Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 299

3. (Hanc.o.c.k's Patent.) By spreading the liquid juice of the caoutchouc tree upon the inner surface of the goods, and allowing them to dry in the air. Absolutely chimerical.

4. (Potter's Patent.) The cloth is first imbued on the wrong side with a solution of isingla.s.s, alum, and soap, by means of a brush; when dry, it is brushed on the same side against the grain, and then gone over with a brush dipped in water. Impervious to water, but not to air.

5. (Sievier's Patent.) By applying first a solution of India rubber in oil of turpentine, and afterwards another india rubber varnish, rendered very dry by the use of driers. On this, wool or other material of which the fabric is made, cut into proper lengths, is spread, and the whole pa.s.sed through a press, whereby the surface acquires a nap or pile.

6. A simple method of rendering cloth waterproof, without being airproof, is to spread it on any smooth surface, and to rub the wrong side with a lump of bees wax (perfectly pure and free from grease), until it presents a light, but even, white or greyish appearance; a hot iron is then to be pa.s.sed over it, and the cloth being brushed whilst warm, the process is complete. When the operation has been skilfully performed, a candle may be blown out through the cloth, if coa.r.s.e, and yet a piece of the same, placed across an inverted hat, may have several gla.s.sfuls of water poured into the hollow formed by it, without any of the liquid pa.s.sing through.

Pressure or friction will alone make it do so. "We have shown this to numerous cloth-manufacturers, waterproofers, tailors, and others, several of whom have adopted the method very extensively, and with perfect success." (Cooley.)

7. About the year 1862 a patent was taken out by Dr Stenhouse for employing paraffin as a means of rendering leather waterproof, as well as the various textile and felted fabrics; and in August, 1864, an additional patent was granted to him for an extension of and improvement on the previous one, which consisted chiefly in combining the paraffin with various proportions of drying oils, it having been found that paraffin alone, especially when applied to fabrics, became to a considerable extent detached from the fibre of the cloth after a short time, owing to its great tendency to crystallise. The presence, however, of even a small quant.i.ty of drying oil causes the paraffin to adhere much more firmly to the texture of the cloth, from the oil gradually becoming converted into a tenacious resin by absorption of oxygen.

In the application of paraffin for waterproofing purposes it is first melted along with the requisite quant.i.ty of drying oil and cast into blocks. This composition can then be applied to fabrics by rubbing them over with a block of it, either cold or gently warmed, or the mixture may be melted and laid on with a brush, the complete impregnation being effected by subsequently pa.s.sing it between hot rollers. When this paraffin mixture has been applied to cloth such as that employed for blinds or tents, it renders it very repellant to water, although still pervious to air.

Cloth paraffined in this manner forms an excellent basis for such articles as capes, tarpaulins, &c., which require to be rendered quite impervious by subsequently coating them with drying oil, the paraffin in a great measure preventing the well-known injurious effect of drying oil on the fibre of the cloth. The paraffin mixture can also be advantageously applied to the various kinds of leather. One of the most convenient ways of effecting this is to coat the skins or manufactured articles, such as boots, shoes, harness, pump-buckets, &c., with the melted composition, and then to gently heat the articles until it is entirely absorbed. When leather is impregnated with the mixture, it is not only rendered perfectly waterproof, but also stronger and more durable. The beneficial effects of this process are peculiarly observable in the case of boots and shoes, which it renders very firm without destroying their elasticity. It therefore not only makes them exceedingly durable, but possesses an advantage over ordinary dabbing in not interfering with the polish of these articles, which, on the whole, it rather improves.

The superiority of paraffin over most other materials for some kinds of waterproofing consists in its comparative cheapness, in being easily applied, and in not materially altering the colour of fabrics, which in the case of light shades and white cloth is of very considerable importance.

8. A waterproof packing cloth which does not break may be made by covering the fabric with the following varnish:--2 lbs. of soft (potash) soap is dissolved in water and mixed with an aqueous solution of sulphate of iron.

The washed and dried soap is dissolved in 3 lbs. of linseed oil, in which 1/5 lb. of caoutchouc has been previously dissolved.

