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' DETROIT, MAY 18, 1886.

 

 

THE H0U§EH0LD===§uppiemena

 

 

THE SEisoN IS HERE.

 

When the housewife in the morning early from
her bed doth rise, '

And around her paper curls a towel deliberate'y
ties,

And puts on a faded wrapper that is much the
worse for wear,

And descends into the cellar with a grim, deter-
mined air;

When there’s heard an awful cluttering in the re-
gions down below,

And shouts of "Jane, come hurry up: How can
you be so slow?”

When you descend the stairs to take your matutin
al mush,

And in the hall you re tripped up by a mop and
whitewash brush—

These signs are full off/omen, at this season of the
year;

They tell the wretched husband that house-clean—
ing time is here.

 

AROUND THE HOUSE.

The saying goes, “ A woman’s work is
never done.” Yet even her Sisyphus-like
toil has its ebb and ﬂow. “High tide”
occurs when May inaugurates the an-
nual cleaning, the domestic upheaval
which wives are said to enjoy. and hus—
bands to suffer under protest. The wise
woman does not upset every room in the
house by way of introduction to the
serious business of putting to rights, but
beginning with the bureau drawers and
closets, takes a room at a time, and the
work goes quietly but steadily on. A
woman exempliﬁes her character by the
way she does her work. An empty
wagon rattles and jingles, the loaded one
goes alongsteadily and quietly; so the
“poor manager " almost invariably fusses
and frets and gets “nervous ”—which
in her vocubulary is often but another
name for ill-temper— while the skillful
planner goes at her task with method,
and accomplishes it with the least pos-
sible friction. Some may claim that this
is largely due to natural temperament,
but it is quite as often a matter. of educa
tion in self-control and mastery of the
emotional nature. If we let little things
vex and distress us, our burdens get to be
as grievous as was Christian’s in
Bunyan’s allegory. Instead then of
rushing this hard, heavy work through
in the shortest possible time, with the

greatest expenditure of vitality, appor-

tion it to your strength and let the end
ﬁnd you tired, probably, but not com-
pletely over-worked and exhausted, need-
ing aweek’s rest before ﬁt for business
againrthere is no economy in over work.

I ﬁnd a city life favors the idea of
cremation. It is wonderful how many

 

things ﬁre will most effectually dispose
of, expeditiously, ﬁnally. The most
satisfactory way to dispose of much of
the rubbish which will accumulate around
the house is to “pop it In the stove.”
Between the ﬁre and the paper-rag bag,
there ought to be little refuse in awell
regulated housa. The sweepings of the
rooms, the bones from the table, coffee
grounds, the withered ﬂowers, the
old straw hats and bonnets, dozens of
things that are “no good,” are so easily
disposed of by ﬁre. [have discovered
that even old hoopskirts and corsets can
be metamorphosed into ashes by the
intense heat of a coal ﬁre; and were
there not always enough to take them
with thanks, I dare say I should ex—
periment on the effects of ﬁre on old
shoes. Burn up the trash, then, instead
of throwing it out of doors, to add to the
dirt; consult health and comfort by
cremating it.

There is an old saying to the effect that
if you keep a thing seven years you will
ﬁnd a use for it again. Well, it may be
so but I don’t believe it. And house-
room is something. and the trouble of
caring for it a good deal. If
the article has intrinsic value, it
may be well to await an op—
portunity to use it, but some people carry
this idea quite too far. Their closets and
attics are ﬁlled with old things, which

.have been laid aside as no longer of use

in the present, but are kept for fear they
may possibly be needed at that indeﬁnite
period known as “sometime.” Nobody
considers them among the “possibilities,”
they are too ancient; they only serve to
catch dust and as summer residence for
spiders and moths, and are often sorely
threatened at house-cleaning. It is bet—
ter far to put an end to such impedimenta
at once. The old hat which has seen
several successors has no excuse for con—
tinual existence; cremate it. The torn
rubbers, which we tuck away because
“perhaps somebody ’11 want ’em some-
time” should share asimilar fate. nobody
ever does “want ’em.” A rubber is no
use except on a rainy day, and then who
wants a leaky one? So too the old
clothes. When retired from wear, survey
their possibilities for patches, for carpet
rags, for whatever further good there is
in them, put the residue in the rag-bag;
this is better than making a second-hand
clothing shop of your house and spend-
ing your time trying to keep moths out
of it.

