To Silver Glass Balls And Plate Glass.
—The following is a method for silvering the glass balls which are used as ornaments in gardens, glass panes, and concave mirrors: Dissolve 300 parts of nitrate of silver and 200 parts of ammonia in 1,300 parts of distilled water. Add 35 parts of tartaric acid dissolved in 4 times its weight of water. Dilute the whole with 15,000 to 17,000 parts of distilled water. Prepare a second solution containing twice the amount of tartaric acid as the preceding one. Apply each of these solutions successively for 15 to 20 minutes on the glass to be silvered, which must previously have been cleaned and dried. When the silvering is sufficient, wash the object with hot water, let dry, and cover with a brown varnish.
Iron Silver-plating.
—I.—Iron articles are plated with quicksilver in a solution of nitrate of mercury before being silvered. The quicksilver is then removed by heating to 572° F. The articles may also be first tinned to economize the silver. Steel is dipped in a mixture of {588} nitrate of silver and mercury, each dissolved separately in the proportion of 5 parts, by weight, to 300 parts, by weight, of water, then wiped to remove the black film of carbon, and silvered till a sample dipped in a solution of blue vitriol ceases to turn red. According to H. Krupp, articles made of an alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc, such as knives, forks, spoons, etc., should be coated electrically with nickel, put into a solution of copper like that used for galvanic coppering, and then electroplated.

II.—A brilliant silver color may be imparted to iron (from which all grease has been previously removed) by treating it with the following solution: Forty parts, by weight, chloride of antimony; 10 parts, by weight, powdered arsenious acid; and 80 parts levigated hematite are mixed with 1,000 parts of 90 per cent alcohol and gently heated for half an hour on a water bath. A partial solution takes place, and a small cotton pad is then dipped in the liquid and applied with a gentle pressure to the iron. A thin film consisting of arsenic and antimony is precipitated, as described by Dr. Langbein, in his “Handbuch der galv. Metallniederschläge.” The brilliancy of the effect depends upon the care with which the iron has previously been polished.

To Silver-plate Metals.
—I.—Nitrate of silver, 30 parts, by weight; caustic potash, 30 parts; distilled water, 100 parts. Put the nitrate of silver into the water; one-quarter hour afterwards add the potash, and, when the solution is done, filter. It is sufficient to dip the objects to be silvered into this bath, moving them about in it for 1 or 2 minutes at most; then rinsing and drying in sawdust. It is necessary to pickle the pieces before using the bath. To make the nitrate of silver one’s self, take 30 parts of pure silver and 60 parts of nitric acid, and when the metal is dissolved add the caustic potash and the water.

II.—Kayser’s silvering liquid, which is excellent for all kinds of metals, is prepared from lunar caustic, 11 parts; sodium hyposulphite, 20 parts; sal ammoniac, 12 parts; whiting, 20 parts; and distilled water, 200 parts. The articles must be cleaned well.

Mosaic Silver.
—This compound consists of tin, 3 parts, by weight; bismuth, 3 parts; and mercury, 1 1/2 parts. The alloy of these metals is powdered finely, thus forming a silvery mass used for imitation silvering of metals, paper, wood, etc. In order to impart to metals, especially articles of copper and brass, an appearance similar to silver, they are made perfectly bright. The powder of the mosaic silver is mixed with six times the volume of bone ashes, adding enough water to cause a paste and rubbing this on the metallic surface by means of a cork of suitable shape. In order to silver paper by means of this preparation it is ground with white of egg, diluted mucilage, or varnish, and treated like a paint.
Pastes For Silvering.
—I.—Carbonate of lime, 65 parts; sea salt, 60 parts; cream of tartar, 35 parts; nitrate of silver, 20 parts. Bray all in a mortar, not adding the carbonate of lime until the other substances are reduced to a fine powder. Next, add a little water to form a homogeneous paste, which is preserved in blue bottles away from the light. For use, put a little of this paste on a small pad and rub the article with it.

