HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3443, 9 March 1920, Page 58

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Finger marks on painted doors may be removed by rubbing with a perfectly clean cloth dipped in a little paraffin. The place should be afterwards washed over with a cloth wrung out of hot water, and finally polished with a dry duster. Many people are fond of crabs and other shell-fish, but they do not know how to get rid of the shells, which should never be placed in the dust-bin. Wrap them, in newspaper and put them in the centre of any fire going, the copper-fire for preference. They crumble to bits in. -a few minutes. Save the ash, which is lime, and place on the garden. Cheese is rich in protein, one pound of it being the equaL of several pounds of meat. If it is found difficult of digestion, a pinch of carbonate of soda added to the dish will sometimes assist but it is a fact that a weak stomach, that rejects many kinds of food, will sometimes assimilate cheese without any difficulty. A grating of cheese will improve /many dishes,- such as poached eggs, potatoes, toast, etc. Mothers cannot do better than give the kiddies barley-water to drink during the summer weather. It is _ cooling and nourishing at the same time. The best barley-water I have ever tasted cam© from /a country farmhouse. You wash two ounces of pearl-barley, and put it in a eaucepan with two quarts of cold water, and cook gently for about an hour. Strain, ■ and, when cold, add sugar and lemon to taste. Lemon-rind can be boiled with the barley, if Meed. This impart* a slightly bitter flavour to the drink, however.

Pumice-ppwder, to be obtained from any oiLahop, is excellent for cleaning Venetian blinds. If this powder is used it saves much hard labour on the cleaner's part. Kemove the laths from the tapes, lay them flat on the table, sprinkle a little of the powder on. them, and, having

wetted a piece of flannel, rub the laths lightly. The more water you use the better the result, liinse well afterwards, and dry with a clean cloth. There are numerous fly papers and fly solutions for getting rid of Hies, al] of them more or less useful. An excellent fly poison consists of a diluted solution of formaldehyde, which is slightly sweetened with sugar. This can be placed in shallow dishes in the various rooms, but formaldehyde and any other poisons are practically useless unless all other means of obtaing liquid are excluded. The access of flies to food and drink of any kind in the house should be provided against if one expects to exterminate them by the use of fly-poisons. Jumpers and woollen materials never shrink if they are tubbed in the following fashions:'—First shred some yellow soap into a small tin saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring slowly to the boil, .or until a jelly is obtained. Take some warm water and make a good lather with the soap.' The material should be immersed in this lather, and worked gently up and down in it until clean. No extra soap should be used, and the garment should be rinsed in water with the chill off. Plums and other hard fruits should have just a little water added to them for jammaking—a breakfastcupful to every twelve pounds of fruit. One pound of sugar to every pound of fruit is needed for hard fruits, and threequarters of a pound for soft varieties. Jam made with preserving sugar will need to be boiled a little longer than if made with lump. Home-grown fruit should always be picked when the sun is on it, ae it is then warm and full of sweetness, and also at its driest. To preserve the top of a polished table try this plan. Make a bag of several thicknesses of" fine cheese cloth, and fill it with powdered pumice-stone. Dip this in good sweet oil, and rub the table well with it, and then with a piece of chamois leather. Done once a week, this keeps the table in excellent condition. To clean hair-brushes, take half a cupful of flour and salt in equal proportions. Mix, and rub through the bristles of the brush two or three times. Shake the powder out, and the brush will be like new. This is much better than continual . washing, as the latter loosens the bristles. The Care of Meat in Hot Weather.— If no proper larder is available in which to keep the meat, a meat-safe with perforated sides and doors is a good substitute, provided it is kept in a cool, airy place. Always hang meat, if possible; it is easy to have a hook placed in the top of a meat-safe for this purpose. If a "cupboard la.'der" bnilt into the kitchen ?s the only accommodation, fix a hook in it and hang the meat from it with a plate under it. Wipe the meat well and dredge with flour to keep it dry. In very hot weather, if meat cannot be cooked at once, wash it over with a weak solution of vinegar and water, wipe it perfectly dry, flour, and hang it up. Great care must be taken to see that no flies get into the meat-safe or larder, especially the blow-fly, which is greatly attracted by the smell of meat, and if it can gain access to either cooked or fresh meat lays its eggs in it. These quickly hatch into maggots, and the meat, of course, is then tainted and unfit for consumption. Muslin "safes" can be obtained in which to place meat that is hung and prevent the flies from attacking it, even if they find their way into |he larder. If it fs impossible to hang the meat, lay it on a plate on two sticks to allow of the free passage of air under it, and place a wire cover over. Cooked meat must be placed on a clean dish and covered with a wire cover, unless it-is kept in a meat-safe with perforated sides and doors. It should be examined every morning to see that it is perfectly sweet, and the dish should ,be changed every day. % It is well to remove the bones and tat, as the meat taints more quickly near the bone. Dredge pepper, over, and, if very Jiot weather, wash the meat with vinegar and water--before using it again. It is not, however, a good plan to buy large quantities of meat at a time during the summer. ,