d to us that during the summer vacation many of our boys
who are longing for something to do, might earn some money by
manufacturing some of this ink and selling it in their neighborhood. At
any rate the recipe is a good one and worthy of a trial by old folks as
well as young people. Here is the recipe, and the way it was discovered,
as told by a writer in Notes and Queries:

While examining a large number of MSS. of an old scribe some twenty
years ago, I was struck with the clearness and legibility of the
writing, owing in a great measure to the permanent quality of the ink,
which had not faded in the least, although many of the MSS. were at
least two hundred years old. It was remarkable, that the writer must
have been celebrated in his day for the excellence of his calligraphy,
for I met with a letter or two from his correspondents in which there
was a request for the recipe of the ink he used. I found his recipes,
which I copied, and from one of them, dated in 1654, I have, during the
last fifteen years, made all the ink I have used. The recipe is as
follows:

Rain water, one pint; galls, bruised, one and one-half ounces; green
copperas, six drachms; gum Arabic, ten drachms. The galls must be
coarsely powdered and put in a bottle, and the other ingredients and
water added. The bottle securely stoppered, is placed in the light (sun
if possible), and its contents are stirred occasionally until the gum
and copperas is dissolved; after which it is enough to shake the bottle
daily, and in the course of a month or six weeks it will be fit for use.
I have ventured to add ten drops of carbolic acid to the contents of the
bottle, as it effectually prevents the formation and growth of mold,
without any detriment to the quality of the ink, so far as I know.

THE SECRET OF LONGEVITY.

A French medical man who has just died at the age of one hundred and
seven, pledged his word to reveal the secret of his longevity, when no
more, for the benefit of others. It was stipulated, however, that the
precious envelope containing the recipe for long life was not to be
opened until he had been buried. The doctor's prescription, now made
known, is simple enough; and easy to follow; but whether it is as
available as he pretends, the Journal of Chemistry says, is extremely
doubtful. He tells his fellow-men, that, if they wish to live for a
century or more, they have but to pay attention to the position of their
beds. "Let the head