Vermin Exterminators.

Phosphorus or Luminous Paste.

This is an unequaled preparation for destroying rats, mice, cockroaches, etc. It attracts them by its luminous appearance and also by its odor, which is very attractive to all vermin. They eat it with great avidity.

Phosphorus 1/2 ounce.
Armenian bole1 ounce.
Arsenic1 ounce.
Oil of rhodium 1/2 drachm.
Tallow10 ounces.
Rye flour12 ounces.
Water12 ounces.

Cook the flour and water to a thin paste; add the phosphorus—previously melted in a little hot water—and mix; then add the rest and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Other Methods of Destroying Rats.—(1) Mix some fine plaster of Paris with an equal quantity of flour; put the mixture in the place infested by the vermin and a vessel full of water beside it. The rats will devour the mixture and then drink, whereupon the plaster, brought into contact with the water, will become solid and like a stone in their stomachs, which will cause their deaths. (2) When a house is infested with rats which refuse to nibble at toasted cheese or the usual baits, a few drops of oil of rhodium poured on or near the bait will attract them while the most tempting baits fail. (3) Cover the floor near their holes and place into their haunts a quantity of caustic potash. This they lick with their tongues, which makes their mouths sore, and they not only shun this locality, but appear to tell all the neighboring rats about it. (4) Instead of using chloride of lime or potash a quantity of tar can be smeared in and around their haunts and they will disappear. Tar and rats do not agree. If a live rat be caught, smeared with tar, and allowed to escape into the holes he will do the smearing process thoroughly.

Roach and Moth Exterminator.

Thymol2 parts.
Salicylic acid2 parts.
Alcohol200 parts.
Oil of lemon1 part.

This new, simple, and cheap preparation makes no stain and kills the vermin immediately. The odor is not unpleasant, and is quickly removed by airing the room. Use by sprinkling, or moistening blotting paper with the solution.

Moth Powder.

Lupulin1 drachm.
Scotch snuff2 ounces.
Camphor gum1 ounce.
Black pepper1 ounce.
Cedar sawdust4 ounces.

Mix thoroughly and strew among the furs and woolens.

Bedbug Poison.

Corrosive sublimate (in powder)2 ounces.
Alcohol1 pint.

Apply with a feather or stick into their hiding places. Label poison, and place all such compounds out of the reach of children.

Poison Fly Paper.

White arsenic1  ounce.
Sugar 1/2 pound.
Concentrated lye 1/4 ounce.
Water1  quart.

Dissolve the concentrated lye in the water, add the sugar and boil the solution, meanwhile gradually adding the arsenic. While still warm dip porous paper (cut into small squares) in the solution and dry them. For use place in plates or saucers partly filled with water where the flies can get at them.

Sticky Fly Paper.

Rosin8 ounces.
Lard or cotton-seed oil3 ounces.

Boil together, spread thinly on manilla paper, place another sheet on top, and when wanted pull them apart and it is ready for use. This is now usually preferred to the poison paper, as the flies are caught and held and do not die and drop into food, etc.

Mosquito and Fly Frightener.

Petrolatum1  ounce.
Paraffine 1/8 ounce.
Oil pennyroyal 1/3 ounce.
Oil of tar 2/3 ounce.
Carbolic acid 2/3 drachm.

Melt the solid ingredients together, and when partly cooled add the other ingredients. This is an elegant preparation to rub on the hands and face where flies, mosquitos, gnats, etc., are troublesome.

Inks.

Late improvements in the manufacture of inks are due to the discovery and cheapening of substances which can be used in preparing them. While good common writing inks are quite easily procured in the market, still they can be manufactured much cheaper by the consumer; and then again there are a variety of special purposes which require inks that are not on sale, and formulas for making them are very valuable. In this collection we give approved and tested formulas for everything in the ink line.

Fine Black Ink.

[FROM LOGWOOD.]

A good black ink can be made by boiling 3 pounds of logwood with sufficient water to leave a residue of 5 quarts. When cold add 3 drachms of yellow bichromate of potash and stir thoroughly. To prevent thickening add a few drops of solution of mercury salt. It flows freely from the pen. Its color at first is of a dark indigo-blue tint, changing soon into a permanent black. A beautiful gloss may be given to this or any other black ink by adding a strong solution of shellac and borax.

Fine Black Ink.

[FROM ANILINE.]

Black aniline crystals (negrosine)1 1/2 ounces.
Dextrine1  ounce.
Corrosive sublimate5  grains.
Water2  quarts.

Dissolve the negrosine in a quart of hot water; dissolve the corrosive sublimate and dextrine in the remaining quart, and pour all together. This is a splendid ink, flows freely from the pen, and will keep well.

In making ink use care in buying the best anilines and other ingredients. This is important.

Fine Red Ink.

Eosine aniline100 grains.
Water1 pint.

Simply dissolve the aniline in the water. No better bright, fiery red ink can be made.

Fine Violet Ink.

Violet aniline70  grains.
Alcohol 1/2 ounce.
Dextrine 1/2 ounce.
Hot water1  pint.

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol and the dextrine in the hot water, and mix them.

Fine Blue Ink.

Water blue aniline1  drachm.
Dextrine 1/4 ounce.
Hot water1  pint.

One-fourth of an ounce of Prussian blue may be used instead of the water blue aniline.

Fine Green Ink.

Green aniline1  drachm.
Dextrine 1/4 ounce.
Hot water1  pint.