If you have a sink and waste pipe

 

in your house, do not forget that at this
season of the year they need attention.
The grease of the dishwatsr has formed
a deposit on the inside of the pipes,
which should be removei, and hot cop-
peras water is excellent for this purpose.
A solution of copperas or of chloride of
lime. hot, should be turned into these
pipes once a week. during the summer, ’to
cleanse and purify them. A sink in a
house is a great convenience, but unless
it is cared for, it becomes aproliﬁc source
of foul air.

The cellar should be the most thor-
oughly cleaned apartment in the house.
If it is not, the bad air from it will per— \
meats the upper ﬂoors, to the detri-
ment of health. There should be no de—
caying vegetables, no rotting wood, no
vilesmelling soap~grease, nothing which
gives an offensive odor, allowed in it.
It should be thoroughly whitewashed
every spring, and if vegetables have been
stored in it during the winter, and milk
is to occupy it in summer, it is a good
plan to use copperas in solution, or
chloride of lime, a week or so before the
milk is put down, to thoroughly purify it.
A small quantity of carbolic acid in the
whitewash used in the cellar is highly
recommended by health authorities.
Whenever’I read of a family being
decimated by typhoid fever or diph-
theria, [always wonder what was the
cause of the foulness that bred the germs
of the pestilence, for ﬁlth is the condition
most eminently favorable to the develop‘

ment of zymotic diseases.
BE ATRIX .
———-*W—-—-

A STORY WII‘H A MORAL.

A story of real life which I read when I
was about fourteen years old made such
an impression upon me that I have never
forgotten it. And the tale was this: A
wealthy nobleman had an only child, a
son, heir to an immense property. The
father desired the boy to be worthy the
great trust to be one day in his keeping,
and that he should bear the family name
with honor. To this end he chose the
most learned men as tutors for the lad,
gave the strictest orders in reference to
his training, forbidding all literature that
disclosed the vices and passions of hu—
manity, all knowledge of the evil that
exists in the world. The father’s scheme
provided for an ideal life, pure and inno
cent through utter and absolute ignorance
of the very existence of evil. The boy
and his tutors were isolated in one of the

 


 

2

THE HOUSEHOLD'

 

castles belonging to the estate, where
even the servants, though chosen with
the utmost care, were not allowed other
than the most distant communication
with the young lord. When the son had
just passed his twenty-ﬁrst birthday, the
father died, and the son came into his in-
heritance. Being of legal age, there were
no restraints upon him, he was quite free
to order his life as he saw ﬁt. After these
years of careful, conscientious training
in all that was exalted and reﬁned, with
the purest principles ever instilled into
the mind at the most receptive period,
one would be justiﬁed in inferring, would
he not, that the after life would be in
harmony with these teachings, and the
father's noble purpose be fulﬁlled. But
it was not so. The youth had hardly en-
tered upon his new life, before he plung—
ed into the wildest excesses. He was ab—
solutely incapable of resisting temptation;
and wine and women, and the gambling
table, with his reckless expenditure for
whatever toy pleased at the moment, ex—
hausted his property, and in a few years,
before he was twenty-ﬁve, he died, a
wretched, besotted beggar, literally in the
gutter.

