HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 334, 4 February 1911, Page 6

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Ordinary beverages have little food ; value except those made from cocoa, j chocolate, milk and eggs. Orderly ways do not come to chil- i dren "by nature," they must be taught. Tney are a valuable part of j practical education. \ In laundering coloured shirt waists j or neglige shirts, use hike warm j water with plenty of salt in it and a i moderate application of pure white j soap. Dry wrong side out in (he j shade and remove them from the line j as soon as dried. j A little cornflour added to the salt j in the salt cellar will prevent it hard- j erring. Proportions are, half a tea- . spoonful of cornflour to two tablespoonsful of salt. Butter muslm folded four times makes a much better strainer for clearing jellies than the old-fashioned flannel bag. Before using dip it in boiling water, and keep the jelly warm while straining. To whiten flannels made yellow by age, dissolve ljlb of white soap in about twelve gallons of soft water, adding two thirds of an ounce of spirits of ammonia. Place the flannel articles in this solution, stir well for a short time, and then wash in ordinary water. Very few people seem to know that the simplest preventive uf mosquito bites i 3 oil of lavender. This is very strong, and the odour is so pungent that it reminds one of furniture polish or wet paint. It retains its odour for hour 3 and all insects seem to dislike it. Lavender water is a good substitute, but it is not so lasting or so powerful as the oil. To teach children to take proper care of their clothing books, etc., will save them a great deal of money in after life, for well-cared for things last twice as long as those that are nglected and badly used. To treat a stye in the eye dip some clean soft pieces of linen rag in a lotion made with half a pint of hot water, in which a heaped teaspoonful of boracic acid crystals have been dissolved, and bathe the eye. The hot rags should be applied for a quarter of an hour and the eye then thoroughly dried, and the process repeated two or three times daily, fresh rags being used each time. Do not let the child go out till at least an hour after the bathing. Styes generally show that a child is run down and requires plenty of good nourishing food and a tonic.

Do not attempt to frighten children and inferiors by passion. It does more harm than it does good to them. The same thing is better done by firmness and persuaison. Never threaten a child that you will punish it unless you mean to, and likewise if you promise a favour or a present keep your word. A sad trick, some mothers and nurses have is tapping the child's hands when folded nver the chest, also laying a child upon its back in a carriage looking into vacancy. Lay the baby upon its side. This protects the eyes from the sun and so prevents injury to the eyesight. Few children require whipping nowadays. Even quite cheap table linen may be made to look as glossy as fine damask if ironed in the following way:—After the linen has been washed, boiled, and rinsed, wring it as dry as possible, roll it up in a dry sheet, and leave it for an hour. Then iron till it is thoroughly dry. In this way the linen escapes the wear and tear of hanging on a line and keeps a better shape. To clean white paint, take a clean enamelled saucepan and place in it one pint of water; add to this half a bar of yellow soap finely shredded, and boil gently until dissolved. Next remove from the fire and'place on one side. When quite cold add to the mixture a third of the quantity of whiting, which should be first of all mixed to a paste with a little water. Place in a stone jar. When cold, take a clean flannel, dip in warm water, and thoroughly damp the paint; then dip the flannel into the mixture, and well scour the paint with this. The paint should then be carefully rinsed with a clean flannel wrung out of warm water to remove all trace of the whiting, finnally dried and polished with a clean cloth. This method does not injure the paint in the very least, but leaves it beautifully clean and shining.

SOME USEFUL RECIPES. Cold Savoury Cutlets.—Braise the beat end of a neck of lamb with vegetables and herbs, and put it aside till cold. Then cut the joints apart. Trim the cutlets neatly. Have ready a little savoury jelly, adding to it a dessertspoonful of mint sauce. Dip the cutlets twice into the jelly (which must be almost cold) so that they are thickly masked, and serve in a circle with a good salad dressing. Decorate with finely chopped tomato or beetroot. Fairy Gingerbread.—One half cup butter/ one cup sugar, two cups flour, one half cup sweet milk, one half teaspoon ginger, one half tea spocn soda. Cream butter and add sugar gradually. When very light, add ginger and the milk, in which the soda has been dissolved, then sift the flour, and add to it. Spread mixture very thin on tin sheets and bake in moderate oven until brown. Gooseberry Fool.- Boil two pounds of unripe gooseberries in a saucepan with half a pint of water. When quite soft and broken pass the fruit through a sieve into a basin in which is a well-beaten egg, and while the gooseberries are passing through the strainer stir the egg continually with a wooden spoon. Add one pint of milk, mix well, pour the preparation into a glass dish, and serve cold.

Italian Puffs.- -Mix in a basin six ounces of finely-chopped cold meat, two ounces of broad crumbs, two te;> sponsful of vinegar, the same quantity of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of minced onion, and the same of mixed sweet herbs; add pepper ard salt to taste, a pinch of sugar, and a teacupful of milk. Make ateaspoor.ful of baking powder and a pound of flour into a dough; add three ounces of lard or dripping, using a little water to mix. Roll the paste out thin, and cut it into fourteen rounds, laying some of the mixture in the middle of each piece; wet the edger, double the pastry over, and press them close together. Place the puffs on a baking tin with a little lard, cr dripping in it, and put it in the oven. Baste with the dripping whilst cooking. When nicely browned, drain the pull's on kitchen paper, and serve very hot. Marmalade Pudding. -Ingredients: E'our ounces breadcrumbs, four ounces suet, four ounces sugar, two ounces flour, six ounces marmalade, one egg, milk, baking powder. Method: Mix all dry ingredients except baking j powder together; add beaten egg, marmalade, and a little milk. Thor- | oughly mix, add teaspoon of baking [ powder, pour into buttered mould, and steam two hours. Devilled Cockle Patties.—Set half a pound of cooked cockles in a saucepan with sufficient white sauce to cover them. Season with cayenne pepper and a pinch of curry powder, and then add a few drops of essence !of anchovy. Let all simmer very ! gently for a few minutes. Have ! ready nicely-made patty cases, fill j with the mixture, and serve very ! hot on a d'oyley.