WHETSTONES.
To make artificial whetstones, take gelatin of good quality, dissolve it in equal weight of water, operating in almost complete darkness, and add 1 1/2 per cent of bichromate of potash, previously dissolved. Next take about 9 times the weight of the gelatin employed of very fine emery or fine powdered gun stone, which is mixed intimately with the gelatinized solution. The paste thus obtained is molded into the desired shape, taking care to exercise an energetic pressure in order to consolidate the mass. Finally dry by exposure to the sun.
WHITING:
To Form Masses Of Whiting.
WHITEWASH
(See also Paint.)
Wash the ceiling by wetting it twice with water, laying on as much as can well be floated on, then rub the old color up with a stumpy brush and wipe off with a large sponge. Stop all cracks with whiting and plaster of Paris. When dry, claricole with size and a little of the whitewash when this is dry. If very much stained, paint those parts with turps, color, and, if necessary, claricole again. To make the whitewash, take a dozen pounds of whiting (in large balls), break them up in a pail, and cover with water to soak. During this time melt over a slow fire 4 pounds common size, and at the same time, with a palette knife or small trowel, rub up fine about a dessertspoonful of blue-black with water to a fine paste; then pour the water off the top of the whiting and with a stick stir in the black; when well mixed, stir in the melted size and strain. When cold, it is fit for use. If the jelly is too stiff for use, beat it up well and add a little cold water. Commence whitewashing over the window and so work from the light. Distemper color of any tint may be made by using any other color instead of the blue-black—as ocher, chrome, Dutch pink, raw sienna for yellows and buff; Venetian red, burnt sienna, Indian red or purple brown for reds; celestial blue, ultramarine, indigo for blues; red and blue for purple, gray or lavender; red lead and chrome for orange; Brunswick green for greens.
Ox blood in lime paint is an excellent binding agent for the lime, as it is chiefly composed of albumin, which, like casein or milk, is capable of transforming the lime into casein paint. But the ox blood must be mixed in the lime paint; to use it separately is useless, if not harmful. Whitewashing rough mortar-plastering to saturation is very practical, as it closes all the pores and small holes.
A formula used by the United States Government in making whitewash for light-houses and other public buildings is as follows:
| Unslaked lime | 2 pecks |
| Common salt | 1 peck |
| Rice flour | 3 pounds |
| Spanish whiting | 1/2 pound |
| Glue (clean and white) | 1 pound |
| Water, a sufficient quantity. |