ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVII, Issue XXII, 28 November 1896, Page 108

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Notice to contributors —Any letters or MSS. received by the Editor of the New Zealand Graphic will be im mediately acknowledged in this column.

‘ Phggv.'—Try putting a little piece of borax in your hard water. You can boil greens with the addition of a tiny pinch of bi-carbonate of soda. Put them into fastboiling water which has salt in it, and keep up the heat. This often preserves the colour quite as well as the addition of soda. Some housekeepers decidedly object to the soda. ‘Mode.’ —I think olive-green would suit the general tone of your room best. Most of the mantelpieces are now draped for the summer months. In one way there is a great objection to this style, as it obstructs the free passage of air up the chimney and prevents perfect ventilation. Also people are strongly inclined to close the registers altogether so as to preserve their drapery. This is very wrong, as the fresh air is excluded and you might as well live in a fireplace-less room. Art muslin or Madras muslin curtains daintily’ draped across the grate, with more substantial ones, if liked, at the sides, and a prettyarrangement of the two on the mantel itself, is harmless, and certainly saves trouble over the fireplace for the rest of the hot weather. One lady got some perforated zinc, painted it a pale blue, and fixed it over the grate and register. Round it she draped sage green art serge and tastefully blended the same with pale blue plushette for the curtain arrangements. Gold cord and tassels catching up the drapery made a wonderfully effective finish. ‘Mr Dene.’—Your MSS. has not come to hand, though your letter respecting it was received three days ago. MSS. always require to be posted an hour before the time advertised for closing the letter mail. I will, as you request, answer you direct, seeing you have sent a stamped addressed envelope. ‘Dolly.’-—Madame Marcella has received many unsought testimonials from readers of this paper regarding her skill in delineating character. Your writing is firm, but pretty. Why do you not try your luck ? ‘Blue Peter.'—l cannot tell you how sensible I think your idea of building a ' whare ’ on your bit of land and catering for yourself. But be sure you cook properly. You can never be well on badly cooked food, and you must have a variety. Why not buy a double kerosene cooking-stove ? You can boil your kettle over one burner, and fry a chop or a bit of steak or onion on the other, whilst in the oven your plates are warming. Or for dinner you can cook two vegetablesand roast a small piece of meat, or stew your meat, onions, and potatoes in one pan, and bake a nice little pudding in the oven. I quite envy you your freedom. Write again if I can help you at all. ‘ Pussie R.'—This is one way of making a flowerpot cover of crinkled paper. You want two shades. You must be guided in cutting by the size of your flower pot ; about a quarter of each roll is enough for a medium size pot. Gum the two separately by the edges. First cut into two cylinders, place the lighter shade inside the darker, divide into halves and quarters Take a piece of cotton elastic the size of the pot, just under the rim, and pleat the paper about 3J4 inches from the top. Put a band of ribbon, tied with a bow at the side, over the stitches, arrange the frill at the top prettily, coax the paper down towards the bottom of the pot, and just catch it together with a needle and cotton. Untie the ribbon and remove the cover from the pot when the plant requires water.