ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 435 



thwrti in thirty minutes. Then take them 

 in your hand and squeeze (not wring) 

 them out, and hang in the shade, fur side 

 down, to dry. If you get the quantity 

 of liquor proportioned to the skin, they 

 will need no rubbing to make them soft ; 

 and, tanned in this way, the moths will 

 never disturb them. 



SKINS, To Tan with the Hair on.— 

 Stretch the skin tightly and smoothly 

 upon a board, hair side down, and tack 

 it by the edges to its place. Scrape off 

 the loose flesh and fat with a blunt knife, 

 and work in chalk freely, with plenty of 

 hard rubbing. When the chalk begins to 

 powder and fall off, remove the skin from 

 the board, rub in plenty of powdered 

 alum, wrap up closely, and keep it in a 

 dry place for a few days. By this means 

 it will be made pliable, and will retain 

 the hair. 



Another. — Take of soft water, ten gal- 

 lons ; wheat bran, one-half bushel ; salt, 

 seven pounds; sulphuric acid, two and 

 one-half pounds. Dissolve altogether and 

 place the skins in the solution, and allow 

 them to remain twelve hours ; then re- 

 move and clean them well, and again 

 immerse twelve hours, or longer if neces- 

 sary. The skins may then be taken out, 

 well washed, and dried. They can be 

 beaten soft if desired. 



Another. — Saltpetre, two parts ; alum, 

 one part. Mix. Sprinkle uniformly on 

 the flesh side, roll up and lay in a cool 

 place. Spread it out to dry. Scrape off 

 the fat and rub till pliable. 



VARNISH BRUSHES, Care of.— Brush- 

 es used for applying finishing varnishes 

 should be cared for with the utmost pains, 

 as good work depends much upon the 

 good condition of the brushes. A good 

 way to keep them is to suspend them by 

 the handles in a covered can, keeping 

 the points at least half an inch from the 

 bottom, and apart from each other. The 

 can should be filled with slow-drying var- 

 nish up to a line about a sixteenth of an 

 inch above the bristles or hair. The can 

 should then be kept in a close cupboard, 

 or in a box fitted for the purpose. As 

 wiping a brush on a sharp edge of tin will 

 gradually split the bristles, cause them to 

 turn backward, and eventually ruin the 

 brush, the top of the can should have a 

 wire soldered along the edge of the tin 

 turned over, in order to prevent injury. 



Finishing brushes should not be cleansed 

 in turpentine, except in extreme cases. 

 When taken from the can, prepare them 

 for use by working them out in varnish, 

 and before replacing them cleanse the 

 handles and binding with turpentine. 



VARNISHES, Cautions Respecting the 

 Making of. — As heat in many cases is 

 necessary to dissolve the gums used in 

 making varnish, the best way, when prac- 

 ticable, is to use what the chemists call a 

 sand bath, which is simply placing the 

 vessel in which the varnish is in another 

 filled with sand and placed on the fire. 

 This will generally be sufficient to prevent 

 the spirits catching fire; but to avoid 

 such an accident (which not unfrequently 

 happens), it will be best to take a vessel 

 sufficiently large that there shall be little 

 danger of spilling its contents ; indeed, 

 the vessel should never be more than two- 

 thirds filled. However, a piece of board 

 sufficiently large to cover the top of 

 the vessel should always be at hand 

 in case the spirits should take fire; as 

 also a wet wrapper, in case it should 

 be spilt, as water icself thrown on would 

 only increase the mischief. The person 

 who attends the varnish-pot should have 

 his hands covered with gloves, and, if 

 they are made of leather and rather 

 damp, it will eventually prevent injury. 

 These cautionc should be well observed, 

 or shocking personal injury may result 

 from their neglect. 



VARNISH, Amber. — a. Amber, one 

 pound ; pale boiled oil, ten ounces ; tur- 

 pentine, one pint. Render the amber, 

 placed in an iron pot, semi-liquid by 

 heat; then add the oil, mix, remove it 

 from the fire, and when cooled a little 

 stir in the turpentine, b. To the amber, 

 melted as above, add two ounces of 

 shellac, and proceed as before. 



This varnish is rather dark, but re- 

 markably tough. The first form is the 

 best. It is used for the same purposes 

 as copal varnish, and forms an excellent 

 article for covering wood, or any other 

 substance not of a white or pale color. 

 It dries well, and is very hard and dur- 

 able. 



VARNISH, Amber Black.— Amber, one 

 pound; boiled oil, one-half pint; pow- 

 dered asphaltum, six ounces ; oil of tur- 

 pentine, one pint. Melt the amber, as 

 before described, then add the asphal- 



