HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6895, 8 September 1900, Page 3

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

■ For Preserving Fish, Meat; Game or Poultry. These, "when fresh, should be. washed in a solution .of borax and water, allowing a teaspoonful of the former to a quart -of waten. They will tlicri 7 keep '"for several days. , Pineapple Jelly — Peel one dozen pineapples very carefully, slice up, and cover with cold water, leave for one hour; then. put over ihe fire and. boil for two hours. Strain off and measure the juice, and allow Jib of sugar and the juice of a lemon to every pint; stir until it boils, removing the scum. Boil until it will jelly, then pour into small pots. Meat should always be hung, for by this means air circulates all round, and keeps it sweet. In very hot weather a wipe with a cloth once or itwice a day, with a sprinkling of pepper or, flour, will tend to keep it, and if only slightly tained, a wash over with vinegar and water, or borax and ; water, will generally remove all unpleasant flavour.

The Value of Onions.— Onions are invaluable for any ailment of the throat or chest. A . little onion soup, taken jusu before going to bed, is very soothing and healing; but if there is much inflammation a poultice may be applied, by peeling and slicing several onions, frying, them in a little lard, spreading on a cloth, and applying aa hot as can be borne. Coras Cured. — Apply a wet dressing covered with oil silk or rubber tissue every night. In the morning remove with the finger nail as much epidermis as will easily come away, and during the day apply a pledget of cotton impregnated with vaseline, covering it in with a patch of rubber adhesive plaster. Tho clayus will gradually disappear in nearly all cases, though the treatment may have to be kept up for a month or two.

To Keep Eggs for Several Months.— The following is an old-fashioned and well-tried method of keeping eggs. Of course, they are not' suitable for boiling, but are in every way good for cooking purposes: — To every three gallons of water put. one pint of fresh slaked lime and -half a pint of common salt; mix in a barrel;, with the hands carefully place ihe eggs in the mixture; let the eggs ba perfectly covered. :

A " Greasy " Skin. — To cure this you must improve tho general health, <md eat green vegetables or fruit in some form at least once a day. Friction does wonders sometimes, so try rubbing your face briskly with a rough towel after washing, not hard enough to break the skin,- however. As an astringent, a little white wine may be applied to the akin once a day after washing, and allowed to dry in. If the wine is too strong, mix it with an equal quantity of elder flower water.

To Remove Grease Stains.— Mix together loz of powdered French chalk and soz of powdered pipeclay ; make >this into a paste by gradually adding 2oz of spirits of wine. • Make into balls and dry. To use: Moisten the spots or stains with warm water and rub well with one of the balls, dry in the sun, and brushoff, repeating the treatment if necessary. These balls may be used for spots of all kinds, and will riot injure the colour of any material.

Advice to Bathers. — Don't bathe until two hours after a meal. Don't, bathe when fatigued by any excessive exercise, especially when cooling after perspiration. Don't stay in the water too long; leave immediately there is the slightest feeling of- chill. Don't bathe in the open air at all if, after being a ehorttim'e in the water, there is the. least sense of numbness in the hands or feet.: If you are strong you may bathe early in ithe morning, before breakfast; but the best time is two hours after breakfast.

German Sausages. — Take 51b of lean pork, minced as finely as possible. Mix with it a pound of fat, also minced, but not quite so small, and season it with Joz of pepper, loz of saltpetre, and 3oz of salt. Add the season-* ing gradually while the meat is being chopped, and moisten, with a quarter of a pint of claret or Burgundy. Let the -meat stand for six or eight hours in a cool place. -Fill the skins, properly prepared, as iightly as possible, pressing the meat down, and not leaving any portion of space unoccupied. ' .

To Wash Paint.— Do not use soap for washing' paint;" a less expensive, much simpler, and generally Wore successful method is to use whiting. Put some powdered whiting on a. plate,,^nd have a bucket of clean wafer and a piece of . flannel. Wring this out and dip it into the whiting, which will, of course, adhere >to it. ' Rub ■ tho paint that is to be cleaned until all dirty and greasy marks are removed, then wash, over again wiih' plain, clean water, and dry with a soft cltfth or, leather. This treatment will be found perfectly harmless, even for the most delicate shades of paint.

