Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

320 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTin a basin, pour the floating liquor off the sedimentinto a small pan or cup, put the latter in a largervessel that has a little boiling water in the bottom,and keep up a boiling heat until the liquor is somewhatthick; then spread this substance on a dish andplace it before a fire till it becomes nearly dry.In this state it can be kept for years in a pot coveredwith paper, without undergoing any alteration.Touse it, dissolve a piece the size of a pea in a tablespoonfulof water. It makes ink or watercolorsspread evenly on parchment, paper, or ivory. Acoating of it sets lead-pencil or crayon marks so thatthey cannot be removed. It is also used far takingout spots of grease or oil.Translucejit Parchment.—^To make parchmenttranslucent, as for a window: take a raw skin, curried,and dried on a stretcher without any preservative;steep it in an infusion of water, boiledhoney, and the white of eggs.Another method is to soak a thin skin of parchmentin a strong lye of wood ashes, often wringingit out, until you find that it is partly transparent;then stretch it on a frame and let it dry. This wilJbe improved and made rain-proof if, after it is dry,you coat it on both sides with a clear mastic varnish,made as directed below.Unsized paper or a thin skin is made waterproofand translucent by applying lightly to both sides avarnish made by putting ^ ounce gum mastic in 6ounces best spirits of turpentine, and shaking it upthoroughly, day by day, until dissolved. The bottleshould be kept in a warm place while contents aredissolving.Or, use equal parts Canada balsam (fir balsam)and turpentine: this dries slowly, but is flexible likemap varnish.Or, dissolve J^ ounce beeswax in J4 pint turpentine.