic, sulphate of copper or sulphate of zinc. After vomiting has taken place with these, aid it, if possible, by copious draughts of warm water until the poison is entirely removed. Of course, if vomiting cannot be induced the stomach pump must be employed, especially if arsenic or narcotics have been taken. The following table may be useful for emergencies:—
| POISONS. | ANTIDOTES. |
| Acids, | Alkalies: Soap and milk, chalk or soda. |
| Alkalies, | Vegetable acids, vinegar, oil in abundance. |
| Alcohol, | Common salt, moderately. |
| Arsenic, | Send for the doctor and his stomach pump. |
| Antimony, | Oak bark, strong green tea. |
| Baryta or lime, | Epsom salts, oils, magnesia. |
| Bismuth, | White of eggs, sweet milk. |
| Copper, | White of eggs, strong coffee. |
| Gases, | Cold douche, followed by friction. |
| Iodine, | Starch, wheat flour in water. |
| Creosote, | White of eggs, sweet milk. |
| Lead, | Strong lemonade, Epsom salts. |
| Opium and other narcotics, | Emetics, cold douche, and heat. |
| Phosphorus, | Magnesia in copious draughts. |
| Zinc, | White of eggs, sweet milk. |
| Mad-dog bite, | Apply fire in some form to the wound, thoroughly and immediately. |
| Bite of insect, | Ammonia, applied freely. |
| Bite of serpent, | Same as for mad dog, followed by whisky to intoxication. |
The foregoing are the more common and more important poisons and their antidotes.—Buckeye.
TURKISH LOTION.
The New and Wonderful Discovery for Beautifying the Skin.
Gives to a woman of forty the fresh, bright complexion of a girl. No more wrinkles, crow's-feet or sallowness.
Turkish Lotion completely cures freckles, pimples, blackheads, moles and superfluous hair, tan, greasy skin, blotches, redness, sore or chapped lips, chapped and red, rough hands; and, best of all, completely eradicates and prevents wrinkles, crow's-feet, and sallowness.
Turkish Lotion creates a perfect complexion.
After using Turkish Lotion for a short time a lady's skin will be as exquisitely soft and velvety, as clear and pure, as that of a little child. It is not an artificial cosmetic, but a cleansing, refining, whitening tonic. It feeds and nourishes the skin, preventing and banishing wrinkles, crow's-feet, and sallowness. It is perfectly harmless and composed of the purest ingredients.
Turkish Lotion is invaluable to every lady. It conceals the evidences of age. By its use a lady of middle-age will have the charming, fresh look of a girl. Every womanly woman desires to appear fresh and youthful as long as possible, thereby making herself the wonder of her own sex and the admiration of the opposite. By using this lotion according to directions every lady may have a fresh, rosy tinted complexion of exquisite pearly fairness, free from wrinkles, crow's-feet, and sallowness.
One application will make the most stubbornly red and rough hands beautifully soft and white.
Turkish Lotion is not a paint or powder, but a new and great discovery—a cleansing, healing, whitening tonic that causes the cheek to glow with healthy action of the skin, and the neck, arms and hands to assume an exquisite pearly whiteness. By its use all redness and roughness is prevented and the skin is beautified and rendered soft, smooth, and white, thereby imparting a delicate, refined loveliness impossible to describe. Any lady using Turkish Lotion will present a fresh, youthful, natural appearance, with a pearly, rose-tinted complexion that is positively bewitching. It is without doubt the best face lotion ever discovered, being as it is a medicated lotion possessing healing qualities. Many ladies are troubled during cold weather with sore lips, rough, parched skin, and chapped hands upon the slightest exposure. By moistening at night with this wash the parts affected, all soreness and roughness will be completely cured and the face and hands will be as delicately soft and smooth as those of a little child.
No one need suffer any longer from any defect of the skin.
Recipe for Turkish Lotion: To one fluid ounce of tincture of gum benzoin add seven fluid ounces of distilled rose-water and one-half ounce of glycerine.
