Mother's Remedies Part 224

203. The Kitchen Ap.r.o.n.--The kitchen ap.r.o.n should cover the skirt and the front of the waist, though not necessarily the sleeves, as most house dresses are made with short sleeves.

204. Cookies, to Keep.--Cookies put in an earthen jar lined with clean cloth, while they are still hot, and kept covered closely, will be much more melting and crumbling than if they were allowed to cool in the air.

205. Discolored China Baking Dishes.--Discolored china baking dishes can be made as clean as when new by rubbing them with whiting.

206. Care of Drippings.--The care of drippings in the kitchen, with the price of food so high, should receive more attention. In cooking all meats, poultry, and in making soup the grease should be carefully skimmed off and saved. Render it out once a week and after a good boiling, strain through cheesecloth. When cool skim the fat off and use in place of lard,--except for pie and biscuit.

207. To Mend Rubber.--To mend rubber, use soft kid from an old glove and paste to the patch the gum of automobile paste. The leather adheres better to the gum than a gum patch.

208. Cleaning Black Woolen Clothing.--The following is a good recipe for cleaning black woolen clothing: Dissolve borax in water and saturate a sponge or cloth in the solution. Wash the greasy spots by rubbing vigorously, then rinse in clear water the same way and dry in the sun.

This is especially good for cleaning men's coat collars.

[878 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

209. To Prevent Tinware Rusting.--To prevent tinware from rusting rub over with fresh lard and put in a hot oven for a few minutes before using it.

If treated in this way it will never rust.

210. To Remove Machine Grease.--Cold water and a teaspoonful of ammonia and soap will remove machine grease when other means would not answer on account of the colors running.

211. To Keep Cheese From Drying.--Wring a cloth from vinegar and wrap several thicknesses around the cheese to keep it from moulding and drying.

212. Small Hand Churn.--A small hand churn makes home-made b.u.t.ter and cheese possible. It is no trouble whatever to make a pot of yellow b.u.t.ter, fresh and sweet, by the aid of one of these convenient little churns.

After it is made it may be rolled into a delicate little pat and kept in an earthen jar made purposely for b.u.t.ter.

213. Larding a Piece of Meat.--Larding a piece of meat is a simple operation, and it is one which will greatly add to the juiciness of the dish. Cut a piece of salt pork into strips quarter of an inch thick and two or three inches long. Slip these into a larding needle and draw the needle through the meat, so either end of the pork will protrude beyond the meat.

214. To Make Vegetables Tender.--Cutting onions, turnips, and carrots across the fiber makes them more tender when cooked.

215. Clear black coffee diluted with water containing a little ammonia, will clean and restore black clothes.

216. To Make Linen Easier to Write on.--To make linen easier to write on when marking, dip the pieces you wish to mark into cold starch, rub over with hot iron and you will be able to write without the pen scratching.

217. To Air Pillows.--To air pillows, rip the corner of the ticking an inch or more. Insert a piece of rubber hose pipe a few inches long, first covering the exposed end of the tube with strong netting. Sew the ticking firmly to it and then hang all day on the line, in the air punching and shaking many times during the day. They will be light and fluffy besides being thoroughly aired and sweet and clean.

218. Uses for Pea-Pods.--Never throw away pea-pods; they give a delicious flavor to the puree for the next day.

219. To Remove the Skins of Tomatoes Quickly.--To remove the skins of tomatoes quickly, put them into a wire basket and sink it quickly into a kettle of hot water. Do not let the tomatoes stand in the water long enough to heat through, and plunge into cold water immediately from the hot. Another way is to rub the skins backward with the blunt edge of a knife. In this way the tomato does not need scalding, and according to epicures is more tasty.

220. Dyeing at Home.--In dyeing at home amateurs often make the mistake of putting the dyed article through the wringer, possibly to avoid staining the hands for one reason, or perhaps hoping to dry the garment more quickly. This however, should never be done, for the creases so formed are most obstinate and in fact, often only disappear with wear, despite all pressing. Dyed articles should be squeezed and hung out of doors to dry.

[MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 879]

221.--To Save Children's Shoes.--To save children's shoes wash them occasionally to remove the dirt and old polish, and soften them with oil.

When any part of the sole becomes badly worn, it should be mended at once, for usually a shoe will wear out at one point more quickly than elsewhere, and by paying ten or fifteen cents to have that part mended it saves dollars in time. Gunmetal shoes are preferable for everyday wear, for such shoes are l.u.s.terless and can be cleaned with oils instead of polish, which is destructive to the best leather, even when sparingly used.

222. A Systematic Housewife.--It is a handy plan for the business woman or the housewife who has much domestic accounting to do to keep two calendars, one to tear off day by day, the other to refer back to past dates when necessary. The reference calendar which can be very small and inconspicuous should have its special hook on the desk or table.

223. To Keep Candles in Warm Weather.--Keep your candles in the ice box this warm weather. They will remain beautifully upright through a whole evening's use, if they are hardened first in this way.

