Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 7 September 1911, Page 1769

Domestic

By Maureen.

Washing Cane-Seated Chairs. Many housewives do.not appear to know that the oftener their cane-seated chairs are washed the longer they will last. Take the chair out into the open air, turn it upside down, and wash the seat thoroughly with hot water and soap, allowing the moisture to soak well into the cane. Leave the chair in the open until it is quite dry, when it will be found almost as springy and taut as the day on which it was bought. How to Treat Polished Furniture. Cleanse all polished furniture with vinegar freely diluted with water ; then, when all dirt has been removed, apply the following polish with a rag, and rub briskly till you see your hand reflected as in a looking glass. One gill of sweet oil, one gill of vinegar, half gill methylated spirits. This extremely simple operation, performed once a week, will gradually produce a polish that is unrivalled. Boiling water even may be poured over it with impunity. It is not readily scratched, and the wood, having the pores filled with the application, becomes very hard. Home-Made Mouse-Trap. The home-made mouse-trap that often succeeds in catching more mice than a couple of the regular traps has been used by many housewives. Take a stone crock or a yellow mixing bowl, fill it with water and tie across the top, preserve jar fashion, with stout brown paper in which when tightly stretched you cut with a sharp knife a cross cut. Stand this crock on a shelf. Sprinkle near the cross cut bits of cheese or bacon. The mouse will scent the goodies, will climb up on the crock or bowl after them and will slip through the cut in the brown paper and drown in the water in the crock. The stiff points of the paper will immediately spring back in position and be ready for more victims. Sprains. Sprains require prompt and thorough ; attention. They sometimes give rise to permanent injury. Soak the affected part in hot water for twenty to thirtv minutes. The water should be maintained at as high a temperature as is possible by the addition of very hot water at frequent intervals. The duration of a hot foot bath should be ten .to twenty minutes, after which an elastic bandage should be applied to the affected joint in such a way as to prevent swelling on the outside of the bandage. The foot should be elevated for a few hours, until the tendency to inflammation has subsided. After the first twenty-four hours, very gentle rubbing of the limb may be employed. The rubbing movement should be in a direction from the injured part, towards the heart. A Strong Cement. A cement which will adhere perfectly to glazed surfaces, repair broken minerals, or, in fact, stick to anything, is made by taking two ounces of clear gum arabic, one and a-half ounce of fine starch, one half ounce of white sugar. Pulverise the gum arabic, and dissolve it in as much water as the laundress would use for the quantity of starch indicated. Dissolve the starch and sugar in the gum solution. Then cook the mixture in a vessel suspended in boiling water until the starch becomes clear. The cement should be as thick as tar, and be kept so. It can be kept from spoiling by dropping in a lump of gum camphor or a little oil of cloves.