184 
VARIETIES. 
A  Copying  Ink  for  printing  with  the  ordinary  copying  press,  giving 
an  impression  analogous  to  that  of  writing  ink,  has  recently  been  intro- 
duced in  England.  The  ink  is  made  of  ground  nutgalls,  fourteen  pounds  ; 
of  sulphate  of  iron,  six  pounds  ;  of  gum  Senegal,  twelve  pounds  ;  of  soap, 
three  pounds  ;  of  molasses,  four  pounds  ;  of  Prussian  blue,  three  pounds, 
and  of  filtered  rain  fifteen  gallons.  The  nutgalls  are  boiled  three  hours 
in  the  water,  and  the  clear  liquid  drawn  off.  The  gum  and  sulphate  of 
iron  are  then  separately  dissolved  in  the  water,  and  the  whole  is  mixed 
with  the  nutgall  decoction,  and  exposed  for  about  three  weeks  to  the  at- 
mosphere, when  the  liquid  is  drawn  off  from  the  deposited  matters  and 
sediment.  The  molasses  and  soap  are  now  added  to  the  fluid,  and  the 
whole  evaporated  in  a  water  bath,  to  nearly  the  consistency  of  ordinary 
printing  ink,  and  the  lampblack  and  Prussian  blue  are  then  mixed  with  it. 
The  above  ingredients  form  a  black  ink  ;  but  any  other  color  may  be  ob- 
tained by  using  corresponding  soluble  coloring  materials.  The  new  ink  is 
received  with  much  favor,  by  the  Post  Office  and  other  departments  of  the 
British  government,  and  by  railroads,  insurance,  banking,  and  other  com- 
panies who  usually  have  much  copying  to  do. — American  Druggists'  Cir- 
cular. 
New  Fluid  for  the  Bloivpipe-Lamp.  By  F.  Pisani.— The  author  recom- 
mends for  this  purpose  a  mixture  of  6  vols,  of  alcohol  of  specific  gravity 
0-848  with  1  vol.  of  turpentine  and  a  few  drops  of  ether.  Wood-spirit  may 
be  substituted  for  alcohol,  and  of  this  4.  vols,  are  sufficient.  The  liquid 
must  be  perfectly  limpid,  as  otherwise  the  undissolved  excess  of  turpentine 
will  cause  the  lamp  to  smoke. 
Of  the  calorific  effect  of  this  fluid  the  author  gives  the  following  examples. 
A  platinum  wire  2-10ths  of  a  millimetre  in  diameter  was  fused  at  the  ex- 
tremity by  the  ordinary  blowpipe.  An  iron  wire  of  3-10ths  of  a  millimetre 
was  also  fused  in  a  globule  2  millimetres  in  diameter.  M.  P.  Schmidt 
fused  4.6  grs.  of  copper  and  23-5  grs.  of  silver  in  a  cavity  in  charcoal,  and 
also  performed  cupellations  with  as  much  as  5  grms.  of  argentiferous  lead. 
On  the  average,  with  a  little  practice,  2  to  3  grms.  of  copper  and  15  grms. 
of  silver  may  be  fused  by  it,  and  cupellations  maybe  effected  with  3  grms. 
of  lead.  Carbonate  of  soda  is  fused  by  it  with  as  much  ease  as  cyanide  of 
potassium  by  the  spirit-lamp.  The  reducing  flame,  which  is  recognised 
with  difficulty  with  other  combustibles,  makes  its  appearance  here  very 
distinctly. —  Chem.  Gaz.  Jan.  15,  1858,  from  Comptes  Rendus,  Nov.  23, 1857. 
