Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 1 December 1910, Page 1989

Domestic

By MAUREEN

Bronzes.

Antique bronzeswhether vases,, statuettes, or, plaques —should be av ashed periodically, in order to prevent accuinitiation of. dust into the crevices of the : designs. Boiling water should be poured into a .tub; or.basin and _ the figures or vases dipped in one by one, the bronze being 'rubbed well with a piece of coarse''yflannel wrung out in a strong soapy lather. A soft duster should be used to dry the articles, and the requisite polish- given by means .of. a clean chamois leather. ' .".

Simple Remedies for Mild Inflammation of the Eyes.

Cold filtered tea is useful. .';•;; It may be of the ordinary table strength. Another good lotion is one made by dis-* solving a teaspoonful of boric acid in a»pint of boiling water, filtering when cool, ; and using when cold. ; -.-f An eye lotion should be used by means of an eye bath, eggcup, or wineglass. The., eye should be closed and pressed into the liquid then the lids must be opened and closed repeatedly. Note well that even pure water will -make them smart. The smarting may be lessened by so inclining the head when the bathing is over that the liquid tends to pour into the inner angle of the eye against the nose.

The Nutritive Value of the Walnut.

History reveals the interesting fact that the ancients held the walnut in such high esteem that they classified it as food only for the gods. _ Modern investigation and modern customs have popularised the uses of tho walnut to such an extent that it is now regarded not only as a luxury, but as a food of great nutritive value. A chemical analysis of the nut shows that it is six times as nutritious as meat. No _ vegetable or fruit, with the possible exception of the olive, can be compared to the walnut as a strength-giving, and fat-producing food. All nuts are possessed' of elements of nutrition, but the highest in. rank is the walnut.

Window-Cleaning Made Easy.

A very simple contrivance will greatly lessen the labor of the window-cleaner, and enable her to stand firmly on the floor all the time. It is made from an old broom, which is no longer in the state to be of any use for sweeping. Cut off what bristles remain, leaving the wood bare. On to this wood nail firmly a strong, flat piece of board, about Ift long and Sin wide. This should then be covered with two or three thicknesses of house-flannel, fastened to it by tin tacks, which can be easily taken out with a nailclaw whenever the flannel has to be renewed. The same sort of contrivance is useful for polishing the windows, but for this purpose wash-leather or linen should be drawn over tho padding of- flannel. Some Facts About the Nose.

There are three reasons why we should breathe through the nose and not through the mouth. 1. The nose warms the air for the lungs. 2. The nose helps the air to be damp before it gets to the lungs. 3. The nose cleans the air for the lungs. It is easy to see that a bad cold in the head stops all the work of the nose. When the air comes through the mouth to the lungs it is not so clean from dust and microbes as it ought to be, it is not damp enough, and it is not so warm as when it goes through the nose. The sensible thing, then, for any person to do is to keep from catching cold, to shut his mouth, and to breathe through his nose. Still there is another extreme. When we try not to catch cold we may actually get the nose too dry. That is apt to happen in winter when people live in houses that are heated by stoves, furnaces, or steam pipes. Often in such places the air is so dry that the nose cannot help getting dry too. Yon know how it is with wet towels over a register or near a radiator: the hot air takes all the water out of them, and they are dry in no time. Hot air does the same thing to any damp nose that happens to be in the same room. The objection to this is that when the lining of the nose is very dry it cannot catch the dust and microbes in the air and keep them from the lungs; neither can it keep the air that is to pass into the lungs damp enough; in. fact, it is about as well to breathe through the mouth as through such a dry nose. But what shall we do about all this? We. must remember that the more water the air takes from other things the less it will take from us. For this reason some people put open dishes of water m their rooms, or plants that grow in water, or wet fern balls. Anything is useful that gives water to, the air. to

Life is not a. state of jest, but of incessant operation, a continual circulation of action and being, a compound end W ° rkiUg powers, maintained by one principle for one