The Household.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 422, 13 March 1880, Page 3

The Household.

RECIPES AND USEFUL FACTS.

The Bath in Cold Weather.—Dr. Arthur W. Edis, writing to the British Medical Journal on this subject, says :—Now that the weather is becoming very cold in the morning, the question of giving up the cold sponge-bath, or converting it into the tepid bath, forces itself upon the attention of many, who, without being invalids, are not in such robust health as to enable them to establish a reaction after even temporary immersion in cold water. The French method of providing a small tub of warm water to stand in whilst dressing, on returning from a bath in the sea, is a luxury few will forget who have once' experienced it. This method of standing in warm water'is one that might with advantage be more frequently followed during the winter months by all who indulge in cold bathing. In place of sitting in an ordinary sponge-bath of tepid water, a far more invigorating plan is to fill the handbasin with cold water, pour a small canful of warm water into the bath placed close to the washandstand, then stand in this, and sponge with the cold water from the bath. Where the full-length bath is employed, a momentary immersion in water at 50" Fahr., and then getting out into a foot-bath in which a little warm water has been placed, when soap or a fleshbrush may be used and another immersion in the cold water resorted to enables one to enjoy the invigorating effects even in the coldest weather. Thinking it possible there may be many .who will be glad to avail themselves of the hint, I venture to draw attention to the subject. Cleaning- Gloves. —The practice of cleaning gloves with benzoline is very common, but it is fraught with great danger. The other day a young English lady at Dinan, in France, who had so been cleaning her gloves, held her gloved hand near a candle to burn an end of cotton, when the glove caught fire, and on her instinctively trying to extinguish the flame with the other, that also took fire. Both hands were so frightfully burnt that amputation would have been necessary ; but the unfortunate victim expired prior to the operation.

Brown Paper against the Cold.—The Lancet points out that stout brown paper of the commonest sort is an effective non-con-ductor, and may be most advantageously employed as covering for beds or to eke out scanty clothing. If this were generally known among the poor, strong sheets of thick paper would be stitched to the back of ragged quilts, with the result of rendering many a poor family comfortable, because better protected from the bitter weather of these winter nights. _A piece of thick paper inserted between the lining and the cloth of a waistcoat, or in the back of a thin coat, will render it warm as well as light. The suggestion in a small one, but it is simple to carry into effect, and will be found effective.

A Brainial Supper.—An eminent physician at New York, one Dr. Lambert, is as great an enthusiast in connection with what may be called " the intellectual dietary theory" as our own Dr. Richardson is in matters hygienic. He recently gave what he called " a brainial supper" to a party of friends. The feast was made up of seven courses, and among the delicacies mentioned in the long menu were toasted cheese, cold cabbage, cold fish and sream, lobster salad, stewed tripe, calves' brains on toast, and " wheaten grits in cream." We are not told what effect was produced on the intellects of the guests by partaking of these dainties. Perhaps their wits may have been amazingly sharpened, and genius brought out where only dulness had previously shown itself. Be that as it may, it would seem very certain that, unless the digestive apparatus of Yankee savants is vastly different from that of the human race generally, the company must have suffered severely from night-mare.