may be added to the tincture.

STAINING OF WOOD. To stain wood of a mahogany colour, put it into a
mixture of oil of turpentine and pounded dragon's blood, and let it
stand an hour over a slow fire. When taken off the fire, the wood may
remain in the liquor all night. The dye may be made stronger or weaker,
by using more or less of dragon's blood, and by a greater or less degree
of digestion and boiling. The best wood for this purpose is plane tree,
because it may easily be sawn and polished, and is beautifully veined
and spotted. To stain wood a fine black, drop a little oil of vitriol
into a small quantity of water, rub it on the wood, and hold it to the
fire. It will then become a fine black, and receive a beautiful polish.

STALKS OF BEET LEAVES. Trim and well wash the stalks of green and white
beet leaves, and boil them in water, moving them frequently, to prevent
the upper ones from turning black. When done enough, drain them in a
cullender. Make a white sauce with a little flour and water, a piece of
butter, some pepper and salt, and a taste of vinegar. Thicken this over
the fire, and put in the stalks to stew gently for a few minutes, to
give them a flavour. If the butter oils, it is a sign that the sauce is
too thick. In this case add another spoonful or two of water, and shake
the stewpan till the sauce recovers it appearance.

STARCH is a substance which is extracted from wheaten flour, by washing
it in water. All farinaceous seeds, and the roots of most vegetables,
afford this substance in a greater or less degree; but it is most easily
obtained from the flour of wheat, by moistening any quantity thereof
with a little water, and kneading it with the hand into a tough paste:
this being washed with water, by letting fall upon it a very slender
stream, the water will be rendered turbid as it runs off, in consequence
of the fecula or starch which it extracts from the flour, and which will
subside when the water is allowed to stand at rest. The starch so
obtained, when dried in the sun, or by a stove, is usually concreted
into small masses of a long figure and columnar shape, which have a
fine white colour, scarcely any smell, and very little taste. If kept
dry, starch in this state continues a long time uninjured, although
exposed to the air. It is not soluble in cold water; but forms a thick
paste with boiling-hot water, and when this paste is allowed to cool, it
becomes semi-transparent and gelatinous,