HOUSEHOLD NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 24 April 1907, Page 1

HOUSEHOLD NOTES.

—Washing White Blouses. — The following is a quick way of washing a white silk blouse. Let it soak for two or more hoursi in a basin of cold water. Next prepare a hot lather of soap and water, and squeeze the blouse in this. Change water when dirty. When tho lather remains clear, rinse the blouse in warm water until it is free from soap, and finally leave it for ten minutes in a basin of water to which a tablespoonful of methylated spirit has been added. Roll in a towel for a few minutes, and iron, while wet, with a very hot iron. — Comforters versus beauty. Deformities of the mouth and jaws aro among the latest dangers assigned to the habitual use of the indiarubber "dummy." It may be that mothers who are willing to permit that babies swallow dirt and microbes, and run the risk of sickness, through the use of the comforters, will pause before the picture of spoiled beauty which deformities of the jaws and teeth suggest. — When Knitting or Crocheting Wools — Procure a stone crock such as preserves come in. One holding three pounds is about right size. When sitting down to work, place the ball of wool in the crock on the floor, and there will be no annoyance from its rolling about. When through-working, pick up the crock and roll it up with the work in a towel and lay aside until ready to use again. —To Paint Zinc Bath Tub.— Housekeepers whose sense of the beautiful suffers from the zinc bath-tub may, by applying two coats of priming paint and two coata of enamel, make a fair substitute for the porcelain tubs. Before aplying the paint have the tubs absolutely free from grease by washing with a very hot and strong solution of soap and soda. Then dry thoroughly and let stand 24 hours at least between each coat. —To Dye a Cream Straw Hat BlackDissolve two pennyworth of gum arable in two table spoonsful of boiling water, add two tablespoonful of pood black ink,. Paint hat with camels-hair brush. — To Rentove a Tight Finger Ring. — Thread a small needle with number fifty thread, and soap the neddle, Pass the head of it carefully under the ring towards the hand, pulling the thread through a few inches. Wind the short end of the thread tightly and evenly round the ringer up as far as the middle joint, then take hold of the short end of the hread, and unwind slowly upward. The thread, passing against the ring, will gradually removo it. — Hints on Cake-making. — Currants should be very nicely washed, dried in cloth, and then set before the fire. Before they are used a dust of flour should be thrown among them, and they should be shaken ; this causes the cake to be. lighter. Eggs should be well beaten, whites and yolks apart, and ili|..nro elroinnrl Sntrat' chnnlrl bp»

pounded m a mortar and sifted through a very fine sieve. Lemon-peel should be pared very thinly. Cakes are frequently rendered hard and heavy by misplaced economy in eggs and butter, or for want of a due seasoning in spice and sugar. The heat of the oven is very important. A quick oven will cause the bater to rise. Should you fear it catching by being too quick, put some paper over the cakes to prevent it being burnt. Bread and cakes wetted with milk eat best when new. Earthen pans and covers are best to keep them in. Cakes made with yeast should always be eaten fresh. — Maxims for Baking Day. — To test an oven for bread, put a bit of white paper in, and if the paper turns a light brown in about five minutes the oven is just right — if the heat is too great above a baking-pan, lay a piece of brown paper over the top ; if too hot below slip in under it an asbestos mat always open and close the oven door carefully, as any jarring will cause cake or bread to fall. A wooden spoon with long perforations is the best for creaming butter. Butter creams more easily before the sugar is added. For baking purposes eggs should always be cold. If the whites do not easily become light, add a pinch of salt. Better have the oven a little cool than too hot. A cake should never brown before it rises. A pudding should never be removed from the oven until entirely stiff., If pancakes stick while baking, grease the griddle, sprinkle well with salt, and rub hard with a cloth. Grease again, and there will be no further trouble. — Scouring Soap. — Put Ub of caustic soda into one pint and a half of cold water -stir occasion ally till quito cooled down, by which time the soda will be quite dissolved. Have 41b cf fat melted and poured into a vessel large enough to allow the stirring, which must be constant, to be dono freely. Pour into this the soda and water, being careful to do so very slowly ; let it stand for 24 hours, when it will be ready for use. It is very cleansing, makes kitchen tables white, and a very good way to use up waste fat which has become useless for frying. A pair of gloves should be worn during the making of this soap. , — Vegetable Marrow Jam. — Cut marrow in pieces an inch square, soak in water for three days, changing the water every day. To each pound of marrow add. threequarters of a pound of sugar, one and a half ounce of preserved ginger, and one tnblrspnonfnl nf water and half a lemon — lemons and the preserved ginger sliced thin.

Complaints are common amongst motorists that the new Army Motor Keserve is ruled in too autocratic a manner by those at the head of affairs, and that the result of this attitude is to shut out many capable and willing automobilists fro nisei-vin^ their country. A correspondent of "The Autocar," referring to the matter, writes : "It is a time for plain speaking to these in authority who imagine that money raised from ordinary taxation, and in this case from the income tax, can be used succesfully for the propagation of a military bureaucracy like that which is now making such a foolish exhibtion of itself. "I do not care to prejudice the interests of the new A.M.R. in any way. lam convinced that it is a useful body, and also that, given I sensible direction, it will grow in use- | fulness. But it is at present simply i a cheap way for the war office to hire i cars."