meg; add these to the brandy, and then a quart of new milk, boiling hot; Use cold. Strain through a jelly-bag and bottle. Tea Punch.-Make a quart of strong green tea. Make a metal punch-bowl very hot, and then put into it half a pint of brandy, half a pint of rum, lump sugar to taste, and the juice of a lemon; set these alight, and pour in the tea gradually, mixing it from time to time with a ladle; it will remain burning for some time, and is to be poured in that state into the glasses; a few lumps of the sugar should be rubbed over the lemon-peel as before directed. This punch, if in a china bowl, will not keep alight long. Gin Punch.-Rub off the peel of a lemon on sugar; put the sugar and juice into a bowl with a pint of gin, a quart of water, a gill of sherry, and loaf or barley sugar to taste. Stir well and serve hot. Cold Punch.-Take the thin parings of three oranges and three lemons, let them steep in a bottle of brandy for two days. Then make a syrup with a pound and a half of loaf sugar; when this is cold, strain the brandy, and add it, together with half a gallon of filtered or distilled water, the strained juice of six oranges and six lemons. A little sherry may be added. Let this stand, closely corked, for a month, then strain and bottle. To be taken cold. Winter Drinks. Rum Punch.-Rub two lemons with sugar as before directed. Put the sugar in your bowl, squeeze the lemonjuice on it, and add a quart of boiling Bishop.-Roast four large bitter water; when this is getting cool, take oranges till they are of a pale brown a pint of rum and half a pint of brandy; colour, lay them in a tureen, and put stir them in; sweeten to taste with ca-over them half a pound of pounded pillaire or sugar; strain; make quite hot, and serve. A few roasted apples or slices of lemon are often served with this favourite drink. Oxford Punch.-Take some lump sugar and rub three lemons until the essence of the rinds is extracted; put the sugar into a large jug with the peel of two Seville oranges, and two lemons, extremely thin, the juice of four Seville oranges and of ten lemons, and six glasses of calf's feet jelly; warm. Stir well together, pour on two quarts of boiling water, cover close, and set near the fire for a quarter of an hour; then strain into a punch bowl, sweeten with a bottle of capillaire, made as follows: Boil five pounds of lump sugar with three pints of water, and one ounce of capillaire (the herb called Maiden-hair), skim frequently, and continue the boiling until the syrup becomes thick; then filter through a jelly-bag, add five drops of neroli, and when cold put into bottles for use. Add half a pint of sherry, one pint of brandy, one pint of rum, and one bottle of orange shrub; stir the punch as the spirit is poured in. This is best hot, but may be taken cold. loaf sugar, and three glasses of port or claret; place the cover on the tureen and let it stand till the next day. When required for use, put the tureen into a pan of boiling water, press the oranges with a spoon, and run the juice through a sieve; then boil the remainder of the bottle of port or claret, taking care that it does not burn; add it to the strained juice, and serve hot in a bowl, or in glasses. Mulled Wine--Boil in a delicately clean pipkin, a full gill of water, sugar say three ounces, and any flavonring you like-cinnamon, cloves, ginger, lemon, &c.-until they form a thick syrup. When this is boiling pour in a pint of wine and stir gently till nearly boiling again, when serve. The beaten yolks of two or three eggs or a roasted apple or two are sometimes added. Egg-Hot. Beat up the yolks of three eggs and the white of one in a teacupful of table ale, with a little nutmeg; in the meantime have upon the fire a quart of the same kind of ale; when it is nearly boiling add the eggs thus beaten up, and let the boiling finish very gently, stirring the whole time; when it has thickened pour it into a jug containing about a quartern of brandy and three ounces of red and black cherries-half of each of loaf sugar; have another jug-mash; add a quart of brandy, and handy, and pour backwards and forwards for three or four minutes before serving. Egg-Flip.-By substituting rum or gin for the brandy you have egg-flip. let it stand for twenty-four hours; strain through a bag, sweeten with loaf sugar, and add a stick of cinnamon; let it stand covered for a month. Then bottle and put a lump of sugar into each; or, the cherries may be left whole, and put into bottles, and Port Negus.-Put a pint of fruity port into a large jug; rub the rind of a lemon off with some lump sugar-covered with the brandy. It then resay four ounces; then add the juice, quires to be kept some months before strained. Grate a little nutmeg over using. it, and pour on to this mixture a quart of boiling water. When a little cool this is fit for use. Sherry Negus.-Proceed in the same way. Liqueurs. Raspberry Vinegar. Take four pounds of picked raspberries, bruise and place them in a jar, and pour over half a pint of vinegar; cover down air-tight, and let stand in the sun for two days, keeping it in a warm place during the night. Then put it in a jelly-bag, and let run through. For every pint take a pound of loaf sugar, and boil sharply until the scum rises; skim, bottle, and cork well. Brandy Bitters.-Put into a pint of pale brandy half an ounce of finelycut fresh, and a quarter of an ounce of powdered dried orange and lemonpeel. Let this remain for ten or twelve days, corked down, and well shaken twice a day. Filter through white blotting paper, and dissolve in it a couple of ounces of loaf sugar. English Noyeau.