Each man has more of four thing than he knows.
What four are these? Sins, debts, fears and woes.
--From the French.
Sanitary Care of Baby's Bottles.--To wash and cleanse baby's bottles
satisfactorily, have a good stout bottle brush; make a strong suds of hot
water and soap or soap powder; wash the bottles thoroughly, using the
brush, then rinse several times, using the hot water and borax, and drain.
Before using bottles, always rinse again with hot water. With this care
there should be no trouble with sour or cloudy bottles.
Moulded by Circumstances.--In all our reasonings concerning men we must
lay it down as a maxim that the greater part are moulded by
circumstances.--Robert Hall.
Forming Habits.--The trouble with most bad habits is that they are so
quickly formed in small children. The mother relaxes her care for a day or
two, and a new trick appears, or the work of weeks on an old one is
undone. What is true of physical habits is equally so of the moral habits.
A tiny baby of a few months old knows very well if the habit of loud
crying will procure for it what it wants, and if not cheeked will develop
into the irritable whining adult we are all acquainted with. Habits of
disrespect, of indifference to the rights of others, of cruelty, may all
be irresistibly formed or dispelled in the first few years of life.
[816 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Chains of Habit.--The diminutive chains of habit are seldom heavy enough
to be felt, till they are too strong to be broken.--Samuel Johnson. Unique
Table Protector.--Many mothers prefer to bring their young children to the
family table on ordinary occasions when there are no guests. At the same
time they dislike to mar the appearance of their table with the tin waiter
which is usually set before the children to protect the cloth against the
depredations of dropped bread and milk. A clever device for this purpose
is made of two oblong pieces of butcher's linen sewed together in the form
of a case, with an oilcloth interlining. The linen is hemmed neatly so
that it looks like an oblong napkin, and while it protects the cloth and
the table it protects the table underneath; being white, like the cloth
itself, it does not spoil the looks of the table. When soiled the oilcloth
is slipped out and wiped off with a damp cloth, and the linen case goes
with the tablecloth and napkin. Several of these cases will be needed, for
the ordinary enterprising baby, but one piece of oilcloth will be
sufficient for a long time.
Banish Tears.--Banish the tears of children; continual rains upon the
blossoms are hurtful.--Jean Paul Richter.
Folding Bathtub.--The thing most desired by a young mother in these days
is a bathtub for the baby made of sheet rubber that is attached to a
campstool foundation. It can be folded up and put out of the way when not
in use, and it telescopes into a small bundle when one wants to travel.
Flowers.--Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put
a soul into.--Henry Ward Beecher.
Correct Length of Clothes.--In making long clothes for the baby it is well
to remember that the correct length for long dresses is one yard from the
shoulder to the hem. The petticoats should be made the same lengths as the
dresses, or perhaps a half inch shorter.
Life.--A pendulum betwixt a smile and tear.--Byron.
[DOMESTIC SCIENCE 817]