The Women’s Mirror

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4188, 24 May 1939, Page 4

The Women’s Mirror

[ Let’s Go Gossiping About Feminine Interests and the Home ] * • I * * = Fashion Parade of the Day

General v, / Y A PLEASE REPLY RACK. The “Please Reply” rack is a welcome idea. It is simple to make and ideal to send to yoilr friends who are backwards in answering your letters —or for your own use if you are a bad correspondent. It is shaped like a book cover, made of cardboard. Lampshade paper or vellum is used for the covering, one piece only being used on the outside. The pieces are secured by edge punching and raffa throngingor binding. A hanging loop is also fitted, and two cords are fitted from front to back, one on each side with beat ends, to keep case partly open. Simple decoctions can be carried out on the cover facing the room, the lettering being done in Indian ink, using a fine nib for the purpose; with small corner sprays of forget-me-nots, to give the finishing touches. The rack need only be large enough to take a few average size letters. Racks of this description are quite attractive and they serve as definite reminders that you have letters to answer.

BIRD SPIRITS. AU over the world there exists beliefs that the soul at death sometimes assumes the body of a bird. Russians say that the spirits of the departed linger about their own homes for many weeks in the shape of birds, watching the grief of the bereft. Sometimes breadcrumbs are left for them in linen cloths near- open windows. In Sweden it is believed that the screaming ravens are the ghosts of murdered men. It is on record that an English lady once furnished her pew in church with cages of birds, for she imagined that her dead daughter existed in the form of a singing- bird. She was rich and her eccentricity merely beautifying the church, so the cages were allowed to remain during her span of life. CUSTOMS OF OTHER LANDS. Breach of promise of marriage is scarcely' known in file legal sense outside English-speaking countries. In the countries where the law recognises a woman’s rights to compensation for being cast off, as in France and Holland, the woman has to prove that she has suffered monetary loss

and, consequently, such actions are not numerous. In Germany and Sweden the promise, to be binding, has to be made before a Government official, and before two independent witnesses. Once the man has made a promise to marry, there is little chance of his refusing his obligation. If either party wants to withdraw from such a contract the cancellation must be made with as much formality as the betrothal. HEALTH. r Most people fear spiders and there are three varieties in Australia which are very dangerous, and sometimes even fatal. But it must be remembered that there are some hundreds of common spiders that are either harmless or have a sting that is less painful than that of many ants. The bites of spiders, other than the dangerous ones can be treated by the application of weak ammonia, the blue-bag, a solution of baking soda, or some other alkaline substance. The bites from any of the dangerous kind need urgent treatment. The part should be scratched (with a sharp blade and sucked, and it is wise to apply ligatures above the sting if it is on a limb. Give alcoholic medical aid at once.

Centipedes have a bad reputation. Their bite is very painful, but I have never heard of a fatal case in this country. Nevertheless, the bite of a large specimen should be treated seriously on the same lines as for a dangerous spider. Scorpions should be regarded in the same light as centipedes. Bees, wasps and hornets can inflict very painful stings. The only danger to life is the result of an attack by a hive of bees that are enraged at being robbed, or the accidental overturning of the hive. The poison from bites in such numbers may be fatal and the case should be hurried to a doctor or hospital. Bull, soldier, green-tail, jumping, and many other varieties of ants produce very painful stings. The bites should be treated with alkalis.

Cookery Corner TWO GOOD SCONE RECIPES.

BRIDGE SCONES: Take 9 oz. flour, 1 oz. sugar, 1 level teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda, 2 level teaspoonsful cream of tartar, 2 oz. margarine, 11 oz almonds, milk, pinch of salt.

Blanche and mince the almonds. Sift the flour with the the salt, cream of tartai’ and bicarbonate of soda. Rub in the fat and. add the sugar and almonds. Mix them well, then stir in enough milk to make a soft dough, arid roll this out until it is barely half an inch thick. Stamp into shapes with bridge cutters. Place the scones on a baking sheet, brush them with milk and bake in a quick oven.

AFTERNOON TEA SCONES: Mb. flour, IT oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful baking powder, i teaspoonful salt, 3 gill milk. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Rub in the butter. Have a hot oven ready. Stir in the milk, making a soft but not sticky dough. Turn the clough onto a floured board and roll it out with a small floured cutter and place them on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake them in a hot oven for twelve minutes.

SPANISH HOT POT: Place a layer of cooked, mashed potatoes in the bottom of a well-greased pie-dish. Cover alternately with layers of fried onions, raw sliced tomatoes and

pieces of uncooked fish dipped in flour. Sprinkle with knobs of dripping. Repeat the layers till the piedish is full, finishing with potatoes, dripping and grated cheese. Bake till the fish is cooked, about half to threequarters of an hour, and serve.

BREAKFAST TOASTS: Take Jib. of fat, streaky rashers, two medium cooking-apples, oblongs of bread. Remove the rind from the rashers and put bacon through the mincer. Peel and core the apples and cut them into thick slives. Fry the bacon until it is crisp, then drain off the fat into another pan. Make it hot again and fry the apple rings until they are golden brown and tender. Take them up and put them on a plate. Fry the oblong’s of bread until golden, adding some butter to the fat if there is not enough left after frying the apple rings. To serve the breakfast toasts, cover the fried bread with the minced bacon, place an apple ring on each piece and heap a little minced bacon in the centre of it. The above is sufficient for four pieces of toast.