The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-01-02
ANCIENT SECRETS.
Priceless Recipes That Are Now
Lost to the World.
c0l0RS OF THE OLD MASTERS.
They Are the Envy and the Despair OF
Modern Artists, to Whom Their
Composition Is Mystery-Greek
Fire and Roman Mortar.

Modern Artists, to Whom Their
Composition Is Mystery-Greek
Fire and Roman Mortar.
Numerous are the trade secrets hand
ed down generation by generation
from father 10 son. and vast is the
capital made out of some OF them in
the commercial world Of today.
Particularly, perhaps, is this the case
among the numerous manufacturers of
piquant sauces and the countless vend-
ers Of patent medicines.
But there is also. 1t must be remem-
bered, another side TO the case. Many,
alas. are the priceless trade secrets
buried far down below the moldering
dust of the misty past and lost to the
world. perchance never again to be re-
covered.
To cite the first example that occurs
to the mind of the writer, for instance,
what would Royal academician of the
present day give TO be possessed of the
secret held by the old masters-Ra-
phael. Rubens, Correggios Van Dyck
and their compression mixing their
colors so as TO render them imperish-
able and impervious to the ravage of
time?
The red colors especially Of these
artists of a bygone epoch are every
whit as bright now as they were
three long centuries ago. On the
contrary, the colOrs Of pictures paint
ed only 100 years ago have lost their
luster and are faded and decayed to
q deplorable extent
Again, in the world of music, the
manufacturers Of violins-old masters. !
as one may justifiably term them, in |
another branch Of art-treasured a
recipe for varnish that sank into the |
wood Of their Incompatible instru-
ments and mellOwed it as well as pre-
served It.
With such extreme. relentless jeal- |
ousy, however. did they guard their
great secret that 1t. too, is lost, to all
appearances. irretrievably.
Rather more than 100 years ago
there lived in a quaint old world vii
iage IN Wales working blacksmith
who had managed by some means or
other to bring the welding OF steel to
such a pitch Of perfection that the
Joint was absolutely invisible and the !.
<emper Of the steel as fine as on the =.
Gay \ LEFT the testers hands. By big
process be Was able to Join the very c
finest Of sword blades. and after he
had finished with them they were alb t
solutely as good and as sound as when Q
they had left the factory. l
The blacksmith's fame spread far d
and wide, and. naturally enough, he at
Gained great reputation, but he made
a point Of Invariably working in soil !,
tpde. He was offered large and tempt
Ing sums to divulge his secret, but
kept IT obstinately to himself, and
when bis span of life had run its
course be took 1t with him to another Q
world. f
The ancient Greeks had a substance /,
which We call Greek fire and which O
hey used In naval warfare. Z
Their method Of employing 1t was
imply this-to throw the substance
lpon the surface of the water, where
{ famed up and set fire to the ships
4 the enemy. What was it3
The only known substance Of the 4
'resent day that would do this is the 4
METAL potassium, but to set FIRE to a 4
hip In the manner described would I
lecessitate the use of at least half q 4
on of the metal. Where did the 4
sreeks obtain the substance they used Z
With such effect? Or how did they
make 1t? II Greek fire was potassium }
be secret of the process is another
hat must be numbered with the lost.
The man who could disinter the
'uried recipe for Roman mortar would
'e bowed down to and worshiped by
he builders of the present day. How
hey made it is profound secret and I
ids fair to remain so. Z
The mortar is as firm now as It was Z
900 years ago. 1t has calmly scOffed :
{ the ravages of time and weather. }
The above are but few-a very
ew-Of the lost and buried secrets of
nfiquity which modern scientists and
would give much TO
Answers.