walnuts, and divide into small squares, and set them by in readiness;
put into a saucepan a piece of butter as big as an egg; when it is
melted, stir into it a tablespoonful of fine flour, and half a pint of
the broth of the beef; add a tablespoonful of vinegar, one of mushroom
ketchup, or port wine, or both, and a tablespoonful of made mustard;
simmer together till it is as thick as you wish, put in the parsley
and pickles to get warm, and pour it over the beef, or send it up in a
sauce-tureen. This is excellent for stewed or boiled beef.
2231. Sage-and-Onion, or Goose-Stuffing Sauce.
Chop very fine an ounce of onion and half an ounce of green sage
leaves, put them into a stewpan with four spoonfuls of water, simmer
gently for ten minutes, then put in a teaspoonful of pepper and salt,
and one ounce of fine bread-crumbs; mix well together; then pour to it
a quarter of a pint of broth, or gravy, or melted butter; stir well
together, and simmer it a few minutes longer. This is an excellent
relish for roast pork, poultry, geese or ducks, or green peas.
2232. Garnishes.
i. Parsley is the most universal garnish for all kinds of cold meat,
poultry, fish, butter, cheese, and so forth. Horseradish is the
garnish for roast beef, and for fish in general; for the latter,
slices of lemon are sometimes laid alternately with the horseradish.
ii. Slices of lemon for boiled fowl, turkey, and fish, and for roast
veal and calf's head.
iii. Carrot in slices for boiled beef, hot or cold.
iv. Barberries, fresh or preserved, for game.
v. Red beetroot sliced for cold meat, boiled beef, and salt fish.
vi. Fried smelts as garnish for turbot.
vii. Fried sausages or forcemeat balls are placed round turkey,
capon, or fowl.
viii. Lobster coral and parsley round boiled fish.
ix. Fennel for mackerel and salmon, either fresh or pickled.
x. Currant jelly for game, also for custard or bread pudding.
xi. Seville orange or lemon in slices for wild ducks, widgeons,
teal, and so forth.
xii. Mint, either with or without parsley, for roast lamb, either
hot or cold.
xiii. Pickled gherkins, capers, or onions, for some kinds of boiled
meat and stews.
[THE SEA IS THE HEAVING BOSOM OF THE WORLD.]
2233. Relish, for Chops, &c.
Pound fine an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice,
with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of scraped horseradish, and
the same of shalots, peeled and quartered; put these ingredients into
a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a
fortnight, and then strain it.
_Observe_.--A teaspoonful or two of this is generally an acceptable
addition, mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks;
or added to thick melted butter.
2234. Mock Crab.
Take any required quantity of good fat mellow cheese, pound it well in
a mortar, incorporating made mustard, salad oil, vinegar, pepper
(cayenne is the best), and salt sufficient to season and render it
about the consistence of the cream of a crab. Add and mix well half a
pint or more of pickled shrimps, and serve in a crab-shell, or on a
dish, garnished with slices of lemon.
2235. Female Dress.
It is well known that a loose and easy dress contributes much to give
the sex the fine proportions of body that are observable in the
Grecian statues, and which serve as models to our present artists,
nature being too much disfigured among us to afford any such. The
Greeks knew nothing of those ligatures and bandages with which our
bodies are compressed. Their women were ignorant of the use of stays,
by which ours distort their shape instead of displaying it. This
practice, carried to excess as it is in England, is in bad taste. To
behold a woman cut in two in the middle, as if she were like a wasp,
is as shocking to the eye as it is painful to the imagination. Such a
deformity would be shocking in a naked figure; wherefore, then, should
it be esteemed a beauty in one that is dressed? Everything that
confines and lays nature under restraint is an instance of bad taste.
This is as true in regard to the ornaments of the body as to the
embellishments of the mind. Life, health, reason, and convenience
ought to be taken first into consideration. Gracefulness cannot
subsist without ease.
