Liquid Blacking.-1. Ivory black | and molasses, of each, one pound; sweet oil and oil of vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Put the first three together until the oil is perfectly mixed or "killed," then add the oil of vitriol, diluted with three times its weight of water, and after standing three hours add one quart of water or sour beer. 2. In larger quantity it may be made as follows: Ivory black, three hundredweight; molasses, two hundredweight; linseed oil, three gallons; oil of vitriol, twenty pounds; water, eighty gallons. Mix as above directed." Driving Nails. Within a year we have seen it stated, as a new truth, that if a nail were wetted in the mouth, and if, in addition, the narrow edge was placed with the grain of the wood, it would seldom split the board into which it was driven. A Cheap Ice-House. An inexpensive ice-house may be easily made: | any farmer can construct his own without any difficulty. Lay some rails or poles on a piece of ground, sufficiently inclined to carry off water, fill the crevices with sawdust, and cover with old boards or slabs. Get from the saw-mill a few loads of slabs; take four about twelve feet long, notch the corners as for a log-house, set them on the platform, and you have a crib about ten and a half feet square by the width of the slab deep; fill this crib with sawdust and pack it down hard. Cut your ice so that it will pack close, lay it on the sawdust, put on another crib of slabs, and fill up and pack hard with sawdust all around, and so go on until you get up six or eight feet; then put a foot and a half of sawdust on top. Over this put a shed roof of slabsone end of the slabs nearly to the ice, raising the other three feet. Ice will keep in such a house as well as in a more elaborate structure. situation (if you have no rubber hose to conduct the water the barrels should be placed near the pump or the hydrant), put about six inches of water in each barrel, this will soon be frozen solid, when four or six inches more water may be added occasionally until the barrel is full. A few days of cold weather will give you all the ice you need for family use, the only limit being the number of barrels. It is not necessary that these barrels be water tight, for the water freezing in the joints will soon effect this. When the barrel is frozen full of ice it may be rolled into the ice-house or place where you intend to keep it. Eight barrels filled in this way will give a family ten pounds of ice each day for four months. MEM. The barrels being round, it is easy to remove the ice to its storage place, and then, if preferred, the hoops of the barrels may be broken and the barrels taken off; but this is not necessary. We prefer to pack it away in the barrel, being careful to fill all the spaces between the barrels with shavings, sawdust etc., and remove a barrel and cut it into pieces as we want to use the ice. Strength of Ice. As people are a little timid about travelling on the ice at times, we give the capacity of the ice as furnished by the U. S. Ordnance Department, which is correct. Ice two inches thick will bear infantry; four inches, cavalry with light guns; six inches, heavy field guns; and eight inches, the heaviest siege guns with one thousand pounds weight to a square inch. CEMENTS.-The term cement includes all those substances employed for the purpose of causing the adhesion of two or more bodies, whether originally separate, or divided by an accidental fracture. A cement that answers admirably under one set of circumstances may be perfectly useless in others. A vast number of cements are known and used in the various arts, but they may all be referred to a few classes; and our object in this paper will be to describe the manufacture and use of the best of each class. It is an important rule, that the less cement in a joint the stronger it is. Domestic manipulators usually reverse this, by letting as much cement as possible remain in the joint, which is, therefore, necessarily a weak one, A thick, nearly solid cement, which cannot be pressed out of the joint, is always inferior to a thinner one, of which merely a connecting film remains between the united surfaces. Mouth Glue. A very useful prepa ration is sold by many stationers under this title; it is merely a thin cake of soluble glue, which, when moistened with the tongue, furnishes a ready means of uniting papers, etc. It is made by dissolving one pound of fine glue or gelatine in water, and, adding half a pound of brown sugar, boiling the whole until it is sufficiently thick to become solid on cooling; it is then poured into moulds, or on a slab slightly greased, and cut into the required shape when cool, up PASTE is usually made by rubbing flour with cold water, and boiling; if a little alum is mixed before boiling it is much improved, being