TORTOISE-SHELL, to Polish. Dip a soft linen rag into rouge powder, and rub the tortoise-shell with it, and finish off with the hand. Tortoise-shell combs will not lose their polish if they are rubbed with the hand, after removal from the hair.
TOUCH-NEEDLES. See Assaying.
TOUCH-WOOD. See Amadou.
TOUS-LES-MOIS. The fecula of the roots of Canna edulis (Ph. D.); intended as a substitute for arrow-root. To the naked eye, it closely resembles the finest quality of potato-starch, but under the microscope its granules are found to be oblong, oval, with a concentric structure, and larger than those of the potato tuber.
Microscopic appearance of Tous-les-mois.
TOXICOL′OGY. See Poison.
TRAG′ACANTH. See Gum.
TRANSPA′′RENCIES. Water-colour pictures on paper, linen, or calico, if executed in non-opaque or glazing colours, may be converted into transparencies by simply brushing over their backs with Canada balsam, thinned down, when necessary, with a little oil of turpentine. For coarse work, boiled oil may be employed.
TRAPS, HOUSE. With few exceptions, the endless varieties of traps advertised for house-drains are all modifications of the older forms of the syphon, the midfeather and the ball-trap. The syphon trap consists of a bent tube with a deep curve, in which the water lies and acts as an hydraulic valve.