Chapter XXIV: Part 24

_An Agreeable Disinfectant:_--Sprinkle fresh ground coffee on a shovel of hot coals, or burn sugar on hot coals. Vinegar boiled with myrrh, sprinkled on the floor and furniture of a sick room, is an excellent deodorizer.

_To Prevent Mold:_--A small quantity of carbolic acid added to paste, mucilage and ink, will prevent mold. An ounce of the acid to a gallon of whitewash will keep cellars and dairies from the disagreeable odor which often taints milk and meat kept in such places.

_To Make Tracing-Paper:_--Dissolve a ball of white beeswax, one inch in diameter, in half a pint of turpentine. Saturate the paper in this bath and let it dry two or three days before using.

_To Preserve Brooms:_--Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and pliable. A carpet wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in this manner.

_To Clean Brass-Ware, etc.:_--Mix one ounce of oxalic acid, six ounces of rotten stone, all in powder, one ounce of sweet oil, and sufficient water to make a paste. Apply a small portion, and rub dry with a flannel or leather. The liquid dip most generally used consists of nitric and sulphuric acids; but this is more corrosive.

_Polish or Enamel for Shirt Bosoms_ is made by melting together one ounce of white wax, and two ounces of spermaceti; heat gently and turn into a very shallow pan; when cold cut or break in pieces. When making boiled starch the usual way, enough for a dozen bosoms, add to it a piece of the polish the size of a hazel nut.

_An Erasive Fluid for the Removal of Spots on Furniture_, and all kinds of fabrics, without injuring the color, is made of four ounces of aqua ammonia, one ounce of glycerine, one ounce of castile soap and one of spirits of wine. Dissolve the soap in two quarts of soft water, add the other ingredients. Apply with a soft sponge and rub out. Very good for deaning silks.

_To Remove the Odor of Onion_ from fish-kettle and saucepans in which they have been cooked, put wood-ashes or sal soda, potash or lye; fill with water and let it stand on the stove until it boils; then wash in hot suds, and rinse well.

_To Clean Marble Busts:_--First free them from all dust, then wash them with very weak hydrochloric acid. Soap injures the color of marble.

_To Remove old Putty from Window Frames_, pass a red hot poker slowly over it and it will come off easily.

_Hanging Pictures:_--The most safe material and also the best, is copper wire, of the size proportioned to the weight of the picture. When hung the wire is scarcely visible, and its strength is far superior to cord.

_To Keep Milk Sweet:--_Put into a panful a spoonful of grated horse-radish, it will keep it sweet for days.

_To Take Rust from Steel Implements or Knives:--_Rub them well with kerosene oil, leaving them covered with it a day or so; then rub them hard and well with finely powdered unslaked lime.

_Poison Water:--_Water boiled in galvanized iron becomes poisonous, and cold water passed through zinc-lined iron pipes should never be used for cooking or drinking. Hot water for cooking should never be taken from hot water pipes; keep a supply heated in kettles.

_Scouring Soap for Cotton and Silk Goods:_--Mix one pound of common soap, half a pound of beef-gall and one ounce and a half of Venetian turpentine.

_A Paint for Wood or Stone that Resists all Moisture:_--Melt twelve ounces of resin; mix with it, thoroughly, six gallons of fish oil and one pound of melted sulphur. Rub up some ochre or any other coloring substance with a little linseed oil, enough to give it the right, color and thickness. Apply several coats of the hot composition with a brush. The first coat should be very thin.

_To Ventilate a Room:_--Place a pitcher of cold water on a table in your room and it will absorb all the gases with which the room is filled from the respiration of those eating or sleeping in the apartment. Very few realize how important such purification is for the health of the family, or, indeed, understand or realize that there can be any impurity in the rooms; yet in a few hours a pitcher or pail of cold water--the colder the more effective--will make the air of a room pure, but the water will be entirely unfit for use.

_To Fill Cracks in Plaster:_--Use vinegar instead of water to mix your plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not "set" for twenty or thirty minutes; whereas, if you use water the plaster will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it. Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife.

_To Take Spots from Wash Goods:_--Rub them with the yolk of egg before washing.

_To Take White Spots from Varnished Furniture:_--Hold a hot stove lid or plate over them and they will soon disappear.

_To Prevent Oil from Becoming Rancid:_--Drop a few drops of ether into the bottle containing it.

_Troublesome Ants:_--A heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from your sugar box and all around (there must be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants from troubling.

_To Make Tough Meat Tender:_--Lay it a few minutes in a strong vinegar water.

_To Remove Discoloration from Bruises:_--Apply a cloth wrung out in very hot water, and renew frequently until the pain ceases. Or apply raw beefsteak.

_A Good Polish for Removing Stains, Spots and Mildew from Furniture_ is made as follows: Take half a pint of ninety-eight per cent, alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverized resin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil; shake well and apply with a brush or sponge.

_To Remove Finger-Marks:_--Sweet oil will remove finger-marks from varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.

_To Remove Paint from Black Silk:_--Patient rubbing with chloroform will remove paint from black silk or any other goods, and will not hurt the most delicate color or fabric.

_To Freshen Gilt Frames:_--Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dusting them, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whites of three eggs. Scraped patches might be touched tip with any gold paint. Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oil paintings; other methods should not be employed without some skill.

_To Destroy Moths in Furniture:_--All the baking and steaming are useless, as, although the moths may be killed, their eggs are sure to hatch, and the upholstery to be well riddled. The naphtha-bath process is effectual. A sofa, chair or lounge may be immersed in the large vats used for the purpose, and all insect life will be absolutely destroyed. No egg ever hatches after passing through the naphtha-bath; all oil, dirt or grease disappears, and not the slightest damage is done to the most costly article. Sponging with naphtha will not answer. It is the immersion for two hours or more in the specially prepared vats which is effectual.

