Hints and Suggestions.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 74

Hints and Suggestions.

Careful drying is absolutely necessary if we would wish to keep the hands smooth and white. A very good plan is to keep pome dry oatmeal and rub them with a little of it after washing. Vegetables diehes and sauce tureen ehouW be filled with hot water while the vegetables are being prepared. j Roast a bird with the brea6t down the greater part of the time ; the flesh will then remain more juicy. Eiderdown quilts may be sati6factorily cleaned at home. Shake well, to free of dust, then plunge the quilt in a lather of boiled soap and warm water. Do not rub it, but work it about with the hands and squeeze out carefully. Rinse thoroughly, squeeze carefully, shake out, and then hang out door to dry, or in a warm room, shaking it from time to time to assist in the drying process and to make it fluffy. The quilt will need a good deal of attention, and will take several days to dry, but the effect will be good. Natural-coloured willow or wicker furniture should be washed quickly in warm soapsuds in which about a tablespoonful of borax has been placed for a pail of water. Dry in the sun ofter first rubbing off most of the water with a clean cloth. If you have a painted bath-tub it can be kept in good condition much longer if cold water sufficient to cover the bottom is first run into it before the hot water faucet is turned on. This will prevent the paint from blistering and cracking. Take care to cook fish well, for it is not only unpalatable but unwholesome when underdone, and it should always be served hot for invalids. Cold salmon to be useH for invalids should be wrapped jn a greased paper and very lightly broiled. A simple remedy for warts is composed of one dram of salicyclic acid and one ounce of collodion. Have the chemist put this in a bottle which has a tiny brush through the cork. Apply the mixture to the warts twice a day. To blacken brown boots cut a raw potato and with it rub over the boots thoroughly. Then leave the leather time to dry perfectly, when it may be blackened and "polished quite satisfactorily. Any good blacking will do. Apples for making pies should not be sliced. Merely p^el, cut in quarters, core, and again cut each quarter in half.

The best thing to clean windows with is ' vinegar. Rub it on with a soft cloth, dry with another, and polish with a washleather. Bedrooms should be well ventilated, and , if an open window makes too much draught on the bed, fit a board six or eight inches high and just the width of the window below the lower sash. This gives a constant exchange of air between the two gashes. - , Combs should not be washed with water. This is apt to split the teeth. A stiff nailbrush is a good thing to keep for cleaning them. After using the brush, , take a damp cloth and wipe between each tooth with this. Keep some fresh lime in the damp, dark corners of the cellar to dry and sweeten Pans and Saucepans that have been burnt should never be filled with soda water, as, though this removes the burnt portion, it also makes the saucepan liable to burn again the next time it is used. Instead of soda water fill it with salt and water, leave till next' day, then bring . siowly to the boil. The burnt particles will come off without any difficulty," anS there will be no after iU'effecte.