Yarieties.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 429, 4 August 1904, Page 7

Yarieties.

«— : — HOW TO MAKE an oil fob . WATCHES AND CLOCKS. .; JV7t£BOCT7BB a few nuts—the ordinary', s|(JJr Barcelona nut is best—and exaSfe? .pressthe oil in a vice. The.following is a good method of procedure. Get two small pieces of V-shaped tin, turn over a flange on the board end of eaoh for the purpose of holding on to the top of the vies. Bemove the shell, and place the kernel between the pieces of - tin, and gradually tighten the vice, the oil thus expressed will flow to the top of the tin, and may be caught in a clean phial. The resultant oil is perfectly transparent and pare, and owing to its 'none ; drying' properties is the best possible lubricant for watches and docks. Well corked it will keep for years, the only care required being to keep it [free from dust. Occasionally a" single nut will yield [as many as sixteen to twenty drops of oil, and whea it Is remembered that little more than one drop will effectually .lubricate a watch, it will be seen that it is by no means a. costly article. Some add heat to the above process, but this is a mistake, as the heat not only dissolours the oil, but adds a drying quality, rendering it unsuitable for the purpose intended. This oil containb invaluable medicinal i properties; and on account of its purity and transparency would be largely used by artists but for the difficulty in getting it to dry. _■_ _v '_.., _ :„ -

BIRD STUFFING.

First, pat a small quantity of cotton wool down the throat; in order to prevent any moisture escaping from the stomaoh, then break the bones of the wing close to the body, divide the feathers from the breast-bone to the vent, divide skin in like manner. Take great care not to puncture the abdomen; raise the skin with the point of a pea-knife, until yon can take hold of it with yonr finger and thumb; hold the skin tight, and press on the body with the knife as the akin parts from it, putting the knife under until you reach the thigh; break the thigh bone close to the top joint, and push it gently up until you can take hold of the flesh now take the bone that is attached to the leg, and pull it gently out; oat thefUsfc off close to the knae,.and skin as far down the back as you can? Do the Bame with the other side of the bird- If any wet escapes from the flesh, dry it up with fresh bran. With a small pair of scissors, put the skin on both sides oat of the way as much as possible, push the body up (the bird's tail to be held) cut through as close to the tail as possible (this is done itwida the skin), then take the bird gently by the backbone and cash the skin down by the thumbnail till you come to the wings,- take as much flesh from the wing joint as you can, and go on skinaing uatil you reach the ears; take hold of them close to the skull, and pull them out, Take the eyes out, and be careful not to burst them, holding the skin with one thumb and finger while you pull the eyes out of the skin with the other; after taking the eyes out, put as much cotton in the sockets as will fill them nicely, skin down to the beak very' gently, out the neck away from the skull, and also a pieoa of the skull to take the brains out; anoint the ekin with arsenioated soap, put a little tow round the thigh bones to firm the thigh, and gently tarn the skin back again, procure .three wires, one as-long again as the bird, thu other two twice the length, of the legs, file them sharp at one end, bead the bluet end of the long wire, put some tow on the bend, and squeeae tightly, so as to fastsn it, then twist the tow until it is twice the size of the body. Put the body wire up the neck, and bring it out through the skull at the top of the head; draw the body iato the skin, and be ctrefal not to stretch the neok, then pat the other wire through the centre of the foot up the legs; pot enough wire inside the body to fasten the legs; open the the eyelids and insert the eyes. Let the specimen dry of itself, then bake it, and in a fortnight it will be dry.