Chapter 103

162. When the Top Cannot be Removed from Fruit Cans.--When the top cannot be removed from a fruit can, if the lid is carefully pried at one point, so the gum can be caught, the rubber can easily be removed. It is not difficult to pull the band from beneath the metal cap.

163. Darning.--When darning must be done in the evening it is more easily done if a light colored darning ball be used.

164. In Pressing a Plaited Skirt.--In pressing a plaited skirt one will gain time and have more satisfactory results if the plaits are basted before the pressing is done. Clean the skirt and brush it on the inside. Next baste the seams, cover with a damp cloth and press on the right side with a medium warm iron. Dampen the cloth, when necessary and press until the cloth is dry.

165. Stitching Down a Seam.--After stitching down a seam, press with a hot iron, and if no seamboard is at hand, it is useful to know that a rolling pin, wrapped in a clean cloth, will answer this purpose equally as well.

166. The Color Meat Should be.--Meat should be red with the fat a clear white. The fat besides being white should be firm, and suety, and never moist. Good meat has very little smell. Bad meat shrinks considerably in boiling. Meat which is fresh and good does not loose an ounce of weight, but swells rather, when it is being boiled.

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167. Buying a New Oil Cloth.--When you are ready to buy a new oil cloth for your kitchen table, take your old one and cut it up for aprons. Have it cover the whole front of your skirt, and make a large bib on it, and you will find, when you are through doing a washing, that you will be as dry as you were before you began.

168. Galvanized Tub.--The popularity of the galvanized tub due to its weight and durability, is the cause of a great many people discarding the wringer on account of their inability to fasten it to the tub securely. If a piece of heavy cloth is hung across the tub where the wringer fastens to it, you will find that it will fasten and hold as securely as to the old-fashioned wooden tub.

169. To Remove Mildew.--Mildew, if not of too long standing, can be removed by the use of raw tomato and salt. Rub the stains with raw tomato, sprinkle thickly with salt and lay in the sun. It may be necessary to repeat the process two or three times.

170. Closed Cupboards in the Pantry.--If there are closed cupboards in the pantry use them for storing provisions kept in screw top jars. There should be brass hooks for hanging up all the articles that can be suspended from the walls.

171. Keeping a House Account.--There are fewer reckoning days if housekeepers pay cash. If they persist in running accounts for groceries and other staples they should have a book and see to it that the right price is put down the minute anything is bought.

172. Chestnuts as a Vegetable.--Chestnuts have considerable food value. The boiled and mashed pulp may be used as one would use meat or vegetable, even croquettes being made of it.

173. To Give Starch a Gloss.--A little sugar added to boiled starch will give a desirable gloss to the clothes when ironed.

174. Apples Cored for Baking.--Apples cored for baking are delicious filled with orange marmalade and a little butter and sugar.

175. Beating Eggs.--When heating eggs observe that there is no grease on the beater, as it will prevent the eggs from frothing.

176. If you judge as evil the actions of another, through the judging comes evil to you.

177. A Toy Saw.--A toy saw may be utilized many times in the kitchen for sawing meat bones which are too large.

178. If a White Dress Has Turned Yellow.--If last summer's white dress has turned yellow, put it in a stone jar, cover with buttermilk and let it stand a day and night. Then wash well and starch with blued starch. This is better to whiten goods than freezing, sunshine, or the use of borax.

[MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 875]

179. Scorched Food.--A practical cook says: When food has been scorched remove the pan from the fire and set into a pan of cold water. Lay a dish towel over the pan. The towel will absorb all the scorch taste sent up by the steam and the family need never know it was burned.

180. Mutton Chops to Make Tender.--Mutton chops can be made tender quite as much as lamb, if before they are boiled or fried they are allowed to simmer in just a little water on the back of the stove. This also makes the flavor more delicate.

181. Hollowing Out a Tomato.--For hollowing out a tomato, previous to stuffing, a pair of scissors enables a person to remove all the pulp without breaking the skin. They are equally useful for fruit salads as the fine skin which separates the sections of the grape fruit and oranges is easily clipped off.

182. The Easiest Way to Blacken a Stove.--The easiest way to blacken a stove is to use a flat paint brush about one and a half inches wide, and a tin or jar, large enough to receive the brush, to mix the blacking in. Apply the blacking to the stove as you would paint, and use a newspaper to polish with, which can be burned. In this way the hands do not come in contact with the blacking during the whole operation, and unsightly cloths and brushes, which soil the hands, are done away with.

183. Making Gravies.--For making gravies, thickening of roast gravies, it will be found useful to have browned flour on hand at all times, which can readily be kept in a mason jar or any covered vessel.

184. Kitchen Mittens.--Kitchen mittens can be bought in several thicknesses and sizes for various branches of housework. There are thick ones, with straps across the wrist to wear when polishing the ranges, then there are others to put on when scrubbing the sink or floors, and still thinner ones with chamois cloth inside to use for polishing silverware. These mittens are a great protection to the hands and finger-nails, and they really simplify the work to a great extent.

185. To Improve Baked Potatoes.--To improve baked potatoes let them stand in a pan of cold water for about an hour, then put them in the oven while wet. This seems to steam them and cook them much quicker.

186. Meat Shortcake.--Give your household a meat shortcake sometimes. Make the shortcake as you would for a fruit filling, a rather short biscuit dough, and put between the layers creamed chicken or creamed veal, and have it served with plenty of gravy.

187. Put a handful of coarse oatmeal in the water bottle and half fill with water. Let stand half an hour, then shake well and rinse. The bottle will look like new.

