Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes

How to silver a mirror, brew ginger beer, kill moths, make fireworks, tan a hide, bronze iron, cure a ham and clean a straw hat: William B. Dick's numbered encyclopedia answered the questions a nineteenth-century household actually had.

Preparations

8 receipts in this part of Practical Receipts and Processes.

Trituration

The reduction of a solid body to powder by rubbing. This is effected on a small scale by means of a pestle and mortar; and on a large scale…

Washing

This is resorted to in chemistry for two widely different purposes. When a substance contains both soluble and insoluble matter, the…

To Prepare Decoctions

Decoctions are solutions of the properties of vegetables obtained by boiling, which is presumed to be a more effective method of extracting…

To Prepare Tinctures

Tinctures and sometimes of mineral substances, in spirituous liquids. The spirit most commonly employed is proof-spirit; sometimes…

Concentrated Infusions

These are now very generally met with in trade, and are made of 8 times the pharmacopœial strength. They are mostly prepared by employing 8…

Infusion

When the principles to be extracted are soluble in water, and at the same time but slightly volatile, boiling water is poured on the…

Maceration

When an infusion is made without the aid of heat it is termed If an infusion is required of dried leaves or flowers, they are first…

To Prepare Extracts

The process of obtaining an extract of a substance involves two distinct operations: First, the production of a solution of the soluble…

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