Household Hints.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 134, 25 February 1909, Page 3

Household Hints.

Brushing the Hair.

Uncooked potatoes fried in fat clarify it more thoroughly than water.

Peas and beans are great flesh formers, so should find a place in children's diet.

In economical cookery flavour soups and gravies with vinegar, instead of sherry. Very little difference will be detected.

Raisins may easily be stoned if boiling water is poured on them, and they are left in it for a short time.

Old corks should be kept as they are useful to make a fire bum up. Throw a handful on the fire and it will quickly blaze.

Pastry will be improved if a yolk of egg and the juice of half a lemon be added to the water used for mixing. It will make the pastry lighter.

A bruised leaf of poppy applied immediately to the affected part is an excellent cure for the stings of wasps or bees.

Cucumber sandwiches are a delicious sandwich for afternon tea. The cucumber should be minced without first paring, and mixed with a few sprigs of finely chopped water-cress.

An -admirable way to keep green peas is to soak in salted water for five minutes before boiling, after which spread them on a cloth to dry. Now they will be ready to bottle. Cover the tops with melted mutton fat, and set in a cool, dry place.

Cold and Tepid Baths.--"If women would but realise the value of cold or tepid baths, and the necessity for taking them daily, there would be fewer 'nerves,' " said a doctor recently, discussing this common ailment. Every healthy woman should sponge or bathe the whole of her body once a day with cold or tepid water, following the operation with a vigorous rub with a coarse towel. This will impart vigour and help the system to resist colds. Baths should be taken immediately after rising and never directly after a meal. From two to five minutes can be regarded as sufficient time to remain in a bath.

Apple Omelette*. Stew eight large apples very soft, mash them fine and season with a cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of butter, and nutmeg or cinnamon to suit the taste. When the apples are cold, add four wellbeaten eggs. Bake slowly for twenty minues and serve.

Mildew may be removed from black lace by moistening a piece of white paper with sprits of wine and sal volatile, mingled with water to the proportion of a quarter. Lay this paper threefold on the spot over a threefold piece of blotting paper on the other side of the material and press it well down. Probably if the stains are of long standing the process-will have to be repeated

Don't Have Dark Walls. —Have you ever discovered how much better even quite cheap furniture looks against a light coloured wall than against a dark one? A plain cream paper or a cream distempered wall, is the finest background going if you want your household gods to look their best. Try it next time you arc havine a room done up. You will be pleased with the result.

To Boil Celery.- Bring it to boiling point, and simmer to forty-five minutes, drain thoroughly, pour sauce over, and serve.

To Soften Water for Toilet Use. — Keep a lump of rough fuller's earth in your ewer, empty it out once a week, and put .in fresh fuller's earth.

To Stiffen a Hat. A thin solution of gum arabic or the white of an egg well whisked and applied with a nail brush can be successfully employed to stiffen hats.

The health of the hair is greatly influenced by a proper and plentiul use of the brush and comb; by a proper use is inferred the necessity of brushing the scalp as well as the hair, for, remember, there are two purposes to be attained by brushing; firstly, to give health to the skin of the head, for which end you cannot brush too much, or use brushes too penetrating, for your aim is to produce active friction of the skin; secondly, to smooth and disentangle the hair and free it from dust. For this simple purpose your brushes may be as soft as you please, and your hand as light as possible. It is easy to see, therefore, that those hairdressers who are divided on the subject of brushing some recommending the use of soft brushes Bnd "small" brushing, other hard brushes and abundant brushing, are both right as regards a particular theory, but are at variance in their views, Hard brushes must be accompanied by careful handling, or the scalp might be torn and thinned. Be gentle alike in your scalp and surface brushing, but see that your object is attained. There is philosophy in even brushing the hair. A plan recommended by a celebrated skin specialist is to brush the scalp until redness and a warm plow arc produced, and then rub among the roots of tho hair pome stimulating oii or pomatum. This treatment should hepracticed once or twice a day, or at intervals of a fc-w days *.vh<-r. the hair is very weak and fal:.- r;*.ioci:y. When the fall is e;. : - r.. : >l;e ; _i should be weil vi/i'L'.'i with a *<.> ft toothbrush, dipped in distilled vinegar, morning and evening, and good general brushing be pursued, as usual.