Housekeeper.

Lake County Press, Issue 2185, 5 September 1907, Page 7

Housekeeper.

Domestic Hints. PIANO keys yellow with age ran bo denned with n dilution of loz. of nitric acid in lOoz. of soft water. -Apply with a brush, ami wash off witli llaimol.

A cheap disinfectant to use in scrubbing or washing utensils in a sick-room is made by adding a teaspoonfnl of turpentine to every bucket of hot water. Turpentine is a powerful disinfectant, and will dispel all bad odours.

A great saving cun be effected in every kitchen by the judicious management of the stock-pot. Most delicious and satisfying soups can be prepared from the bones, scraps ol meat, and vegetables loft over from the daily dinner in any largo family.

Hoiled eggs which adhere to the shell are Ircsh. A good egg will sink in water. Stale eggs are glassy and smooth of shell. The shell ol a fresh egg has a lime-like surface. A boiled egg which is done and dries quickly on the shell when taken from the saucei an is frudh -

Any stain from fruit on table linen should be looked after before the linen is put to soak in water in which there is any soap. Hold Ihe stained pieces over a vessel, and pour boiling water through it. This is better than soaking in water, as it prevents the stain from spreading.

Honey for Children. Honey is an excellent food for t hildren. It is nutritious, aud may be eaten with impunity when taken with bread. Being a laxative, persons of sedentary lives may use it to advantage. It is hardly possible to eat it to an injurious extent, inasmuch as it acts as an aid to digestion. Being, also, an extract of blossoms, it is, when pure, the daintiest and most delicious of sweets.

Is Asparagus Wholesome? Chemical analysis offers no explanation of the pleasant flavour of asparagus, but assigns to it a decidedly high nutritious value. Asparagus, however, furnishes one of those interesting examples of a food which, though containing more water in its composition than does milk, is, nevertheless, a solid substance. Thus, the head of the asparagus contains slightly more than 93 per cent, of water, which is only 1 per cent, less than that contained in the lettuce, but 5 per cent, more than is present in milk, The solid constituents, however, are particularly rich in nitrogenous substances, which amount to 30 per cent, of the dried vegetable. Amongst these may be reckoned a purin body, to which has been ascribed the harmful inlluence of asparagus on some persons with a gouty tendency. When asparagus is consumed in large quantities the output of uric acid is very distinctly increased. The same effect is obtained after drinking copiously of beer whicli also contains purin bodies. Sweetbread may be objectionable on similar grounds. There is no reason for thinking that when asparagus is oaten in reasonable quantities it is undesirable. It is, in fact, very digestible and is easily tolerated, even by invalids.

Artificial Food: Albumin Made. It is agreed that the principal nourishment required by the human body for its maintenance is albumin, the source of all muscular strength. For this reason it has at all timos been the endeavour of scientists to obtain more knowledge of this important ingredient of our daily food. It was recognised that were it possible to make artificial albumin a complete chai go in the present system of nourishing the human body would bo brought about and would render the now so necessary meat foods to a great extent dispensable. Professor Emil Fischer, of Berlin, has now gained the credit of having accomplished the first analysis of natural albumin. He has established the composition of the various ingredients, some of which ho lias succeeded in producing artificially. Tie substance thus obtained he has called ‘ polypeptide,’ and it is said to possess a large number of the properties characteristic of natural albumin. The vast importance of this discovery will bo better comprehended, states an enthusiastic consul, when we realise that the introduction of this artificial food will reduce the disastrous effects of bad harvests, pestilence, etc., to a minimum, and cause famine to become a thing of the past.