=WATERPROOF LIQUID.= _Prep._ 1. India rubber, in fragments, 1 oz.; boiled oil, 1 pint; dissolve by heat, carefully applied, then stir in of hot boiled oil, 1 pint, and remove the vessel from the fire.

2. Boiled oil, 1 pint; beeswax and yellow resin, of each 2 oz.; melt them together.

3. Salad oil, 1 pint; mutton suet, 1/4 lb.; white wax and spermaceti, of each 1 oz.; as the last. For 'ladies' work.'

4. Bisulphide of carbon, 2 oz.; gutta percha, 1/2 oz.; asphaltum, 2 oz.; brown amber, 1/2 oz.; linseed oil, 1 oz. Mix. Dissolve the gutta percha in the bisulphide of carbon, the asphalte and amber in the oil, and mix well.

_Obs._ The above are used for boots, shoes, harness, leather straps, leather trunks, &c., applied warm before the fire.

=WAX.= _Syn._ BEESWAX, YELLOW W.; CERA (Ph. L.), CERA FLAVA (B. P., Ph. E.

& D.), L. The substance which forms the cells of bees; obtained by melting the comb in water, after the honey has been removed, straining the liquid ma.s.s, remelting the defecated portion, and casting it into cakes.

Pure beeswax has a pleasant ceraceous odour, a pale yellowish-brown colour, and the sp. gr. 960 to 965. It is brittle at 32, softens and becomes plastic at 88 or 90, and melts at 154 to 155 Fahr. "It becomes kneadable at about 85, and its behaviour while worked between finger and thumb is characteristic. A piece the size of a pea being worked in the hand till tough with the warmth, then placed upon the thumb, and forcibly stroked down with the forefinger, curls up, following the finger, and is marked by it with longitudinal streaks." (B. S. Proctor.) It is very frequently adulterated with farina, resin, and mutton suet or stearin. Dr Normandy met with a sample containing 23% of effloresced sulphate of soda.

The first may be detected by oil of turpentine, which dissolves only the wax,--the second, by its solubility in cold alcohol, and by its terebinthinate taste,--the third and fourth, even when forming less than 2% of the wax, may be detected by it affording sebacic acid on distillation. When greasy matter is present in any considerable quant.i.ty, it may also be detected by the suspected sample having an unctuous feel and a disagreeable taste. A spurious beeswax met with in the American markets, is described in 'New Remedies' for 1877, and is said to have been a very clever imitation externally of the genuine substance, which it closely resembled in appearance, colour, fracture, bitterness, pliability, and odour. Upon a.n.a.lysis it was found to be composed of 60 parts of paraffin and 40 parts of yellow resin covered with a thin coating of true beeswax. The specific quant.i.ty of the counterfeit article was identical with that of many samples of genuine beeswax. Saline matter may be detected by the loss of weight, when a weighed quant.i.ty of the wax is boiled in water. Heavy substances, as chalk, plaster of Paris, white lead, oxide of zinc, &c., may also be thus separated, since they subside, owing to their superior gravity, to the bottom of the vessel. The rough mealy fracture of pure wax is rendered finer grained, smoother, and duller, by the addition of lard or spermaceti, and becomes sparkling and more granular by the addition of resin. (Proctor.)

[Note: 'Chem. Central,', 1872, No. 29.]

[Transcriber's Note: The publisher omitted the corresponding tag in the text.]

=Wax, Bleached.= See WAX, WHITE (_below_).

=Wax, Carnauba.=[265] The leaves of the Carnauba tree (_Copernicia cerifera_), a South American palm, have lately become a very important source for the supply of large quant.i.ties of vegetable wax. Carnauba wax is extensively used in the manufacture of candles. Mr Consul Morgan, in a paper laid before Parliament in 1876, on the trade and commerce of Brazil, states "that the exportation of this wax is calculated at 871,400 kilos; exceeding in value reis 1,500,000, or 162,500."

[Footnote 265: 'Ph. Journal,' vol. vi, 3rd series, p. 745.]