II.—Articles of zinc, brass, or copper may also be silver-plated by applying to them a pasty mass of the following composition: First dissolve 10 parts, by weight, of nitrate of silver in 50 parts, by weight, of distilled water; also 25 parts, by weight, of potassium cyanide in sufficient distilled water to dissolve it. Pour the two together, stir well, and filter. Now 100 parts, by weight, of whiting or levigated chalk and 400 parts, by weight, of potassium bitartrate, finely powdered, are moistened with the above solution sufficiently to form a soft paste, which may be applied to the objects, previously well cleansed, with a brush. After this coating has dried well, rinse it off, and dry the object in clean sawdust.

Resilvering.
—I.—Take 100 parts, by weight, of distilled water and divide it into two equal portions. In the one dissolve 10 parts of silver nitrate and in the other 25 parts of potassium cyanide. The two solutions are reunited in a single vessel as soon as completed. Next prepare a mixture of 100 parts of Spanish white, passed through a fine sieve, 10 parts of cream of tartar, pulverized, and 1 part of mercury. This powder is stirred in a portion of the above liquid so as to form a rather thick paste. The composition is applied by means of the finger, covered with a rag, on the object to be silvered. The application must be as even as possible. Let the object dry and wash in pure water. The excess of powder is removed with a brush.

II.—The following is a process used when the jeweler has to repair certain pieces from which silvering has come off {589} in places, and which he would like to repair without having recourse to the battery, and specially without having to take out the stones or pearls: Take nitrate of silver, 25 parts, by weight; cyanide of potassium, 50 parts; cream of tartar, 20 parts; Paris white, 200 parts; distilled water, 200 parts; mercury, 2 parts. Dissolve the nitrate of silver in half of the distilled water and the cyanide in the other half; mix the two liquids; next bray well in a mortar the mercury, Paris white, and cream of tartar. Preserve the products of these two operations separately, and when you wish to use them make a rather soft paste of the two, which apply with a little cotton or a brush on the portion to be silvered. Let dry and subsequently rub with a soft brush.

Tin Silver-plating.
—Prepare a solution of 3 parts, by weight, of bismuth subnitrate in 10 parts of nitric acid of 1.4 specific gravity, to which add a solution of 10 parts of tartar and 40 parts of hydrochloric acid in 1,000 parts of water. In the mixture of these solutions immerse the tin articles freed from grease and oxide. The pulverous bismuth precipitated on the surface is rubbed off, whereupon the objects appear dark steel gray. For silvering prepare a mixture of 10 parts of silver chloride; 30 parts of cooking salt; 20 parts of tartar, and 100 parts of powdered chalk, which is rubbed in a slightly moist state on the bismuth surface of the tin articles, using a flannel rag. The silver separates only in a very thin layer, and must be protected against power and light before tarnishing by a coating of preservative or celluloid varnish.
Zinc Contact Silver-plating.
—According to Buchner, 10 parts, by weight, of silver nitrate is dissolved in water and precipitated by the addition of hydrochloric acid in the form of silver chloride, which is washed several times in clean water; now dissolve 70 parts, by weight, of spirit of sal ammoniac in water, and add to it 40 parts, by weight, of soda crystals, 40 parts, by weight, of pure potassium cyanide, and 15 parts, by weight, of common salt. Now thin down the compound with sufficient distilled water to make a total of 1,000 parts.
Tin Plating Of Lead.
—Lead plates are best tinned by plating. For this purpose a table with a perfectly even iron surface and provided with vertical raised edges to prevent the melted metal from flowing away, is employed. The lead is poured on this table, and covered with grease to prevent oxidation of the surface. As soon as the lead is congealed, melted tin is poured over it, care being taken that the tin is sufficiently heated to remelt the surface of the lead and combine thoroughly with it. When the plate is sufficiently cooled, it is turned over, and the lower surface treated in the same way. The plate, thus tinned on both sides, is then placed between rollers, and can be rolled into very thin sheets without injury to the tin coating. These sheets, doubly coated with tin by this process, are specially adapted for lining cases intended for the transport of biscuits, chocolate, candies, tea, snuff, etc. If lead plates are only to be tinned superficially, they are heated to a tolerably high temperature, and sprinkled with powdered rosin; melted tin is then rubbed on the surface of the plate with a ball of tow. It is advisable to give the lead a fairly thick coating of tin, as the latter is rendered thinner by the subsequent rolling.

