| (1) | White Wax | 8 | parts |
| Soap | 2 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part |
This ink does not really serve for writing or drawing on the stone, but is used mostly for coating those places that are to be protected from the etching fluid. If this ink is needed in a thickened form, the wax should be heated in an iron pan till it burns and the combustion should continue till one half of it is consumed. The longer it burns, the harder will be the remnant.
| (2) | White Wax | 12 | parts |
| Tallow (Ox Fats) | 4 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part | |
| (3) | Wax | 12 | parts |
| Shellac | 4 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part | |
| (4) | Tallow | 8 | parts |
| Shellac | 8 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part | |
| (5) | Wax | 8 | parts |
| Shellac | 4 | parts | |
| Mastic | 4 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part | |
| (6) | Wax | 8 | parts |
| Tallow | 4 | parts | |
| Shellac | 4 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part | |
| (7) | Wax and Gum quajak | 12 | parts |
| Tallow | 4 | parts | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampbblack | 1 | part |
The wax and gum are melted in equal proportions, the undissolved portion is discarded and of the mixture twelve parts is used as above.
| (8) | Wax | 6 | parts |
| Shellac | 4 | parts | |
| Tallow | 2 | parts | |
| Mastic | 3 | parts | |
| Venetian turpentine | 1 | part | |
| Soap | 4 | parts | |
| Lampblack | 1 | part |
There is no important difference between the inks in the seven last formulas. Those that contain shellac remain fluid a little longer but are harder to prepare. It is not necessary to be painfully minute about the proportions of the various materials, providing the proportions of soap and lampblack be correct. The soap is about one fifth and the lampblack about one twentieth part of the whole. If too much soap is used, the ink will dissolve more readily, but the solution will become slimy more quickly. Too much lampblack would make the ink run.
MAKING THE CHEMICAL INK
In making any of the inks mentioned, first divide the required quantity of soap into two equal parts. Put one part into an iron pan with the other substances, and heat till the mass begins to burn. Let it burn till almost one half is consumed. Then cover the pan with an iron lid, or place it very carefully into a basin of water to extinguish and cool the mixture.
One part of the soap is mixed in at once, that the combustion may make it mix well with the other substances. But it loses some of its strength and sates itself with carbonic acid, so that it is not quite so powerful as before to attack the fats. Therefore a second part is added after the combustion. Then the complete mixture is heated again, but only to a degree sufficient to melt the soap.
Now take up a bit of the mass with a clean knife and see if it is easily soluble in river or rain water. If the soap was good (something not always the case), the quantity named in the formulas always suffices. If it does not contain enough alkali, little pieces of soap must be added till the mass is soluble. Then the lampblack is added while the mass is being stirred without cessation.