_Slicing Pineapples:_--The knife used for peeling a pineapple should not be used for slicing it, as the rind contains an acid that is apt to cause a swollen mouth and sore lips. The Cubans use salt as an antidote for the ill effects of the peel.

_To Clean Iron Sinks:_--Rub them well with a cloth wet with kerosene oil.

_To Erase Discoloration on Stone China:_--Dishes and cups that are used for baking custards, puddings, etc., that require scouring, may be easily cleaned by rubbing with a damp cloth dipped in whiting or "Sapolio," then washed as usual.

_To Remove Ink, Wine or Fruit Stains:_--Saturate well in tomato juice; it is also an excellent thing to remove stains from the hands.

_To Set Colors in Washable Goods:_--Soak them previous to washing in a water in which is allowed a tablespoonful of ox-gall to a gallon of water.

_To Take out Paint:_--Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine will take paint out of clothing, no matter how dry or hard it may be. Saturate the spot two or three times, then wash out in soap-suds. Ten cents' worth of oxalic acid dissolved in a pint of hot water will remove paint spots from the windows. Pour a little into a cup, and apply to the spots with a swab, but be sure not to allow the acid to touch the hands. Brasses may be quickly cleaned with it. Great care must be exercised in labeling the bottle, and putting it out of the reach of children, as it is a deadly poison.

_To Remove Tar from Cloth:_--Saturate the spot and rub it well with turpentine, and every trace of tar will be removed.

_To Destroy Ants:_--Ants that frequent houses or gardens may be destroyed by taking flour of brimstone half a pound, and potash four ounces; set them in an iron or earthen pan over the fire until dissolved and united; afterwards beat them to a powder, and infuse a little of this powder in water, and wherever you sprinkle it the ants will fly the place.

_Simple Disinfectant:_--The following is a refreshing disinfectant for a sick room, or any room that has an unpleasant aroma prevading it: Put some fresh ground coffee in a saucer, and in the centre place a small piece of camphor gum, which light with a match. As the gum burns, allow sufficient coffee to consume with it. The perfume is very pleasant and healthful, being far superior to pastiles, and very much cheaper.

_Cure for Hiccough:_--Sit erect and inflate the lungs fully. Then, retaining the breath, bend forward slowly until the chest meets the knees. After slowly arising again to the erect position, slowly exhale the breath. Repeat this process a second time, and the nerves will be found to have received an access of energy that will enable them to perform their natural functions.

_To Keep out Mosquitoes and Bats:_--If a bottle of the oil of pennyroyal is left uncorked in a room at night, not a mosquito, nor any other blood-sucker, will be found there in the morning. Mix potash with powdered meal, and throw it into the rat-holes of a cellar, and the rats will depart. If a rat or a mouse get into your pantry, stuff into its hole a rag saturated with a solution of cayenne pepper, and no rat or mouse will touch the rag for the purpose of opening communication with a depot of supplies.

_Salt will Curdle New Milk_; hence, in preparing porridge, gravies, etc., the salt should not be added until the dish is prepared.

_To Prevent Rust on Flat-Irons:_--Beeswax and salt will make your rusty flat-irons as smooth and clean as glass. Tie a lump of wax in a rag and keep it for that purpose. When the irons are hot, rub them first with the wax rag, then scour with a paper or cloth sprinkled with salt.

_To Prevent Rust on Knives:_--Steel knives which are not in general use may be kept from rusting if they are dipped in a strong solution of soda: one part water to four of soda; then wipe dry, roll in flannel and keep in a dry place.

_Flowers May be Kept Very Fresh over Night_ if they are excluded from the air. To do this, wet them thoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot.

_To Sweeten Milk:_--Milk which is slightly turned or changed may be sweetened and rendered fit for use again by stirring in a little soda.

_To Scour Knives Easily:_--Mix a small quantity of baking soda with your brick-dust and see if your knives do not polish better.

_To Soften Boots and Shoes:_--Kerosene will soften boots and shoes which have been hardened by water, and render them as pliable as new. Kerosine will make tin kettles as bright as new. Saturate a woolen rag and rub with it. It will also remove stains from clean varnished furniture.

_Faded Goods:_--Plush goods and all articles dyed with aniline colors, which have faded from exposure to the light, will look as bright as new after sponging with chloroform.

_Choking:_--A piece of food lodged in the throat may sometimes be pushed down with the finger, or removed with a hair-pin quickly straightened and hooked at the end, or by two or three vigorous blows on the back between the shoulders.

_To Prevent Mold on the Top of Glasses of Jelly_, lay a lump of paraffine on the top of the hot jelly, letting it melt and spread over it. No brandy paper and no other covering is necessary. If preferred the paraffine can be melted and poured over after the jelly is cold.

_To Preserve Ribbons and Silks:_--Ribbons and silks should be put away for preservation in brown paper; the chloride of lime in white paper discolors them. A white satin dress should be pinned up in blue paper with brown paper outside sewn together at the edges.

_To Preserve Bouquets:_--Put a little saltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets and the flowers will live for a fortnight.

_To Destroy Cockroaches:_--Hellebore sprinkled on the floor at night. They eat it and are poisoned.

_To Remove Iron Rust:_--Lemon juice and salt will remove ordinary iron rust. If the hands are stained there is nothing that will remove the stains as well as lemon. Cut a lemon in halves and apply the cut surface as if it were soap.

_To Keep Bar Soap:_--Cut it into pieces and put it into a dry place; it is more economical to use after it has become hard, as it does not waste so readily.

_To Brighten Carpets:_--Carpets after the dust has been beaten out may be brightened by scattering upon them corn meal mixed with salt and then sweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets should be thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side, after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and water.

_Silver Tea and Coffeepot:_--When putting away those not in use every day lay a little stick across the top under the cover. This will allow fresh air to get in and prevent the mustiness of the contents, familiar to hotel and boarding-house sufferers.

_To Prevent Creaking of Bedsteads:_--If a bedstead creaks at each movement of the sleeper, remove the slats, and wrap the ends of each in old newspapers.

