Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 6 October 1910, Page 1637

Domestic

By MAUREEN

A New Use for Milk. Flames from gasoline or petroleum will be at once extinguished if milk is poured upon them. Milk forms an emulsion with the oil, and so does not spread; but water is quite ineffective, and only tends to scatter the flames. To Clean Rugs. Heavy rugs should never be placed on a line for cleaning, as the weight is apt to break and stretch the rug where it crosses the line. The best possible arrangement for the purpose is an old set of bed springs placed on the grass. Spread the rug upon it and beat with a carpetbeater. The dust drops through, and is carried away by the wind, while the rug is not injured in any way. To Embroider Buttons. All that has to be done is to mark out the background material with circles of the size required, allowing enough margin to turn in neatly; within the circles embroider some small flower, sprig, or other device, procure some wooden button moulds, cover them with the embroidery (previously ironed), and finish the backs tidily with a little piece of the material. A Cake for Diabetic Patients. Take one ounce of German yeast, four tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water, sixteen ounces of desiccated cocoanut powder. Mix into a paste, adding a little more lukewarm water if necessary. Leave in a warm place for thirty minutes. Then add two eggs (beaten up in three or four tablespoonfuls of milk), and a little salt. Mix well. Place into sixteen small dishes /or tins (well greased). Bake in a moderate oven twenty or thirty minutes. Almond cakes may be made in a similar manner, using almond flour instead of cocoanut powder. Split Hair. When the extreme ends of the hair appear split, it is always advisable to have the hair clipped or singed. In either case it is better not to do it oneself, but to get a hairdresser or some friend to do the little service. For clipping it is only necessary to comb the hair out carefully, and using a very sharp scissors cut the ends, or, if desired and the length of the hair permits it, an inch or so may be cut. For singeing divide the hair into small strands, and wind each round a finger of the left hand. Then with the right pass a lighted taper quickly over the twisted hair, not allowing it to catch fire, but only to singe the tips. A Sewing Machine Secret. If the sewing machine runs hard and heavy, take out the screw that holds the footplate, remove it, and you will be surprised at the amount of Huff accumulated there Clean the little grooves, and under the whole of the plate with a penknife. The needle must be taken out before the work is begun. This is often the only cause of the machine running hard, and it is a secret that the agents will not tell you. A Meat Mould. The following is a very nice and easy method of using up meat that has been left over. Almost any kind of meat does. It is a nice breakfast or picnic dish. Take a few slices of cold veal, a few slices of cold ham, two hard-boiled eggs, some finely-chopped parsley, some thick stock. Boil down some bones, so that the stock will form a jelly when cold. Sprinkle .the bottom of a nice mould with parsley put in some slices of hard-boiled egg, and if at hand some pieces of cooked beetroot, then some pieces of meat ham and parsley. Fill up the mould with lavers of the various things. Season the stock and fill up the dish with it. When the mould is firm turn out and serve. Insect Pests. With the advance of summer myriads of insects follow in its wake, that are by ' no means welcome to human beings, and any remedy that will Avard off attacks or lessen the ill effects of bites or stings is always welcome. Certain aromatic oils seem to be disliked by some insect pests. Oil of lavender, for instance, often serves to keep away flies. A small sponge may be advisedly sprinkled with a few drops of the oil and placed in a saucer or vase near the door or window through which they are likely to enter, or several pieces of sponge thus prepared may be set about the house. Some people seem to have a special attraction for flics, and they may be recommended to keep a lavender-sprinkled sponge near them when sitting dowu where flies are numerous, and also by the sides of their beds at night, as near to the head and face as possible while the oil may be used for rubbing the skin of exposed parts of the body. If this does not keep off insects amotion consisting of a drachm of eucalyptus, £oz of spirit of camphor, and l£oz soap liniment is practically certain to do so, a very little being rubbed on the forehead, neck and instep (if low shoes are worn), wrists also if necessary.