Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 13 August 1914, Page 57

Domestic

By Maureen.

Tea for Fatigue. More than twelve hundred years ago a Chinese scholar wrote : ‘ Tea tempers the spirits and harmonises the mind, dispels lassitudes and relieves fatigue, awakens thought, refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.' Two Hints About the Bed. Pretty covers for beds can be made of cretonne or heavy chintz, to be used instead of the time-honored counterpane. The covers are to be cut at the corners so they will fit and lie flat, and may be finished off with lace or wash edging. Use the same material elsewhere in the room, or dresser, table, cushions even to the curtains. Be sure to choose a well covered though dainty design. Everyone knows how ungainly a mattress is to handle. This difficulty can be overcome by sewing two loops on each side of the mattress to use as handles when turning or lifting it from one place to another. Pots and Pans. Pots and pans should never- be left lying about* but should be cleaned at once. As soon as they are done with the pans should be filled with boiling water, to which a small piece of soda has been added, and then rinsed out well, any remains of food being carefully removed, and wiped, and placed on the pot rack till next morning, when they can be thoroughly cleaned. Seamless steel should be rinsed and dried at once, or otherwise it soon loses its bright appearance, while nothing shows careless treatment more readily than aluminum. v On no account must aluminum be cleaned with soda, this being an exception to the general rule. Soda

blackens and spoils aluminum immediately. Vessels of this metal should simply be well washed and dried and then polished with a paste of whiting or with the powder specially sold for the purpose. But soda is most efficacious in cleaning other kitchen ware. After the pans have been washed with soda water they should be treated in this manner : Soap a dishcloth well, then dip it into silver sand and thoroughly remove all stains rinse thoroughly before putting them away. Melon Candied. This is delicious, but takes time to cure. * Take 101 b of melon, 2oz of washing soda, 91b of white sugar, a handful of whole ginger, and some orange peel. Cut the melon into blocks about three inches square. Prick each well with a fork. Dissolve the soda in some hot water, add as much cold water as will cover the melon in hand. Leave all night. Next day lift out the melon, and boil in fresh water for an hour. Take from the fire, and drain thoroughly. When drained, put into fresh clear cold water and leave all night. Next morning drain well. Put part of the sugar in a preserving pan, and just moisten with water. When well heated put in the melon, have a moderate fire, and stir constantly. Add the ginger and orange-peel, then the rest of the sugar by degrees. Boil until all the moisture has evaporated, then when it cools the sugar candies on the melon. Store in a dry place in wooden boxes, lined with white paper.

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