Liquid Blacking
- Mix a quarter of a pound of ivory black, six gills of vinegar, a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and two large spoonfuls of molasses. Stir the whole well together, and it will then be fit for use. Cement for Mending Broken Vessels. To half a pint of milk put a sufficient quantity of vinegar to curdle it; separate the curd from the whey, and mix the whey with the whites of four eggs, beating the whole well together; when mixed, add a little quick lime through a sieve, until it acquires the consistency of a paste. With this cement broken vessels or cracks can be repaired; it dries quickly, and resists the action of fire and water.
Cement for the Mouths of Corked Bottles. - Melt together a quarter of a pound of sealing-wax, the same quantity of rosin, and a couple of ounces of beeswax. When it froths, stir it with a tallow candle. As soon as it melts, dip the mouths of the corked bottles into it. This is an excellent way to exclude the air from such things as are injured by being exposed to it.
Cement for Broken China, Glass, and Earthenware. Rub the edge of the china or glass with the beaten white of an egg. Tie very finely powdered quick lime in a muslin bag, and sift it thick over the edges of the dishes that have been previously rubbed with the egg. Match and bind the pieces together, and let it remain sound several weeks. This is good cement for every kind of crockery but thick, heavy glass and coarse earthenware; the former cannot be cemented with anything: for the latter, white paint will answer. Paint and match the broken edges, bind them tight together, and let them remain until the paint becomes dry and hard. Milk is a good cement for crockery; the pieces should be matched and bound together tight, then put in cold milk, and let the milk set where it will boil for half an hour; then take it from the fire, and let the crockery remain till the milk is cold. Let the crockery remain bound for several weeks. The Chinese method of mending broken china is to grind flint glass, on a painter's stone, till it is reduced to an impalpable powder; then beat it with the white of an egg, to a froth, and lay it on the edge of the broken pieces; match and bind them firmly together, and let them remain several weeks. It is said that no art will then be able to break it in the same place.