494 
SUBSTITUTES  FOR  INDIAN  INK. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  members  who  visited  Longview  Asylum, 
near  Cincinnati,  the  following  resolution  of  thanks  was  unani- 
mously adopted : 
Resolved,  By  the  members  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  and  their  friends  of  both  sexes,  assembled  at  Long- 
view  Asylum  on  this  anniversary  occasion,  that  we  extend  to  Dr. 
Oliver  M.  Langdon,  and  the  Steward  and  Matron  of  the  Asylum, 
our  cordial  acknowledgments ,  for  their  generous  hospitality,  and 
shall  carry  to  our  distant  homes  a  lively  recollection  of  the  In- 
stitution and  its  Officers. 
SUBSITUTES  FOR  INDIAN  INK. 
A  substance  much  of  the  same  nature  and  applicable  to  the 
same  purposes  as  Indian  ink  may  be  formed  in  the  following 
manner : — Take  of  isinglass  three  ounces  :  make  it  into  a  size 
by  dissolving  over  the  fire  in  six  ounces  of  soft  water.  Take  then 
Spanish  liquorice  one  ounce,  dissolve  it  in  two  ounces  of  soft 
water  over  the  fire  in  another  vessel,  then  grind  up  on  a  slab  with 
a  heavy  muller  one  ounce  of  ivory  black  with  the  Spanish  liquor- 
ice mixture.  Then  add  the  same  to  the  isinglass  size  while  hot, 
and  stir  well  together  till  thoroughly  incorporated.  Evaporate 
away  the  water,  and  then  cast  the  remaining  composition  into  a 
leaden  mould  slightly  oiled,  or  make  it  up  in  any  other  conveni- 
ent way.  This  composition  will  be  found  quite  as  good  as  the 
genuine  article.  The  isinglass  size  mixed  with  the  colors  work 
well  with  the  brush.  The  liquorice  renders  it  easily  dissolveable, 
on  the  rubbing  up,  with  water,  to  which  the  isinglass  alone  would 
be  somewhat  reluctant ;  it  also  prevents  it  cracking  and  peeling 
off  from  the  ground  on  which  it  is  laid.  A  good  Indian  ink  may 
be  made  from  the  fine  soot  from  the  flame  of  a  lamp  or  candle 
received  and  collected  by  holding  a  plate  over  it.  Mix  this  with 
the  size  of  parchment,  and  it  will  be  found  to  give  a  good  deep 
color.  Burnt  rice  has  been  by  some  considered  a  principal  in- 
gredient in  the  genuine  Indian  ink,  with  the  addition  of  per- 
fumes or  other  substances  not  essential  to  its  qualities  as  an  ink. 
— Chemical  News,  from  British  Journal  of  Photography, 
