To Mount Chromos for Framing.
To mount chromos for framing, first soak for fifteen minutes in a shallow dish, or lay between two newspapers that have been thoroughly saturated with water; then paste to the panel of the wood or canvas which has been prepared to receive them. Care must be taken that there are no lumps in the paste.
A Varnish for Making Paper Transparent.
A varnish formed of Canada balsam, dissolved in turpentine, supplies a most valuable means of making paper transparent. The mode by which this is most satisfactorily accomplished is by applying a pretty thin coating of this varnish to the paper, so as to permeate it thoroughly, after which it is to be coated on both sides with a much thicker sample. The paper is kept warm by performing the operation before a hot fire, and a third, or even a fourth, coating may be applied, until the texture of the paper is seen to merge into a homogeneous translucency. Paper prepared according to this process is said to come nearer than any other to the highest standard of perfection in transparent paper. Care must be used in making, as the materials are highly inflammable.
Carbon Paper.
To make carbon paper:—Take of clear lard, five oz.; beeswax, one oz.; Canada balsam, one-tenth oz.; lampblack, q. s. Melt by aid of heat, and mix. Apply with a flannel dauber, removing as much as possible with clean woolen rags.
Luminous Paper.
To make paper which shall be luminous in the dark, it is sufficient to mingle with the pulp the following ingredients in their proportions:—Water, ten parts; pulp, forty parts; phosphorescent powder, ten parts; gelatine, one part; bichromate of potash, one part. The paper will also be waterproof.