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. It should be borne in mind that the surface of the cabinet work of a piano is generally veneered, and this being so, necessitates the exercise of much skill and caution in polishing.

II.—Prepare a paste from fine starch flour and a thick solution of brown shellac, with the spatula upon a grinding stone, and rub the wooden object with this. After the drying, rub off with sandpaper and polish lightly with a rag moistened with a thin shellac solution and a few drops of oil. The ground thus prepared varnish once or twice and a fine luster will be obtained. This method is well adapted for any wood with large pores, such as oak.

Preservation Of Wood.

I.—An excellent way of preserving wood is to cut it between August and October. The branches are removed, leaving only the leaves at the top. The trunks, carefully cut or sawn (so that their pores remain open), are immediately placed upright, with the lower part immersed in tanks three-quarters filled with water, into which 3 or 4 kilograms of powdered cupric sulphate per hectoliter have been introduced. The mass of {777} leaves left at the extremity of each trunk is sufficient to cause the ascent of the liquid by means of the capillary force and a reserve of energy in the sap.

II.—Wood which can be well preserved may be obtained by making a circular incision in the bark of the trees a certain time before cutting them down. The woodcutters employed in the immense teak forests of Siam have adopted in an empirical way a similar process, which has been productive of good results. The tree is bled, making around the trunk, at the height of 4 feet above ground, a circular incision 8 inches wide and 4 inches deep, at the time when it is in bloom and the sap rising. Sometimes the tree is left standing for 3 years after this operation. Frequently, also, a deep incision reaching the heart is made on two opposite sides, and then it takes sometimes only 6 months to extract the sap.

It is probable that it is partly in consequence of this method that the teakwood acquires its exceptional resistance to various destructive agents.

III.—A good preservation of piles, stakes, and palisades is obtained by leaving the wood in a bath of cupric sulphate of 4° of the ordinary acidimeter for a time which may vary from 8 to 15 days, according to greater or less dryness of the wood and its size. After they are half dried they are immersed in a bath of lime water; this forms with the sulphate an insoluble compound, preventing the rain from dissolving the sulphate which has penetrated the wood. This process is particularly useful for vine props and the wood of white poplars.

A good way to prevent the decay of stakes would be to plant them upside down; that is, to bury the upper extremity of the branch in the ground. In this way, the capillary tubes do not so easily absorb the moisture which is the cause of decay. It frequently happens that for one or another reason, the impregnation of woods designed to be planted in the ground, such as masts, posts, and supports has been neglected. It would be impracticable, after they are placed, to take up these pieces in order to coat them with carbolineum or tar, especially if they are fixed in a wall, masonry, or other structure. Recourse must be had to other means. Near the point where the piece rises from the ground, a hole about one centimeter in width is made in a downward slanting direction, filled with carbolineum, and closed with a wooden plug.

It depends upon the consistency of the wood whether the liquid will be absorbed in 1 or 2 days. The hole is filled again for a week. The carbolineum replaces by degrees the water contained in the wood. When it is well impregnated, the hole is definitely closed with a plug of wood, which is sawn level with the opening. The wood will thus be preserved quite as well as if it had been previously coated with carbolineum.

IV.—Wooden objects remaining in the open air may be effectually protected against the inclemency of the weather by means of the following coating: Finely powdered zinc oxide is worked into a paste with water and serves for whitewashing walls, garden fences, benches, and other wooden objects. After drying, probably at the end of 2 or 3 hours, the objects must be whitewashed again with a very dilute solution of zinc chloride in glue or water. Zinc oxide and zinc chloride form a brilliant, solid compound, which resists the inclemency of the weather.

As a paint for boards, planks for covering greenhouses, garden-frames, etc., Inspector Lucas, of Reutlingen (Würtemberg), has recommended the following coating: Take fresh cement of the best quality, which has been kept in a cool place, work it up with milk on a stone until it is of the consistency of oil paint. The wood designed to receive it must not be smooth, but left rough after sawing. Two or 3 coats are also a protection from fire. Wood to be thus treated must be very dry.