Various Recipes:

To Ascertain Whether An Article Is Nickeled, Tinned, Or Silvered.
—When necessary to ascertain quickly and accurately the nature of the white metal covering an object, the following process will be found to give excellent results:
Nickeled Surface.
—If the article has a nickel coating, a drop of hydrochloric acid, deposited on a spot clean and free from grease, will quickly develop a greenish tint. If the object is kept for 5 or 10 minutes in a solution composed of 60 parts of sea salt and 110 parts of water, it will receive a very characteristic reddish tint. A drop of sulphuret of sodium does not change a nickeled surface.
Tinned Surface.
—A tinned object may be recognized readily by applying hydrochloric acid, which, even diluted, will remove the tin. The salt solution, used as previously described, produces a gray tint, faint in certain cases. The sulphuret of sodium dissolves tin.
Silvered Surface.
—In the case of a silvered article a drop of nitric acid will remove the silver, while hydrochloric acid will scarcely attack it. The salt solution will produce no effect. The sulphuret of sodium will blacken it rapidly.

PLATINIZING: See Plating.

PLATINOTYPE PAPER: See Photography. {590}

PLATINUM PAPERS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT: See Photography, under Developing Papers.

PLATINUM WASTE, TO SEPARATE SILVER FROM: See Silver.

PLUMBAGO: See Lubricants.

PLUMES: See Feathers.

PLUSH:

To Make Plush Adhere To Metal.

—Wash off with ordinary soda water the bottom of a tin box, wiping it dry with cloth. Coat the tin with the juice of onion and press on this space a piece of strong paper, smoothing it out so that there will be no blisters. When this has dried, the paper will adhere, so that it can be removed only by scraping with a sharp instrument. Then give a coat of hot glue to the paper and press the plush down into the glue, and when dry and hard, the plush can be removed only by placing the tin box in boiling water.

PLUSH, TO REMOVE GREASE SPOTS FROM: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

POISONS, ANTIDOTES FOR: See Antidotes.

POLISHES

Polishes For Aluminum.

—I.—M. Mouray recommends the use of an emulsion of equal parts of rum and olive oil, made by shaking these liquids together in a bottle. When a burnishing stone is used, the peculiar black streaks first appearing should not cause vexation, since they do not injure the metal in the least, and may be removed with a woolen rag. The object in question may also be brightened in potash lye, in which case, however, care must be taken not to have the lye too strong. For cleaning purposes benzol has been found best.

II.—Aluminum is susceptible of taking a beautiful polish, but it is not white like that of silver or nickel, rather slightly bluish, like tin. The shade can be improved. First, the grease is to be removed from the object with pumice stone. Then, for polishing, use is made of an emery paste mingled with tallow, forming cakes which are rubbed on the polishing brushes. Finally, rouge powder is employed with oil of turpentine.

Polishes For Bars, Counters, Etc.

I.— Linseed oil 8 ounces
Stale ale 8 ounces
Hydrochloric acid 1 ounce
Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 ounce
White of 1 egg.

Mix. Shake before using. Clean out the dust, dirt, etc., using an appropriate brush, or a bit of cloth wrapped around a stick, then apply the above, with a soft brush, or a bit of cotton wrapped in a bit of silk—or, in fact, any convenient method of applying it.

II.— Japan wax  1 av. ounce
Oil of turpentine  3 fluidounces
Linseed oil 16 fluidounces
Alcohol  3 fluidounces
Solution of potash  1 1/2 fluidounces
Water to make 32 fluidounces.

