A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts and Interesting Experiments, / Which are Well Explained and Warranted Genuine and may be Performed Easily, Safely, and at Little Expense.

by Unknown

17. Green ink.—To the tincture of turmeric, prepared as above, add a little prussian blue. A variety of tints may be formed, by varying the proportions of these two ingredients, and no artificial colour can excel it in beauty.

18. Purple ink.—To the blue ink, described at 14, add some finely ground lake; or instead of this, the expressed juice of the deepest coloured beets may be substituted, but is more liable to fade. With either of these a variety of tints may be formed, by varying the proportions.

19. To write in various colours with the same pen, ink and paper.—Take a sheet of white paper, and wet some parts of it with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass, which must be diluted with water so as not to appear on the paper when dry. Wet some other parts with diluted muriatic acid, or with juice of lemons.—Some other parts may be wet with a dilute solution of alum; and others with an infusion of nut-galls (water in which bruised or pulverized nut-galls have been steeped.) None of these preparations must be so strong as to colour the paper any. When these are dry, take some finely powdered sulphate of iron, and rub it lightly on some parts of the paper, that have been wet with the sub-carbonate of potass, and infusion of galls. Then with the juice of violets, or of the leaves of red cabbage, write on the paper as usual with a pen. The ink is, of itself, a faint purple; where the paper was wet with acid, the writing will be bright red; on the sub-carbonate of potass, it will take a beautiful green; on the alum it will be brown; on the sub-carbonate of potass that was rubbed with powdered sulphate of iron, it will be deep yellow; and on the infusion of galls that was rubbed with the powder, it will be black.—The juice of violets will sometimes take a brilliant yellow on the alkali if it be very strong. The juice of violets or red cabbage may be kept a long time by means of the addition of a few drops of alcohol; or the leaves may be dryed by the fire, and thus may be kept ready for use; and it is only requisite to steep them in hot water, in order to prepare the ink at any time. Note.—The yellow ink, described at 16, writes a full red where the paper has been wet with the solution of sub-carbonate of potass; while the solution of sulphate of iron, which has no colour of itself, writes a deep yellow on the alkali, and black on the infusion of galls.

20. Sympathetic inks for secret correspondence.—Process 1.—Dissolve muriate of ammonia in water, and write;—the writing will be invisible. When you would make the writing appear, heat the paper by the fire, and the writing will become black.

21. Process 2.—Write with a solution of sulphate of iron—the writing will be invisible. Dip a feather in an infusion of nut-galls, and with it wet the paper, and the writing will become black.

22. Process 3.—Write with a dilute infusion of galls,—it will be invisible. Dip a feather in a solution of sulphate of iron, and moisten the paper with it and the writing will become black.

23. Process 4.—Write with a solution of sub-carbonate of potass; wet this writing with a solution of sulphate of iron,—it will take a deep yellow colour.