Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Issue 3, 6 August 1908, Page 33

Domestic

By. MAUREEN

Blackened Dishes

It is" a waste of time and energy for the woman who does her own scullery work to try. to, scrape clean scorched and blackened baking dishes and platters. Even - rubbing them with dampened salt is a tedious process. If a little ashes and water are placed in the dishes,, and they are then allowed to heatslowly on 'the back of the range, they may be easily rubbed into their -original state of spotlcssness. How to Treat a Black Eye. Before discoloration has set in, cold compresses or evaporating lotions should be used. These will reduce the swelling and ljinit the subsequent discoloration. If discolored, hot compresses and massage arc required. The affected portion is smeared over with vaseline, and rubbed for ten minutes several times a day. By means of frequent massage and continuous hot applications the discoloration may be almost entirely removed within twenty-four hours. The Care of Children's Hair. Mothers should teach their children to care for their hair ' as soon as possible. If the little girl is coaxed into the habit of giving her -locks fifty strokes with a stiff brush every morning and evening, and braiding them loosely for bed, the founda- " tion for a future good head of. hair wil be laid. Counting .the • strokes will lighten the task for her, and' she will soon become so accustomed to it, and make it part of her daily toilet. . Too many children are allowed to go to bed with their hair in a tousled condition, only to have it jerked and tangled hastily when school time comes round. Such a practice is disastrous to the nerves and temper of a sensitive child, and ruinous to the-haif." Teach little girls to take care of their hair, and at the right time ; also to keep their brushes and combs in a" proper .state > of cleanliness. These articles should be as strictly personal property as the tooth-brush. Diseases of the scalp are most contagious, and the brush is the surest germ agent. The Hoarding Habit. One of the most tiresome habiU a woman can get into is lhat of hoarding all sorts of scraps and odds and ends; with the idea that some day or other she may want them. It is quite possible that she may, but not for months or even years, and in the meantime they have gone hopelessly astray among the other scraps, and much precious time, is lost in searching for them. Or it may happen that she knows where to lay her hands on what she wants, only to find it utterly moth-eaten and useless from lying by. The hoarder of all sorts of scraps of ribbon, lace, or material means to be thrifty, but is really wasteful. Drawers and cupboards are crowded up with things which might be of use to somebody if given away when the owner ceased to have use for them, but instead they only- serve to make the house untidy, and become breeding-places for moths, 1 mice, and other household pests. When dressmaking is done at home it is well to save the cuttings of a garment till it is" discarded, and when it descends to some one poorer than oneself it can be patched, or the necessary material given with it, to "make it tidy. To hoard clothes against a possible future is folly. .The [ time may never come; fashions in materials and. style change, and it is hardly ever possible to remake the old garment without looking" dowdy and odd. Household hoarders, generally put by broken and disused furniture, cracked pots and pans, and even papers" and old letters. The result is invariably a want vf the cleanliness and neatness which should characterise every house, and no god is done- to anyone. It is an excellent plan ito .get' rid of things when they cease to be of use ; their appearance, will not improve with age. Thus there will be the satisfaction of knowing that somebody benefits by" them,- and the house will , be saved from becoming an 'old curiosity shop.'