MACASSAR OIL.--This popular and pleasant unguent for the hair can (_as
we know_) be prepared at home, so as to equal, in efficacy and
appearance, any that is for sale in the shops; and at less than
one-third the expense. Take half an ounce of chippings of alkanet root,
which may be bought at a druggist’s, for a few cents. Divide this
quantity into two portions, and having cleared away any dust that may be
about the alkanet, put each portion of the chips into a separate bit of
new bobbinet, or very clear muslin. In tying it, use white thread, or
fine white cotton cord; as a coloured string may communicate a dirty
tinge to the oil. Put these little bags into a large glass tumbler, or a
straight-sided white-ware jar, and pour on half a pint of the best fresh
olive oil. Cover the vessel, and leave it undisturbed, for several days,
or a week; taking care not to shake or stir it; and do not press or
squeeze the bags. Have ready some small, flat-bottomed phials, or one
large one, that will hold half a pint. Take out carefully the bags of
alkanet, and lay them on a saucer. You will find that they have coloured
the oil a bright, beautiful crimson. The bags will serve a second time
for the same purpose. Put into the bottom of each phial a small quantity
of any pleasant perfume; such as oil of orange-flowers; jessamine; rose;
carnation; bergamot; oil of rhodium; oil of ambergris; or oil of cloves,
mixed with a little tincture of musk. Then fill up each phial with the
coloured oil, poured in through a small funnel; and, corking them
tightly, tie a piece of white kid leather over the top.
To use macassar oil, (observing _never to shake the bottle_,) pour a
little into a saucer, and, with your finger, rub it through the roots of
the hair.
ANTIQUE OIL.--This is a fine oil for the hair. Mix together, in a clean
glass vessel, half a pint of oil of sweet almonds, and half a pint of
the best olive oil. Then scent it with any sort of perfume.
To give it the colour and odour of roses, infuse, in the mixed oil, a
small, thin muslin bag of alkanet chips, and set it in a warm place,
till coloured of a beautiful pink. Then remove the bag of alkanet, and
perfume the oil with ottar of roses. Put it immediately into a bottle,
and cork it well.
For a violet perfume, infuse, in the above quantity of the mixed oils,
an ounce of the best orris powder. Let it stand, in a warm place, for a
week; then pour the whole into a strainer, press out the liquid, and
bottle it.
For an orange perfume, scent the oil with essence of neroli, or
orange-flowers.
For jasmine, with extract of jasmine.
For bergamot, with essence of bergamot.
OIL OF CASSIA.--Put into a wide-mouthed glass vessel, an ounce of ground
cassia. Heat three ounces of the best oil of cloves; and, while warm,
pour it on the cassia. Cover it closely, and let it stand a week. Then
press it through a sieve, placed over a bowl. Transfer it to small
bottles, and cork them closely. It is a fine perfume. To weaken it, add
a little _inodorous_ alcohol, which, on inquiring for, you can obtain at
the druggists’.
MILLEFLEURS PERFUME.--Mix together an ounce of oil of lavender; an ounce
of essence of lemon; an ounce and a quarter of oil of ambergris; and
half an ounce of oil of carraway. Add half a pint of alcohol, or
spirits of wine, which should be of the inodorous sort. Shake all well
together. Let it stand a week, closely corked, in a large bottle. You
may then divide it in small bottles.
By mixing this perfume with equal quantities of olive oil, and oil of
sweet almonds, instead of alcohol, you will have what is called
millefleurs antique oil, which is used to improve the hair of young
persons.
FRENCH HUNGARY WATER.--Take two large handfuls of the flowers and young
leaves of rosemary; with a handful of lavender-blossoms; half a handful
of thyme-blossoms; and half a handful of sage. Mix them well; put them
into a large glass jar or bottle, and pour on a quart of inodorous
spirits of wine. Then put in, as a colouring, some small bits of alkanet
tied in a thin muslin bag. Cork the bottle closely, and shake it about
for a while. Let it infuse during a month, exposed to the heat of the
sun. Then strain it, and transfer it to smaller bottles.
FINE LAVENDER WATER.--Mix together, in a clean bottle, a pint of
inodorous spirit of wine; an ounce of oil of lavender; a tea-spoonful of
oil of bergamot; and a table-spoonful of oil of ambergris.
BERGAMOT WATER.--Melt a pound of the best broken-up loaf-sugar in a pint
of water; add the yellow rind of six lemons or oranges, pared very thin.
Set it over the fire, and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise.
Then add the juice of the lemons or oranges; having squeezed it through
a strainer into a bowl. After stirring in the juice, take the syrup from
the fire, remove the pieces of rind, and stir in a tea-spoonful of
genuine essence of bergamot. Bottle it, and it will be immediately fit
for drinking. Pour some of it into a glass, and add a little ice-water.
It will be found very fine.
TO PERFUME SOAP.--Take half a pound or more of the best white soap.
Shave it down with a knife. Put the shavings into a clean white-ware
jar; cover the top closely, and secure the cover by tying down a cloth
over it. Set it into a large kettle or sauce-pan of hot water. The water
must not come up near the top of the jar. It is well to place a trivet
in the bottom of the kettle for the jar to stand on, so that a portion
of the water may go under it. Place the kettle over the fire, or in a
hot stove, and keep it boiling hard, till the soap in the jar within is
thoroughly dissolved. It must become liquid all through, and have no
lumps in it. Stir it well when done; and add, while warm, a sufficient
portion of any nice perfume to scent it highly. For instance, oil of
bitter almonds; extract of verbena; tincture of musk, or ambergris; oil
of rhodium; oil of bergamot, lavender, jessamine, rose, cinnamon,
cloves, &c. Having well stirred in the perfume, transfer the melted soap
to gallicups, or little square tin-pans, and set it away to cool and
harden. Afterwards, take out the cakes of soap, and wrap each cake
closely in soft paper. Put them away where the air cannot reach them.
COLUMBIAN SOAP.--Blanch, in scalding water, two ounces of bitter
almonds. Beat them in a mortar with an ounce of gum camphor, till
completely mixed; putting in, with every almond, a morsel of the
camphor. Then beat in an ounce and a quarter of tincture of benjamin,
and remove the mixture to a bowl. Afterwards, having shaved down a pound
of the best white soap, beat that also in the mortar; mixing with it,
gradually, as you proceed, the above ingredients, till the whole is
thoroughly incorporated. Divide it into equal portions, and roll it
with your hands into the form of balls. This soap will be found very
fine.
