Document pVyLxz5kveabVDrv7wRy0gvX

ABOUT COLORS. 33 The term vermiculus, used by the Moors, massicot to the heat of a furnace with an referred to the insect they called Kermes, expanded surface and free accession of air. and hence it seems the name Kermesino It is of a scarlet color and fine hue, warmer or Cremesino, which has in our time be than common vermilion; bright, but not so come crimson. vivid as the bi-iodide of mercury; though The following brilliant pigment from it has the body and opacity of both these iodine has been improperly called ver pigments, and has Iteen confounded, even milion, and if it should be used to dress or m name, with vermilion, with which it was give unnatural vividness to true vermilion, formerly customary to mix it. When pure may again bring it into disrepute. When and alone, light does not affect its color; . red or orange lead has been substituted for but white lead or any oxide, or preparation or used in adulterating vermilion, muriatic of that metal mixed with it, soon deprives acid applied to such pigments will turn it of color, as acids do also; and impure them more or less white or gray; but pure air will blacken and ultimately metallize it vermillions will not be affected by the acid, On account of its extreme fugitiveness nor will they by pure or caustic alkalies, when mixed with white lead, it cannot be which change the color of the red. of used in tints; but employed, unmixed with iodine. By burning more or less, ver other pigments, in simple varnish or oil not milion may be brought to the color of most rendered drying by any metallic oxide, it of the red ochres. may, under favorable circumstances, stand . IODINE SCARLET Is a new pigment of a vivid and beautiful scarlet color, exceeding the brilliancy of vermilion. It has received several false appellations, but is truly an iodide or bt-iodide of mercury, varying in degrees of intense redness. It has the body and opacity of vermilion, but should be used with an ivory palette knife, as iron and most metals change it to colors varying from yellow to black. Strong light rather a long time; hence red lead has had a variable character for durability. It is in itself, however, an excellent dryer in oil, and has in this view been employed with other i>igments; but, as regards color, it cannot be mixed safely with any other igments than the ochres, earths, and lacks in general Used alone, it answers, however, as a good red paint for common purposes. RED OCHRE deepens and cools it, and impure air soon Is a name proper rather to a class than to utterly destroys its scarlet color, and even an individual pigment, and comprehends metallizes it in substance. The charms of Indian red, light red, Venetian red, scarlet beauty and novelty have recommended it, ochre, Indian ochre, redding, ruddle, bole, particularly to amateurs; and dazzling etc., besides other absurd appellations, such brilliancy might render it valuable for high as English vermilion, and Spanish brown, and fiery effects of color, if any mode of or majolica. r securing it from change should be devised; The red ochres are, for the most part, at any rate it should be used pure and rather hues and tints than definite colors, alone. By time alone these colors vanish or more properly classed with the tertiary, in a thin wash or glaze without apparent semi-neutral and broken colors; they are, ' cause, and they attack almost every metallic nevertheless, often very valuable pigments substance, and some of them even in a dry for their tints in dead coloring, and for state. When used in water, gum ammoniac their permanence, etc, in water, oil, cray seems to secure it from change; and it has ons, distempers and fresco, and in a low been observed that, whem gamboge is tone of coloring have the value of primaries. glazed over it, it preserves its hue with The greater part of them are native pig constancy. ments, found in most countries, and very RED LEAD. abundantly and fine in our own; but some Minium, * or saturine red, is an ancientpig- are productions of manufacture, and we i ment, by some old writers confounded with have produced them in the variety of nature cinnabar, and called sinoper orsynoper, is a by art The following are the most im deutoxide of lead, prepared by subjecting portant of these pigments, most of which are available in .enamel painting; The artificial vermilion used in early manu scripts was termed minium. The name is now, how. ever, used to designate red lead only. INDIAN RED, According to its name, is brought from 0007-SWP-000007155 *3* SUBSTITUTES FOR WHITE LEAD. the effect of the pictures with a seeming bur caused by the blows will hinder the augmented light. head from being screwed on. In hanging pictures much depends on The color of the cord should correspond taste; some will have the bottom edge of with the paper or paint in the room as much the frames round the room to range exactly, while others prefer to see the line broken. Due care tjiust also be exercised so that the shadows of a subject are not placed next to a window, as then the side needing most tight will not recieve it, and a good subject will be spoiled, the owner not knowing why. It is scarcely necessary to mention that as possible, so as not to be notices, as it is no ornament to see cords on the wall. . If two or three tiers have to be arranged, it is necessary sometimes for the top tier to lean forward to obtain a good view of them. This can easily be accomplished by putting in the rings about one third of the distance down the sides of the frame instead of in the top, and the lower the rings are put, the