3 Practical Hints. I49 
Imitating Inlay.—Very plain furniture can be rendered quite 
attractive by painting to imitate real inlay of choice of woods. A 
long, round sable brush should be used, so that it can expand and 
straighten according as the parts of the ornament are broad, or 
show narrow and fine lines. 
To Prevent Glue from Cracking.—The addition of a little 
chloride of calcium to glue will prevent its cracking when exposed 
to considerable heat—From the Decorator and Furnisher. 
How to Use Glue.—For glue to be properly effective, it 
requires to penetrate the pores of the wood; the more a body of 
glue penetrates the wood, the more substantial the joint will 
remain. Glues that take the longest to dry are to be preferred to 
those that dry quickly, the slow drying being always the strongest, 
other things being equal. For general use, no method gives such 
good results as the following :—Break the glue up small, put it 
into an iron kettle, cover the glue with water, and allow it to soak 
twelve hours. After soaking, boil until done. Then pour it into 
an air-tight box, leave the cover off until cold, then cover up tight. 
As glue is required, cut out a portion, and melt in the usual way. 
Expose no more of the made glue to the atmosphere for any 
length of time than is necessary, as the atmosphere is very des- 
tructive to made glue, Never heat made glue in a pot that is 
subject to the direct heat of the fire or lamp. All such methods 
of heating glue cannot be condemned in terms too severe. Do 
not use thick glue for joints or veneering. In all cases work it 
well into the wood, in a similar manner to what painters do with 
paint. Glue both surfaces of your work, except in cases of 
veneering. Never glue hot wood, as the hot wood will absorb all 
the water in the glue too suddenly, and leave only a very little 
residue. 
Artificial Ivory.—Much of the so-called ivory now in use is 
simply potato. A good, sound potato, washed in diluted sul- 
phuric acid, then boiled in the same solution, and then slowly 
dried, is all ready to be turned into buttons and innumerable 
other things for which ivory was formerly used. 
Frost-Bites.—A medical journal states that new experiments 
have changed old theories upon the best methods of treating 
frost-bites. A physician froze sixty dogs into a condition of com- 
pletely suspended animation. Twenty of these were treated by 
the usual method of gradual resuscitation in a warm room, and of 
these fourteen perished ; twenty were treated in a warm apartment, 
and eight of these died; while the remaining twenty, which were 
put at once into a hot bath, all recovered. 
The Manufacturers Gazette. 
Vou. IIL. 8—8 