Dissolve the wax in the turpentine, add the other ingredients, diluting the potash solution with the water before adding to the other ingredients, and stir briskly until well mixed.

Polishes For Brass, Bronze, Copper, Etc.

Objects of polished copper, bronze, brass, and other alloys of copper tarnish through water and it is sometimes necessary to give them again their bright appearance. Pickle the articles in an acid bath; wash them next in a neutral bath; dry them, and subsequently rub them with a polishing powder. Such is the general formula; the processes indicated below are but variants adapted to divers cases and recommended by disinterested experimenters:

Sharp Polishes.
—The following three may be used on dirty brasses, copper articles, etc., where scratching is not objectionable:
I.— Quartz sand, powdered and levigated  20 parts
Paris red  30 parts
Vaseline  50 parts
Mix intimately and make a pomade.
II.— Emery flour, finest levigated  50 parts
Paris red  50 parts
Mutton suet  40 parts
Oleic acid  40 parts
III.— Levigated emery powder 100 parts
Anhydrous sodium carbonate   5 parts
Tallow soap  20 parts
Water 100 parts
{591}
Copper Articles.
—Make a mixture of powdered charcoal, very fine, 4 parts; spirit of wine, 3 parts; and essence of turpentine, 2 parts. To this add water in which one-third of its weight of sorrel salt or oxalic acid has been stirred, and rub the objects with this mixture.
Bronze Articles.
—Boil the objects in soap lye, wash in plenty of water, and dry in sawdust.
Highly Oxidized Bronzes.
—First dip in strong soda lye, then in a bath containing 1 part of sulphuric acid to 12 parts of water. Rinse in clean water, and next in water containing a little ammonia. Dry and rub with a polishing powder or paste.

Polishes For Floors.

I.—Throw a handful of permanganate potash crystals into a pail of boiling water, and apply the mixture as hot as possible to the floor with a large flat brush. If the stain produced is not dark enough, apply one or two more coats as desired, leaving each wash to dry thoroughly before applying another. If it is desired to polish the surface with beeswax, a coat of size should be applied to the boards before staining, as this gives depth and richness to the color. After 3 or 4 days, polish well with a mixture of turpentine and beeswax. A few cents will cover the cost of both size and permanganate of potash.

II.— Potash 1 part
Water 4 parts
Yellow beeswax 5 parts
Hot water, a sufficient quantity.

Emulsify the wax by boiling it in the water in which the potash has been dissolved; stir the whole time. The exact amount of boiling is determined by the absence of any free water in the mass. Then remove the vessel from the fire, and gently pour in a little boiling water, and stir the mixture carefully. If a fat-like mass appears without traces of watery particles, one may know the mass is in a fit condition to be liquefied by the addition of more hot water without the water separating. Then put in the water to the extent of 200 to 225 parts, and reheat the compound for 5 to 10 minutes, without allowing it to reach the boiling point. Stir constantly until the mixture is cool, so as to prevent the separation of the wax, when a cream-like mass results which gives a quick and brilliant polish on woodwork, if applied in the usual way, on a piece of flannel rag, and polished by rubbing with another piece of flannel.

Colored Floor Polishes.
—Yellow: Caustic soda solution, 7 1/2 parts, mixed with 1 1/2 to 2 parts of finely powdered ocher, heated with 2 1/2 parts of yellow wax, and stirred until uniformly mixed. A reddish-brown color may be obtained by adding 2 parts of powdered umber to the above mixture.

Nut Brown.—I.—Natural umber, 1/2 part; burnt umber, 1 part; and yellow ocher, 1 part, gives a fine red-brown color when incorporated with the same wax and soda mixture.

II.—Treat 5 pounds of wax with 15 pounds of caustic soda lye of 3° Bé. so that a uniform wax milk results; boil with 1/2 pound of annatto, 3 pounds of yellow ocher, and 2 pounds of burnt umber.

Mahogany Brown.—Boil 5 pounds of wax with 15 pounds of caustic soda lye as above. Then add 7 pounds of burnt umber very finely powdered, making it into a uniform mass by boiling again.

