WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 198, 30 November 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted bv "Eileen"). . CARE OF THE HANDS. Never cut the outside round the nail, as is too frequently done, but press it down with an orange-wood stick. Pumice,'says Health, should never be used on the' hands. A bit of" lemon will answer the same purpose without making the fingers rough and calloused, as the (ttniice does. To whiten the hands rub them first with lemon juice and afterwards with dry salt. This is specially good when after preserving the hands are stained with fruit. After the application of lemon juice and salt, they should be rinsed immediately in lukewarm water and well dried. A good emollient for nails may be made by heating together one ounce each of spermaceti, olive oil, oil of sweet almonds, and ten drops of oil of geranium or lavender. This makes a soft cream that the fingers may be dipped and held in.

GRACE AND FENCING Lawn tennis still claims crowds of devotees in spite of the toll it extorts in the shape of flushed faces and a generally exhausted appearance. 'Why tennis should be taken so seriously one can't imagine. I (writes an expert) believe it was first meant as a pleasant way of taking exercise; now, it is a breathless business to which one's whole attention must be given. So it is with all our games, the word is a misnomer.

Unless one can play a game really well, almost scientifically, one is told it is better not to play at all. Fencing is productive of much grace, and I strongly recommend all girls to take some lessons. There is a perceptible difference on the tennis court, for example, between the girl who can fence and the girl who has , merely gone in for calisthenics. The latter is usually 'heavier in running, and ihas not the agility of the fencer. And, as grace is a great asset to a woman, let us acquire it, say we.

UNNECESSARY TEETH. To persons who have spent much money and endured much pain to preserve their teeth, and expect still to spend and endure in that cause, it may be cheering to hear from a recent speaker at the odontologieal section of the British Association that teeth are really quite unnecessary . The speaker told of a toothless relative who masticated his food perfectly with his gums, but added that mastication was not necessary, since our foods could now be minced and shredded beyond the powers of the most efficient mastication. The only real value of teeth to the civilised human being, he said, was their contribution to the attractiveness of the human countenance, and that, he admitted, outweighed a good many other cousidnations.

TO REDUCE THE FIGURE

For young girls inclined to stoutness this advice is offered:—Rise early and take a cold bath, rubbing vigorously afterwards, with a coarse towel or flesh brush. Drink a cupful of water before breakfast. Take one small cup of tea at breakfast, some dry toast, boiled fish, or a small cutlet, and a baked apple or a little fruit. At dinner, which should be at midday, take white fish or meat, dry toast or stale bread, vegetables or fruit, either fresh or stewed. For supper, toast, salad, fruit, and six ounces of water. Hot water with lemon juice in it is also good for supper.

HAIR ORNAMENTS. Hair ornaments have become more and more elaborate. Most elaborate of all is a swathing of laee. This ought to be of real laee, not too thick, and of a rather bold pattern. When such an ingenius decoration grows popular, and is composed of imitation lace, there is every chance that it will become ridiculous. For, while a swathing, something after the style of the silk handkerchief worn by the Italian woman, looks very well when daintily done, something similar carried out carefully will look absurd. A pretty fashion is a light piece of tulle, in shades of green, blue rose, or, indeed, in any color desired. Over this is put an op*en trellis of metal or jewelled work, and a rosette at the side finishes the ornament. A couple of upstanding loops done in jewelled discs look very well, and are held by a light ■rope of the same. The craze for rosettes has been carried into hair decorations, for some of the new designs are wreaths composed of chiffon rosettes done in pretty colors, and finished with a large one to catch the whole together.

VEGETABLE MONOTONY.

At this time of the year vegetables ought to compose a very large portion of our diet, and it is a pity that, in spite of many exhortations addressed to them, many 'housewives do not improve much in their methods of cooking vegetables. It is not to be wondered at, since in many hotels the old deadly monotony continues to prevail. In one place an array of ten vegetables resolved itself into potatoes cooked in six different ways, three varieties of cabbage, and French beans.

FOR THE SICK. The sand-bag, says the Family Doctor, is invaluable in the sick room. Get some clean, fine sand, and dry it thoroughly in a kettle on the stove. Make a bag about eight inches square of flannel, fill it with dry sand, sew the opening up carefully, and cover the bag with cotton •or linen. This will prevent the sand from sifting out, and will also enable you to heat the bag quickly by placing it in the oven or on top of the stove. After once using this you will never again attempt to warm the feet or hands of a sick person with a bottle of hot water or a brick. The sand holds the heat for a long time, and the bag can be kicked up to the back without hurting the invalid.

NOTES In the body of Frank Wilson, who was operated on for appendicitis in a hopital at Cairo (111.), were found:—A 'button-hook, a belt buckle, a toy pistol,

three small nails, a needle, a thermometer. The man died shortly afterwards.

The price of furs in the Old Country this vear has risen by leaps and bounds. The "fur shoulder-cape of the eighties which could certainly not be secured nowadays for twice as much as was paid for it then, and even purchases made five years ago seem reasonable, as contrasted with those of to-day. In spite of this, however, the fiat lias gone forth that fur will be more generally worn than ever, and the new fur schemes for the winter have never been looked for so eagerly, or discussed so exhaustively. •

Jane Avery, a feeble-minded woman, who has died at the Eastbourne (England) Workhouse, at the age of eightynine years, had been an inmate of the workhouse since she was four days old, and had cost the ratepayers £IOOO.

A welcome innovation has been introduced bv an American designer, who offers 'hand-painted hats as a change from the flower and plume laden erections women have for so long worn. An important feature of this new style of trimming is that it enables designers to study the contour of the face and head, and encourages them to devise something that will afford outline.

During one Sunday there-were posted at the Brussels Exhibition 135,000 illustrated post cards. It would be interesting to know how many of them will reach their destination, and in what time, for accordins to the French and Belgian, press, celerity is not always, a strong point in postal matters. From the foregoing figures it would appear that the picture post card, at all events, is not losing its popularity. Humor is not usually held to be the strong point of Signor d'Annunzio, the great Italian novelist, but there is some wit in this saying of his, which Comaedia (Faris) prints. He was asked what was the difference between a man's first love and his last love. '-'The difference is." said d'Annunzio, "that he always thinks his first love is his last, and his last Ms first."