92 A BLUNT KNIFE SHOWS A DULL WIFE. 403. Fruit Stains in Linen. To remove them, rub the part on each side with yellow soap, then tie up a piece of pearlash in the cloth, &c., and soak well in hot water, or boil: afterwards expose the stained part to the sun and air until removed. 404. Mildewed Linen may be restored by soaping the spots while wet, covering them with fine chalk scraped to powder, and rubbing it well in. 405. To keep Moths, Beetles, &c., from Clothes.-Put a piece of camphor in a linen bag, or some aromatic herbs, in the drawers, among linen or woollen clothes, and neither moth nor worm will come near them. 406. Clothes Closets that have become infested with moths should be well rubbed with a strong decoction of tobacco, and repeatedly sprinkled with spirits of camphor. 407. Iron Stains may be removed from marble by wetting the spots with oil of vitriol, or with lemon-juice, or with oxalic acid diluted in spirit of wine, and, after a quarter of an hour, rubbing them dry with a soft linen cloth. 408. To remove Stains from Floors. For removing spots of grease from boards, take equal parts of fuller's earth and pearlash, a quarter of a pound of each, and boil in a quart of soft water; and, while hot, lay it on the greased parts, allowing it to remain on them for ten or twelve hours; after which it may be scoured off with sand and water. A floor much spotted with grease should be completely washed over with this mixture the day before it is scoured. Fuller's earth and ox-gall, boiled together, form a very powerful cleansing mixture for floors or carpets. Stains of ink are removed by strong vinegar; or salts of lemon will remove them. 409. Scouring Drops for removing Grease.-There are several preparations of this name; one of the best is made as follows:-Camphine, or spirit of turpentine, three ounces; essence of lemon, one ounce; mix. Cost: camphine, 8d. per pint; essence of lemon, 8d. per ounce. Scouring drops are usually put up in small half-ounce phials for sale; these may be obtained at from 9d. to 1s. per dozen. 410. To take Grease out of Velvet or Cloth. Procure some turpentine and pour it over the part that is greasy; rub it till quite dry with a piece of clean flannel; if the grease be not quite removed, repeat the application, and when done, brush the part well, and hang up the garment in the open air to take away the smell. 411. Medicine Stains may be removed from silver spoons by rubbing them with a rag dipped in sulphuric acid, and washing it off with soapsuds. 412. To Extract Grease Spots from Books or Paper. Gently warm the greased or spotted part of the book or paper, and then press upon it pieces of blotting-paper, one after another, so as to absorb as much of the grease as possible. Have ready some fine clear essential oil of turpentine heated almost to a boiling state, warm the greased leaf a little, and then, with a soft clean brush, apply the heated turpentine to both sides of the spotted part. By repeating this application, the grease will be extracted. Lastly, with another brush dipped in rectified spirit of wine, go over the place, and the grease will no longer appear, neither will the paper be discoloured. 413. Stains and Marks from Books.-A solution of oxalic acid, citric acid, or tartaric acid, is attended with the least risk, and may be applied upon the paper and prints without fear of damage. These acids, taking out writing ink, and not touching the printing, can be used for restoring books where the margins have been written upon, without injuring the text. 414. To take Writing Ink out of Paper.-Solution of muriate of tin, two drachms; water, four drachms. To be applied with a camel-hair brush. A BAD BROOM LEAVES A DIRTY ROOM. After the writing has disappeared, the paper should be passed through water, and dried. 93 420. Do NOT let coffee and tea stand in tin. wooden-ware 421. SCALD your often, and keep your tin-ware dry. 422. PRESERVE the backs of old letters to write upon. 423. IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN Who are learning to write, buy coarse white paper by the quantity, and keep it locked up, ready to be made into writing-books. This does not cost half so much as it does to buy them at the stationer's. 415. A Hint on Household Management.-Have you ever observed what a dislike servants have to anything cheap? They hate saving their master's money. I tried this experiment with great success the other day. Finding we consumed a vast deal of soap, I sat down in my thinking chair, and took the soap question into consideration, and I found reason to suspect we were using a very expensive 424. SEE THAT NOTHING IS THROWN article, where a much cheaper one would AWAY which might have served to serve the purpose better. I ordered half nourish your own family or a poorer a dozen pounds of both sorts, but took one. the precaution of changing the papers on which the prices were marked before giving them into the hands of Betty. "Well, Betty, which soap do you find washes best ?" "Oh, please sir, the dearest, in the blue paper; it makes a lather as well again as the other." “Well, Betty, you shall always have it then;" and thus the unsuspecting Betty saved me some pounds a year, and washed the clothes better.-Rev. Sidney Smith. 425. AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, have pieces of bread eaten up before they become hard; spread those that are not eaten, and let them dry, to be pounded for puddings, or soaked for brewis. 