The story, as I have said, made a deep
impression upon'me. For days it per-
plexed me; I could not understard Why
that careful keeping from evil, from even
the very knowledge of the existence of
evil, should so completely fail in its in—
tent. Then I took the problem to one
older and wiser than I, who pointed out
that as there can be no physical strength
without use and development of the
muscles, so there can be no moral strength
without resistance to temptation, that ig-
norance is no safeguard, nor innocence
always a shield. The turning point in
most lives is at some moment when, all

unknown it may be to ourselves, we an—g

swer yes or no to temptation. If we are
ignorant wherein lies the evil, how can
we recognize the temptation? My wise
Mentor bade me remember that knowl—
edge of good and evil involves a choice;
that every choice of right is a victory

which makes resistance to evil more easy,‘

that character is moulded by such choice
as it could never be by passive acquies-
cence in another’s judgment, or by being
guarded from the necessity of choosing;
and that right judgment demands knowl-
edge of the allurements and disguises of
wrong. “Because the young man had
never been tried he had no moral strength;
because he had no strength, he fell. All
the little temptations, all the little vic—
tories, prepare us for the great triumphs
over the evil that is without and within
us,” said my counselor. And I thought
these things over, too; and I know that
the story and the after teaching bears
witness in my life to this day; and all my
life’s experience and observations go to
prove that it is a knowledge of wherein
liesthe evil and resistance through moral
principle, not ignoranceﬁnot avoidance,
that gives us strength when we are tempt-
ed, and makes us unquiet, restless, un-
happy, when we do that we know is
wrong.
BEATRIX.

IN FLUENCE .

 

“ We scatter seeds with careless hand,

And dream we ne’er shall see them more;

But for a thousand years their fruit appears,
[n weeds that mar the land, or healthful store.
The ( eeds we do, the words we say,

Into still air they seem to ﬂeet:

We count them ever past; but they shall last—
[nthe dread judgment they and we shall meet.”

"Inﬂuence is to maxi what ﬂavor is to
fruit, or fragrance to a ﬂower. It does
not develop thought, or determine char-
acter, but it is the measure of his interior
richness and worth; and as the blossom
cannot tell what becomes of the odor
which is wafted away from it by e7ery
wind, so no man knows the limit of that
inﬂuence which constantly and imper~
ceptibly escapes from his daily life, and
goes out far beyond his conscious knowl-
edge, or remotest thought. God has
written upon the ﬂower that sweetens
the air, upon the breezes that rock the
ﬂower upon its stem; upon the raindrop
that swells the mighty river; upon the
dewdrops that freshen the smallest sprig
of moss in the desert; upon the ocean;
that rocks every swimmer in its channel.
upon every penciled shell that sleeps in
the caverns of the deep, as well as upon
the mighty sun, that warms and cheers
the millions of creatures that live in its
light—upon all He has written: ‘None
of us liveth to himself.” And along with
this fact comes another; this inﬂuence
must be for good or bad. Knowing this,
ought we not to consider more our man-
ner of talking, and mode of living? Be.
cause a man can tell his creed and recite
the catechism with volubility is no assur-
ance that he is among the Lord’s chosen ; it
it is the life he leads that we judge from,
the inﬂuence he exerts. He may hurl all
the rhetoric he can command at you, what
you must do, and how you must do it, but
unless his life corresponds with his creed,
it will do more harm than good. Ah! it
isn’t the ones that make the most, noise
that do the most good. Some men ﬁll
the air with their presence and sweetness,
as orchards in October days ﬁll the air
with the perfume of ripe fruits. “Some
women cling to their own homes, like the
honeysuckle over the door, yet like it
sweeten all the region with the subtle
fragrance of their goodness.” God has
given us all these powers for good, we
can have no worthier object than to use
them right.

Tell me, you who have lost a sweet, in-
nocent babe, were you not made better
for caring for it? Has its inﬂuence ever
left you. The soft caressing touch, the lit-
tle smile, the gentle presence, are engraven
upon your heart, and bring you many
comforting thoughts. “And alittle child
shall lead them.” I tell you the cooing
voice, the smile, and soft touch of a child
will often do more good, and win its way
where theology would ﬁnd no entrance.
This proves conclusively that the more
natural and simple our life, the better our
example. We see too much that is super-
ﬁcial now-a days. It is quite essential
that we should have a good home-inﬂu—
ence. What better legacy can parents
leave their children than a good example?

