CHILDREN’S COURTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3862, 20 March 1928, Page 70

CHILDREN’S COURTS.

SIR J. AND LADY PARR VISIT THE EAST END.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, February 8. Sir James and Lady Parr paid a visit a few days ago to the Children’s Court in the East End of London. This is presided over by Mr Clarke Hall, the pioneer of the movement in this country. Giving some of his impressions, the High Commissioner said that the court was held in the Town Hall, and entirely apart from the ordinary court. In New Zealand the magistrate had a woman “ referee ” with him, but she did not take part in the judgments. Here, a woman justice of the peace sat with the magistrate and had equal jurisdiction with him.

The police were present, but in plain clothe, and Sir James particularly struck with the kindly attitude they adonted towards the young delinquents. The probation officers, both men and women, showed a quiet efficiency. They had a thorough knowledge of ecah case, and were very sympathetic. Many of the cases were for theft, but others were for incorrigibility. One verysmall boy would persist in staving out all night. The parents had lost control. Many cases were remanded for examination. In such cases the boy or girl was thoroughly examined bv a doctor and bv a trained psychiater. Thus it was ascertained whether the physical health of the child had any effect upon his morality, and the mind expert was able to report on the child’s mentality.

The magistrate dealt in private in 10 minutes with 12 applications for summonses. Then there were four applications bv parents to adopt illegitimate children which bad been made possible under recent legislation. The magistrate seemed to be very sympathetic towards these eases and readily granted the HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. any length of time. When brought out, a good rub with an old rag will see them ready for use at once. Don't forget when storing table or bed linen to wrap it up in blue paper to prevent it from becoming yellow. If a fruit cake mixture is not put into a really hot oven at first the fruit will sink to the bottom of the tin. Jams and pickles should not be stored on a top shelf, as hot air rises, and heat is apt to cause fermentation.

To prevent fish from sticking to the pan when frying, r.ub a little kitchen salt into the pan before putting in the fat.

Stains on windows or mirrors that are difficult to remove should be rubbed with a cork that has been dipped in petrol. Ink stains may be removed from linen by putting melted tallow on the mark and then washing the article. The ink and the grease will come out together. Corks of bottles containing glue and other sticky substances should be rubbed over with glycerine to prevent them from sticking.

If you put a piece of sandpaper, rough side out, between clamp and table before screwing the mincer into position, it will prevent the latter from sliding. Don’t forget when peeling tomatoes to rub each one all over with the back of the knife. This loosens the skin which will then peel off more easily. Don’t forget to sprinkle damp tea leaves over the ashes before cleaning out the fireplace This prevents the dust from rising and thus keeps the room clean.

The bristles of hair brushes that have become soft through repeated washing may be stiffened again by dipping them in a strong solution of alum, and then drying them quickly. < Don’t forget that brooms and all sweeping brushes should be hung up when not in use. If left standing the bristles become bent and will not do their work properly. Try and sympathise with your daughters’ girlish flights of fancy, even if they seem absurd to you. "By so doing you will retain your influence over your girls, and teach them not to seek sympathy elsewhere.

Don’t laugh at your children’s first love affairs. You know that they will probably come to nothing, but" they don’t, and if you hurt their feelings with v"-’f now vou mav lose all chance of their confidence in later and more serious cases.

Don’t, if you can help it, let your girls and boy s make unsuitable acquaintances. It is much harder to break a friendship once formed than it is to “choke off ” an undesirable acquaintance in the early stages.

Don’t object to your daughters and sons taking up tennis and dancing and other amusements where they will meet other young people. The more friends they have, the greater their chance of discriminating in the choice of a life partner.

There is nothing more annoying of a morning when you are busy than to have to run and answer useless knocks at the door. Just put a card outside with “ Not at home ” on it when you know that no

friends will come. It will save you a lot of worry and you won’t miss anything. A soap box can be made into quite a pretty window garden. Tar the inside of the box, punch holes" in the bottom of it for drainage, and paint it outside. You can have a few nice autumn plants in it to give your room a touch of brightnessTo take out rust spots from linen, the juice of a lemon mixed with salt is useful. The spots of rust should be dinned in the mixture, well rubbed with it, and then held over the spout of a boiling tea-kettle, so that the steam may come through on the wrong side. If you are obliged to keep eggs for any length of time, or you keep hens and sell your eggs, be sure to store them away from anything that has a strong odour. It is surprising how quickly eggs absorb odours, thu s rendering the contents often very unpalatable.

All new tinware should be well rubbed with lard, then placed in a sharp oven and heated through. Articles treated in this way, and kept in a dry place when not in use, will not rust, even with long usage. Copper or brass household vessels should be well greased before storing for If you live in a small flat do not forget that fresh air is just as necessary to yourself and your children as it is to a flower or any plant. Keep windows open about an inch all the time. When the weather is too cold for this throw windows open the moment you leave a room. It is ■worth while to leave ail windows and doors open to "et a through draught when you all go out, and to close up when you come in.