Yellow Ocher.—The wax milk obtained as above is boiled with 5 pounds of yellow ocher.

The mass on cooling has the consistency of a salve. If it is to be used for rubbing the floor it is stirred with sufficient boiling water so as to form a fluid of the consistency of thin syrup or oil. This is applied very thin on the floor, using a brush; then it is allowed to dry only half way, and is rubbed with a stiff floor brush. The polishing is continued with a woolen rag until a mirror-like gloss is obtained. It is best not to paint the whole room and then brush, but the deals should be taken one after the other, otherwise the coating would become too dry and give too dull a luster. The floors thus treated with gloss paste are very beautiful. To keep them in this condition they should be once in a while rubbed with a woolen rag, and if necessary the color has to be renewed in places. If there are parquet floors whose patterns are not to be covered up, the ocher (yellow) paste or, better still, the pure wax milk is used.

French Polish.
—The wood to be polished must be made perfectly smooth and all irregularities removed from the surface with glass paper; next oil the work with linseed oil, taking care to rub off all superfluous oil. (If the wood is white no oil should be used, as it imparts a slight color.) Then prepare a wad or rubber of wadding, taking care there are no hard lumps in it. After the rubber is prepared pour on it a small quantity of polish. Then cover it with a piece of old cotton rag (new will {592} not answer). Put a small drop of oil with the finger on the surface of the rubber, and then proceed to polish, moving the rubber in lines, making a kind of figure of eight over the work. Be very careful that the rubber is not allowed to stick or the work will be spoilt. A little linseed oil facilitates the process. When the rubber requires more polish, turn back the rag cover, pour on the polish, replace the cover, oil and work as before. After this rubbing has proceeded for a little time and the whole surface has been gone over, the work must be allowed to stand for a few hours to harden, and then be rubbed down smooth with very fine emery paper. Then give another coat of polish. If not smooth enough, emery paper again. This process must continue until the grain is filled up. Finish off with a clean rubber with only spirit on it (no polish), when a clear bright surface should be the result. Great care must be taken not to put the polish on too freely, or you will get a rough surface. After a little practice all difficulties will vanish. The best French polish will be found to be one made only from good pale orange shellac and spirit, using 3 pounds of shellac for each gallon of spirit. The latter should be of 63 to 64° over-proof. A weak spirit is not suitable and does not make a good polish. A few drops of pure linseed oil make the polish work more freely.

Polishes For Furniture.

First make a paste to fill cracks as follows: Whiting, plaster of Paris, pumice stone, litharge, equal parts; japan dryer, boiled linseed oil, turpentine, coloring matter of sufficient quantity. Rub the solids intimately with a mixture of 1 part of the japan, 2 parts of the linseed oil, and 3 parts of turpentine, coloring to suit with Vandyke brown or sienna. Lay the filling on with a brush, let it set for about 20 minutes, and then rub off clean except where it is to remain. In 2 or 3 days it will be hard enough to polish.

After the surface has been thus prepared, the application of a coat of first-class copal varnish is in order. It is recommended that the varnish be applied in a moderately warm room, as it is injured by becoming chilled in drying. To get the best results in varnishing, some skill and experience are required. The varnish must be kept in an evenly warm temperature, and put on neither too plentifully nor too gingerly.

After a satisfactorily smooth and regular surface has been obtained, the polishing proper may be done. This may be accomplished by manual labor and dexterity, or consist in the application of a very thin, even coat of a very fine, transparent varnish.

If the hand-polishing method be preferred, it may be pursued by rubbing briskly and thoroughly with the following finishing polish:

I.— Alcohol 8 ounces
Shellac 2 drachms
Gum benzoin 2 drachms
Best poppy oil 2 drachms

Dissolve the shellac and gum in the alcohol in a warm place, with frequent agitation, and, when cold, add the poppy oil. This may be applied on the end of a cylindrical rubber made by tightly rolling a piece of flannel which has been torn, not cut, into strips 4 to 6 inches wide.

