HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1215, 14 June 1895, Page 16

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

PRESERVING EGGS. Put into a tub or vessel one bushel of quicklime, two pounds of salt, half-a-pound of cream of tartar, and mix the same together with as much water a 3 will reduce the composition or mixture to that consistence that it will cause an egg put into it to swim with its top just above the liquid, then place the eggs therein. Half the quantity will do three or .four hundred eggs. The eggs preserved in this way will keep twelve months if required. Another way is to butter the eggs as soon as they are laid, and lay them in tissue paper and set them on the small end. If buttered when warm they will keep four months quite fresh. Still another way is to put them into sawdust as soon as laid. On the small end they keep two months in this way. HOW TO MAKE YEAST. Yeast is really an organic substance, having a sort of vegetable or ' fungus life capable of propagating itself. This may be done as follows Mix two quarts water with wheat flour to the consistence of thick gruel; boil it gently for half an hour, and when almost cold stir into it £lb sugar and four spoonfuls good yeast. Put the whole in a large jug or earthen vessel with a narrow top, and place before the fire so that it may, by a moderate heat, ferment. The fermentation will throw up a thin liquor, which pour off and throw away. Keep the remainder for use (in a cool place) in. a bottle or jug tied over. The same quantity of this as of common yeast will suffice to bake or brew with. Four spoonfuls of this yeast will make- a fresh quantity as before, and the stock may always be kept up by fermenting the new with the remainder of the former quantity. STICKING SHELLS ON CARDBOARD. Shellac cement can be used for sticking shells on cardboard of thin wooden boxes. Another excellent cement for such purposes is made by melting together in an old iron pot two parts , of common pitch and one part of gutta percha. Stir until the two are thoroughly incorporated, and then pour the mixture into cold water. When cold it is black, solid, and elastic ; but it softens with beat, and may be used as a soft paste or. in the liquid state. For cementing metals, glass, ivory, porcelain, &c., this cement will be found invaluable. CLEANING GLOVES. A correspondent says :—I have cleaned a pair of gloves with turpentine, which has left an unpleasant smell. How can I improve it ? —Put the gloves on a plate, which set on an iron pot containing boiling water. ,The first plate is covered with a second, and the gloves-between the two plates are heated at the boiling temperature of water until the unvolatilized turpentine has been driven off. WASHING BLANKETS. In order to wash blankets properly, several things are necessary. A good clear day should be chosen for the work, plenty of rain-water in readiness, and good soap used. It is best to have two women employed to do this washing, as one cannot very well’ handle large blankets. The coloured ribbons used to bind the edges very often run when wet, thus spotting and streaking them ; it is therefore best to rip them off and replace them with a white binding, or the edges may be hemmed. Blankets, if left in pairs, as they are usually bought, should be cut apart before washing, as they will be much easier to handle. When ready to begin the work, make strong suds by dissolving the soap in a tub of hot water, of a temperature that may be borne by the hands, put in two or ■ three blankets and let stand a few minutes, then dip them up and down in the water, squeezing and pressing the suds from them. Have ready another tub of clean, warm suds, into which transfer the blankets, and wash as before. When they are clean, put into a tub of warm, clear water to free from the suds, then rinse in tepid blue water. Care must be taken to have all the waters the same temperature, and to be sur9 no soap is left in the blankets. A wringer loosened so as not to press hard may be used, but two pairs of hands will do the wringing much more satisfactorily, as the blankets should be pulled and shaken more than wrung. When ready to hang out, they should be spread evenly on the line and stretched occasionally

while drying. When dry, fold and place under a weight instead of ironing. Several days’ airing may be given blankets after being washed, and if to be packed away for the summer, they should be sewed up in an old cloth to protect them from moth. It is not necessary, as some housekeepers deem it, to wash blankets twice a year, even if not soiled. Instead, they may be shaken and hung on the line for several days, to be cleaned by the sun and wind quite as effectively as if washed.

The Canadian House of Commons, by a majority of 58, rejected the proposal to confer the franchise on women.