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day strain off the lye, and add 6 lbs. of fat. Boil till it thickens or about an hour and a half. Pour into a wooden box (previously prepared), leave a day or two to harden, and then cut into bars or pieces. The above proportions are the best for ordinary household soap.
Axle Grease.—For axle grease any household fat will do, so long as all salt is washed out of it. Mutton tallow with a proportion of black lead worked into it makes a very good lubricant, especially for heavy vehicles.
To Keep Rats from the Granary.—Tear up two or three newspapers in small bits, pour a little warm water over them and let them steep, then work into a pulp. Make a strong solution of oxalic acid, dip the pulp into it, and while still wet fill in the the holes of the rats or mice. As a rule they will be cleared out in less than a week, and if you catch one you will find all the skin off his paws and snout. Bandicoots can also be banished in the same way—and native cats, too (the latter from the fowl house).
To Make Gunpowder.—Away in the far bush in the old days, when there was a difficulty and delay in the carriage of stores, some of the squatters used to make their own gunpowder, and it is to one of these I am indebted for the following: Sulphur, 10 parts; charcoal, 15 parts; nitrate of potash, 75; these are the proportions, and
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which must be weighed exactly, after being pulverised separately. Then mix them together and continue pounding, adding sufficient water to dampen, and make the mixture roll out into thin cylinders. In this form let it dry, when it can be broken up into grains and is ready for use.
To Clean a Saddle—Clean thoroughly first with soft soap and warm water, rub perfectly dry, and then rub in well, though lightly, some bullocks' or horses' blood.
To Make an Emery Wheel.—Take a solid wheel of pine or any similar wood, or get someone to turn one for the purpose; then prepare some good glue and put it on the surface of the wheel hot, with a brush. It will require two coats, let the first be a light one, and when it is dry apply the second, and then as quickly as possible dust on as much emery as the glue will hold. When this is dry, apply another coat of glue and emery. An emery wheel is a very useful thing in the bush, and particularly near the sea, where needles and such like requisites are apt to get rusty and blunt.
To Restore Varnish on Furniture.—Mix linseed oil and turpentine in equal quantities. Apply with a soft rag, rubbing in well and wiping off with another rag. Polish with an old silk handkerchief. Chamois leather should not be used on varnished articles.
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