-Blanch and pound three ounces of almonds-half sweet and half bitter; mix them with a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Then boil half a pint of new milk, let it get cold and then add to the almonds and sugar. Then add the rinds of three lemons, thinly cut, one tablespoonful of honey; and a quart of good gin, or Irish whisky; mix well, and let stand in a jar for a fortnight, shaking frequently. Then filter through blotting paper, and bottle off into small bottles; cork tightly and seal. Any bruised plum, apricot or peach kernels may be added. Cherry Brandy.-Take six pounds Orange Brandy. To a gallon of brandy and eight oranges, use a pound of sugar. Steep the parings of the oranges, with a little lemon-peel, in the brandy for a fortnight, covered down. Then boil the sugar in a quart of water; skim, and add (cold) to the liquor. Strain, and bottle. Many persons add the orange juice. Distilling. How to Distil.--In chemistry, distillation is the art of drawing off the spirituous, watery, oily, or saline parts of a mixed body, and collecting and condensing them by cold. Brandy, rum, gin, and whiskey are all products of distillation, but as the making such spirits in small quantities is expensive and troublesome, we need only describe the processes necessary for such domestic distillation, as the preparation of perfumes, &c. In old times domestic distillation was more common than in our own day, but we yet possess a relic of the practice in the terms "stillroom" and "still room-maid." For the distilling of perfumes, &c., where direct heat is not injurious, the very simple apparatus of which we sible, and the stili should not be give an illustration is sufficient. It is brought in immediate contact with a glass retort suspended over a spirit the fire. When essential oils are lamp, with its point luted into the distilled with spirit, the distillation mouth of a glass receiver, this receiver should never be carried on very rapidly, being put in water, which must be but the vapour should be allowed, renewed from time to time so as to when condensing, to come out in large keep it cool. drops, and not in a continuous stream. Domestic distillation is of two kinds; first, for perfumed or medicinal waters made by drawing of the vapour from a boiling infusion of plants, seeds, &c.; secondly, for distilling mixtures of essential oils and alcohol. In the first the leaves or flowers of the plants to be employed are placed in the still with just sufficient water to keep them from burning, and the vapour is driven over as long as it yields a fine liquid well impregnated with the virtue of the plant, stopping the distillation when this ceases to be the case; it is always advisable to throw away what comes over for the first three or four minutes, as it has seldom the necessary degree of strength. Some plants in distillation give out a large quantity of essential oil; where this is the case, the oil may be either collected and kept separately, or left in the bulk of the liquid. If instead of water, the plants be distilled in spirits of wine, the spirit used should be as tasteless and odourless as pos In distilling plants or flowers, of whatever kind, with water, it is essential that the leaves should be freshly collected, and that the flowers should be gathered before sunrise; the distillation should be carried on rapidly. The quantity of water used should never be more than sufficient to prevent the plants from burning, and after the first distillation, a fresh quantity of plants or leaves should be distilled with the water from the previous distillation, adding only a small quantity of fresh water, and repeating the distillation according to the degree of strength required. It is almost impossible to get much of the essential oil from plants by a first distillation, and as it is this oil which constitutes the principal virtue, the redistillation becomes important, for although it may be separated afterwards to a great extent, the water is well saturated by it. For Receipts see Perfumes, &c. END OF SECTION III. IV. DOMESTIC CHEMISTRY. out into small moulds to cool ; adding a few drops of any perfume. Soaps, in all their varieties, consist of certain proportions of grease and alkaline salts, to which resin and scents Lemon Soap.-Take two ounces of are added in greater or lesser quanti- | lemon juice; one ounce of oil of bitter ties. The common yellow soap is a almonds; one ounce of oil of tartar; compound of tallow, resin, and soda; and two ounces of Venice soap. Stir and what is called honey soap is only the mixture (cold) until the different yellow soap slightly refined and scent- ingredients are thoroughly blended, ted. The actual process of cleansing, and it has acquired the consistency of and the reason why soap cleanses, is honey; then put it up in small china this-soap consists of lixivial salts, boxes. alkalies, and tallow, and the greater part of the dirt on linen, clothes, &c., consists of oily perspiration, grease, and the dust which such grease attracts. In cold water these matters are insoluble; but in warm water, to which alkalies have in any way been added, the greasy dirt unites with the salts, and becomes saponaceous, and so far soluble as that it may be soon washed out. This is the secret of all washing powders; and in washing our hands we, in fact, perform a real chemical experiment. Many kinds of soap are prepared for the toilet; the following are among the best : Toilette Soap.