HOME HINTS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 502, 21 September 1912, Page 6

HOME HINTS.

To keep meat fresh in hot weather, dust the joint with dry bran and hang in a cool dry place. To remove mud stains from dresses, dissolve a little carbonate of soda in water and wash the stains with this.

To clean a rusty knitting needle, rub over with a cinder, and it will be clean and bright in a few minutes. Brooms should be dipped once a week for a minute or two in a pail of boiling: soapsuds. This will make them tough but pliable, and they will last longer and not wear out the carpets as much as they otherwise would. To whiten ivory knife handles, soak in alum water which has been boiled. The water must be allowed to cool and the ivory should be left soaking for an hour, brushed thoroughly with a nail brush, and allowed to dry slowly in a damp towel. When putting away woollen goods, soak blotting paper in turpentine and place amongst the paper in which they are packed. This will effectually drive away all moths. To remove fruit stains from table cloths, cover with powdered starch and leave this on the stain for a few hours. All the discolouration will then be absorbed by the starch. - When the metal tips come off shoe hces, dip the ends in household glue to the length of half an inch, twirl them between the finger and thumb into the shppe of a tip, let the glue dry, and you will have a tip that will outlast the strongest shoe string. To clean white straw hats, rub with a slice of cut lemon, rinse with cold water, and stiffen by brushing with a brush dipped in a weak solution of gum and water. Black straw hats should be thoroughly brushed to remove dust, then painted with a mixture of equal portions of gum and ink. Brushes and brooms would last much longer and do better work if they had an occasional bath. Four tablespoonsful of household ammonia in two quarts of lukewarm water are the proportions for this. Let the bristles of straws stand in the "faater for half an hour, then rinse thoroughly and change in a place to dry. Hot water in which soda has been dissolved should be poured down the sink every day, and some disinfectant every few days. By attention to little things of this kind the danger of illness is minimised. Lavatory pipes should be flushpd with disinfectant every week or fortnight. The cheapest disinfectant is carbolic acid, whicn can be procured from any chemist.

Turpentine. A tablespoonnful of turpentine put in the boiler with clothes will whiten them beautifully. A cheap disinfectant to use in scrubbing or washing utensils in a sick room is made by adding a teaspoonful of turpentine to every pail of hot water it is a powerful disinfectant, ill dispel all bad odours, and is also the best preventive of moths. Saturate pieces of brown paper and place in boxes. If moths are in carpet, iron on wrong side with a good hot iron, sprinkle the floor with turpentine, rub well in, and turn the carpet back. Repeat if needed. Cleaning Leather. For cleaning brown boots and other leather or kid articles use petrol. Rub briskly with a soft rag dipped in petrol, until clean. Put the article out in the open to dry, then polish as usual. Care must be taken to keep the petrol from all lights, as it is highly inflammable. It may also be used for cleaning soiled silks and any other delicate fabrics. White kid gloves will clean beautifully with its aid. New Kid Gloves.—Before wearing new kid gloves, if they are laid be tween the folds of a damp cloth for an hour they will be found much easier to put on. The damp causes the kid to become more pliable, so that it will stretch to the required shape without cracking or splitting, and if rubbed with a piece of stale bread every time they are taken off they will never need to be sent to a cleaners. Gloves treated in this way will last a long time. Shortbread. Mix two pounds of flour with four ounces of most sugar in a bowl, rub one pound fresh butter into it; when thoroughly mixed melt half nound more butter and use that to work it into paste. Roll out on a well-floured board about one inch in thickness cut into shapes required board about one inch in thickness cut into shapes required notch round the edge with the back of knife, prick with skewer decorate with strips of citron peel or caraway comfits place on white kitchen peper dredged with flonr, and put on baking sheets. Bake into a light brown colour. The less the bread is kneaded the shorter it will be. If this quantity is too much use half the ingredients.