426. BREWIS is made of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good while in hot milk, mashed up, and eaten with salt. Above all, do not let crusts accumulate in such quantities that they cannot be used. With proper care, there is no need of losing a particle of bread. 427. ALL THE MENDING in the house should be done once a week if possible. 428. NEVER PUT OUT SEWING. If it be not possible to do it in your own family, hire some one into the house, and work with them. 429. A WARMING-PAN full of coals, or a shovel of coals, held over varnished furniture, will take out white spots. Care should be taken not to hold the clothes near enough to scorch: and the place should be rubbed with a flannel while warm. 430. SAL-VOLATILE or hartshorn will restore colours taken out by acid. It may be dropped upon any garment without doing harm. 431. NEW IRON should be very gradually heated at first. After it has become inured to the heat, it is not so likely to crack. 432. CLEAN A BRASS KETTLE, before using it for cooking, with salt and 94 A HUSBAND'S WRATH SPOILS THE BEST BROTH. vinegar. The oftener carpets are 443. THE SHANKS OF MUTTON make shaken the longer they wear; the dirt that collects under them grinds out the threads. 433. LINEN RAGS should be carefully saved, for they are extremely useful in sickness. If they have become dirty and worn by cleaning silver, &c., wash them and scrape them into lint. 434. IF YOU ARE TROUBLED TO GET SOFT WATER FOR WASHING, fill a tub or barrel half full of wood ashes, and fill it up with water, so that you may have ley whenever you want it. A gallon of strong ley, put into a great kettle of hard water, will make it as soft as rain water. Some people use pearlash, or potash ; but this costs something, and is very apt to injure the texture of the cloth. 435. DO NOT LET KNIVES be dropped into hot dish-water. It is a good plan to have a large tin pot to wash them in, just high enough to wash the blades without wetting the handles. 436. IT IS BETTER to accomplish perfectly a very small amount of work, than to half do ten times as much. 437. CHARCOAL POWDER will be found a very good thing to give knives a first-rate polish. 438. A BONNET AND TRIMMINGS may be worn a much longer time, if the dust be brushed well off after walking. 439. MUCH KNOWLEDGE may be obtained by the good housewife observing how things are managed in well-regulated families. 440. APPLES intended for dumplings should not have the core taken out of them, as the pips impart a delicious flavour to the dumpling. 441. A RICE PUDDING is most excellent without either eggs or sugar, if baked gently: it keeps better without eggs. 442. "WILFUL WASTE MAKES WoFUL WANT."-Do not cook a fresh joint whilst any of the last remains uneaten -hash it up, and with gravy and a little management, eke out another day's dinner. a good stock for nearly any kind of gravy, and they are very cheap-a dozen may be had for a penny, enough to make a quart of delicious soup. 444. THICK CURTAINS, closely drawn around the bed, are very injurious, because they not only confine the effluvia thrown off from our bodies whilst in bed, but interrupt the current of pure air. 445. REGULARITY in the payment of accounts is essential to housekeeping. All tradesmen's bills should be paid weekly, for then any errors can be detected whilst the transactions are fresh in the memory. 446. ALLOWING CHILDREN TO TALK incessantly is a mistake. We do not mean to say that they should be restricted from talking in proper seasons, but they should be taught to know when it is proper for them to cease. 447. Blacking for Leather Seats, &c.-Beat well the yolks of two eggs and the white of one; mix a tablespoonful of gin and a teaspoonful of sugar, thicken it with ivory black, add it to the eggs, and use as common blacking; the seats or cushions being left a day or two to harden. This is good for dress boots and shoes. 448. Black Reviver for Black Cloth.-Bruised galls, one pound; logwood, two pounds; green vitriol, half a pound; water, five quarts. Boil for two hours, and strain. Used to restore the colour of black cloth. Cost: galls, 1s. 4d. per pound; logwood, 2d. per pound; green vitriol, 1d. per pound. 449. A Green Paint for Garden Stands, &c., may be obtained by mixing a quantity of mineral green and white lead, ground in turpentine, with a small portion of turpentine varnish, for the first coat; for the second, put as much varnish in the colour as will produce a good gloss. 450. Hints for Home Comfort. i. Eat slowly and you will not over eat. A WIFE'S ART DISPLAYED IN A TABLE WELL LAID. 95 ii. Keeping the feet warm will pre-nience will arise when the articles are vent headaches. iii. Late at breakfast dinner-cross at tea. wanted. -hurried for xxi. Feather beds should be opened every third year, the ticking well dusted, iv. A short needle makes the most soaped, and waxed, the feathers dressed expedition in plain sewing. and returned. v. Between husband and wife little attentions beget much love. vi. Always lay your table neatly, whether you have company or not. vii. Put your balls or reels of cotton into little bags, leaving the ends out. viii. Whatever you may choose to give away, always be sure to keep your temper. ix. Dirty windows speak to the passerby of the negligence of the inmates. x. In cold weather a leg of mutton improves by being hung three, four, or five weeks. xi. When meat is hanging, change its position frequently, to equally distribute the juices. xii. There is much more injury done by admitting visitors to invalids than is generally supposed. xiii. Matches, out of the reach of children, should be kept in every bedroom. They are cheap