ANOTHER BLACK INK.
Take 1 pound logwood, 1 gallon soft water, boil it 1 hour and add 25 grains of bycromate of pot ash, 12 grains of prusiate of pot ash, stir a few minutes over the fire, take it off, and when settled strain it.
WASHING FLUID.
Take 1 gallon of soft soap, 4 ounces of sal soda, ½ gallon soft water, and ½ gill of spirits of turpentine, place them all into a pot over a fire and allow the mixture to boil a few minutes, it is then ready for use and can be kept in an earthen or stone vessel. In using this fluid the clothes intended to be washed should be soaked in water 10 or 12 hours, say over night, and then to a 10 or 12 gallon boiler or kettle full of clothes, covered with water, add 1 pint of fluid, boil briskly for fifteen minutes, and then wring them out in fresh water. It will be found that little or no rubbing will be necessary.—This preparation will save a great deal of hard rubbing and labor—it is truly worth trying.
TRANSPARENT SOAP.
Take 3 pounds of best rosin soap, 1 quart of best alcohol, 1 ounce of venice turpentine, 1 ounce of oil of sassafras, or you may use bergamot or the oil of lemon, or cinnamon, either of which will answer. Cut the soap into thin shavings, put into a pan the alcohol and soap, melt over a slow fire so as just to keep from boiling; when all is dissolved let it boil a minute or two, you must be careful not to let the blaze of the fire get to it or it will catch on fire; it is best to put it on a stove where there will be no danger, keep stirring slowly until all is melted, then add your venice turpentine, stirring and mixing for a minute or so, then take your pan off the fire and put in your oil of sassafras immediately, or whatever oil you intend using, the oil of sassafras is however the best. This soap cannot be surpassed for shaving, washing, and is excellent for sore or rough hands. Try it and you will be surprised—the rosin soap used must be clear.
PROF. BIDDLE’S CELEBRATED PREPARATION FOR THE HAIR AND HEAD.
To make 1 quart, take nearly one half a pint of cold pressed castor oil and fill it nearly full of 95 per cent. alcohol, then add ½ ounce of spirits of hartshorn, ½ ounce of tincture of cantharides, 40 drops oil of bergamot, which gives it an elegant perfume—shake well and it is ready for use.