HOME TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14218, 15 November 1909, Page 3

HOME TOPICS.

SOME HINTS ON CLEANING.

Servants are apt to overlook many little details in the kitchen unless reminded not to do so, and it is just as well that the mistress should think over a few of these now and again. A mincing machine, for instance, is often away dirty, the excuse being that-it is so difficult to clean. This is true; ,but if a few pieces of bread are run through it after using, all grease, will be removed, and it 16 then easily washed. A mincing machine is rather awkward to dry, so that the best way is perhaps to put it on the stove rack or 6tove top for a short time, as if put away damp it will rust. The. sink is another often forgotten item, and grease is very apt to accumulate here. It should be well scoured with sandstone every day after washing up, which will generally keep it in good order, but if it has been allowed to get very bad, stronger measures will be required, and a good scrubbing with strong soda and soap-water will be necessary.

Kitchen forks are often allowed to get into a very bad state, though the knives may be bright and clean. A simple way of keeping forks bright is to take a round tin,' the depths required for the metal part of the fork, and to fill it with dry moss and powdered bathbrick, pressing this tightly together. The forks will become quite bright and clean if stuck into the mixture a few times, and they should then be wiped with a cloth. Kettles are often neglected, and if the water is very hard the results may be really injurious, for lime is left in a deposit at the bottom and sides, and unless rinsed out daily many of the small particles may be drunk, and cause illness. An octopus in the kettle is of great use in collecting the lime, but the only really effectual plan is to empty the kettle completely at least once a day so as to remove all sediment.

Many good housewives consider newspapers excellent for cleaning window panes and brightening glass, and this is certainly economical. The newspapers should be crushed together in the hand, and used as a cloth, the glass being well rubbed with it. They will also answer for cleaning lamp chimneys, which, by the way, should never be washed, as this makes them likely to crack. For washing varnished wood tea leaves are very useful. They should be saved for this purpose, put'into a pail, and some water poured over them. After they have been standing for a little time strain out the leaves, and use the tea-water as required. When cleaning china ornaments with raised flowers or designs a soft brush i shaving brush answers very well— a great help in washing out the corners and intricacies. In damp, muggy weather, such as we have had lately, it is very difficult to keep silver, steel, or copper really bright, and anything made of these materials should be re-polished at least once a day.

THE USES OF SALT. Salt and lemon mixed will remove ink stains that are fresh. A pinch of salt added to cream will make it whip quickly. Salt mixed with vinegar is excellent for cleaning copper utensils. In order to beat the white of an egg quickly add a little salt. When making mayonnaise the salt should go in last. To remove iron rust wet the spots with salt and lemon juice and hold the material over the steam of a tea kettle, then put it out in the sun. Grease on top of a hot stove, can b_ quickly tubbed off by putting salt on the scrubbing brush. ?r* *£. tl Strong salt water or wet salt is atgreat cleanser when scouring boards. ? ... ; ; ,. THE BATHROOM.; ~-,,,: & When an enamelled bath .shows signs of soil try lemon juice and salt, an excellent medium for cleansing it. Cut a lemon in half, and have a saucer of coarse kitchen salt ready at hand. 'Dip the lemon into the salt and rub it vigorously over the dirty surface. Afterwards wash the bath with warm water and soapsuds. A SACHET OF SWEET PERFUME. A small hemstitched handkerchief will make a danty, sweet lavender sachet, folded like an envelope and fastened with a loop and tiny pearl button. The initials may be embroidered on the flap which turns over and buttons. A row of feath:•'.stitching in lavender silk should be worked inside the hemstitched border, and the lavender bag should be made separately and slipped inside the case. . One or more of such bags placed among the lingerie and bed linen will impart a delicate odour to them. LOVE-MAKING A SCIENCE.

"Cupid, the Surgeon," or what might more definitely be entitled " Practical Lovemaking," is a book on the mysteries of the tender passion recently published by Herman Lee Meaders, an American author. He says love is no longer a game of chance, but an exact science. You need not be handsome, rich, or fascinating to win. All that is required is to assimilate the rules as you would so many pills. Be it known, in the first place, that all women fall into four classes at least, Mr. Meaders says they —the conceited, the sentimental, the mercenary, and the blase. The immediate thing for one to do is to decide in which category to place his beloved. ,

" Give flattery to the conceited woman," says the author, "promises of eternal fidelity to the sentimental one, precious gifts to the mercenary, and sensational thrills to her who is tormented with ennui.

" If I were allowed to give but two words of advice they would be patience and perseverance. '

"The man who never parleys over cabfare, who never scans the prices on a winelist or a menu, and who hibernates when his finances are at a low ebb, carries an. infallible amulet against feminine criticism. "Supplement an erect carriage with an athletic swing to your walk, and a discreet amount of bluster about your prowess, and the woman will soon have a gladiator on a pedestal. "Flattery is that refinement of polite speech that enables a beautiful woman to realise her charms, and an ugly one to imagine hers. % "Flattery is like morphine; the more you have, the more you want, and must have. So be liberal."

HARMONY IN THE HOME. The vocation" of living amicably with others is vocation to which almost everyone is called,;' and for which it is to be deplored so many are unfitted. If everyone would only learn to apply the same rules in their homes that govern them in their relation to tho business or social world a great many' firesides would be happier. There are those who will argue that the restraint implied would be most irksome to the family circle. The perfect freedom of family life is its greatest charm, they declare. But do we lose any of the charm if we put a check upon a too free expression of our opinions, and endeavour to make ourselves as agreeable at home as we are outside? Much unhappinesis arises from simple thoughtlessness in s home life and a freedom, of speech that is absolutely rude. A little more politeness and a little less outspokenness would make for satisfaction in a great many homes.