A certain “oily sweating” of articles of polished wood occurs which has been ascribed to the oil used in polishing, but has been found to be due to a waxy substance present in shellac, which is often used in polishing. During the operation of polishing, this wax enters into close combination with the oil, forming a soft, greasy mass, which prevents the varnish from ever becoming really hard. This greasy matter exudes in the course of time. The remedy is to use only shellac from which the vegetable wax has been completely removed. This is accomplished by making a strong solution of the shellac in alcohol and then shaking it up with fresh seed lac or filtering it through seed lac. In this way the readily soluble rosins in the seed lac are dissolved, and with them traces of coloring matter. At the same time the vegetable wax, which is only slightly soluble, is deposited. The shellac solution which has exchanged its vegetable wax for rosin is not yet suitable for fine furniture polishing. It is not sufficiently taken up by the wood, and an essential oil must be added to give it the necessary properties, one of the best oils to employ for this purpose being that of rosemary. The following recipe is given:

II.—Twenty pounds of shellac and 4 pounds of benzoin are dissolved in the smallest possible quantity of alcohol, together with 1 pound of rosemary oil. The solution then obtained is filtered through seed lac so as to remove whatever vegetable wax may be present.

Red Furniture Paste.—
Soft water  6 pints
Turpentine  6 pints
Beeswax  3 pounds
White wax  1 1/2 ounces
White soap 18 ounces
Red lead 12 ounces

Cut up soap and dissolve in water by aid of heat; then evaporate to 6 pounds. Melt the waxes and add turpentine in which red lead has been stirred, pour into this the soap solution, and stir until it is nearly cold. If a darker color is wanted add more red lead, 4 to 6 ounces.

Beechwood Furniture.
—The wood of the red beech is known to acquire, by the use of ordinary shellac polish, a dirty yellow color, and by the use of white polish, prepared from bleached shellac, an unsightly gray-white color. Therefore, where light colors are desired, only filtered shellac polish should be employed, and in order to impart some fire to the naturally dull color of the beechwood the admixture of a solution of dragon’s blood in alcohol for a red shade, or turmeric in alcohol for yellow may be used. A compound of the red and yellow liquids gives a good orange shade. A few trials will soon show how much coloring matter may be added to the polish.
Polishes For Glass.
—I.—Mix calcined magnesia with purified benzine to a semi-liquid paste. Rub the glass with this mixture by means of a cotton wad, until it is bright.

II.—Crush to powder cologne chalk, 60 parts, by weight; tripoli, 30 parts, by weight; bole, 15 parts, by weight. For use moisten the glass a little, dip a linen rag into the powder and rub the glass until it is clean.

III.—Tin ashes may be employed with advantage. The glass is rubbed with this substance and then washed off with a piece of soft felt. In this manner a very handsome polish is obtained.

Polishes For Ivory, Bone, Etc.
—I.—First rub with a piece of linen soaked with a paste made of Armenian bole and oleic acid. Wash with Marseilles soap, dry, rub with a chamois skin, and finally render it bright with an old piece of silk. If the ivory is scratched, it may be smoothed by means of English red stuff on a cloth, or even with a piece of glass if the scratches are rather deep. In the hollow parts of ivory objects the paste can be made to penetrate by means of an old toothbrush.

II.—Tortoise-shell articles have a way of getting dull and dingy looking. To repolish dip the finger in linseed oil and rub over the whole surface. Very little oil should be used, and if the article is a patterned one it may be necessary to use a soft brush to get it into the crevices. Then rub with the palm of the hand until all oil has disappeared, and the shell feels hot and looks bright and shiny.

