Part 32

TO CLEAN BRASSES, ETC.

Electro-silicon, manufactured by J. Seth Hopkins & Co., Baltimore, is the best article that can be procured for this purpose. The price is twenty-five cents per box, with full directions for use. It may be procured of any druggist. If not convenient to get it, use powdered brick-dust.--_Mrs. S. T._

FOR THE KITCHEN.

Sapolio, manufactured by Enoch Morgan & Sons, should be in every kitchen. It is invaluable for cleaning tins, iron-ware, knobs, and is so neat a preparation that it does not blacken the hands.

THE DOVER EGG-BEATER.

Is indispensable to housekeepers. It froths eggs in less than a fourth of the time a spoon or an ordinary egg-beater requires to froth them.--_Mrs. S. T._

TO REMOVE RUST FROM KNIVES OR ANY STEEL.

Rub very hard with a piece of wash leather, dipped in powdered charcoal, moistened with spirits of wine. Rub off quickly, wash in hot water, and renew as may be necessary.--_Mrs. K._

TO CLEAN KNIVES, TINS, ETC.

Crystal Kitchen Soap, manufactured by Eastman & Brooke, Philadelphia, is excellent for this purpose, being so neat a compound that the knives and coffee-pot, as well as the tins used in the preparation of breakfast, may be quickly cleaned at the table while the tea-china is being washed.

When not convenient to obtain the Crystal Kitchen Soap, knives may be cleaned with ashes either of coal or wood.--_Mrs. S. T._

TO WHITEN THE IVORY ON THE HANDLES OF KNIVES.

The ivory handles of knives sometimes become yellow from being allowed to remain in dish-water. Rub them with sandpaper till white. If the blades have become rusty from careless usage, rub them also with sandpaper and they will look as nice as new.--_Mrs. S. T._

MIXTURE FOR SHADING GLASS.

Spanish whiting, one pound; white glue, one-quarter pound; litharge, one ounce; alum, one ounce. Boil the glue and alum in a sufficient quantity of water. Let it cool, then add the whiting and litharge. Stir well and use at once. It may be washed or scraped off, if desired.--_Dr. E. A. C._

CEMENT FOR RUBBER AND GLASS.

Pulverized gum shellac in ten times its weight of strong spirits hartshorn.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TO DESTROY BEDBUGS.

Dissolve one ounce corrosive sublimate in one pint strong spirits. Put it on the bedsteads with a feather, and it will destroy the bugs and their eggs also.--_Mrs. Dr. P. C._

BEDBUG POISON.

Alcohol, two and a half pints; camphor, one ounce; spirits turpentine, one ounce; corrosive sublimate, half an ounce. Mix and dissolve. If the scent is not objectionable, two ounces commercial carbolic acid will greatly improve the above.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TO DESTROY BUGS, ANTS, ETC.

Dissolve two pounds alum in three quarts boiling water. Apply boiling hot with a brush. Add alum to whitewash for store-rooms, pantries, and closets. It is well to pound alum fine and sprinkle it about beds infested with bugs.--_Mrs. S. T._

REMEDY FOR RED ANTS.

Kerosene oil is a sure remedy for red ants. Place small blocks under a sugar barrel, so as not to let the oil touch the barrel.--_Mrs. J. W._

Cayenne pepper will keep the store-room and pantry free from ants and cockroaches.--_Mrs. S. D._

REMEDY FOR MOSQUITOES OR OTHER BLOOD-SUCKING INSECTS.

Uncork a bottle of oil of pennyroyal, and it will drive them away, nor will they return so long as the scent of it is in the room.--_Mrs. S. D._

For the stings of insects, wasps, hornets, bees, etc. Apply to the place soda, hartshorn, or arnica.

RATS.

Mix a little powdered potash with meal and throw it into the rat-holes and it will not fail to drive the rats away. If a mouse enters into any part of your dwelling, saturate a rag with cayenne in solution and stuff it into his hole.--_Mrs. S. D._

CONCENTRATED LYE SOAP.

All fat and grease from the kitchen should be carefully saved, and should be made into soap before accumulating and becoming offensive.

