About the middle of the month* Beans, and Peas may be sown in sheltered situations. To sow peas at this season of the year, draw drills four inches deep and four feet apart; scatter the seed of the earliest sorts regularly in the drills, and cover with three inches of earth. If there be symptoms of hard frost, cover the drills with about three inches in depth of light tan or vege table mould. When the peas have vegetated, before they have got up to the covering, draw in with a rake or hoe, to one side of the rows; and when the peas are coming through the ground, if the weather be severe, the covering should again be drawn over and about them. Where there is a proved this plant, that stalks can be gathered from plants degenerate; it is, therefore, a general rule seedlings in the first year; and consequently rais-not to keep an artichoke plantation longer than ing from seed is now the general mode of propa- four or at the most six years. Scarcely any kind gating rhubarb. Sow in light deep earth, in spring, of or wire-worm ever touches roots of and the plants, if kept eight or nine inches asunder, artichokes; consequently they unto the relent will be fit for transplanting in autumn, and for preparative for a afrop of onions, shalot, or use the next spring. When the roots are divided, garlic. care must be taken to retain a bud on the crown of each section; they may be planted at once where they are finally to remain. Rhubarb should always be planted in a shaded or northern situation, if the garden contains such a one, as their stems will be finer and better when not too much exposed to the sun; and as most other plants require more light, the rhubarb occupies a situation not appropriate for many others. A rich but porous soil is the best. The plants should not be nearer together than two feet every way. A dressing of well-rotted manure should be stirred into the earth about them every autumn. No further cultivation is necessary, than keeping the ground free from weeds, and occasionally stirring it, during sum-close paling or a wall, standing in an east and mer, with a three-pronged fork. Such a plantation will continue good many years. The flower stalks should never be allowed to produce flowers. When taking the stalks for use, remove a little earth, and bending down the leaf you wish to remove, slip it off from the crown, without breaking it, or using a knife. The stalks are fit for use when the leaves are half expanded; but a larger produce is obtained by letting them remain till in full expansion, as is practised by the market gardeners. Rhubarb is easily forced: some treat it like seakale, covering the roots allowed to remain in the ground with pots or boxes, and surrounding them with fermenting stable-litter. By taking up the roots in November, and planting them in pots in a rich soil, and keeping them in a dark and warm place, the stems will be grown sufficiently to afford a supply at Christmas; or they may be planted in rotten dung which has been previously placed in a dark cellar or shed; they will commence growing, provided they are kept sufficiently damp. Rhu barb grown in this manner, the stalks being partially etiolated, possesses a delicacy and flavour superior to that grown in the open air. Not only tarts and pies, but delicious jam and jelly, as well as a good imitation of Rhenish wine, can be produced from the rhubarb stalk. The Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus) is a native of the south of Europe, and was introduced to this country in 1548. It requires a deep, cool, dry soil; and is propagated by parting the roots in April, the sets being planted out in rows four or five feet asunder, and two feet apart in the rows. The young plants generally afford a crop the first season, which succeeds that of the old ones, and for this reason in some gardens a new plantation is made every year. During summer, they require no other attention than to be kept clear of weeds. In November the decayed stems and leaves must be removed, the ground cleared, and a litter of straw, or the refuse of a stable yard, to the depth of a foot, drawn up close round the base of the leaves, in order to protect the plant from frost. In April, this litter should be taken away, the stools examined, and two or three only of the strongest shoots permitted to remain; the offsets afford materials for a young plantation. Some well-rotted dung, or fresh sea-weed, should be dug into the ground each year, in November, at the time of the winter dressing. In a few years these west position, a row of peas may be sown on the south side of it, and if they are carefully defended from rigorous frosts and heavy rains, and trained up against the wall in spring, a crop of very early peas may be obtained. Mice, by eating the seed, do great injury to the early bean and pea crops; they are also particularly fond of, and very destructive to the roots of crocuses. An excellent trap for these predaceous little animals, is made by half filling a pickling jar-such as will hold two or three quarts with water, and sinking it to the rim between the rows of peas or beans; rub a little dripping, or fat of any kind round the inside of the rim of the jar; and the trap is set and baited. It is surprising the number of mice that a few such jars will entrap in the course of a single night. Every