98 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [.Mavch 



Preservation of Library Mucilage. Tli* recent discus- 

 sions, in Thi-: Mick(jsc()1'i; and clsewiiere, of methods for 

 preparing- permanent mucilaj^es and pastes for the library 

 or studv table, seem to leave little need of addition, except to 

 g-ive a caution that salicylic and carbolic acids, lately rec- 

 ommended as ]»reser\atives by a very hi<^h chemical au- 

 thority, are wholly unsatisfactory. .Antisejjfics of this 

 class soon turn the whole stock to a red color which is said 

 to be due to action upon the metal of the brushes com- 

 monly used in the mucilag-e bottle. 



For those who prefer an off-hand method wholly free 

 from the delay and trouble of makinjL^ up a special formula 

 the camphor method is probably the best. Yt)u simjily 

 drop a lump of camphor, about as larj^-e as a ])ean or half 

 of a chestnut, more or less, into the bottle of mucilage, and 

 then use and replenish the supply just as if the lump was 

 not there. It does no harm there, but keeps the solution 

 so saturated with camphor that it cannot mould or fer- 

 ment. When the su|)ply of mucilage becomes low, you 

 drop in some gum Arabic powder, and ])ou)- in and stir in 

 some cold filtered water, and it is ready to use in two or 

 three minutes. When you happen to notice, after some 

 months, that the piece of camphor is very small, you drop 

 in another piece. And that is all. I have used this method 

 a great many years, and have never seen it tail. 



For Moistening Envelopes, ])ostage stamps, and gum- 

 med pasters generally, I have found, after trying- also var- 

 ious fancy arrangements that have been introduced, noth- 

 ing so ])racticable for general library use (excluding per- 

 haps some business uses where the employment is almost 

 constant ) as a second mucilage bottle and its brush, sup- 

 plied with filtered water. .\ mere trace of gelatin or gum 

 added to the watei- makes it more manageable, by giving a 

 little body to it ; though this is l)y no means necessary, 

 and though it greatly hastens the deterioration of the stock- 

 by keei>ing. A lump of cami)hor floating on the licjuid, as a 

 preservative, will, in either case, keej) it in a neat c<indi- 

 tion much longer than without. It ought to be no longer 

 necessary tosav a word in fa\or of some such expedient in- 