Boil for six hours ten gallons of lye made of green wood ashes. Then add eight or ten pounds of grease, and continue to boil it. If thick or ropy, add more lye till the grease is absorbed. This is ascertained by dropping a spoonful in a glass of water, and if grease remains it will show on the water.

If hard soap is desired, put one quart of salt in half-gallon of hot water. Stir till dissolved and pour into the boiling soap. Boil twenty minutes, stirring continually. Remove from the fire, and when cold cut in cakes and dry. A box of concentrated lye may be used instead of salt, as it will obviate the necessity of using more dripped lye to consume the grease.--_Mrs. P. W._

A WASHING MIXTURE.

Mix and boil twenty minutes one gallon soft soap; half a gallon of weak boiled lye; four ounces sal soda; half a gill of spirits turpentine. Soak the clothes overnight in milk-warm water. In the morning, rinse and wring them. To every gallon cold water add one pint of the above mixture. Stir it well in the water. Open the clothes and boil fifteen or twenty minutes; rinse out of those suds. If the articles are not thoroughly cleansed, rub a little of the mixture on the soiled places, and the result will be satisfactory.--_Mrs. Dr. E._

RECIPES FOR RESTORING OLD CLOTHES, SETTING COLORS, REMOVING STAINS, ETC.

FOR CLEANING CLOTHES.

Castile soap, one ounce; aqua ammonia (34), a quarter-pound; sulphur ether, one ounce; glycerine, one ounce; spirits wine, one ounce. Shave the soap into thin pieces, dissolve it in two quarts rain (or any other soft water). Then add the other ingredients. Rub the soiled spots with a sponge or piece of flannel and expose to the air.--_Mrs. B._

SOAP TO REMOVE GREASE FROM CLOTH.

Detersive soap, three pounds; alcohol, two pints; oxalic acid, half an ounce; essential oil to flavor. First bring the alcohol to a boil, then gradually add the soap (pared in thin shavings) and stir constantly. Then add the acid and oil, pour into moulds while hot, and let it cool. You may, of course, make it in smaller quantities, observing the same relative proportions.--_Dr. E. A. C._

_To Remove Spots from Cloth._

Aqua ammonia, two ounces; alcohol, two ounces; spirits camphor, one ounce; transparent soap, one ounce; rain-water, one quart.--_Mr. E. C., Jr._

TO WASH BLACK CASHMERE.

Wash in hot suds, with a little borax in the water. Rinse in bluing water, and iron very damp.

TO RESTORE THE PILE OF VELVET.

Heat a large flat-iron, place it in a pan, and lay on it a wet cloth. The steam will rise rapidly. Hold the right side of the velvet over it. If this does not restore the pile, wet it on the wrong side. Have a smooth flat-iron very hot. Set it on the edge of the table, upright. If it is a narrow piece of velvet, it may be easily ironed by passing the wet side against the iron. If a large piece, have some one to hold the bottom of the iron upwards while the wet side of the velvet is passed over it.--_Mrs. S. T._

TO RESTORE OLD BLACK SILK.

Pour one pint boiling water on two tablespoonfuls gum arabic. When a little cooled, add one teaspoonful spirits turpentine and the same of spirits ammonia. With a large sponge wipe the silk on both sides with this mixture. Then lay the silk on an ironing-table, place over it a thin piece of colored rice cambric, and iron it very hard with a hot iron. This makes old silk look like new.--_Mrs. S. T._

TO FRESHEN OLD BLACK SILK.

Boil one ounce crushed soap bark in one quart water till reduced to one pint. Strain it; sponge the material with the liquid, and while wet iron on the wrong side. Good for black woollens also.--_Mrs. M. E. L. W._

TO RENEW BLACK CRAPE VEILS.

Wring two large towels out of water. Then put the veil (folded across the middle, lengthways) on the lower towel; spread the other on top and roll the veil, when between, in a small tight roll. Let it stand an hour, or till it is damp through. Take it out and air it a little before it dries. Fold it then in smooth squares, put it in a large book, such as an atlas, put heavy weights on it, and let it stand an hour or two.--_Mrs. M. C. C._

TO SET COLORS.

Wash in strong salt or alum water and rinse in water in which Irish potatoes have been sliced and boiled, to stiffen.