_To Clean Unvarnished Black Walnut:_--Milk, sour or sweet, well rubbed in with an old soft flannel, will make black walnut look new.

_To Prevent Cracking of Bottles and Fruit Jars:_--If a bottle or fruit-jar that has been more than once used is placed on a towel thoroughly soaked in hot water, there is little danger of its being cracked by the introduction of a hot liquid.

_To Prevent Lamp-wicks from Smoking:_--Soak them in vinegar and then dry them thoroughly.

Rub the nickel stove-trimmings and the plated handles and hinges of doors with kerosene and whiting, and polish with a dry cloth.

_Death to Bugs:_--Varnish is death to the most persistent bug. It is cheap--ten cents' worth will do for one bedstead--is easily used, is safe, and improves the looks of the furniture to which it is applied. The application, must, however, be thorough, the slats, sides, and every crack and corner receiving attention.

That salt should be eaten with nuts to aid digestion.

That milk which stands too long makes bitter butter.

_To Clean Drain Pipes:_--Drain pipes, and all places that are sour or impure, may be cleaned with lime-water or carbolic acid.

If oil-cloth be occasionally rubbed with a mixture of beeswax and turpentine, it will last longer.

_To Remove Mildew from Cloth:_--Put a teaspoonful of chloride of lime into a quart of water, strain it twice, then dip the mildewed places in this weak solution; lay in the sun; if the mildew has not disappeared when dry, repeat the operation. Also soaking the article in sour milk and salt; then lay in the sun; repeat until all the mildew is out.

_To Take Ink out of Linen:_--Dip the ink spot in pure melted tallow, then wash out the tallow and the ink will come out with it. This is said to be unfailing. Milk will remove ink from linen or colored muslins, when acids would be ruinous, by soaking the goods until the spot is very faint and then rubbing and rinsing in cold water.

Ink spots on floors can be extracted by scouring with sand wet in oil of vitriol and water. When ink is removed, rinse with strong pearl-ash water.

_To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glass-ware:_--Immerse the article in a pot filled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boil the water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resist any sudden change of temperature.

_To Remove Paint from Window-glass:_--Rub it well with hot sharp vinegar.

_To Clean Stove-pipe:_--A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stove will clean out the stove-pipe.

_Packing Bottles:_--India-rubber bands slipped over them will prevent breakage.

_To Clean Ivory Ornaments:_--When ivory ornaments become yellow or dusky, wash them well in soap and water with a small brush, to clean the carvings, and then place them, while wet, in the sunshine. Wet them with soapy water for two or three days, several times a day, still keeping them in the sunshine, then wash them again, and they will be perfectly white.

_Stained Brass:_--Whiting wet with aqua ammonia, will cleanse brass from stains, and is excellent for polishing faucets and door-knobs of brass or silver. "Sapolio" is still better.

_Hartshorn_ applied to the stings of poisonous insects will allay the pain and stop the swelling; or apply oil of sassafras, which is better. Bee stings should be treated in this way.

_For Cleaning Glass Bottles:_--Crush egg-shells into small bits, or a few carpet tacks, or a small quantity of gunshot, put into the bottle; then fill one-half full of strong soap-suds; shake thoroughly, then rinse in clear water. Will look like new.

_Cutting off Glass Bottles for Clips and Jars:_--A simple, practical way is to take a red-hot poker with a pointed end; make a mark with a file to begin the cut; then apply the hot iron and a crack will start, which will follow the iron wherever it is carried. This is, on the whole, simple, and better than the use of strings wet with turpentine, etc.

_Cistern Water may be Purified_ by charcoal put in a bag and hung in the water.

_Salt will Remove the Stain from Silver_ caused by eggs, when applied dry with a soft cloth.

_Opened Fruit, Fish or Vegetables:_--Never allow opened fruit, fish or vegetables to stand in the tin can. Never stir anything in tin, or, if it is done, use a wooden spoon. In lifting pies or cakes from bright tin pans, use great caution that the knife does not scrape off flecks of bright metal.

Never use water which has stood in a lead pipe over night. _Not less than a wooden bucketful should be allowed to run._

Never use water from a stone reservoir for cooking purposes.

Never allow fresh meat to remain in paper; it absorbs the juices.

Never keep vinegar or yeast in stone crocks or jugs; their acid attacks the glazing, which is said to be poisonous. Glass for either is better.

_Squeaking Doors_ ought to have the hinges oiled by putting on a drop from the sewing machine oil-can.

_Plate Glass and Mirrors:_--A soft cloth wet in alcohol, is excellent to wipe off plate glass and mirrors, and prevents their becoming frosty in winter.

A red-hot iron will soften old putty so that it can be easily removed.

_To Test Nutmegs:_--Prick them with a pin; if good, the oil will instantly spread around the puncture.

_A Good Way to Clean Mica_ in a stove that has become blackened with smoke, is to take it out, and thoroughly wash it with vinegar. If the black does not come off at once, let it soak a little.

_To Banish Rats from the Premises_, use pounded glass mixed with dry corn meal, placed within their reach. Sprinkling cayenne pepper in their holes will also banish them. Chloride of lime is an infallible remedy, spread around where they come, and thrown into their holes; it should be renewed once in two weeks. Tar is also a good remedy.

_To Prevent the Odor of Boiling Ham or Cabbage:_--Throw red pepper pods or a few bits of charcoal into the pan they are cooking in.

_To Brighten Gilt Frames:_--Take sufficient flour of sulphur to give a golden tinge to about one and one-half pints of water, and in this boil four or five bruised onions, or garlic, which will answer the same purpose. Strain off the liquid, and with it, when cold, wash with a soft brush any gilding which requires restoring, and when dry, it will come out as bright as new work.

All cooking utensils, including iron-ware, should be washed outside and inside in hot, soapy water; rinsed in clean, hot water, wiped dry with a dry towel; a soapy or greasy dish-cloth should never be used for the purpose.

