INFORMATION EXCHANGED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22193, 21 August 1935, Page 5

INFORMATION EXCHANGED

QUERIES AND ANSWERS BY FKMINA To Renders.—lt is advisable that questions arid answers for this should be sent in addressed to " Femina." Use For Coal Slack Mrs. D. will be grateful to a reader who can give her information as to ways of converting coal slack into small blocks for use as fuel. Grape Wine A request for directions for making unfermented grape wine has been sent in by Mrs. J. G., who will be grateful to a correspondent who will supply the information. Coffee Essence Mrs. S. (Paeroa) inquires if a reader can tell her how to boil down dairy coffee to a strong essence. " How much water should 1 use, and how long should 1 boil it Y" she asks. The Borer I). ,J. McL. (Te Aroliji) will be glad j if a reader can tell him of some ehemi- i cal or other substance that will destroy ! the borer in timber. He had been told | that creosote was but he con- j siders its colour is against it. j Frosted Glass To frost glass, M.H. (Auckland), ad- i vises Mrs. H. Mc. to make a strongsolution of salts in beer and to dab the solution all over the glass with a sponge. Another method is to make a hot, strong solution of sulphate of magnesia, dissolving three to four spoonsful of the crystals in one pint of hot water, adding to this an equal bulk of strained solution of gum arabic. Dab thisL solution all over the glass while still warm. To make the frosting permanent, let the application dry completely, then paint it over with any good, plain, colourless-varnish. It will last indefinitely. To Preserve Lemon Juice In answer to a request from Mrs. E. M.P. for directions for preserving lemon juice, M.H. (Auckland), has forwarded the following:—Squeeze and strain juice of lemons and mix with each pint i to £lb. sugar. Stir till quite dissolved, then put juice at once into clean bottles, filling to about 2in. of tops. Cover securely with corks or caps which have been sterilised by boiling. Tie down the corks if used, and place bottles nearly to their tops in water, in a cauldrou bqjler or large pot. Gradually heat water till it is at a temperature of 170 degrees or just under boiling. Then keep about this temperature for half an hour. Take out the bottle and dip their heads in molten paraffin to make air-proof, and store in a cool, dark place. If well done the juice will keep indefinitely. Navy Leather Coat To renovate a navy leather coat, a correspondent advises the following treatment: —" If the colour has faded badly on parts of the coat give the coat a sponge over with a little warm water, to which a little washing soda has been added to remove all grease and dirt. Then rub into the faded patches a little shoemaker's ink, or plain blue ink, till the tone of the shading is about the same as the rest of the coat once more. A few drops will be enough if spread and worked in well. Then let dry thoroughly and rub in hard to all parts of the coat a solution of one third pint of vinegar, shaken up to a cream with two-thirds pint of boiled linseed oil. Better still, use plain castor oil, which is a splendid preservative for leather. Follow with a good polish with a dry cloth. Another method is to sponge the-coat over with some warm water to which a little vinegar has been added. Let dry and rub into all parts some castor oil. Then polish with a cloth Macaroons In answer to an inquiry for an old recipe for making macaroons. Mrs. McK. (Mount Eden) has forwarded two taken from a recipe book said to be over 150 years old. The first is as follows: —Blanch 4oz of almonds and pound with four spoonfuls of orangeflower water; whisk the whites of four eggs to a froth. Then mix this and lib. of sugar, sifted with the almonds, to a paste and, placing a sheet of waferpaper in a tin, put the mixture on in different little cakes the shape of macaroons.

The second recipe states: —Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth, add the juice of two lemons or limes and ilb. of pounded sugar. Mix them well together, then add two more whites of eggs, well beaten, another ilb. of sugar, lib. of almonds or cashew-nuts sliced, and Jib. of flour, which last must be just sprinkled over the other ingredients after they have been well mixed together. This will take nearly an hour to do. Take up a sufficient quantity of the mixture in a spoon, drop it on paper sprinkled with Hour and bake on tins in a slow oven for two hours. The book from which these recipes are taken is entitled "Domestic Cookery, by a Lady." The writer in tlie preface signs herself Mrs. Rundell. Mrs. McK. asks if any reader knows of the book and can tell the exact date of publication.

Varnish Spots I'o remove varnish spots from wallpaper a correspondent writes as follows:—It might save a little time to know if the varnish causing the spots is a resin or shellac varnish, or simply one mixed with oil. If known to be mixed with resin or shellac, make a little methylated spirits or aniline into a firm paste with some pipe clay or else calcined magnesia. Smear a little of this paste over each mark, leave for a few hours, then brush away. Repent once or more times if the stain is not entirelv removed at first. Given about 12 hours to act, however, one application should be enough. If this fails or tho varnish is known to be an oil one, mix some benzine and calcined magnesia to make a firm paste. Smear this over the t#uks and leave for a few hours. Soveral repetitions may be necessary for complete removal. Chloroform is even better than the benzine and may be substituted for it if used carefully. If tho stains are very old and hard it is an added help to moisten them first with a dab of butter or ome oil before putting on tho erosive pasto. Another good wa.v for oil varnish is to shake together two parts ammonia and one part spirit of turpentine. Make this liquid into a firm paste with pipe clay. Smear over the marks and leavo overnight, The following day brush oft the powdery paste, which should take the varnish with it. Phis might remove resin or shellac varnish, too, and is worth trying if easier to bo obtained than those substances first mentioned.

RUSTY SCREWS Sometimes screws become so firmly fixed owing to rust that it is exceedingly difficult to extract them. Ihe best plan is to loosen them bv rubbing them with a little lard. .Leave this overnight and then it will be found that the screws will come out with little trouble. ,