PUTTY

a pasty cement preparation made chiefly of whiting and linseed oil. It is employed for fixing window-gla in the frames, filling crevices in woodwork, etc., as it dries to remarkable hardne . A cheap and effective substitute for putty to stop cracks in woodwork, is obtained by soaking newspapers in a paste made by boiling a pound of flour in three quarts of water and adding a teaspoonful of alum. The mixture should be of about the same consistence as putty, and should be forced into the cracks with a blunt knife. It will harden like papier-mache, and when dry may be painted or stained to match the boards, when it will be almost imperceptible. [s. 523]