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Another (Add to a hogshead of water)

Add to a hogshead of water a tablespoonful of a saturated solution of permanganate of potassa; this effectually destroys all organic matter. If the water retain a pink hue, put a stick or chip in it when the color will shortly disappear. To Cure Dry-rot in Timber.

Saturate the wood in a weak solution of copperas, for joists, beams, rafters, and floorings; or, soak the wood in lime-water, suffering it to dry, and then apply water in which there is a weak solution of vitriolic acid; or wash it with a strong solution of potash, then with pyroligneous acid in which the oxide of lead or iron has been dissolved; and finally, with alum-water. A current of air under a floor will always prevent the dry-rot, and stop it when it has commenced. In boarding kitchens and other rooms on the basement story, the planks should be steeped in a strong solution of vitriol or alum, and when they are dried, the side next to the earth should receive a coat of tar or common paint.

Solutions used in Preserving Timber.

The following have been employed. They are forced into the pores of the wood by putting it into a close vessel, exhausting the air, and then allowing the liquid to flow in. In some cases the timber is merely immersed; in others the liquid flows in under heavy pressure. In Boucherie's method the green tree is felled, the branches trimmed off, and a bag containing sulphate of copper or other antiseptic agent attached to the butt. The sap is gradually expelled by displacement, and flows from the free end of the log, the antiseptic solution taking its place.

These solutions probably act by coagulating the albuminous matters of the wood, and thus preventing the beginning of decay or dry-rot. They also prevent the attacks of insects. Corrosive sublimate (Kyan), chloride of zinc (Burnett), sulphate of copper (Bouchérie), chloride of calcium, followed by sulphate of iron (Payne), crude pyroligneous acid, saturated with iron scraps (Bethell), coal tar. Prevention of Decay in Timber.

Well-seasoned timber may be preserved by charring the surface. The process adopted in the French dockyards is to use a jet of mixed coal-gas and air; the two being conveyed by India-rubber tubes, which unite at the jet. The air is forced in by a bellows worked by the foot of the operator. A slight previous coating of tar is useful by filling up cracks, and causing a uniformity of action of the flame.

To Check the Warping of Planks.

The face of the planks should be cut in the direction from east to west as the tree stood. The strongest side of a piece of timber is that which, in its natural position, faced the north.

To Get Oil out of Boards.

Mode of Detecting Decay in Timber.

The Cosmos reports from the other journals a simple mode, said to have been adopted from immemorial times in the ship-yards of Venice, for ascertaining the fitness of timber for their constractions. "A person applies his ear to the middle of one of the ends of the timber, while another strikes upon the opposite end. If the wood is sound and of good quality, the blow is very distinctly heard, however long the beam may be. If the wood were disaggregated by decay or otherwise, the sound would be for the most part destroyed. To Preserve Polished Irons from Rust.

Polished iron-work may be preserved from rust by a mixture not very expensive, consisting of copal varnish intimately mixed with as much olive-oil as will give it a degree of greasiness, adding thereto nearly as much spirit of turpentine as of varnish; or varnish with wax dissolved in benzine. The cast-iron work is best preserved by rubbing it with black-lead.

But where rust has begun to make its appearance on grates or fire-irons, apply a mixture of tripoli, with half its quantity of sulphur, intimately mingled on a marble slab and laid on with a piece of soft leather; or emery and oil may be applied with excellent effect; not laid on in the usual slovenly way, but with a spongy piece of the fig-tree fully saturated with the mixture. This will not only clean, but polish, and render the use of whiting unnecessary.

To Preserve Brass Ornaments.

Brass ornaments, when not gilt or lackered, may be cleaned in the same way, and a fine color may be given to them by two simple processes. The first is to beat sal ammoniac into a fine powder, then to moisten it with soft water, rubbing it on the ornaments; which must be heated over charcoal and rubbed dry with bran and whiting. The second is to wash the brass work with roche alum boiled in strong lye, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint. When dry it must be rubbed with fine tripoli. Either of these processes will give to brass the brilliancy of gold.

Easy Mode of Taking Impressions from Coins, eto A very easy and elegant way of taking the impressions of medals and coins, not generally known, is thus described by Dr. Shaw: Melt a little isinglass glue with brandy, and pour it thinly over the metal so as to cover its whole surface; let it remain on for a day or two, till it is thoroughly dried and hardened, and then taking it off it will be fine, clear, and as hard as a piece of Muscovy glass, and will have a very elegant impression of the coin. It will also resist the effects of damp air, which occasions all other kinds of glue to soften and bend if not prepared in this way.

Adamas, A substitute for metal in the manufacture of gasburners, journal bearings, taps, etc., is made of Mix together fuller's earth and soap lees, and finely-powdered soapstone, pressed into moulds rub it into the boards. Let it dry and then scour it off with some strong soft soap and sand, or use lees to scour it with. It should be put on hot, which may easily be done by heating the lees.

To Prevent the Splitting of Logs and Planks.

Logs and planks split at the ends because the exposed surface dries faster than the inside. Saturate muriatic acid with lime and apply like whitewash to the ends. The chloride of calcium formed attracts moisture from the air, and prevents the splitting. and annealed.

Soapstone Powder as a Lubricator.

Soapstone powder, in the form of dust, is proposed as a lubricant for the axles of machines. For this purpose it is prepared as follows: It is first reduced to the condition of very fine powder; then it is washed to remove all gritty particles; then it is steeped for a short period in dilute muriatic acid (about 1 qt. of acid to 20 of water), in which it is stirred until all particles of iron which it contains are dissolved. The powder is then washed in pure water again, to remove all traces