The Project Gutenberg eBook of Enquire Within Upon Everything

2300. Making Coffee

In making Coffee, observe that the broader the bottom and the smaller the top of the vessel, the better the coffee will be.

2301. Turkish Mode of Making Coffee

The Turkish way of making coffee produces a very different result from that to which we are accustomed. A small conical saucepan something like our beer-warmer, with a long handle, and calculated to hold about two tablespoonfuls of water, is the vessel used. The fresh roasted berry is pounded, not ground, and about a dessertspoonful is put into the minute boiler; it is then nearly filled with water, and thrust among the embers. A few seconds suffice to make it boil, and the decoction, grounds and all, is poured out into a small cup, which fits into a brass socket, much like the cup of an acorn, and holding the china cup as that does the acorn itself. The Turks seem to drink this decoction boiling, and swallow the grounds with the liquid. We allow it to remain a minute, in order to leave the sediment at the bottom. It is always taken plain; sugar or cream would be thought to spoil it; and Europeans, after a little practice, are said to prefer it to the clear infusion drunk in France. In every hut these coffee boilers may be seen suspended, and the means for pounding the roasted berry are always at hand.

2302. Coffee Milk

For the Sick-room

.)—Boil a dessertspoonful of ground coffee, in nearly a pint of milk, a quarter of an hour, then put into it a shaving or two of isinglass, and clear it; let it boil a few minutes, and set it by the side of the fire to clarify. This is a very fine breakfast beverage; but it should be sweetened with sugar of a good quality.

2303. Iceland Moss Chocolate

For the Sick-room

.)—Iceland moss has been in the highest repute on the Continent as the most efficacious remedy in incipient pulmonary complaints; combined with chocolate, it will be found a nutritious article of diet, and may be taken as a morning and evening beverage.

.—Mix a teaspoonful of the chocolate with a teaspoonful of boiling water or milk, stirring it constantly until it is completely dissolved.

2304. Alum Whey

A pint of cow's milk boiled with two drachms of alum, until a curd is formed. Then strain off the liquor, and add spirit of nutmeg, two ounces; syrup of cloves, an ounce. It is useful in diabetes, and in uterine fluxes, &c.

2305. Barley Water

Pearl barley, two ounces; wash till freed from dust, in cold water. Boil in a quart of water a few minutes, strain off the liquor, and throw it away. Then boil the barley in four pints and a-half of water, until it is reduced one half.

2306. Agreeable Effervescent Drink for Heartburn, &c.

Orange juice (of one orange), water, and lump sugar to flavour, and in proportion to acidity of orange, bicarbonate of soda about half a teaspoonful. Mix orange juice, water, and sugar together in a tumbler, then put in the soda, stir, and the effervescence ensues.

2307. Apple Water

A tart apple well baked and mashed, on which pour a pint of boiling water. Beat up, cool, and strain. Add sugar if desired. Cooling drink for sick persons.

2308. Tincture of Lemon Peel

A very easy and economical way of obtaining and preserving the flavour of lemon peel, is to fill a wide-mouthed pint bottle half full of brandy, or proof spirit; and when you use a lemon pare the rind off very thin, and put it into the brandy, &c.; in a fortnight it will impregnate the spirit with the flavour very strongly.

2309. Camomile Tea

One ounce of the flowers to a quart of water boiling. Simmer for fifteen minutes and strain. Emetic when taken warm; tonic when cold.

, from a wine-glassful to a breakfast cup.

Solitude is the Nurse of Wisdom.

2310. Borax and its Uses

The utility of borax for medicinal purposes, such as relieving soreness of the throat, and for the cure of thrush in young children, has long been known, but it is only in the present day that its good qualities as an antiseptic have become known, and its use in every kind of domestic work, in the laundry, in the garden, vinery, and greenhouse, and even for the toilet, under various forms and in different preparations bearing the general name of "Patent Californian Borax," specially prepared for all personal and domestic purposes, has been promoted by its production in small packets, varying in price from 1d. to 6d., which may be purchased of almost any chemist, oilman, grocer, or dealer, throughout the world.

2311. Its Antiseptic Qualities

The Patent Borax, which consists of a combination of boron and sodium, acts in a marvellous manner as an arrester of decay, and as such is useful for the preservation of meat, milk, butter, and all articles of animal food liable to taint and decay, especially in hot weather. When infused in small quantities in water, it preserves and softens it for drinking, cooking, washing, and all household purposes; it whitens linen and cleanses it far better than soda, it kills harmful insect life, though perfectly harmless to human beings and domestic animals; it cleanses and heals ulcers, festering wounds, sore throat, &c.; is useful in the nursery for washing the heads of children, cleans sponges, destroys unpleasant and unwholesome smells, and is beneficial to teeth and gums when used as a tooth-powder, or put in water used for washing the teeth.

