Some Hints

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16902, 29 November 1922, Page 10

Some Hints

i FOR Bird lovers.

If you arc a bird lover and like the gartlui, you will sec Lo it that' they' aiv kept in good feather. Bread and bird-seed will go a long way to help them, but better >.till are -craps of fat and suet, the remnant-: of the break f a - -1 porridge. and the skins of baked potatoes These wii.t make yom garden look awfully untid' ii scattered on the ground, and «>:• that account may ho barred by the powers that ho. Wherefore let me counsel you to invest in a properl v constructed birds' feeding-table, with a moveable trav of metal that can be taken out for cleaning purposes, a

pent-house roof that will protect both the food and the feeder from rain and wind, and an upright stand well out of the wav of the predatory dog an.i the pugnacious cat. Provided with a table of this sort, you can give the birds ail occasional feed of barley-meal, made with hot water into a pudding; or a warm mash such as w r ill bring cheer to their hearts when tlie ground is too hard to provide a meal of wire worms. For a mere song you can buy a- ie lunclicounter.” in the form of a. wooden tray, stained green, which is easily fixed on the outside of a window-sill. Still more inexpensive is what is technically known a “ hanger-on.” This is a square wooden box with a large hole m each of the four sides, through which, the birds may learn the scraps of food-placed inside. The box Ijas a roof-lid, at the top of which i.s a strong ring attached to a metai

) chain, .Tvorking on a pulley Thuc ! when suspended from a pergola or rer and ah. it can. ensilj he louvered for j cleaning Mr re-filling. liuidenxallv virtue will he its own I reward, for'birds that are well for ; will nor oat your flower seeds nor pee! i up your lawn in search of food.

THE CANDID FRIEND.

I “I cant think win- Mildred hasn't more friends.” I said one day. wh ; n a I mutual acquaintance was untieJ asI cuss km. “ She is such a nice girl.” “She is. but she i- too truthful,” | was Phyllis’astonishing reply. I Phvlhs is a sh row d discerner of

character and is usually fairly correct in her summing up. but this remark needed some explanation. “It’s like this.” she went on “ Afildred has an unpleasant way of telling the truth outright. She doens’t gild the pill of candid criticism. Ileing so honest herself she really believes -people want the truth when they ask an opinion. As a matter of fact women seldom do want to hear an unbiassed judgment: especially when it i.s a question of a new hat or a latest ‘ creation.’ They merely want to excite envy or admir ation.” There is probably more than a grain of wisdom in Phyllis’s somewhat sweeping statement. There are occasions when frank criticism is helpful. But it should he left to the intimate frien.l to point out defects. As a rule outspokenness or blunt ness does not make for popularity. Jt

:is quite easy to soften the sharp edge of :.n unflattering re pic without in any wav overstepping the boundary of I truth. The brutally truthful person usually has a way of discovering shortcomings ; and emphasising them while die quite 1 forgets to mention good points. For instance, she will tell yofu that Hie flower in your hat is wrongly placed or thqt your dress does not show up to • advantage by artificial light'. Probably she has not the slightest intention -of conveying the impression that you are a failure. 'Where she finds no | fault, she expects you to take it for ! granted that your toilette is a sue ; cess. Bui the sensitive person is hurt ! anti a whole evening’s enjoyment ii 1 spoilt bv the blunt criticism of a j thoughtless friend. Frankness terni pored with mercy is the essence <of the tactful reply.—D.W.

FLY TRAPS.

An effective fly-trap can be made by mixing half a teaspoonful of ground black pepper with a little brown .sugar and a little margarine. This mixture may be spread over a plate or sma-Vl ornament that is not transparent, which should then be inverted over two little pieces of wood so arranged that tbo flies can only just enter the trap. When the flies are in the trap they will be overcome by the strong pepper. A little strong green tea. well sweetened. may be treated in the same way. Every morning the trap should h© cleaned out and rearranged. To clear a room of flies quickly, make a shovel quite hot and drop a little carbolic acid on to it and the flies w ill make for the open window. To keep "blue-bottles out of a pantry a small basin of permanganate of potash and water should be placed near the meat safe. 1 sci ir preors cleanlixess. To avoid attracting flies everything connected with the kitchen offices, such as the dustbin, should be kept scrupulously clean. All vegetable refuse should either be buried or burned, and even if only ashes and dust is placed in the hm it should ho purified every week after being emptied by burning two or three newspapers in it.

RENEWING A TYPEWRITER RIBBON.

Some time ago, I saw on the Household Page directions for prolonging the usefulness of a typewriter ribbon by brushing it with typewriter oil to soak into the ribbon over night. I tided it, but had difficulty in getting the oil on evenly. Then I. tried removing the old ribbon, packing it in t]ie littlo tin box the new ribbon came out of, and soaking it thoroughly with oil—maybe twenty drops of oil. The oiled ribbon went into a desk drawer and stayed there until *hc new ribbon was worn out, when the oiled ribbon was put back on the and was as good as now. The little met/il spools which carry the typewriter ribbon have a number of openings at the top and bottom through which the oil can be applied. The ribbon with which it is* being written has had its third span of usefulness made possible by the twenty drops of oil. The luxury of having a new —or newly oiled—ribbon at hand, when it is needed, is beyond words. This typewriter, which is a family possession and usually runs about ten hours a day. used to need two ribbons a month. Since the oiling proces> was begnn, two ribbons have lasted three mouths, with frequent oilings which take less time than telling about it.