224. Tea Towels.--Keep the tea towels in sight, then have them fresh, clean, and whole, and hang them on a long metal curtain pole, in a convenient place, say back of the sink. This is better than placing the towels on a nail against the wall as is usually done, and it permits them to dry out quickly.

225. A Spotless House.--A house that is spotless at the price of the family's peace or of the housekeeper's best self, is the worst sort of an investment. You, the woman, are of vastly more importance than your surroundings. If you feel yourself becoming a mere drudge, if your family is growing away from you mentally, if your nerves are weakening under a fetish of cleanliness, get time to read.

226. To Keep Flooring in Place.--Strips of moulding may be tacked around the edges of a room at the baseboard, so as to cover the edge of oilcloth or linoleum. This holds the floor covering in place and prevents dust from getting beneath it.

227. Light Colored Wall Paper.--Light colored wall paper may be cleaned by a careful rubbing with a very clean rubber of the kind which artists use.

If the spot cleaned seems lighter than the surrounding color it may be toned down by a gentle rubbing with a clean chamois skin.

228. To Keep Canary Seed Away from Mice.--If there are any mice in the house, the best way to keep the canary from being robbed of its food is to empty the contents of a cardboard box of bird seed into a quart preserve jar and cover with a screw top.

[880 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

229. Convenient Scrub Bucket.--The most convenient scrub bucket is light, and is made of galvanized iron with a wide flaring top. The bucket is to be fitted with a wire soap tray on the outside, for often the soap is wasted while floating in the water if there is no convenient place to put it, while scrubbing. Holes can be punctured in the bucket and the wire tray fastened on with a heavy cord or a pliable wire,

230. Fruit Stains on Table Linen.--Fruit stains on table linen should be taken out before the cloth is put in the wash tub. Soap and water will set the stains.

231. Wicker Furniture.--Do not scrub your unpainted wicker furniture with soap and water, as it will turn it yellow and ruin its looks. Instead, try scrubbing it with a strong solution of salt water. If you have pieces that are so shabby that they must either be painted or thrown away, try the salt water treatment first. Scrub well and put in the sun and air and dry quickly.

232. Removing Dirt from Carpet.--Of all the ways to remove dirt from a carpet, the worst is by the use of the ordinary short brush which involves the housemaid's kneeling down in the dust.

233. How to Preserve the Household Broom.--The ordinary household broom will last twice as long, if care is taken of it, as it will if it is just used anyhow. When it is new, before using it, put it in a pail of hot water and let it remain there until the water is quite cold. Then thoroughly dry--in the sun if possible. Always clean it after sweeping, by dipping in water and shaking well before putting it away and occasionally give it a thorough was.h.i.+ng in hot soda water.

234. A Good Furniture Polish.--A good furniture polish may be made of paraffin oil and turpentine. Kerosene too is very good, while crude oil may be used to darken wood that has not been varnished.

235. Delicious Salad.--Seeded raisins cut in pieces, broken nut meats, and a small part of celery in thin bits make up a delicious salad.

236. To Clean Light Rugs.--Rugs with white or very light ground may be cleaned by sprinkling with cornstarch, mixed with one-sixth its bulk of prepared chalk. Let the starch remain several hours and brush it out with a fine whiskbroom, then hang in the sun and heat well before putting down.

This method is recommended for fine, silky rugs, as it injures neither tint nor texture and makes a beautifully clean surface.

237. To Light a Closet of Any Kind.--To light a closet of any kind, but especially a linen closet, the safest thing--next to electricity is a light clear gla.s.s lantern with wire guards outside the gla.s.s. Swing it by a light chain pulley, some little way in front of the shelves. Thus a touch sends it up or down, throwing the light wherever it may be needed.

[MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 881]

238. To Remove White Marks on Furniture.--A mixture composed of equal parts of turpentine and linseed oil will remove the white marks on furniture caused by water. Rub it on with a soft rag and wipe off with a perfectly clean duster.

239. If Your Paint Has Been Marred.--If your paint has been marred by careless scratching of matches, try rubbing it with the finest sand paper.

Use a half lemon for removing match marks from paint.

240. To Remove Inkstains from Cotton.--To remove ink-stains from cotton material, place the stain over the steam and apply salt and lemon juice which will soon remove the ink.

241. To Clean Plaster-of-Paris.--To clean plaster-of-paris figures, cover with a thick coating of starch and water, let it dry on the surface and the dirt will brush off with the dry powder.

242. To Clean Piano Keys.--A cloth moistened with alcohol will clean piano keys.

243. Was.h.i.+ng Veils.--When veils are washed at home they usually come out quite limber and flimsy. To give them the stiffness add a pinch of sugar to the rinse water.

244. To Take Candle Grease Out of Linen.--To take candle grease out of linen, place the linen between two sheets of thick white blotting paper, and set a hot iron on it, leaving it there long enough for the iron to become perceptibly cooler. If necessary repeat this until the grease is removed.