2236. How to take care of your Hat.
i. Should you get caught in a shower, always remember to brush your
hat well while wet. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron
it over with a smooth flat iron.
ii. If your hat is VERY wet, or stained with _sea_ water, get a
basin of clean cold water, and a good stiff brush; wash it well all
over, but be careful to keep the nap straight; brush it as dry as
you can, then put it on a peg to dry. When dry, brush the glaze
out, and gently iron it over as above.
iii. Should you get a spot of grease on your hat, just drop one drop
of benzine or sapine on the place, and then rub it briskly with a
piece of cloth until out.
iv. Should you be travelling, always tie your hat up in a
handkerchief before putting it into your case; this will save it
from getting rubbed or damaged through the friction of the rail or
steamboat.
v. Never put your hat flat on the brim, as it will spoil its shape;
but always hung it up on a peg.
vi. Never put your hat, wet or dry, in front of the fire, as it will
soften it, and throw it all out of shape.
vii. Before putting your hat down, be careful to see if the place is
free from spots of grease, beer, sugar, &c., as these things often
spoil a good hat more than a twelvemonths' wear, and are often very
difficult to remove.
These simple rules will save a good hat for a very long time.
[MUSIC IS SOUL EMBODIED IN SOUND.]
2237. French Polishes.
i. Naphtha Polish.--Shell-lac, three pounds; wood naphtha, three
quarts. Put the shell-lac in the naphtha and let it dissolve.
ii. Spirit Polish.--Shell-lac, two pounds; powdered mastic and
sandarac, of each one ounce; copal varnish, half a pint; spirits of
wine, one gallon. Digest in the cold till dissolved.
2238. French Polish for Boots and Shoes.
Mix together two pints of the best vinegar and one pint of soft water;
stir into it a quarter of a pound of glue, broken up, half a pound of
logwood chips, a quarter of an ounce of finely powdered indigo, a
quarter of an ounce of the best soft soap, and a quarter of an ounce
of isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire, and let it boil for ten
minutes or more. Then strain the liquid, and bottle and cork it: when
cold it is fit for use. Apply it with a clean sponge.
2239. To Polish Enamelled Leather.
Two pints of the best cream, one pint of linseed oil; make them each
lukewarm, and then mix them well together. Having previously cleaned
the shoe, &c., from dirt, rub it over with a sponge dipped in the
mixture: then rub it with a soft dry cloth until a brilliant polish is
produced.
2240. Boots and Shoes.
Boots and shoes should be cleaned frequently, whether they are worn or
not, and should never be left in a damp place, nor be put too near to
the fire to dry. In cleaning them, be careful to _brush_ the dirt from
the seams, and not to scrape it off with a knife, or you may cut the
leather. Let the hard brush do its work thoroughly well, and the
polish will be all the brighter.
2241. Blacking.
Blacking is generally made with ivory black, treacle, linseed, or
sweet oil, and oil of vitriol. The proportions vary in the different
directions, and a variable quantity of water is added, as paste or
liquid blacking is required; the mode of making being otherwise
precisely the same.
2242. Liquid Blacking.
Ivory black and treacle, of each, one pound; sweet oil and oil of
vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Put the first three together
until the oil is perfectly mixed or "_killed_;" then add the oil of
vitriol, diluted with three times its weight of water, and after
standing three hours add one quart of water or sour beer. The ivory
black must be very finely ground for liquid blacking, otherwise it
settles rapidly. The oil of vitriol is powerfully corrosive when
undiluted, but uniting with the lime of the ivory black, it is partly
neutralized, and does not injure the leather, whilst it much improves
the quality of the blacking.
2243. Paste Blacking.
Ivory black, two pounds; treacle, one pound; olive oil and oil of
vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Mix as before, adding only
sufficient water to form into a paste.
2244. Best Blacking for Boots and Shoes.
Ivory black, one ounce and a half; treacle, one ounce and a half;
sperm oil, three drachms; strong oil of vitriol, three drachms; common
vinegar, half a pint. Mix the ivory black, treacle, and vinegar
together, then mix the sperm oil and oil of vitriol separately, and
add them to the other mixture.
2245. Waterproofing for Boots and Shoes (1).
Linseed oil, one pint; oil of turpentine, or camphine, a quarter of a
pint; yellow wax, a quarter of a pound; Burgundy pitch, a quarter of a
pound. Melt together with a gentle heat, and when required for use,
warm and well rub into the leather before a fire, or in the hot sun.
The composition should be poured, when melted, into small gallipots,
or tin boxes.
2246. To Render Shoes Waterproof (2).
Warm a little bees'-wax and mutton suet until it is liquid, and rub
some of it slightly over the edges of the sole, where the stitches are.
[OUT OF DEBT, OUT OF DANGER.]