V.—Wood treated with creosote resists the attacks of marine animals, such as the teredo. Elm, beech, and fir absorb creosote very readily, provided the wood is sound and dry. Beechwood absorbs it the best. In fir the penetration is complete, when the wood is of a species of rapid growth, and of rather compact grain. Besides, with the aid of pressure it is always possible to force the creosote into the wood. Pieces of wood treated with creosote have resisted for 10 or 11 years under conditions in which oak wood not treated in this way would have been completely destroyed.

The prepared wood must remain in store at least 6 months before use. The creosote becomes denser during this time and causes a greater cohesion in the fibers. In certain woods, as pitch pine, the injection is impossible, even under pressure, on account of the presence of rosin in the capillary vessels.

VI.—M. Zironi advises heating the wood {778} in vacuo. The sap is eliminated in this way. Then the receiver is filled with rosin in solution with a hydrocarbide. The saturation takes place in two hours, when the liquid is allowed to run off, and a jet of vapor is introduced, which carries off the solvent, whole the rosin remains in the pores of the wood, increasing its weight considerably.

VII.—Wood can be well preserved by impregnating it with a solution of tannate of ferric protoxide. This method is due to Hazfeld.

VIII.—The Hasselmann process (xylolized wood), which consists in immersing the wood in a saline solution kept boiling under moderate pressure, the liquid containing copper and iron sulphates (20 per cent of the first and 80 per cent of the second), as well as aluminum and kainit, a substance until recently used only as a fertilizer, is now much employed on the railways in Germany.

IX.—Recently the discovery has been made that wood may be preserved with dissolved betuline, a vegetable product of the consistency of paste, called also birchwood rosin. Betuline must first be dissolved. It is procurable in the crude state at a low price. The wood is immersed for about 12 hours in the solution, at a temperature of from 57° to 60° F.

After the first bath the wood is plunged into a second, formed of a solution of pectic acid of 40° to 45° Bé., and with a certain percentage of an alkaline carbonate—for instance, potassium carbonate of commerce—in the proportion of 1 part of carbonate to about 4 parts of the solution. The wood remains immersed in this composition for 12 hours; then it is taken out and drained from 8 to 15 hours, the time varying according to the nature of the wood and the temperature. In consequence of this second bath, the betulin which was introduced through the first immersion, is fixed in the interior of the mass. If it is desirable to make the wood more durable and to give it special qualities of density, hardness, and elasticity, it must be submitted to strong pressure. In thus supplementing the chemical with mechanical treatment, the best results are obtained.

X.—A receiver of any form or dimensions is filled with a fluid whose boiling point is above 212° F., such as heavy tar oil, saline solutions, etc. This is kept at an intermediate temperature varying between 212° F. and the boiling point; the latter will not be reached, but if into this liquid a piece of wood is plunged, an agitation analogous to boiling is manifested, produced by the water and sap contained in the pores of the wood. These, under the action of a temperature above 212° F., are dissolved into vapor and traverse the bath.

If the wood is left immersed and a constant temperature maintained until every trace of agitation has disappeared, the water in the pores of the wood will be expelled, with the exception of a slight quantity, which, being in the form of vapor, represents only the seventeen-hundredth part of the original weight of the water contained; the air which was present in the pores having been likewise expelled.

If the liquid is left to cool, this vapor is condensed, forming a vacuum, which is immediately filled under the action of the atmospheric pressure. In this way the wood is completely saturated by the contents of the bath, whatever may be its form, proportions or condensation.

To attain the desired effect it is not necessary to employ heavy oils. The latter have, however, the advantage of leaving on the surface of the prepared pieces a kind of varnish, which contributes to protect them against mold, worms, moisture, and dry rot. The same phenomenon of penetration is produced when, without letting the wood grow cold in the bath, it is taken out and plunged immediately into a cold bath of the same or of a different fluid. This point is important, because it is possible to employ as fluids to be absorbed matters having a boiling point below 212° F., and differing in this respect from the first bath, which must be composed of a liquid having a boiling point above 212° F.