A cake of sapolio should be kept in every kitchen, to be used freely on all dishes that require scouring and cleansing. All tins that have become discolored can be made as bright and clean as new by the use of sapolio; also shines dishes; and, in fact, almost all articles that require any scouring. Purchased at all groceries. One of the most useful articles ever used in the kitchen.

TOILET RECIPES, ITEMS.

COLOGNE WATER. (Superior.)

Oil of lavender two drachms, oil of rosemary one drachm and a half, orange, lemon and bergamot, one drachm each of the oil; also two drachms of the essence of musk, attar of rose ten drops, and a pint of proof spirit. Shake all together thoroughly three times a day for a week.

JOCKEY CLUB BOUQUET.

Mix one pint extract of rose, one pint extract of tuberose, half a pint of extract of cassia, four ounces extract of jasmine, and three ounces tincture of civet. Filter the mixture.

ROSE-WATER.

Preferable to the distilled for a perfume, or for culinary purposes. Attar of rose, twelve drops; rub it up with half an ounce of white sugar and two drachms carbonate magnesia; then add gradually one quart of water and two ounces of proof spirit, and filter through paper.

BAY RUM.

French proof spirit one gallon, extract bay six ounces. Mix and color with caramel; needs no filtering.

LAVENDER WATER.

Oil of lavender two ounces, orris root half an ounce, spirits of wine one pint. Mix and keep two or three weeks. It may then be strained through two thicknesses of blotting-paper and is ready for use.

CREAM OF LILIES.

Best white castor oil; pour in a little strong solution of sal tartar in water, and shake it until it looks thick and white. Perfume with lavender.

CREAM OF ROSES.

Olive oil one pound, attar of roses fifty drops, oil of rosemary twenty-five drops; mix, and color it with alkanet root.

COLD CREAM.

Melt one ounce oil of almonds, half ounce spermaceti, one drachm white wax, and then add two ounces of rose-water, and stir it constantly until cold.

LIP-SALVE.

Melt one ounce white wax, one ounce sweet oil, one drachm spermaceti, and throw in a piece of alkanet root to color it, and when cooling, perfume it with oil rose, and then pour it into small white jars or boxes.

FOR DANDRUFF.

Take glycerine four ounces, tincture of cantharides five ounces, bay rum four ounces, water two ounces. Mix, and apply once a day and rub well down the scalp.

HAIR INVIGORATOR.

Bay rum two pints, alcohol one pint, castor oil one ounce, carb. ammonia half an ounce, tincture of cantharides one ounce. Mix them well. This compound will promote the growth of the hair and prevent it from falling out.

MACASSAR OIL FOR THE HAIR.

Renowned for the past fifty years, is as follows: Take a quarter of an ounce of the chippings of alkanet root, tie this in a bit of coarse muslin and put it in a bottle containing eight ounces of sweet oil; cover it to keep out the dust; let it stand several days; add to this sixty drops of tincture of cantharides, ten drops of oil of rose, neroli and lemon each sixty drops; let it stand one week and you will have one of the most powerful stimulants for the growth of the hair ever known.

_Another:_--To a pint of strong sage tea, a pint of bay rum and a quarter of an ounce of the tincture of cantharides, add an ounce of castor oil and a teaspoonful of rose, or other perfume. Shake well before applying to the hair, as the oil will not mix.

PHALON'S INSTANTANEOUS HAIR DYE.

To one ounce of crystallized nitrate of silver, dissolved in one ounce of concentrated aqua ammonia, add one ounce of gum arabic and six ounces of soft water. Keep in the dark. Remember to remove all grease from the hair before applying the dye.

There is danger in some of the patent hair dyes, and hence the _Scientific American_ offers what is known as the walnut hair dye. The simplest form is the expressed juice of the bark or shell of green walnuts. To preserve the juice a little alcohol is commonly added to it with a few bruised cloves, and the whole digested together, with occasional agitation, for a week or fortnight, when the clear portion is decanted, and, if necessary, filtered. Sometimes a little common salt is added with the same intention. It should be kept in a cool place. The most convenient way of application is by means of a sponge.

DYE FOR WHITE OR LIGHT EYEBROWS.

Boil an ounce of walnut bark in a pint of water for an hour. Add a lump of alum the size of a filbert, and when cold, apply with a camel's-hair brush.

HAIR WASH.

One penny's worth of borax, half a pint of olive oil, one pint of boiling water.

Pour the boiling water over the borax and oil; let it cool; then put the mixture into a bottle. Shake it before using, and apply it with a flannel. Camphor and borax, dissolved in boiling water and left to cool, make a very good wash for the hair; as also does rosemary water mixed with a little borax. After using any of these washes, when the hair becomes thoroughly dry, a little pomatum or oil should be rubbed in to make it smooth and glossy--that is, if one prefers oil on the hair.

OXMARROW-POMADE FOR THE HAIR.

One marrow bone, half a pint of oil, ten cents' worth of citronella. Take the marrow out of the bone, place it in warm water, let it get almost to boiling point, then let it cool and pour the water away; repeat this three times until the marrow is thoroughly "fined." Beat the marrow to a cream with a silver fork, stir the oil in, drop by drop, beating all the time; when quite cold add the citronella, pour into jars and cover down.

TO INCREASE THE HAIR IN THE BROWS.

Clip them and anoint with a, little sweet oil. Should the hair fall out, having been full, use one of the hair invigorators.

BANDOLINE.

To one quart of rose-water add an ounce and a half of gum tragacanth; let it stand forty-eight hours, frequently straining it, then strain through a coarse linen cloth; let it stand two days, and again strain; add to it a drachm of oil of roses. Used by ladies dressing their hair, to make it lie in any position.

COMPLEXION WASH.

