ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2497, 22 January 1902, Page 65

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

(Descriptions of ]Weddings.— lt is necessary to mention once more that lists of presents are not inserted in descriptions of weddings in the "Witness. Through a misconception on the part of those who write the descriptions lists are almost always sent, thus entailing needles? labour on the part of the sender in compiling them. Tui.— (l) I fancy the fault with your taffy was that you stirred it after it commenced to boil. It should not be stirred from the time it boils till it is time to empty it up, for the stirring prevents it candying. (2) You evidently mix your seedcake rather thin, and the dish being on the small side, it must necessarily run over. Try mixing a little stiffer, and I think you will experience no difficulty in future. Good Wishes.— <l) Squeeze the blackheads out with a watchkey; wa3h the face every night with hot water and soft soap, and apply the following lotion: — Sublimed sulphur, rectified spirits, and sulphuric ether, of each 2 drachme, water to Boz. (2) Freckles are due to a surfeit of iron in the system. The following preparation is recommended, but ■ -what will prove efficient in one case may be of little use in another: — Sulpho carbolate of zinc 2 parts, distilled glycerine 25 parts, losewater 25 parts, scented alcohol 5 parts ; to be applied twice daily from half an hour to an hour, and then washed off with cold water. The freckles moistened and a litle saltpetre rubbed on is efficacious in some cases. A Reader. — For mixed pickles take a large earthenware jar which will hold a couple of gallons. Put into it a gallon of the best brown vinegar, and add 4oz bruised ginger and 4oz mustard seed. Put into a bowl quarter of a pound of salt, loz ground black pepper, Joz cayenn?, two blades of mace finely powdered, quarter of a pound of un mixed mustard, and 2oz of tumeric. Make these ingredients into a paste by mixing them smoothly with a little cold vinegar, add them to the vinegar, and mix thoroughly. Cover the jar very closely, keep it in a warm place, and stir it every day foT a month with a ■wooden spoon. Gather different vegetable* as they come into season, and prepare them in the following way : —Take cauliflowers, ■whjiHa cabbages, French beans, gherkins, large and small onions, cucumbers, radishes, green tomatoes, and green peas, equal parts of each kind. Slice the laige sorts, shred the cabbage, and pull the cauliflower to pieces. Put them into a large pan with boiling brine sufficiently strong to float an egg. Let them simmer for one minute, then drain the liquor from them, spread them out on large dishes and place them in the sun until they are perfectly dry, and then put them into the prepared vinegar. When no further additions arc to be made bottle for use. Violet M. — Nurses do not pay a premium. The conditions for junior nurses (probationers) are, shortly. — Two years' servicefirst year £15, second £25, with board, etc. Applicants must forward in writing satisfactory testimonials as to education and moral character, and if approved must undergo an examination by the house surgeon and satisfy him as to health and physical fitness for the duties of the situation. After two months trial, if the results prove satisfactory to the house surgeon, an agreement binding the applicant for two years wil 1 be entered into by the trustees, the latter undertaking that a regular system of training and instruction in nursing shall be given ; that on the completion of her term of service the candidate shall be entitled to present herself for examination as to competency, and on receipt of a certificate tc that effect from the examiners she shall be entitled to receive a formal certificate of competency from the trustees, and shall be eligible for promotion on the staff. A. E. S. asks if any reader can give her a recipe for tutu wine, explaining the process as freely as possible. Subscriber.— To clean ostrich feathers take 4oz of white soap, cut small, ar.d dis=olved in four pints of hot water in a large basin. Make the solution into a lather, put the feathers in, and rub well with the hands for five or six minutes. Afte»this soaping wash in clean water as hot as the hands can bear, and shake until dry.