WOMEN'S REALM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 225, 20 September 1905, Page 10

WOMEN'S REALM.

MODERN MANNERS. In our childhood our garrulity was checked by the words: '-There are some things which 'idles and gentlemen don't talk about." But now it would appear that there are no longer any subjects which we don't talk about. We seem to have brought frankness to * fine art; and with this general relaxing of conversational principles, we nowadays disregard all the older conventions of address.—Lady Helen Forbes, in "Black and White" WEAKLINGS. It was Jennie's duty to read out during breakfast all the most interesting items of the day. One morning, after wading through the latest intelligence from the front, she turned to another page of the paper, and said: "Herbie, it says here that another octogenarian's dead." "What's an octogenarian V "Well, I don't quite know what they are, but they must be very sickly creatures. You never hear of them but they're dying." WONDERFin GLASS FLOWERS. "Where are the glass flowers?" is the question put by many a visitor to the museum ft Harvard University. And when they are found the sightseer lingers long and admiringly over one of the greatest artistic marvels in the world. The "glass flowers" consist of hundreds of specimens of flowers and plants formed of glass, but with such most exquisite fidelity to Nature that they appear to be real, every tint and marking, every tiniest detail being faithfully reproduced. They are made by a secret process, the artists being a father and son in Germany who, it is said, may let their secret die with them. As an instance of the wonderful workmanship involved, it may be mentioned that the very hairs which appear on the stems of certain plants are reproduced on the glass imitations! On one plant there are thousands of minute flowers, but every one is perfect in the minutest detail, although it requires a microscope in order to ascertain the fact. METHODICAL WASHING UP.

System should be applied to the washing of dishes, simple as such a process may appear to the stranger to housekeeping, On being removed from the table, dishes should be scraped off as clean as possible, glasses emptied, and those used for milk, etc., rinsed well with cold water. The dishes should be sorted in groups, and those of fine or heavy quality placed apart to be washed separately. The' silver or cutlery may be placed, handles upward, in a pitcher partially filled with water.

Handles of ivory, bone, pearl, etc., should never be immersed in water, as they will become discoloured; nor should plated or silver ware, of which the handles are distinct pieces, as they will eventually become loosened. Wash off the handles with a wet cloth, and dry quickly. Allow for washing dishes a very liberal supply of hot water and soap, as well as towels. As soon as a dish or glass towel becomes wet take a dry one. Where it is desirable to spare the hands, a dish mop may be used for washing dishes.

Glasses should be washed first. The water should not be too hot, for glass will break if subjected to extreme changes of temperature." When the glasses are washed add a further supply of soapy, hot water, and wash (a few at a time) cups, saucers and plates of the finer quality, then the heavier pieces, and then the silver. Never use strong suds for washing gilded or expensively decorated china, and never allow such -ware to remain in the water longer than necessary, or the gilding and painting will fade.

A second pan, filled with clear, hot water, will be found useful for rinsing glasses and china before they are placed on the draining board or in the wire draining basket.

Empty the dish pan and refill with fresh hot, soapy water, as one pailful begins to grow dirty. Remember never to overcrowd the pan; a few dishes at a time can alwaye be washed to better advantage. Silver trays, pitchers, etc., should be washed well daily.

Cut glass must be handled most carefully. Pieces should always be washed separately, and put to drain on a clean cloth, laid on a tray, wiped off skilfully, and put to dry in sawdust. See that glass and china of all kinds are thoroughly dry and polished before being placed away in closets. By allowing dishes to drain well and using only clean, dry towels, this work will be much simplified. ART IN THE HOME. Although a room must depend for its main beauty on design and furniture, it is obvious that there are many details which are very necessary to give the charm of completeness and finish Amongst those, we may mention door furniture, by which is meant the handles, plates, and locks—those all-important factors to the complete: equipment of a door. The miserable commercial articles which are frequently allowed to disgrace so many of the modern doors would have been condemned by Ruskin as "immoral to sell," and the decorator of any ' taste knows quite well they are immoral to use. The English metal workers have never equalled the French and German artists, but there is a notable improvement in such work during last few years. During the Louis XIV. period the door furniture played a most important part in the decorative scheme, and the artist Lebrun designed those in the Gallerie d'Apollon, in the Louvre, when he composed the decoration of the room. Even in the simplest private houses in France it is impossible to find any door furniture which is not well designed and well made.

The mortise lock made its firet appearance in England during the eighteenth century, taking the place of the iron box-lbck, for which it is a poor substitute as it both weakens and disfigures the door.

The designs for the metal work became plainer depending more on the lines of its contour for effect than on ite decorations, but with the French feeling which was introduced by Chippendale, Sheraton, and Heppelwhite, the door furniture became mare elaborate, and was frequently designed by French artists. The brothers Adam are, however, responsible for the designs during the Heppelwhit* period, and their style was usually very classic with wreaths, medallions, and festoons. It is hardly necessary to add that the style of the room most determine the character of the door furniture, as in all skilful schemes of decoration

