Housekeeper.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 699, 27 October 1909, Page 7

Housekeeper.

HOME HINTS. To prevent the smell of onions, which is so offensive on the breath, eat a sprig of parsley. If a teaspoonful of vinegar is added to the water in which fish is to be washed, a most delicious flavour will be imparted to it.

Scrubbing- brushes will last twice as long if they are put-to dry with the bristles turned downwards. If turned the other way the water soaks into the wood and rots the bristles.

To prevent scorched pastry.—lf the heat of the oven is inclined to reach too high a temperature and scorch pastry and confectionery which is in the course of baking, a good plan is 10 place a tin or enamelled saucer on the lowest shelf of the oven and fill it with water.

Sweet Cupboards.—lf you are troubled with a damp-smelling cupboard or cellar, break up a lump of lime in a box and place inside, and all dampness will quickly disappear. The lime should then be removed, as if left too long it causes dry rot in the woodwork.

Don't let your baby get into tbe habit of expecting to be rocked to sleep. When it is bed-time put him in his cradle, no matter whether awake or asleep, and leave him to himself. If this habit is formed from the first he will go off from the first quite happily without any more attention.

To clean gold jewellery wash it in tepid water in soap lather to which a few drops of ammonia have been added. Rinse off with clean water, and without wiping, put the article into a box of beechwood sawdust until dry, then brush off the sawdust with a very soft plate-brush.

To preserve carpets.—Carpets should be rubbed with a damp cloth rather than brushed, and if it is necessary that they must be brushed, this should be done by means of a covered American sweeper with plenty of damp tea leaves. Of all ways of removing dirt from a carpet, the worst is by the use of the ordinary short brush, which involves the housemaid kneeling down in the dust.

Soft Complexions.—'How many girls tumble into bed at the end of an events', without doing more than giving their faces a superficial wipe with a damp cloth. They think themselves clean then, but coarse skin and, too often, large pores on the cheeks and nose demonstrate to the contrary before long. Whatever else you do not do before going to bed, be sure to give your face a good cleansing. If there is the least dryness of the skin use cold cream.

MOST WOMEN CAN'T SHOP. No woman should go to the marriage altar till she has first learned the way to the meat market, is the trenchant remark of a wife who knows. The great majority of women, she explains, even those who have been married and mothers for years do not how to shop. They only buy things. But no young- woman has any right to marry, especially a poor man. until she has learned the ethics of shopping. Remember, she says, a bargain is not a bargain, no matter how cheap, unless it is something the purchaser actually needs. On the other hand, it is'silly to adopt the attitude of the man in the funny papers and disbelieve in all bargains. Plenty of legitimate ones really exist, and the woman of limited income should always consider them. But she should understand them. There you have it again—she should understand. And she doesn't—that is. the majority don't. And she is too old to be taught. Therefore I say, teach ihe children. » There is nothing impractical in the idea of regular school courses in shopping. They should be compulsory, for ffirls. at least. The children should be taught, for instance, that it is both cheaper and healthier to buy plenty of rice and flour and meal and fewer prepared foods. They should learn that it is not good taste to wear pink roses in your hat and holes in your shoes. Moreover it is not healthy nor economical. A HARD CONDITION. To remain young is the chief ambition of all women, and, perhaps, of most men 'oo. Until now. the feeble

resources of coquetry were the only protection. But now we are brought a new remedy, said to be infallible against white hair, wrinkles, falling teeth, and all other irreparable signs of age. The prescription is simple, but difficult : Never talk ! For talking, argue the advocates of this new method, causes wrinkles, which are a sign of age. Laughing is very dangerous, too ; and so people who pass their entire lives in silence ought to be still young when their turn comes to die—and consequently, as next step, there is no apparent necessity for them to die at all. All they have to do is to remain silent But there is a species of torture in this treatment, recalling the old French adage. "One must suffer to be -handsome." The woman of last century would told you that when she was a little gin she did not sit up at table, and her parents, fearing that she would not develop in graceful proportions had her hair tied to the back of the chair, so that she was forced to throw back her shoulders and hold her chin straight. This seems barbarous, but to most women, say the cynics, it would be preferable to being doomed to eternal silence. - To them beauty may be desirable, but talking is a necessity. No definition of truth or argument for truth can equal the effectiveness of a life. Love one another in spite of your differences, in spite of your faults; do what wou can to serve each other, to lighten each other's trials and inconveniences and burdens ; above all make the best of one another.

Women often seem less open and honest than men, but that is hardly their own fault, for what is a cause of sympathy in him is considered ridiculous in her.. It should not be, but it is. A man may lament as much as he likes about growing old and unfit for his games and occupations, and people will be sorrv with him —really genuinely sympathetic and sorry ; but ; if a woman —an unmarried woman —dares to say anything of the sort, people contradict her to her face, and laugh at her behind her back.—Mrs. George de Home Vaizey.