spare piece of ground should be dug and turned up into ridges, whenever the weather per mits; but do not dig or trench when the ground is in a wet state. Take an opportunity when the ground is frozen to wheel out manure for next season's crops. Lay each barrowful in a compact heap, and cover it with a little earth; this will prevent the virtues of the manure from being ex hausted by the action of the atmosphere, or washed away by heavy rains. It is not proper to let these heaps lie too long, for in that case the spots under them will be too much manured, and the intervening spaces too little; consequently the crops will grow unequally, and are often partly lost. man. W. P. TRADITION often attributes the discovery of the secrets of nature to the instincts of the inferior animals, rather than by the science, or sagacity of Thus Bladud was lured by hogs to the hot fountains that sprung up in the valley, ere the Romans founded Bath; in like manner, Chelten ham is said to be indebted to a flight of pigeons for the discovery of its medicinal springs. The fondness of these birds for salt is well known, and there seems nothing improbable in the idea that their instincts might have led them to pools whose edges would naturally be encrusted with the s line crystals by the evaporation caused by the sun. 6.1 grusu YU# See Gardening for January." THE upon the surface of a painting, and it is therefore better to employ mild measures first, then if they fail, to use stronger; or in the event of these pot succeeding, to very carefully apply the strongest. AMATEUR'S AND MECHANIC'S For our own part, we prefer leaving the painting FRIEND. in a half-cleaned state, as it sometimes happens that, with the most scrupulous eare, under expe No. VIII-CLEANING, TRANSFERRING, MEND-rienced persons, some of the fine touches or ING AND VARNISHING OIL PAINTINGS; AND THE PRESERVATION OF PICTURES GENERALLY. CLEANING. The art of cleaning oil paintings has been very much neglected, and several valuable pictures have been destroyed in consequence of the persons operating upon them employing the same means for removing all kinds of dirt, as they do for dust and varnish commingled, so that frequently a valuable painting has actually been scoured away. delicate tints of a painting are damaged by the process. When we state this, we mean only such pictures as are covered with insoluble varnishes-varnishes of gum-resins, or old oil varnishes, which cannot well be removed without injury to the painting. Most paintings are varnished, and as the nature of the varnish differs, so also must the means by which they are removed. In some cases it is better to allow the varnish to remain untouched, than to interfere with it, as the painting might be damaged in the latter instance. The materials required consist of water, olive oil, pearl-ashes, soap, spirits of wine, oil of turpentine; sponge, woollen and linen rags; essence of lemons, and stale bread crumbs. Varnishes of long standing are very difficult to remove, as they generally consist of linseed oil combined with gum resins, and if not easily taken off by the means given below, it is better to leave them as they were. To remove these varnishes, use spirits of wine in the manner recommended for coated dirt; or, oil of turpentine, which requires greater care than the spirit of wine; or, warm olive oil: but if the varnish is very hard, the painting should be washed by means of a sponge, with a warm solution of pearl-ash (an ounce to a pint of water), until the coating is removed, when the surface must be washed well with fresh water frequently renewed. TRANSFERRING.-The art of removing paint Salable Varnishes, such as sugar, glue, honey, gum arabic, isinglass, white of egg, and dirt gene-ings in oil from the cloth or wood on which they rally, may be removed by employing hot water. To know when the painting is varnished or coated with such materials, moisten some part with water, which will become clammy to the touch. To clean the picture, lay it horizontally upon a table or some convenient place, and go over the whole surface with a sponge dipped in boiling water, which should be used freely until the coating begins to soften; then the heat must be lowered gradually as the varnish is removed. If, however, the coating is not easily removed, gentle friction with stále bread crumbs, a damp linen cloth, or the end of the forefinger, will generally effect it, or assist in doing so.. White of egg may be removed (if that coagulated by heat), by using an excess of albumen (white of egg), and cold water; but if coagulated, by employing a weak solution of a caustic alkali as potash. were originally done, or from the canvas to which they might have been previously transferred, to new cloth, requires the greatest care and nicety of manipulation throughout the process, otherwise the paintings will become damaged. It is advisable for persons to commence with an old painting of no value, until they have acquired a little experience in the process; for in some instances, the coats of paint are very thinly spread upon the cloth or wood; in others, the wood contains knots, and is so tough that considerable difficulty is experienced in removing the painting; and lastly, great care is required in destroying the texture of the cloth, as well as removing it, especially the linen