THE HOME,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13235, 21 July 1906, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE HOME,

THE TABLE. , I .Knuror Fnm'ERS ':' Make a breakfast cupful :.l of nice frying batter. Ingredients are— | Four ounces of .flour,.quarter. of a pint tepid j water," one " tawlespoonful of salad oil, -salt "! to taste, and one egg. Put the flour in a basin, make a well in the centre, pour in j the oil, and break in the egg yolk. Now stir it well, adding salt and water by degrees, until the batter .-; is quite smooth. Beat the white of egg to ai stiff froth, and stir:; it into • the batter; add a tablespoon-; fur. of finely minced onion and a little minced; parsley, marjoram if liked, and J a little cayenne pepper. , Remove the skin and core of the kidney,; outfit ,in slices, and season these with a little salt'. : Have ready a pan of boiling fat dip the slices of kidney in the batter, which must be. thick enough to stick to the meat. ■, Fry the fritters a nice brown colour. Drain them, and serve; with sprigs of parsley Ground. These may be fried or not. Sheep's kidney ;is not necessary; ox kidney answering. equally well', and it will be found much less expensive if economy has to be considered. Moreover ox kidney cam often be bought when sheep's kidney cannot. Only see that it is quite fresh. When cooking kidney in the usual way, be sure to fry it in deep fat, sufficient to cover it quite. The custom; of, inexperienced cooks to fry kidney in shallow fat makes the skin tough and indigestible. Kidney should always be soaked in tepid salt and water, changing it more than once, and the white paort;(core) : must, be carefully removed. A physician once told the writer that this was of supreme importance, his wide knowledge of the uses to which this organ of the body is put showing the imperative need of guarding against possible risk. Diseases of , the kidney are common ,-enough,; and yet,; knowing this,' it "is. always a favourite comestible. Ham Salad: Chop some ham very fine and slice twice as much cold potatoes very thin. Arrange the.ham and potatoes in a I salad dish in layers, and sprinkle each double layer, with chopped celery, then pour French ! dressing over all. ■ Garnish with hard-boiled j eggs, cut in slices or in fancy, shapes. ■.■-. Veal. Soup: Take a well-broken . joint of veal weighing about three pounds and coverwith four quarts cold water ; boil gently for several hours, . then: add one-quarter pound macaroni, previously cooked tender, or a cupful of boiled rice, season to taste with salt and pepper, boil up once and serve. \ Bachelor's Pudding:. Wash and pick 4oz. currants, grate 4oz bread, ' mince 40z.;;- of apples, mix all together, with 2oz sugar. Moisten with three beaten eggs flavoured with lemon. f Put in buttered basin, tie in cloth, and boil three hours. ■ > -Prune Jelly: Put £lb of prunes in stewpan with soz of white 'sugar, a slice of lemon, a little cinnamon, and one pint of waiter.. : Stew gently Hill fruit is 'tender drain oil' liquor into, a basin. ::' Stone the prunes, pass the fruit- through a sieve or chop it up; then put the fruit and liquor into pan again, add prune kernels; loz of gelatine previously dissolved in half-pint of water, and a glass of clairet. Boil all together for about two minutes, and pour into mould to set. When cold turn on to glass dish, pour boiled custard round, and stick a few shreds of blanched almonds ..the top of ; jelly. •5 Delicious Nut-Cake: Shell and pass through a sieve ljlb of filberts, beat up the yolks of four-eggs, add gradually -Jib of castor sugar , and ;. the nuts. ' Whisk the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, mix them in lightly. Butter a large cake-tin,-.-put hi the mixture, and; hake 40 minutes in a rather hot. oven. When done, turn out and leave' till cold. v Then divide it horizontally ; spread the .cake with whipped cream,' put it together again,, ice it with plain icing, ornamenting •it with some of the nuts clipped in the icing. > Water icing for above.—Put in a saucepan of icing sugar and two tablespoonfuls of water (just warm) and pour over the cake. . ~ HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Water boils when it gallops- and oil when ib is still. ' - ;•'•. Carrots and turnips will keep for weeks, if not months, if placed in layers in a box of sand. , .; A cloth saturated with paraffin and rubbed over picture' and mirror frames will keep flies off. . :,, Finger-marks may be removed from varnished furniture by rubbing with a little sweet; oil upon a soft cloth. \ ; When washing dishes that have held milk rinse them out: with cold water before putting them in hot water. ■ ' A little dry mustard rubbed on the hands will remove the smell of fish or any other disagreeable Odour .from them. ■■-..-, ;: Mason's dust makes, a perfect substance for scouring, floors and deal tables, rendering them white and beautiful. _ V; To draw a rusty nail, drive the nail a little way : with a 'sharp blow from a hammer, when it can be easily drawn. - '•> By rubbing with a damp cloth dipped in whiting th©; brown discolouration may be taken off china vessels 'that custards have been baked in. . When making cakes it is well to remember that sour milk makes ai spongy, light cake ; sweet milk makes one that cuts like pound cake ; never use fresh and stale, milk in the same cake. ' ! -. Tq' purify the air. of ■ bedrooms, if a lamp or candle is kept burning'in the fireplace a draught is created up the chimney by which the foulest air in the room is carried out with great rapidity. "-:.'. To wash varnished paint, sleep some tealeaves in water for half an hour,"... Strain and use the liquid for washing the paint. This decoction will make the woodwork look cleaner and fresher-than if only soap and water are used.: . Clean all. kinds of ribbons, silks, and delicate woollens bywashing in gasoline as you would in water, and keeping in the open air till the odour is entirely gone. This is excellent to clean gloves, as it will not cause any article to draw or shrink. . \ '" 'A WOMAN'S BEAUTY. There are myriads of women who go through life wondering why they fail to attract. They know (to use honest English) that they are ugly,-but they do not understand how.- If these women would first digest the fact that ," beauty'' is the sum total of impressions conveyed by a great number of details, and would then go over; the details or "points" in. their own appearance,, they would become either resigned >or energetic, according to circumstances. Here are questions that should be asked of the mirror: Is the hair glossy? Is: it of ; good ;colour? Are the eyebrows properly curved? Are they dark enough? Are they sufficiently thick? Are the lashes long enough? Is their colour satisfactory? Is the skin free from blackheads? Are the lips pals? Are they rough? Are the teeth discoloured? Are the eyes dull? : An actress knows the vital importance of \ the minutest detail. In her make-up not a point is overlooked, for it is essential that each fault receive attention;, ; ; ; ' - , *