2247. Directions for putting on Gutta-Percha Soles.
Dry the old sole, and rough it well with a rasp, after which, put on a
thin coat of warm solution of gutta percha with the finger, rub it
well in; let it dry, then hold it to the fire, and whilst warm, put on
a second coat of solution thicker than the first; let it dry. Then
take the gutta percha sole, and put it in hot water until it is soft;
take it out, wipe it, and hold the sole in one hand and the shoe in
the other to the fire, and they will become sticky; immediately lay
the sole on, beginning at the toe, and proceed gradually. In half an
hour, take a knife and pare it. The solution should be warmed by
putting as much as you want to use in a cup, and placing it in hot
water, taking care that no water mixes with it.
2248. Boot Tops (1).
Clean boot tops with one ounce of white vitriol, and one ounce of
oxalic acid dissolved in a quart of warm water. Apply with a clean
sponge. Or, sour milk, one pint; gum arabic, half an ounce; juice of a
lemon, white of an egg, and one ounce of vitriol, well mixed.
2249. Boot-top Liquid (2).
Oxalic acid and white vitriol, of each one ounce; water, one pint and
a half. To be applied with a sponge to the leather, previously washed,
and then wiped off again. This preparation is poisonous.
2250. Care of Gloves.
Nothing looks worse than shabby gloves; and, as they are expensive
articles in dress, they require a little management. A good glove will
outlast six cheap ones with care. Do not wear your best gloves at
night, the heat of the gas, &c., gives a moisture to the hands, that
spoils the gloves; do not wear them in very wet weather; as carrying
umbrellas, and drops of rain, spoil them.
2251. To Clean Kid Gloves (1).
Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm water, in which steep a
small piece of new flannel. Place the glove on a flat, clean, and
unyielding surface--such as the bottom of a dish, and having
thoroughly soaped the flannel (when squeezed from the lather), rub the
kid till all dirt be removed, cleaning and re-soaping the flannel
from time to time. Care must be taken to omit no part of the glove, by
turning the fingers, &c. The glove must be dried in the sun, or before
a moderate fire, and will present the appearance of old parchment.
When quite dry, they must be gradually "pulled out," and will look new.
2252. To Clean French Kid Gloves (2).
Put the gloves on your hand and wash them, as if you were washing your
hands, in some spirits of turpentine, until quite clean; then hang
them up in a warm place, or where there is a current of air, and all
smell of the turpentine will be removed.
2253. How to Wash Kid Gloves (3).
Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap
in another, and a clean cloth or towel folded three or four times. On
the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of
flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to
the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards
the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this
process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though
clean; if coloured, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry; and
old gloves will soon look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy,
smooth, well-shaped, and elastic.
2254. Preserving the Colour of Dresses.
The colours of merinos, mousseline-de-laines, ginghams, chintzes,
printed lawns, &c., may be preserved by using water that is only milk
warm; making a lather with white soap, _before_ you put in the dress,
instead of rubbing it on the material; and stirring into a first and
second tub of water a large tablespoonful of oxgall. The gall can be
obtained from the butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in
every house. No coloured articles should be allowed to remain long in
the water. They must be washed fast, and then rinsed through two cold
waters. In each, rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, which
will help to brighten the colours; and after rinsing, hang them out
immediately. When _ironing-dry_ (or still a little damp), bring them
in; have irons ready heated, and iron them at once--as it injures the
colours to allow them to remain damp too long--or sprinkle and roll
them up in a cover for ironing next day. If they cannot be
conveniently ironed immediately, let them hang till they are _quite_
dry, and then damp and fold them on the, _following day,_ a quarter of
an hour before ironing.
It is better not to do coloured dresses on the day of the general
wash, but to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be
undertaken in clear bright weather. If allowed to freeze, the colours
will be irreparably injured. We need scarcely say that no coloured
articles should ever be boiled or scalded. If you get from a shop a
slip for testing the durability of colours, give it a fair trial by
washing it as above; afterwards pinning it to the edge of a towel, and
hanging it to dry. Some colours (especially pinks and light greens),
though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon
as a warm iron is applied to them; the pink turning purplish, and the
green bluish. No coloured article should be smoothed with a _hot_
iron.
[A GAMBLER AND A SWINDLER ARE NEAR NEIGHBOURS.]
2255. To Renovate Silks (1).
Sponge faded silks with warm water and soap, then rub them with a dry
cloth on a flat board; afterwards iron them on the _inside_ with a
smoothing iron. Old black silks may be improved by sponging with
spirits; in this case, the ironing may be done on the right side, thin
paper being spread over to prevent glazing.
