THE HOUSEHOLD.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXIII, Issue 1182, 5 March 1897, Page 7

THE HOUSEHOLD.

A hot bath taken on going to bed, even on a hot night of summer, is a better cure for insomnia than many drugs.

It is said that ra^s cannot resist sunflower seeds. A trap baited with these seeds is the most efficient method of catching them.

Silks or ribbons that are to be packed away should be rolled in brown paper, as the chloride of lime in white paper' will discolore them. White satin should be folded in blue paper and a brown paper put outside and pinned closely at the edges. Bread that has been cut in slices and become stale may be freshened by laying the slices together and folding a damp napkin around them ; put the napkin in a paper bag and place the bag in a hot oven for 15 minute?. Oats have a value in the.dressingroom as well as in the stable and the kitchen. They are unequalled for dry-water-soaked shoes without hopelessly stiffening the leather ar.d sro ling the shape of the boots. The wet footgear should simply be filled with the oats and allowed to stand for several bours. The grain will absorb the moisture and presen c the shape of the shoes. To make ordinary cloth waterproof, put half a pound of sugar of lead in a piil of rain water with half a pound of alum ; stir at intervals until the water becomes e'ear, and then pour it off into another pail. Put the cloth or garments into it and let them stand 24 hours. Then hang the cloth up to dry without wringing. Garmen-s treated thus can be worn in the wildest storm of wind and rain without the wearer gptting even damp. The rain will hang in globules upon the cloth, and cloth that is waterproof is better and more healthful than rubber goods. '

Before blacking brown boot?, tako a raw potato, cut, it in half, and rub^over the leather with it It will then be. frund v»iy mu:li easier to apply the blacking, and the appearance of the boot wi 1 be. far more satisfactory.

A doctor says : — 'lf I could leave my children only two health directions th^y would bfi these :— (1) Breathe through the nostrils, and not through the month ; and (2) wash out the mouth frequently and keep the teeth cVan. Hrlf the ills of humanity, in the way of sickness, come from neglect of these rules. Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine will take paint out of clothing, no matter "hour hard and dry it may be. Saturate the spot two or three times and then wash out in soapsuds. In Norway a law his recently been passed which makes girls ineligible for matrimony until they are proficient in knitting, baking, and spinning. Certificates of proficiency have to be earned and without these no girl may marry. To keep need lea from rusting, sprinkle; a little powdered- lime in the packets. . Nearly all kinds of cheese, while awaiting use in the household, should be kept in a special vessel, from which air is exclude!. A stone jar with a tight-fitting cover is a suitable receptacle. This should be placed in a storeroom or dry cellar where the. temperature is constant at 50 to 60 degrees Fahr. The air must not be so free from moisture as to dry out, and harden the cheese, nor so damp as to promote the growth of mould. For sweeping a room neatly there is nothing like newspaper aid. Take a page of newspaper at a time, wet it in hot water, and aqueeze until it ceases to drip. Tear into small pieces, or about the size of your hand, and cast thf>m all over the carper. Then sweep and most of the dust in the room will gathered into the paper. On matting use larger pieces of paper, pushing 1 them ahead of the broom to take up any fluff there may be before beginning the regular sweeping.