Directions for use: Bathe face, neck, and hands with Turkish Lotion at night, letting it dry on. Wash off in the morning with a very little pure white castile soap and soft water. If the water is hard, add a very little dissolved borax. This will prevent and cure greasy skin, freckles, tan, wrinkles, pimples, blackheads, crow's-feet, blotches, sunburn, chapped hands, sore lips, rough skin, etc.
To Cure Sallowness: Use as above directed, and ask your druggist for some good iron tablets. Take as directed. In a short time your complexion will be beautifully white and rose-tinted.
To Remove Hairy Moles and Superfluous Hair: Procure prepared pumice stone from your druggist; cut the hair as close as possible to the skin, dip the pumice in cold water and rub on the part on which the hairs grow, commencing gently at first (as it may cause slight irritation of the skin), then gradually increase the friction. After using the pumice stone, anoint freely each time with Turkish Lotion. Do this twice daily, and it will surely remove superfluous hair.
Always, after using Turkish Lotion, rub gently with the hands until the skin becomes dry. This will remove and prevent wrinkles and lines.
INDEX.
| PAGE. | |
| Almond paste for the hands, | [48] |
| Apt to be hasty, | [80] |
| All is fair in love and war, | [81] |
| Age to marry, the best, | [99] |
| Age of puberty to marriage, from the, | [107] |
| A happy marriage, the basis of, | [118] |
| Abortion, | [128] |
| Abortion, the cause of, | [129] |
| Abortion, means of preventing, | [133] |
| Amenorrhœa—suppression of the menses, | [140] |
| Alterative, or liver powder, | [147] |
| Anti-dyspeptic pills, | [147] |
| Ague pills, | [148] |
| Ague drops, | [149] |
| Anodyne headache pills, | [149] |
| Arrowroot jelly, | [157] |
| Arrowroot gruel, | [159] |
| Autumn leaves and ferns, to prepare, | [181] |
| Articles of white zephyr, to clean, | [184] |
| Artificial honey, | [205] |
| Breath, to purify the, | [31] |
| Bleach and purify the skin, to, | [31] |
| Bloom rose, | [34] |
| Brilliant, beautiful eyes, how to have, | [35] |
| Beautiful eyelashes, how to have, | [36] |
| Beautiful mouth and lips, to have a, | [39] |
| Bleaching lotion, | [47] |
| Baldness, to cure, | [61] |
| Bleach the hair, to, | [63] |
| Boston Burnet powder, | [65] |
| Birth of the first child, | [89] |
| Bleeding at the lungs, | [151] |
| Barley water, | [157] |
| Bread jelly, | [159] |
| Beef liquid, | [159] |
| Beef tea, | [160] |
| Bedbugs, to get rid of, | [166] |
| Bleach the leaves, to, | [181] |
| Bluing, | [183] |
| Blue powder, to make, | [188] |
| Brush, the, | [189] |
| Bronze work, | [191] |
| Bronzing, directions for, | [193] |
| Bronzing statuettes, | [194] |
| Begonia stemming, to make, | [195] |
| Brilliant self-shining stove polish, | [202] |
| Cleopatra's freckle balm, | [29] |
| Cure profuse perspiration, to, | [31] |
| Cleopatra's enamel, | [31] |
| Cure freckles, to, | [31] |
| Cosmetic bath, a, | [32] |
| Certain cure for eruptions, | [34] |
| Clear the complexion, to, | [34] |
| Cure and refine a blotched skin, to, | [34] |
| Cure and prevent wrinkles, to, | [34] |
| Cure weak eyes, to, | [36] |
| Cure watery and inflamed eyes, to, | [37] |
| Care of the teeth, the, | [40] |
| Cure foul breath, to, | [44] |
| Cure toothache, to, | [44] |