: THE. WOMEN MEN LIKE. Man seeks for that refinement in a woman which he does not possess himself, perhaps, ■or does-not meet with in hie daily business life. He .wants his home life to be filled with love and peace, a hallowed shrine where he • can worship. Hi) wants a wife who will lean on his strength, but whose goodness is his reliance. I Men prefer modest women; often, in fact, the woman who is the direct opposite of his- male friends. He may laugh at the young woman who apes the boys, and talks all the latest slang, but "he laughs, and he rides away," as the old song has it; he has no idea, of putting an unfeminine creature at' the head of his household. The ideas of ■ womanhood are ever changing, for there was a time when men thought that higher education , was going to do away with the eternal feminine; and that it would mean a crowd of "blue stockines." But ,: proofs show ,• that men have discovered :. that .development along educational lines has imnroved and not detracted from womanhood. Men really prefer 'modest, capable woman v for ; wives/ though they may, for the amusement there is in it, like to flirt with- the slangy, irresponsible ones. : If the girls would study; how to bring the best /that ,is in them, the finest side ;of their woman nature, "and drop slang, ? loud voices/, and still louder;; behaviour, there would not he so many wailings for husbands/arid sighing for homes of their own.: • .

LITERATURE AND ART,

■■•'■.'■.. ...... ........ ....... ■ .'.-.. - :■*'■:■ ~;■• It seems that 60,000 copies of Mr. Upton Sinclair's : " Jungle" have already been sold in America . and England. Mr. Hememann has ■ another large edition of the novel ready.' /

v Messrs. Morgan and Scott have issued ft new.: edition of Saukey's, sacred .songs';- and solos. There are numerous additions, and the printing and binding are beyond reproach. ■ • ,

;■','■;" Professor .. Haeckel's "Evolution of Alan," -which was published last year at two guineas, '~ is being-issued by Messrs. <; Watts, slightly abridged and much simplified, in two sixpenny parts. -

'';;■ Mr..;.'' Murray is ':';■'; publishing a book, "' Adrift in New Zealand,'' which tells how the author, -Mr. E. Way Elkington, > settled, in that country when it was young, and his experiences as he grew up with it. . .-- v ■*. : ; :

A volume on; Marshal Blucher is being writen for Putnam's Heroes of the Nations Series: by Mr. Ernest F. Henderson'. In a larger sense it will be a study; of "the liberation of Central Europe from the yoke of Napoleon." " .--,--. :; -.''''- :

There . are'.2oo drawings in Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton's new book,* "Animal Heroes," which Messrs. Constable will publish. The " heroes" of it are a. cat, a dog,' a pigeon, a lynx, two wolves, and ! a reindeer—quite a menagerie.

Admiral Wiren and Admiral; Nebbgatoff, who had commands in the Russian naval forces in the Far East during the war, are contributors to the new edition of Mr. F. T. Jane's annual, .'". Fighting Ships," which Messrs. Sampson, Low are about to issue.

