Household Hints.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 135, 1 March 1909, Page 3

Household Hints.

Sanitation in the Home. An unexpected visit to the kitchen will often disclose the fact that the sink is the repository of greasy water, coffee grounds, and parings of vegetables, in spite of your commands to the contrary. Even with the most careful clearing up, and washing of dishes, some refuse must pass into the waste pipe. With care and proper cleansing, plumber's bills may be avoided as well as a disease-breeding sink. It only takes a few minutes' time, and a small wrench to remove occasionally the nut at the bottom of the trap under the sink. With the water that runs out will be refuse that cannot be reached in any other way. The last thing at night a strong solution o f . soda should be poured down the drain, to be followed in the morning with a gallon or more of boiling water. A little concentrated lye sprinkled over the strainer will be washad down the pipe and effect the same purpose. To Clean Chiffon. Chiffon should be washed in soap lather by carefully roiling and pressing between the hands, then rinsed in clean water and stiffened in gum water, the same proportion as for iacc, namely, one tablespoonful to a ipint of water. Roll it in a cloth to absorb some of the moisture, but it must not be too dry when ic is ironed. To iron chifTon. it must be placed in on the table wrong side up and ironed along the selvedge, as ironing across would displace the fibres and destroy the appearance of the delicate fabric. When the chifTon is being ironed it ought to be held tighty up in front of the iron to remove the crinkles that are produced by washing, and to make ti quite even and smooth. Chiffon ties with a natural crepon crinkle should not be ironed, but instead the ends should be pinned out on a table, the tie just stretched enough to permit of the ; crinkles falling into their natural shape. When dry, fold it without j pressing the folds in; air. and put ' carefullv awav.

Hints on Cleaning Clothes. Grease spot? purr- anri simple arc often harder to get rid of than mud. The old-fashioned method with hot iron and brown paper is as good as any with some materials, but in the case of silk one must always proceed warily in the application of heat, because an iron, unless used with utmost care, is apt to give that shiny appearance which one associates with garments that have been worn "not wisely, but 100 well." Sponging and Pressing Cloth. Lay cloth to be s|>onged on a table, being sure that it is perfectly smooth. Cover all over with a muslin cloth wrung from hot water. Roll on a stick carefully, allowing no folds in either goods or muslin. Lay away for one hour; press on wrong side with hot iron on a perfectly smooth ironing table. Never rub iron across goods, but always with the threads. To press seams in heavy cloth, wring cloth from hot water, lay on same, rub iron over, remove cloth and press until dry by setting the iron on the scam, pressing, then lifting the iron io press the next section, never moving the iron along the seam. A Shiny Skirt.

To remove shine from a black cloth skirt rub it well with a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of turpentine; dry in the open air. Preserving the colours of dres ;es and blouses of delicate shades which require washing, is sometimes a difficult matter if a little forethought is not exercised. A simple method, and one which rarely fails, is to soak the article in cold water in which a good handful of salt has been dissolved. Then wash in the ordinary way with plenty of soap jelly in tepid water, using no soda or washing powder. Green Tomato Jam.- -To every pound of fruit jib. of preserving sugar and one lemon. Peel the lemon thinly, then cut off the pith and slice the inside of the lemon, removing the pips. Slice the tomatoes and put them with the lemon and sugar into a preserving pan and boil till the tomatoes are quite transparent and the jam a good consistency. Then put it into jam pols and cover in the usual way. A Nice Way to Cook Steak.—Steak may be cooked in a variety of ways. It is very nice covered with a paste, in this way: Take a nice cut of round steak, beat it tender, and cut it in chunks, salting and peppering each piece. Make a paste of flour and water, adding a little salt, and cover each piece of steak with paste, then roll it in dry flour to cover completely, fry brown in boiling fat and serve with gravy and mashed potatoes. Tomato Chutney.—Take Tibs, of green tomatoes cut in thick slices, six large onion?, a quarter of a pound of fresh ground mustard half an ounce of ground ginger, half an ounce of pepper, on ounce each of cloves and allspice (these in a muslin bag to be removed), half a pound of brown sugar to every quart of vinegar, and enough vinegar to boil the whole in. Boil till the fruit is clear.

A Home-Made Jelly Bag. When your favourite recipe for making apple or any other jelly tells you tu»nour all through a icily bap, you need not feel dismayed at the thought of "another expense," for a jelly bag is so easily and cheaply made at home that the wonder is ho fewwomen make them. Get a .square yard of coarse flannel already well shrunk — and fold it across to form a triangle. Cut off seven or eight inches- of it at the long side of the triangle, and .-lop*; the sides gradually to the pointed end, then join the two sides very firmly from the point to the top. Bind thi- top with broad taj»e this v-ili prevent it stretching out of shupe when being used—and sew a long tap< at the top of the seam, joining it to the opposite side. This loop is for the purpose of hanging up when not in use. Before pouring the jelly into the hag, it should be dipped in very hot water for an instant, by so doing the syrup will pass through more quickly.