If you wish to have it in cakes, after you have shaved down the white
soap, put it into a clean jar, cover it, and set the jar into a pot of
boiling water, placed over the fire. When the soap is melted, remove it
from the fire; and when it begins to cool, (but is still liquid,) stir
in the other ingredients that have been mixed together as above. Then
mould it in little square tin pans, and set it to cool. When quite cold,
take it out of the pan, and wrap each cake in paper.
GOOD TOOTH-POWDER.--Procure, at a druggist’s, half an ounce of powdered
orris-root, half an ounce of prepared chalk finely pulverized, and two
or three small lumps of dutch pink. Let them all be mixed in a mortar,
and pounded together. The dutch pink is to impart a pale reddish colour.
Keep it in a close box.
ANOTHER TOOTH-POWDER.--Mix together, in a mortar, half an ounce of red
Peruvian bark, finely powdered; a quarter of an ounce of powdered myrrh;
and a quarter of an ounce of prepared chalk.
PARCHMENT GLUE.--Take half a pound of clean parchment cuttings, and boil
it in three quarts of soft water till reduced to one pint. Then strain
it from the dregs, and boil it again, till of the consistence of strong
glue.
LIP GLUE.--Take of isinglass and parchment glue, of each one ounce;
sugar-candy and gum tragacanth, each two drachms. Boil them in an ounce
of water, till the mixture is of the consistence of thick glue. When
cold, roll it between your hands, till you get it into the form of small
sticks, like sealing-wax.
By wetting it with your tongue, and rubbing the moistened end of the
stick on the edges of the paper that you wish to unite, it will, when
dry, form a firm cement. A stick of lip-glue is very convenient to take
with you when travelling, in case you should have occasion for some sort
of paste.
PERPETUAL PASTE.--Buy, at a druggist’s, an ounce of the best gum
tragacanth, (sometimes called gum dragon,) and six cents’ worth of
powdered corrosive sublimate. Pick the gum tragacanth clean, and put it
into a wide-mouthed glass or white-ware vessel, that will hold a quart.
Add as much corrosive sublimate as will lie on a five-cent piece. Pour
on a pint and a half of clear cold, soft water. Cover the vessel, and
let it stand till next day. The gum tragacanth will then be much
swelled, and nearly to the top of the vessel. Stir it down to the bottom
with a stick, as the corrosive sublimate will blacken a metal spoon.
Stir it several times during that day; but afterwards, do not stir it at
all; leaving it to form a smooth white mass, like a very thick jelly.
Then cover it closely, and set it away for use; taking care to keep it
out of the way of children, as the corrosive sublimate will render it
poisonous if swallowed.
This paste will keep to an indefinite period, if the air is carefully
excluded from it, and if it is not transferred to a vessel made of any
sort of metal. It forms a strong, colourless, and firm cement for paper,
&c.; and when once made, may be kept always at hand; and is most
convenient for all sorts of pasting; particularly little things, for
which it would seem scarcely worth while to take the trouble of boiling
flour-paste. It only spoils when kept in metal, or from long exposure to
the air.
We can certify to its superiority over all other paste, having the
experience of using it continually. The advantage of its being always
ready is an important recommendation. Try it, and you will be induced to
keep it constantly in the house.
GUM-ARABIC PASTE.--Take a common-sized tea-cup of cold, soft water, and
dissolve in it a large tea-spoonful of the best and cleanest powdered
gum-arabic. When the gum is entirely melted, stir in, by degrees, a
table-spoonful of fine wheat flour; carefully pressing out all the
lumps, and making it as smooth as possible. Keep it closely covered, and
in a cool place. If, after a few days, it should appear spotted or
mouldy on the top, remove the surface, and the paste beneath will still
be fit for use. This is a good cement for artificial flowers, and for
ornamental pasteboard work.
CEMENT FOR JARS AND BOTTLES.--According to the quantity of cement
required, take one-third bees-wax and two-thirds rosin. Pound the rosin
to a fine powder, and then put it, with the bees-wax, into any sauce-pan
or skillet suited to the purpose, and set them over the fire to melt.
When it becomes thoroughly liquid, take it off the fire, and stir in
some finely-powdered brickdust, till the mixture becomes as thick as
melted sealing-wax. Then plaster it, warm, round the covers of your
preserve or pickle-jars. If you use it for bottles, first cork them
tightly, and then dip their tops into the cement. It will dry in a few
minutes. This cement is very strong and very cheap, and especially
useful for articles that are to be carried to sea.
COVERING FOR CORKS.--The odour of a cologne bottle, or of any other
scented liquid, may be prevented from escaping by keeping the cork and
the neck of the bottle covered with the finger-end or thumb of an old
kid glove, cut off, for the purpose, at a suitable length and breadth,
and stretched or drawn down closely and tightly. This is more convenient
than the usual kid-leather covers, that must be untied and tied again
whenever the bottles are opened.
MILK OF ROSES.--Mix together a pint of rose-water, and an ounce of oil
of sweet almonds. Then add ten drops of oil of tartar. Bottle it, and
shake it well. It is good for the hands.
EXCELLENT POMATUM.--Melt some beef’s marrow on a slow fire, being
careful not to let it burn; then strain it several times over, that it
may be well purified. When partially cool, beat in some _castor_ oil, a
table-spoonful at a time. The proportion should be two-thirds of melted
marrow to one-third of oil. Perfume it by stirring in, as you proceed,
any sort of essential oil that is not too pungent. You may give it a
fine red colouring by putting in, after the marrow has melted, some
chips of alkanet tied in a very thin muslin bag, letting it remain till
the tint is thoroughly infused. Keep it in covered gallicups. A little
rubbed every day, or twice or three times a week, with the finger among
the roots of the hair, will greatly improve its growth and softness.
AN EXCELLENT WAY OF IMPROVING THE HAIR.--Once in three days take some
rich _unskimmed_ milk that has been made sour by standing in the sun.
Stir it up, so as to mix all through it the cream that has collected on
the surface. Wash the hair with this, rubbing it well into the roots.
Let it remain on the hair about a quarter of an hour or more. Then wash
it off, with a lather of white soap and warm water; rinsing the hair,
afterwards, with fresh water, either warm or cold, according to the
season. This is an Asiatic process; and if continued every third day,
seldom fails to render the hair of young people thick, soft, and glossy.
