140 How to preserve Feathers, 



of water) then boil them in a dye of mather, beech wood, 

 or Brazil wood. To set the colour, put a few drops of 

 " dyers 9 spirit" (i. e. nitrate of tin, combined with a small 

 quantity of common salt), which may be had from a silk 

 dyer, into the last-mentioned dye. 



To preserve Feathers from Moth, fyc. 



" KEEP them in tin cases, with plenty of black pepper 

 ground fine, and leave a bit of sponge also in the case 

 well saturated with spirits of turpentine. 



" Another, and perhaps the best, is a coarsely-ground 

 powder, of a green colour and penetrating odour, com- 

 posed of the flowers of the pyrethrum, carneum, and roseum, 

 which grow on the Trans-Caucasus, at a height of 5,000 

 or 6,000 feet. The Trans- Caucasians call it ' Guirilla.' 

 This powder possesses the peculiarity of rapidly stupify- 

 ing the insects, which soon afterwards die. It will kill 

 fleas, lice, and flies, and is an invaluable preventive of 

 the formation of maggots in wounds. It is attended 

 with no disadvantages, unless employed in large quanti- 

 ties in closed bed-rooms. It has long been used as a 

 means of preserving insects, and cannot be too strongly 

 recommended to those who have the care of natural his- 

 tory collections liable to their depredation. It is ex- 

 ported from Russia to Germany and France." CASSELL'S 

 Paper. 



Waterproof Varnish. 



" 1. Black Japan for Leather: Take boiled linseed-oil, 

 four pints ; burnt umber in powder, four ounces ; asphal- 

 tum, three ounces ; turpentine, sufficient to give it the 

 proper consistence. Melt the asphaltum, and add the 

 linseed-oil (hot) gradually, then add the burnt umber, 

 and lastly the turpentine. 