Put in a vial one drachm of benzoin gum in powder, one drachm nutmeg oil, six drops of orange-blossom tea, or apple blossoms put in half pint of rain-water and boiled down to one teaspoonful and strained, one pint of sherry wine. Bathe the face morning and night; will remove all flesh-worms and freckles, and give a beautiful complexion. Or, put one ounce of powdered gum of benzoin in a pint of whisky; to use, put in water in wash-bowl till it is milky, allowing it to dry without wiping. This is perfectly harmless.

Cream cures sun-burn on some complexions, lemon juice is best on others, and cold water suits still others best.

BURNET'S CELEBRATED POWDER FOR THE FACE.

Five cents' worth of bay rum, five cents' worth of magnesia snowflake, five cents' worth of bergamot, five cents' worth of oil of lemon; mix in a pint bottle and fill up with rain-water. Shake well, and apply with a soft sponge or cloth.

TOILET OR FACE POWDER.

Take a quarter of a pound of wheat starch pounded fine; sift it through a fine sieve, or a piece of lace; add to it eight drops of oil of rose, oil of lemon thirty drops, oil of bergamot fifteen drops. Rub thoroughly together.

The French throw this powder into alcohol, shaking it, letting it settle, then pouring off the alcohol and drying the powder. In that case, the perfume is added lastly.

TO REMOVE FRECKLES.

The following lotion is highly recommended: One ounce of lemon juice, a quarter of a drachm of powdered borax, and half a drachm of sugar; mix in a bottle, and allow them to stand a few days, when the liquor should be rubbed occasionally on the hands and face. Another application is: Friar's balsam one part, rose-water twenty parts.

Powdered nitre moistened with water and applied to the face night and morning, is said to remove freckles without injury to the skin.

Also, a tablespoonful of freshly grated horse-radish, stirred into a cupful of sour milk; let it stand for twelve hours, then strain and apply often. This bleaches the complexion also, and takes off tan.

TO REMOVE MOTH PATCHES.

Into a pint of rum put a tablespoonful of flour of sulphur. Apply this to the patches once a day, and they will disappear in two or three weeks.

CURE FOR PIMPLES.

One teaspoonful of carbolic acid and one pint of rose-water mixed is an excellent remedy for pimples. Bathe the skin thoroughly and often, but do not let the wash get into the eyes.

This wash is soothing to mosquito bites, and irritations of the skin of every nature.

It is advisable, in order to clear the complexion permanently, to cleanse the blood; then the wash would be of advantage.

To obtain a good complexion, a person's diet should receive the first attention. Greasy food, highly spiced soups, hot bread and butter, meats or game, rich gravies, alcoholic liquors, coffee--all are injurious to the complexion. Strong tea used daily will after a time give the skin the color and appearance of leather. Coffee affects the nerves more, but the skin less, and a healthy nervous system is necessary to beauty. Eating between meals, late suppers, over-eating at meals, eating sweetmeats, candies, etc., all these tend to disorder the blood, producing pimples and blotches.

Washing of the face or skin is another consideration for a good complexion; it should be thoroughly washed in plenty of luke-warm water with some mild soap--then rinsed in clear water _well_; dry with a thick soft towel. If suds is left or wiped off the skin, the action of the air and sun will tan the surface, and permanently deface the complexion; therefore one should be sure to thoroughly rinse off all soap from the skin to avoid the tanning, which will leave a brown or yellow tinge impossible to efface.

PEARL SMELLING SALTS.

Powdered carbonate of ammonia one ounce, strong solution of ammonia half a fluid ounce, oil of rosemary ten drops, oil of bergamot ten drops. Mix, and while moist put in wide-mouthed bottle which is to be well closed.

PEARL TOOTH POWDER.

Prepared chalk half a pound, powdered myrrh two ounces; camphor two drachms, orris root, powdered, two ounces; moisten the camphor with alcohol and mix well together.

REMOVING TARTAR FROM THE TEETH.

This preparation is used by dentists. Pure muriatic acid one ounce, water one ounce, honey two ounces, mix thoroughly. Take a tooth-brush, and wet it freely with this preparation, and briskly rub the black teeth, and in a moment's time they will be perfectly white; then immediately wash out the mouth well with water, that the acid may not act on the enamel of the teeth. This should be done only occasionally.

BAD BREATH.

Bad breath from catarrh, foul stomach, or bad teeth, may be temporarily relieved by diluting a little bromo chloralum with eight or ten parts of water, and using it as a gargle, and swallowing a few drops before going out. A pint of bromo chloralum costs fifty cents, but a small vial will last a long time.

SHAVING COMPOUND.

Half a pound of plain, white soap, dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol, as little as can be used; add a tablespoonful of pulverized borax. Shave the soap and put it in a small tin basin or cup; place it on the fire in a dish of boiling water; when melted, add the alcohol, and remove from the fire; stir in oil of bergamot sufficient to perfume it.

BARBER'S SHAMPOO MIXTURE.

Dissolve half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia and one ounce of borax in one quart of water; then add two ounces of glycerine in three quarts of New England rum, and one quart of bay rum. Moisten the hair with this liquid; shampoo with the hands until a light lather is formed; then wash off with plenty of clean water.

RAZOR-STROP PASTE.

Wet the strop with a little sweet oil, and apply a little flour of emery evenly over the surface.

CAMPHOR ICE.

Melt together over a water bath white wax and spermaceti each one ounce, camphor two ounces, sweet almond oil, one pound, then triturate until the mixture has become homogeneous, and allow one pound of rose-water to flow in slowly during the operation. Excellent for chapped lips or hands.

ODORIFEROUS OR SWEET-SCENTING BAGS.

Lavender flowers one ounce, pulverized orris, two drachms, bruised rosemary leaves half ounce, musk five grains, attar of rose five drops. Mix well, sew up in small flat muslin bags, and cover them with fancy silk or satin.

These are very nice to keep in your bureau drawers or trunk, as the perfume penetrates through the contents of the trunk or drawers. An acceptable present to a single gentleman.

HOW TO KEEP BRUSHES CLEAN.