TO HAVE GOOD HAIR.--The women of Germany have remarkably fine and
luxuriant hair. The following is their most usual method of managing it.
About once a fortnight, boil for half an hour or more, a large handful
of bran in a quart of soft water. Strain it into a basin, and let it
cool till it is merely tepid or milk-warm. Rub into it a little white
soap; then dip in the corner of a soft linen towel, and wash your head
with it, thoroughly; dividing or parting aside the hair all over; so as
to reach the roots. Next take the yolk of an egg, (slightly beaten in a
saucer,) and with your fingers rub it well into the roots of the hair.
Let it rest a few minutes; and then wash it off entirely, with a cloth
dipped in pure water; and rinse your hair well, till all the yolk of egg
has disappeared from it. Afterwards, wipe and rub it dry with a towel,
and comb the hair up from your head, parting it with your fingers. In
winter it is best to do all this near the fire.
Have ready some soft pomatum, made of fresh beef-marrow, boiled with a
little almond oil or olive oil, stirring it all the time till it is well
amalgamated, and as thick as an ointment. When you take it from the fire
(and not before) stir into it a little mild perfume; such as rose-water,
orange-flower water, extract of roses, oil of carnations, or essence of
violets. Put it into gallicups that have lids, and keep it for use;
always well-covered. Take a very small quantity of this pomatum, and rub
it among your hair on the skin of your head, after it has been washed as
above.
At any time you may make your hair curl more easily by rubbing into it
some beaten yolk of egg, (washed off, afterwards with clear water,) and
then putting on a little pomatum before you pin up your curls. It is
well always to go through this process when you resume curls after
having worn your hair plain.
All hair should be combed every morning with a fine-toothed comb, to
remove the dust which insensibly gets into it during the preceding day,
and to keep the skin of the head always clean.
To prevent your bonnet being injured by any oiliness about your hair,
baste a piece of white or yellow oiled silk inside of that part of the
bonnet where the crown unites with the brim, carrying the silk some
distance up into the crown, and some distance down into the brim or
front.
Clean your head-brushes by washing them thoroughly with a bit of soft
sponge tied on the end of a stick, and dipped into a warm solution of
pearlash, prepared by dissolving a large table-spoonful of pearlash in a
pint of boiling water. When the bristles have thus been made quite
clean, rinse the brushes in hot water; letting them remain in it till it
becomes cool, or cold. Afterwards, drain the brushes; wipe them with a
clean cloth; and set them upright before the fire to dry.
The most convenient way of cleaning combs is with a strong silk thread,
made fast to the handle of a bureau-drawer--in front of which, seat
yourself with a towel spread over your lap to catch whatever impurities
may fall from the comb. Holding the comb in your left hand, and the
thread in your right, pass the thread hard between each of the
comb-teeth. Afterwards wash the comb in soap-suds, rinse it in cold
water, and dry it with a clean cloth.
SALT OF LEMON OR STAIN POWDER.--This powder, which is erroneously called
salt of lemon, is in reality composed simply of equal portions of finely
pulverized salt of sorrel and cream of tartar, (for instance an ounce of
each,) mixed together in a mortar, and afterwards put into small covered
boxes, or gallipots. It will immediately remove ink spots, fruit stains,
&c., from the hands or from any articles of _white_ linen or muslin;
first wetting the place with water (warm water is best) and then with
your finger rubbing on the powder, till the stain disappears.
Immediately afterwards wash it off with soap-suds. If applied to a
_coloured_ article that has been inked or stained, the powder in
removing the stain will take out the colour. But the colour
(particularly if black) may in most cases be restored by rubbing the
place with hartshorn; which if very strong should be somewhat diluted
with water, or it will leave a tinge of its own. If the hartshorn fails
to restore the colour, it is on account of some peculiarity in the dye.
It is always worth trying. We have seen a large splash of ink taken out
of a carpet by first wetting it with warm water and rubbing on some of
the above-mentioned stain powder. The colours were all restored to their
former brightness by afterwards applying hartshorn. Next day, the place
where the ink had been spilled on the carpet could not be distinguished.
We have also known the same experiment tried with perfect success on a
mousseline de laine dress on which an ink-stand had been overset.
Ink spots can be removed from _white_ clothes by the simple application
of a bit of clean tallow picked from the bottom of a mould candle,
rubbed on the ink spot, and left sticking there when the article goes
into the wash-tub. It will come out of the wash freed from the ink
stain.
This stain powder should be kept out of the way of children, as if
swallowed it is poisonous.
Fresh lemon-juice mixed with a little salt is excellent for removing
stains of ink, iron mould, &c.
TO MAKE GREASE BALLS.--Shave down half a pound of white soap, and mix it
with three ounces of fuller’s earth, powdered. Then mix together three
ounces of ox-gall, and two ounces of spirits of turpentine. With this,
moisten the soap and fuller’s earth, till you have a stiff paste. Mix it
thoroughly, and beat it well. Make it into balls with your hands, and
place the balls where they will dry slowly. To use it, scrape down a
sufficiency, and spread it on the grease spot. Let it rest awhile; then
brush it off, and scrape and apply some more. A few applications will
generally remove the grease.
TO EXTRACT GREASE WITH CAMPHINE OIL.--Grease of the very worst sort (for
instance whale oil) may be extracted successfully even from silks,
ribbons, and other delicate articles, by means of camphine oil, which
can always be procured at the lamp-stores. As this oil is best when
fresh, get but a small quantity at a time. Pour some camphine into a
clean cup, and dip lightly into it a bit of clean, soft, white rag. With
this rub the grease spot. Then take a fresh rag dipped in the camphine,
and continue rubbing till the grease is extracted, which will be very
soon. You will find the colour of the article uninjured. To remove the
turpentine odour of the camphine, rub the place with cologne water or
strong spirits of wine, and expose it to the open air. If any of the
camphine-scent remains, repeat the cologne. We have known lamp oil
removed from white satin by this process.
FINE YELLOW COLOURING FOR WALLS.--Procure from a paint-shop one pound of
chrome yellow, and three pounds of whiting. Mix and grind them
thoroughly together; and then add a quart of boiling water, and stir it
well in. Next boil a quarter of a pound of glue in a quart of water, and
when completely dissolved, add it immediately to the mixture, and stir
the whole very hard. Thin it with more water till you get it of the
desired consistence. It will be a beautiful yellow, approaching to lemon
colour.
