Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/114

 dissolve it in the spirit, when it is ready for use. There is another bush gum that makes an equally good varnish, only of a darker colour, but I do not know the name of the tree. Be careful not to take too much varnish on the brush at once and to see that the articles to be done are quite free from dust and grease.

A Good White-wash.—Into a clean cask or wooden tub put one bushel of lime. Over it pour a couple of buckets of boiling water stirring all the time. When the lime has been well slacked, dissolve in water four pounds of sulphate of zinc and two of coarse salt. These are to prevent the wash cracking and slaking off. If preferred, the above may be made cream colour by adding to it three pounds of yellow ochre.

To Paint a Bush Room.—When ordinary paint cannot be afforded this will answer very well. Make the white-wash according to any of the recipes given and then for a blue-grey tint use one part of lamp black and about one and a half parts of indigo. Make a little first to get the desired tint. To obtain a good stone colour mix in some brown ochre. From two to two and a half buckets of wash will do a room of ordinary size.

A Good Furniture Polish.—There is no reason why people should not make their own furniture polish if only they will take the trouble, as it is a troublesome undertaking, the following is an excellent polish if properly mixed. Get from the chemist half an ounce of balsam fir, quarter of an ounce of sulphuric ether, half an ounce of spirits of turpentine. Mix these well together with two ounces of alcohol and two of raw linseed oil. As you add each ingredient shake them well together. For ordinary polishing boiled linseed oil and vinegar is very good. Many housewives use kerosene to polish all their furniture, it should not be used on varnished wood.

French Polish.—To one pint of spirits of wine add half an ounce of shellac, half an ounce of, half an ounce of. Put these ingredients in an enamelled saucepan over a slow fire stirring continually until the gums are melted. It is as well to get the exact quantities made up, as a little too much of one or the other spoils the polish.

Renovater for French Polished Furniture.—Rectified spirits of wine half a pint, shellac two drachms, benzine two drachms. Put these in a bottle and stand near the fire, or in a warm place till dissolved. When cold again, add two tablespoonsful of good linseed oil. Shake well and it will be fit for use.

A Good Furniture Polish.—Put into a tin or enamelled saucepan two ounces of white wax, let it melt and add to it four ounces of spirits of turpentine. Remove from the fire and stir gently till cool when it is ready for use. This is excellent for polishing up old furniture of all kinds and is what is used in many of the secondhand furniture stores.

To Clean Old Furniture.—Articles of furniture bought second-hand at the auction room, may often be made to look like new if well cleaned. Mix together half a pint of linseed oil, quarter of an ounce of resin, quarter of an ounce of gum shellac and half a pint of spirits of wine. Mix well together and apply with a sponge to the furniture and rub in well with a soft linen cloth.