-Take four ounces of Castile soap, slice it down into a pewter jar, and cover with alcohol; place the jar in a vessel of water at such a heat as will cause the spirit to boil, when the soap will soon dissolve; then put the jar, closely covered, in a warm place until the liquor is clarified; take off any scum that may appear on the surface, and pour it carefully from the dregs; then put it into the jar again, and place it in the vessel of hot water distilling all the spirits that arise; dry the remaining mass in the air for a few days, when a white transparent soap will be obtained, free from impurities, and void of smell. In this way the best fancy soaps of the shops are prepared. To colour this soap, add a smali quantity of any of the vegetable dyes. Then expose the jar to a gentle heat, and pour the soap Musk Soap.-Take four ounces of dried root of mallows in fine powder, four ounces of rice powder, two ounces of oil of tar, two ounces of oil of sweet almonds, six ounces of Florentine iris root, and one drachm of essence of musk. Blend the whole thoroughly, and make it up into a stiff paste with orange flower water; then mould into round balls or cakes. Wash-balls.-Shave thin two pounds of new white soap into about a teacupful of rose-water, then pour as much boiling water on as will soften it. Put into a brass pan a pint of sweet oil, one ounce of oil of almonds, half a pound of spermaceti, and set all over the fire till dissolved; then add the soap and half an ounce of camphor in powder, with a few drops of lavender-water, or any other scent. Boil ten minutes, then pour it into a basin, and stir it till it is thick enough to roll up into hard balls, which must then be done as soon as possible. Windsor Soap.-Scrape some of the best white soap very thin, melt it in a stewpan over a slow fire, scent it well with oil of caraway, or other odour, and pour it into a mould. After standing three or four days in a dry place, cut it into square pieces. Washing Powders are best bought ready made.-But much soap and labour is saved by dissolving alum and chalk in bran-water, in which the linen is to be boiled, then well rinsed out, and bleached. Soap may even be rendered superfluous, or nearly so, in Rose Vinegar for the Toilet.-Gather a quantity of rose leaves, and put them in a clean basin; then add two pennyworth of pure acetic acid, diluted with half a pint of water (cold); pour on the rose leaves, and cover well from the air. Macerate for four days; then strain off the fluid, and add a drop or two of otto of rose (or not at pleasure). Of course the above can be made in larger quanties, only observing the same proportions. Elder Flower Water.-Pick a quantity of the flowers, put them into a jug, and pour boiling water upon them. Let the decoction stand till it is quite cold, and then strain through a piece of muslin. It is an excellent wash for the face, and removes freckles when merely produced by the summer heat. The wash can be made strong, and can be used as frequently as desired; but one or two applications a day are usually sufficient. Gowland's Lotion.-Blanched bitter almonds, two ounces; blanched sweet almonds, one ounce; beat to a paste, add distilled water, one quart; mix well, strain, put into a bottle, add corrosive sublimate in powder, twenty grains, dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of spirit of wine, and shake well. Used to impart softness to the skin; and also as a wash for obstinate, eruptive diseases. Wet the skin with it, either by means of the corner of a napkin, or the fingers dipped into it, and then gently wipe off with a dry cloth. Wash for the Face.-The following is a cheap and perfectly harmless wash to remove the disagreeable effects of perspiration on the face and other parts of the body:-Procure compound spirits of ammonia, and place about two tablespoonfuls in a basin of water. Washing the face, hands, and arms with this, leaves the skin clean, sweet, and fresh. Perfumes Are in a general way best prepared by the chemists, but a few receipts for the more useful kinds are here given. Lavender Water.-Best English oil of lavender, four drachms; oil of cloves, half a drachm; musk, five grains; best spirits of wine, six ounces; water, one ounce. Mix the oil of lavender with a little of the spirits first, then add the other ingredients, and let it stand, being kept well corked for at least two months before it is used, shaking it frequently. Eau de Cologne.-Take one gallon of white brandy; sage and thyme, of each one drachm; balm-mint and spear-mint, of each one ounce; calamus aromaticus, one drachm; root of angelica, one drachm; camphor, one drachm; petals of roses and violets, of each a quarter of an ounce; flowers of lavender, one eighth of an ounce; flower of orange, one drachm; wormwood, one drachm; nutmegs, cloves, cassia, lignea, mace, of each one drachm. One orange and one lemon, cut in pieces. Allow the whole to macerate in the spirit during twenty-four hours; then distil off a pint by the heat of a water bath. Add to the product, essence of lemons, of cedrat, of balm-mint, of lavender, each one drachm; neroli and essence of the seed of anthos, each one drachm; essence of jasmin and of bergamot, one drachm. Filter and preserve for use.-Or, strong spirits of wine, four pints; neroli, essence of cedrat, orange, citron, bergamot, and rosemary, of each twenty-four drops; lesser cardamom seeds, two drachms. Distil off three pints in a glass retort and receiver.-Or, spirits of wine, two pints; essence of citron and bergamot, two drachms; essence of cedrat, one drachm; essence of lavender, half a drachm; essence of orange-flowers, and tincture of ambergris, of each ten drops; tincture of musk, half a drachm; tincture of benzoin, three drachms; essence of roses, two drops. Mix, and filter. Perfume for Handkerchiefs.-Oil of lavender, three fluid drachms; oil of bergamot, three fluid drachms; |