288 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'KII. l.">. 



Very foituntitely there is a simple way of de- 

 tecting adulterations in paint. Any thing but 

 linseed oil can usually be detected by the smell. 

 Fish oil has a very rank, sickening odor. Ba- 

 i-ytes and lime can usually be detected in the 

 following way: Buy a small can of the lead 

 that you propose using with your ocher or zinc. 

 as the case may be. Scoop out a little of it and 

 put it in an empty tin can; pour on top turpen- 

 tine. Mix thoroughly by stirring, and then al- 

 low this to stand for 34 or 48 hours. At the 

 expiration uf this time, pour oft' the top: and if 

 barytes or lime is used you will find a sort of 

 dry powder in the bottom of the can. that has 

 failed to unite with the oil. This lime or ba- 

 rytes is a positive detriment; and the only 

 reason it is put in is because it cheapens the 

 lead. If. on tlie othei' hand, after making the 

 test as above, you find no chalky residue in the 

 bottom of the can. you may feel pretty sure that 

 your lead is pui'e, or, at least, has nothing 

 woi'se in it than an addition of zinc, which will 

 not hurt it. Genuine Fi'ench ocher, on the 

 other hand, combines perfectly with the lead or 

 zinc, and leaves no residue. 



There is anothei' very simple test, though 

 perhaps not so positive in its results. Dip your 

 thumb and finger into pure white-lead paste 

 and rub them vigorously together for four or 

 five minutes. If the paint is made of pure lead 

 and linseed oil, oi' of i)ure lead, ocher, and lin- 

 -seed oil, a rubbing of the fingers for four or five 

 minutes will still leave only a soft oily residue. 

 If, on the other hand, the paint is adulterated 

 with barytes or lime, two or three minutes' rub- 

 bing will reveal a sort of dry powder between 

 the thumb and fingei'. I^inseed oil combines 

 perfectly with lead. zinc, and ocher, but it will 

 not '^ombine with linu'., barytes. or chalk, and 

 hence the fraud is easily detected. 



IVrhaps we might state, while we are about 

 it, that there are on thi; market what are 

 called white and gray ochei-s. We would warn 

 bee-beepers to let these alone. The only reason 

 they ai'e called "ochei''" is because the general 

 public understand that ocher paints— at least 

 the yellow ocher — is known to be durable when 

 spread upon the wood. We have tested some 

 white ochers; and while we could not tell ex- 

 actly, we felt pretty sure they wei'e made up of 

 barytes, lime, and clay. Gray ocher is. perhaps, 

 a little better; but it does not begin to have the 

 qualities of the yellow ocher. 



While we are about it, we might add that 

 Venetian red also makes another durable body 

 when combined with pure linseed oil. Its color, 

 however, is against it. You can get a very 

 pretty and durable I'ed by mixing pure French 

 ocher and Venetian red. half and half. Such a 

 red will not deteriorate into a dull brownish 

 red. but will remain of a bright glossy color. 

 We use such a paint on our outside winter cases, 

 or on any thing that is not to be used for sum- 

 mer use. We also use it on hive-stands. The 

 bright-red hive-stands and the straw color of 

 the hives make a very pretty combination in an 

 apiary. 



It may be also stated that dark shades are apt 

 to burn off more by the (iffect of the sun than 

 the lighter shades. 



We have thought best to make some extracts 

 from the readings we have made. They not 

 only confirm in some cases what we have said, 

 but they will be found to give other additional 

 facts. 



IMPORTANCE OK GOOD PAINT. 



We iiie I'lolmbly more indebted to paint than to 

 any other ai'tlcle for tlie pn-sei-vation of surfaces 

 that are exposed to the elements; and it is tliere- 

 fore desirable to use only tlie best. Notwithstand- 

 ing the e.xperiments and trials that have been made 



with other materials, thus far iiotliing' has been 

 found to take the place of white lead (carlxmate of 

 lead) and linseed oil. Owing- to the liigh cost of 

 these articles other metals liave l)eeii repeatedly 

 tried, and even more extended experiments have 

 been made to substitute some other oil for linseed, 

 lint without success, and they still hold theii- su- 

 premacy for painting purposes. The carl)onateof 

 lead contains, in addition to tlie metallic lead, a cer- 

 tain percentag-e of earto7i and o.xj'g'en, and .iust 

 suflicient h.vdi'ogen to give it tlie proper spreading- 

 quality. Linseed oil also contains carbon, oxyg-en, 

 and hydrogen, and hence its afiinity for the lead, 

 causing- the two to unite perfectly. The natural 

 formation of cai-ljonate of lead, however, is such 

 that it has a tendency to chalk otf; and the more 

 advanced authorities in paints emplo.v the use of 

 zinc oxide to cori-ect this tendency; and experience 

 lias proveti that this comljination of lead and zinc 

 insures a more durable paint than lead alone. 