| Camphorated chalk, | [45] |
| Camphor paste, | [45] |
| Cure red hands, to, | [48] |
| Coarse hands, to whiten, | [49] |
| Chapped hands, | [51] |
| Cause the skin to become satin-smooth, to, | [51] |
| Cause the bloom of youth to return, | [52] |
| Cause the hair to grow, to, | [60] |
| Charm those whom you meet, to, | [72] |
| Courtship a momentous matter, | [83] |
| Conception, | [121] |
| Change, a remarkable, | [121] |
| Changes in the breast, | [122] |
| Childbirth a natural process, | [123] |
| Cramps of the legs, etc., | [126] |
| Chlorosis, or green sickness, | [137] |
| Cessation of the menses—change of life, | [141] |
| Cathartic and liver pills, | [147] |
| Certain remedy for ague, | [148] |
| Consumption, for, | [151] |
| Cough syrup, | [152] |
| Cough mixture, | [152] |
| Compound tincture of myrrh, | [152] |
| Cordial for summer complaints, | [153] |
| Coffee milk, | [160] |
| Crust, coffee, | [161] |
| Cranberry water, | [161] |
| Chicken broth, | [161] |
| Calves'-foot jelly, | [162] |
| Chambers, | [176] |
| Coffee starch, | [183] |
| Copper bronze, | [194] |
| Decayed teeth, for, | [44] |
| Decayed teeth, mixture for, | [46] |
| Dye the hair flaxen, to, | [63] |
| Days of the week—their importance, | [68] |
| Duration of pregnancy, | [123] |
| Diet, the, | [124] |
| Detection of pregnancy, sure test for the, | [127] |
| Delayed menstruation, | [135] |
| Duty of mothers, | [135] |
| Dyspeptic ley, | [148] |
| Dr. Jordan's cholera remedy, | [154] |
| Deafness, | [155] |
| Drink in dysentery, | [161] |
| Drunkenness, to cure, | [168] |
| Different kinds of perfume, to make, | [169] |
| Dining-room, | [177] |
| Do your own stamping, how to, | [187] |
| Dry stamping, | [188] |
| Distributor, to make a, | [188] |
| Dark blue powder, | [189] |
| Decalcomania, | [196] |
| Eruptions, | [24] |
| Extreme paleness, | [26] |
| Excoriations, | [28] |
| Eyes, to cure weak, | [36] |
| Eyes, to care watery and inflamed, | [37] |
| Eyes, general care of, | [37] |
| Eyelashes, to improve the, | [36] |
| Eyelashes, to have beautiful, | [36] |
| Elegant hair, to have, | [60] |
| Electrical psychology, | [69] |
| Early marriage, | [99] |
| Everything for love, | [111] |
| Expectorant tincture, | [152] |
| Eggs, | [165] |
| Extract the essential oil from flowers, to, | [168] |
| Enamel for shirt bosoms, | [184] |
| Exotic leaves, | [194] |
| Electric powder, | [205] |
| Freckles, | [25] |
| Freckles, to remove, | [29] |
| Flesh-worms, to remove, | [30] |
| French face wash, | [32] |
| French lip salve, | [40] |
| Fine tooth powder, | [44] |
| Finger nails, the, | [49] |
| French remedy for baldness, | [63] |
| Fortunate and unfortunate days, | [67] |
| Fondness for cousins, | [95] |
| Flirtation, | [96] |
| False sense of duty, | [112] |
| Falling of the womb, | [143] |
| Fever powder, | [149] |
| French milk porridge, | [160] |
| Fluid, No. 1, 2, and 3, | [163] |
| Fresh-blown flowers in winter, | [166] |
| Flour starch, | [184] |
| Fine starch, | [184] |
| Fruit stains, | [185] |
| Flannels, to wash, | [186] |
| Floral basket in bronze, | [193] |
| French polish for leather, | [205] |
| German lip salve, | [41] |
| Golden hair secret, the, | [62] |
| Gestation, period of, | [122] |
| Gum acacia restorative, | [164] |
| Get rid of bedbugs and mosquitoes, how to, | [166] |
| Gall soap, | [183] |