affixed to the face of the picture. Coated dirt is removed by washing with warm water, then covering with spirit of wine, renewed for ten minutes, and washing off with water, but without rubbing. The process is to be repeated until the whole is removed. Spots should be washed with warm water, dried with soft linen rags, and covered with olive oil warmed; after the oil has remained on the spots for twenty minutes, gentle friction with the finger should be used, the foul oil wiped off and fresh laid son, until the spot disappears. Should this fail, spirits of wine, essence of lemons or oil of turpentine may be carefully applied, observing that only such parts as are dirty must be covered with them; they are to be cleaned off first with water and then with olive oil. Sometimes even these means fail, and then strong soap-suds, applied directly to the spots, and retained there until they soften or disappear, will prove effectual. The spots must then be washed with water. In employing these means, as indeed through Out the whole process of cleaning, the greatest care should be taken in removing any coating Materials.-The crumb of a stale loaf cut into slices, some soft linen, fan-paper, nails (copper are best), strained glue, old sheeting, bordering wax, hydrochloric acid, a blanket, and some new canvas, are all that are required. The Instruments comprise a dabber, hammer, carpenter's plane, rasp or file, leaden weights, and a sponge. To prepare the glue.-Melt half a pound of common glue, add half an ounce of brown sugar, and strain through a cloth. When required for use, stand the vessel containing it in hot water, but do not put it over the fire. To prepare the painting.Rub the face of the painting very gently, in a circular direction, with a slice of the crumb of a stale loaf; then wipe it from above, downwards, with some very soft linen, and lay it, with the face downwards, on an even table covered with fan-paper. Sponge the old canvas on the back with boiling water until it be comes soft, and thoroughly soaked; then turn the picture with the face upwards, and stretch evenly on the table, by nailing it down at the edges. Melt a sufficient quantity of the prepared glue, and spread some evenly on a piece of old sheeting the size of the painting; when dry, give it another coat, and let it dry. A coat must now be spread over the face of the painting, and the glued sheeting immediately placed over it evenly, and nailed down to the picture at the edges. The glue must not be too hot when applied to the face of the picture, as it would injure the colours, and blister the surface. As soon as the linen facing is nailed down, go over the whole surface with the dabber, or a towel formed into a ball, in such a manner as to compress every part gently and firmly. Then remove the table with the painting nailed on it to a place where it will be exposed to the heat of the sun, but protected from rain and dust, and let it remain there until the glue is perfectly dry and hard; then remove the nails, and take the picture from the table. To destroy the old canvas.-Place the painting face downwards, stretch, and nail to the table as before, and place a wall of bordering wax (p. 104) round the edge, in the same manner as for etching; then pour hydrochloric acid, diluted to such a degree that it will destroy the canvas without injuring the oil of the painting. The only way that the necessary strength of the diluted acid can be determined, is by trying it upon a small spot, when, if it destroys the thread of the canvas without discolouring it, the necessary strength is obtained. The difficulty experienced in fixing any definite strength arises from the various ways the canvas is sometimes prepared, or its being covered with impurities. When the texture of the canvas is destroyed, a notch must be cut in the wax at one end, the table tilted up, and the acid poured off into a convenient vessel. The back must now be washed well with fresh water, frequently renewed, and the threads of the canvas carefully picked away; if any part of the canvas adheres firmly, it must not be torn away, but touched with a little of the acid, diluted rather more than before, until it can be easily removed. All the old canvas being removed, the whole of the surface should be well washed with fresh water, by sponging it, so as to remove all traces of the acid, and dried by passing a soft sponge over it. To detect any trace of the acid, add a little sesquicarbonate of soda to the water that the surface is sponged with. If effervescence takes place, the acid has not been entirely removed, and the water now employed may do so, which can be tested by placing small pieces of blue litmus paper on various parts of the surface, which will turn red if any acid is present. To re-back the painting.-When the surface is thoroughly dry, a piece of new canvas, the size of the painting, must be fastened to it by means of the prepared glue (which should have a little spirits of wine added to it), in the manner recommended above for protecting the face; and when it has been compressed with the dabber, some flat leaden weights should be laid upon it. Care must be taken in using the weights, that they do not bruise or cut the paint by their edges, and also to remove and wipe them occasionally. To destroy the linen facing.