2256. Black Silk Reviver (2).
Boil logwood in water for half an hour; then simmer the silk half an
hour; take it out, and put into the dye a little blue vitriol, or
green copperas; cool it, and simmer the silk for half an hour. Or,
boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until it is
reduced to one pint; squeeze the leaves, and bottle the liquor for
use. When wanted, sponge the silk with this preparation.
2257. Restoring Colour to Silk (3).
When the colour has been taken from silk by acids, it may be restored
by applying to the spot a little hart's-horn, or sal volatile.
2258. To Remove Water Stains from Black Crape.
When a drop of water falls on a black crape veil or collar, it leaves
a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this, spread the crape on a
table (laying on it a large book or a paper-weight to keep it steady),
and place underneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a large
camel's-hair brush dipped in common ink go over the stain, and then
wipe off the ink with a small piece of old soft silk. It will dry at
once, and the white mark will be seen no more.
2259. To Remove Stains from Mourning Dresses.
Boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until reduced to a
pint. Bombazines, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a
sponge dipped in this liquor, and the stains will be instantly removed.
2260. Wax.
Wax may be taken out of cloth by holding a red-hot iron within an inch
or two of the marks, and afterwards rubbing them with a soft clean rag.
2261. Grease Spots from Silk.
Upon a deal table lay a piece of woollen cloth or baize, upon which
lay smoothly the part stained, with the right side downwards. Having
spread a piece of brown paper on the top, apply a flat iron just hot
enough to scorch the paper. About five or eight seconds is usually
sufficient. Then rub the stained part briskly with a piece of
whity-brown paper.
2262. Liquid for Preserving Furs from Moth.
Warm water, one pint; corrosive sublimate, twelve grains. If washed
with this, and afterwards dried, furs are safe from moth. Care should
be taken to label the liquid--_Poison._
[ONE DOUBT MAY LEAD TO DISBELIEF.]
2263. Velvet.
When Velvet gets crushed from pressure, hold the parts over a basin of
_hot_ water, with the lining of the article next the water; the pile
will soon rise, and assume its original beauty.
2264. Stockings.
Worsted and Lambs'-Wool stockings should never be mended with worsted
or lambs'-wool, because, the latter being new, it shrinks more than
the stockings, and draws them up till the toes become short and
narrow, and the heels have no shape left.
2265. Making Flannels.
All Flannels should be soaked before they are made up, first in cold,
then in hot water, in order to shrink them.
2266. Washing Flannel.
Flannel should always he washed with white soap, and in warm but not
boiling water.
2267. Brewing.
The best time of the year for brewing is the autumn. The spring is
also suitable, but less so. It is a great object to secure a moderate
temperature for the cooling of the worts, and to insure gradual
fermentation. To those who wish to enter upon the practice, without
any previous knowledge, we would advise their calling in the aid of
some one practically acquainted with the process for the first
operation. By so doing they will save a great deal of trouble,
disappointment, and expense. In all places, town or country, there
are persons who have worked in brewing establishments, or in
gentlemen's families where they have superintended the operations of
the brew-house, and the aid of such persons would be valuable. With
such assistance, the following receipts will be of importance, since
many who are able to go through the manipulations of brewing are
unaware of the proper proportions to employ:
2268. Ale.
Take three bushels of malt, three pounds of hops, fifty-two gallons of
water, for two workings. Or,--malt, two bushels and a half; sugar,
three pounds; hops, three pounds; coriander seeds, one ounce;
capsicum, a drachm. Thirty-six gallons. This gives a pleasant ale,
with a good body.
2269. Amber Ale.
Three bushels of amber malt, three quarters of a bushel of pale amber
malt, two pounds of hops, a tablespoonful of salt. Three mashes, forty
to fifty gallons. Skim, and fine with isinglass.
2270. Burton Ale.
One quarter of pale malt, eight pounds and a half pale hops; mash
three times. Work the first mash at 170°, second at 176°, third at
150°. Boil the first wort by itself; when boiling add three pounds of
honey, a pound and a half of coriander seeds, one ounce of salt. Mix
the worts when boiled, cool to 61°, set to work with a pint and a half
of yeast. As soon as the liquor gets yeasty, skim the head half off;
rouse the rest with another pint and a half of yeast, three quarters
of an ounce of bay salt, and a quarter of a pound of malt or bean
flour. This makes a hogshead.
