2471. To Kill c.o.c.kroaches.

A teacupful of well-bruised plaster of Paris, mixed with double the quant.i.ty of oatmeal, to which a little sugar may be added, although this last-named ingredient is not essential. Strew it on the floor, or in the c.h.i.n.ks where they frequent.

2472. Earwigs.

Earwigs are very destructive insects, their favourite food being the petals of roses, pinks, dahlias, and other flowers. They may be caught by driving stakes into the ground, and placing on each an inverted flower-pot, for the earwigs will climb up and take refuge under the pot, when they may be taken out and killed. Clean bowls of tobacco-pipes, placed in like manner on the tops of smaller sticks, are very good traps: or very deep holes may be made in the ground with a crowbar, into which they will fall, and may be destroyed by boiling water.

2473. To Destroy Ants.

Drop some quicklime on the mouth of their nest, and wash it in with boiling water; or dissolve some camphor in spirits of wine, then mix with water, and pour into their haunts; or tobacco-water, which has been found effectual. They are averse to strong scents. Camphor, or a sponge saturated with creosote, will prevent their infesting a cupboard. To prevent their climbing up trees, place a ring of tar about the trunk, or a circle of rag moistened occasionally with creosote.

2474. To Prevent Moths.

In the month of April or May, beat your fur garments well with a small cane or elastic stick, then wrap them up in linen, without pressing the fur too hard, and put betwixt the folds some camphor in small lumps; then put your furs in this state in boxes well closed. When the furs are wanted for use, beat them well as before, and expose them for twenty-four hours to the air, which will take away the smell of the camphor. If the fur has long hair, as bear or fox, add to the camphor an equal quant.i.ty of black pepper in powder.

2475. To get rid of Moths.

i. Procure shavings of cedar wood, and enclose in muslin bags, which can be distributed freely among the clothes.

ii. Procure shavings of camphor wood, and enclose in bags.

iii. Sprinkle pimento (allspice) berries among the clothes.

iv. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of the musk plant.

v. To destroy the eggs--when deposited in woollen cloths, &c., use a solution of acetate of potash in spirits of rosemary, fifteen grains to the pint.

2476. Bugs.

Spirits of naphtha rubbed with a small painter's brush into every part of a bedstead is a certain way of getting rid of bugs. The mattress and binding of the bed should be examined, and the same process attended to, as they generally harbour more in these parts than in the bedstead. Three pennyworth of naphtha is sufficient for one bed.

2477. Bug Poison.

Proof spirit, one pint; camphor, two ounces; oil of turpentine, four ounces: corrosive sublimate, one ounce, mix. A correspondent says,

"I have been for a long time troubled with bugs, and never could get rid of them by any clean and expeditious method, until a friend told me to suspend a small bag of camphor to the bed, just in the centre, overhead. I did so, and the enemy was most effectually repulsed, and has not made his appearance since--not even for a reconnaissance!"

This is a simple method of getting rid of these pests, and is worth a trial to see if it be effectual in other cases.

2478. Mixture for Destroying Flies (1).

Infusion of qua.s.sia, one pint; brown sugar, four ounces; ground pepper, two ounces. To be well mixed together, and put in small shallow dishes when required.

2479. To Destroy Flies (2).

To destroy flies in a room, take half a teaspoonful of black pepper in powder, one teaspoonful of brown sugar, and one tablespoonful of cream, mix them well together, and place them in the room on a plate, where the flies are troublesome, and they will soon disappear.

[WHEN APPEt.i.tE COMMANDS, THE POCKET PAYS.]

2480. Flies (3).

Cold green tea, very strong and sweetened with sugar, will, when set about the room in saucers, attract flies and destroy them.

2481. Inks.

There are many receipts published for making ink; the following is as useful and economical a mode of producing good ink as any of them:

2482. Dr. Ure's Ink.

For twelve gallons of ink take twelve pounds of bruised galls, five pounds of gum, five pounds of green sulphate of iron, and twelve gallons of rain-water. Boil the galls with nine gallons of the water for three hours, adding fresh water to supply that lost in vapour; let the decoction settle, and draw off the clear liquor. Add to it the gum, previously dissolved in one and a half gallons of water; dissolve the green vitriol separately in one and a half gallons of water, and mix the whole.

2483. Ink Powder.

Ink powder is formed of the dry ingredients for ink, powdered and mixed. Powdered galls, two pounds; powdered green vitriol, one pound; powdered gum, eight ounces. Two ounces of this mixture will make one pint of ink. Cost: galls, 1s. 4d. per pound; green vitriol, 1d. per pound; powdered gum, 1s. 5d. per pound.

2484. Red Writing Ink.

Best ground Brazil wood, four ounces; diluted acetic acid, one pint; alum, half an ounce. Boil the ingredients slowly in an enamelled vessel for one hour, strain, and add an ounce of gum.

2485. Marking Ink without Preparation.

There are several receipts for this ink, but the following is said to be one of the best of its kind:

Dissolve separately, one ounce of nitrate of silver, and one and a half ounce of best washing soda in distilled or rain water. Mix the solutions, and collect and wash the precipitate in a filter; whilst still moist, rub it up in a marble or Wedgwood mortar with three drachms of tartaric acid; add two ounces of distilled water, mix six drachms of white sugar, and ten drachms of powdered gum arabic, half an ounce of archil, and water to make up six ounces in measure.

2486a. Ink for Zinc Garden Labels.

Verdigris, one ounce; sal-ammoniac, one ounce; lampblack, half an ounce; water, half a pint. Mix in an earthenware mortar, without using a metal spatula.

_Directions_.--To be shaken before use, and used with a clean _quill_ pen, on bright zinc.

_Note_.--Another kind of ink for zinc is also used, made of chloride of platinum, five grains, dissolved in one ounce of distilled or rain water; but the first, which is much less expensive, answers perfectly, if used as directed, on clean bright zinc.