The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-12-16

polling water, and when cool pour it into
y99r Dottle and fill it up with cold water,
aauulng Two or three drops Of acetic acid. To
la .. the wire to the cork or bung, make a
sh ana pass the wire along it, then compress
tne wire slightly and put the tree in bottle
Wnen the legs will spring out against the
SIDES. 1t Is better not to allow the wires to
tauch bottom. After about five minutes the
Spelter (Which must be under water will
Dlacken, and in an hour or so will seem to
swell out, and in the course Of a day or two
tne wires will be covered with lead crystals,
giving most beautiful effect. Sulphate of
zinc Will do instead of the acetate of LEAD but
IL taxes longer and is not so nice.
ALUM BASKETS.
Obtain very small wire basket, wind
lamp cotton round every part, and fill it
with cllnkers from stove. Suspend this In
solution OF alum mixed in the proportion
OF one pound to quart of water. in which it
has boiled until dissolved. Do not let the
basket touch the sides of the pan or become
exposed to the air.
1t should remain immersed and quite still
for twenty-four hours. When taken out, at
the end OF that time, and dried in slow
LIKED.
The best way to preserve it is to place the
basket beneath a glass SHADE, and let sau-
Ger containing water be also put there to
Keep the atmosphere moist and prevent the
crystals becoming too dry.
Any other object besides basket will, of
course, serve equally well, and different hues
dered turmeric to the hot solution to obtain
yellow, litmus for red, logwood for purple,
and common writing ink for black II sui
phate Of copper be used intead of alum, the
CRYSTALS will be blue.
Very beautiful variegated crystals are OBJ
tainable by taking a half-ounce each of the
sulphate OF iron (green vitrioD, zinc white
vltrloD, magnesia, alum, soda and potash,
Dissolve these separately, and afterward
pour them together. Now let them rest, and
when the water has evaporated and the
crystals are dry, they are, like Joseph's coat,
Of many colrrs. These, however, are apt to
''hy," or fade.
SILVER GENERALIZATION.
Spread over sheetof glass few drops of
nitrate silver, diluted with twice the guam
tlty OF distilled water. Place upon the
glass, and in contact with the fluid, a copper
wire bent to any fanciful design, and let this
remain undisturbed in horizontal position.
In few houas capitalization of metallic
silver will appear upon the glass and spread
until the field is decomposed.
Another experiment may be made by put
ting ten drops of the solution of nitrate of
silver into wine glass of distilled water. A
slip OF copper Immersed In this will speedily
have the silxer precipitated upon it in bril-
liant metallic form.
sTAR-LIKE CRYSTALS.
To three ounces of diluted nitric acid in
glass bottle add gradually two ounces of
small pieces of bismuth. Nitrate of blsmuth
will thus be formed, and the solution should
be treated to gentle heat to produce the
crystallzations, which are very perfect.
CAMPHoR cRYsTALLIzED.
Dissolve camphor in moderately heated
alcohal. When the spirit will not dissolve
more, pour the solution into a cold glass, and
il will Immediately appear in beautiful tree
like forms.