| Grease, to take out, | [185] |
| Green bronze, | [193] |
| Geranium leaves, | [196] |
| Hands, chapped, | [51] |
| Hair, the, | [52] |
| Hair restorative, | [61] |
| Hair, to bleach, | [63] |
| Hair, to dye flaxen, | [63] |
| Hair, keeping curled and crimped, | [63] |
| Hair, powder for preserving, | [64] |
| Hair to make grow quickly, | [64] |
| Hair falling out, to prevent, | [65] |
| Human temperaments, the, | [66] |
| How to charm those whom you meet, | [72] |
| Hop bitters, | [146] |
| Home decoration, | [171] |
| House plants, to care for, | [179] |
| Healing salve, | [200] |
| Itch, the, | [17] |
| Improve the skin, to, | [33] |
| Improving the hair, for, | [63] |
| Important advice to females, | [68] |
| Inverted toe-nail, | [156] |
| Irish moss jelly, | [158] |
| Isinglass jelly, | [158] |
| Iron rust, to remove, | [185] |
| I X L baking powder, | [204] |
| Kalydor for the complexion, | [33] |
| Lemon cream, | [29] |
| Lip salve, white, No. 1, | [40] |
| Lip salve, No. 2, | [40] |
| Love and respect, | [77] |
| Love and marriage, | [94] |
| Leucorrhœa, whites, flour albus, | [144] |
| Laziness, to cure, | [168] |
| Milk of roses, | [33] |
| Mouth pastilles, | [44] |
| Mixture for shampoo, | [64] |
| Mesmerism, | [70] |
| Marriage, | [73] |
| Married people, | [102] |
| Monogamy, | [116] |
| Marriage customs, | [117] |
| Morning sickness, | [126] |
| Menstruation, | [134] |
| Malt infusion, | [164] |
| Milk for infants, | [165] |
| Magnetic croup cure, | [201] |
| Magic annihilator, | [203] |
| Necessary evils, | [109] |
| Nutritive fluids, | [162] |
| Preparation for whitening the skin, | [30] |
| Pimples, to remove, | [32] |
| Pomade d'Hebe, | [34] |
| Preservative tincture for the teeth, | [45] |
| Powder for preserving the hair, | [64] |
| Polygamy, | [125] |
| Polyandry, | [117] |
| Pregnancy, labor, parturition, | [121] |
| Parturient balm, | [128] |
| Premature labor, | [128] |
| Pills for asthma, | [151] |
| Pills for chronic bronchitis, | [151] |
| Pills for neuralgia, | [151] |
| Pills for dysentery, | [150] |
| Pile ointment, | [155] |
| Panado, | [160] |
| Prevent horses being teased by flies, | [167] |
| Prevent flies lighting on windows, pictures, etc., | [167] |
| Poisons and their antidotes, | [206] |
| Rouge, liquid, | [33] |
| Rye tooth powder, | [45] |
| Red hands, to cure, | [48] |
| Rough hands, to cure, | [49] |
| Rheumatic pills, | [150] |
| Rice water, | [157] |
| Refreshing drink, a, | [157] |
| Rice, | [158] |
| Rice jelly, | [158] |
| Rice gruel, | [158] |
| Restorative jelly, | [160] |
| Render paper fireproof, to, | [168] |
| Royal washing powder, | [203] |
| Rashes and redness, | [27] |
| Skin, the, | [22] |
| Scurf, scurvy, | [27] |
| Soften and whiten the skin, | [30] |
| Soft, white hands, | [46] |
| Sexual intercourse—its laws and conditions, | [105] |
| Seduction, | [110] |
| Soothing cough mixture, | [152] |
| Scrofulous syrup, | [153] |
| Sago gruel, | [159] |
| Scorch, to take out, | [183] |
| Turkish lotion, | [207] |
| Wrinkles, | [28] |
| Wrinkles, to remove, | [35] |
| Wrinkles, lotion for, | [35] |
| Wrinkles, wash for, | [35] |
| Wash for scald heads, | [65] |
| Whiten the skin, to, | [65] |
| Warts, | [51] |
| Waterproof boots, to prepare, | [168] |
| Worm elixir, | [201] |
| Wonderful starch enamel, | [203] |