small subjects should be hung down near more forward it will hang. This method is er the eye than subjects with larger fig advantageous where glazed pictures have ures, which can be seen to advantage at to be placed opposite the light, as it helps a little distance. Pictures hung opposite to throw off the reflection. windows are seldom seen to advantage, as the glass or the varnish reflects the light in an unpleasant manner, hiding the picture ' from the person standing in front of them. Where the usual picture cord is used, it should sometimes be looked to, as it is liable to break where it is in contact with the nails and rings, and is constantly get The light in some apartments, too, will ting thinner by stretching from the weight suit some subjects better than others, as of the picture. _ full light thrown on a picture will bring It wilt be seen from the foregoing re out its beauties, while a subject of a differ marks that the seemingly simple work of ent class will be better in a room where picture hanging requires taste and judg there is less light. ment, and that due care must be exercised Brass picture rods are usually placed to make valuable pictures secure in their round the top of a room, but in rooms - positions,--The Paper Hanger. where this is not the case they are secured by nails, cords or chains. In some rooms where the pictures are heavy, they are' SUBSTITUTES FOR WHITE LEAH;* secured by brass plates screwed on to the Th e attempt to introduce some other frame, and then screwed to the wall, and lead compound as a substitute for white this method is preferable, as no cords or lead appears to have a ceaseless charm for chains are seen. Care is required that inventors, in spite of the very long list of nails, cords, chains and rings are strong complete and more or less costly -failures enough, as if either gives way, much dam in that direction. One of the most perse age is the result It is annoying to come vering laborers in this field appears to be down stain in the morning and find a Mr. A. French, who is the proprietor of heavy frame and picture damaged on the several patents for obtaining the much de floor, and the remains of broken vases, sired substitute by means of lead " fumes" etc., smashed in its descent There is to from smelting furnaces. We recently be had gilded wire cord of various thick noticed his proposal to make a black paint nesses, that will not stretch like the usual from the fume by converting it into lead cord employed for the purpose, but even sulphide. He has already patented the this requires looking to at times, as the the qse of the fume, caught in a special' friction and strain on a hook or nail weak condenser of which he was joint patentee ens the wire. with Mr. Wilson, as a white paint. Hy a Where no brass rods are put up, the still later patent he proposes to make use of pictures must be hung on nails or hooks, this fume by acting upon it with hydro- and these should be well secured. It will chlbricacid,andthusproducing an oxychlor sometimes be necessary to plug the wall, ide of lead, which is to give "an excellent but a good hold for a nail is often found at white pigment requiring very little oil to the top of a room. Nails can be had with form white paint, of the consistency of . brass heads, also with heads of white por ordinary white tead." We may take it celain to screw off and on; with these last that the condensed fume of Mr. French's care must be taken in driving them, or the former patent has not been largely adopted i T*- THE PORTFOLIO. 233 as white paint, as he now proposes to further manufacture. The product was very beau act upon it with hydrochloric acid. It is tiful, but it did not succeed in displacing very curious how the same attempts are the white lead, nor even getting used to made over and over again, and how little any extent alongside of it The fact is, inventors trouble themselves to find out that notwithstanding the constant assertions what has been done before them in the of successive inventors that their particular same direction. The preparation of a preparation has the "consistency*' and all white paint from oxychloride of lead was the good qualities of white lead, it has so proposed many years ago by Mr. Pattinson, far invariably been found by the painters inventor of the process for desilverizing that such is not the case, and finally, after lead which bears his name. He worked all the generations of experimenters, white out a very beautiful and successful process lead and the old "Dutch" process for - for preparing the oxychloride direct from making it, still remain practically unaffect galena, and started a works to carry on the ed by their rivals.--Engineering. THE PORTFOLIO. Price Ucu *r Painters. building anil affect the cost of painting. In order Se v e r a l painters who have finished learning to issue a price list which would be of value to thelrttadc, and have saved acme money,nre anxious American painters there must be e uniformity of 10 go into business forthemselves, and have written conditions throughout all the States which in the to us for price lisa end methods of estimating on nature of things is never likely to exist. jobs of decorative work. We presume, from the There are a few uneducated men of excellent crude and imperfect character of the letters re judgment and long experience who succeed very ceived, that the young men who wrote them have well in business. They nuke some blunders, some had very meager educational advantages, and that lailures, yet.win their way to success in time. Hut they expect to find a book which will