Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 6, 11 February 1909, Page 233

Domestic

By MAUREEN

To Brighten Paint. Kitchen paints will soon acquire, 1 a shabby,, dull look from the frequent cleaning that is necessary. The use of soap only increases the difficulty; especially if the paints are varnished. A good plan is to boil lib of bran in a gallon of water for an hour, tlion wash- the paint with this bran water, and it will be kept not only clean, but bright and glossy. v " To -Sweeten Rancid Butter. It is frequently found that when butter that has been potted for some time is required for use 1 the flavor has become strong and unpleasant. To overcome this, cut as much butter as "is wanted, and before using it put it to soak for a couple of hours, or even longer, in cold water, to which a good pinch of carbonate of soda has been added. The effect is quite wonderful; tlio rancid taste will disappear, and the butter be as good as ever. A Garden Sand-heap. Most children simply revel -in digging, and it is ah excollent plan to have a • small^oad of clean, soft sand dumped doivii in a hidden corner of the garden for them. Then mako them some sort" of warm, dark, covor-all garment, provide each with a- pail and a wooden spade, and they will play for hours, and "be the happiest little mortals under tho sun. The "sand-heap has another great advantage: it i-s far cleaner than ordinary garden soil, and will keep the children in tho air, happy, amused,- ,and out of mischiof the whole morning or afternoon long, when the weather happens to be fine and dry. To Make a Fire Last for Hours. If you are leaving your house for a few hours, and want to keep the fire An, instead of throwing a lot of coal on, it is much^better and 'safer to put two or three pieces on, and then throw a handful of table salt over them. If this is done you will find a good fire at the end' of four or five hours. Another equally good method is to allow the fire to burn until it is quite clear and rather low. Then lay some nice sized lumps of^.c'oal on it ; flatten these well down, and on top heap a good thick layer 'of dust and ashes, which should be slightly moistened. Press this well down with a shovel. A fire like this will last for hours, and if made up last thing before going to bed often burns right through the night. Insomnia. , Sufferers from insomnia shoxild try cayenne pepper sandwiches. Cut a slice of thin bread—a plain biscuit may be used— butter it generously, and add a liberal sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Cover it over with a thin, slice of bread or a biscuit, as the case may be. It is surprising what little unpleasantness is -experienced; merely a slight smarting sensation in the mouth, which is soon over. The sandwich should be eaten immediately before retiring, and soon after the sufferer will be asleep. The pepper acbs J as a stimulant to the stomach, drawing the blood from the excited brain, and inducing refreshing sleep-. A cayenne peppor sandwich is much less harmful than drugs,, and, when taken in small quantities, is a good tonic for a weak stomach. Bilious headaches have also been known to yield to a cup of hot water to which has been added a generous pinch of cayenne peppor and a piece of soda as big as a poa. "" Wrinkles. Wrinkles and grey hairs are said to come mainly from crossing bridges we nevor reach, worrying about things that may never happen, and fearing all sorts of things that may never be our lot; but, according to a well-known beauty doctor, excessive 'novel-reading is responsible for the bad complexions, wrinkled -foreheads, and sunken eyes of many young women. He says : ' Many young women cause premature wrinkles to form on thoir foreheads l.v reading exciting novels. They sit for hours, often in ail imperfect light, their brows furrowed, and, if the book is a thrilling one, expressing on their - faces unconsciously the emotions it excites.' The advice is given jthat every young girl should get up and look at her face in the glass after reading an exciting novel. She will not know herself. She will look five or ten years older than she really is.