2312. Borax as a Disinfectant

Alone or dissolved in water, and used freely to pour down closets, sinks, &c., it removes all noisome smells, acting as a purifier, and rendering even impure water wholesome. It should be used frequently where sewer gas is suspected.

2313. Borax for Cleansing Purposes

A solution Patent in hot water, allowed to cool, is useful for washing any kind of glass or china, imparting a lustre and brightness to them that they never exhibit when washed in the ordinary way. When it is put into water used for washing floors it destroys all vermin with which the solution comes in contact.

2314. Borax as a Vermin Killer

When sprinkled in the form of powder on places infested with insects, black beetles, &c., these troublesome pests with soon disappear.

2315. Its use in Cleansing Marble

Sprinkle some borax on the marble, wherever it is stained or soiled, and then wash the marble with hot water and a little borax soap powder, applied with a soft flannel.

2316. Borax in Cookery

A few grains added to the tea before the water is poured on it greatly improves the flavour of the infusion. When used instead of soda, or carbonate of soda, in cooking vegetables, such as greens, peas, beans, &c., it improves their flavour, preserves their colour, and renders them tender. Vegetables, eaten in an uncooked state, as, salad, are rendered more crisp and of better flavour, by steeping them for a short time before they are brought to table in a solution of borax.

2317. Borax as a Preservative of Meat, &c.

Meat may be preserved, and taint removed by soaking it for a short time in a solution of Patent Californian Borax, or by sprinkling it with the dry powder. Game, poultry, hams, bacon, and all kinds of meat may be thus preserved. Milk cans should be washed with the solution, and milk itself may be preserved and kept sweet for some time by adding to each quart about half a thimbleful of this prepared borax dissolved in a tablespoonful of hot water. Butter may also be preserved by washing it in a solution of borax, or sprinkling the powder over it, or the cloths in which it is wrapped.

Judgement is the Throne of Prudence.

2318. Borax in the Laundry

For washing add a threepenny packet to every ten gallons of hot water used; let the clothes soak all night in the solution; in the morning give them a slight boil, adding a little more Patent Borax, if they be very greasy or dirty. By this means the clothes are rendered whiter, soap is saved, and the hands are uninjured. It acts, moreover, as a disinfectant, if the clothes have been taken from the bed or person of anyone who is suffering from any infectious disorder. Flannels are rendered softer, and the appearance of lace, fine articles, coloured prints, soiled ribbons, &c., greatly improved by washing them in this solution. A teaspoonful to each pint of starch, when hot, will add to the stiffness and gloss of linen when ironed.

2319. To Revive Black Lace

Lay the lace on a piece of clean smooth board, and moisten it all over with a piece of black silk dipped in a solution of a teaspoonful of Patent Borax to a pint of warm water. Iron while damp, after covering the lace with a piece of black silk or cloth.

2320. Borax for the Toilet

As a wash for the mouth add half a teaspoonful of spirits of camphor, and a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh to a pint of hot water, in which a penny packet of Patent Borax has been dissolved, and use a wineglassful of this mixture in half a tumbler of water, when brushing the teeth. When the mouth is washed out with this solution, it removes the smell of tobacco and any unpleasant odour arising from decayed teeth. Camphorated chalk dentrifice is improved as a tooth powder by the addition of a little powdered borax. For washing hair brushes, sponges, etc., a solution of a small packet in a pint of hot water should be used.

2321. Borax in the Nursery

A little borax added to water for bathing infants and children has a beneficial effect on the skin. For cleaning the hair and removing scurf or dandruff wash the head with a solution of a small packet of borax in a pint of hot water, after which the head should be rinsed with cold water, and carefully dried. This wash may be improved by the addition of half an ounce of rosemary spirit sold by any chemist.

2322. Borax in the Garden

A solution made by dissolving borax in hot water in the proportion of a penny packet of the former to a pint of the latter, will kill the green fly on roses, and other plants. A weaker solution may be used for syringing the plants. When applied to the stems of fruit trees, and other trees, it destroys all insects in and about the bark, and clears the blight on apple trees. For these purposes the solution should be applied with a brush. For washing the shelves, boards, and woodwork of greenhouses, the solution is especially valuable, and when used for syringing vines in the proportion of a pint of the solution to ten gallons of water, and half a pound of borax dry soap, as soon as the grapes have been thinned, it will keep them free from red spider and all other insects.

