ALCOHOL. 7 



To make Aromatic or Cleansing Vinegar, gather a hand- 

 ful of lavender leaves and flowers, the same proportion of 

 sage leaves and flowers, hyssop, thyme, balm, wormwood, 

 and savory ; take a large handful of salt, and two cloves of 

 garlic or one small onion ; mix these ingredients together, 

 and pour over them a gallon of pure white-wine vinegar. 

 Subject this mixture to a gentle heat (keeping the vessel 

 in which you have put it closely covered) for three weeks. 

 Then squeeze the herbs over the liquor, strain it carefully, 

 and bottle it for the sick-chamber. It is a grateful relief for 

 sudden fainting-fits, and it is often beneficial in cases of 

 sprains and flesh-wounds. 



Acetic acid, as observed above, is found in many plants 

 and in the sap of trees ; in almost all the plants it exists in 

 the form of salts, such as the acetate of lime or potassa. 



ALABASTER, n. A carbonate of lime, also a compact 

 gypsum, from which beautiful ornaments are made. One 

 method of cleansing alabaster is to leave it in pure water 

 about ten minutes, and then rub it with a brush dipped in 

 dry, powdered plaster. Another mode, which the author 

 followed with great success, cleansing some exquisite Italian 

 statuettes by the process, is to take one pint of rain-water 

 mixed with two ounces of aquafortis, wash the alabaster with 

 this liquid, applied with a fine brush for about five minutes, 

 then rinse it carefully with rain-water, wipe it dry, and place 

 it in the sun for two or three hours. Care should be taken 

 to have the brush pass equally over the surface, so as to rest 

 equally on every part. The aquafortis should not be allowed 

 to touch the skin, as it burns and stains the flesh : it is a 

 heavy liquid, yellow in color, and contains thirty parts of 

 nitrogen and seventy of oxygen. 



ALCOHOL, n. A liquid obtained by the distillation of 

 wine, beer, and other fermented spirits. 