A strong tea of hay or fodder preserves the color of brown linen. One spoonful gall to a gallon of water will set the colors of almost any goods. A teaspoonful sugar of lead in a gallon cold water (some say a tablespoonful in a quart soft water) will set colors. Let the material soak in it an hour.

A teacup of lye in a pail of water will improve black calicoes.

TO RESTORE COLORS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT.

Rub the spots with hartshorn and place in the sun till dry.

TO KEEP BLUE CALICOES BRIGHT AND FRESH.

The first time they are washed, put them in water with a cupful spirits of turpentine to each pail of water. This will set the color, and they will always look well.

MILDEW.

Moisten the mildewed spot with clear water, then rub over it a thick coating of castile soap. Scrape chalk with the soap, mixing and rubbing with the end of the finger. Then wash it off. Sometimes one coating suffices, but generally several are required.

LABARAQUE SOLUTION.

Will remove mildew, ink, or almost any fruit stain from cloth. The solution should be washed off soon after applying, as it may injure the cloth.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TO PREVENT FRUIT STAINS FROM BEING PERMANENT.

Wet the stained spot with whiskey before sending it to wash, and there will be no sign of it when the article comes in.

FOR REMOVING FRUIT OR INK STAINS.

Two drachms chloride of lime, two drachms acetic acid, one and a half ounce water. Mix well.--_Dr. E. A. C._

IRON RUST.

Salts of lemon applied to the place and exposed to the sun will remove all iron rust in linen, etc.

MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.

AMMONIA.

No housekeeper should be without a bottle of spirits of ammonia, for, besides its medical value, it is highly useful for household purposes. It is nearly as useful as soap, and its cheapness brings it in the reach of all. Put a teaspoonful ammonia in a quart of warm soapsuds, dip in a flannel cloth, wipe off the dust and fly-specks, and see how much scrubbing it will save you.

For washing windows and mirrors, it is very desirable. A few drops on a piece of paper will take off every spot or fingermark on the glass.

It cleanses and brightens silver wonderfully. Dip your forks, spoons, etc., in a pint of suds, mixed with a teaspoonful spirits ammonia. Then rub with a brush and polish with chamois skin.

It will take grease spots from every fabric. Put on the ammonia nearly clear. Lay blotting-paper on the place, and press a hot flat-iron on it a few moments. A few drops of it will clean and whiten laces, also muslins.

It is highly useful and refreshing at the toilet-table. A few drops in the bath will remove all offensive perspiration and glossiness (if the skin is oily). Nothing is better for cleansing the hair from dust and dandruff. A teaspoonful in a pint of water will cleanse the dirtiest brushes. Shake the brushes through the water, and when they look white, rinse them in water and put them in the sunshine or a warm place to dry.

For medicinal purposes ammonia is almost unrivalled. Inhaling it will often cure headache and catarrhal cold. Ten drops aromatic spirits of ammonia in a wine-glass of water is excellent for heartburn or dyspepsia. The ordinary spirits of ammonia may be used also for the purpose, but it is not so palatable.

Ammonia is also good for vegetation. If you desire roses, fuschias, geraniums, etc., to become more flourishing, add five or six drops ammonia to every pint of lukewarm water you give them. Do not repeat this more than once in five or six days, lest you should stimulate them too highly.

Be sure to keep a large bottle of ammonia in the house, and use a glass stopper for it, as it is very evanescent and is injurious to corks.

[The above remarks on the usefulness of ammonia were furnished and endorsed by Mrs. A. D., of Virginia.]

BORAX.

It is very desirable to keep borax in the house. Its effect is to soften the hardest water, and it is excellent for cleansing the hair. Some washerwomen use borax for a washing powder, instead of soda, in the proportion of a handful of borax powder to ten gallons boiling water, and they save in soap nearly half, whilst the borax, being a neutral salt, does not injure the texture of the linen.--_Mrs. S. T._

RED INK.

Bicarb. potash, half an ounce; cochineal, half an ounce; bitart. potash, half an ounce; powdered alum, half an ounce; pure rain-water, four ounces. Mix, and add ten drops creosote.--_Dr. E. A. C._

BLACK INK.

