HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 70, 22 March 1919, Page 20

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

To remove silver fish in skirting hoards make a solution of loz. oil of cloves, loz mirbane, Boz. kerosene, and saturate the wood well.

To banish flies, put 20 drops of carbolic acid on to a heated shovel or a flat piece of iron. The vapour kills the flies. I'yrethum powder burnt in a room stupefies the flies, which can b e then swept up, but it is better to remove all dirt and waste food and to destroy their propagating places.

To remove tan hoot stains, sponge the shoes over with petrol, then wash the leather with a mixture made of 2oz. benzol, loz. liquid ammonia, Joz. soft soap, 6oz. warm water. Allow to dry for several hours.

To preserve fruit without serew-topp e ,l bottles is not usually considered possible. Two correspondents* of si Southern exchange give their experience. One advises the following: Prepare fruit and jars in the usual way. Make a thick paste of flour and water (cold), an.l paste two sheets of writing paper together. Place over jars of fruit while hot, and cover over with a jam cover and bind with tape to prevent the ed"ps lifting. Leave until cool, when the lid will dry like parchment, and the fruit will keep any length of time. And another suggests: Instead of covering the fruit with hot wax. cover with iiot mutton fat. This will not shrink. Tt keeps the air out and proves most effective. We have preserved fruit for years in this way, and have never had any go bad. TO PATCH WALLPAPER. Tear the paper across, the more irregularly the better, instead of cutting it. With a little care it may be torn so that the white edge made by tearing will be upon the unused portion of the paper, instead of upon the patch. Then by matching the design carefully you will find that the patch will show but little, even if ; the paper on the wall has faded slightly, as is often the case. TO RENOVATE A SKIRT. Take a medium-sized potato and wash i and peel it. Then scrape the potato ' into a basin, ami pour over 1 cup cold water. Let stand for 24 hours. Strain the lye from the sediment carefully, ruh ■well with a .brush or sponge into the ■article to be cleaned, and then press in the usual way. FOR CREAKING SHOES. For creaking shoes put a small quantity of linseed oil on a plate, and stand the sole of the shoe in it for a few hours. The creak will disappear, and the shoe will also last longer on account of this treatment.