The best way in which to clean hair-brushes is with spirits of ammonia, as its effect is immediate. No rubbing is required, and cold water can be used just as successfully as warm. Take a tablespoonful of ammonia to a quart of water, dip the hair part of the brush without wetting the ivory, and in a moment the grease is removed; then rinse in cold water, shake well, and dry in the air, but not in the sun. Soda and soap soften the bristles and invariably turn the ivory yellow.

TOILET ITEMS.

Mutton tallow is considered excellent to soften the hands. It may be rubbed on at any time when the hands are perfectly dry, but the best time is when retiring, and an old pair of soft, large gloves thoroughly covered on the inside with the tallow and glycerine in equal parts, melted together, can be worn during the night with the most satisfactory results.

Four parts of glycerine and five parts of yolks of eggs thoroughly mixed, and applied after washing the hands, is also considered excellent.

For chapped hands or face: One ounce of glycerine, one ounce of alcohol mixed, then add eight ounces of rose-water.

Another good rule is to rub well in dry oatmeal after every washing, and be particular regarding the quality of soap. Cheap soap and hard water are the unknown enemies of many people, and the cause of rough skin and chapped hands. Castile soap and rain-water will sometimes cure without any other assistance.

Camphor ice is also excellent, and can be applied with but little inconvenience. Borax dissolved and added to the toilet water is also good.

For chapped lips, beeswax dissolved in a small quantity of sweet oil, by heating carefully. Apply the salve two or three times a day, and avoid wetting the lips as much as possible.

To soften the hands: One can have the hands in soap-suds with soft soap without injury to the skin if the hands are dipped in vinegar or lemon juice immediately after. The acids destroy the corrosive effects of the alkali, and make the hands soft and white. Indian meal and vinegar or lemon juice used on hands where roughened by cold or labor will heal and soften them. Rub the hands in this, then wash off thoroughly and rub in glycerine. Those who suffer from chapped hands will find this comforting.

To remove stains, rub a slice of raw potato upon the stains; or wash the hands in lemon juice or steeped laurel-leaves.

To give a fine color to the nails, the hands and fingers must be well lathered and washed with fine soap; then the nails must be rubbed with equal parts of cinnebar and emery, followed by oil of bitter almonds. To take white spots from the nails, melt equal parts of pitch and turpentine in a small cup; add to it vinegar and powdered sulphur. Rub this on the nails and the spots will soon disappear.

TOILET SOAP.

One pound of washing soda, one pound of lard or clear tallow, half a pound of unslaked lime, one tablespoonful of salt, three quarts of water. Put the soda and lime in a large dish, and pour over the water, boiling hot; stir until dissolved; let it stand until clear, then pour off the clear liquid, add the grease and salt; boil four hours, then pour into pans to cool. If it should be inclined to curdle or separate, indicating the lime to be too strong, pour in a little more water, and boil again. Perfume as you please, and pour into molds or a shallow dish, and, when cold, cut into bars to dry.

ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS.

The following list gives some of the more common poisons and the remedies most likely to be on hand in case of need:--

_Acids:_--These cause great heat and sensation of burning pain from the mouth down to the stomach. The remedies are-: Magnesia, soda, pearl ash, or soap dissolved in water, every two minutes; then use the stomach pump, or an emetic.

_Alkali:_--Drink freely of water with vinegar or lemon juice in it, made very strong of the sour.

_Ammonia:_--Remedy is lemon juice or vinegar.

_Arsenic Remedies:_--Give prompt emetic of mustard and salt, a tablespoonful of each, in a coffeecup of _warm_ water; then follow with sweet oil, butter made warm, or milk. Also may use the white of an egg in half a cupful of milk or lime water. Chalk and water is good, and the preparation of iron, ten drops in water every half hour: hydrated magnesia.

_Alcohol:_--First cleanse out the stomach by an emetic, then dash cold water on the head, and give ammonia (spirits of hartshorn).

_Laudanum, Morphine, Opium:_--First give a strong emetic of mustard and water, then very strong coffee and acid drinks; dash cold water on the head, then keep in motion.

_Belladonna:_--Give an emetic of mustard, salt and water; then drink plenty of vinegar and water or lemonade.

_Charcoal:_--In poisons, by carbonic gas, remove the patient to the open air, dash cold water on the head and body, and stimulate the nostrils and lungs with hartshorn, at the same time rubbing the chest briskly.

_Corrosive Sublimate, Saltpetre, Blue Vitriol, Bed-bug Poison:_--Give white of egg, freshly mixed with water, in large quantities; or give wheat flour and water, or soap and water freely, or salt and water, or large draughts of milk.

_Lead:_--White lead and sugar of lead. Give an emetic, then follow with cathartics, such as castor oil, and epsom salts especially.

_Nux Vomica:_--First emetics, and then brandy.

_Oxalic Acid (frequently taken for epsom salts):_--First give soap and water, or chalk or magnesia and water. Give every two minutes.

_White Vitriol:_--Give plenty of milk and water.

_Tartar Emetic:_--Take large doses of tea made of white oak bark, or peruvian bark. Drink plenty of warm water to encourage vomiting; then, if the vomiting should not stop, give a grain of opium in water.

_Nitrate of Silver (lunar caustic):_--Give a strong solution of common salt and water, and then an emetic.

_Verdigris:_--Give plenty of white of egg and water.

_Tobacco:_--Emetics, frequent draughts of cold water; camphor and brandy.

MISCELLANEOUS.

FRENCH WORDS IN COOKING.

_Aspic:_--Savory jelly for cold dishes.

_Au gratin:_--Dishes prepared with sauce and crumbs and baked.

_Bouchées:_--Very thin patties or cakes, as name indicates--mouthfuls.

_Baba:_--A peculiar, sweet French yeast cake.

_Bechamel:_--A rich, white sauce made with stock.

_Bisque:_--A white soup made of shell fish.