 

Harshness has driven many a boy away
from home. The ﬁrst education that a

child receives is the home education.
Here the foundation of character is laid;
principles are established, which they will
carry out into the world, into busy life;
the inﬂuence thrown around them at
home will follow them in social life, po- .
litical life and into the church. Through
them millions willlbe beneﬁtted or injured
Think you, then, that no responsibility
lies with this home inﬂuence? Every
thing possible should be done in our
homes to give a moral and reﬁning inﬂu-
ence to the character of our family.
Flowers and birds in the windo w, books,
pictures, teaching the little ones to be
kind and gentle to each other, all are
lessons that will never be forgotten.
Certain it is, this home inﬂuence will be
for good or bad; will prove a blessing
or a curse. It is not the stately mansion
or ﬁne furniture that makes the home. It
is the sweet, gentle inﬂuence which em-
inates from a harmonious family. If the
father and mother are respectful to ward
each other, their example will be followed
every time by the little ones. Children
are great imitators. How guarded, then,
we should be in our language and man—
ners before them. What we do and what
we say is forever. We cannot recall an
act or a word. We may be sorry, and
wish we had acted differently, but the
effect, the inﬂuence is lasting; often a
great many suffer from a thoughtless
word; we are so apt to think that what
we do concerns no one but ourselves. It
is by these words and little acts of kind
ness that we can be mutual helpers.
Households are bound together by them,
neighborhoods, communities, all can be
made to feel their inﬂuence.

EVANGE LINE .
BATTLE CREEK

————«¢—-——-
ThESE AWFUL HUSBANDS!

 

There! Beatrix has answered Bess’
conundrum in full while I was talking to
“An Editor,” but I never could resist
the temptation to answer back to a man.
I suppose she will think there is no need
of saying more upon that subject, but
I want to tell of two husbands that
I knew of, and the way they treated
their wives when they wished to
go out evenings. When they were
young men they were splendid escorts,
and it was no trouble to go out
evenings; it was never too cold or stormy
or dark. They married, and like too
many men they tired of going out even—
ings. One lives in town and he preferred
to go down town after supper, and sit in
some favorite resort with kindred spirits
until bed time, instead of staying with
his wife or going with her to an enter—
tainment that they could both enjoy. If
she went out she was obliged to go with
friends. One evening they were invited
to attend a reception. She persuaded
her husband to accompany her this time,
as she felt she could not bear to attend
Without him. He did not want to go,
and as a consequence he made himself as
disagreeable as possible while dressing;
his shirt did not ﬁt around the neck, and
something was wrong with everything.

 

His wife bore it.as well as she could, but

I


 

TI-IE HOUSEHOLD

‘6

 

ﬁnally she said, “John, I want you to go
this time but I will never trouble you to
go with me again.” She completed her
toilet in silence and they started; when
they arrived at the house she still felt as
though her heart was in her throat, and
she did not know as she could trust her-
self to speak; but by this time her hus-
band began to get over his “ﬁt” and he
enjoyed the evening, but he had marred
the enjoyment of the evening for his
wife.

The other man tired also of going out
evenings, but he lived on a farm and
preferred sitting down quietly at home
with his wife and family. His wife, like
many another farmer’s wife, longed for
more society than could be found upon
the farm; she wanted occasionally to go
to an entertainment or lecture, and was
not contented to wear out providing only
for physical wants. Her husband com-
promised with her in this way, told her
she might take the horse and carriage,
and he would stay with the children and
sit up until she came back, to take care
of the horse. This was not a pleasant
way to go, but the only alternative, and
she said she must have more than the
farm life aﬁ'orded. I think both these
men selﬁsh, but the latter showed more
regard for the feelings of his wife than
the former; though his wife could avail
herself of many more opportunities of
going out, as they lived in town.

