MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1939, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

MAKIxNG i’OTI’OVRRL GECTUITS RItfVEIALED. Now that rose petals are falling to thousand lawns, it is time to think about preserving some of their delicious perfume for the months when the- roses themselves will be no more than a menioiy, writes Mollie Carpenter Hales, in the London "Daily 'Telegraph.” x .... There, is always that potpouii. w'iosc fragrance maj come to you from little china pots with lids specially lilted to greet you in the bedroom which you are occupying for a stayin the country, or from sachets in the draw'crs of your dressing table, oi irom Die sheets among which -Die sachets have been scattered in the linen cupboard. Pctpurri is easy enough to make, it you aie not. one of those people who must, finish a thing on the day they begin it, and it you have a garden al your disposal. You must gather about ihiec dozen roses just before they fall, and the stronger their scent the better. Spread all the petals out singly on sheets of paper and dry them in tile sun. The whole secret of potpurri making is in Die drying. Not a suspicion oi’ moisture should he left in any of the ingredients, or the mixture will go mildewy. The petals should be turned daily and brought in at night. After about a week of this treatment they should be dry, and may now be put into a jar.

FRAGRANT INGREDIENTS. Meanwhile dry a good bunch of lavender by tying it, heads downward, into a paper bag and hanging on a wall in the sun. When dry, strip off the flowers and some of the little leaves, and add to the rose petals. Mix in a sprig of thyme, 20 sage leaves and some rosemary, all dried. Rosemary has a very delicate scent, and a large handful of its leaves will not be too much.

Divide about 50 geranium leaves into small pieces and dry them. Some geraniums have more scent than others, so you must choose the ones best suited to your purpose. Any ether sweet-smelling herb, dried, may now be added. The chemist contributes Io the mixture a. couple of ounces of orris root and a small quantity of Tonquin Lea'ns. These two ingredients should be pounded together between pieces of muslin till they arc powdered, then added to the jar of dried leaves and petals. Sprinkle in one or two teaspoonfuls of allspice and mix the whole pot peurri together, crushiitg it as much as possible with the hands. Leave in tho jar for a while, giving it an occasional stir with the hands. One of the delights of potpourri making is that from now dried petals of any flowers that please you may be added, provided that they are flowers which retain their scent after drying. The violet, for instance, does not. When you have made all the additions you wish, or when the flowers have stopped blooming pack up your potpurri in sachets and jars. Old ginger jars are often used for this purpose, especially the blue and white ones with the little china lids. These should be lifted whenever you particularly wish the fragrance to float into the room. Think as you spread cut the petals daily what charming little Christmas gifts the jars of potpourri from your garden are going to make.

FEATURES FOR SALE. zY NEW ENTERPRISE. A new non-profit-making enterprise called tho Grafting Donors’ Bureau, which deals in human flesh, has been started in New York by one of the test-known plastic surgeons in the country—Dr. James Stotter —as a sort cf clearing house for other face lifters and nose designers. A doctor simply cals the bureau and says, “I want a strip of cartilage one-half inch long, blood type 4.” The bureau then calls a donor who has the necessary qualifications and sends him over to the doctor’s office.

Hundreds of persons have written offering “any parts of their bodies’’ for a goodly sum of cash; actually it is cartilage that is wanted, not an ear cr a nose. A donor can give cartilage from live places; his nose, both ears, and liis two floating ribs, but only once, as cartilage docs not remake itself. The average piece wanted is about one-half inch by one-quarter inch; the largest ever used measured two inches by one-half inch. Donors receive from £2O to £lOO for these tiny strips.

The most frequent operations are for dished-in noses, humped noses, receding chins, and protruding ears. The bureau trie's to match donor with patients; donors with humped noses for instance, give their excess cartilage to patients with dish-in noses.

CANADIAN WOMEN. PART LN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. Canadian women are forging steadily to the front of public affairs in their Dominion, and the numbers are rapidly increasing of those- holding high and important public positions. Ontario boasts Canada's, first and only woman mayor. Mrs Barbara Henley, who was re-elected for her third term last December. There arc nine women aldermen in tho Dominion, one of whom is in Nova Scctia. lour in Ontario, and one in each of the (our western provinces, tn Die Canadian Senate there are two women. Miss Carine Wilson and Miss Iva, Fallis, among !l-t men. Two women also sit in the House of Commons. These are Mrs Agnes McPhail and Mrs Nt. L. Black, while in the provincial legislatures there are live women members. The board of governors of Dig Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. also 'i-clude:. one v. email, r.lfj

N e Hie ?-! cCI un e. ‘ anadian women holdmo imnortant ! osition:-. abroad include- .'diss Char- (>-•!(.> vvhjHon. u h<? represonts Canada on I tie advisory committee of social quasi ions of the League of Nations, aud bus also been appointed by the League Council as t'w!iric:'l adviser on iclief ami a.-. i ."lance ud a rds to i h<- Hik ed cemmiDm- on ii'itrili'm.