-When the glue has set, the weights should be removed, and the painting left until the glue has become perfectly dry and hard. Then the whole must be turned with the linen side upwards, the bordering wax placed round the edges, the diluted acid poured on, and the linen destroyed in the same manner as the canvas was before; but greater care must be taken with respect to the strengh of the diluted acid, and removing the threads of the linen, because the face of the painting is only defended by a slight coating of glue. To remove the glue from the face of the picture. -Wash well with hot water, applied by means of a sponge, which should be frequently cleansed during the operation, and when all the glue is removed, the surface should be gently wiped with some soft linen, allowed to dry, and afterwards varnished as directed in the latter part of this Number. To transfer from Wood.-When the wood has been detached from its original position, the face of the painting must be covered with linen, in the same manner as a painting on canvas; and when the glue is firm and dry, it must be laid, face downwards, on a blanket doubled and spread over a table. The wood is then to be fixed firmly, and the back planed away until as thin as it is possible to make it without endangering the painting. If there are any knots, they must be rasped or filed away very carefully. When the wood is reduced thin enough, it is to be bordered with wax, destroyed with acid, and the various steps of the whole process for the paintings on canvas proceeded with until transferred and varnished. MENDING. A variety of causes contribute to tear or destroy old paintings. Among the rest, we may mention the cheap rate at which they are procured abroad, where money is scarce. They are generally cut or torn from their frames, and rolled up, which of course rends, cracks, or other wise destroys them. We have purchased paintings of considerable merit-copies of the old masters -on the borders of the Great Sea, for sums we are almost ashamed to say would scarcely pay for paints and canvas, but which would realize a good round sum if brought to the hammer at home. The materials required consist of new canvas, refuse paint from the smudge-pan, linseed oil, hog's-hair brush, flat leaden weights, pumice stone, the various coloured oil paints required, a table, and a penknife. When the pictures are only torn, or cut without loss of substance, they should be laid with the painted surface under, on a flat and even table, or, what is better, a marble slab. The torn, or divided parts, are to be carefully brought together, and then cemented by a little paint from the smudge-pan, mixed with some good drying lin seed oil, which is to be rubbed into the fissure with the point of the forefinger, and then a coat of it laid over the joining with a brush. The picture is to be left on the table or slab, until the paint is thoroughly dry; and it is sometimes neces sary to use weights to keep it in a proper position, especially when there are several rents, or divided parts, in the same painting. When dry, the picture must be turned, the inequalities on the sur face carefully removed with a penknife and small flat piece of pumice-stone, and the mended part or parts afterwards coloured to correspond with the picture. When there is loss of substance, in addition to a rent-in fact, a hole, remove the rough, jagged parts that cannot be brought in apposition, with penknife. Lay the picture, face downwards, a flat table, then draw on a piece of canvas the outline of the hole, and allow at least two inches all round the outline; cut it square, cover the edges of the hole with the cement used above, and also the canvas patch; then lay on the piece, and rub in a circular direction with the forefinger until it adheres firmly, after which it is to be left to dry. When dry, the painting must be turned, and the hole filled up with the cement, leaving it rather above the surface of the picture, to allow for drying, and if too high when dry, it must be pared down with a penknife, smoothed with pumice-stone, and, lastly, painted in accordance with the picture. When the canvas is only worn, remove such threads as interfere with the perfect equality of the surface, and cover with a coat of the paint cement by means of a brush. Prepare a piece of canvas larger than the defective part, smear the surface with a little of the cement, lay it over the damaged part, and press it close with a cloth. The picture is to be laid on a flat table, and repaired at the back as directed before. When a picture is cut or torn into several pieces, the parts must be placed together, then joined and cemented in the proper places, and backed by a piece of fresh canvas by the means given above. VARNISHING.-Oil paintings are varnished to protect them from injury, whether the result of chemical or mechanical causes, and to give a brilliancy to their colouring. Varnishes for pictures should be capable of being easily spread without leaving pores or cavities, able to resist the action of the atmosphere, and not liable to crack or scale, and should be white, light, and quite transparent, so as not to impart any tint to the colours, either by combination, or their own colouring. Another essential property is that of being easily removed without injuring the picture. Varnishes should be kept in clean, dry, wellcorked bottles, with a label on each. Materials-Flat, or varnish brushes of two sizes, and mastic, copal, and white lac varnishes. Some persons employ a solution of gum arabic, the whites of eggs, isinglass size, and oil varnishes, # but they are bad. To lay on the varnish.