Extract logwood (pulv.), two ounces; hot rain-water, one gallon. Simmer over water-bath one hour, till logwood is dissolved. Put into a bottle the following: bichromate potass., one hundred grains; prus. of potass., forty grains; warm rain-water, four ounces. Shake till dissolved, put into the logwood solution, stir well together, strain through flannel, and, when cold, add corrosive sublimate, ten grains; warm rain-water, one ounce. Dissolve thoroughly, put with the above, and add pure carbolic acid crys., one drachm. This makes the best black ink in the world, at a cost of about ten cents a gallon.--_Dr. E. A. C._

COMMON BOTTLE WAX.

Rosin, eighteen ounces; shellac, one ounce; beeswax, two ounces. Melt together and color to suit the fancy.--_Dr. E. A. C._

GRAFTING WAX.

Rosin, two pounds; beeswax, one pound; tallow, one pound. Melt together, pour into a tub of cold water, and work with the hands till pliable.--_Dr. E. A. C._

LIQUID GLUE.

Acetic acid, one ounce; water, half an ounce; glue, two ounces; gum tragacanth, one ounce. Mix and dissolve.--_Dr. E. A. C._

SHOE BLACKING (_equal to Mason's_).

Ivory black, twelve ounces; molasses, four ounces; sperm-oil, one ounce; oil of vitriol, by weight, two drachms; vinegar, one pint. Mix the black, molasses, and oil, and add the vinegar gradually, stirring all the time. Then add the oil of vitriol very carefully, stirring constantly, till effervescence ceases.--_Dr. E. A. C._

LIQUID BLACKING.

Ivory black, in fine powder, one pound; molasses, twelve ounces; sweet-oil, two ounces; beer and vinegar, two pints of each. Mix thoroughly together.--_Dr. E. A. C._

WHAT MOST OF THE BAKING POWDERS ARE COMPOSED OF.

(_One of the Best._)

Cream tartar, twelve and one-quarter ounces; bicarb. soda (Eng.), six and one-half ounces; tartaric acid, one and one-third ounces; carbonate of ammonia, four-fifths of an ounce; good wheat flour, four ounces. Mix thoroughly, and pass through a fine sieve.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TO DRY HERBS.

Gather on a dry day, just before they flower. Put them in an oven, and when dry take them out, pick off the leaves, put in bottles, cover tightly, and keep in a dry place.--_Mrs. R._

TO KEEP WEEVIL OUT OF WHEAT.

Put the wheat in barrels, smooth it, and sprinkle a layer of salt over the top. Keep the barrels well covered by tying cloths over them. A sure preventive.--_Mrs. Dr. P. C._

FERTILIZER FOR STRAWBERRIES.

Nitrate of potash, one pound; glauber salts, one pound; sal soda, one pound; nitrate of ammonia, one-quarter pound. Dissolve the above in forty gallons of water, one-third to be applied when the leaves begin to appear, one-third ten days later, and the rest when the vines begin to bloom. This quantity is for forty feet square.--_Mrs. R._

RED LIP SALVE.

Oil of sweet almonds, two ounces; pure olive-oil, six ounces; spermaceti, one and one-half ounce; white wax, one ounce. Color with carmine, and perfume with oil of roses.--_Dr. E. A. C._

LOTION FOR CHAPS.

Borax, two drachms; strong rose-water, twelve ounces; glycerine, three ounces; mucilage of quince seed, ten drachms. Mix.--_Dr. E. A. C._

COLD CREAM.

Rose-water, half an ounce; oil of sweet almonds, half an ounce; pure olive-oil, two ounces; spermaceti, half an ounce; white wax, one drachm. Melt sperm and wax with the oil by means of water-bath. Then add the rose-water, and stir till cool. When nearly cool, add oil of roses or any other perfume desired.--_Dr. E. A. C._

CAMPHOR ICE.

White wax, two ounces; spermaceti, two ounces and two drachms; camphor, six drachms. Melt, and add olive-oil, five ounces and five drachms; glycerine, three drachms. Make into eighteen cakes.--_Dr. E. A. C._

CAMPHOR SALVE FOR CHAPPED LIPS, HANDS, ETC.