If, instead of a cold bath of a homogeneous nature, two liquids of different density separated in two layers, are employed, the wood can, with necessary precautions, be immersed successively in them, so that it can be penetrated with given quantities of each. Such liquids are heavy tar oil and a solution of zinc chloride of 2° to 4° Bé. The first, which is denser, remains at the bottom of the vessel, and the second above. If the wood is first immersed in a saline solution, it penetrates deep into the pores, and when finally the heavy oil is absorbed, the latter forms a superficial layer, which prevents the washing out of the saline solution in the interior, as well as the penetration of moisture from the outside. {779}

XI.—Numerous experiments have been made with all kinds of wood, even with hard oak. In the preparation of oak railway ties it was discovered that pieces subjected to a temperature of 212° F. in a bath of heavy tar oil for 4 hours lost from 6 to 7 per cent of their weight, represented by water and albuminous substances, and that they absorbed in heavy oil and zinc chloride enough to represent an increase of from 2 to 3 per cent on their natural original weight. The oak wood in question had been cut for more than a year and was of a density of 1.04 to 1.07.

This system offers the advantage of allowing the absorption of antiseptic liquids without any deformation of the constituent elements of the wood, the more as the operation is performed altogether in open vessels. Another advantage is the greater resistance of the wood to warping and bending, and to the extraction of metallic pieces, such as nails, cramp irons, etc.

XII.—In the Kyanizing process seasoned timber is soaked in a solution of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) which coagulates the albumen. The solution is very poisonous and corrodes iron and steel, hence is unsuited for structural purposes in which metallic fastenings are used. The process is effective, but dangerous to the health of the workers employed.

XIII.—The Wellhouse process also uses zinc chloride, but adds a small percentage of glue. After the timber has been treated under pressure the zinc chloride solution is drawn off and one of tannin is substituted. The tannin combines with the glue and forms an insoluble substance that effectually seals the pores.

XIV.—The Allardyce process makes use of zinc chloride and dead oil of tar, the latter being applied last, and the manner of application being essentially the same for both as explained in the other processes.

XV.—The timber is boiled in a solution of copper, iron, and aluminum sulphate, to which a small quantity of kainit is added.

XVI.—In the creo-rosinate process the timber is first subjected to a steaming process at 200° F. to evaporate the moisture in the cells; the temperature is then gradually increased to 320° F. and a pressure of 80 pounds per square inch. The pressure is slowly reduced to 26 inches vacuum, and then a solution of dead oil of tar, melted rosin, and formaldehyde is injected. After this process the timber is placed in another cylinder where a solution of milk of lime is applied at a temperature of 150° F. and a pressure of 200 pounds per square inch.

XVII.—The vulcanizing process of treating timber consists essentially in subjecting it to a baking process in hot air which is heated to a temperature of about 500° F. by passing over steam coils. The heat coagulates the albumen, expels the water from the cells, kills the organisms therein, and seals the cells by transforming the sap into a preservative compound. This method is used with success by the elevated railway systems of several cities.

XVIII.—A durable coating for wood is obtained by extracting petroleum asphalt, with light petroleum, benzine, or gasoline. For this purpose the asphalt, coarsely powdered, is digested for 1 to 2 days with benzine in well-closed vessels, at a moderately warm spot. Petroleum asphalt results when the distillation of petroleum continued until a glossy, firm, pulverizable mass of conchoidal fracture and resembling colophony in consistency remains. The benzine dissolves from this asphalt only a yellowish-brown dyestuff, which deeply enters the wood and protects it from the action of the weather, worms, dry rot, etc. The paint is not opaque, hence the wood retains its natural fiber. It is very pleasant to look at, because the wood treated with it keeps its natural appearance. The wood can be washed off with soap, and is especially suited for country and summer houses.