As white paint is more subject to being- soiled 

 from dust, smoke, etc. (the favorite painting- ma- 

 terials are in colors), the most durable colors are the 

 iron oxides; but these are usually too dark in t-olor 

 to be I'leasing- to the eye. Chromates of lead, i. e., 

 yellow and g-i-een, are used largely in varying- tints 

 and shades. Combinations of different pig-ments 

 are used in almost endless variations. Probalily 

 there is no color that is more of a favorite, however, 

 than ocher; and as it combines perfectly with white 

 lead, it malies a g-ood paint. Ocher is a substance, 

 the liest g-i-ades of which ai-e found in France. Tt is 

 composed of alumina, silica, and hydrated oxide of 

 iron. From tlie latter it obtains its i)eculiar I'ich 

 .vellow color. Many pleasing; tints are made by 

 combining ocher with white lead; and althoug-h it 

 may not perhaps be indorsed by the festhetic as the 

 color "iiai- excellence," it is always a reliable and 

 favoi-ite color, and is more largely used than any 

 other color Of its class.— Friioi the Foie-'it City Paint 

 Co., Clevelanil, Ohio. 



THE PRIMING COAT. 



Many painters do notg-ive mtu'li attention to this 

 most important of all coats. Tlie.v seem to think 

 and act as if any thing were good enough for a 

 primer. We have fre<]nently seen odds and ends in 

 the slusb-tub tui-nish the material for priming; and 

 if foi- any rt>asoii a lot of paint is condemned as 

 unfit for fin isl ling- coats, it is reserved and thouglit 

 to be g-ooti enough for llrst coat. 



It is. however, of the utmost im|)oi'tance that the 

 priming receive the a-reatest attention and care, as, if 

 it is neglected, the win ile superadded coats are bound 

 to be defective. It matters little how g-ood these 

 may be, nor how i-areful the workmanshii); there 

 can not but be trouble in view in the near future. 



Wood, it will lie noticed, is composed of bundles 

 of thi-ead-like filaments; where these filaments have 

 been sawed tln-ough. the.v present the appeara.nce 

 of iiores. Fndei- micioscopic examination it will be 

 found that there is consideraliie space between the 

 tllaments. and that they are not solidly laid against 

 one another. These interstices it is that the primer is 

 called upon to till. The primer will be found to 

 have little bits of roots, which form cliiicliers. 

 These clinchei-s have a great hold upon lliewood, 

 and it is of the utmost importance that both the 

 pigment ;ind the vehicle be of the best (piality and 

 of the proper nature. 



The vehicle should be raw linseed oil. for this 

 penetrates much further than the boiled will, and 

 for that reason the latter should not be employed. 



Earth colors containing consideraliie silica wliich 

 have lieeu very tinel.v ground are the most u.seful 

 pigments for iniraing, and the ochers for that rea- 

 son are the best of all these. Tliey co]itaiii con.sid- 

 erable silica, and have great body besides. The 

 addition of a quarter to a third lij- weight of white 

 lead is an improvement, as the paint is then more 

 porous and the next coat can penetrate through it. 



Never use a dry ocher unground for pi'iming, 

 as the particles are much too coarse and can not 

 enter into the pores. Have only careful, reliable 

 men to apiil.v it, as it must lie thoroiiglil.\' brushed 

 in to get Weil worked in, and we know that there is 

 no class of work that is slighted moi-e than this is in 

 the workmanship. Any thing in the shaiie of paint, 

 and anybody to put it on, won't do. 



Zinc "should never be used in priming, for the rea- 

 .son that the tendency of zinc is to peel otf; and we 

 have frequently seen it do so where it had been 

 used as a primer; even the rootlets formed by the 

 entering of the primer into the pores are drawn out 