BLUE WASH FOR WALLS.--Get a pound of blue vitriol from a drug or paint
store, and have it powdered very finely in a mortar. Provide also two
quarts of lime. Take six cents’ worth of glue, and boil it in a quart of
soft water till thoroughly dissolved. Put the powdered vitriol into a
wooden bucket, and when the glue-water is cold, pour it on the vitriol,
and mix and stir it well. When the vitriol is dissolved in the
glue-water, stir in by degrees the two quarts of lime. Then try the tint
of the mixture by dipping a piece of white paper into it; and when it
dries, you can judge if it is the colour you want. It should be a clear
light beautiful blue. If you think it too dark, add some more lime. If
too pale, stir in a little more of the powdered vitriol. It is well to
provide an extra quantity of each of the articles, in case a little more
of one or the other should be required on trial of the colour.
TO CLEAN WHITEWASH BRUSHES.--Wash off, with cold water, the lime from
the bristles of the brush; and scrub well with a hard scrubbing-brush
the part where the bristles are fixed into the wood. This should be done
at once, as soon as the whitewashing for that day is finished. It is far
better than to let them soak all night.
AN EASY WAY TO MAKE INK.--Take two ounces of the best and most perfect
nut-galls, and bruise them to pieces with a hammer. Put them into a
large mug, with half an ounce of copperas, and a quarter of an ounce of
powdered gum-arabic. Pour on a pint of boiling water. Cover the vessel,
and let it stand in a warm place for a week; frequently stirring the
contents with a stick. Afterwards leave it one day undisturbed; and then
pour off the liquid through a funnel into a bottle; in the bottom of
which you have put half a dozen cloves or a spoonful of brandy, either
of which will prevent the ink from moulding. Keep the bottle closely
corked.
TO USE DURABLE INK.--It is an error (rectified by experience) to wash as
soon as possible articles that have been marked with durable ink. On the
contrary, they should be kept _without washing_ for at least a week. If
washed too soon, the soap and water will disturb the ink before it is
thoroughly dried in, causing the letters to spread and look rough. Also,
it will not be so good a black. Every time, before using it, set the
little bottle with the marking liquid in the sun, or before a bright
fire; and then stir it up from the bottom. This will increase its
blackness. After putting the wash or gum-liquid on the place to be
marked, dry it by the fire or in the hot sun, and then iron it smoothly.
Do not write the name till next day, and then, as above mentioned, set
the marking ink in the sun, and stir it up from the bottom. When the
name is written, dry it as soon as possible, and then iron it again.
Durable ink may be extracted by wetting the writing with hot water, and
then rubbing on a little sal-ammonia.
After making durable ink, set the marking liquid or lunar caustic
preparation for three or four days in the hot sun; otherwise it will not
become black.
SUMACH INK.--The milk or gum that exudes from the sumach is a good
substitute for durable ink. Break off the stalks that support the
leaves. Squeeze them into a cup, and write with the liquid. Expose it to
the sun and it will become a fine black.
VERY FINE INK.--Into a large jar or pitcher put half a pound of the best
Aleppo galls, broken up with a hammer or flat-iron; but not pounded.
Pour on two quarts of soft water, nearly of boiling heat. Cover the
vessel; and let it stand on a warm hearth or in the hot sun for a
fortnight; stirring it to the bottom twice a day, with a stick. At the
end of the fortnight, add two ounces of green copperas; two ounces of
logwood chips; two ounces of gum-arabic; half an ounce of alum; and half
an ounce of sugar-candy. Let the whole remain in a moderate heat a
fortnight longer; stirring it twice a day. Keep the mouth of the vessel
covered with paper only, tied down over it. On the last day, do not stir
it, but pour the ink through a strainer into another vessel, and then
with a funnel transfer it to bottles. Pour a small tea-spoonful or more
of brandy into the top of each bottle, if small. To a pint bottle there
should be a table-spoonful of brandy. This will preserve the ink from
moulding. Cork the bottles well, and seal the corks. Keep them in a
place of temperate heat.
In buying Aleppo galls get those that are dark coloured, heavy, and free
from holes.
GOOD INK.--Bruise two ounces of Aleppo galls; put them into a pitcher
with half an ounce of copperas, and a quarter of an ounce of gum arabic.
Pour on a pint of soft water at boiling heat. Cover it, and let it stand
a week; stirring it several times a day, except on the last day. Then
pour it through a funnel into a bottle that has half a dozen cloves in
it. In pouring, see that you do not disturb the sediment at the bottom
of the pitcher. Cork the bottle tightly.
TO SOFTEN SPONGES.--A sponge, when first purchased, is frequently hard,
stiff, and gritty. To soften it, and dislodge the particles of sea-sand
from its crevices, (having first soaked and squeezed it through several
cold waters,) put the sponge into a clean tin sauce-pan, set it over the
fire, and boil it a quarter of an hour. Then take it out, put it into a
bowl of cold water, and squeeze it well. Wash out the sauce-pan, and
return the sponge to it, filling up with clean cold water, and boil it
another quarter of an hour. Repeat the process, giving it three boils in
fresh water; or more than three if you find it still gritty. Take care
not to boil it too long, or it will become tender, and drop to pieces.
You may bleach it by adding to the water a few drops of oil of vitriol.
The Mediterranean sponges are the best.
After using a sponge, always wash it immediately in clean water, squeeze
it out, and put it to dry.
TO REMOVE THE ODOUR FROM A VIAL.--The odour of its last contents may be
removed from a vial by filling it with cold water, and letting it stand
in any airy place uncorked for three days; changing the water every day.
TO LOOSEN A GLASS STOPPER.--The manner in which apothecaries loosen
glass stoppers when there is difficulty in getting them out, is to press
the thumb of the right hand very hard against the lower part of the
stopper, and then give the stopper a twist the other way, with the thumb
and fore-finger of the left hand; keeping the bottle stiff in a steady
position.
TO GET A BROKEN CORK OUT OF A BOTTLE.--If in drawing a cork it breaks,
and the lower part falls down into the liquid, tie a long loop in a bit
of twine, or small cord, and put it in; holding the bottle so as to
bring the piece of cork near to the lower part of the neck. Catch it in
the loop, so as to hold it stationary. You can then easily extract it
with a cork-screw.