XIX.—A liquid to preserve wood from mold and dry rot which destroys the albuminous matter of the wood and the organisms which feed on it, so there are neither germs nor food for them if there were any, is sold under the name of carbolineum. The specific gravity of a carbolineum should exceed 1.105, and should give the wood a fine brown color. It should, too, be perfectly waterproof. The three following recipes can be absolutely relied on: a. Heat together and mix thoroughly 95 pounds of coal-tar oil and 5 pounds of asphalt from coal tar. b. Amalgamate together 30 pounds of heavy coal-tar oil, 60 pounds of crude wood-tar oil, and 25 pounds of heavy rosin oil. c. Mix thoroughly 3 pounds of asphalt, 25 pounds of heavy coal-tar oil, and 40 pounds of heavy rosin oil.

XX.—Often the wooden portions of machines are so damaged by dampness prevailing in the shops that the {780} following compound will be found useful for their protection: Melt 375 parts of colophony in an iron vessel, and add 10,000 parts of tar, and 500 parts of sulphur. Color with brown ocher or any other coloring matter diluted with linseed oil. Make a first light application of this mixture while warm, and after drying apply a second coat.

XXI.—For enameling vats, etc., 1,000 parts of brown shellac and 125 parts of colophony are melted in a spacious kettle. After the mass has cooled somewhat, but is still thinly liquid, 6.1 parts of alcohol (90 per cent) is gradually added. In order to prevent the ignition of the spirit vapor, the admixture of spirit is made at a distance from the stove. By this addition the shellac swells up into a semi-liquid mass, and a larger amount of enamel is obtained than by dissolving it cold. The enamel may be used for wood or iron.

The wood must be well dried; only then will the enamel penetrate into the pores. Two or three coats suffice to close up the pores of the wood thoroughly and to render the surface smooth and glossy. Each coating will harden perfectly in several hours. The covering endures a heat of 140° to 150° F. without injury. This glaze can also be mixed with earth colors. Drying quickly and being tasteless, its applications are manifold. Mixed with ocher, for instance, it gives an elegant and durable floor varnish, which may safely be washed off with weak soda solution. If it is not essential that the objects be provided with a smooth and glossy coating, only a preservation being aimed at the following coat is recommended by the same source: Thin, soluble glass (water glass) as it is found in commerce, with about 24 per cent of water, and paint the dry vessel rather hot with this solution. When this has been absorbed, repeat the application, allow to dry, and coat with a solution of about 1 part of sodium bicarbonate in 8 parts of water. In this coating silicic acid is separated by the carbonic acid of the bicarbonate; from the water glass (sodium silicate) absorbed by the pores of the wood, which, as it were, silicifies the wooden surfaces, rendering them resistive against the penetration of liquids. The advantages claimed for both processes are increased durability and facilitated cleaning.

XXII.—Tar paints, called also mineral or metallic paints, are sold in barrels or boxes, at varying prices. Some dealers color them—yellow ocher, red ocher, brown, gray, etc. They are prepared by mixing equal parts of coal tar and oil of turpentine or mineral essence (gasoline). The product, if it is not colored artificially, is of a brilliant black, even when cold. It dries in a few hours, especially when prepared with oil of turpentine. The paints with mineral essence are, however, generally preferred, on account of their lower cost. Either should be spread on with a hard brush, in coats as thin as possible. They penetrate soft woods, and even semi-hard woods sufficiently deep, and preserve them completely. They adhere perfectly to metals. Their employment can, therefore, be confidently advised, so far as concerns the preservation directly of iron cables, reservoirs, the interior surface of generators, etc. However, it has been shown that atmospheric influence or variations of temperature cause the formation of ammoniacal solutions, which corrode the metals. Several companies for the care and insurance of steam engines have for some time recommended the abandonment of tar products for applications of this kind and the substitution of hot linseed oil.

XXIII.—Coal-tar paints are prepared according to various formulas. One in current use has coal tar for a base, with the addition of gum rosin. It is very black. Two thin coats give a fine brilliancy. It is employed on metals, iron, sheet iron, etc., as well as on wood. It dries much quicker than the tars used separately. Its preserving influence against rust is very strong.

