Housekeeper.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 440, 18 August 1904, Page 7

Housekeeper.

THE PREVENTION OP SNORING. DR. MONRAD KUSTER found that, with the exception of certain diseases,

such as hypertrophies and adenoids, etc., which obstruct nasal breathing, snoring is a habit which may easily be overcome. Snoring is duo to potency of the mouth during sleep; the snorer stops snoring as soon as the mouth is-closed. The condition is aggravated when the patient lies on his back. Dr Kuster constructed a bandage to hold up the lower jaw, and to prevent its drooping during sleep. These bandages may be used on children who habitually sleep with their mouths open, thus producing catarrhal conditions, deafness, etc. . The bandage should be applied every night until the child has become used to natal breathing. BORAX FOR HOUSEHOLD USE, Its uses in the household are many. It is a great labour-saver. It is easily crushed, or reduced to powder, and is then known as powdered borax, in which form it is usually made use of for household purposes. A weak solution is excellent as a healing lotion for slight cuts and scratches. To soften and whiten the hands, bathe them in hot water to which a good sized pinch of borax has been added. A pinch of borax added-to the water in which infants are bathed tends to strengthen the skin and prevent chafing. To remove the shiny look common to some complexions, add a pinch of borax to the water in which the face is bathed.

Mothers will experience much relief from the burning and smarting of the nipples, caused by baby's nursing, if they will wash the nipples at once in borax water. For toilet use it is invaluable, and enters into the composition of many of the popular cosmetics of the day. , It has a healing, softening, and whitening effect upon the skin.

A weak solution of borax is highly recommended as a wash for sore eyes, redness of the lids, etc. The strength of the. solution may vary somewhat, according to the purpose for which it is to be used. A teaspoon level full of powdered borax to a pint of water is not too strong for most uses ; but for infants and very young children it may be made weaker. RINGWORM. lodine has been found to bo one of the most effective agents for destroying the parasite upon which the disease depends-. An excellent method of applying it is the following :—Thoroughly cleanse the scalp with soap and water. Dry perfectly, then apply a solution of one part of pure iodine in thirty parts of flexible collodion. Renew the application each day for four days. At the end of fifteen days remove the collodion, wash the scalp first with soap and water, then, after thoroughly removing the soap, wash with a hot solution of bichloride of mercury, one twenty-nfth-huudredth. After allowing the bichloride solution to remain in contact with the scalp for half an hour, wash .with pure water, dry and apply vaseline or zinc ointment. If necessary repeat the application. A CHEAP CURE FOR DANDRUFF. A cheap remedy for dandruff is ordinary brown vinegar rubbed into the scalp with a small sponge, or brushed through the hair, taking care that the bristles of the brush penetrate to the scalp. A well-known authority on the hair has said, ' You cannot brush the hair too little or the scalp too much.' Friction the scalp as often as you like with the tips of your fingers. It will loosen any little scales that occur near the roots of the hair, and give the skin healthy action; then use your brush to take away the little particles of dry skin that you have loosened. Dandruff "is encouraged very much by insufficient rinsing. If soap is used as a hair-wash especial care is needed in tho rinsing, otherwise the hair, when dry, will be sticky and dusty-looking.

COOKERY RECIPES. SULTANA PUDDING.

Mix Goz. of Hour, 3oz. of suet, 3oz. of sultanas, one tcaspoonful of baking powder, loz. of sugar, one well-beaten egg, and sufficient milk or water to make a stiff paste. Boil in a well-floured cloth for three hours. OX TAIL SOUP. Take some stock and vegetables well boiled together, and strained; allow this to get cold, and then free it from fat. Take two ox tails, soak them in enough water to cover them; take them out and cut into joints; put them on the fire in the same water, adding a slice or two of ham, and stew them gently till tender. Take as much of your stock as you require for soup, strain into it the liquor the oxtails have been stewing in, add the best piece of the tails, a glass of port wine, pepper, salt. Thicken with a little flour and servo. WINE SAUCE. The following wine sauce is reckoned an improvement to boiled puddings:—Break

up three ounces of butter with a cupful of powdered sugar, till the whole is like a cream; add to it three wineglassfuls of sherry, and mix all well together. Boil the sauce, stiring without ceasing in one direction for five minutes. Serve boiling hot. THE USES OP LEMONS. Tho way to get tho better of the billious system without bluo pills or quinine is to take tho juice of one, two or three lemons, as appotitc craves, in as much water as makes it pleasant to drink without sugar before going to bed. In tho morning, on rising, at least half an hour before breakfast, take the juice of one lomen in a goblet of water. This will clear the system of humour and bile with efficiency, Without any of the weakening effects of calomel. People should not irritate the stomach by eating lemons clear ; the powerful acid juice, which is always most corrosive, invariably produces inflammation after a while; hut properly diluted, so that it does its medical work without harm, and when the stomach is ckar of food, has abundant opportunity to work over the system thoroughly. STUFFED TURNIPS. Peel the turnips, and boil in slightly salted water till half-done; take them out, slice oil a thin bit from the bottom, to ensure their standing firmly, and cut a piece off tho top ; scoop out the middle of the turnips, and fill them with a stuffing of minced veal, onion, parsley, and a few traffics of mushrooms ; tie on the slices cut off the tops, place the turnips in a shallow saucepan, pour over them some boiling broth or gravy, add a lump of butter, season with salt and pepper, and let them simmer till quite tender. Take thorn out, remove the threads, and arrange them on a dish ; thicken the sauce with the yolk of an egg, pour it over the turnips, and serve hot.

REAL SCOTCH SHORTBREAD. A Highland maidservant gives me the following recipe for Scotch shortbread: — One pound of flour, half a pound of rice Hour, one pound of salt butter, half a pound of fresh butter, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, one egg, and one pound of powdered sugar. Put the butter on to tho rolling board and sprinkle over it the sugar, and well mix these together, working with the hands until sugar and butter are thoroughly incorporated. Then the flour, mixed with the carbonate of soda, is added to the butter and sugar, and all are worked together until the mixture becomes a dry ball. The ingredients should bo worked together with the hands for fully half an hour. Then the egg must be broken into the mixture while it is on the rolling board, no basin being used for the mixing. Knead until the shortbread is a stiff dough; then divide them into round cakes, put then on a flat tin, and bake for twenty minutes. CAULIFLOWER BAKED WITH CHEESE. Pull off the green leaves and place in a bowl of cold, salted water, head downward, for half an hour to dislodge any insects; put in a saucepan of boiling water, stalk down, add one teaspoonful of salt, and boil until tender ; drain and cool slightly, then separate the flowerets and arrange in a buttered dish; pour over sufficient wlyte sauce to moisten, sprinkle thickly with grated cheese, and brown in a quick oven.