Dandelion Wine. — To eaoh gallon of water add three quarts of dandelion blossoms, freshly gathered, 3lb o£ sugar, two sweet oranges, and two lemons. " Place the flowers in an earthenware pan or wooden, tub, pour boiling water over ihem. Tho following morning strain off tho liqudr; boil this with the sugar for half an hour. Pare the oranges and lemons very fine, take off all the white,, bruise them wolli, put them into the liquor with tha peels and a teaspponful of yeast, when ,'the Liquor is . milk-warm. Let it stand a week' or •ten days before; putting it into the barrel.

Bottle in three xgoiifcs, i putting { two? lamps P f J°« sugar in each bottle. . ~ t ,; :•■ :. Chilblaihs.—One ol" the : : Bimpleiit ' and best remedies for unbroken chilblains is to rub them vigorously with turpentine sprinkled upon the hand rather than upon a flannel or any other material. At the first; Bign of a chilblain: this treatment should be resorted to, and it ■' will frequently succeed in chasing away the disorder before it has obtained to any extent. Another excellent treatment is this: Prepare a foot bath (if the chilblains happen to be upon, the feet) of salt and hot water; steep the feet in this until the skin is quite soft; the next day .hold them close against the fire until the skin crinkles up and the heat is slightly painful." Needless to say, if the chilblain is broken nothing in the nature of turpentine or salt should be used. In this case honey is recorrAnended, spread upon fine white linen. The Value of Glycerine.— A tablespoonful of glycerine in a cup of hot milk or crearfl will at once relief the most; violent attack of coughing. This is a simple, easily obtained -andharmless -remedy. Equally simple and quite as effective is the use of a diluted glycerine spray through an atomiser. This is applied directly vo the inflamed ir irritated surfaces, and gives almost -instant relief. In attacks of influenza, colds in the head,' sore throats, and other troubles, glycerine mixed with three times its bulk of water, boiled and cooled, is an invaluable remedy. - A little practice will enable the patient to apply tie spray, and the soothing and cooling effect is remarkable. Mixed with an equal quantity of sulphurous acid, glycerine is an almost unfailing remedy for throat troubles of " all Kinds, and, being harmless, can be used by all people.. It must, however, be freshly, made, as it keeps but a short time. Rotterdam Pudding.— Beat 4Joz of fine flour to a smooth paste, with half a pint of milk, and add 4£oz of sugar and a small pinch of salt. Blanch and pound 4Joz of eweet : almonds, and whilst pounding drop in a little cold water to keep them, from oiling. ,Put 4Joz of butter into a saucepan with half a pint of milk. Let it remain until the butter is melted, then stir in the paste of flour and milk, and keep stirring the mixture "over -the fire until it boils «nd becomes thick, when -it may be poured out to cool. A.dd the blanched and pounded almonds, then stir in first the well-beaten yolks of nine eggs, and afterwards the whites of the eggs, whisked till firm. Beat the pudding briskly for a few minutes, pour it into a buttered basin, which it "will fill; tie.it in a cloth, and let. at boil without ceasing until done enough, which will be in one hour and a half. Turn it out carefully, and send wine sauce to table with it. Care of Infants' Teeth.— The. teeth should be looked after by a competent dentist from the time when the ohild begins' io cut its first teeth. A doctor says that ihe haa seen the first teeth ruined by rubbing through the gums with a thimble or scalpel, breaking the enamel before the teeth have com* to light. He cautions people against cutting and slashing the gums of an infant, unless it is absolutely essential, and in any case it should be done by a competent person. Not only, are the first teeth 'liable to injury from unwise and unskilful interferences, but the embryonic second or permanent teeth may be injured. He defines oral hygiene to be "the' keeping of a clean, sweet and healthy mouth from youth to old age." Apropos of this, it may be siad many persons tolerate more tilth and disease in their mouths than- they would on 'their feet. The mouth is the portal. of life and health.