teil them just there is no certainty in making estimates without n how much to charge for painting a building or a knowledge of values of the material and labor room of a given sire in order to secure a contract involved end the ability to take accurate measure- and be sura of a profit. Wc believe some enter menu, make allowance for varying conditions, and prising publishers in England undertook to get up determine the cost, and odd to it the reasonable such a book, proceeding far enough with their work and necessary percentage of profit. There is no to gather considerable information--enough to sat easy way to do away with the necessity of these isfy them of the falility of their project. In Eng qualification*. Education is 1 necessary basis for a land alone, n country smaller then one of our successful business career. Lacking this, especially larger States, there was found to be so little uni where there is competition, a man must succeed, formity in price* of labor and material and in the if at all.bysuperior energy of will or hy dishonesty. condition of buildings, that it would have heen Presuming that the young painter has some edu aitpost impossible to apply the same prices to two cation, or at least knows how to figure simple different towns. If in England the variableness of arithmetical problems, his first step in dealing with conditions was an obstacle to the issue of a price a customer is 10 find out what kind of a job he list which could not be overcome, how much more ' wishes dona--whether he takes pride in his build- would it prove so in our larger and mora varied lags and does not mind expense if he is pleased, or country. whether he wants the best he can get for little Towns of wealth and culture require a different money. Having ascertained about the sum which order of work from towns which era newer and it is purposed to lay out in painting, the pointer less favored in this respect; wages of workmen will next ascertain what colors art preferred by the will vary according to the character of work they customer, always taking ear* to influence hie choice, do and the cost of living--a dollar being more so that the job when don* will be an artiatic one. powerful in some placet than in others; the prices The dimensions of the portions of the building of materiel will vary according to quality and tome- should then be carefully liken, making libeial whataccording to cost of transportation; the charge allowance for all trimmings, projections, porous for work mum depend largely on the strength of com walls or lumber, brackets, scrolls etc., and meas "I petition between decorators; the condition of the urements taken in square tret. Find out nest how 266 MINERAL SUBSTITUTES. gray stone, which was met by shingles of the same soft color, and beyond that dark olive green weather boarding, which also covered portions ot the second-story, thus intermingling and harmonizing delightfully with the gray shingles. The chimneys, which were outside. of course, were elab orate in construction and afforded all the color effect needed, some black brick being used with the red. A few panels of terra cotta with designs in relief, completed this perfectly simple but quite faultless struct ure. Such a house is a silent teacher. It has purified and elevated public taste when it has shown how superior is the effect of color which is inherent in the structure, to that which is applied purely for decoration. The gray stone, the shingles and the red chimney are real; there is no pretence, no sham, but perfect truth and simplicity. Then, too, the pretty irregularities of sur face, the projections, gables and quaint corners were not intended to make a pic turesque surface on the outside, but to in crease the comfort of the interior. This projection is made by ah alcove, which gives so much more space in the library, that by a recess in the dining room into which the sideboard neatly fits. In other words, instead ofmaking the exterior walls of the house inflexible and compelling the interior to conform to them, (as used to be the custom), the interior is worked out with freedom, consulting convenience in placing windows or in shaping the rooms, and the exterior obliged to confront to it, thus greatly enhancing both comfort and beauty. At this season, when with approaching winter the plants are being housed and window gardening coming into prominence, we wish to tell of a very happy experinwnt of our own with Coleus, Acaranthus and other colored foliage plants. By constant ly heading them down during the summer we had developed unusual beauty and healthfulness in the plants and could not bear to think of leaving them to perish miserably in the cold; so, contrary to. all advice and precedent, we selected the fin est and most shapely of the plants, potted them and placed them in a room with plen ty of sunlight They took the shock of re moval badly at first but after two or three days began to hold up their heads and were soon firm and beautiful as ever. They were then placed in the four windows of the library, the sunlight through the glass streaming full upon them. As seen from within they presented a gorgeous spectacle. In the usual war in foliage beds they had been dull and dead in comparison with the brilliant hues developed by the light shin ing through them. German ivy, on each side of the windows was trained over an arch which enclosed this mass of color like a cathedral window. The plants seemed to like this sheltered position and were soon leaning in with luxuriance toward the window panes, a joy to those within and without, and producing more