XX 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1910 



Warm as the summer beach 



If anybody needs or deserves 

 rooms just right to live in, to play 

 in, to sleep in, it is the little folks. 

 In spite of all precautions, the old- 

 fashioned heating methods soon 

 begin to leak or force ash -dust and 

 coal-gases into the living rooms, 

 and the loved ones are made to 

 breathe burned, devitalized air, 

 totally unfit for the lungs. Whereas 

 Hot Water or Low Pressure Steam 

 heating with 



Amcanx Ideal 



ii Radiators ^Iboilers 



will supply pure, warm air to every room in the house in all kinds of weather. 

 These outfits are used exclusively in hospitals, sanitariums, laboratories, colleges, 

 greenhouses, etc., where correct heating and ventilation are an absolute necessity. 

 IDEAL Boilers and AMERICAN Radiators are made in such small sizes, yet 

 with equal completeness, that they are now put into thousands of cottages, houses, 

 stores, etc., at prices easily within reach of all. These outfits soon save their cost 

 by cutting down the fuel bills and absence of repairs; while their cleanliness halves 

 the housew^ork and saves much w^ear on carpets and furnishings. 



Do not wait until you build that new house which you may have in mind. See that your present 



home is warmed as you know it should be, 

 and it will rent for 10% to 15% more, or 

 sell quickly at a higher price when you 

 leave it. IDEAL Boilers and AMERICAN 

 Radiators are a high-paying investment — 

 not an expense. 



Prices are now most favorable, and you get 

 the services of the most skillful fitters. 

 Don't put it off till the soon-coming Fall — 

 write us to-day for free valuable book 

 which tells fully all the hows and whys of 

 IDEAL-AMERICAN heating. 



A No. C-24I IDHAL Boiler anil 555 A No, 3-22 IDRAI. Boiler and 400 



ft. ofjS-in. AM HRICAN Radiators. ft. of ^iSin. AM l.RICAN Radiators, 



costingthe owner $350. were used costinj; the o«ner $195. were used 



to Hot- Water lieat this cottage. to Hot-Water heat this cottage. 



At these prices the goods can be bought of any reputable, competent fitter. 

 This did not include cost of labor, pipe, valves, freight, etc., which installation 

 is extra and varies according to climatic and other conditions. 



Public Showrooms 

 all large cities 



flMERICAN T^ ADIATOR r OMPANY 



Write to Dept. 6 

 CHICAGO 



If you do not knowTobey Handmade Furni- 

 ture you are unacquainted with a kind of 

 furniture which is conceded by many of the 

 foremost authorities to be the finest that is 

 being made in the world today. 



Tobey Handmade Furniture is displayed for sale only 

 at our two stores. We invite you to see it when you 

 are in Chicago or New York. 



The Tobey Furniture Company 



11 West Thirty-second Street, NEW YORK 

 {Near Fifth Aojenue") 



Wabash Avenue and Washington Street, CHICAGO 



mersed in it and allowed to remain until 

 the required tint is produced. The car- 

 bonate of copper is best used in the so- 

 called plastic condition, as it is then much 

 more easily dissolved. Plastic carbonate 

 of copper may be purchased, but if one 

 wishes to make it, the following method 

 answers well : Make a solution of blue vit- 

 riol (sulphate of copper) in hot water, and 

 add a strong solution of common washing 

 soda to it as long as any precipitate forms. 

 The precipitate is allowed to settle and the 

 clear liquid is poured off. Hot water is 

 now added, and the mass stirred and again 

 allowed to settle. Again the clear liquid is 

 poured off, and the operation of adding 

 water, settling, and pouring off repeated. 

 This is continued until everything has been 

 washed out of the green carbonate of cop- 

 per, which remains in the bottom of the 

 vessel. Six or eight times is usually suffi- 

 cient to remove the impurities. After the 

 water has been removed during the last 

 pouring and nothing is left but an emul- 

 sion of the thick plastic carbonate in a 

 small quantity of water, liquid ammonia is 

 added until everything is dissolved and a 

 clear, deep-blue liquid is produced. If too 

 strong, water may be added, but I have 

 found that a strong solution works better 

 than a weak one. If it is desired to make 

 the solution from commercial plastic car- 

 bonate of copper, the following directions 

 may be followed : Dissolve one pound of 

 the plastic carbonate of copper in two gal- 

 lons of strong ammonia. This gives the 

 required strength of solution. 



The brass which it is desired to blacken 

 is first boiled in a strong potash solution to 

 remove grease and oil, then well rinsed 

 and dipped in the copper solution, which 

 has previously been heated to from 150 to 

 175 deg. F. This solution does not work 

 well cold, and if heated too hot gives oft 

 all the ammonia. The brass is left in the 

 solution until the required tint is produced. 

 The color produced is very uniform and 

 black. It also holds tenaciously and does 

 not readily peel ofif. After the desired 

 color is produced, the brass is rinsed and 

 dried in sawdust. A great variety of ef- 

 fects may be produced by first finishing the 

 brass before blackening, as the oxidizing 

 process does not injure the texture of the 

 metal at all. A very satisfactory finish is 

 produced by first rendering the surface of 

 the brass matt, either by scratch brush or 

 similar methods, as the black finish thus 

 produced by the copper solution is then 

 dead — one of the most pleasing effects of 

 an oxidized surface. Various effects may 

 also be produced by coloring the entire ar- 

 ticle and then buffing off the exposed por- 

 tions. 



The best results in the use of this solu- 

 tion are obtained by the use of the so- 

 called red metals — i. e., those in which the 

 copper predominates. The reason for this 

 is quite obvious. Ordinary sheet brass 

 consists of about two parts of copper and 

 one part of zinc, so that the large quantity 

 of the latter somewhat hinders the produc- 

 tion of a deep black surface. Yellow brass 

 is colored black by means of the solution, 

 but if the very best results are desired, it 

 is well to use some metal having a reddish 

 tint, indicating the presence of a large 

 amount of copper. The varieties of sheet 

 brass known as gilding or bronze work 

 well. Copper also gives excellent results. 

 Where the best results are desired on yel- 

 low brass a very light electro-plate of copir 

 per before the oxidizing, works well and 

 gives an excellent black. With the usual 

 articles made of yellow brass, however,, 

 this is rarely done, but the oxidation is car- 

 ried out directly. 



