Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 18, 2 May 1907, Page 33

Domestic

By ' Maureen '

Cookery Hfcnts. When btoiling beetroot be careful you do not break any of the little roots or the s.ans, or the beet will lose all its' color in the water. In making porridge, see that the water is, boiling before putting in the oatmeal. Never keep, tea or coffee in paper ; put them in a tin or they will lose their flavor. Never buy large quantities of spices at a time, as they soon lose their strength. % - ' Much of the unpleasant odor that is carried through the house from boiling vegetables may be avoided by putting -a piece of bread •in the water with the vegetables, and if a bit of charcoal be- added, the cooking of ca/bbage or cauliflower cannot be detected. The Danger of Small Wounds. The treatment of small wounds, such as cuts or paicks, is usually considered * a minor point in household surgery ; but when we consider the theory "of germs, and the antiseptic treatment of wounds, we come to see that every small scratch or pin-prick has its dangers if not properly treated. Cleanliness is all important in the treatment of -wounds, large and small. The scratched or torn skin, should be at once bathed in water as hot as can be borne, in wlAch a few drops of carbolic acid have been mixed. In this way all dirt, which miighjt otherwise endanger the health of the sufferer, is removed 'by the hot water, and the wound is purified t/r the carbolic acid. In the case of cuts it is a good i lan to have always in the house some absorbent cotton, and some old clean linen, which should be in strips from two to four inches wide and half a yard to a yard in length. After the wound has been made perfectly clean dip a suitably siaed pieoe of cotton wool into clean slightly carbolised water, press out any excess of liquid, then apply over the wound, and wrap up with the linen strips. Cat scratches should always be treated in this way, as the claws of a cat are often unclean, and dirt particles however small, may give rise to trouble. When a wound refuses to cease bleeding after being wound up sponging with clean cold water will sometimes aid in stopping the flow of Moc'd. Salt ov tumentine should never be applied to a fresh wound, as they not only cause a great deal of unnecessary pain, but often prolong the time of healing. Pew peopile have escaped at one time or another the unpleasantness of having their fingers Jammed, and as the pain caused when the finger Is jammed in a door is excruciating in the extreme for the first few minutes, it is well to know of some' means of relief. The fingers should be plunged into hot water, as hot as can possibly be borne. This application of hot water causes the nail to expand and soften, and the blood pouring out beneath it has more room to flow ; thus the pain is lessened The finger should then be wrapped in a bread and water poultice. A jammed finder should never be neglected, as it may lead to mortification of the bone it it has been badly crushed, and amouta^on of the ringer must f0110w... Jammed toes are'usually caused thiouffh the falling of heavy weights, and should be treated m the sa-me way as a jammed finger. .Persons with unhealthy constitutions cannot take too i«H?^' i • L nn '.% ht llot in any wa? affect a healthy ndividual miffht, in those -with some taint of disease, S +1, *, senoii s v consequences. " There is always a ttanl" S^rfJrS eve? **». "os* insignificant wound may become SSbfSt UI? IeSS. '* is f. <*;refu.lly .yarded from 7 Snfe into contact- with particles of dirt. * "