2323. Fever or Infection

In all cases of fever or infectious diseases, it should be freely used in the room by dusting the dry powder over floors, carpets, mats, &c. (it will not injure the finest fabrics), and by placing in dishes or other vehicles, into which hot water should be poured. It has

, but quickly removes

. In cases of death it is most valuable; the corpse may be kept perfectly sweet by merely dusting into ears, nose, mouth, under arm-pits, feet, &c., or when any moisture exudes. It will preserve features and skin fresh as in life for many weeks, and keep the corpse free from decomposition.

2324. Vaseline

What it is.—This indispensable household requisite is a product of petroleum, from which it is obtained by an elaborate system of nitration, without the addition or aid of any chemical whatever. The substance thus produced, to which the name of "Vaseline" has been given, is in the form of a lemon-coloured jelly, completely devoid of either smell or taste, and of exquisite softness and smoothness to the touch. This jelly, which is one of the finest emollients known, and is possessed of healing and other medicinal properties, forms the basis of many preparations which are now widely used all the world over.

2325. Vaseline for Medicinal Use

The pure jelly itself, without any addition, is an invaluable family remedy for burns, chilblains, chapped hands, and skin roughened by exposure to wind and water in cold weather; as well as for sun-burns, wounds, sprains, and all diseases of the skin; for inflamed eyelids, and for preventing pitting in small-pox, when used externally as an ointment. When taken internally, in doses of half a teaspoonful, or in smaller quantities, it forms a cure for diseases of the throat, chest, and stomach, and gives speedy relief in cases of diphtheria, croup, &c. For convenience in using it, a confection is prepared from it for complaints of the throat and lungs. No one need fear to use it, for although it is a product of petroleum, it is the only one that is not dangerous to use, and is possessed of no poisonous qualities. It may be procured from or through any chemist and druggist.

2326. Vaseline for the Toilet

The toilet soap and tar soap made from vaseline are superior in emollient and healing properties, to similar preparations from glycerine. For the hair, an excellent hair tonic and pomade are supplied, which have the effect not only of strengthening, but of promoting its growth. For the complexion, vaseline cold cream should be used, and for the lips, when sore and chapped by cold winds or any other cause, vaseline camphor ice.

2327. Vaseline for the Household

As time progresses there can be no doubt that this valuable preparation will be turned to good account for many domestic uses. It has already been found an excellent anti-corrosive, being an efficient protection against rust, when smeared over guns, bicycles, arms, knives, tools, and steel goods, of any kind in general household use. An excellent boot and shoe paste is prepared from it, which renders boots and shoes absolutely waterproof, and over which any ordinary blacking may be used to produce a polish.

2328. Vaseline in the Stable

When mixed with graphite, vaseline affords a valuable lubricant for application to the axles of light and heavy carriages of every description, and for all bearings in machinery of any kind, especially where great speed is required. A paste is also prepared from it which renders leather harness soft, pliable, impervious to wet, and free from any tendency to crack, thus increasing its durability. Another preparation is found most useful for the cure of injuries and diseases of cattle and domestic animals. This, which is supplied under the name of Veterinary Vaseline, has been found to promote the growth of the hair, unchanged in colour, in the case of broken knees. Its use will also improve the condition of the coat on horses, and will keep off the flies, and cure the mange, and all skin diseases commonly met with in the stable, including injuries to the frogs, hoofs, and fetlocks.

2329. Damp Situations, Remedy for

People who live in damp localities, particularly near undrained land, are apt to think that there is no help for them save in removal. They are mistaken. Successful experiments have shown that it is possible to materially improve the atmosphere in such neighbourhoods by the planting of the laurel and the sunflower. The laurel gives off an abundance of ozone, whilst the sunflower is potent in destroying the malarial condition. These two, if planted on the most restricted scale in a garden or any ground close to the house, will be found to speedily increase the dryness and salubrity of the atmosphere.

2330. Plant Skeletons

The leaves should be put into an earthen or glass vessel, and a large quantity of rain water poured over them; after this they must be left in the open air, and to the heat of the sun, without covering the vessel. As the water evaporates and the leaves become dry, more water must be added; the leaves will by this means putrefy, but the time required for this varies; some plants will be finished in a month, others will require two months or longer, according to the toughness of their parenchyma. When they have been in a state of putrefaction for some time, the two membranes will begin to separate, and the green part of the leaf to become fluid; then the operation of clearing is to be performed.

