ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1095, 24 February 1893, Page 14

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

Amelia (Wellington). —To distinguish cotton and wool. Take a small piece of the cloth and boil in caustic soda ; the wool will be dissolved and the cotton remain. If the threads have been previously counted, their relative mixture can be found. Anxious One.—You can always please yourself with a variety of tooth powders at any respectable chemist s. If you wish to make one yourself, the following is a good recipe Dissolve 2oz borax in three pounds of boiling water, and before it is cold add one teaspoonful of spirits of camphor, and bottle for use. A spoonful of this mixture mixed with an equal quantity of tepid water and applied daily with a soft brush preserves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous adhesion, arrests decay, induces a healthy action in the gums, and makes the teeth pearly white. Kate (Wairarapa).—Silk pocket handkerchiefs require to be washed by themselves. Those which are stained should be put to soak for two or three hours in lukewarm water, and then be washed out with soap. They should then be rinsed in cold, soft water, in which a handful of common salt has been dissolved.