=Wax, Etching.= See ETCHING GROUND and VARNISH.

=Wax, Facti"tious.= _Syn._ CERA FLAVA FACt.i.tIA, L. A spurious compound, sold by the farriers' druggists for veterinary purposes.

_Prep._ 1. From yellow resin, 16 lbs.; hard mutton suet or stearin, 8 lbs.; palm oil, 2-1/2 lbs.; melted together.

2. As last, but subst.i.tuting turmeric, 1 lb., for the palm oil.

3. Best annotta, 6 oz., or q. s.; water, 1 gal.; boil; add, of hard mutton suet or stearin, 35 lbs.; yellow resin, 70 lbs.; again boil, with constant agitation, until perfectly mixed and of a proper colour, and, as soon as it begins to thicken, pour it out into basins to cool. When cold, rub each cake over with a little potato starch.

=Wax, Gilder's.= See GILDING.

=Wax, Mod'eling.= _Prep._ Take of beeswax, lead plaster, olive oil, and yellow resin, equal parts; whiting, q. s. to form a paste; mix well, and roll it into sticks. Colours may be added at will.

=Wax, Refined.= Crude wax, especially that imported, is generally loaded with dirt, bees, and other foreign matter. To free it from these substances, it undergoes the operation of 'refining.' This is done by melting the wax along with about 4 or 5% of water in a bright copper or stone-ware boiler, preferably heated by steam, and, after the whole is perfectly liquid, and has boiled for some minutes, withdrawing the heat, and sprinkling over its surface a little oil of vitriol, in the proportion of about 5 or 6 fl. oz. to every cwt. of wax. This operation should be conducted with great care and circ.u.mspection; as, when done carelessly, the melted wax froths up, and boils over the sides of the pan. The acid should also be well scattered over the whole surface. The melted wax is next covered over, and left for some hours to settle, or until it becomes sufficiently cool to be drawn off for 'moulding.' It is then very gently skimmed with a hot ladle, baled or decanted into hot tin 'jacks,' and by means of these poured into basins, where it is left to cool. Great care must be taken not to disturb the sediment. When no more clear wax can be drawn off, the remainder in the melting-pan is allowed to cool, and the cake, or 'foot,' as it called, is taken out, and the impurities (mostly bees) sc.r.a.ped from its under surface. The sc.r.a.ped cake is usually reserved for a second operation; but if required, it may be at once remelted, and strained through canvas into a mould.

Much of the foreign wax has a pale, dirty colour, which renders it, no matter however pure, objectionable to the retail purchaser. Such wax undergoes the operation of 'colouring' as well as 'refining.' A small quant.i.ty of the best roll annotta, cut into slices (1/4 lb., more or less, to wax, 1 cwt., depending on the paleness of the latter), is put into a clean boiler with about a gallon of water, and boiled for some time, or until it is perfectly dissolved, when a few ladlefuls of the melted wax are added, and the boiling continued until the wax has taken up all the colour, or until the water is mostly evaporated. The portion of wax thus treated has now a deep orange colour, and is added, in quant.i.ty as required, to the remainder of the melted wax in the larger boiler until the proper shade of colour is produced when cold; the whole being well mixed, and a sample of it cooled now and then, to ascertain when enough has been added. The copper is next brought to a boil, and treated with oil of vitriol, &c., as before. Some persons add palm oil (bright) to the wax, until it gets sufficient colour, but this plan is objectionable from the quant.i.ty required for the purpose being often so large as to injure the quality of the product; besides which the colour produced is inferior, and less transparent and permanent than that given by annotta.

Another method of refining crude wax, and which produces a very bright article, is to melt it in a large earthen or stoneware vessel, heated by steam or a salt-water bath, then to cautiously add to it about 1% of concentrated nitric acid, and to continue the boiling until nitrous fumes cease to be evolved, after which the whole is allowed to settle, and is treated as before.