effect than we have ever before or since seen in window gardening. Mas. t . w . p a r me l e . MINERAL SUBSTITUTES. . A r e c e n t article in Th e Fa in t e r on "Substitutes for White Lead" reasons that became many attempts to introduce substi tutes having been made without securing for them a permanent sale and use, there fore they could not have been of much value. That does not always follow. How many people will believe that muted "pre pared paints" will wear as long as white lead--not all mixed paints, but some of them? Time proves these assertions to be facts, yet very few outside of practical painters will believe it. I am hot writing this to puff anyone's goods. When engaged in the business I nev er used mixed paints that I did not prepare myself. I cannot even say a good word for any special brand, but wish to call at tention to a few facts as they came under my observation, and the result after five years of trial in this changeable, severe climate. . After repeated experiments extending over a period of about fifteen years, { be came satisfied that white lead was not the most durable of all materials used in house painting. Yankee like, I was always ready to try an experiment I knew that yellow ochre was a most durable paint; then why not any other earthy paints of the same firmness, weight and bulk? A certain dry color was offered me (I do not care to do any free advertising, but withhold the name) and I tried it It worked nicely; in fact I 0007-SWP 000007158 MINERAL SUBSTITUTES. *67 was more than pleased with it, because I became convinced that it would spread well and wear well, and that the owners of the building, (a modest frame church) could not fail in being pleased with the work and the small amount of lead which was used. More of it could be added to a given amount of mixed paint, without materially changing the color than any other color l ever saw, and it seemed to possess the nat ural qualities of a covering paint to a re markable degree. It worked best with any shade of gray, and it was almost equal to Paris green for spreading; and, as it was a natural, positive color it did not fade. There was a some thing about its "feel" which impressed me with the belief that if there was anything in paint materials that would equal white lead for durability this article would very near ly, ifnot quite, fill the bill, t put it upon that churcn, doing a part of the work my self, because I wanted to see it have a fair trial, and every year I go past that building and it remains to-day as bright as ever. What more does anyone want ? If it had been painted white or almost any color, it would have wanted painting again by this time, or before. . Now it is a pretty safe rule that no one man or set of men can have a monopoly of alt the good things of this world, and there are undoubtedly many good substitutes for white lead. If a man with a wooden pad dle whittled out with a jack-knife can mix a paint of more than one material that will stand a test like that, how much more ought machinery to do under the guidance of skilled workmen who have made a study of this work for years ? Without entering into the relative merits of white lead against cheap mineral paints, the thought has often occurred,is it not just "possible that there has crept into this ques tion of white lead as the only thing for a perfect protection from weather, more or less old fashioned humbug. If white lead really formed a sheeting of uncorroded lead or its equivalent, then we should all be readyto admit that as a protection from the weather sheet lead is the very best thing to be used. But it is not lead. It is only a dry powder mixed with oiL The com pound becomes very hard and very adhe sive, but does chemistry show that a per fect sheet of lead is formed i I am not a chemist and can not answer the question only in a common sense way, and common sense says. No. Some old painter will no doubt stand up and tell us that he has seen a building that was painted with white lead and appeared bright after ten or even fifteen years. Yes, so have we all, but it was when all the con ditions were favorable, and not the least of the conditions was that an honest workman stood behind the brush. But even that does not prove that white lead will outwear alt other colors. The color mentioned upon die little church is apparently as bright to day as when put on five and a half years ago. What it may be at the end of ten years we can only judge by present appear ances--the probabilities are that the build ing will neither suffer in appearance nor from the weather in that time. And finally, without entering into this question chemically, why should the sub stance called lead, which is not lead, out wear some other substance which is noth ing but what it looks like--chemical paint or dry, powdered earth. We know that from day a mineral sub stance (aluminum) is produced which is more valuable for all mechanical purposes than gold; then why should we give way to any one material and allow prejudice to dic tate to us what material we should use. It is clear that custom has controlled this mat ter for years, and the only reliefwe have is from people who do not care what the ma terial is so that it looks weii for four or five years, when they get tired of it and want a new color. In condusion, permit me tossy that it is my opinion that there are many articles which enter into various colored paints which may be used with confidence m the hope that time and the elements wilt prove equal to white lead, and that experience will beat chemistry at least half the time. K. P. THATCHM.