TO PURIFY THE ATMOSPHERE OF A ROOM.--Mix, in a cup, some brown sugar,
with sufficient water to make it a thick liquid. Put a hot coal on a
shovel; pour on the coal a tea-spoonful, or more, of the sugar, and
carry it carefully about the room. The smoke will entirely remove any
disagreeable odour. If the sugar is thrown dry upon the hot coal, it
will blaze up, and burn out immediately, without effecting the desired
purpose; but if mixed with a little water, it will not blaze at all, but
the vapour arising from it will continue to smoke, till the unpleasant
smell is entirely dispelled.
A few sprigs of lavender, laid on hot coals, and carried round the room,
on a shovel, is a good remedy for a disagreeable odour.
Chloride of lime, sprinkled on dry, will, _unfailingly_, dispel the
effluvia of any ill-scented substance. It is very cheap. A jar of it
should be kept in every house; as, for this purpose, there is nothing
more effectual.
TO CLEAN JARS.--There is frequently much trouble in cleaning the inside
of jars that have contained sweet-meats, pickles, mince-meat, &c., so as
entirely to remove all the odour of their former contents, before they
can be used for another purpose. If the jars are of stone, fill them up
with scalding water, and let them stand awhile. If of white-ware, or
glass, the water must be merely warm; for if hot, it will crack them.
Then stir in a large tea-spoonful, or more, of pearlash. Whatever of
the former contents has remained sticking about, and adhering to the
sides and bottom, will immediately disengage itself, and float loose
through the water. Afterwards empty the jar, and if any odour lingers
about its inside, fill it again with warm water and a spoonful of
pearlash, and let it stand, undisturbed, a few hours, or till next day.
Then empty it again, and rinse it with cold water. Wash phials in the
same manner. Also, the inside of tea, coffee, and chocolate-pots. If you
cannot, conveniently, obtain pearlash, the same purpose may be answered,
nearly as well, by filling the vessels with strong lye, poured off clear
from the wood-ashes. For kegs, buckets, crocks, or other large vessels,
lye may always be used.
TO CLEAN LOOKING-GLASSES.--Take a newspaper, or a part of one, according
to the size of the glass. Fold it small, and dip it into a basin of
clean, cold water. When thoroughly wetted, squeeze it out in your hand,
as you would a sponge; and then rub it, hard, all over the face of the
glass; taking care that it is not so wet that the moisture will stream
down the glass. Also, if any drops get beneath the frame, and behind the
glass, they will remain there, in bubbles, and cannot be dislodged,
without removing the board at the back. There is no danger of any such
accidents, if the newspaper is merely moistened, or damped throughout;
without being so wet as to drip. After the glass has been well rubbed,
with the damp paper, let it rest a minute. Then go over it with a fresh
newspaper, (folded small in your hand,) till it looks clear and bright;
which it will, almost immediately. Finish with a fresh piece of
newspaper, thoroughly dry.
This method, simple as it is, will be found, on trial, the best and
most expeditious way of cleaning mirrors, or any plate-glass; giving a
clearness and polish, that cannot be so soon produced by any other
process. The inside of window-panes may be cleaned in this manner; the
windows having been first washed on the _outside_. Also, the glasses of
spectacles, &c. The glass globe of a lamp may thus be cleaned with
newspapers.
The efficacy is attributed to the materials used in making the
printing-ink.
TO REMOVE DARK STAINS FROM SILVER.--There are many substances that
communicate a dark, inky stain to silver spoons, forks, &c.; a stain
sometimes so inveterate as to resist all common applications. A certain
remedy is, to pour a little sulphuric acid into a saucer; wet with it a
soft linen rag; and rub it on the blackened silver, till the stain
disappears. Then brighten the article with whiting, finely powdered and
sifted, and moistened with spirits of wine. When the whiting has dried
on, and rested a quarter of an hour, or more, wipe it off with a silk
handkerchief, and polish with a soft buckskin.
TO CLEAN RINGS, BROOCHES, AND OTHER JEWELRY.--Put a little hartshorn
into a saucer; dip into it a clean, soft rag, from an old cambric
handkerchief. With the rag, go carefully over the jewelry, on both
sides. Then dry and polish, with another bit of soft rag; and, finally,
with a soft piece of old silk. Precious stones, mosaics and cameos may
be cleaned in this manner. To brighten pearls, tear off a small bit of
pin-paper, (such as rows of pins are stuck in,) roll it up, and, with
the end of the roll, rub each pearl, separately; renewing the paper
frequently.
The application of hartshorn, rubbed on with the finger, will generally
remove the stain-spots that are sometimes found on new silk, and on new
kid gloves. There are few stains, indeed, that may not be obliterated by
hartshorn. If too strong, dilute it with a little water. Pour out, into
your saucer, but very little hartshorn, at a time, as it evaporates
almost immediately.
Reddish stains, on black silk, or worsted, can, almost always, be
removed by hartshorn; and the original black colour will immediately
re-appear.
TO KEEP SILVER ALWAYS BRIGHT.--Silver, in constant use, should be washed
every day in a pan of suds made of good white soap and warm water;
drying it with old soft linen cloths. Twice a week, (after this
washing,) give it a thorough brightening with finely-powdered whiting,
mixed to a thin paste with alcohol; rubbing longer and harder where
there are stains. Then wipe this off, and polish with clean soft old
linen. Silver is cleaned in this manner at the best hotels.
PLATE POWDER.--Buy, at a druggist’s, an ounce of levigated oxide of
iron, and four ounces of prepared chalk, finely pulverized. Mix them
well together, and put the mixture into small boxes. Rub it, dry, on the
silver, and then polish with a clean buckskin; finishing with an old
silk handkerchief. This is the composition usually sold as plate powder.
Its colour is a reddish brown.
POWDER FOR CLEANING GOLD LACE.--Of burnt roche-alum, powdered as fine as
possible, take two ounces and a half. Mix, thoroughly, with it, half an
ounce of finely-powdered chalk. Take a small, clean, dry brush; dip it
into the mixture, and rub it, carefully, on gold lace, or gold
embroidery, that has become tarnished. Finish with a clean piece of new
canton flannel. Keep a box or bottle of this mixture, that it may be
ready to use on occasion. It is equally good for silver lace, and for
jewelry.
