A Recipe for Re-inking Purple Type Ribbons.—­Use:  Aniline violet, 1/4 ounce; pure alcohol, 15 ounces; concentrated glycerine, 15 ounces.  Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol, and add the glycerine.

The Process of Giving a Tempered-Blue Color to the Steel Plate and Malleable Iron Castings of a Roller Skate.—­In order to obtain an even blue, the work must have an even finish, and be made perfectly clean.  Arrange a cast-iron pot in a fire so as to heat it to the temperature of melted lead, or just below a red heat.  Make a flat bottom basket of wire or wire cloth to sit in the iron box, on which place the work to be blued, as many pieces as you may find you can manage, always putting in pieces of about the same thickness and size, so that they will heat evenly.  Make a bail to the basket, so that it can be easily handled.  When the desired color is obtained, dip quickly in hot water to stop the progress of the bluing, for an instant only, so that enough heat may be retained to dry the articles.  A cover to the iron box may sometimes be used to advantage to hasten the heating.  Another way, much used, is to varnish the work with ultramarine varnish, which may be obtained from the varnish makers.

Cement to Mend Iron Pots and Pans.—­Take two parts of sulphur and one part, by weight, of fine black lead; put the sulphur in an old iron pan, holding it over the fire until it begins to melt, then add the lead; stir well until all is mixed and melted; then pour out on an iron plate or smooth stone.  When cool, break into small pieces.  A sufficient quantity of this compound being placed upon the crack of the iron pot to be mended, can be soldered by a hot iron in the same way a tinsmith solders his sheets.  If there is a small hole in the pot, drive a copper rivet in it, and then solder over it with this cement.

The Best Method of Rendering Basement Walls Damp-Proof.—­Construct on the outside an area wall so that the earth does not rest directly against the main wall of the house, but only against the outside wall or casing of the area.  To form such an area, build a wall half or one brick thick parallel to and some 2 or 3 inches from the main wall, and form at the bottom a channel or gutter connected with the drains, so that any moisture or water finding its way in through the outer casing may be conducted away and will not therefore penetrate into the building.  Thoroughly ventilate the areas by means of air bricks or other suitable connections with the outer air, and connect with one another by making through connections underneath the floor joists.  Be very careful that the main wall is laid on a good and efficient damp course.  The top of the space between the area and main walls may be covered in all around the building with bricks—­ornamented or otherwise, as preferred—­on a line just above the ground.  Another plan of effecting the same object is to dispense with the area wall and in building the brick work to cover the whole of the work on the outside with a thick layer of bituminous asphalt.  The plaster on the inside is in this case often rendered in nearly neat Portland cement.