Careless housekeeping is the most wasteful. The woman who does not attend to details never has the thing she wants ready to her hand, and, as a rule, has to pay ever so much more for it than she needs to do. Look over your stock every now and then and see that you have the usual stores so that you won’t have to rur out and fetch a box of matches, a tin of sardines or meat, a darning needle, a few safety-pins, any of the odds and ends so easily stocked if a little care and svsf rare followed.

Don’t, while attending to your hungry family, forget to attend to yourself. No -women can look well, feel well, or work well without proper meals. If, therefore, the mother of a family wishes to be happy and cheerful, let her attend first to her own health, and have proper meals and a sufficient amount of exercise in the open air. Let the children look after themselves to a certain extent, it is never too early to teach them selfreliance and a sense of responsibility. After all, they are not going to be swallowed up in an earthquake because mother’s eye is off them for a moment. The present type of babies feedingbottle, minus the unhygienic and dangerous rubber tube, may seem to be perfect, but the babies who lived in 600 B.c. had better bottles, and it is rather astonishing that no enterprising manufacturer has had the inspiration to imitate them. With the addition, of course, of to-day’s rubber teat —one could not expect that in

b.c. times! —the old type would be far more interesting to an infant. When J it had consumed the milky contents it would have something to please its eyes and something to play with, for the 600 b.c. type of bottle —globular in shape—was beautifully decorated and covered with small knobs from which tiny bells were hung. A picture-book and a toy combined! Tho first feeding-bottle, by the way, wa s a gourd. That was followed by bottles made of skin —miniature water-bottles. HOME INTERESTS. QUICKLY-MADE CAKES. Coconut pyramids are quite simple to make. Beat up an egg, and stir in a quarter pound desiccated coconut, 2oz caster sugar, and a little ground rice or cornflour. Mix well, mould into pyramid shape, and bake in a moderate oven till slightly browned.MAKING BISCUITS CRISP. When biscuits have been left exposed to the atmosphere, and consequently become soft and unappetising, try this method of restoring their crispness. Spread them out on a wire tray, and place them in a moderate oven for three or four minutes. Then allow to cool off, by which time they will have regained their original crispness. WHY NOT TRY THIS WAY? Many people do not like turnips when served up, as they so often are in a watery mess, but they are very different if prepared ■' a la Suisse.” Nut some of the parboiled vegetable into a well-greased fireproof dish, with plenty of dripping on top antf a little chopped onion. Cook in a moderate oven till tender and a golden brown, basting often with the dripping. SALMON SALAD. One small tin salmon, piece of cucumber, about half a gill of mayonnaise or salad dressing, salt and pepper, one curly lettuce. Wash and dry the lettuce, and slice the cucumber. Mix the salmon with the salad dressing. Line a bowl with lettuce leaves, pile the salmon in the centre and decorate with cucumber. A NEW WAY WITH VEGETABLE MARROW. Do not despise the. vegetable marrow as being watery aud tasteless. Cook it in the following way, and find out how delicious it can be. Peel one, remove the seeds, cut it into convenient pieces, place them in a stewpan with a sliced onion, and enough good brown stock to cover. Season, and cook, gently till tender. Remove the vegetable to a hot dish, and thicken the liquor -with a little flour blended with cold water. Boil for a few minutes, add a grate of nutmeg, and strain over the marrow. CHOCOLATE RICE. Required: 2oz rice, loz caster sugar, two tablespoonfuls of water, 10 drops of vanilla essence, one pint of milk, 2oz of chocolate, a pinch of salt. Wash the rice, put it into a double pan with the sugar, salt, and milk, and cook very gently until quite soft and the milk absorbed. Grate the chocolate, put it into a pan with the water, and stir over low heat until quite smooth. Add tha vanilla, and mix well, stir this into tho rice. Press it into a wetted mould, turn out on to a dish, and serve hot Or cold, with cream or custard. - JELLIED SALMON vND CUCUMBER. One small tin salmon, piece of cucumber, half a gill of vinegar, salt and pepper, two or three radishes, one gill of water, quarter-ounce gelatine. This is a pretty dish suitable for an extra special supper, f One good point about it is that it can be made the day before or else in the morning, thus leaving the busy housewife as much time as possible to herself in the ifternoon. Line a glass dish with thin slices of cucumber and radishes, and put in the salmon, divided into two or three nice pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Put the liquid from the salmon into a cup, add half a gill of vinegar, and fill up the cup with water (or stock). Soak the gelatine for five minutes in the water and warm slowly til! dissolved. Let this cool slightly and strain it ever the fish. SALMON PUDDING. One tin salmon, two tablespoons breadcrumbs, one dessertspoonful chopped paisley, one egg, salt and pepper, loz butter, loz flour, one tablespoonful vinegar, half-pint parsley sauce. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add tho liquid from tho tin and the vinegar. Mix well, and cook for two minutes. Add the salmon, breadcrumbs, and. parsley, and stir till smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add tho beaten egg, and pour into a small greased basin. Cover with greased paper and, steam one hour in a pan containing enough boiling water to come halfway up the basin. Turn on to a hot dish, and pour the parsley sauce over. If wanted for some special occasion the mixture could be steamed in small fancy moulds instead of a basip.