TO KEEP BRITANNIA-METAL BRIGHT.--Dip a clean woollen cloth into the best
and cleanest lamp oil, and rub it, hard, all over the outside of your
Britannia-ware. Then wash it well in strong soap-suds, and afterwards
polish with finely-powdered whiting and a buckskin. The inside of
Britannia vessels should be washed with warm water, in which a little
pearlash has been dissolved. They should then be set, open, to dry in
the sun and air. If not kept very nice, this metal will communicate a
disagreeable taste. There is so much copper in its composition, that
tea-pots or coffee-pots of china, or white-ware, are far preferable to
Britannia-metal.
TO CLEAN SILVER EXPEDITIOUSLY.--Put some powdered magnesia into a
saucer. Have ready a few bits of new canton flannel. It is well, in
cutting out canton flannel, to save the small shavings, or clippings,
for this purpose. Dip a bit of the flannel into the magnesia, and with
it rub the silver, very hard. It will brighten, immediately, if there
are no black stains on it. Finish, by polishing with a clean piece of
the flannel, without magnesia.
Dark stains on silver are best removed by rubbing them with flannel,
dipped in sulphuric acid. This should be done before any brightening
substance is applied.
PASTE FOR CLEANING KNIVES.--Make a mixture, one part emery, and three
parts crocus martis, in very fine powder. Mix them to a thick paste,
with a little lard or sweet oil. Have your knife-board covered with a
thick buff-leather. Spread this paste on your leather, to about the
thickness of a quarter-dollar. Rub your knives in it, and it will make
them much sharper and brighter, and will wear them out less, than the
common method of cleaning with brick-dust, on a bare board.
A GOOD WAY OF CLEANING SILVER.--Mix in a cup or saucer a paste of
powdered magnesia, and the best and clearest lamp oil, (whale oil,) and
cover with this paste the silver that is to be cleaned. Let it rest a
quarter of an hour or more; applying the paste to all the articles you
intend cleaning before you begin to remove it from any one of them.
Afterwards wipe it off, entirely, with a soft linen rag, and then
proceed to polish the plate with a soft buckskin, and some dry magnesia.
Finish with a silk handkerchief. The longer you rub, the brighter will
be the silver, but you must change frequently to clean parts of the
buckskin. If the silver has much chasing or ornamental frost-work, it
may be necessary to take a small soft brush to clean out all the hollows
and crevices. But, if possible, avoid using a brush, as it wears the
silver thin.
Silver may be kept continually bright with very little trouble, by
cleaning it three times a-week, or every day, with dry magnesia rubbed
on with a bit of clean shaggy canton flannel that has never been washed.
Scraps and clippings of woollen flannel should never be used for
cleaning plate, as its roughness may scratch it.
Dark stains on silver or gold may be immediately removed (however bad)
by the application of a little sulphuric acid poured into a saucer and
rubbed on with a soft rag. Then polish with magnesia and canton flannel.
The colour of silver will always be injured by keeping it in a room
where there is a coal fire.
The cases of gold or silver watches may be cleaned, as above, with
powdered magnesia and canton flannel.
TO TAKE WHITE MARKS FROM MAHOGANY.--If a white mark has been left on a
mahogany table by carelessly setting down on it a vessel of hot water,
rub the place hard with a rag dipped in lamp oil; and afterwards pour on
a little cologne water, or a little alcohol, and rub it dry with a clean
rag.
The dish-marks left on a dining-table can of course be taken off in the
same manner.
If brandy is spilt on mahogany, and leaves a whitish mark, that mark can
be removed by rubbing it hard with a rag dipped in more brandy. Try it.
TO TAKE SPERMACETI OUT OF A HEARTH OR FLOOR.--First scrape off the drops
of spermaceti with a knife. Then take a live coal in the tongs and hold
it carefully and closely over the place. Afterwards wipe it with a rag,
and then wash it with hot soap-suds.
TO REMOVE GREASE FROM A STOVE HEARTH.--When oil or any other grease has
been dropped on a stove hearth, immediately cover the place with _very
hot_ ashes. Afterwhile, clear away the ashes; and if the grease has not
quite disappeared, repeat the process.
TO MAKE SHOES OR BOOTS WATER-PROOF.--Melt together, in a pipkin, equal
quantities of bees-wax and mutton suet. While liquid, rub it over the
leather, including the soles.
TO EXTRACT OIL FROM THE FLOOR OR HEARTH.--Mix together two heaped
table-spoonfuls on powdered fuller’s earth; one large table-spoonful of
potash or pearlash; and one large table-spoonful of soft soap. Add
sufficient boiling water to make it into a thick paste. Spread it hot on
the oil spot, with a broad flat stick; let it remain an hour or two.
Then brush it off, and renew the application. When the grease has
disappeared, scrub the place with soap and water.
This mixture is equally good for boards, stone, or marble.
TO TAKE OFF WALL PAPER.--To clear a wall from paper previous to painting
or white-washing it, wet the old paper thoroughly with a long-handled
brush dipped in a bucket of water, (warm water is best.) Let it rest
till the water has penetrated it, and the paper blisters and loosens, so
that you can peel it off with your hands. Do not wet too much at a time.
If any small bits are found still adhering, wet them afresh, and scrape
them off with a strong knife.
TO REMOVE PAINT FROM THE WALL OF A ROOM.--If you intend papering a
painted wall, you must first get off the paint, otherwise the paper will
not stick. To do this mix in a bucket with warm water a sufficient
quantity of pearlash, or potash, so as to make a strong solution. Dip a
brush into this, and with it scour off all the paint, finishing with
cold water and a flannel.
DUSTING FURNITURE.--If a hand-brush is employed for dusting furniture it
should always be followed by a cloth; and the cloth should be so used as
to _wipe up_ the dust; and not merely flirted about it, so as to drive
the particles from one place to another. The cloth in wiping up the dust
should hold it _in_, and then be shaken frequently out of a back window.
A brush or a bunch of feathers will keep the dust floating about the
room; dislodging but not absorbing it; and only removing it from one
article to settle it on another. Therefore a cloth is indispensable in
_really_ freeing the furniture from dust. A yard of sixpenny calico, or
of strong unbleached muslin, will make two small dusters or one large
one. They should be hemmed or whipped over the edges, that servants may
have no pretext for regarding them as mere rags, to be thrown away or
torn up when dirty. It is difficult to dust well with a ragged
dusting-cloth.
