510 
NOTE  ON  WINE  COLCHICUM  SEED  (ENG.) 
ing  left  out,  the  air  causes  the  rapid  oxidation  of  the  small  por- 
tion of  oil  left  in  each  bottle,  which  becomes  semi-fluid,  and  some- 
times nearly  solid,  and  is  very  troublesome  to  remove.  This  is 
also  true  of  the  exterior,  which  frequently  is  badly  soiled  with 
oxidized  oil  entirely  solid.  The  junior  whose  duty  it  may  be  at 
intervals  to  cleanse  the  accumulated  store  of  bottles  preparatory 
to  refilling,  has  frequently  been  worried  by  the  tedious  task. 
The  most  usual  way  is  to  boil  the  bottles  in  water  containing 
soda,  potash,  or  soft  soap,  which,  when  a  large  kettle  is  used, 
greatly  facilitates  the  process,  especially  if  the  alkali  employed 
is  caustic ;  but  this  involves  much  space  and  a  fire,  and  the 
handling  of  the  bottles  is  difficult,  so  that  the  following  plan  will 
be  found  more  convenient  in  the  shop  : 
Provide  a  pint  of  good  benzine,  half  a  pound  of  pearlash  (or  a 
pound  of  sal  soda),  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  lime,  and  half  a  gal- 
lon of  boiling  water.  Slake  the  lime  with  a  part  of  the  water, 
and  add  it  to  the  balance  containing  the  potash  in  solution,  and 
agitate  them.  These  quantities  for  half  a  gross  of  pint  bottles. 
Put  about  two  fluidounces  of  benzine  in  a  bottle,  agitate  it  well, 
and  in  a  few  moments  it  will  have  dissolved  all  the  oil,  when  it 
may  be  poured  into  another  oily  bottle,  drained  a  moment,  and 
then  four  ounces  of  the  liquor  potassae  cum  calcae  is  introduced 
(which  should  be  warm),  a  good  cork  used,  and  the  bottle  well 
agitated.  By  means  of  a  small  sponge  tied  on  a  twisted  wire, 
apply  the  alkaline  liquid  to  the  exterior  of  the  bottle,  standing 
in  a  shallow  tin  dish  capable  of  supporting  four  or  five  bottles. 
Now  pursue  a  regular  order  of  sequence  with  the  benzine  and 
alkali  inside  and  the  alkali  outside,  shifting  the  benzine  from 
bottle  to  bottle  until  it  gets  too  foul  for  further  use,  and  then  the 
alkali  from  bottle  to  bottle,  until  it  also  is  exhausted,  the  inte- 
rior is  soon  cleansed,  and  a  thorough  rinsing  with  water  com- 
pletes the  work.  When  the  exterior  of  the  bottles  is  very  foul, 
it  will  be  most  convenient  to  apply  the  alkali  externally  after  the 
benzine  has  been  used,  which  enables  the  operator  to  see  when 
all  the  oil  is  dislodged  from  the  interior  when  the  alkali  is  sub- 
sequently used  inside.    Finally  rinse  with  alcohol. 
Care  should  be  used  to  reject  and  throw  away  the  benzine  so- 
lution of  the  oil  before  it  gets  so  foul  as  to  lose  its  thin  consist- 