_To Blanch:_--To place any article on the fire till it boils, then plunge it in cold water; to whiten poultry, vegetables, etc. To remove the skin by immersing in boiling water.

_Bouillon:_--A clear soup, stronger than broth, yet not so strong as _consommé_, which is "reduced" soup.

_Braisé:_--Meat cooked in a closely covered stewpan, so that it retains its own flavor and those of the vegetables and flavorings put with it.

_Brioche:_--A very rich, unsweetened French cake made with yeast.

_Cannelon:_--Stuffed rolled-up meat.

_Consommé:_--Clear soup or bouillon boiled down till very rich, _i.e._ consumed.

_Croquettes:_--A savory mince of fish or fowl, made with sauce into shapes, and fried.

_Croustades:_--Fried forms of bread to serve minces or other meats upon.

_Entrée:_--A small dish, usually served between the courses at dinner.

_Fondue:_--A light preparation of melted cheese.

_Fondant:_--Sugar boiled and beaten to a creamy paste.

_Hollandaise Sauce:_--A rich sauce, something like hot mayonnaise.

_Matelote:_--A rich fish stew, with wine.

_Mayonnaise:_--A rich salad dressing.

_Meringue:_--Sugar and white of egg beaten to sauce.

_Marmade:_--A liquor of spices, vinegar, etc., in which fish or meats are steeped before cooking.

_Miroton:_--Cold meat warmed in various ways, and dished in circular form.

_Purse:_--This name is given to very thick soups, the ingredients for thickening which have been rubbed through a sieve.

_Poulette Sauce:_--A bechamel sauce, to which white wine and sometimes eggs are added.

_Ragout:_--A rich, brown stew, with mushrooms, vegetables, etc.

_Piquante:_--A sauce of several flavors, acid predominating.

_Quenelles_:--Forcemeat with bread, yolks of eggs highly seasoned, and formed with a spoon to an oval shape; then poached and used either as a dish by themselves, or to garnish.

_Remoulade:_--A salad dressing differing from mayonnaise, in that the eggs are hard boiled and rubbed in a mortar with mustard, herbs, etc.

_Rissole:_--Rich mince of meat or fish rolled in thin pastry and fried.

_Roux:_--A cooked mixture of butter and flour, for thickening soups and stews.

_Salmi:_--A rich stew of game, cut up and dressed, when half roasted.

_Sauter:_--To toss meat, etc., over the fire, in a little fat.

_Soufflé:_--A very light, much whipped-up pudding or omelette.

_Timbale:_--A sort of pie in a mold.

_Vol au vents:_--Patties of very light puff paste, made without a dish or mold, and filled with meat or preserves, etc.

_Catherine Owen, in Good Housekeeping._

* * * * *

ARTICLES REQUIRED FOR THE KITCHEN.

The following list will show what articles are necessary for the kitchen, and will be quite an aid to young housekeepers when about commencing to furnish the utensils needed in the kitchen department, and may prove useful to many.

3 Sweeping brooms and 1 dust-pan.
1 Whisk broom.
1 Bread box.
2 Cake boxes.
1 Large flour box.
1 Dredging box.
1 Large-sized tin pepper box.
1 Spice box containing smaller spice boxes.
2 Cake pans, two sizes.
4 Bread pans.
2 Square biscuit pans.
1 Apple corer.
1 Lemon squeezer.
1 Meat cleaver.
3 Kitchen knives and forks.
1 Large kitchen fork and 4 kitchen spoons, two sizes.
1 Wooden spoon for cake making.
1 Large bread knife.
1 Griddle cake turner, also 1 griddle.
1 Potato masher.
1 Meat board.
1 Dozen patty pans; and the same number of tartlet pans.
1 Large tin pail and 1 wooden pail.
2 Small tin pails.
1 Set of tin basins.
1 Set of tin measures.
1 Wooden butter ladle.
1 Tin skimmer.
1 Tin steamer.
2 Dippers, two sizes.
2 Funnels, two sizes.
1 Set of jelly cake tins.
4 Pie pans.
3 Pudding molds, one for boiling, two for baking, two sizes.
2 Dish pans, two sizes.
2 Cake or biscuit cutters, two sizes.
2 Graters, one large and one small.
1 Coffee canister.
1 Tea canister.
1 Tin or granite-ware teapot.
1 Tin or granite-ware coffeepot.
4 Milk pans, 1 milk strainer.
1 Dozen iron gem pans or muffin rings.
1 Coarse gravy strainer, 1 fine strainer.
1 Colander.
1 Flour sifter.
2 Scoops, one for flour, one for sugar.
2 Jelly molds, two sizes.
1 Can opener, 1 egg beater.
1 Cork screw.
1 Chopping-knife.
2 Wooden chopping-bowls, two sizes.
1 Meat saw.
2 Large earthen bowls.
4 Stone jars.
1 Coffee mill.
1 Candlestick.
2 Market baskets, two sizes.
1 Clock.
1 Ash bucket.
1 Gridiron.
2 Frying pans or spiders, two sizes.
4 Flat-irons, 2 number 8 and 2 number 6.
2 Dripping pans, two sizes.
3 Iron kettles, porcelain lined if possible.
1 Corn beef or fish kettle.
1 Tea-kettle.
2 Granite-ware stewpans, two sizes.
1 Wire toaster.
1 Double kettle for cooking custards, grains, etc.
2 Sugar boxes, one for coarse and one for fine sugar.
1 Waffle iron.
1 Step ladder.
1 Stove, 1 coal shovel.
1 Pair of scales.
2 Coal hods or buckets.
1 Kitchen table, 2 kitchen chairs.
1 Large clothes basket.
1 Wash boiler, 1 wash board.
8 Dozen clothes pins.
1 Large nail hammer and one small tack hammer.
1 Bean pot.
1 Clothes wringer.