OLD SCHOOL TE iCHER.
‘QH
FASHIONABLE STYLES FOR
LITTLE 'GiRLs.

The “very latest” fashions for girls
have short round waists and full skirts.
The only trimming on these full skirts
consists of embroidery, used as a ﬁnish
to the bottom, or tucks in clusters. The
skirt is gathered to the waist, a large
welting cord being used at the seam. The
waists are most fashionably made with
deep yokes of another color, usually
white, or of embroidery, with bretelles
passing over the shoulders, and the space
below the yoke and between the bretelles
ﬁlled with a tucked piece like the bre-
telles. A pretty model omits the yoke.
adds. bretelles of embroidery, with a full
pull? of the goods between them in front,
across which cord is laced from the
bretelles. The long sleeves have round
cuﬁs of the embroidery. The skirt is
edged with embroidery, and tucked
nearly to the waist. A wide collar of the
embroidery is fastened at the left side
under alarge ribbon bow. The whole
costume is charmingly simple and neat.
Another model in plain pale pink
chambery has a very deep yoke and
sleeves of pink ﬁgured chambery. To
this yoke is gathered a strip of the plain
goods having a standing heading an
inch and a half wide; the waist is sewed
with a large cord to the full, round,
tucked skirt. A narrow belt of the
ﬁgured goods is worn. The yoke should
be so deep that the plain. goods which
ﬁnishes the waist seems like a large puﬂ.
The skirts of these dresses must be very
full; they are “horrid” when scant. A

TECUMSEH.

 

new way of putting on these yokes is to
cord them all round, making a straight
ﬁnish when set above the gathered goods
which forms the lower part of the waist.
Girls from two to ﬁve and six wear yoke
slips, falling straight in front and con—
ﬁned at the back by a short. wide sash
like the dress sewed into the under arm
seams. The yoke is nearly always of
different color or material from the
slip, and straps like the slip are stitched
on with the yoke to tie over the shoulders.

The bretelles described above are new
and pretty, not alone on the small girls’
dresses, but on those who are older.
White dresses for girls from three to ten
years may have waists open in V shape in
front, laced together over a full vest set in,
with narrow pink, blue or yellow ribbons,
eyelets being worked in the sides of the
V. Rosettes of very narrow ribbon, like
that used for lacing. are added at each
shoulder, or bows of wider ribbon. For
older girls the Norfolk belted waist,
which has broad stitched-down pleats
front and back, is favored. Round
tucked skirts and apron overskirts are
worn with these waists.

Hats for both large and small girls,
are very large, in dark straw, with wide
b'rims and high crowns; they are trimmed
with bows of ribbon high up on the side
of the crown. a tw1st around it and a
cluster of ﬂowers White is liked on these
dark hats. Mother Goose bonnets are
liked for the little ones, made of shirred
muslin; and French caps, also of muslin,
with close fronts and high puffed
crowns, are charmingly quaint for the
two and three year olds. Turbans are
worn by misses, if becoming. Hose are
black, dark blue or brown.

—...——
DOMESTIC TOPICS.

 

I will say to Huldah Perkins, I have
canned corn two seasons and lost only
one can, and that by being imperfectly
sealed. I used the Mason quart cans, with
good rubbers and covers. My method was
as follows: I cut the corn from the cob,
ﬁlled the can half full, and pressed down
with the small end of a potato masher,
until it was tightly packed, ﬁlling and
pressing down until the can was full,
then put on the rubber and cover tight;
placed in a boiler of cold water that
reached nearly to the shoulder of the
can, put over the ﬁre and boiled just
three hours by the clock, then removed
from the ﬁre, took off the boiler cover
and let it cool a short time, then turned
the covers down as tight as I could by
using a wet cloth to handle them with.
The milk oozed out some in boiling, but
we pronounced the corn just splendid.

Iplaced some pieces of shingle on the.

bottom of the boiler to set the cans on.

