thirds sand to one-third of lime. The sand used in mortar-making 

 is of three kinds pit sand, river, and sea. The first is obtained in 

 pits ; the latter from rivers and sea-shore. River water is the best 

 to use for mortar, but all waters known as mineral are to be avoided, 

 The sea sand should never be used, if it can be at all avoided, as 

 walls built with mortar prepared from it are very likely to be damp. 

 Mortar thus prepared sets very soon on being exposed to the 

 atmosphere, but it is by no means calculated to stand under water, 

 or in very moist and damp situations. Where mortar is required 

 for such work, hydraulic mortar or hydraulic cement must be used. 

 Clay, burned and mixed with lime, will enable the lime to withstand, 

 to a certain extent, the action of the water. Where a rich lime is 

 obtainable, a hydraulic lime may be made by mixing twenty parts 

 of dried clay to eighty of the lime. Coal cinders ground to a powder 

 and mixed with lime make a mortar which will be useful in wet or 

 damp situations. Handbook of the Mechanical Arts. 



PICKLING EGGS. Take a bushel of lime, 2 Ib. of salt, \ Ib. of 

 cream of tartar, and water sufficient to form a solution "strong 

 enough to float an egg. It is claimed that eggs may be preserved 

 in this liquid for two years. The following has had strong claims 

 made for it : The fresh eggs are carefully placed in a mixture of 

 5 kilogrammes of alum, dissolved in 5 litres of water, heated to 

 from 45 to 50 deg. C., and left in that liquid for from 30 to 40 

 minutes ; the eggs are next drained, and in the meantime the solu- 

 tion of alum is heated to a boiling point. The eggs are again 

 immersed in the liquid, and kept therein for from 10 to 15 seconds ; 

 after having been drained and cooled, they are packed in either 

 dry bran, sawdust, corkdust, sifted ashes, or cotton wool. We give 

 the following as one that will satisfy the most exacting stickler for a 

 complicated formula : Dissolve in i gall, of water 12 oz. of quick- 

 lime, 6 oz. common salt, i dr. soda, \ dr. saltpetre, \ dr. 

 tarter, and iJ> dr. borax. The fluid is brought into a barrel, and a 

 sufficient quantity of quicklime to cover the bottom is then poured 

 in. Upon this is placed a layer of eggs ; quicklime is again thrown 

 in, and so on until the barrel is rilled, so that the liquor stands about 

 ten inches deep over the last layer of eggs. The barrel is then 

 covered with a cloth, upon which is also scattered some lime. Trade 

 " Secrets:' 



PAINTS. If it is of importance that the paint should dry quickly, 

 and still have a bright appearance, it should be mixed with turpen- 

 tine, and some gold size added when mixed. If it is wished to 

 make a paint to dry in twenty minutes or half an hour, it must be 

 mixed with turpentine, and without oil. When dry this paint will 

 have a very dead, lustreless appearance, and requires a coat of 

 varnish afterwards to make it look as it- ought. This is a method 

 very often adopted for iron-work. When about to re-paint old 

 work, all dirt and projecting pieces must be carefully removed, and 

 if the paint appears greasy it should be washed with turpentine. 



