THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
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Penn Yan, N. Y. 

Ink for Stamping- Celluloid.— A recent v^- 
eut ink for writing or stamping celluloid consists 
of anilin color dissolved in carbolic acid, with 
ether or alcohol, or both. Ink so produced will 
not rub off celluloid goods. 
Alcoholic Varnishes.— To make alcoholic 
lacquers or varnishes adhere more completely to 
polished metal surfaces l paiiboracicacid should 
be added to 200 parts of varnish. This composi- 
tion will adhere so firmly and become so com- 
pletely glazed as to be removed only with diffi- 
culty. Be careful not to add too much of the 
boracic acid, as it injures the gloss in that case. 
Food for Tame Fishes.— Gold fish, minnows 
and vegetable feeders in general are very fond 
of boiled rice. They eat it greedily and thrive 
upon it. The rice is boiled in water until quite 
soft.lthen drained nearly dry, and, of course, given 
when quite cold. The boiled rice grains resem- 
ble grubs in appearance, and the fish make for 
them at once. One great advantage of boiled rice 
is that is has very little tendency to corrupt the 
waters. . 
Soap Bubble Ballons.— M, Delon, of Paris, 
produces miniature balloons by means of ordin- 
ary gas conducted through a caoutchouc tube 
and clay pipe to glycerine soap solution. A small 
disk of thin paper, with fine wire from its centre 
to a little paper car with aeronaut figures, is con- 
nected to the bubble when it begins to swell, the 
disk being attached by capillarity to the part 
where the drop forms. The detached bubble' 
rises with its car. 
How to Make Brass Springs.— Brass cannot 
be tempered in the manner in which steel is 
tempered. Hence, the only method to' make a 
brass spring is to compress the metal either by 
rolls or by hammering. If the springs are to be 
flat, hammer them out to shape in thickness from 
soft wire, or sheet brass, somewhat thicker than 
the finished spring is to bo. If the brass shows a 
tendency to crack in hammering, it must be an- 
nealed, which can be done by heating to a light 
red and plunging into water. In hammering use 
a light hammer, and don't spare the blows. 
Ladies Shoe Dressing".- Extract of logwood, 
2 ounces; bichromate of potassa, 2 drachms: 
yellow prussiate of potassa, 2 drachms ; powdered 
borax, 3 ounces ; water of ammonia, 2 ounces ; 
shellac, 16 ounces; water, 1 gallon. Dissolve the 
extract in water, heating the liquid to nearly the 
boiling point. Then add the chromate and the 
prussiate of potassa. After a deep rich blue 
color has developed, add the borax, and Avhen it 
has dissolved, the shellac, and lastly, the am- 
monia. Then keep the whole at a gentle heat, 
agitating the mixture with stick of wood, until 
the smell of ammonia has disappeared and the 
shellac has dissolved. 
Hard Putty.— The Carriage Monthly gives the 
following for a hard putty that will dry in one 
day: Take the whitening, mash ail the lumps 
out on the stone, and mix it into a stiff paste by 
adding equal parts of japan and rubbing varnish ; 
then add as much keg-lead as you think will 
make it work free with the knife ; then add the 
rest of the whitening until you have it to suit you, 
This'will sand-paper good with one day's drying. 
If you want putty that will dry quicker, take dry 
white lead and mix with equal parts of japan and 
varnish, to which add a few drops of turpentine. 
This is very soft for putty, but can be sand- 
papered in from two to three hours, it becoming 
perfectly hard in that time. 
Improvement in Corks.— Wood-topped corks 
have long been used, but are not so generally 
known as they deserve to be. The cork is pro- 
vided with a cap of wood, which greatly facilitates 
its removal from a vial or bottle, and forms a very 
elegant finish. Owing to its breadth, the cap can 
be grasped in the same way that an ordinary 
'"mushroom opener" is held, and sufficient 
torsion exerted to dislodge it without the neces- 
sity of resorting to a cork-screw. The cap is 
provided with a central vertical projection, which 
is glued fast in the centre of the cork, so that the 
latter must be destroyed before they can be 
separated. These caps are easily turned by 
amateurs, and for small cases of ciiemicals, blow- 
pipe reagents, etc., they are just the thing. The 
tops should bo turned quite flat, so that a round 
label may be pasted on the top. This is very con- 
venient when the bottles are kept in a box or 
drawer. , ^ , 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
Clay foe Modeling.- I have been advised to 
mix the clay I use for modeling with glycerine, 
but I find it does not work well. The glycerine 
all "sweats" out, and besides that, after I get 
through I want the clay to dry and the glycerine 
prevents it from doing this. Is there any better 
remedy ? Sculptoe. 
J.ns.— Since water will not evaporate in an 
atmosphere that is saturated with watery vapor. 