A recipe for hard soap may be found
in the HOUSEHOLD of May 27, 1884, that
I have tried and found good.

I scrape the lime from my teakettle
with an iron spoon, and rinse well.

I secured the poem “ Over the Hills to
the Poor-House,” and wish every one
could read it. It reminds me of an old
lady who lives not far from here.

 

Although her years number nearly four
score and ten, she often trudges four or
ﬁve miles, from the home of one child to
that of another. never quite sure of a
welcome. The old home passed long
since into the hands, not of strangers, but
of her children. N ow which would be
the more desirable lot? I, for one, would
trudge my weary way “ over the hills.”

BESS.
——-—¢w—-——-—-—
A CURIOUS AND NEW INDUS-
TRY.

 

Three Oaks, Berrien County, takes
pride in the fact that it is the location of
the one and only, “the great original’
“featherbone factory” on earth. What
is featherbone? Brieﬂy, a substitute
for whalebone. Mr. E. K. Warren, of
Three Oaks, several years ago decided
that an excellent bone, equal to whale-
bone, could be manufactured from quills,
and after months of study perfected his
idea and patented his process and ma-
chinery. We had heard of “feather-
bone," it having been recommended by
a leading Detroit dry-goods house, and by
several city dressmakers, and are in re-
ceipt of samples from the factory, show-
ing the different grades, and and also the
quill in process of manufacture.

A brief outline of the procedure may
not be uninteresting: Quills of turkey
and goose feathers only are used. The
ﬁrst thing is to strip the feathers of their
plumage, rollers with knives attached
split the quills in halves. the pith is re-
moved by sand-papered rollers rapidly
revolved; then a series of interlocking
knives reduce the quills to ﬁber, and in
this state the material is fed to a machine
which forms it into a strong, ﬁne cord
which is at the same time wound with
thread. In another machine four of these
cords are wound with thread in such a
manner as to form a ﬂat tape; a sewing
machine sets a line of stitching between
each cord, giving increased strength and
elasticity, and it is ﬁnished for market
by being passed between heavy rollers,
which smooth it and give a uniform sur-
face, and packed in boxes containing
twelve-yard lengths.

Featherbone is absolutely unbreakable.
Bent double, when straightened, it is as
good as ever. It is made in all colors,
and in several grades as regards ﬁneness,
the “extra ﬁne" being, we should judge,
best adapted for use in dressmaking.
Casings are not needed, as where whale-
bone is used, the featherbone being sim-
ply sewed to the garment. The manufac‘
turers claim it ‘will not warp, and that
boiling water does not injure it. Genuine
whalebone sells at retail at twenty cents
for somewhat less than yard lengths;

‘featherbone for ﬁfteen cents per yard,

giving it an economic advantage.

A large whip-factory is the outgrawth
of this unique discovery, and featherbone
whips are said to be superior to the best
whalebone for awakening and renewing
the energies of a lazy horse. It might be
a good idea to manufacture featherbone
switches, for especial use in families and
schools, instead of the hazel sprouts which
maintain family discipline according to

 


   

 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

 

the Solomon-ic injunction. The refuse
of the quills is found to make a very good
mattress, being cleanly and elastic, and
is also used for upholstering purposes.

_____...__ _
PLEASING OTHERS.
Pleasantness, “to please,” is not al-
ways accepted in that cordial spirit of
kindness in which it is given. We meet
with friends whose genial natur as always
see the bright side. In their visits with
us their eyes are blind‘ and tongues still
to all that is wrong and out of order; they
are ladies and gentlemen, and are always
welcome. Yet we are much like school
children; we are apt to forget lessons
which we learned but a short time ago;
we oftimes need a reminder. But should
some real friend speak of our faults and
failings, it is oﬁensive to us, and we are
aware that we are treading on somebody’s
toes. The “home .rule” question is a
very tender one, and is puzzling some of
the greatest minds to solve. If Mr.
Gladstone could solve the domestic, why
not the National? But one-half of the
people of this world seem to feel that the
other half were born to, and are in duty
bound to, please them. And so great is
their selﬁshness, that the more one tries
to please the further they are off. Is it
then that the iron rod is the rod of kind—
ness, and must we forsake the golden
rule, “Love thy neighbor as thyself?”

