Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/287

 To Waterproof Calico.—Take 3 pints of linseed oil, 1 oz. sugar of lead, 4 ozs. white resin. Grind the sugar of lead with a little of the oil, then add the other ingredients and stir all well together in a large pot over the fire. Tack the calico loosely on a frame and apply the mixture hot with a brush, tent flies are often treated so by the diggers in districts where there are long wet seasons.

To Soften a Saddle—(A bushman's receiptrecipe [sic].)—Mix together one pint of neat's-foot oil, 2 ozs. beef fat, and 2 ozs. bees' wax; mix till quite smooth, then apply with a rag and rub well in. The beauty of this is that the oil never exudes afterwards. All leather can be so treated.

A Good Flexible Paint for Buggy Hoods, etc.—Cut up a bar of good yellow soap and pour over it 5 or 6 quarts of boiling water; while still quite hot stir in as much good oil paint (of the colour preferred) as will make the mixture of the consistency required for use.

To Exterminate White Ants.—Many people object to using arsenic, but there is nothing so effectual in destroying these pests, and there is very little danger to other animal life if properly applied. From the end of November to the beginning of February is the best time to attack them, as it is their season for flying in swarms, and for making new homes. Find them out and if they have settled, make a break in their run, and put in as much arsenic as will lie on a sixpence. In an hour they will have closed up the break. Leave them alone for a few days, and you will find when you look again that they are all cleared out. If they have a great spread you will need to introduce the arsenic in more than one place. On fencing, about every 50 or 60 rods will be frequent enough. It is a mistake to disturb them very much, as in that case the black ants carry off the white and so much of the poison with them. The ants first eat the arsenic, and then the dead bodies until all are destroyed. Keep the arsenic in a small vial (well corked) and apply with a pen or quill. One shilling's worth will be enough to rid twenty buildings of the pest.

To Remove Rust.—Smear the rusted article with oil, let it stand a few hours, and then rub with unslaked lime reduced to a fine powder. Or, make a solution of potassium cyanide (about ½ oz. to 2 ozs. water) then clean with a tooth brush and paste made of potassium cyanide, castile soap, whitening and water, of the consistency of thick cream.

To Preserve Sacks.—Make a tan of bark (about 2 lbs. to the gallon of boiling water, will make a good strong tan), let it stand five or six hours and strain off the clear solution. Soak the sacks in this for thirty-six hours, then wash them in clean water and dry quickly. Treated in this way they will last twice as long as if not done.

Bird Lime (a bush recipe).—Boil one pint of linseed oil with a tablespoonful of resin (powdered) until it forms a stringy paste when cold. If it gets hard too quickly, add a little glycerine.

To Waterproof Cart Coverings.—To one gallon of linseed oil add 1 lb. litharge and 1 oz. of umber. Mix well and cover with 1 oz. of vegetable black. Paint first on one side, and then on the other.

Ingredients: 3 lbs. common soap, 8 quarts of water, 10 tablespoonsful of spirits of turpentine, 7 tablespoonsful of alcohol.

Mode: Cut up the soap and melt in the water. Put into a stone jar and add the turpentine and alcohol; stir well and cork tightly. For washing infected clothes make very hot suds with some of the soap, and let the clothes remain in it for half an hour; then wash out and rinse well.

Soap.—Every farmer should make his own soap. The proportions are 6 lbs. soda, 3 lbs. quick-lime. Boil two hours in three gallons of water. Next