HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 4038, 4 August 1931, Page 59

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS.

To clean a sponge, soak it for a day in a solution of 3oz of carbonate of soda dissolved in a quart of water. Rinst well in cold water and expose to the sun for a few hours.

Get a piece of sheet iron, about lOin or 12in square, and place it over a gas ring. When hot, it will keep three or four pans boiling at once.

Batter puddings can be made lighter by adding two teaspoonfuls of ground rice to the flour before mixing.

A cash desk is a necessity in a food shop for the sake of health and cleanliness. Money passes through a constant succession of hands, and speedily becomes dirty. Half a crown’s worth of coppers, when steeped in water, will yield a thick sediment of dirt and grease. Where there’s dirt there’s danger, for germs of infection cling to dirty coins, and will be transmitted to any food stuffs subsequently handled. In the interests of public health those who handle food in shops should not also handle money.

When cleaning paint and woodwork during your spring clean, be careful to go into the corners with a house-flannel wrapped round a skewer, or with a small paint brush. In this way the awkward places and crevices are thoroughly cleaned from embedded dirt, and the eggs of flies and other insects that breed in dust are destroyed in the process.

The juice of a tomato will remove almost any kind of stains from materials, not excepting those caused by red and black inks. Apply liberally with a piece of rag, rubbing well into the affected parts. Leave for an hour or so, then wash the article or garment in the usual way.

The orange can be used for keeping black leather boots and shoes smart. Squeeze the juice of a large orange into a saucer, removing all the pips, and apply lightly and evenly to the leather with a pad of soft cloth. Allow to dry, then polish in the usual way. The appearance of brown shoes that are beginning to look shabby can be improved by rubbing with the inside of a banana skin. Discard each skin as it becomes soiled, allow the shoes to dry, then polish.

Before placing a joint in the oven, weigh it carefully, wipe with a clean cloth wrung out in cold water, then sprinkle lightly with salt. Veal and pork require at least 20 minutes to each pound, and a quarter of an hour over. Beef and small joints require 15 minutes-to each pound, and 20 minutes over.

During the first ten minutes of roasting the oven should be very hot, to enable the albumen on the surface of the meat to coagulate, thus keeping in the juices. Meat is roasting at the correct temperature when the fat in the tin splutters gently. V ¥ -Y

In dry and windy weather, dust is a serious menace to health. It gets into the eyes, nose, and throat, and settles on the skin. Moreover, if scrupulous care is not taken in the preparation of food, a great deal of poisonous dust may be taken into the stomach by way of fruit and other foods that have been exposed to wind-borne dirt. Imagine the disease germs which find their way on to food exposed in open shops and on stalls in the streets.

For dust carries the germs of disease which can live for a long time in a dry state. To safeguard the body against the dangers of dust, it must be kept scrupulously clean. In warm weather the skin is moist, and its pores are open, presenting a favourable surface for the lodging and multiplication of dust-borne germs. The whole body should bo bathed daily in soap and water, and the hands washed frequently. Bashes, boils, and other skin troubles are often caused by rubbing dirt and microbes into tiny breaks or punctures, such as scratches, cuts, and irritating insect bites. Protection is better than cure, and a clean ekin is a safe skin.

The following sauces are correct to use with fish:—

Cod. —Oyster, parsley, egg, or shrimp if boiled; tomato, white, cream, anchovy, or tartare if fried. Salmon. —Boiled: Parsley, Hollandaise, lobster, or shrimp. Grilled: Maitfe d’hotel, tartare, lobster. Soles. —Steamed: White or cream sauce, anchovy, shrimp. Mackerel.—Fennel, parsley, .or gooseberry, mustard. Herrings. —Grilled: Mustard. Bed Mullet.—Tomato, piquant, or parsley. Whiting.—White or anchovy. * * v

The shingle era has meant neglected hair for most women, and their hair brushes have been lying idle, but now the hair is either long or semi-long, it becomes necessary to give it more attention.

The simplest and best way of caring for the hair and keeping it in good condition is by regular brushing and a

few minutes’ daily massage. The difference that this makes to the appearance of the ,hair is remarkable. All the hidden lights reappear as if by magic, and the colour is improved and restored. Even greyness and baldness can be checked successfully by this simple process of stimulating the glands of the hair to work more efficaciously. Falling hair, as a rule, indicates the need for a tonic, Bay rum is an excellent restorative, and is both simple and pleasant to use. It should be applied freely and rubbed into the scalp briskly after the hair has been well brushed for a few minutes.

A teaspoonful of borax dissolved in the juice of a lemon added to two quarts of tepid water makes a splendid rinse for hair which is too greasy, and is at the same time an excellent tonic. It should be used after washing the hair as a final rinse.

Here are sbine polishing hints: — Give the “ running ” edges of all drawers, '■-from table or chest, a high polish with any good floor wax.. It will make them much easier to move in and out.

If you turn out your store of leather straps occasionally and give them a good rubbing with floor polish, it will lengthen their life considerably, and the straps will look nice when you want one in a hurrv.

Clean your tiled front porch with wax polish instead of washing it. You can rub off the mud quite easily afterwards, and your tiles will have a beautiful surface. There is no need to polish up the tiles; just rub in the wax with a dry house flannel, and let it go at that. Hand-made leather bags, book-covers, note-cases, and so on will last indefinitely if cleaned up periodically with a wax shoe polish or floor polish. Apply with a clean cloth, and polish thoroughly with another. If the leather has become soiled, wash with warm soapy water first, and rub dry. In wet weather, polish the soles of your boots as well as the uppers, and take care that the polish goes well into the groove where sole and upper join. After you have polished your brass knocker, go over it again with wax polish, and it will keep bright longer, especially in damp weather. When your fireplaces are put out of use for the summer, polish them with wax polish. They can be dusted easily after that, and look nicer than when “ Brunswicked.”

If the wooden handles of your garden tools are rubbed occasionally with polish they will be smoother to the touch, and the wax will preserve the wood.

Tiled window sills, or wooden sills painted a dark colour, should be floor polished; they will show rain spots less, and any moisture on them is easily wiped up afterwards.