Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 39, 26 September 1907, Page 33

Domestic

By N ' Maureen'

-The Reason for'. Toast. ' ' Did you ever wonder why toast is always recommended for invalids ?' said a chemist to a newspaper- representative. ' :The reason is that toast is predigested bread. - ' 1 3Vhat 'makes fresh bread trying for invalids is the starch in it. ' Starch is very Hard to digest. It needs a good stomach to take hold of the .soggy starch in bread and change' it to strengthening, stimulating dextrine. 1 But when you cut bread thin and toast -it brown the fire itself caanges the starch to dextrine. That-, in fact, is what the brown color in toast indicates — that the starch is gone and dextrine has taken its place. The stuff is predigested. For Tired Feet. For tired feet, a hot foot-bath every -night, with the addition of a little salt and a tablespoonful 'of bay rum or a few drops of ammonia, will often give ease;, but the magic preparation is "said to be a mixture of carbolic acid, camphor, and an: monia— f our ounces of carbolic acid, to one each of the ammonia - and camphor. Stir into the foot j bath in the proportion of one large spoonful of this liquid .to every two quarts, of hot water. It will give the greatest relief. For chilblains and itching and burning of 'the feet apply equal parts of turpentine and kerosene. Care of- the Teeth. ' Cracking nuts, biting thread, and want of cleanliness are injurious to the teeth. "After eating the mouth should be rinsed with lukewarm water, and such pieces of food as are not thus washed away, removed carefully by a toothpick. The toothbrush should be ' elastic and v not too hard. Kub up and down* as well. . as across the teeth. A great many do more injury - than good by rubbing the' teeth so hard as not only to injure the enamel by excessive friction, but also to hurt the gums. No care will preserve them, as they should be kept .without consulting a dentist. How to Tell Pure Olive Oil. The adulteration of oil is a secret to no one and that this practice is in vogue in Spain is proved by the fact that the Provincial Deputation of Seville has addressed a communication to the Ministry of Finance proposing the means of avoiding such practice, so as not to prejudice the good name enjoyed everywhere by the oil. The oleaginous plants used by merchants to oblain greater gains are very numerous., They mix the poppy, colewort, or wild cabbage, benne seed, peanut and cotton seed oils with the light, clear, and transparent oil. of the olive. The oil mostly used in Spain for such falsification is that extracted from cotton seed. Pautet's reactive and Lefebre and Lauret's oleometers are generally used for detecting adulterations,! but as the majority of people do not possess these apparati it is opportune to give a few practical rules for disepvering the fraud. Oil coming from Seville may be accepted without scruple for being as represented. All the business firms dealing with this commodity have such competent experts that- they are able to tell whether the oil isadul-"" terated or not by its color and odor. ' Those who are not able to detect adulterations by these practical^ means, should shake the oil, whereupon a small crown of bubbles will be formed immediately. If the mixture contains cotton seed- oil these will disappear very slowly. Should the mixture be made with poppy, oil more or less foam will appear, according to the greater or smaller quantity of the adulterative matter it con- " tains. If the means are insufficient to discover the fraud, then congelation .or freezing should be tried, which ' is the surest method, owing to the exclusive property of , olive oil to freeze at three or four degrees above zero, whereas other oils need a temperature of ,ten below jZero.

For Children's Hacking Cough at night Woods' Great Peppermint Cure.- Is 6d and 2s 6d....