The following Tissandier formula has afforded excellent results. Its facility of preparation and its low cost are among its advantages. Mix 10 parts of coal tar, 1 to 1.6 parts of slaked lime, 4,000 parts of oil of turpentine, and 400 parts of strong vinegar, in which ¹/₅ part of cupric sulphate has been previously boiled. The addition of 2 or 3 cloves of garlic in the solution of cupric sulphate aids in producing a varnish, brilliant as well as permanent. The compound can be colored like ordinary paints.

XXIV.—Rectified rosinous oil for painting must not be confounded with oils used in the preparation of lubricants for metallic surfaces exposed to friction. It contains a certain quantity of rosin in solution, which, on drying, fills the pores of the wood completely, and prevents decomposition from the action of various saprophytic fungi. It is well adapted to the preservation of pieces to be buried in the ground or exposed to the inclemency {781} of the weather. Paints can also be prepared with it by the addition of coloring powders, yellow, brown, red, green, blue, etc., in the proportion of 1 kilo to 5 liters of oil. The addition ought to take place slowly, while shaking, in order to obtain quite a homogeneous mixture. Paints of this kind are economical, in consequence of the low price of rosin, but they cannot be used in the interior of dwellings by reason of the strong and disagreeable odor disengaged, even a long time after their application. As an offset, they can be used like tar and carbonyl, for stalls, stables, etc.

Stains For Wood.

In the staining of wood it is not enough to know merely how to prepare and how to apply the various staining solutions; a rational exercise of the art of wood staining demands rather a certain acquaintance with the varieties of wood to be operated upon, a knowledge of their separate relations to the individual stains themselves; for with one and the same stain very different effects are obtained when applied to the varying species of wood.

Such a diversity of effects arises from the varying chemical composition of wood. No unimportant rôle is played by the presence in greater or lesser quantities of tannin, which acts chemically upon many of the stains and forms with them various colored varnishes in the fibers. Two examples will suffice to make this clear. (1) Let us take pine or fir, in which but little of the tanning principle is found, and stain it with a solution of 50 parts of potassium chromate in 1,000 parts of pure water; the result will be a plain pale yellow color, corresponding with the potassium chromate, which is not fast and as a consequence is of no value. If, with the same solution, on the contrary, we stain oak, in which the tanning principle is very abundant, we obtain a beautiful yellowish-brown color which is capable of withstanding the effects of both light and air for some time; for the tannin of the oak combines with the penetrating potassium chromate to form a brown dyestuff which deposits in the woody cells. A similar procedure occurs in the staining of mahogany and walnut with the chromate because these varieties of wood are very rich in tannin.

(2) Take some of the same pine or fir and stain it with a solution of 20 parts of sulphate of iron in 1,000 parts of water and there will be no perceptible color. Apply this stain, however, to the oak and we get a beautiful light gray, and if the stain be painted with a brush on the smoother oaken board, in a short time a strong bluish-gray tint will appear. This effect of the stain is the result of the combination of the green vitriol with the tannin; the more tannin present, the darker the stain becomes. The hardness or density of the wood, too, exerts a marked influence upon the resulting stain. In a soft wood, having large pores, the stain not only sinks further in, but much more of it is required than in a hard dense wood; hence in the first place a stronger, greasier stain will be obtained with the same solution than in the latter.

From this we learn that in soft woods it is more advisable to use a thinner stain to arrive at a certain tone; while the solution may be made thicker or stronger for hard woods.

The same formula or the same staining solution cannot be relied upon to give the same results at all times even when applied to the same kinds of wood. A greater or lesser amount of rosin or sap in the wood at the time the tree is felled, will offer more or less resistance to the permeating tendencies of the stain, so that the color may be at one time much lighter, at another darker. Much after the same manner we find that the amount of the tanning principle is not always equal in the same species of wood.

Here much depends upon the age of the tree as well as upon the climatic conditions surrounding the place where it grew. Moreover, the fundamental color of the wood itself may vary greatly in examples of the same species and thus, particularly in light, delicate shades, cause an important delay in the realization of the final color tone. Because of this diversification, not only in the different species of wood, but even in separate specimens of the same species, it is almost impossible always, and at the first attempt, to match a certain predetermined color.