2271. Edinburgh Ale.
Mash two barrels per quarter, at 183°; mash for three quarters of an
hour; let it stand one hour, and allow half an hour to run off. Or,
mash one barrel per quarter, at 190°; mash three quarters of an hour,
let it stand three quarters of an hour, and tap.
2272. Porter.
Brown amber and pale malt, in equal quantities; turn them into the
mash-tub. Turn on the first liquor at 165°; mash one hour, then coat
the whole with dry malt. In one hour set the tap. Mix ten pounds of
brown hops to a quarter of malt, half old, half new; boil the first
wort briskly with the hops for three quarters of an hour, after
putting into the copper one pound and a half of sugar, and one pound
and a half of extract of liquorice to the barrel, turn it into
coolers, rousing the wort the while. Turn on the second liquor at
174°, set tap again in an hour. The second wort having run off, turn
on again at 145°; mash an hour, and stand an hour; boil the second
wort with the same hops for one hour. Turn into the coolers, and let
into the tub at 64°, mixing the yeast as it comes down. Cleanse the
second day at 80°, previously adding a mixture of flour and salt, and
rousing well.
[WHEN IN MOTION, TO PUSH ON IS EASY.]
2273. Making Wines.
Wines from Rhubarb, Unripe Grapes, Currants, Gooseberries, &c.--The
whole art of wine-making consists in the proper management of the
fermenting process; the same quantity of fruit, whether it be rhubarb,
currants, gooseberries, unripe grapes, leaves, tops, and tendrils,
water, and sugar, will produce two different kinds of wine, by varying
the process of fermentation only--that is, a dry wine like sherry, or
a brisk beverage like champagne; but neither rhubarb, currants, nor
gooseberries will produce a wine with the true champagne flavour; it
is to be obtained only from the fruit of the grape, ripe or unripe,
its leaves, tops, and tendrils. The following receipt will do for
rhubarb, or any of the above-mentioned fruits.
2274. English Champagne.
Take fifty pounds of rhubarb and thirty-seven pounds of fine moist
sugar. Provide a tub that will hold from fifteen to twenty gallons,
taking care that it has a hole for a tap near the bottom. In this tub
bruise the rhubarb; when done, add four gallons of water; let the
whole be well stirred together; cover the tub with a cloth or blanket,
and let the materials stand for twenty-four hours; then draw off the
liquor through the tap; add one or two more gallons of water to the
pulp, let it be well stirred, and then allowed to remain an hour or
two to settle, then draw off; mix the two liquors together, and in it
dissolve the sugar.
Let the tub be made clean, and return the liquor to it, cover it with
a blanket, and place it in a room the temperature of which is not
below 60° Fahr.; here it is to remain for twenty-four, forty-eight, or
more hours, until there is an appearance of fermentation having begun,
when it should be drawn off into the ten-gallon cask, as fine as
possible, which cask must be filled up to the bung-hole with water, if
there is not liquor enough; let it lean to one side a little, that it
may discharge itself; if there is any liquor left in the tub not quite
fine, pass it through flannel, and fill up with that instead of water.
As the fermentation proceeds and the liquor diminishes, it must be
filled up daily, to encourage the fermentation, for ten or twelve
days; it then becomes more moderate, when the bung should be put in,
and a gimlet hole made at the side of it, fitted with a spile; this
spile should be taken out every two or three days, according to the
state of the fermentation, for eight or ten days, to allow some of the
carbonic acid gas to escape. When this state is passed, the cask may
he kept full by pouring a little liquor in at the vent-hole once a
week or ten days, for three or four weeks.
This operation is performed at long intervals, of a month or more,
till the end of December, when on a fine frosty day it should be drawn
off from the lees as fine as possible; and the turbid part passed
through flannel. Make the cask clean, return the liquor to it, with
one drachm of isinglass (pure) dissolved in a little water; stir the
whole together, and put the bung in firmly.
Choose a clear dry day in March for bottling. The bottles should be
champagne bottles--common wine bottles are not strong enough; secure
the corks in a proper manner with wire, &c. The liquor is generally
made up to two or three pints over the ten gallons, which is bottled
for the purpose of filling the cask as it is wanted. The wine contains
spirit enough without the addition of brandy, which spoils all wines;
a proper fermentation producing spirit enough.