There are many recipes published for making ink; the following is as useful and economical a mode of producing good ink as any of them: -

82. Dr. Ure's Ink

For twelve gallons of ink take twelve pounds of bruised galls, five pounds of gum, five pounds of green sulphate of iron, and twelve gallons of rain water. Boil the galls with nine gallons of the water for three hours, adding fresh water to supply that lost in vapour; let the decoction settle, and draw off the clear liquor. Add to it the gum previously dissolved in one and a-half gallons of water; dissolve the green vitriol separately in one and a half-gallons of water, and mix the whole.

84. Ink Powder

Is formed of the dry ingredients for ink, powdered and mixed. Powdered galls, two pounds; powdered green vitriol, one pound; powdered gum, eight ounces. This should be put up into two ounce packets, each of which will make ono pint of ink.

84. Red Writing Ink

Best ground Brazil wood, four ounces; diluted acetic acid, one pint; alum, half an ounce. Boil them slowly in an enamelled vessel for one hour; strain, and add an ounce of gum.

85. Marking-Ink Without Pre-Paration

There are several recipes for this ink, but the following of Mr. Redwood is rapidly superseding all the others: Dissolve, separately, one ounce of nitrate of silver, and one and a-half ounces of sub-carbonate soda (best washing soda) in distilled or rain water. Mix the solutions, and collect and wash the precipitate in a filter; whilst still moist rub it up in a marble or wedge-wood mortar with three drachms of tartaric acid; add two ounces of distilled water, mix six drachms of white sugar, and ten drachms of powdered gum arabic, half an ounce of archil and water to make up six ounces in measure.

86. Ink For Zinc Garden La-Bels

Verdigris, one ounce; sal ammoniac, one ounce; lamp black, half an ounce; water, half a pint. Mix in an earthenware mortar, without using a metal spatula. Should be put up in small (one ounce) bottles for sale.

Directions. - To be shaken before use, and used with a clean quill pen, on bright, freshly-cleaned zinc.

Note. - Another kind of ink for zino is also used, made of chloride of plati num, five grains, dissolved in one ounce of distilled or rain water; but the first, which is much less expensive, answers perfectly, if used as directed, on clean, bright zinc