It is desirable that trials at staining should first be made upon pieces of board from the same wood as the object to be stained; the results of such experiments furnishing exact data concerning the strength and composition of the stain to be employed for the exact reproduction of a prescribed color. {782} Many cases occur in which the color tone obtained by staining cannot always be judged directly after applying the stain. Especially is this the case when stain is employed which slowly develops under the action of the air or when the dyestuff penetrates only slowly into the pores of the wood. In such cases the effect of the staining may only be fully and completely appreciated after the lapse of 24 or 48 hours.

Wood that has been stained should always be allowed 24 or 48 hours to dry in ordinary temperatures, before a coat of varnish, polish, or wax is applied. If any dampness be left in the wood this will make itself apparent upon the varnish or polish. It will become dull, lose its glossy appearance, and exhibit white spots which can only be removed with difficulty. If a certain effect demand the application of two or more stains one upon the other, this may only be done by affording each distinct coat time to dry, which requires at least 24 hours.

Not all the dyes, which are applicable to wood staining, can be profitably used together, either when separately applied or mixed. This injunction is to be carefully noted in the application of coal tar or aniline colors.

Among the aniline dyes suitable for staining woods are two groups—the so-called acid dyes and the basic dyes. If a solution of an acid dye be mixed with a basic dye the effect of their antagonistic dispositions is shown in the clouding up of the stain, a fine precipitate is visible and often a rosin-like separation is noticeable.

It is needless to say that such a staining solution is useless for any practical purpose. It cannot penetrate the wood fibers and would present but an unseemly and for the most part a flaky appearance. In preparing the stains it is therefore of the greatest importance that they remain lastingly clear. It would be considerably of advantage, before mixing aniline solutions of which the acid or basic characteristics are unknown, to make a test on a small scale in a champagne glass and after standing a short time carefully examine the solution. If it has become cloudy or wanting in transparency it is a sign that a separation of the coloring matter has taken place.

The mixing of acid or basic dyestuffs even in dry powdered form is attended with the same disadvantages as in the state of solubility, for just as soon as they are dissolved in water the reactions commence and the natural process of precipitation takes place with all its attending disagreeable consequences.

Color Stains:

II.—Diluted water-glass solution makes a good ground for bronze. Bronze powder is sprinkled on from a wide-necked glass tied up with gauze, and the excess removed by gently knocking. The bronze powder adheres so firmly after drying that a polish may be put on by means of an agate. The process is especially useful for repairing worn-off picture frames, book ornamentations, etc. The following bronze ground also yields good results: Boil 11,000 parts of linseed oil with 25 parts of impure zinc carbonate, 100 parts of red lead, 25 parts of litharge, and 0.3 parts of mercuric chloride, until a drop taken out will stand like a pea upon a glass surface. Before complete cooling, the mass is diluted with oil of turpentine to a thick syrup.

II.—Give the wood several applications of a stout decoction of logwood chips, finishing off with a free smear of vinegar in which rusty nails have been for some time submerged.

III.—In 1 quart of water boil ¹/₄ pound of logwood chips, subsequently adding ¹/₂ ounce pearl ash, applying the mixture {783} hot. Then again boil the same quantity of logwood in the same quantity of water, adding ¹/₄ ounce of verdigris and ¹/₄ ounce of copperas, after which strain and put in ¹/₄ pound of rusty steel filings. With this latter mixture coat the work, and, should the wood not be sufficiently black, repeat the application.

II.—Dissolve ¹/₄ part of permanganate of potassium in 1,000 parts of cold water and paint the wood with the violet solution obtained. As soon as the solution comes in contact with the wood it decomposes in consequence of chemical action, and a handsome light-brown precipitate is produced in the wood. The brushes used must be washed out immediately, as the permanganate of potassium destroys animal bristles, but it is preferable to use sponges or brushes of glass threads for staining. Boil 2 parts of cutch in 6 parts of water for 1 hour, stir while boiling, so that the rosiniferous catechu cannot burn on the bottom of the vessel; strain the liquid as soon as the cutch is dissolved, through linen, and bring again to a boil. Now dissolve therein ¹/₅ part of alum, free from iron; apply the stain while hot, and cover after the drying, with a solution of 1 part of bichromate of potassium in 25 parts of water.