less clammy, working more freely in the brush, and thinner, a less quantity is required, and it is therefore stronger, If required in large quantity, as for papering rooms, it may be made by mixing one quartern of flour, one quarter of a pound of alum, and a little warm water; when mixed, the requisite quantity of boiling water should be poured on while the mixture is being stirred. Paste is only adapted to cementing paper; when used it should be spread on one side of the paper, which should then be folded with the pasted side inwards, and allowed to remain a few minutes before being opened and used; this swells the paper, and permits its being more smoothly and securely attached. Kept for a few days, paste becomes mouldy, and after a short time putrid; this inconvenience may be obviated by the use of PERMANENT PASTE Made by adding to each half pint of flour paste without alum, fifteen grains of corro sive sublimate, previously rubbed to powder in a mortar, the whole to be well mixed; this, if prevented from drying, by being kept in a covered pot, remains good any length of time, and is therefore convenient; but unfortunately it is extremely poisonous, though its excessively nauseous taste would prevent its being swallowed accidentally; it possesses the great advantage of not being liable to the attacks of insects, TO MAKE PASTE THAT WILL KEEP FOR A YEAR. Dissolve slowly in water two square inches of glue and an equal quantity of alum. Mix and boil with flour as usual, and when nearly cold stir in two teaspoonfuls of oil of cloves or lavender, the whole to make a pint of paste. Keep in a wellcovered vessel, Liquid Glue. Several preparations were inuch in vogue a few years since under this title. The liquid glue of the shops is made by dissolving shellac in water, by boiling it along with borax, which possesses the peculiar property of causing the solution of the resínous lac. This preparation is convenient from its cheapness and freedom from smell; but it gives way if exposed to long-continued damp, which that made with naphtha resists. Of the use of common glue very little need be said: it should always be prepared in a gluepot or double vessel, to prevent its being burned, which injures it very materially; the objection to the use of this contrivance" is, that it renders it impossible to heat the glue in the inner vessel to the boiling point; this inconvenience can be obviated by employing in the outer vessel some liquid which boils at a higher temperature than pure water, such as a saturated solution of salt (made by adding onethird as much salt as water). This boils at 224° Fahr., 129 above the beat of boiling water, and enables the glue in the inner vessel to be heated to a much higher temperature than when pure water is employed. If a saturated solution of nitre is used, the temperature rises still higher, Diamond Cement. Soak isinglass in water till it is soft; then dissolve it in the smallest possible quantity of proof-spirit, by the aid of a gentle heat; in two ounces of this mixture dissolve ten grains of ammoniacum, and while still liquid, add half a dram of mastic, dissolved in three drams of rectified spirit; stir well together, and put into small bottles for sale.-Directions for Use.-Liquefy the cement by plunging the bottle in hot water, and use it directly. The cement improves the oftener the bottle is thus warmed; it resists the action of water and moisture perfectly. Rice Flour Cement.-An excellent cement may be made from rice flour, which is at present used for that purpose in China and Japan. It is only necessary to mix the rice flour intimately with cold water, and gently simmer it over a fire, when it readily forms a delicate and durable cement, not only answering all the purposes of common paste, but admirably adapted for joining together paper, cards, etc., in forming the various beautiful and tasteful ornaments which afford much employment and amusement to the ladies. When made of the consistence of plaster-clay, models, busts, bas-relievos, etc., may be formed of it; and the articles, when dry, are susceptible of high polish, and very durable. The White of an Egg, well beaten with quicklime, and a small quantity of very old cheese, forms an excellent substitute for cement, when wanted in a hurry, either for broken china or old ornamental glassware. Cement for Broken China, Glass, etc. The following recipe, from experience, we know to be a good one; and being nearly colorless, it possesses advantages which liquid glue and other cements do not: Dissolve half an ounce of gum acacia in a wineglass of boiling water; add plaster of Paris sufficient to form a thick paste, and apply it with a brush to the parts required to be cemented together. Several articles upon our toilet table have been repaired most effectually by this recipe. A Lime and