USEFUL HINTS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue IV, 25 January 1896, Page 110

USEFUL HINTS.

A Good Mucilage.—The best mucilage is made from gum tragacanth and water. When well dissolved, add a few drops of oil of cloves and a tiny piece of alum.

To Restore Black Cashmere.—Wash it in hot suds with a little borax in the water ; rinse in very strong bluing water, and iron while damp. Care of Spectacles.—Keep an old soft linen pocket handkerchief to clean your spectacles with. If necessary they may be cleaned with a little ammonia water. Do not put them under your pillow at night, and be careful to keep the frames straight, otherwise the lenses will not be true and your sight will suffer accordingly. A Method of Removing Grass Stains.—During the summer months it is a common thing to have more than one light dress stained by the grass. Such marks are easily removed with alcohol. Put a little of the liquid in a saucer and wet the stained part with it. Rub well, and the green will disappear. Eighty-five per cent, of the people who are lame are affected on the left side.

The total area of the coal fields in the world is estimated at 471,800 square miles.