J. HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 385 



cool. A piece of silk is next to be stretched on a wooden 

 frame, and fixed tight with tacks or otherwise. The jelly is 

 then to be melted and applied to the silk thinly and evenly 

 with a brush, and a second coating put on when the first is 

 dry. When this is dry, the whole is to be covered with two 

 or three coats of balsam of Peru, applied in the same manner. 

 6 A, March 5, 303. 



IMPROVED BIRD-LIME. 



By adding a concentrated solution of chloride of lime to a 

 strong solution of common glue, a mixture will be produced 

 which does not dry up, and can be easily dissolved by the 

 addition of water. Thus prepared, it is recommended as a 

 bird-lime, replacing advantageously the article usually made 

 out of holly-bark or other substances. 9 C, October, 1870, 79. 



IMPROVED PASTE FOR WALL-PAPER. 



A new form of paste for attaching paper-hangings to walls, 

 and one which, besides possessing the merit of cheapness, has 

 the advantage of preventing the paper from separating or 

 peeling off, is prepared by first softening 18 pounds of finely- 

 powdered bole in water, and then draining off the surplus 

 water from the mass. One and a quarter pounds of glue are 

 next to be boiled into glue water, and the bole and two 

 pounds of gypsum are then stirred in, and the whole mass 

 forced through a sieve by means of a brush. This is after- 

 wards diluted with water to the condition of a thin paste or 

 dressing, when it is ready for use. This paste is not only 

 much cheaper than the ordinary flour paste, but it has the 

 advantage of adhering better to whitewashed surfaces, espe- 

 cially to walls that have been coated over several times, and 

 from which the coating has not been carefully removed. In 

 some cases it is advisable, when putting fine paper on old 

 walls, to coat them by means of this paste with a ground pa- 

 per, and to apply the paper-hanging itself to this with the 

 ordinary paste. 9 C, December, 1869, 92. 



IMPROVING THE QUALITY OP SOAP. 



A patent has been taken out in England for the prepara- 

 tion of an improved quality of soap from the poorer yellow 

 or brown kinds. For this purpose a solution of twenty-ei-ht 



R 