IHDIESTIC SERVAATS. HONOURED IN NORWAY. In an effort to try and improve the status oi servants, and so persuade a better type of girl to adopt a domestic career, a woman’s society, in | liOiiCiOß, recently decided to adopt the term “domcstician,” states an exchange. [ This may, or may not have the de sired effect, but there is one countr; where domestic service is rcgardcc as an honoured career, and whose girls make the best servants in th' world. That is Norway. The Norwegian girls have their owi trade union, which looks after thcii interests, and a domestic servant i: as much a person of consequence as : shop employee or a factory hand. Naturally domesticated, the Noi wegian is trained from early years ii the art. of housewifery, with the mos up-to-date appliances, for watci power makes electricitj’ so cheap ii Norway that, they often do not tun. off the public-roum lights in the (laytime, and every little farmhouse has its electrical equipment. The Norwegian girl is ambitious and her Mecca is the United States, where the Scandinavian servant obtains the best wages and living conditions in the world. Many go to England and work for board and nominal wages in order to learn the language. and London and the big provincial cities each have their little Scandinavian colony. Last year the Norwegian servants petitioned their Government to grant them a ten-hour-day exclusive of meal-times, all other time to be paid as overtime. They are also paid board wages for a fortnight’s holiday annually., and have their time off and pay fixed by local boards. They are not haughtly demanding, or humble, but have a proper approiation of the value of their work to Die community, and pride in a job well done.

TURKISH DISHES. VEGETABLES COOKED IN OIL. After spending 25 years overseas, Madame Chelik Bey, formerly Miss Florence Winter-Irving, of Melbourne, returned to Australia recently for a holiday. She has lived in many different countries abroad, including Turkey and France, where she spent 10 years in Paris. In an interview she gave descriptions of several Turkish dishes.

Mme. Chefik Bey said that in Turkey hors d’oeuvres were served before guests went into the dining room. They wcie served in Russian fashion, with raki. a sort of vodka. An intersting dish served after the meat at Turkish dinners, which took place at any time between nine and ten. was pelaff. To make pelaff a cup of rice w;'.s added to every two cups of bouillon (clear soup). The rice was washed until every bit of flour was out of it, then fried until golden-brown. Then it was tipped into the soup, in which were peeled tomatoes. The dish was then boiled without stirring, and finally melted butter was poured over it. Every grain of rice was separate in this dish.

“Vegetables are usually cooked in oil in Turkey,” said Mme. Chefik Bey. “Very often they are served cold. Aubergines stuffed with rice, stuffed tomatoes, marrows and peppers, are served with a squeeze of lemon.” Turkish stewed fruits were delicious, she conliued, and pears, peaches, apricots and figs, for example, weie cooked whole with a thick syrup. Coffee was always served black, in little cups without handles. Dime. Chefik Bey. whose husband was in the diplomatic service, arrived in Melbourne with her sou, Rashid Bey, who liked Australia so much that he intends to go on the land there.

SUET WITHOUT TEARS. It is u.nfortunate for mothers that most children make a fuss about eating suet. Yet suet is good for them, especially during the Winter months. Few children, however —or grown-up peoole either, for that matter—will tail"to do justice to any kind of fruitfilled suet pudding if made in the following way:— . Make your crust from linclychopped suet, so that there will be no fear of lumps in the finished product. Grease your basin and before you line it with the crust, sprinkle it thickly with brown sugar—Denierara is the best for the purpose. Then till up with whatever fruit you chose, and, after sprinkling with the sugar again, cover with a circular piece of crust, making all the edges firm. Usually the next step is to boil the pudding in a basin. But this again makes precisely that heavy, moist and greasy consistency that children dislike. So instead of’ placing the pudding in a saucepan of water, put it in a moderate oven to bake for about an hour. If sufficiently cooked it ought to turn out. easilv at the end of that Lime and to be crisp and brown outside and iuicv inside. The children, we can safely say. will devounr it and will ask for more. As a change from suet puddings this is a cheap and light pudding, excellent for young children. Sift half a round of plain flour and' a pinch ot salt into a bowl and rub in four cunces of margarine until very fine. A.‘i(’’ the stated rind of a lemon and three ounces of sugar. Dissolve a tea spoonful of bicarbonate of soda in a little milk and add to the rest, adding more milk to make a tathci soil mixture, which will drop off the spoon when it is lightly shaken. Dave ready a, greased basin with three tablespontuls of syrup, treacle or jam at the bottom. Pour in the mixture, tic with greased paper, and steam for an hour ami liiree-quarters. Serve with or without custard or sweet, white sauce.