LADIES' GOSSIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3276, 27 December 1916, Page 54

LADIES' GOSSIP.

To be a dairymaid in the Royal dairy at Windsor is to approach as nearly as possible to ideal conditions of service. The Prince Consort, a thoroughly practical and intensely up-to-date farmer, established the dairy nearly 60 years ago, and it has been kept in perfect condition since, so that the praise its founder bestowed on it—"the best of its kind conceivable" —is still merited. Miss Pascoe, a Cornish woman, has been appointed dairymaid-in-chief, and all milk, butter, and eggs supplied to the Court while resident in England will come under her supervision. She will have many Royal visitors to her tiled and marble-furnished domain, no doubt, for most of the princesses take a considerable interest in dairy work, even if they do not go as far as Queen Alexandra and make butter for tea in miniature dairies of their own. Princess Mary, it is said, has something of her grandmother's taste for and skill in butter-making. Lady Wantage, whose marriage took place but two years less than six decades ago, had given up most of her activities when the war started. The need to help put new life in her, and she has been incessantly busy ever since, the latest of her many and most generous good works being the provision of a convalescent hospital near Newbury for discharged soldiers suffering from wound or shock. There, under ideal conditions, numbers of men

will be built up to face life once more as they could hardly be in a large town hospital. Lady Wantage, as the only child of the first and last Lord Overstone, was a great heiress, and her generosity matches her purse. She owns Overstone Park, Northampton, and Lockinge House, near Wantage, is quite one of the most beautiful places in Berks, that pleasant home county famous for fine seats. ' Locking© contains some of the most notable art treasures in England. The late Lord Wantage, whose barony also began and ended with him, won the V.O. at Inkerman.

Wedding Anniversary Parties. In America people get up quite delightful little entertainments for all sorts of wedding anniversaries. A first anniversary is the "paper" one; and, if a little party is given, plates, tablecloths, decorations—all should be in paper, the wedding "presents" being of the same description, and as-amusing as-possible. The fifth anniversary is the wooden one, and lends itself to quaint table decking, and "presents" that may range from a cooking spoon upwards. The tenth is tin—an excellent pretext for renewing one's kitchen at the expense of one's friends; the fifteenth, crystal; the twentieth, china—again a most pleasing anniversary to keep up; the twenty-fifth, the usually celebrated silver wedding; the thirtieth, pearl; fortieth, ruby; and the fiftieth, the "golden" wedding. So rare an event is it that one, alas! very seldom hears of the diamond anniversary, that tells of 60 wedded years. For the consolation of those of us who love to keep anniversaries—our own or those of our friends—it should be said that the most successful tokens of goodwill are not the most costly. _ _ , For instance, in a golden wedding, it is no more expensive to choose a gilded wicker basket of beautiful design and fill it with flowers of golden chrysanthemums, than to buy an ordinary present for an ordinar- occasion. It is just being ingenious enough to carry out the idea of "gold" in a form one can afford.

Thfl Healthy Bedroom. As most people spend about eight hours out of the 24 in their bedrooms, it is easy to realise that a badly-ventilated bedroom is going to have bad effects on the health sooner or later. No one can be perfectly healthy who sleeps with the window shut, or even open a crack. During both winter and summer tho bedroom window should be open top and bottom all night to ensure a good circulation of air. How much of the restlessness, had dreams, and lack of sleep would be put a stop to if the stuffy bedroom were made healthy and pure by the above means!

Then the really hygienic bedroom will have no unnecessary furniture in it. The strange habit of making the bedroom — most of all, the children's bedroom —a storing place for discarded chairs and books, and tho extremely unhygienic plan of making the space beneath the bed a convenience for old portmanteaus and hatboxes should be entirely given up. Some people, a little faddy we must own, go so far as to have no furniture in the .room but the bed and dressing-table; no carpet covers the floor, no curtains deck the windows, and no pictures adorn the walls! This, besides being unnecessary, is mistaken, for it is .important that the bedroom should be cheerful. Care should be taken, however, to keep the carpet scrupulously clean and fresh, and to have no heavy curtains at the window, to keep out those wonderful health-givers—light, sun, and air. A good, scrubable matting is better than a carpet, and such things as art muslin adornments, dust-collecting ornaments, and unnecessary knick-knacks of every description should be cleared bodily away. The bed should, of course, be thoroughly stripper] and the fetish of tidiness should not be bowed down to in this instance; for the bed should be left to air even for several hours if possible. Let in plenty of sun, even at the risk of fading the wallpaper, and keep the room scrupulously scrubbed.and clean, and don't forget that window! Disease shrinks from the sunlight, trembles at the sight of soap and water, and flees from fresh air.

Hints and Hang tip everything in the safe that' is possible. Food lying on plates' is more likely to become tainted. All meat hooks should be frequently scalded and cleaned. Cover all food "with butter-muslin to keep the flies 'away. To prevent dust and smuts getting in through the open window, cover ifc with a piece of butter-muslin. This lets the air penetrate, and at the same time keeps everything spotless. Egg-stains on table linen should be soaked in cold water before being sent to the laundry. The stains come out quite easily if treated in this way; but hot water "sets" them, and makes them doubly difficult to remove. Put a light-coloured mat or a white strip of oilcloth at the bottom of a dark flight of stairs, so that those who use them may easily seo when the" bottom is reached. When milk is found too heavy for an invalid, dilute it with soda or potash water. Lime or barley water may also be used. If the flavour of milk is disliked, disguise it with a little clear, strong coffee. Chopped suet is very useful for replacing eggs in milk-puddings. Simply sprinkle a little on the top, and the puddings will be rich and creamy. To glaze pastry, boil two tablespoonfuis of brown sugar in two tablespoonfuis of milk: Allow to-cool, then brush quickly over the pastry. This is much cheaper than using an egg. When making mint sauce, add a little brown granulated sugar to the mint and the chopping will be much easier, and accomplished more quickly too. During the summer hang a piece of butter-muslin inside the larder window,

letting the lower end just dip into a bowl of cold water. The muslin draws up the water, and so it is always damp, and this keeps the air beautifully cool and fresh.

Never leave potatoes In a saucepan after they are cooked, as this spoils their colour. To keep hot, place in a basin in a steamer. After boiling salt beef leave two or three cooked carrots in the liouid until cold. The carrots will absorb the salt, and the liquor can be used for soup. When taking an early morning cup of tea upstairs, the best way to keep it hot is to fill the cup with boiling water and let it stand for a few minutes. Empty it and pour in the tea, and you will find it will keep nice and hot for a long time.

After washing oilcloth and linoleum, be sure to dry it properly. If left damp It will speedily rot and soon become totally ruined. It is a great mistake to use too much water for washing it. The cloth should bo wrung out and passed lightly over the surface. To Clean White Plush.—Obtain some powdered magnesia, and rub this well into the soiled plush with a piece of clean muslin. When the plush looks quite clean and fresh again, shake and beat with the hands until no dust arises. The fringe trimmings of your muff and fur may be cleaned in the same way. As regards the fur itself, use clean bran made moist—but not wet—with warm water, and rub this into the fur with a piece of flannel. Rub until quite dry, and then rub in dry bran with a piece of muslin. This process will make your fur and muff look like new.