The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-06-02
A Cheap Country Paint.

Major Alvord, in one of his letters, gives
the following receipt for farmers paint
"a method of painting farm buildings and
country houses, while by no means new, is
vet so little known, and so deserving of
wider application, as to warrant descrip-
ton. The paint has but two parts, both
cheap materials, being water-lime or hydrau-
lie cement and skinned milk. The cement
is placed in bucket. and the skim milk,
sweet, is gradually added, stirring constantly,
until Just about the consistency Of good
cream. The stirring must be thoroughly
done to have an even flow, and if too thin
the mixture will run on the building and
look streaked. The proportions cannot sc
exactly stated, but gallon of milk requires
full quart of cement, and sometimes
little more This is . convenient quantity
to mix at time, for one person to use. 1t
too much is prepared, the cement will settle
and harden before all is used. A fiat paint
brush, about four inches wide, is the best
implement to use with this mixture. Lay
it on exactly as with oil paint 1t can be
applied to woodwork, old or new, and to
brick and stone. When dry the color is
light, creamy brown, or what some would
call yellowish stone color. Neither ex-
preston describes it we'll, but it is a very
good color for a country building. A pig
ment like ochre may be added to change
the color, but it Is very difficult to do the
mixing so thoroughly as to give az even
tint. If attempted, the cement and color.
ing matter, in carefully weighed proper
tions, should be first run through paint
mill. This skim-milk paint, well mixed,
without added color, has good body, gives
smooth, satisfactory finish, on either
wood or stone, aRd wears admirably,
A friend of mine used this paint foF q
set of farm buildings, which have since
passed through three winters, and are now
looking fresh and well. One building was
new, and the covering boards imperfectly
seasoned; others bad been whitewashed,
some repeatedly for more thaR half CEN
fury. All appear equally well. The older
buildings were prepared by scraping off the
loose and scaly whitewash, the scraper be-
ing curry-comb; it was not much work to
do this. Inc expense OF tnls piece "
painting was surprisingly slight. A laborer
at $3.50 day did the work, and he GOV.
cred tzo-0tory, twelve-room house in six
working days. He laid on from three to
four gallons day, the whole quantity used
on this building being less than busbel of
cement, costing fifty cents, and twenty-five
gallons Of skim milk, worth less than
dollar on the farm. The whole cost Of
satisfactorily painting a good.siaed house.
brush included, was below S12.
This painting mixture, so easily and
cheaply prepared, was described in recipe
books years ago, but knowledge of it was
revived by Gen. LIE Due while he was
United States commissioner Of agriculture.
He mentioned an instance of country
house within his personal knowledge, the
body of which was covered with skim-milk
and cement, and the trimmings with lead
and oil paint, forty-6ye years before he de-
scribed it; during this period the trimming
paint bad been renewed several times, but
the cheap body color remained well pre-
served.