188. Making a Kitchen Apron.--In making a kitchen apron, provide it with an immense pocket in which can be carried a large dustcloth. Often one notices dusty places, on the furniture, windows or banisters while doing the morning work, and the dust-cloth is at hand. Again one has to pick up numerous little articles to throw into the waste basket and the pocket holds such articles until the waste basket is reached. It is equally handy for holding a few clothes pins, while hanging out the clothes; in fact the large pocket is recognized as something decidedly useful in the kitchen apron.

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189. To Make a Neat Buttonhole.--To make a neat buttonhole in thin white material that is likely to ravel when cut, take a piece of white soap and apply it to the back of the goods using enough to make a generous coat. Cut the buttonhole and work; you will find that the work is easily done and the buttonhole will not ravel.

190. To Mark Scallops.--To mark scallops place your thimble or spool just outside the circle line and mark around it with a pencil. In this way, any sized scallop can be made.

191. Delicate Fabrics to Clean.--Delicate fabrics can be cleaned perfectly by using gasoline with a teacupful of corn meal. The meal scours out all the spots. Place the meal in a dish, pour gasoline over it, then press and rub through the hands. Apply to soiled spots, rubbing carefully. Brush out with stiff brush.

192. When Using a Lap-Board.--While sewing a garment with the material lying on the lap-board, use glass top push pins to hold the goods on the board. One pin will oftentimes be sufficient. The pin is very sharp, and is easily thrust through the material into the board, and leaves a hole about the size of that made with a needle.

193. To Shape Cookies.--Cookies can be shaped with the bottom of a "star" tumbler. Flour the bottom of the glass and press it into the unbaked cookie until the indentions are imprinted upon the cake.

194. Have You Been Hoarding an Old Foulard Dress--One of that kind of dresses which you liked and hated to part with, but it went out of style. Get it out, clean it, rip it, and if there is not enough in it to make a scant shirt-waisted one-piece empire dress, make it into a pretty shirt-waist, with knife plaiting down the front.

195. To Wash Tarnished Brass.--Save the water in which the potatoes have been boiled, and use it to wash tarnished brass. It will come out as bright as new.

196. Sewing Lace.--When sewing two raw edges of fine lace together, like the tiny lace ruffles on lingerie blouses or dresses, do not fell it in the old-fashioned way, but place the two right sides together and bind the edge with the finest thread, making a buttonhole stitch along the edges. Put a stitch in each mesh, and you will have a neat lace seam which, when pressed, can scarcely be observed, and it will not fray.

197. Roasted Chestnuts.--Roasted chestnuts are said to be very delicious when salted the same as peanuts.

198. Mud Stains, to Remove.--Mud stains will disappear from cloth by the following method of cleansing: After brushing the dry mud away sponge the remaining stain with a weak solution of ammonia and water. This is absolutely safe to apply to black cloth. Colored goods, however, should be sponged with a solution of bicarbonate of soda as the latter does not affect coloring matter.

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199. Drop Table for Kitchen.--A woman can have a kitchen made in a very cramped quarter if she provides it with a small work table, and a drop leaf table attached to the wall. If the stationary table is covered on all sides with a curtain and furnished with an undershelf, it will hold as much as a cupboard. Two large shelves will be found very convenient, even though it will be necessary to mount a chair or stool to reach the kitchen articles. Usually extremely small kitchens are more convenient than large ones, in which many steps must be taken.

200. A Convenience for Ironing Day.--The laundress who knows how to take care of herself has a high stool with rungs for her feet, on which she may sit when she is ironing the light pieces. It will help reserve her strength for the next day's work.

201. Quickest Way to Core Apples.--One of the simplest and quickest ways to core apples for baking is to use an ordinary clothes pin.

202. To Remove Iron Rust.--Tartaric acid will remove almost any iron rust blemish from material and is excellent for removing yellow marks.

203. The Kitchen Apron.--The kitchen apron 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.

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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 butter and cheese possible. It is no trouble whatever to make a pot of yellow butter, 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 butter.

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.

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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 lusterless 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.

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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 washing 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 glass lantern with wire guards outside the glass. 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.

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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. Washing 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.

245. Cleaning the Sweeping Brush.--Try cleaning the sweeping brush with an old comb. It is a good plan, for it preserves the brush and keeps it clean, and at the same time saves your hands.

246. Bright Wood Berries May be Preserved.--Almost any kind of bright wood berries may be preserved for decorative use in the winter, by dipping in melted paraffin and putting away in a cool place until needed. Treated in this way berries will remain firm and bright for a long time, and may be used in many ways.

247. Old Wood Work to Keep Clean.--Old woodwork, that is so hard to keep clean, can be made to look like new grained wood, by first painting it with cream colored paint to give a body alike, and when dry go over it with a dark oak varnish stain; with a little practice it can be made to look like grained wood. The varnish dries quickly and leaves it darker in some places. Any old furniture can be treated in the same way.

248. To Prevent Chairs Marring the Floor.--One should have all rockers covered with half rounds of rubber to prevent the scratching of the porch floor. These rocker tires are procurable at any furniture establishment and are easily adjusted.

249. Summer Homes.--Some of the wealthiest women are furnishing their summer homes with rag rugs, instead of the handsome oriental floor coverings, that are a mark of luxury; and what seems odd to those who cannot afford to please each whim, the rooms are being repapered with simple sprigged effects and all evidences of up-to-dateness are being eliminated, to be in keeping with these copies of the colonial rag carpets.

[882 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]