Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 11 January 1912, Page 49

Domestic

By Maureen.

Vegetables as Medicine. Watercress is an excellent blood purifier. Lettuce lias a soothing effect on the nerves, and is excellent for sufferers from insomnia. Tomatoes are good for a torpid liver, but should be avoided by gouty people. Onions are a tonic for the nerves. Spinach has great aperient qualities, and is farbetter than medicine for sufferers from constipation. Beetroot is fattening and good for people who want to put on flesh. ' " .. Parsnips possess the same virtues as sarsaparilla. Asparagus stimulates the kidneys. Bananas arc beneficial to sufferers from chest complaints. Celery contains sulphur and helps to ward off rheumatism. It is also a nerve tonic. Honey is a good substitute for cod liver oil. The juice of a lemon is excellent for sore throat, not to be swallowed, but used as a gargle. Carrots are excellent for gout. A Cinder in the Eye. Nine persons out of every ten, with a cinder or any other foreign substance in the eye, will instantly begin to rub it with one hand while hunting for a handkerchief with the other. This is all wrong. The right way is not to rub the eye with the cinder in it, but to rub the other as vigorously as you like. A few months ago I was riding on the engine of a fast express (says a traveller). The engineer'threw open the front window of the cab, and I caught a cinder in my eye which gave me intense pain, ' l began to rub the eye desperately, when the engineer called to me, ' Let that eye alone and rub the other one.' Thinking he was chaffing me, I only rubbed the harder. ' I know the doctors think they know it all, but they don't, and if you will let that eye alone and work on the other one you will soon have the cinder out,' shouted the engineer. I did as he directed, and soon t felt the cindernear the inner part of the eye, and made ready to take it out. Let it alone and keep at the 1 well eye,'-again shouted the engineer. I did so for a minute longer, and then, looking into a small glass the engineer handed me, I yaw the offender on my check: I have tried it many times since, always with success. 7 -' It is Well to Know. That fish can be scaled much easier by dipping into boiling water about one minute. That fresh meat, after beginning to sour, will sweeten if placed out of doors in the cool air over night. That kerosene will soften boots or shoes which have been hardened by water, and render them pliable as when new. Potatoes, at any time of the year, can be made mealy if boiled in salt and water and drained, and then covered with a thick towel and left in the back of the range five minutes. It is always best to undcrseason rather than to overseason food. When anything |is accidentally made too salty it can be counteracted by" adding a tablespoonful of vinegar and a -tablespoonful of sugar. Meats of any kind should not be washed, but wiped with a towel to preserve the juices and quality. Keep cheese in a tight tin box where it is cool and dry. Neither cake nor bread should be exposed to the air. - Rice, tapioca, sago, etc., must be kept close covered for fear of insects.