ANTI—OVER.
PLAINWELL.

 

CLEANING CARPETS.

 

A writer in Harper’s Bazar says it is a
simple but laborious proces to clean a
carpet, and describes how a very soiled
and dingy one was “ revived” and made
presentable. The directions must be
followed with exactitude:

“On certain very bad-looking grease
spots was laid a mixture (equal parts) of
magnesia and fuller’s earth, made into a
paste by boiling water. This was put on
hot and left to dry, being brushed off the
day following, when the spots were no
longer to be seen. Other dirty ‘places
were gone over with ox-gall nearly pure.
After this the carpet was thoroughly
washed as follows: A pail of hard soap
and water was prepared, the soap being
well dissolved by boiling. With a good
brush (a new one) dipped in this pre-
paration a small portion of the carpet
was secured at a time, care being taken
not to let it soak through. Next a ﬂannel
was rubbed well over the same spot,
rinsed out each time in apail of clear
cold water. A third application was
then made from a pail of water just
soured by'vinegar, and the carpet ﬁnally
rubbed hard wrth acoanse cloth._ Two
people working at a carpet 1n this way
can manage to dry 1t very evenly, and
we would recommend their. keeping
strictly to their work until ﬁnished. A
carpet, of course, can be cleansed advan-
tageously by taking up and laying it in
breadths on boards or a large kitchen
table. Two and a half gills of ox-gall to
a pail of clear cold water, applied with a
soft scrubbing-brush, makes an excellent
lather for cleaning acarpet, but it should
be quickly washed off with a clean old
linen cloth dipped in clear water, and
rubbed with a dry cloth.”

Mattings can be cleaned by washing
thoroughly in a solution consisting of
one gallon of water with a small bag of

  

 

bran boiled in it, but be careful to dry
thoroughly. Soap should never be ap—
plied to oil-cloths. nor, if it be desired to
keep the color. should a scrubbingbrush
be used. Wash the oil-cloth with a
coarse sponge or a ﬂannel dipped in tepid
or clean cold water. Beeswax, with a
very little turpentine, makes a ﬁne polish,
and will revive the colors of an oil-cloth
admirably.

Acarpet which does not have much
hard wear but which gets dusty, as rooms
will even when unused, the Bazar says
may be cleaned nicely without sweeping
by taking a pail of clear water in which
is diluted a gill of ammonia. With a
large soft cloth wet in this go over the
whole carpet. Sometimes the second
pail of water may be needed. The dust
will thus be thoroughly removed and no
injury done the nap of the carpet as is
the case when swept, no matter how care-
fully. The furniture. etc., is to be
dusted and the large articles removed be-
fore the carpet is attacked.

_.._..,__.

T0 \VASH LACE CURTAINS.

 

The average country housekeeper views
the annual “doing up ” of her lace cur—
tains as one of the most troublesome
and particular tasks of housecleaning.
The city woman can send hers to the
professional cleaner, who will return
them looking as good as new, but this is
rarely within the power of the out-‘of-
town resident. A correspondent of an
exchange, who seems to have reduced the
work to “an exact science,” gives her
method, which is one of the best we
know, as follows:

“After taking down the curtains and
shaking them gently to free from dust,
baste around each one a two-inch strip of
cotton cloth—old will do. Fold each
one down small and place in a tub of
lukewarm suds; and when the worst of
the smoke is soaked out drain them in the
clothes-basket. Now dissolve half a
pound of borax in boiling water enough
to cover the curtains, and when cool
enough not to scald put them in it and
sent in the sun. This will bleach them
beautifully. Squeeze very gently, as a
lace curtain, when wet, will tear of its
own weight; drain as before, and, if not
clean, put through a weak suds, but do
not rub soap on the lace. Rinse well,
blue and stiﬁen with silver gloss starch,
made very thin, with a little blueing
stirred in.

