46 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
pounds. It will probably "work" even more 
easily in its proper position at Vienna.— J5ostow 
Journal of Chemistry. 
Nicknames of the States. 
The following are some of the nicknames of 
the States : 
Alabama, Lizard State ; Arkansas, Tooth-pick ; 
California, Golden State; Colorado, Eover; 
Connecticut, Wooden Nutmeg ; Delaware, Musk- 
rat, otherwise the Blue Hen's Chicken ; Florida, 
the Beaver State; Illinois, Sucker; Indiana, 
Hoosier; Iowa, Hawk-Eye; Kansas, the Jay- 
Hawker; Kentucky, Corn Cracker; Louisiana, 
Creole ; Maine, Fox, otherwise Lumber ; Mary- 
land, Gray Vampire; Michigan, Wolverine; 
Minnesota, Gopher; Mississippi, Tadpole ; Mis- 
souri, Puke; Massachusetts, Bay State; Ne- 
braska, Big Eaters; Nevada, Sage Hen; New 
England, Land of Steady Habits; New Hamp- 
shire, Old Granite; New Jersey, Blue, some- 
times Clam Catcher; New York, Knickerbocker 
or Empire; North Carolina, Old Tar; Ohio, 
Buckeye; Oregon, White Foot, or Hard Case; 
Pennsylvania, Broadbrim, or Keystone State; 
Khode Island, Gun Flint; South Carolina, 
Palmetto, or Weasel ; Tennessee, Whelp ; Te:^as, 
Beef-Head; Vermont, Green Mountain; Vir- 
ginia, Pitch ; Wisconsin, Badger. 
French Polishing". 
Dissolve shellac in spirits of wine, with the 
aid of heat, till it is about as thick as cream. 
Make a ball of cotton wool, with a bit of soft rag 
over it. On this pour a few drops of polish; 
cover with another bit of soft linen rag, on 
which put one drop of raw linseed oil ; hold this 
against the work as it revolves in the lathe un- 
til dry, moving it to and fro all the time ; repeat 
the process till the work shows a polish ; then, 
with a rag on which is just a drop or two of 
spirit of wine, or with the same rubber, on 
which is a drop or two of spirit, go over it again 
till it is all bright, with no smears. If not lathe 
work, you will have to rub round and round in 
circles over the surface, never stopping, but 
taking up the rubber en route generally ; the best 
way is, with the last circling motion, to sweep 
it clear of the work. It is a laborious job if on a 
large surface, especially as the polish will at 
first sink in, and when you next inspect it you 
will find it terribly fallen off from its pristine 
beauty. You should let it then ^get dry and 
hard, and,\Yith the very finest No. 00 sandpaper, 
rub it down to a general smooth, but, of course, 
wholly unpolished face. Then go at it again. 
Do not use much oil, only enough to prevent 
the rag sticking in its course. For the last coats 
use the finish thinner. The object of the rub 
with the spirit only is to get rid of dull spots 
caused by the oil, and to insure a very thin 
coat of polish ; some oil the work first, and let 
this soak in for some days till dry, then polish. 
It will be found that the less oil the better. 
Bullet Holes in Windows. 
Dr. Balch, in his review of the medical evi- 
dence given on the second trial of Jesse Bil- 
lings, Jr., says that a ball fired from a rifle 
through a window pane will make a hole one- 
third smaller than the ball itself. He has 
proved this by repeated experiments. He 
dwells on this at some length ; but after all it 
was a fact that was fully known and discussed 
as long ago as the time when Jesse Strang shot 
Mr. Whipple through a window in the old house 
at Cherry "HiW.— Albany Evening Times. 
JPracticai i§intfi. 
Improved Starch Polish.— Spermaceti, 1 
part ; gum arabic, 1 part ; borax, l part ; glycerine, 
2)4 parts ; water, 2lK parts ; and a sufficient quan- 
tity of perfumed alcohol to produce an emulsion. 
About three teaspoonfuls of this emulsion are re- 
quired for about one-quarter of a pound of 
starch. 
Bronzing- Copper.— xU the Paris mint, medals 
are bronzed by boiling them for a quarter of an 
hour in the following solution: pulverized verdi- 
gris, 500 grammes ; pulverized sal-ammoniac, 475 
grammes; strong vinegar. 160 grammes; water, 
two liters. An untinned copper boiler is used, 
and the medals are separated from each other by 
bits of glass or wood. 
Black Dye for Wood. —The following new 
process is published in the Pharmaceutische Zeit- 
schrift fur JRussland : First sponge the wood with 
a solution of chlorhydrate of aniline in water, to 
which a small quantity of copper chloride is 
added. Allow it to dry, and go over it with a so- 
lution of potassium bichromate. Eepeat the pro- 
cess twice or thrice, and the wood will take a fine 
black color, unaffected by light or chemicals. 
Amber Varnish.— Amber varnish is usually 
prepared by roasting the amber and adding hot 
linseed oil, after which turpentine can be mixed 
if required. But if small quantities are required 
you might proceed as follows :— Dissolve the 
broken amber, without heat, in the smallest 
possible quantity of chloroform, or pure benzine. 
Heat the linseed-oil, remove it from the fire, and 
pour in the amber solution, stirring all the time. 
Then add the turpentine. If not quite clear, heat 
again. 
Treatment of Hydrofluoric Acid Wounds. 
—A. E. Robinson writes to the editor of the Chem. 
]^eu)s that one of his assistants had been seri- 
ously burned by hy Irofluoric acid, the face 
