Soak good paper with linseed-oil varnish (boiled oil) and apply the following mass, mentioned below, several times in succession: Copal varnish, 1 part, by weight; turpentine oil, 2 parts; finest sprinkling sand, 1 part; powdered glass, 1 part; ground slate as used for slates, 2 parts; and lampblack, 1 part, intimately mixed together, and repeatedly ground very fine. After drying and hardening, the plates can be written upon with lead or slate pencils.

Paper Floor Covering

The floor is carefully cleaned, and all holes and cracks are filled up with a mass which is prepared by saturating newspapers with a paste that is made by mixing thoroughly 17 and 5/8 ounces wheat flour, 3.17 quarts water, and 1 spoonful of pulverized alum. The floor is coated with this paste throughout, and covered with a layer of manilla paper, or other strong hemp paper. If something very durable is desired, paint the paper layer with the same paste and put on another layer of paper, leaving it to dry thoroughly. Then apply another coat of paste, and upon this place wall paper of any desired kind. In order to protect the wall paper from wear, give it 2 or more coats of a solution of 8 and 4/5 ounces white glue in 2.11 quarts hot water, allow them to dry, and finish the job with a coating of hard oil varnish.