TESTE.X &£CIPEa. \ A GOOD SOUP. A very delicate soup may be .." peas at this season. Boil three pintj „«' shelled peas in two quarts of Tr»t& White boiling add a sliced onion, a ciS of celery and some parsley. Sinmerli for an hour and then press colander. Return the smooth aisf * thus obtained to the stove and aeasm with salt and pepper. Rub two teaspoon fuls of batter into a large tablespoo fn of flour until smooth and add fo ts soup. Just before serving pcs? in a of cream. PARSNIP SOUP. Many peoplt to have a judiee agaiaet fjarsnips, why. I fail te understand. If carefully cooked they are an excellent accompaniment to boiled mutton and boiled salt beef. Even if you do not like parsnips as ' a vegetable, give this soup a trial—it is well worth one. Required: —One pound of parsnips,age ounce of butter or good driping, one onion, one quart of white stock, or nu]k and water in equal proportions, salt aad pepper. Wash and scrape the parsnips, then carefully remove all black specks from then, and cut them in coin alkes. the butter in a clean pan, pet in the vegetables, and stir them over the fire for five minutes. Then add the stock' or milk and water, and let all simmer gently till the vegetables are tender. Next rub all through a wire sieve, pat the soup back in the pan, reboil it, set? son it carefully, and if too thick add* little milk. Serve it with toast eni v neat dice. BANANA FRITTERS. Remove the skins from four bananas, scrape them and slice into thin round?. Sprinkle lemon juice, cover and let stand while making fritter batter Nα 2. Add the bananas, drop by the spoonful, and fry in deep fat. Drain on brown paper and serve with currant jeßy sauce. For this sauce boil a cupful of sugar and one-third of a cupful of water to a thick syrup, add one-third ai, a glass of beaten currant jelly and boil up welL Take from the are. add the juke of a lemon, strain through a fine siete, and serve. •■ POTATO PUREE. Mash" some previously cooked m«h[ potatoes, put them into a small enameO. Ed saucepan with a good lump of batter, pepper and salt, and keeping your pan over a warm part of the stove, stir with a wooden spoon, adding gradually either good milk or cream. Stir for an insttii over the fire, just to thoroughly heat the puree before serving. This, and tp» ! mato puree, served with lamb chop?, : makes a tasty and speedy addition to * luncheon on the arrival of an unexpected guest. Sausages and potato puree abt go well together. MACARONI AND TOMATO. ! If you wish to prepare a quart aisS, fill your dish about a third full of macaroni; put it in a saucepan and cover with plenty of boiling water to allow for swelling, and boil twenty minutes to half an hour. It must be soft bat quite whole; drain off all the water; stir in a piece of butter the size of a small egg and a small cup of grated cheese, and place in your dish; strait over it a quart of well-seasoned torn* toes while hot, and bake half an hon% or until brown; salt arid season toma> toes to taste before adding to ma<* roni.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Paraffin for the Hair.—Two tahlespoonfuls of best paraffin, ■warmed in the oven with an equal quantity ef soft soap, till the whole can be stirred together, makes an excellent shampoo mix* ture, and helps to strengthen the hair. Add it to one pint of warm water, bat to a lather with your hand, and rub wdl into the hair, rinsing in several lots of water afterwards.

Furniture Polish.—A good furniture polish consists of one ounce of linseei oil and two of turpentine, or loounee of white wax, one ounce of powdered yellow resin and quart of spirits of turpentine; stir until dissolved, lay if on with a cloth, and polish with flannel. Many old housekeepers prefer beesirax and turpentine for polishing to linseed oil and turpentine.

To take paraffin stains from cloft, make a paste of fuller's earth and wata; to which a little ammonia has bsea added. Spread this on the spots and rufc it in slightly if they are very pie , , nounced. Leave them, till they art thoroughly dry, then brush them oat using a clean brush for the purpose. B the stains are very bad the process 'ul need to be repeated. To Clean White Fur.—Put snffieiet bran into a pan and stand it in the owe until quite hot through. Put the *rtid* to be cleaned into it, and nib and raw? about as though washing in water. TO«| • quite clean, shake thoroughly to remoW the bran. If the fur is very dirty it JB*f require the process to be repeated. Idi hats can be beautifully cleaned by brushed and rubbed well with hot bnuu Sugar Boiling: As you probably to** there are 11 degrees in sugar boiKaft marked on the thermometer as follows; "Small thread,'"' 215 degrees; Illpthread," 217 degrees; "small pearl," & degrees; "large pearL" 220 Cegreef; ti«; "blow," 230 degrees; the "feather," SB, degrees; "soft ball,"' 238 to 240 degree, "hard balL , 246 to 256 degrees; crack," 260 to 290 degrees; *h*xi crack," 290 to 300 degrees; "cxzand,* 300 to 352 degrees. To Clean Linoleum.—For tm sqMflJ feet of linoleum allow twr> eggs; htedt these into a basin and beat suffieiertjf} to partially mix them, and then add <■»"' -quart of lukewarm water. Dip a flannel cloth, in this mixture and go fIW the linoleum; wring out the cloth isi wipe a second time, using care not t» step where this has been done, the leave it to dry in the air, eot asisf the room till the floor is thorough dry. The linoleum will look like ne*» The Turks are noted for the tsetOoM of their coffee. They never put coH *r» or cream in warm coffee. The foßowjsfl; is their recipe. Place the require amount of water in the coffee pot W*J it reaches the boiling-point add SBOa S sugar to sweeten, and •"'j* it becomes a rich syrup. Coffee a*■ proportion of a tablespoon to e»Cu &$ of water is gently stirred in. c is -warmed in a separate vessel * ,ed into- the whole just as it is ***?[" Coffee is much improved by wanfflß? «■ milk first. «i g For Stained Floors.—That par* <* Z stained floor which has to stand » traffic can be kept quit* dark and »jjP°» 1 condition if it is rubbed two 0T times a week with a mixture n>» o*. . equal parts of linseed oil, taT V dark brown vinegar. The best Tl 7?Z l ji § for polishing stained floors Of furniture are made out of °^^ t ~» g* mere stockings. Cut the Sttt w T M stockings, cut the legs ofi eB together.