The leaf is to be put upon a flat white earthen plate, and covered with clear water; and being gently squeezed with the finger, the membranes will begin to open, and the green substance will come out at the edges; the membranes must be carefully taken off with the finger, and great caution must be used in separating them near the middle rib. When once there is an opening towards this separation, the whole membrane always follows easily; when both membranes are taken off, the skeleton is finished, and it has to be washed clean with water, and then dried between the leaves of a book.

2331. Fruit Skeletons

Fruits are divested of their pulp and made into skeletons in a different manner. Take, for an instance, a fine large pear which is soft, and not tough; let it be carefully pared without squeezing it, and without injuring either the crown or the stalk; put it into a pot of rain water, covered, set it over the fire, and let it boil gently till perfectly soft, then take it out and lay it in a dish filled with cold water; then holding it by the stalk with one hand, rub off as much of the pulp as you can with the finger and thumb, beginning at the stalk and rubbing it regularly towards the crown. The fibres are most tender towards the extremities, and are therefore to be treated with great care there. When the pulp has thus been cleared pretty well off, the point of a fine penknife may be of use to pick away the pulp sticking to the core. In order to see how the operation advances, the soiled water must be thrown away from time to time, and clean poured on in its place. When the pulp is in this manner perfectly separated, the clean skeleton is to be preserved in spirits of wine.

2332. To make Impressions of Leaves

Prepare two rubbers by tying up wool or any other substance in wash-leather; then prepare the colours in which you wish to print leaves, by rubbing up with cold drawn linseed oil the tints that are required, as indigo for blue, chrome for yellow, indigo and chrome for green, &c. Get a number of leaves the size and kind you wish to stamp, then dip the rubbers into the paint, and rub them one over the other, so that you may have but a small quantity of the composition upon the rubbers; place a leaf upon one rubber and moisten it gently with the other; take the leaf off and apply it to the substance on which you wish to make an imprint of the leaf. Upon the leaf place a piece of white paper, press gently, and a beautiful impression of all the veins of the leaf will be obtained.

2333. To make a Fac-simile of a Leaf in Copper

This beautiful experiment can be performed by any person in possession of a common galvanic battery. The process is as follows:

Soften a piece of gutta percha over a candle, or before a fire; knead it with the moist fingers upon a table, until the surface is perfectly smooth, and large enough to cover the leaf to be copied; lay the leaf flat upon the surface, and press every part well into the gutta-percha. In about five minutes the leaf may be removed, when, if the operation has been carefully performed, a perfect impression of the leaf will be made in the gutta percha.

This must now be attached to the wire in connection with the zinc end of the battery (which can easily be done by heating the end of the wire, and pressing it into the gutta percha), dusted well over with the best blacklead with a camel-hair brush—the object of which is to render it a conductor of electricity; it should then be completely immersed in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A piece of copper attached to the wire in connection with the copper end of the battery must also be inserted into the copper solution facing the gutta percha, but not touching it; this not only acts as a conductor to the electricity, but also maintains the solution of copper of a permanent strength.

In a short time the copper will be found to creep over the whole surface of the gutta percha, and in about twenty-four hours a thick deposit of copper will be obtained, which may then be detached from the mould. The accuracy with which a leaf may thus be cast is truly surprising.

2334. Leaf Printing

After warming the leaf between the hands apply printing ink, by means of a small leather ball containing cotton, or some soft substance, or with the end of the finger. The leather ball (and the finger, when used for that purpose), after the ink is applied to it, should be pressed several times on a piece of leather, or some smooth surface, before each application to the leaf, that the ink may be smoothly and evenly applied. After the under surface of the leaf has been sufficiently inked, apply it to the paper where you wish the impression to be; and, after covering it with a slip of paper, use the hand or roller to press upon it.

2335. Directions for Taking Leaf Impressions

Hold oiled paper in the smoke of a lamp or of pitch, until it becomes coated with the smoke; to this paper apply the leaf of which you wish an impression, having previously warmed it between your hands, that it may he pliable. Place the lower surface of the leaf upon the blackened surface of the oil-paper, that the numerous veins, which are so prominent on this side, may receive from the paper a portion of the smoke. Lay a paper over the leaf, and then press it gently upon the smoked paper with the fingers, or with a small roller covered with woollen cloth, or some similarly soft material, so that every part of the leaf may come in contact with the sooted oil-paper. A coating of the smoke will adhere to the leaf. Then remove the leaf carefully, and place the blackened surface on a sheet of white paper, or in a book prepared for the purpose, covering the leaf with a clean slip of paper, and pressing upon it with the fingers, or roller, as before.

