HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Matamata Record, Volume II, Issue 100, 3 October 1918, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Largo spring press studs are nice for pillow-cases, instead of buttonß or tapes. Milk will not turn sour if a tableBpooni'ul of lino salt be added to every quart. To remove dust from the ridges in door panels use a soft, dry nailbrush. Keep one specially for this purpose. Bre.'.d and patty pans are best greased out with a brush dipped in melted cooking fat. Put a smn'.l piece of butter into t"h<J Wv\.\w& tvvvvt •, this orevents it boiling over and makes less scum. In ease at'jam burning at the bottom of the pmi, sdd the juice 01 a Vernon, and the burnt smelt \\\\Y quickly disaypeai. Knives may be cleaned in hatf thfi usual time if the knifeboard is thoroughly narraod in front of the hre before being used. White washing blouses should be soaked in water in which a little turpentine or ammonia has been added. This whitens them.

Window and room plants do better with tepid watering instead of cold, either for roots or washing, and morning is the best time to do it.

When making Yorkshire or boiled batter puddings add two tablespoonMs of cold water for each egg. This will make the puddings lighter.

(Sprinkle a little permanganate of potash dissolved in water on the refuse in the dustbin. It will prevent it from smelling unpleasantly.

To whiten linen add a few drops of turpentine to the water in which the clothes are boiled.

When making curry always use a wooden spoon. Iron spoons spoil the aroma of the spices.

Wring chamois out of soapy water without rinsing. When it dries it is soft and serviceable, instead of stiff.

Rice to be a useful article of food should be stewed in milk, butter, 01 stock, which will supply the want of natural fat."

When the grate is cleaned and polished, rub all over with a piece of old velvet. Old velvet is also very useful as a final polishing cloth for waxed boards and floorcloth.

To cleanse a frying-pan which smells of onions or fish, fill tho pan with water, and when it boils drop in a redhot cinder. Afterwards rinse and wash in the usual way.

When boiling suet or flour dumplings keep the lid of thG saucepan slightly raised on one side by slipping a stick of firewood under it. When this is don© the water is kept boiling and the dump> lings will not be heavy.

To clean discolored marble, first of all wash with soap and water, then wipe dry, and apply a paste made of powdered batlibrick and lemon-juice. Rub well into the discolored parts and rinse it off in clean cold water.

A potato poultice is a good cure for toothache. Bake three or four nice sized potatoes in their skins, and wKen done break them into a flannel bag and hold it to the face while very hot.

If boiled potatoes have to stand, a while before being served, cover them over with a thick cloth and stand the pan where they will keep warm but will not scorch. The cloth absorbs the moisture and helps to make the potatoes floury.

When lining a basin with pastry for a beefsteak pudding, cut a piece of tho pastry away from the bottom about the size of a two-shilling piece; then put the meat in, and the pudding will take an hour less to cook than if there were no hole in the paste.

A towel attached to the kitchen apron saves many steps for the busy .woman. Hem a good-sized square of linen and sew a loop of tape on one corner. Slip this loop over the apron band, and you will always have a towel ready for wiping the hands upon.

It is well for those who do their trashing at home to know that some ammonia in tho water in which new flannels are washed will take all the roughness off, and savo both labor and soap. The ammonia takes out the oil in flannel.

A simple way of making a browning for gravy is to pour half a pint of boiling water on an ounce of chicory. It should stand until the powder has settled, and be bottled after it has been strained through muslin. It should be kept in a cool, dry place

Instead of cutting the frayed edges *>f cuffs and collars, as many people are accustomed to do, take a lighted taper and singe the frayed parts. It will be. seen that the linen will last much longer. Cutting the edges has a tendency to loosen tho parts, and singeing just takes the frayed edges off without inlury.