PR – SH

To Preserve Milk (which should be as fresh as possible) there should be added enough hydrogen peroxide to cause it to be completely decomposed by the enzymes of the milk. For this purpose 1.3 per cent, by volume, of a 3 per cent hydrogen peroxide solution is required. The milk is well shaken and kept for 5 hours at 122° to 125° F. in well-closed vessels. Upon cooling, it may keep fresh for about a month and also to retain its natural fresh taste. With this process, if pure milk is used, the ordinary disease germs are killed off soon after milking and the milk sterilized. Powdered Cork as a Preservative.— Tests have shown that powdered cork is very efficacious for packing and preserving fruits and vegetables. A bed of cork is placed at the bottom of the case, and the fruits or vegetables and the cork are then disposed in alternate layers, with a final one of cork at the top. Care should be taken to fill up the interstices, in order to prevent friction. Fruit may thus be kept fresh a year, provided any unsound parts have been removed preliminarily. When unpacking for sale, it suffices to plunge the fruit into water. Generally speaking, 50 pounds of cork go with 1,000 or 1,200 pounds of fruit. The cork serves as a protection against cold, heat, and humidity. Various fruits, such as grapes, mandarines, tomatoes, and early vegetables, are successfully packed in this way. Petrifying Wooden Objects.— Take equal parts of Rock Salt or Table Salt, Rock Alum (Commercial Lump Alum), White Vinegar, Chalk and (powdered) Pebbles. (You can substitute for the latter any kind of coarse quartz sand). Mix all together—ebullition will ensue. After it has ceased, throw some wooden objects into the solution and let them soak for five days, at the end of which time they will be transformed into petrifaction. Note: This formula really will not petrify the wood, but will cover it with a very nice coat of crystals. As the solution evaporates, it leaves the crystals on the wood which appear as the wood dries. Colored effects may be obtained by using some colored salts, such as potassium, chromate or copper sulphate, but these are poisonous if tasted. PRINTS, RESTORATION OF.— See Engravings. PUFFINESS UNDER EYES.— Apply every night before retiring with a bit of cotton, or a very soft brush. PUMICE STONE.— While emery is used for polishing tools, polishing sand for stones and glass, ferric oxide for fine glassware, and lime and felt for metals, pumice stone is more frequently employed for polishing softer objects. Natural pumice stone presents but little firmness, and the search has therefore been made to replace the natural product with an artificial one. An artificial stone has been produced by means of sandstone and clay, designed to be used for a variety of purposes. No. 1, hard or soft, with coarse grain, is designed for leather and waterproof garments, and for the industries of felt and wool; No. 2, hard and soft, of average grain, is designed for work in stucco and sculptors' use, and for rubbing down wood before painting; No. 3, soft, with fine grain, is used for polishing wood and tin articles; No. 4, of average hardness, with fine grain, is used for giving to wood a surface previous to polishing with oil; No. 5, hard, with fine grain, is employed for metal work and stones, especially lithographic stones. These artificial products are utilized in the same manner as the volcanic products. For giving a smooth surface to wood, the operation is dry; but for finishing, the product is diluted with oil. PUMICE-STONE SOAP.— See Soaps. PUNCHES.— See Ice Creams. PUNCTURE CEMENT.— See Cement. PURPLE OF CASSIUS.— See Gold. Putty.— (See also Lutes, under Adhesives and Cements.) Common putty, as used by carpenters, painters, and glaziers, is whiting mixed with linseed oil to the consistency of dough. Plasterers use a fine lime mortar that is called putty. Jewelers use a tin oxide for polishing, called putty powder or putz powder. (See Putz Powder, under Jewelers' Polishes, under Polishes.)