enough. xiv. Apple and suet dumplings are lighter when boiled in a net than a cloth. Scum the pot well. xv. When chamber towels get thin in the middle, cut them in two, sew the selvages together, and hem the sides. xvi. When you are particular in wishing to have precisely what you want from a butcher's, go and purchase it yourself. xvii. One flannel petticoat will wear nearly as long as two, if turned behind part before, when the front begins to wear thin. xviii. People in general are not aware how very essential to the health of the inmates is the free admission of light into their houses. xix. When you dry salt for the table, do not place it in the salt-cells until it is cold, otherwise it will harden into a lump. xx. Never put away plate, knives and forks, &c., uncleaned, or great inconve xxii. Persons of defective sight, when threading a needle, should hold it over something white, by which the sight will be assisted. xxiii. In mending sheets and shirts, put the pieces sufficiently large, or in the first washing the thin parts give way, and the work is all undone. xxiv. Reading by candle-light, place the candle behind you, that the rays may pass over your shoulder on to the book. This will relieve the eyes. xxv. A wire fire-guard, for each fireplace in a house, costs little, and greatly diminishes the risk to life and property. Fix them before going to bed. xxvi. In winter, get the work forward by daylight, to prevent running about at night with candles. Thus you escape grease spots, and risks of fire. xxvii. Be at much pains to keep your children's feet dry and warm. Don't bury their bodies in heavy flannels and wools, and leave their knees and legs naked. xxviii. Apples and pears, cut into quarters and stripped of the rind, baked with a little water and sugar, and eaten with boiled rice, are capital food for children. xxix. A leather strap, with a buckle to fasten, is much more commodious than a cord for a box in general use for short distances; cording and uncording is a tedious job. XXX. After washing, overlook linen, and stitch on buttons, hooks and eyes, &c.; for this purpose keep a "housewife's friend," full of miscellaneous threads, cottons, buttons, hooks, &c. xxxi. For ventilation open your windows both at top and bottom. The fresh air rushes in one way, while the foul makes its exit the other. This is letting in your friend and expelling your enemy. xxxii. There is not any real economy in 96 WHO NEVER TRIES CANNOT WIN THE PRIZE. purchasing cheap calico for gentlemen's night-shirts. Cheap calico soon wears into holes, and becomes discoloured in washing. xxxiii. Sitting to sew by candle-light at a table with a dark cloth on it is injurious to the eyesight. When no other remedy presents itself, put a sheet of white paper before you. xxxiv. Persons very commonly complain of indigestion: how can it be wondered at, when they seem, by their habit of swallowing their food wholesale, to forget for what purpose they are provided with teeth? xxxv. Never allow your servants to put wiped knives on your table, for, generally speaking, you may see that they have been wiped with a dirty cloth. If a knife is brightly cleaned, they are compelled to use a clean cloth. xxxvi. There is not anything gained in economy by having very young and inexperienced servants at low wages; they break, waste, and destroy more than an equivalent for higher wages, setting aside comfort and respectability. xxxvii. No article in dress tarnishes so readily as black crape trimmings, and few things injure it more than damp; therefore, to preserve its beauty on bonnets, a lady in nice mourning should in her evening walks, at all seasons of the year, take as her companion an old parasol to shade her crape. 451. Domestic Pharmacopoeia. In compiling this part of our hints, we have endeavoured to supply that kind of information which is so often wanted in the time of need, and cannot be obtained when a medical man or a druggist is not near. The doses are all fixed for adults, unless otherwise ordered. The various remedies are arranged in sections, according to their uses, as being more easy for reference. only half the quantity of water used, it acts as a discutient, but not as an eyewater. 454. COMMON.-Add half an ounce of diluted acetic acid to three ounces of decoction of poppy heads. Use, as an anodyne wash. 455. COMPOUND ALUM. - Dissolve alum and white vitriol, of each one | drachm, in one pint of water, and filter through paper. Use, as an astringent wash. 456. ZINC AND LEAD. - Dissolve white vitriol and acetate of lead, of each seven grains, in four ounces of elderflower water; add one drachm of laudanum (tincture of opium), and the same quantity of spirit of camphor; then strain. Use, as a detergent wash. 457. ACETATE OF ZINC.-Dissolve half a drachm of white vitriol in five ounces of water. Dissolve two scruples of acetate of lead in five ounces of water. Mix these solutions, then set aside for a short time, and afterwards filter. Use, as an astringent; this forms a most valuable collyrium. 458. SULPHATE OF ZINC.-Dissolve twenty grains of white vitriol in a pint of water or rose water. Use, for weak eyes. 459. ZINC AND CAMPHOR.-Dissolve a scruple of white vitriol in ten ounces of water, then add one drachm of spirit of camphor, and strain. Use, as a stimulant. 460. COMPOUND ZINC. Dissolve fifteen grains of white vitriol in eight ounces of camphor water (Mistura camphora), and the same quantity of decoction of poppy heads. Use, as an anodyne and detergent; useful for weak eyes. 461. Confections and Electuaries. |