TO TAKE FRUIT STAINS FROM WHITE DOILIES OR NAPKINS.--The use of coloured
doilies for wiping the fingers after eating fruit being nearly exploded,
and small white napkins being now substituted for that purpose, let
them, as soon as taken from table, be thrown _immediately_ into a large
vessel of clean water. If hot water is at hand it will be better than
cold. Leave them to soak during the remainder of the day. Then take them
out, put them where they will dry; and you will generally find that the
fruit stains have disappeared. If any remain, wet the stains with hot
water, and then rub on some lemon-juice, or salt-of-lemon stain-powder;
washing it off as soon as it has removed the stain. Cream of tartar will
sometimes produce this effect. It is scarcely possible to get a stain
out of any sort of linen after it has been previously washed with soap.
TO CLEAR CLOSETS FROM COCKROACHES.--Remove every article from the
closet, scrub the shelves with lye, and then whitewash the closet walls.
Next take a sufficiency of _black_ wadding, and soak it in spirits of
turpentine or camphor, or a mixture of both. Then with a fork or the
point of a knife, stuff it close and hard into every crevice, crack,
and hole, however small. United with the copperas dye of the black
wadding, the camphor and turpentine will destroy or expel the
cockroaches, so that for a long time you will see no more of them. If
they return, repeat the remedy; which of course will be as effective if
applied to the crevices about the kitchen walls or floors. Let the
closet remain empty for several days. Then place on each shelf a small
plate with dry chloride of lime to dissipate the smell of the
turpentine.
The preparation of phosphorus called Levy’s Exterminator, and which is
to be had at the druggists’, is very destructive to cockroaches, rats,
and mice. Cover with it a slice of bread and butter, then sprinkle on
some brown sugar, and lay it in places where these vermin have been
seen.
A mixture in the proportion of three table-spoonfuls of meal, and one
table-spoonful of red lead, wetted to a thin paste with West India
molasses, if laid on old plates, and set about their haunts, is very
efficacious in expelling cockroaches.
These remedies are all good; and if used perseveringly and always
resumed, as soon as the cockroaches begin to appear again, there will be
but little trouble with these detestable insects. Nothing has yet been
found that can banish them from a house so effectually as to preclude
all danger of their ever returning. But much comfort is gained by even a
temporary relief from them.
If an insect gets into the ear it may be destroyed by pouring in a
little sweet oil. They have been sometimes enticed out, by applying to
the ear a piece of ripe peach or apple.
SMALL COCKROACHES.--Many houses are much infested with small brown
cockroaches, which are especially troublesome and disgusting from their
disposition to get into bureaus, wardrobes, trunks, and even band-boxes.
They will soon depart, if bunches of pennyroyal (as fresh as you can get
it, and frequently renewed) are laid in all the places where they have
appeared, or are likely to come. Pennyroyal is to be generally bought in
market at the very trifling cost of one cent a bunch. At any season it
can be had at the druggists’, and at the garden stores. Rags dipped in
oil of pennyroyal, and laid about their haunts, will frequently expel
these cockroaches. But every one that is seen should be immediately
killed, and not merely brushed off, to run to another place. There is
little difficulty in keeping a house free from cockroaches and all other
vermin, if the remedies are applied in time, and with perseverance.
The very bad practice of using old bricks for cellar-walls and
back-buildings, is the chief cause of new houses becoming immediately
infested with cockroaches, &c. They have in this way been introduced at
once into some very elegant mansions in Philadelphia, where old bricks
have been used for the cellars; these bricks having originally belonged
to old almshouses, long since pulled down. To buy such bricks, however
cheap, is a miserable economy.
TO DESTROY CRICKETS.--Mix some powdered arsenic with roasted apple, and
put it into the cracks and holes whence the crickets issue. It will
effectually destroy them. And cockroaches also.
TO EXPEL FLEAS.--Get some pennyroyal. Having stripped the leaves from
the stalks, stuff them into little bags, made of muslin or thin calico,
and sewed up all round. Lay these bags among the bedding, and the
pennyroyal will send away the fleas. If more convenient, sprinkle the
bedding with oil or essence of pennyroyal. When travelling, it is well
to take with you some little bags of pennyroyal, in case you should have
to sleep in a bed infested with fleas.
Camphor is also a good remedy against fleas.
Pennyroyal will generally expel the small brown cockroaches, if bunches
of it are kept constantly in the closets, wardrobes, bureaus, &c. It is
likewise an excellent remedy against wood-ticks; keeping some of it
about you, if obliged to go into places where these intolerable insects
abound. When the wood-ticks fasten on the skin, brush them with a bunch
of pennyroyal, and they will fall off immediately.
TO DESTROY BED-BUGS.--Among the numerous ways of destroying bugs, there
is none better than to wash carefully, with a solution of corrosive
sublimate in spirits of wine, all the cracks and crevices of the
bedstead, at least once a week; taking care to throw out directly
whatever may remain in the bowl or saucer, which should at once be
washed clean in hot water. Corrosive sublimate is a most deadly poison,
if even a small quantity is swallowed. One of the best remedies for it,
is to take _immediately_ a large quantity of sweet oil.
Mercurial ointment, rubbed once a week into all the joints and crevices
of the bedstead, is an excellent destroyer of bugs. It can best be
rubbed in with the finger. Leave it on the bedstead without wiping off;
and do not put on the bedding till evening.
TO DESTROY FLIES.--Get, at a druggist’s, some Egyptian or Fly-killing
paper. Lay a piece of it on an old plate, and keep it moist by wetting
it frequently with water. It will soon be found covered with dead flies.
Shake them off, and wet the paper again.
Or mix together a table-spoonful of powdered black pepper, the same
quantity of brown sugar, and as much milk as will make it into a thin
paste. Set it about on saucers. It will attract the flies, and they will
die on eating it.
TO DESTROY GARDEN ANTS.--Mix together half a pound of flour of
brimstone, and four ounces of potash. Put them into an iron pot or pan,
and stir it over the fire till they are dissolved, and well
incorporated. Then pound them to a powder. Put the powder into a glass
jar, with a cover, and keep it for use. Infuse some of this powder in a
cup of water, and sprinkle with it the places that are infested by ants.
They will soon disappear.