II.—One hundredweight Vandyke brown, ground fine in water, and 28 pounds of soda, dissolved in hot water, are mixed while the solutions are hot in a revolving mixer. The mixture is then dried in sheet-iron trays.

Imitation Stains.

Yellow, green, blue, or gray staining on wood can be easily imitated with a little glazing color in oil or vinegar, which will prove better and more permanent than the staining. If the pores of the wood are opened by a lye or a salt, almost any diluted color can be worked into it. With most stains the surface is thus prepared previously.

Spirit Stains:

Black.—

Vandyke Brown.—

Filter just before use.

II.—Rub the wood with a solution of potassium carbonate, 1 drachm to a pint of water, and then apply a dye made by boiling together:

Maple.—

II.—Use 1 gallon of methylated spirit, 4 ounces gamboge (powdered), ¹/₂ ounce Vandyke brown, 1 drachm Bismarck brown, 3 pounds shellac.

Among good water stains are the long-known Cassel brown and nut brown, in granules. Catechine is recommended for brown shades, with tannin or pyrogallic acid and green vitriol for gray. For bright-colored stains the tar-dyes azine green, croceine scarlet, Parisian red, tartrazine, water-soluble nigrosin, walnut, and oak brown are very suitable. With proper mixing of these dyes, all colors except blue and violet can be produced, and prove very fast to light and air, and superior to turpentine stains. Only the blue and violet dyes, methyl blue, naphthol blue, and pure violet, do not come up to the standard, and require a second staining with tannin.

A very simple method of preparing water stains is as follows: Solutions are made of the dyes most used, by dissolving 500 parts of the dye in 10,000 parts of hot water, and these are kept in bottles or casks. Any desired stain can be prepared by mixing proper quantities of the solutions, which can be diluted with water to make lighter stains.

Stains for Wood Attacked by Alkalies or Acids.—

Apply Solution A twice by means of a brush, allowing time to dry after each coat; next, put on Solution B and let dry again. On the day following, rub on a little oil with a cloth and repeat this once a month.

Substitutes For Wood.

I.—Acetic paraldehyde or acetic aldehyde respectively, or polymerized formaldehyde is mixed with methylic alcohol and carbolic acid, as well as fusel oil saturated with hydrochloric acid gas or sulphuric acid gas or methylic alcohol, respectively, are added to the mixture. The mass thus obtained is treated with paraffine. The final product is useful as a substitute for ebonite and wood as well as for insulating purposes.

II.—“Carton Pierre” is the name of a mass which is used as a substitute for carved wood. It is prepared in the following manner: Glue is dissolved and boiled; to this, tissue paper in suitable quantity is added, which will readily go to pieces. Then linseed oil is added, and finally chalk is stirred in. The hot mass forms a thick dough which crumbles in the cold, but softens between the fingers and becomes kneadable, so that it can be pressed into molds (of glue, gypsum, and sulphur). After a few days the mass will become dry and almost as hard as stone. The paper imparts to it a high degree of firmness, and it is less apt to be injured than wood. It binds well and readily adheres to wood.

III.—Wood Pulp.—The boards for painters’ utensils are manufactured in the following manner: The ordinary wood fiber (not the chemical wood cellulose) is well mixed with soluble glass of 33° Bé., then spread like cake upon an even surface, and beaten or rolled until smooth. Before completely dry, the cake is removed, faintly satined (for various other purposes it is embossed) and finally dried thoroughly at a temperature of about 133° F., whereupon the mass may be sawed, carved, polished, etc., like wood.