-Observe that the painting is thoroughly dry, and the surface free from dust or dirt; then spread the varnish over the painting quickly, evenly, and not too thick, taking care that the strokes are broad, and that they do not cross one another. One coat should be quite dry before the next is applied, and it is better always to apply the varnish in a warm place, to prevent chilling. If the first coat becomes dull, or rough, it should be removed, and a fresh one applied. Turpentine varnish should be laid on gently and sparingly at a time, because the oil of turpentine is liable to combine with the colours and destroy the effect of the painting. It spreads easier, and is not so liable to chill as spirit varnish. The varnishes may be procured at any good colour shop, or made according to the directions given at pages 115 and 116, vol. ii. PRESERVING PICTURES.-The chief thing to attend to in the preservation of pictures is to exclude the dust and air. A very simple method for preserving watercolour, coloured chalk, and other drawings, is to cover them with a plate of glass in front, and a piece of millboard behind, then paste a narrow strip of coloured paper along the edges, so as to fasten the whole together. Run a piece of narrow tape, about two inches long, through a small curtain ring, affix to the back in the centre of the upper part of the picture with strong glue, and cover all, the back with a piece of coloured paper. Oil paintings are preserved by varnishing, as directed above. Fresco and varnish paintings only require to be protected from violence. Water-colour drawings, paintings on ivory, or card-board, engravings and prints, require only to be simply framed and glazed. Pencils, charcoal, or crayon, and coloured or plain chalk drawings, should be fixed as directed at p. 11, Appendix, vol. ii., if for the portfolio'or album, and framed and glazed if not. Distemper paintings should be varnished with isinglass size, and honey, one part of the latter to twenty of the former. Daguerreotypes should be framed and glazed. Charts, elevations of buildings, &c., maps, prints, tabular and diagrammatic illustrations, require to be mounted upon linen, calico, or canvas, and varnished. USEFUL RECEIPTS. For Setting Pencil and Chalk Drawings.-Put a small quantity of water into a tea kettle, place it on the fire until the steam is well up, then hold the drawing in the steam; as it rolls up, reverse it and steam the back; repeat this for two or three minutes. It may be afterwards lightly washed over with milk and water, or thin size; when nearly dry, place it between two flat surfaces slightly wetted above, or mount it upon previously stretched mounting-paper.-D. For a Cough.-Having an excellent receipt for a cough, I take the liberty of enclosing it to you: Half an ounce of marsh-mallow root, half an ounce of liquorice root, both shred fine; boil in a pint and a half of water until reduced to a pint. Strain it, sweeten to taste with brown sugarcandy. Take half a tea-cup full in the same quantity of new milk, three times a day, particularly fasting, and the last thing before going to bed. Asses' milk may be more effectual, when it agrees with the patient.-A. M. Remedy for the Rheumatism, Lumbago, Sprains, Bruises, Chilblains (before they are broken), and Bites of Insects.-One raw egg well beaten, half a pint of vinegar, one ounce of spirits of turpentine, a quarter of an ounce of spirits of wine, a quarter of an ounce of camphor. These ingredients to be beaten well together, then put in a bottle and shaken for ten minutes, after which to be corked down tightly to exclude the air. In half an hour it is fit for use.-Directions.-To be well rubbed in two, three, or four times a day. For rheumatism in the head, to be rubbed at the back of the neck, and behind the ears. This liniment can be made at home for 9d.; if not made at home, the chemist should be told to follow the prescription exactly. This has been strongly recommended to us by those who have applied it extensively.] PRACTICAL PUZZLE, No. XX. 6' 5 Cur a piece of thin wood the shape indicated by the diagram, and having perforated it as above, draw a piece of string, with a smaller heart attached at the end, through No. 1, pass it behind, and bring it through 2 before, and through 3, and so on to 6, when a loop must be made so as to enclose that part of the string which runs from 2 to 3. The puzzle is to remove the string from the large heart altogether, without unfastening the loop. ENIGMAS, CHARADES, REBUSES, &c. 1. BEHOLD a king appears to view, 2. Next see a butcher fierce and sly, or Surely our laws must be remiss, 3. When Spring arrays the fields in green, 4. I'm an adverb, used to affirm what is true; 5. In wandering through fields on a fine autuma ere Of me you will sometimes complain; Extend o'er the land and the sea; About six, if you call, you'll probably find M. A. T Complete, I have left you-I am not her Behead me, and only one can appear; My last take away, progression I mean Reverse it, a word of denial is seen. |