_Obs._ The great art in the above process is to produce a wax which shall at once be 'bright,' or semi-translucent in thin places, and good coloured. The former is best ensured by allowing the melted ma.s.s to settle well, and by carefully skimming and decanting the clear portion without disturbing the sediment. It should not be poured into the moulds too warm, as, in that case, it is apt to 'separate,' and the resulting cakes to be 'streaky,' or of different shades of colour. Again, it should be allowed to cool very slowly. When cooled rapidly, especially if a current of air fall upon its surface, it is apt to crack, and to form cakes full of fissures. Some persons, who are very nice about their wax, have the cakes polished with a stiff brush when quite cold and hard. It is absolutely necessary that the 'jacks' or cans, ladles, and skimmers, used in the above process, be kept pretty hot, as without this precaution the wax cools, and acc.u.mulates upon them in such quant.i.ty as to render them inconvenient, and often quite useless, without being constantly sc.r.a.ped out.

=Wax, Seal'ing.= _Prep._ 1. (RED.)--_a._ Take of sh.e.l.l-lac (very pale), 4 oz.; cautiously melt it in a bright copper pan over a clear charcoal fire, and when fused, add of Venice turpentine, 1-1/4 oz.; mix, and further add of vermilion, 3 oz.; remove the pan from the fire, cool a little, weigh it into pieces, and roll them into circular sticks on a warm marble slab by means of a polished wooden block; or it may be poured into moulds whilst in a state of fusion. Some persons polish the sticks with a rag until quite cold.--_b._ From sh.e.l.l-lac, 3 lbs.; Venice turpentine, 1-1/4 lb.; finest cinnabar, 2 lbs.; mix as before Both the above are 'fine,'--_c._ As the last, but using 1/2 less of vermillion. Inferior.--_d._ Resin, 4 lbs.; sh.e.l.l-lac, 2 lbs.; Venice turpentine and red lead, of each 1-1/2 lb.; as before. Common.

2. (BLACK.)--_a._ From sh.e.l.l-lac, 60 parts; finest ivory black, reduced to an impalpable powder, 30 parts; Venice turpentine, 20 parts. Fine.--_b._ Resin, 6 lbs.; sh.e.l.l-lac and Venice turpentine, of each 2 lbs.; lampblack, q. s. Inferior.

3. (GOLD-COLOURED.) By stirring gold-coloured mica spangles or talc, or aurum musivum, into the melted resins just before they begin to cool.

Fine.

4. (MARBLED.) By mixing 2 or 3 different coloured kinds just as they begin to grow solid.

5. (SOFT.)--_a._ (Red.) Take of beeswax, 8 parts; olive oil, 5 parts; melt, and add, of Venice turpentine, 15 parts; red lead, to colour.--_b._ (Green.) As the last, but subst.i.tuting powdered verdigris for red lead.

Both are used for sealing official doc.u.ments kept in tin boxes; also as a cement.

6. (BOTTLE WAX.)--_a._ (Black.) From black resin, 6-1/2 lbs.; beeswax, 1/2 lb.; finely powdered ivory black, 1-1/2 lb.; melted together.--_b._ (Red.) As the last, but subst.i.tute Venetian red or red lead for ivory black.

_Obs._ All the above forms for 'fine' wax produce 'superfine' by employing the best qualities of the ingredients; and 'extra superfine,' or 'scented,' by adding 1% of balsam of Peru or liquid storax to the ingredients when considerably cooled. The 'variegated' and 'fancy coloured kinds,' are commonly scented with a little essence of musk or ambergris, or any of the more fragrant essential oils. The addition of a little camphor, or spirit of wine, makes sealing-wax burn easier. Sealing-wax containing resin, or too much turpentine, runs into thin drops at the flame of a candle.

=Wax, White.= _Syn._ BLEACHED WAX; CERA ALBA (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L.