“ During all the curtains must be kept
folded, and should you think it best to
boil them, put them in a bag to prevent
tearing. Dry by pinning to sheets spread
on the ﬂoor or fastened to quilting
frames. Pin the edges as often as once
in two inches. Ours are hung without
ironing; but if you wish to smooth them,
rub over them a moderately hot iron, but
do not dampen.”

____...___

MRS. M. A. FULLER says, in reference
to the packages of ﬂower seeds designed
for beginners, that all the varieties are
suitable for out-door sowing. They must
be thinned out as soon as well started,
and re-set. Asters will be better if plant.
ed two or three times, as they will grow
more stocky and have larger and more
perfect blooms. Poppies should not be
transplanted; all others will be better for
the change. Mignonette is preyed upon

 

by small green worms; dust slaked lime
or pyrethrum powder on the plants when
small. Use Scotch snuff for the black.
ﬂea which preys on alyssum. If the
weather is dry the soil about the young
plants must be frequently stirred. The
soil from around the stables is good for
these hardy annuals, if not too rank. The
dahlia seed should be planted in a pan or
box over it; there should not be too much
earth, so as to bring the plants too close
to the glass. '
.___...__

PROF. A. J. COOK says, in the N. 1’.
Tribune, that some maple syrup which
had acquired a musty taste was boiled
and then converted into sugar without
removing the musty ﬂavor. Afterward,
three gallons of water were added to the
same quantity of the musty syrup and the
mixture boiled till reduced to the stand-
ard of prime syrup, when the taint was
wholly gone. Professor Cook thinks the
same result would be obtained by repeat—
edly heating and cooling the syrup.

___..,___.

ICE will last much longer if it is wrap-
ped in ﬂannel or felt before being put in
the ice-box. Even newspaper may be
used if nothing else is handy. Wrap
ﬂannel about the pitcher of ice—water on
a hot day and the ice will last longer and
the water remain cool longer than if not
thus protected.

——oo¢—-—-

RAW coffee does not deteriorate but
rather improves with age. After it is
roasted, however, it rapidly loses ﬂavor
and goodness. Roast only a small quan-
tity at a time if you wish the full excel-
lence. __.w__

Contributed Recipes.

ORANGE SnonrcaanSlice six or eight
large oranges and Sprinkle with sugar an hour
or two before using. To a quart of ﬂour add
two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and rub
into it two tablespoonfuls of butter or sweet
lard; moisten with cold water to a stiff dough.
Roll, bake in pie tins, split open and put
the orange between. Eat with cream and
sugar.

MINNEHAHA CAKE—One and a half cupfuls
sugar, half a cupful butter, whites of ﬁve eggs,
or three whole ones, reserving the white of
one for frosting; half a cupful of sweet milk,
two heaping cupfuls of ﬂour, into which a
teaspoonful of cream of tartar and half a
teaspoonful of soda have been sifted. Bake in
three layers. Filling: Boil one cupful of
sugar and a little water together, until it is
brittle when drOpped into cold water. Remove
from the ﬁre and mix quickly with the well
beaten white of one egg. Add to this one
cupful stoned raisins, chopped ﬁne, ora cupful
of nutmeats of One kind or a variety; then
spread between the layers and over the top.

C. G

 

GRANGER PUDDING.——One cup molasses; one
cup thick sour milk; half cup sugar; half cup
melted butter; one cup raisins, currants, or ‘
citron; cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, quarter
teaspoonful each. Flour to make the consist-
ency of cake. Bake, or steam one and a half
hours; eat with a boiledjsauce made as follows:
One teacupful sugar; half cup butter; one
tablespoonful cornstarch; ﬂavor with wine or
lemon. EYANGELINE.

Barrnn Cannx.