Marble Polishing.
—Polishing includes five operations. Smoothing the roughness left on the surface is done by rubbing the marble with a piece of moist sandstone; for moldings either wooden or iron mullers are used, crushed, and wet sandstone, or sand, more or less fine, according to the degree of polish required, being thrown under them. The second process is continued rubbing with pieces of pottery without enamel, which have only been baked once, also wet. If a brilliant polish is required, Gothland stone instead of pottery is used, and potter’s clay or fuller’s earth is placed beneath the muller. This operation is performed upon granites and porphyry with emery and a lead muller, the upper part of which is incrusted with the mixture until reduced by friction to clay or impalpable powder. As the polish depends almost entirely upon these two operations, care must be taken that they are performed with a regular and steady movement. When the marble has received the first polish, the flaws, cavities, and soft spots are sought out and filled with mastic of a suitable color.

This mastic is usually composed of a mixture of yellow wax, rosin, and Burgundy pitch, mixed with a little sulphur and plaster passed through a fine sieve, which gives it the consistency of a thick paste; to color this paste to a tone analogous to the ground tints or natural cement of the material upon which it is placed, lampblack and rouge, with a little of the prevailing color of the material, are added. For green and red marbles, this mastic is sometimes made of gum lac, mixed with Spanish sealing wax of the color of the marble. It is applied with pincers, and these parts are polished with the rest. Sometimes crushed fragments of marble are introduced into the cement, but for fine marbles the same colors are employed which are used in painting, and which will produce the same tone as the ground; the gum lac is added to give it body and brilliancy.

The third operation in polishing consists in rubbing it again with a hard pumice stone, under which water is being constantly poured, unmixed with sand. For the fourth process, called {594} softening the ground, lead filings are mixed with the emery mud produced by the polishing of mirrors or the working of precious stones, and the marble is rubbed by a compact linen cushion well saturated with this mixture; rouge is also used for this polish. For some outside works, and for hearths and paving tiles, marble workers confine themselves to this polish. When the marbles have holes or grains, a lead muller is substituted for the linen cushion. In order to give a perfect brilliancy to the polish, the gloss is applied. Wash well the prepared surfaces and leave them until perfectly dry, then take a linen cushion, moistened only with water, and a little powder of calcined tin of the first quality. After rubbing with this for some time take another cushion of dry rags, rub with it lightly, brush away any foreign substance which might scratch the marble, and a perfect polish will be obtained. A little alum mixed with the water used penetrates the pores of the marble, and gives it a speedier polish. This polish spots very easily and is soon tarnished and destroyed by dampness. It is necessary when purchasing articles of polished marbles to subject them to the test of water; if there is too much alum, the marble absorbs the water and a whitish spot is left.

Polishing Powders.

Polishing powders are advantageously prepared according to the following recipes:

I.—Four pounds magnesium carbonate, 4 pounds chalk, and 4 pounds rouge are intimately mixed.

II.—Four pounds magnesium carbonate are mixed with 1/4 pound fine rouge.

III.—Five pounds fine levigated whiting and 2 pounds Venetian red are ground together.

IV.— Kieselguhr 42 pounds
Putty powder 14 pounds
Pipe clay 14 pounds
Tartaric acid  1 1/2 pounds

Powder the acid, mix well with the others. This is styled “free from mercury, poisonous mineral acids, alkalies, or grit.” It may be tinted with 12 ounces of oxide of iron if desired.

Liquid Polishes.—
I.— Malt vinegar  4 gallons
Lemon juice  1 gallon
Paraffine oil  1 gallon
Kieselguhr  7 pounds
Powdered bath brick  3 pounds
Oil lemon  2 ounces
II.— Kieselguhr 56 pounds
Paraffine oil  3 gallons
Methylated spirit  1 1/2 gallons
Camphorated spirit    1/2 gallon
Turpentine oil    1/2 gallon
Liquid ammonia fort  3 pints
III.— Rotten stone 16 av. ounces
Paraffine  8 av. ounces
Kerosene (coal oil) 16 fluidounces
Oil of mirbane enough to perfume.

Melt the paraffine, incorporate the rotten stone, add the kerosene, and the oil of mirbane when cold.