Any desired wood color can be obtained by the admixture of the corresponding pulverized pigment to the mass. The wood veining is produced by placing a board of the species of timber to be imitated, in vinegar, which causes the soft parts of the wood to deepen, and making an impression with the original board thus treated upon the wood pulp when the latter is not quite hard. By means of one of these original boards (with the veins embossed), impressions can be made upon a large number of artificial wood plates. The veins will show to a greater advantage if the artificial wood is subsequently saturated and treated with colored oil, colored stain and colored polish, as is done with palettes.

WOOD, ACID-PROOF: See Acid-Proofing.

WOOD CEMENTS: See Adhesives. {786}

WOOD, CHLORINE-PROOFING: See Acid-Proofing.

WOOD, FIREPROOFING: See Fireproofing.

WOOD GILDING: See Plating.

WOOD, IMITATION: See Plaster.

WOOD POLISHES: See Polishes.

WOOD RENOVATORS: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods under Paint, Varnish, and Enamel Removers.

WOOD, SECURING METALS TO: See Adhesives.

WOOD, WATERPROOFING: See Waterproofing.

WOOD’S METAL: See Alloys.

WOOL FAT: See Fats.

WORM POWDER FOR STOCK: See Veterinary Formulas.

WRITING, RESTORING FADED:

Writing on old manuscripts, parchments, and old letters that has faded into nearly or complete invisibility can be restored by rubbing over it a solution of ammonium sulphide, hydrogen sulphide or of “liver of sulphur.” On parchment the restored color is fairly permanent but on paper it does not last long. The letters however could be easily retraced, after such treatment, by the use of India ink and thus made permanent. This treatment will not restore faded aniline ink. It only works with ink containing a metal-like iron that forms a black sulphide.

WRINKLES, REMOVAL OF: See Cosmetics.

YEAST

Dry Yeast.

Boil together for ¹/₂ hour, 95 parts of the finest, grated hops and 4,000 parts of water. Strain. Add to the warm liquor 1,750 parts of rye meal or flour. When the temperature has fallen to that of the room add 167 parts of good yeast. On the following day the mass will be in a state of fermentation. While it is in this condition add 4,000 parts of barley flour, so as to form a dough. This dough is cut up into thin disks, which are dried as rapidly as possible in the open air or sun. For use, the disks are broken into small pieces and soaked overnight in warm water. The yeast can be used on the following day as if it were ordinary brewers’ yeast.

Preservation Of Yeast.

I.—The yeast is laid in a vessel of cold water which is thereupon placed in a well-ventilated, cool spot. In this manner the yeast can be preserved for several weeks. In order to preserve the yeast for several months a different process must be followed. The yeast, after having been pressed, is thoroughly dried. For this purpose the yeast is cut up into small pieces which are rolled out, placed on blotting paper, and allowed to dry in a place which is not reached by the sun. These rolls are then grated, again dried, and finally placed in glass bottles. For use, the yeast is dissolved, whereupon it immediately regains its freshness. This process is particularly to be recommended because it preserves the yeast for a long period.

II.—For liquid yeast add one-eighth of its volume in glycerine. In the case of compressed yeast, the cakes are to be covered with glycerine and kept in closed vessels. Another method of preserving compressed yeast is to mix it intimately with animal charcoal to a dough, which is to be dried by exposure to sunlight. When it is to be used, it is treated with water, which will take up the ferment matter, while the charcoal will be deposited. Liquid and compressed yeast have been kept for a considerable time, without alteration, by saturating the former with chloroform and keeping the latter under chloroform water.

Yeast Tests.

I.—Pour a few drops of yeast into boiling water. If the yeast sinks, it is spoiled; if it floats, it is good.

II.—To 1 pound yeast add ¹/₂ ta­ble­spoon­ful of corn whisky or brandy, a pinch of sugar, and 2 ta­ble­spoon­fuls of wheat flour. Mix thoroughly and allow the resultant compound to stand in a warm place. If the yeast is good it will rise in about an hour.

YEAST AND FERTILIZERS: See Fertilizers.

YELLOW (CHROME), TEST FOR: See Pigments. {787}