Egg Cement is frequently made by moistening the edges to be united with white of egg, dusting on some lime from a piece of muslin, and bringing the edges into contact. much better mode is to slack some freshly-burned lime with a small quantity of boiling water; this occasions it to fall into a very fine dry powder, if excess of water has not been added. The white of egg used should be intimately and thoroughly mixed, by beating with an equal bulk of water, and the slacked fime added to the mixture, so as to form a thin paste, which should be used speedily, as it soon sets. This is a valuable cement, possessed of great strength, and capable of withstanding boiling water. Cements made with lime and blood, scraped cheese, or curd, may be regarded as inferior varieties of it. Cracked vessels of earthenware and glass may often be usefully, though not ornamentally, repaired by white lead spread on strips of calico, and secured with bands of twine. But, in point of strength, all ordinary cements yield the palm to Jeffery's Patent Marine Glue. It is not affected by water. It is made as follows:- Take one pound of India-rubber, cut it into small pieces, and dissolve it in about four gallons of coal-tar naphtha, the mixture being well stirred for some time, till perfect solution has taken place. After ten or twelve days, when the liquid has acquired the consistence of cream, two parts, by weight, of shellac are added to one of the liquid. This mixture is put into an iron vessel having a discharge pipe at the bottom, and heat applied, the whole being kept well stirred. The liquid which flows out of the pipe is spread upon slabs, and preserved in the form of plates. When required for use it is heated in an iron pot to about 248° Fahr., and applied hot with a brush. The Red Cement, which is employed by instrument-makers for cementing glass to metals, and which is very cheap, and exceedingly useful for a variety of purposes, is made by melt lng five parts of black rosin, ons part of yellow wax, and then stirring in gradually one part of red ochre or Venetian red, in fine powder, and previously well dried. This cement ́requires to be melted before use, and it adheres better if the objects to which it is applied are warmed. A soft cement, of a somewhat similar character, may be found useful for covering the corks of preserved fruit, and other bottles, and it is made by melting yellow wax with an equal quantity of resin, or of common turpentine (not oil of turpentine, but the resin), using the latter for a very soft eement, and stirring in, as before, some dried Venetian red. Bearing in mind our introductory remarks, it will be seen that to unite broken substances with a thick cement is disadvantageous, the object being to bring the surfaces as closely together as possible. As an illustration of a right and a wrong way of mending, we will suppose à plaster of Paris figure broken. The wrong way to mend it is by a thick pasts of plaster, which makes, not a joint, but a botch. The right way to mend it is by means of some well-made carpenter's glue, which, being absorbed in the porous plaster, leaves merely a film covering the two surfaces; and if well done, the figure is stronger there than elsewhere, Cement for Leather and Cloth. An adhesive material for uniting the parts of boots and shoes, and for the seams of articles of clothing, may be made thus: - Take one pound of guttepercha, four ounces of India-rubber, two ounces of pitch, one ounce of shel lag, two ounces of oil. The ingredi ents are to be melted together, and used hot. BIRDLIME. Take any quantity of linseed oil, say half a pint; put it into an old pot, or any vessel that will stand the fire without breaking. The vessel must not be more than one third full; put it on a slow fire, stir it occasionally until it thickens as much as required; this will be known by cooling the stick in water, and trying it with the fingers. It is best to make it rather harder than for use. Then pour it into cold water. It can be brought back to the consistency required with a little Archangel tar. MUCILAGE - Take a quarter pound of gum arabic, put into a bottle with half a pint of water, stir it nee sionally; next day it will be fit for use. This is the mucilage sold in bottles, MUCILAGE FOR LABBER. Macerald five parts of good glue in sightson to twenty parts of water for a day, and to the liquid add nine parts of rock candly and three parts of gum arabie. The mixture can be brushed upon paper while lukewarm, it keeps well, dus not stick together, and when moistened adheres firmly to bottles. For the labels of soda or seltzer water bottles, it is well to prepare a paste of good rye flour and glue, to which linseed oil, varnish, and turpentine have been added in the proportion of half an ounce of each to the pound. Labels prepared in the latter