Aniline inks of any color can be made in a similar manner. Simply get the desired color of aniline. Maroon ink may be made by mixing equal quantities of black, blue, and red inks; yellow by adding 1 1/4 drachms of picric acid to 1 pint of hot water.

Copying Ink.

Take 1 pint of the violet-black ink and add 1 ounce each of sugar and gum Arabic. This is for what is called moist copying where a press is used. For what is termed dry copying mix about  1/3 pint of glycerine to a pint of any good black ink. The manuscript, if written on glazed paper, will not dry for hours, and will yield one or two fair, neat, dry copies by simple pressure of the hand. The writing should not be excessively fine nor the strokes uneven or heavy. The copies and the original are neater than when water is used.

Gaffard’s Indestructible Ink.

Lampblack1 part.
Potash water glass12 parts.
Aqua ammonia1 part.
Distilled water38 parts.

The potash water glass should be of the consistency of syrup.

Hektograph Ink.

(SEE PAGE [1].)

A good purple ink to use on the gelatine copying pad, or hektograph, is prepared as follows:

Methyl violet1  ounce.
Water8  ounces.
Glycerine1  ounce.
Alcohol 1/4 ounce.

Dissolve the methyl-violet in the water and add the glycerine. Gently warm the solution for an hour, and after cooling add the alcohol.

When black hektograph ink is desired, instead of the methyl-violet use double the amount of negrosine.

White Ink.

An excellent white ink, which can be used with a pen for writing on colored cards or paper, may be made as follows:

Flake white12 drachms.
Mucilage of gum Arabic6 drachms.

If too thick add water; if too thin, more mucilage. Shake well while using.

Rubber Stamp Ink.

Aniline (desired color) 1/2 ounce.
Glycerine2  ounces.

Ribbon Ink.

FOR TYPE-WRITERS, DATING STAMPS, ETC.

Aniline 1/2 ounce.
Alcohol4  ounces.
Glycerine7  ounces.
Water4  ounces.

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol and add the other ingredients.

Marking Ink.

FOR PACKAGES AND BOXES.

Extract of Logwood8  ounces.
Bichromate of potash1  ounce.
Hydrochloric acid 3/4 ounce.
Dextrine4  ounces.
Water 1/2 gallon.

Boil the logwood with the water, add the acid and potash, and lastly the dextrine.

Indelible Ink.

FOR MARKING LINEN, ETC.

Dissolve 5 parts of lunar caustic in 10 parts of spirit of sal ammoniac. Add to the solution 7 parts of pure soda, 5 of gum Arabic, and 12 of water.

Ink for Writing on Metals.

VALUABLE IN MARKING TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS.

Muriatic acid1  ounce.
Nitric acid 1/2 ounce.

Cover the portion of metal you wish to write upon with melted beeswax and allow it to cool. Write the inscription plainly with any sharp-pointed instrument through the beeswax to the metal. Apply the acids with a feather or rag, carefully filling each letter, and let it remain from one to thirty minutes, according to the desired depth of the lettering, after which wash off the beeswax and acids and rub over with a little sweet oil to prevent further rust or tarnish.

Ink Powders.

As in the case of fluid inks there are many formulas for preparing ink powders. The following are the best:

Black.—Nut-galls, 1 ounce; copperas,  1/2 ounce; gum Arabic, 7 ounces. Add one clove to this quantity. Or, take negrosine, 1 ounce; dextrine, 3 ounces; mix.

Blue.—Water blue aniline, 1 ounce; dextrine, 5 ounces. Or, soluble Prussian blue,  1/2 ounce; dextrine, 1 ounce.

Green.—Aniline green, 44 parts; gelatine, 4 parts, and lunar caustic, 2 parts. Or, green aniline, 1 part; dextrine, 4 parts.

Red.—Eosine aniline, 1 ounce; dextrine, 1 ounce.

A tea-spoonful to a table-spoonful of the powder is dissolved in 1 pint of water, requiring from  1/2 to 1 hour to make the solution.

Disappearing Ink.

Boil some nut-galls in aqua fortis, and add to the infusion some gum Arabic and a little sulphuric acid. When written on paper this ink is perfectly legible, but will disappear from the paper in a few days.

Invisible Ink.

Invisible inks are those which when first written are not visible, but upon the application of heat or other means the characters are made to appear distinctly. The following are decidedly the best preparations for this purpose:

Oil of vitriol1 fluid ounce.
Soft water1 pint.

This makes a fluid which is perfectly invisible until heat is applied by holding over a lamp or by placing in an oven, when it changes to a permanent black. Write with a clean steel pen. All invisible inks will show on glazed paper, therefore unglazed paper should be used.

Another singular invisible ink is made as follows: Oxide of cobalt,  1/2 ounce; muriatic acid, sufficient to dissolve it; water, 4 ounces; mucilage of gum acacia, 1 drachm. Place in a stained bottle. Characters written with this solution are invisible, but on the application of heat they instantly appear in blue. On cooling they again become invisible.

Ink Erasing Fluid.

Hydrochloric acid 1/8 ounce.
Water1  pint.

Mix, bottle, and label No. 1.

Solution of chlorinated soda 2/3 pint.
Water1  pint.

Mix, bottle, and label No. 2.

To erase ink dip the end of a penholder or pencil in No. 1 and apply to the writing, and do the same with No. 2. Let remain a moment and blot off with clean blotting-paper. If the characters are not erased repeat as before.