IV.— Oxalic acid    1/2 av. ounce
Rotten stone 10 av. ounces
Kerosene (coal oil) 30 fluidounces
Paraffine  2 av. ounces

Pulverize the oxalic acid and mix it with rotten stone; melt the paraffine, add to it the kerosene, and incorporate the powder; when cool, add oil of mirbane or lavender to perfume.

Pour the ammonia into the oil, methylated spirits, and turpentine, add the camphorated spirit and mix with the kieselguhr. To prevent setting, keep well agitated during filling. The color may be turned red by using a little sesquioxide of iron and less kieselguhr. Apply with a cloth, and when dry use another clean cloth or a brush.

Polishing Soaps.—
I.— Powdered pipe clay 112 pounds
Tallow soap  16 pounds
Tartaric acid   1 1/4 pounds

Grind until pasty, afterwards press into blocks by the machine.

II.— Levigated flint 60 pounds
Whiting 52 pounds
Tallow 20 pounds
Caustic soda  5 pounds
Water  2 gallons

Dissolve the soda in water and add to the tallow; when saponified, stir in the others, pressing as before.

III.— Saponified cocoanut oil 56 pounds
Kieselguhr 12 pounds
Alum  5 1/2 pounds
Flake white  5 1/2 pounds
Tartaric acid  1 3/4 pounds

Make as before.

IV.— Tallow soap 98 pounds
Liquid glycerine soap 14 pounds
Whiting 18 pounds
Levigated flint 14 pounds
Powdered pipe clay 14 pounds
{595}

Metal Polishes:

Polishing Pastes.—
I.— White petroleum jelly 90 pounds
Kieselguhr 30 pounds
Refined paraffine wax 10 pounds
Refined chalk or whiting 10 pounds
Sodium hyposulphite  8 pounds

Melt wax and jelly, stir in others and grind.

It is an undecided point as to whether a scented paste is better than one without perfume. The latter is added merely to hide the nasty smell of some of the greases used, and it is not very nice to have spoons, etc., smelling, even tasting, of mirbane, so perhaps citronelle is best for this purpose. It is likely to be more pure. The dose of scent is usually at the rate of 4 ounces to the hundredweight.

II.— Dehydrated soda   5 parts
Curd soap  20 parts
Emery flour 100 parts

To be stirred together on a water bath with water, 100 parts, until soft.

III.— Turpentine 1 part
Emery flour 1 part
Paris red 2 parts
Vaseline 2 parts

Mix well and perfume.

IV.— Stearine  8 to 9 parts
Mutton suet 32 to 38 parts
Stearine oil  2 to 2.5 parts

Melt together and mix with Vienna chalk, in fine powder, 48 to 60 parts; Paris red, 20 parts.

V.— Rotten stone  1 part
Iron subcarbonate  3 parts
Lard oil, a sufficient quantity.
VI.— Iron oxide 10 parts
Pumice stone 32 parts
Oleic acid, a sufficient quantity.
VII.— Soap, cut fine 16 parts
Precipitated chalk  2 parts
Jewelers’ rouge  1 part
Cream of tartar  1 part
Magnesium carbonate  1 part
Water, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the soap in the smallest quantity of water over a water bath. Add the other ingredients to the solution while still hot, stirring all the time to make sure of complete homogeneity. Pour the mass into a box with shallow sides, and afterwards cut into cubes.

Non-explosive Liquid Metal Polish.
—Although in a liquid form, it does not necessarily follow that a liquid polish is less economical than pastes, because the efficiency of both is dependent upon the amount of stearic or oleic acid they contain, and a liquid such as that given below is as rich in this respect as most of the pastes, especially those containing much mineral jelly and earthy matters which are practically inert, and can only be considered as filling material. Thus it is a fact that an ounce of fluid polish may possess more polishing potency than an equal weight of the paste. Proportions are: Sixteen pounds crude oleic acid; 4 pounds tasteless mineral oil; 5 pounds kieselguhr; 1 1/2 ounces lemon oil. Make the earthy matter into a paste with the mixed fluids and gradually thin out, avoiding lumps. Apply with one rag, and finish with another.