_Prep._ From pure beeswax, by exposing it in thin flakes to the action of the sun, wind, and rain, frequently changing the surface thus exposed, by remelting it, and reducing it again to thin flakes. Used in making candles, and in white ointments, pommades, &c., for the sake of its colour. Block white wax (CERA ALBA IN Ma.s.sIS) is the above when cast into blocks; the best foreign is always in this form. Virgin wax (CAKE WHITE WAX; CERA ALBA IN OFFIS) should be the last made into round flat cakes; but this is seldom the case, the mixture sold under the name generally containing from 1-3rd to 1-2nd its weight of spermaceti. The 'white wax'

supplied by certain wholesale druggists to their customers is often totally unfit for the purposes to which it is applied. Spermaceti is constantly added to the white wax of commerce, to improve its colour. Mr B. S. Proctor states that wholesale houses of the highest reputation supply an article, as white cake wax, which is in many cases half spermaceti, and in some as much as two thirds spermaceti to one of wax.[266]

[Footnote 266: See articles on "Adulteration of Wax," and "Subst.i.tutes for Wax," in 'Chemist and Druggist,' vol. iv, 1863.]

=WEATHER, Effects of, on Health.= The 'Medical Press and Circular'

says:--"We are in the midst of a severe winter (1878), and as hygiene is the order of the day, we cannot be too particular in impressing upon the public certain facts which are too often disregarded. Few are aware of the killing powers of intense cold and great heat, even in this comparatively temperate climate. Those who have been in the habit, as we have, of watching the returns of the Registrar-General, well know how quickly the death-rate rises during even a short continuance of cold weather. Now that the increase in the mortality affects chiefly the young and the old, as well as those who are either suffering from, or are predisposed to, affections of the chest and throat, indicates the cla.s.s of people who should be especially careful to protect themselves against the inclemency of the weather. With regard to children, the system of 'hardening' them, by allowing them to go thinly clad, and exposing them to all sorts of weather, is a delusion from which the minds of some parents are even now not altogether free. It is thought that if their chest is kept warm, there is no need of caring about their arms and legs. But that is a great mistake. In proportion as the upper and lower extremities are well clothed will the circulation be kept up and determined to the surface of those parts, and in proportion to the quickness and equable distribution of the circulation will be the protection against those internal congestions which are but the first stage of the most fatal diseases of infancy and childhood. The same observation holds good with respect to grown-up people who are predisposed to pulmonary complaints.

There is no exaggeration in saying that the mortality from these and other affections would be considerably diminished were people to avoid that 'catching cold,' of which they so often and so lightly speak; and it is a matter of surprise to us that this fact, of which most of us are aware, does not lead to more precautions being taken by those who are anxious about either their own health or that of others. To take care that the body is thoroughly warm and well-clothed just before going out in very wet or very cold weather--to keep up the circulation and warmth of the body rather by exercise of some kind than by sitting over great fires or in overheated rooms--to be sure that the temperature of the sleeping apartments is not ever so many degrees below that of the sitting-room--these are three golden maxims, attention to which would prevent thousands from catching that 'chill' or 'cold' to the results of which so many valuable lives have been prematurely sacrificed."

=WEIGHT.= The quant.i.ty of a body determined by means of a balance, and expressed in terms having reference to some known standard; the measure of the force of gravity, from which the relative quant.i.ty of a body is inferred. The relation between the weight and volume of a body, compared to a given standard taken as unity, const.i.tutes its specific gravity.

For the purpose of weighing, a balance or lever is required, which, when accurately suspended in a state of equilibrium, will be affected, in precisely an equal manner, by like weights applied to its extremities.

Hence, the construction of such an instrument is not more difficult than its application is important in chemical and philosophical research.

Oertling, the most celebrated maker of the chemical balance, constructs this important instrument in seven different varieties, more or less elaborate. The largest of these, with a 16-inch beam, will carry 2 lbs. in each pan, and yet turn with 1/100th of a grain. A balance with arms of unequal length or weight will weigh as accurately as another of the same workmans.h.i.+p with equal arms, provided the substance weighed be removed and standard weights placed in the same scale until the equilibrium be again restored, when the weights so employed, being exactly in the same condition as the substance previously occupying the scale, will, of course, indicate its proper weight. A knowledge of this fact is useful, as it enables any one to weigh correctly with unequal scales, or with any suspended lever.