way do not fall Mastic Cement. This is employed for making a superior coating to inside walls, but must not be confounded with the resin mustip. It is mads by mixing twenty parts of wellwashed and sifted sharp sand with two parts of litharge and ons of freshly-burned and slacked quicklime, in fine dry powder. This is made into a putty, by mixing with linseed oil. It sets in a few hours, having the ap-off in damp cellars, pearance of light stoms; and we mention it, as it may be frequently employed with advantage in repairing broken stons-work (as steps), by filling up the missing parts. The employment of Homan dement, plaster, ste, for mas sonry work, hardly comes within the limits of domestic manipulation. To Make Paper Stick to White: washed Walls, Make a sizing of common glue and water, of the som: sistency of linseed oil, and apply with a brush to the wall, being careful to go over every part; the top and bot tom should have special attention. Apply the paper in the usual way. To Soften Putty and Remove Paint. To destroy paint on old doors, etc., and to soften putty in window frames, so that the glass may be taken out without breaking and cutting, take one pound of American pearlash, three pounds of quick-stone lime, slack the lime in water, add the pearlash, and make the whole about the consistence of paint. Apply it to both sides of the glass, and let it remain for twelve hours, when the putty will be softened so that the glass may be taken out of the frame without being cut, and with the greatest facility. To destroy paint, lay the above over the whole body with an old brush (as it will spoil a new one); let it remain for twelve or fourteen hours, when the paint can be easily scraped off. To Remove Old Putty.-Dip a small brush in nitric or muriatic acid, and with it anoint or paint over the dry putty that adheres to the broken glass and frames of your windows; after an hour's interval, the putty will have become so soft as to be easily removable. Remedy for Smoky Chimneys.If a chimney is built near a wall, or any other obstruction to the passage of the wind when it is blowing from the side on which the chimney is erected, the compression of the air in the vi cinity of the wall is such that it will seek every crevice, stove-pipe and chimney through which to escape, thus producing a draft the wrong way. To prevent this, raise the top of the chimney above surrounding objects; this is generally effectual. How to Read a Gas Meter. The veracity of gas companies is often called in question by consumers of that article, though with how much justice is not, of course, for us to decide. The employés of the company maintain that they deal honestly by their customers, and the latter, knowing that they are in the power of the company, often pay their bills feeling dissatisfaction. The matter of dissatisfaction might be easily remedied. The process of reading a meter is almost as simple as telling the time of day by a clock, and may be acquired by any person of common intelligence in ten minutes. Below we give a brief explanation. At the top of the meter is placed a small tin case, three or four inches long, which opens by means of a little door in front, and discloses a plate with three small dials, about an inch in diameter, which are furnished with one pointer apiece, moved by cog wheels and pinions on the inside, which, in turn, are made to revolve by a large wheel propelled by the passage of the gas. The circle on the dial is divided into ten spaces, numbered around the edges with figures like the dial of a clock. The dial on the extreme right indicates, by means of its pointer, the burning of 100 feet of gas; the dial in the middle indicates the burning of 1000 feet; and the dial on the left the burning of 10,000 feet. For instance, the three pointers all stand at cipher. The pointer on the right hand dial having moved from cipher to figure one, indicates that 100 feet of gas have been consumed. If it move to the two, 200 feet, and so on, until the pointer has gone around the circle, and again reached the cipher, when 1000 feet have been consumed. When this point has been reached, the eye will be directed to the next dial, when it will be found that the pointer has moved to the figure one, indicating that 1000 feet have been consumed. The pointer on the first dial continues on, and still marking the amount passing. Suppose that at the end of the first month the pointer on the first dial stands at eight, that on the second between one and two, it is easy to understand that 1800 feet have been consumed. When the pointer on the second dial reaches two, that on the first is again at cipher, indicating that 2000 feet have been consumed. Thus it goes on until the pointer on the second dial has made the circuit, which indicates that 10,000 feet have been consumed, when |