Long ago, says 'Mr. Andrew Lang, I quoted in a newspaper, " Just. for a handful of silver' he left us."." Handful" . was printed" " handle,'' and when I remonstrated with ■ the ;/ editor he said, '" You; quoted Browning, 'so I though it must, be' nonsense, and let it stand.J.-■,■; ■ ! .-' :; i

. ; The: Times, as a librarian and bookseller,, is to invade Scotland in concert with a Scottish , daily paper, . and . the Scottish booksellers are already taking note of this. They say in their circular that publishers " could help the book , trade this critical juncture" by advertising; in 'papers which are not competing with it. •..: '

Out of thirty painters .'who have attained full membership' of the Royal Academy, the Academy.finds at : least one is over. 80, eight have passed their 70th, and six 'their 60th: birthday; that is to say, fifteen in all,'exactly 50 per cent., have exceeded that age at' which they would have had to retire from most civil services. -

Mr. Horace Cox announces a book which is rather a departure -. in natural history literature. : It is on - tho subject of "Central African Game and Its Spoor," and is bv Captain Stigand and Mr'. D. D. Lyell. The work gives the 'sort of information which ':'- it would take a: hunter years to gather first-hand. In fact, it is intended to be a practical guide to the i hunter in Central Africa, and, to that end also, it is illustrated. v . , ,

One of our leading publishers is, endeavouring to bring; about a general arrangement as to the period within which a net book shall not be : "remaindered." His suggestion is, six months, which seems reasonable, and the proposal, will probably be adopted by the Publishers' Association. The matter has been brought to the front by the action of the Times Book Club hi' selling copies of Lord Randolph Churchill's life at a greatly reduced price.

Mr. Spofforth, the " demon bowler," as we used to call him, is probably also something of a humorist. He contributes a paper on bowling .to the hew? cricket book by Mr. Beldam and Mr. Fry; which Messrs. Macmillan are .issuing.- In this paper he slyly asks batsmen not to read certain parts, because these contain valuable information which he had kept to himself for many years. Great is curiosity, even in batsmen, and the "demon bowler" knows it. /'";'

"Infant Mortality" is the subject of a book by Mr. George. Newman, the medical officer of health for Finsbury, which Messrs. Methuen announce. It is a systematic study of one of. the most pressing questions of the day, by one who has had exceptional opportunities for acquiring information. Broadly, the work concerns itself with the present distribution 'and chief causes of the mortality of infants in Great Britain. It is illustrated by charts and maps, and its publication has been expedited for the Conference on Infant Mortality which is about to meet in London.

Of the Pentland edition of the works of R. L. Stevenson, four volumes will be ready in tho middle of next' October, and the complete set will be issued, it is expected, in a year from that date. Brief biographical notes will precede the various works. Unlike the Edinburgh edition, a uniform thickness in the volumes of the series will be maintained, and the binding will be in buckram, the covering with which Messrs. Chatto and Windus made readers and admirers of R.L.S. familiar. The edition is limited to one thousand five hundred copies, and Messrs. Cassel reserve the right to increase the. price. .

Professor W. McNeill Dixon, in a recent lecture on ; The Origin of Poetry/' said that the earliest poetry ,vas the monotonous repetition of a single word or phrase, and this feature still survived in the repetition of the meaningless, or almost .meaningless, refrain of popular ballads. In a reference to the position .of the poet in the community, the professor said : "The pcet; at large is worse than a lion in the streets. There is no predicting his purpose. It. may be liberty, equality, fraternity,; perhaps anarchy, free love, and the assassination of princes. He disregards convention, derides respectability, and despises the law. Milton appears to have had a leaning towards polygamy. Burns, Byron, and Shelley ; were reckless of social order. For these things society is nob yet prepared, and it is therefore perhaps justified in declining to accept the poet as a law. giver."

Mr. F. R, Martin, of the Swedish Embassy at Constantinople, tells an interesting story' in the June number of the Burlington Magazine. Last year lie bought from an old Turkish family a fine; Oriental album.. The volume had been formed by some amateur about the year 1600, to judge by the gilded designs which' covered the margins. Besides a large number of specimens of Persian and Turkish caligraphy,. it contained thirty European engravings on* "copper, mostly dating from the middle or end of the sixteenth century, and thirty-two Oriental miniatures, some by the best Persian artists, two Japanese, one Chinese, and one by a European master. The last turned out to be a portrait of a young Turk, by Gentile Bellini, which the . Burlington : reproduces in photogravure. Only three other such works by Gentile Bellini are known to exist.

Among the novels included in Messrs. Hutchinson's announcements for the spring may be mentioned the following:—"Ring in. the New." by Mr. Richard 'WhiteingT " Made in His Image, ' bv Mr. Guy Thome : " The Way of the Spirit,'" bv Mr." H. Rider Haggard ; " The Spanish Dowry," by Miss L. Bengali: " Captain John Lister," by Mr. John A. Hamilton, author of "The MS. in the Red Box"; "In: Subjection." by Miss Ellen Thorueycroft Fowler; "The Artful Miss Dill." by Mr. -Frankfort Moore; : ; "The Only World," by Mr. ■G. B. Burgiii: "The House of Riddles,' by Miss Dorothea Gerard: "A Man of 'No Family," by C. C. and E. M. Mott: " Queen of the Rushes," by Allen Raine; " Thalaesa," by Mrs. Baillie-Reynolds ; "A Girl of Spirit," by : Mr. Charles arvice ; "The Magic Island," by Miss Evelyn Everett-Green; "Mrs., Grundy's Crucifix," by Mr. Vincent Brown : and: "The Wood Endi" by Mr.. J. E. Bucki-ose«