An ingenious housewife will manage to do with less conveniences, but these articles, if they can be purchased in the commencement of housekeeping, will save time and labor, making the preparation of food more easy--and it is always economy in the end to get the best material in all wares, as, for instance, the double plate tin will last for years, whereas the poor kind has to be replaced in a short time; the low-priced earthenware is soon broken up, whereas the strong stoneware, costing but a trifle more, lasts almost a lifetime.

In relation to the economy and management of the kitchen, I might suggest that the most essential thing is cleanliness in cooking, and also cleanliness with your person as well as in the keeping of the kitchen.

The hands of the cook should be always thoroughly cleansed before touching or handling anything pertaining to the cooking. Next there should never be anything wasted or thrown away that can be turned to account, either for your own family or some family in poor circumstances. Bread that has become hard can be used for toasting, or for stuffing and pudding. In warm weather any gravies or soups that are left from the preceding day should be boiled up and poured into clean pans. This is particularly necessary where vegetables have been added to the preparation, as it then so soon turns sour. In cooler weather, every other day will be often enough to warm up these things. In cooking, clear as you go; that is to say, do not allow a host of basins, plates, spoons, and other utensils, to accumulate on the dressers and tables whilst you are engaged in preparing the dinner. By a little management and forethought, much confusion may be saved in this way. It is as easy to put a thing in its place when it is done with, as it is to keep continually moving it to find room for fresh requisites. For instance, after making a pudding, the flour-tub, paste-board, and rolling-pin, should be put away, and any basins, spoons, etc., should be neatly packed up near the sink, to be washed when the proper time arrives. Neatness, order and method should be always observed.

Never let your stock of spices, salt, seasoning, herbs, etc., dwindle down so low that some day, in the midst of preparing a large dinner, you find yourself minus a very important ingredient, thereby causing much confusion and annoyance.

After you have washed your saucepans, fish-kettle, etc., stand them before the fire for a few minutes to get thoroughly dry inside, before putting them away. They should then be kept in a dry place, in order that they may escape the deteriorating influence of rust, and thereby be quickly destroyed. Never leave saucepans dirty from one day's use to be cleaned the next; it is slovenly and untidy.

Do not be afraid of hot water in washing up dishes and dirty cooking utensils. As these are essentially greasy, luke-warm water cannot possibly have the effect of cleansing them effectually. Do not be chary also of changing and renewing the water occasionally. You will thus save yourself much time and labor in the long run.

Keep a cake of sapolio always on hand in the kitchen--always convenient for rubbing off stains from earthenware, tin, glass, in fact, almost everything but silver; it is a cheap and valuable article, and can be purchased at nearly every grocery in the United States.

DYEING OR COLORING.

GENERAL REMARKS.

Everything should be clean. The goods should be scoured in soap and the soap rinsed out. They are often steeped in soap lye over night. Dip them into water just before putting them into preparations, to prevent spotting. Soft water should be used, _sufficient to cover the goods well; this is always understood where quantity is not mentioned_. When goods are dyed, air them; then rinse well, and hang up to dry. Do not wring silk or merino dresses when scouring or dyeing them. If cotton goods are to be dyed a light color, they should first be bleached.

SILKS.

_Black:_--Make a weak lye as for black or woolens; work goods in bichromate of potash a little below boiling heat, then dip in the log-wood in the same way; if colored in blue vitriol dye, use about the same heat.

_Orange:_--For one pound goods, annotto one pound, soda one pound; repeat as desired.

_Green--Very Handsome:_--For one pound goods, yellow oak bark eight ounces; boil one-half hour; turn off the liquor from bark and add alum six ounces; let it stand until cold; while making this, color goods in blue dye-tub a light blue, dry and wash, dip in alum and bark dye. If it does not take well, warm the dye a little.

_Purple:_--For one pound goods. First obtain a light blue, by dipping in home-made dye-tub; then dry; dip in alum four ounces, with water to cover, when little warm. If color is not full enough add chemic.

_Yellow:_--For one pound goods, alum three ounces, sugar of lead three-fourths ounce; immerse goods in solution over night; take out, drain, and make a new lye with fustic one pound; dip until the required color is obtained.

_Crimson:_--For one pound goods, alum three ounces; dip at hand heat one hour; take out and drain while making new dye by boiling ten minutes, cochineal three ounces, bruised nutgalls two ounces and cream of tartar one-fourth ounce, in one pail of water; when little cool, begin to dip, raising heat to boil; dip one hour; wash and dry.

_Sky Blue on Silk or Cotton--Very Beautiful:_--Give goods as much color from a solution of blue vitriol two ounces, to water one gallon, as it will take up in dipping fifteen minutes; then run it through lime water. This will make a beautiful and durable sky blue.

_Brown on Silk or Cotton--Very Beautiful:_--After obtaining a blue color as above, run goods through a solution of prussiate of potash one ounce, to water one gallon.

_Light Blue:_--For cold water one gallon, dissolve alum one-half tablespoonful, in hot water one teacupful, and add to it; then add chemic, one teaspoonful at a time to obtain the desired color--the more chemic the darker the color.

WOOLEN GOODS.

_Chrome Black--Best in Use:_--For five pounds of goods, blue vitriol six ounces; boil a few minutes, then dip the goods three-fourths of an hour, airing often; take out the goods, make a dye with three pounds of log-wood, boil one-half hour; dip three-fourths of an hour, air goods, and dip three-fourths of an hour more. Wash in strong suds. This will not fade by exposure to sun.

_Wine Color:_--For five pounds of goods, camwood two pounds; boil fifteen minutes and dip the goods one-half hour; boil again and dip one-half hour then darken with blue vitriol one and one-half ounces; if not dark enough, add copperas one-half ounce.

_Scarlet--Very Fine:_--For one pound of goods, cream of tartar one-half ounce, cochineal, well pulverized, one half ounce, muriate of tin two and one-half ounces; boil up the dye and enter the goods; work them briskly for ten or fifteen minutes, then boil one and one-half hours, stirring goods slowly while boiling. Wash in clear water and dry in the shade.