On these pages, you ll find a rich collection of recipes--a sort of

alchemist s journal for making everything from potpourri to potting soil. The

alchemists of twelfth-century Europe pursued the tantalizing goal of trans-

forming a base metal, usually copper or lead, into gold. Theirs was an art

practiced in secrecy, with formulas and procedures written in code, a sort of

early precursor to our modern-day patent system. After all, rendering your

competitors unable tO read about your discoveries prevented them from prof-

iting from them. ",

Even though we may smile at the muddled thinking that surrounds the

mystical conversion of lead to gold, we are all alchemists at heart. Each time

we transform a piece of fabric into a suit, a packet of seeds into a row of let-

tuce, or paper and sticks into a kite, we are indulging in the universal human

pleasure of creating something fine or useful from something ordinary. And

each time we save money by using a homemade product instead of a store-

bought one, we are making our own gold out of everyday lead.

This collection of recipes and formulas offers a simple step-by-step

route to making your own mixtures, potions, preparations, and com-

pounds-for performing your own homemade alchemy. Using the collection

here, you ll find out how to make brass polish from ketchup, furniture

scratch remover from pecans and a dab of mineral oil, and paper preserva-

tive from milk of magnesia and club soda. You ll also discover some weird

and wonderful formulas that really do work like Christmas tree ornaments

from applesauce, facial cleanser from cucumbers and milk, paint stripper

from wood ashes, and dog shampoo from oatmeal.

So before you patch a hole in your wall, go on a diet, deflea your dog,

plant a rosebush, or polish your silver, check through these pages. There s a

formula hew to help you. You ll not only save money or a trip to the store

but also perform your own conversion of common lead into fine gold.