Spermaceti, two drachms; white wax, two drachms; pulverized camphor, two drachms; washed lard, half an ounce; pure olive-oil, half an ounce. Melt in water-bath, and stir with it, while cooling, two drachms glycerine.

_Note._--This is excellent, will relieve almost instantly, and will cure in a few applications.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TOOTH POWDER.

Prepared chalk, two pounds; powdered orris-root, two pounds; powdered white castile soap, quarter of a pound; powdered white sugar, quarter of a pound; powdered pumice-stone, half an ounce; powdered carmine, half an ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of lavender, half an ounce. Powder the carmine as fine as possible; then add to it the pumice-stone, then the sugar, then the soap, orris, and chalk in succession. Then add the flavoring drop by drop, mixing it thoroughly with all the ingredients. Sift through the finest apothecaries' sieve.--_Dr. E. A. C._

_For the Teeth._

Van Buskirk's Sozodont, manufactured by Hall & Ruckel, N. Y., is all that it claims to be. I have known it tried ten years consecutively with the happiest results.--_Mrs. S. T._

CHARCOAL TOOTH POWDER.

Powdered charcoal, six ounces; gum myrrh, one ounce; pale Peruvian bark, one ounce. Mix thoroughly.--_Dr. E. A. C._

HAIR-OIL.

Pure olive-oil, six ounces; perfumed with oil of jessamine.--_Dr. E. A. C._

_Hair-Oil._

Castor-oil, ten ounces; pure alcohol, six ounces. Perfume with oil of bergamot or any other perfume preferred.--_Dr. E. A. C._

HAIR TONIC.

Glycerine, one and a half ounces; tincture cantharides (95 per cent.), half an ounce; sulph. quinine, twenty grains; alcohol, four ounces. Mix together; perfume with oil of roses.--_Dr. E. A. C._

_Another Hair Tonic._

Claimed to restore falling out hair, when baldness is not hereditary. Tincture of cantharides (officinal), one ounce; glycerine, one and a half ounce; rose-water, three and a half ounces.--_Dr. E. A. C._

HAIR DYE, NO. 1.

Pyrogallic acid, one drachm; distilled water, three ounces. Dissolve.--_Dr. E. A. C._

NO. 2.

Nitrate of silver (crystals), one drachm; aqua ammonia, strong, two drachms; distilled water, six drachms. Mix.--_Dr. E. A. C._

HAIR RESTORATIVE.

Sugar of lead (chemically pure), one drachm; milk of sulphur, two drachms; rose-water, four ounces; glycerine, one ounce. Mix.--_Dr. E. A. C._

SHAMPOO LIQUOR.

Bay rum, three quarts; tincture cantharides (officinal), one and a half ounces; carb. ammonia, half an ounce; salts of tartar, one ounce. Mix. Thoroughly cleanse the hair with clean water after using.--_Dr. E. A. C._

ROSE BANDOLINE.

Gum tragacanth, six ounces; rose-water, one gallon; otto of roses, half an ounce. Steep the gum in the water a day or two. Agitate frequently while forming into a gelatinous mass. After standing forty-eight hours, strain through a clean, coarse linen cloth. Again let it stand a few days, and then strain a second time. When the consistency is uniform, add the otto of roses, and color with carmine.--_Dr. E. A. C._

ALMOND BANDOLINE.

Is made as the above, except that no coloring is used, and it is scented with quarter of an ounce of oil of bitter almonds instead of rose.--_Dr. E. A. C._

TO CLEAN THE HAIR AND HAIR-BRUSHES AND COMBS.

Dissolve one ounce borax and half an ounce camphor in a quart boiling water. For cleaning combs and brushes use two teaspoonfuls supercarbonate soda dissolved in half a pint boiling water, or else use one teaspoonful hartshorn dissolved in a little water.--_Mrs. R._

TO REMOVE DANDRUFF.

Wash the hair thoroughly in rain-water with a good deal of borax dissolved in it.--_Mrs. C. C._

TO REMOVE BLOOD STAINS.

Make a thin paste of starch and water. Spread over the stain. When dry, brush the starch off and the stain is gone. Two or three applications will remove the worst stains.--_Mrs. D._

INDEX.

BREAD.