Thus may be obtained the impression of a leaf, showing the perfect outlines, together with an accurate exhibition of the veins which extend in every direction through it, more correctly than the finest drawing. And this process is so simple, and the materials so easily obtained, that any person, with a little practice to enable him to apply the right quantity of smoke to the oil-paper, and give the leaf a proper pressure, can prepare beautiful leaf impressions, such as a naturalist would be proud to possess.

2336. Dry Botanical Specimens for Preservation

The plants to be preserved should be gathered when the weather is dry. Place the ends in water, and let them remain in a cool place till the next day. When about to be submitted to the process of drying, place each plant between several sheets of blotting paper, and iron it with a large smooth heater, pretty strongly warmed, till all the moisture is dissipated. Colours may thus be fixed, which otherwise become pale, or nearly white. Some plants require more moderate heat than others, and herein consists the nicety of the experiment; but it is generally found that if the iron be not too hot, and is passed rapidly yet carefully over the surface of the blotting paper, it answers the purpose equally well with plants of almost every variety of hue and thickness.

In compound flowers, with those also of a stubborn and solid form, as the Centaurea, some little art is required in cutting away the under part, by which means the profile and forms of the flowers will be more distinctly exhibited. This is especially necessary when the flowers are fixed down with gum upon the paper previous to ironing, by which means they become almost incorporated with the surface. When this very delicate process is attempted, blotting-paper should be laid under every part excepting the blossoms, in order to prevent staining the white paper. Great care must be taken to keep preserved specimens in a dry place.

2337. Collecting and Laying out Sea-weeds

"First wash the sea-weed in fresh water, then take a plate or dish (the larger the better), cut your paper to the size required, place it in the plate with fresh water, and spread out the plant with a good-sized camel-hair pencil in a natural form (picking out with the pin gives the sea-weed an unnatural appearance, and destroys the characteristic fall of the branches, which should be carefully avoided); then gently raise the paper with the specimen out of the water, placing it in a slanting position for a few moments, so as to allow the super-abundant water to ran off; after which, place it in the press. The press is made with either three pieces of board or pasteboard. Lay on the first board two sheets of blotting-paper; on that lay your specimens; place straight and smooth over them a piece of old muslin, fine cambric, or linen; then some more blotting-paper, and place another board on the top of that, and continue in the same way.

The blotting-paper and the muslin should be carefully removed and dried every day, and then replaced; at the same time, those specimens that are sufficiently dried may be taken away. Nothing now remains but to write on each the name, date, and locality. You can either gum the specimens in a scrap-book, or fix them in, as drawings are often fastened, by making four slits in the page, and inserting each corner. This is by far the best plan, as it admits of their removal, without injury to the page, at any future period, if it be required either to insert better specimens, or intermediate species.

Some of the large algae will not adhere to the paper, and consequently require gumming. The following method of preserving them has been communicated by a botanical friend:

'After well cleaning and pressing, brush the coarser kinds of algae over with spirits of turpentine, in which two or three small lumps of gum mastic have been dissolved, by shaking in a warm place; two-thirds of a small phial is the proper proportion, and this will make the specimens retain a fresh appearance.'"

Miss Gifford's Marine Botanist.

2338. To Preserve Fungi

Receipt of the celebrated botanist, William Withering, by which specimens of fungi may be beautifully preserved.

"Take two ounces of sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, and reduce it to powder; pour upon it a pint of boiling water; and when cold, add half a pint of spirits of wine; cork it well, and call it 'the pickle.' To eight pints of water, add one pint and a half of spirits of wine, and call it 'the liquor.' Be provided with a number of wide-mouthed bottles of different sizes, all well fitted with corks. The fungi should be left on the table as long as possible, to allow the moisture to evaporate; they should then he placed in the pickle for three hours, or longer, if necessary; then place them in the bottles intended for their reception, and fill with the liquor. They should then be well corked and sealed, and arranged in order, with their names in front of the bottles."

Trust not the Man who Promises with an Oath.

2339. To Stuff Birds, Quadrupeds, &c.

Large animals should be carefully skinned, with the horns, skull, tail, hoofs, &c., entire. Then rub the inside of the skin thoroughly with the mixture of salt, pepper, and alum, and hang up to dry. Large birds may be treated in the same way, but should not be put into spirits.