Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1874 — Garments Made Water-Proof. [ARTICLE]

Garments Made Water-Proof.

A Mriter in an English paper says: " By the Way, speaking of water-proofs, I think I can give travelers a valuable hint or two. For many years I have M’orn india-rubber water-proofs, but will buy no more, for I have learned that good Sco tish tMeed can be made entirely impervious to rain, and, moreover, I have learned boM- to make it so; and, for the benefit of your readers, I will give the recipe: g^--“In a bucket of soft water put half a pound of sugar of lead and half a pound of poM’dered alum; stir this at intervals until it becomes clear; pour it off into another bucket and put the garment therein, and let it be in for twenty-four hours and then hang it up to dry M'ithout wringing it. “ Two of my party —a lady and gentleman —have worn garments thus made in 1 the Mildest storms of wind and rain M'ithout getting wet. The rain hangs : upon the cloth in globules. In short, I they were really water-proof. The gentleman, a fortnight ago, Malked fiine miles in a storm of rain and wind such as you rarely see in the south, and when he slipped on his overcoat his underwear was as dry as when he put them on. This is, I think, a secret worth knowing; for cloth, if it can be made to keep o'ut wet, is in every wav better than what we know as most water-proofs.” Sevekal hundred horses have died within a month or two in Monterey County, Cal., from the effect of eating a poisonous plant called “ rattleweed,” which produces symptoms similar to those of insanity.