OF STAINING WOOD.

To stain Wood Yellow.

Take any white wood, and brush it over several times with the tincture of turmeric root, made by putting an ounce of turmeric, ground to powder, to a pint of spirit, and after they have stood for some days, straining off the tincture. If the yellow colour be desired to have a reddish cast, a little dragon's blood must be added.

A cheaper, but less strong and bright yellow, is, by the tincture of French berries made boiling hot.

Wood may also be stained yellow by means of aqua fortis, which will sometimes produce a very beautiful yellow colour, but at other times a browner. Care must be taken, however, that the aqua fortis' be not too strong, otherwise a blackish colour will be the result.

To stain Wood Red.

For a bright red stain for wood, make a strong infusion of Brazil wood in stale urine, or water impregnated with pearl-ashes, in the proportion of an ounce to a gallon; to a gallon of either of which, the proportion of Brazil wood must be a pound, which being put to them, they must stand together for two or three days, often stirring the mixture. With this infusion strained, and made boiling hot, brush over the wood to be stained till it appear strongly coloured; then, while yet

wet, brush it over with alum-water made in the proportion of two ounces of alum to a quart of

water.

For a less bright red, dissolve an ounce of dragon's blood in a pint of spirits of wine, and brush over the wood with the tincture till the stain appear to be as strong as is desired; but this is, in fact, rather lacquering than staining.

For a pink or rose red, add to a gallon of the above infusion of Brazil wood two additional ounces of the pearl-ashes, and use it as was before directed: but it is necessary, in this case, to brush the wood over with the alum-water. By increasing the proportion of pearl-ashes, the red may be rendered yet paler; but it is proper, when more than this quantity is added, to make the alum-water stronger.

To stain Wood Blue.

Wood may be stained blue by means either of copper or indigo.

The method of staining blue with copper is as follows: Make a solution of copper in aqua fortis, and brush it while hot several times over the wood; then make a solution of pearl-ashes in the proportion of two ounces to a pint of water, and brush it hot over the wood stained with the solution of copper, till it be of a perfectly blue colour.

To stain Wood Green.

Dissolve verdigrease in vinegar, or crystals of verdigrease in water, and with the hot solution brush over the wood till it be duly stained.

To stain Wood Purple.

Brush the wood to be stained several times with a strong decoction of logwood and Brazil, made in the proportion of one pound of the logwood and a quarter of a pound of the Brazil to a gallon of water, and boiled for an hour or more. When the wood has been brushed over till there be a sufficient body of colour, let it dry, and then be slightly passed over by a solution of one drachm of pearl-ashes in a quart of water. This solution must be carefully used, as it will gradually change the colour from a brown red, which it will be originally found to be, to a dark blue purple, and therefore its effect must be restrained to the due point for producing the colour desired.

To stain Wood a Mahogany Colour.

The substances used for staining mahogany colour are madder, Brazil wood, and logwood; each of which produce reddish brown stains, and they must be mixed together in such proportions as will produce the tint required.

To stain Wood Black.

Brush the wood several times over with a hot decoction of logwood. Then having prepared an infusion of galls by putting a quarter of a pound of powdered galls to two quarts of water, and setting them in the sunshine, or any other gentle heat, for three or four days, brush the wood over three or four times with it, and it will be of a beautiful black. It may be polished with a hard brush and shoemakers' black wax.

STAINING IVORY.

To stain Ivory Green.

Dissolve some copper or verdigrease in nitrous acid, and soak the ivory in it.

To stain Ivory Yellow.

Put a quarter of a pound of alum in a pint of water, boil the ivory in the solution; then boil it in a decoction of turmeric.

To stain Ivory Blue.

Boil it in the sulphate of indigo, and afterwards in a solution of three ounces of white tar

tar in a quart of water.

Or it may be first stained

green, and then dipped into a solution of pearlashes, made strong and boiling hot.

To stain Ivory Purple.

Put into nitrous acid one fourth of its weight of sal ammoniac; soak the ivory in it.

MISCELLANEOUS.

To make Phosphorus.

Phosphorus was formerly prepared from urine, and was therefore called phosphorus of urine; but it is exactly the same substance, from whatever materials it is procured. The following is a process for procuring it from bones, which consist chiefly of lime, combined with the phosphoric acid.

Take a quantity of bones; burn them to whiteness in an open fire, and reduce them to a fine powder. Upon three pounds of this powder, after having been put into a matrass, pour two pounds of concentrated sulphuric acid of commerce; four or five pounds of water must be afterwards added by degrees, to assist the action of the acid. During the process, the operator must place himself and the vessel so that the fumes of the mixture may be blown from him. The whole is then to be left in a sand-bath for about twelve hours, or more, taking care to supply the loss of water which happens by evaporation. The next day, a large quantity of water must be added; the clear liquor must be decanted, and the rest strained through a cloth or sieve. The residuary matter is to be washed by repeated affusions of hot water till it passes tasteless. The water which has been used to wash out the adhering acid is mixed with the decanted or strained liquor, and the whole fluid is gradually evaporated in a flat earthen bason to the consistence of a syrup. It is then mixed with an equal weight of charcoal powder, and submitted to distillation in an iron or earthen retort. Instead of using a receiver, the neck of the retort may be immersed in a bason of water, to a small depth, and the phosphorus, as it comes over, will fall in drops to the bottom.

Phosphorus made in this manner is blackish and dirty; it is purified by a second distillation. It may also be prepared from urine by the following method.

Dissolve as much lead in the nitric acid as it will act upon, and the solution will be nitrate of lead. Pour this into a quantity of urine, and a precipitate will be formed. When no more pre