FoodNetArchive

The household (of the Detroit free press)

1886

Page 324

Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Black may be produced by copperas and nut galls, or by japanning with two coats of black japan, after which varnish or polish, or use size and lampblack, previous to laying on japan. A blue satin: One pound of oil of vitriol put in a glass bottle with four ounces indigo ; lay on the same as black. A fine green : Three pints of the strongest vinegar, four ounces best powdered verdi- gris (poison), one-half ounce sap green, one-half ounce indigo. A bright yellow may be stained with aloe ; the whole may be varnished or polished. IMITATION BLACK WALNUT. Poplar or white wood treated as follows will assume the appearance of the finest black walnut : The wood must be dry and warm, and then coated once or twice with a strong aqueous solution of extract of wal- nut peel. When half dried, the wood is brushed with a solution com- pounded of one part, by weight, of bichromate of potassa in five parts of boiling water, and after drying thoroughly is rubbed and polished. The stain penetrates to the depth of from one-twelfth to one-sixth of an inch. PAINTED OR STAINED FLOORS. Do not choose a dark color that will show dust and footprints. A color not far from that of yellow pine, ash or butternut, is better, being more serviceable. A painted floor or a stained floor may each have a stenciled, painted or stained border. The simpler the border the more suitable. A painted border can be stenciled on in a darker shade of brown ; a stained border on a stained floor, in red browns and olives, and outlined neatly 306 WOODS. with black paint. These borders must, of course, be put on before the waxing, and left till the black paint is perfectly dry. The staining of floors and wood-finish is a new departure. The stain is very satisfactory where a tone of color is wished, and yet a paint is not desired. The stain preserves the grain of the wood, and can adapt itself to any other decoration in the room. A dark black-walnut stain shows footprints and dust ; therefore the most serviceable is the natural shade of the pine, only a few shades darker than the pine would be with the oil alone. The color of the Southern pine is a good useful tone for a floor. You may have an olive stain, or the color of the California red- wood, or mahogany color — anything you like. To make the stain, have ready a tin box of prepared paint, and obtain also from the painter a can of oils prepared for floors. This is boiled linseed oil, a little tur- pentine and dryer. Mix this oil with your color till you obtain the desired shade or color. Use more or less oil as you wish the color lighter or darker. Try it on a bit of wood till you get the color you wish. Use raw sienna for the color of southern pine, burnt umber for black walnut, and permanent green and raw umber, or ochre and black* for olives.