Household Hints.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 10, Issue 46, 16 June 1899, Page 6 (Supplement)

Household Hints.

If you have a cosy nook in your sittingroom, complete its charm by hanging over ft a softly shaded lamp. It may be placed in a bracket if you choose, or hung by a hook from the ceiling.

A young 'woman who is a clever artist as well as a busy housewife has discovered that the very best way to grease cake tins or gem pans is to apply the dripping with a stiff bristle paint brush. After it has been used, wash it with hot water and soap, and lay it away until it is needed again.

You can keep cake and sandwiches fresh for several days by wrapping them in a cloth and setting them away where the air will not touch them. Use the same method to preserve buns, biscuit, and coffee cake.

French Kid Gloves. A paragraph from an American paper makes a very explicit charge respecting the manufacture of French kid gloves, We are told that to make the kid so fine and pliant it is necessary to skin the kids before killing them. “ Old hands in the trade affirm that even if the skin is taken off immediately after death it never attains the softness which the best kid gloves have. The kids are said, however, to be spared as much pain as possible during the operation, beingfirst stupifled with an opiate. A gentleman of extensive experience in the breeding and treatment of goats in this country remarks upon the above statement that he has heard it denied by several persons in the glove trade, but himself is only disposed to doubt that portion of it which says that, the kids are first stupifled with an opiate. This gentleman considers that the French excel us in the manufacture of gloves, because they buy the skins of real kids which have been taken off before the animals are quite dead.”—“ Vegetarian Messenger.”

A Remedy Against Flies. “ I never use window screens,” said a wise housekeeper the other day, “ because I have a fancy that they shut out all the air in hot weather, and, besides, they serve to keep the flies in the house equally as well as to keep.them out.” “ But I never see a fly in your house,’ said her friend. “ How do you manage it ? For ray part, I must confess that screens or no screens, my summer means to me one long battle with the little pests.” “ My remedy is a very simple one,” said the good housekeeper, “ and 1 learned it years ago from my grandmother, when I used to watch her putting bunches of lavender flowers around us to keep the flies away. My method is simpler. I buy five cents’ worth of oil of lavender at the drug store and mix it with the same quantity of water. Then I put it in a common glass atomiser and spray it around the rooms Avherever flies are apt to congregate, especially in the dining-room, where I sprinkle it plentifully over the table linen. The odour is especially disagreeable to flies, and they will never venture in its neighbourhood, though to most people it has a peculiarly fresh and grateful smell.” “ I shall certainly give it a trial,” said the other woman. Press,”

To Clean Doeskin Riding Gloves.

First wash in soap and water to remove the dirt ; then pull into shape. Be careful not to wring the gloves, as that spoils and shrinks them. Then lay the gloves on a table and rub them with colouring matter made into a paste with beer or vinegar. The material to be employed for this purpose will depend on the colour of the gloves. If white, pipeclay should be used ; light yellow gloves require yellow ochre to be mixed with the pipeclay ; but'if bright yellow, yellow ochre alone should be employed. When the gloves are dark-coloured, use a mixture of fuller’s earth and rottenstone. When tffis has been done, the gloves should be dried gradually, otherwise they are very apt to.shrink. When the gloves are half-dried, they require to be well rubbed and stretched ; if this is not done, instead of being soft and pliable, they will be stiff and likely to tear when put on the hands. When they are dry, beat them with a cane, lay a sheet of paper over them, and iron them flat with a warm iron,, by which they will be made to look like new. - Great care must, however, be taken that the iron is not too hot, otherwise the gloves will be spoiled.

Mantel Border and Curtains. One of the easiest things to make, and one of the most effective when made, is a mantel border and curtains. The chief difficulty is to arrange the mantel border so that it shall bang properly, not puckering at the corners or draping ungracefully in the centre. But this difficulty is easily overcome. First, however, for the mantel-board. Decide on the size you will want, and then get a deal board an inch thick—not thinner, or the heat will warp it—cut to your measurement. At each end you can have a clip fixed to fasten the board to the mantel-shelf, this being a far better and simpler plan than nailing the board to the wall. The cloth can be worked or not Any thick cloth, art serge, plush, or good velvet can be used, and a colour should be chosen which will harmonise with the prevailing tones of the room. Cut your cloth (in one piece) so as to cover the whole board and hang down from six to nine inches at each end and in front; then nail it carefully along the back edge of the board, leaving it quite loose on the other three sides, and you will find that it drapes itself in handsome folds at each corner. Curtains are equally easily fixed up. First cut your curtains, then purchase what the ironmonger calls “ picture-eyes,” and screw them in along the ends and front of the board at intervals of about six inches, leaving in the centre of the board a good space quite free, about, say, a third of the length of the board. Fasten strong hooks to the curtains, to match the eyes in the board.