TO EXPEL SMALL ANTS.--Mix a tea-spoonful of tartar emetic in two
table-spoonfuls of molasses. Stir this into a small saucer of water, and
set it where you have seen the ants. Let it remain all night; and in the
morning you will find a great number of ants lying dead on the surface
of the water, and the others will have been frightened away. Skim off
the dead ants, and set the saucer in any other place where these insects
have appeared. This we know, by experience, to be an excellent remedy
for the little ants with which so many houses are infested, and which
swarm over sweet things.
MICE.--An excellent preparation for expelling mice and rats is Levy’s
Exterminator, spread upon bread or cheese, and laid about the places
they frequent. It is a preparation of phosphorus; and after one mouse
has eaten it and (of course) died, the others will disappear. It is to
be had of most druggists; and will also destroy cockroaches, by
spreading it on bits of cake or something similar, and laying it at
night on the kitchen hearth, and in the closets. We highly recommend it.
If you propose to destroy a mouse by arsenic spread on bread and butter,
sprinkle on the arsenic a drop or two of oil of rhodium, and the mouse
will unfailingly be attracted to the poison. Place beside it a saucer of
water, and as soon as he has eaten of the poisoned bread and butter, he
will drink, and then die on the spot.
Oil of aniseed, spread on the bait, will attract them into a trap.
TO DESTROY CATERPILLARS.--Mix together twelve ounces of powdered
quick-lime, two ounces of snuff, two ounces of fine salt, and two ounces
of powdered sulphur. Strew this mixture over the caterpillars, or
dissolve it in five gallons of water; keep it in a convenient vessel,
and sprinkle with it places where they abound.
Any garden insects may be destroyed in this manner.
TO DESTROY WORMS IN GARDEN WALKS.--Pour into the worm-holes a strong
lye, made of wood-ashes, lime, and water. Or, if more convenient, use,
for this purpose, strong salt and water.
TO DESTROY THE BEE-MILLER.--This insect, whose night-visits are so
destructive to bees, may be destroyed by mixing a large wine-glass of
vinegar with a pint of water, that has been made very sweet with honey.
Set it in a bowl on the top of the hive, or beside it. It will attract
the miller, and then drown him.
TO MAKE THE HANDS SMOOTH AND SOFT.--For this purpose there is nothing
nicer than the beautiful, fragrant, and delicate composition called
Almond Cream, (Crême d’Amandes.) This almond cream (which must not be
confounded with another preparation called Amandine) is, when fresh,
very soft and white, and resembles ice-cream in appearance. To use
it--first dip your hands into a basin of water, and then put on one of
the palms a very small portion of the almond cream, (not larger than a
grain of indian corn,) and with the other hand rub it to a lather. Rub
it well into your hands and all over them before you wash it off. We
know, by experience, that this is the best of all preparations for
keeping the hands in nice order. If used every day, it will effectually
prevent the skin from chapping in cold weather; and will remove any
roughness caused by incidental employments, or by putting the hands into
salt water. We earnestly recommend it. Keep it closely covered. If you
live where it can be easily procured, do not get more than one gallicup
at a time, as almond cream is always best when freshly made. Exposure to
the air hardens and discolours it.
Another very excellent article for the hands is sand-soap, or sand
wash-balls,--a preparation of soap mixed with fine sea-sand. There is
nothing superior to it for washing the hands of boys, and of all persons
whose business obliges them to use much manual exertion. Also, the hands
of the most delicate lady will be rendered still softer and smoother by
the daily use of sand-soap. Try it--but not for the face or neck.
Sand-soap is made by shaving down and melting some white soap, and then
stirring into it, while warm, an equal quantity of fine dry sea-sand.
Put it, warm, into square moulds, or roll portions of the mixture
between your hands, so as to form balls. Set them in a dark place to dry
gradually.
TO REMOVE CORNS FROM BETWEEN THE TOES.--These corns are generally more
painful than any others, and are frequently situated as to be almost
inaccessible to the usual remedies. Wetting them several times a day
with hartshorn will in most cases cure them. Try it.
TO ALLAY PAIN IN THE FEET WHEN CAUSED BY FATIGUE.--If your feet become
painful from walking or standing too long, put them as soon as you can
into warm salt and water, mixed in the proportion of two large handfuls
of salt to a gallon of water. Sea-water made warm is still better, if
you can conveniently procure it. Keep your feet and ankles in the salt
water till it begins to feel cool, rubbing them well with your hands.
Then wipe them dry, and rub them long and hard with a coarse thick
towel, or with a hair glove. Where the feet are tender and easily
fatigued, it is an excellent practice to go through this process
regularly every night, or every morning, or both; also employing it
without fail always on coming home from a walk. With perseverance this
has cured neuralgia in the feet.
To prevent any roughness that may ensue after taking your hands out of
the brine, wash them immediately with soap; or what is still better,
with almond cream, first dipping them into cold water, and then rubbing
on a little of the above composition till it forms a lather. Almond
cream is much used by gentlemen as a shaving soap, but it is also a very
pleasant and useful article for a ladies washing-stand, being excellent
for smoothing the hands, and preventing their chopping in cold weather.
It is well to get but a small box at a time, as exposure to the air
somewhat dries and discolours it. It should be kept closely covered.
Chilblains or frost-bitten feet may be cured or prevented by dipping the
feet night and morning into _cold_ water. Then taking them out and
wiping them dry with a coarse towel. Persevere, and you will find the
remedy effectual.
RELIEF FOR RHEUMATIC PAINS.--Bathe the afflicted part at night and
morning, and frequently through the day, with warm salt and water,
(mixed in the proportion of two handfuls of salt to a quart of water,)
rubbing it well into the skin. Do this near the fire, or in a warm room;
avoiding exposure to a draught of air. Sea-water heated over the fire
will answer the purpose still better.
A table-spoonful of Hopkins’s Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla, taken
thrice a day, and persevered in for six or eight weeks, has frequently
cured a chronic rheumatism.
Swaim’s Panacea has effected wonderful cures in rheumatism of long
standing.
RELIEF FOR A SPRAINED ANKLE.--Wash the ankle very frequently with _cold_
salt and water, which is far better than warm vinegar or decoctions of
herbs. Keep your foot as cool as possible to prevent inflammation; and
sit with it elevated on a high cushion. Live on very low diet, and take
every day some cooling medicine; for instance epsom salts. By observing
these directions _only_, a sprained ankle has been cured in a few days.
BATHING THE FEET.--In bathing the feet of a sick person, use at the
beginning, tepid or lukewarm water. Have ready in a tea-kettle or
covered pitcher, some _hot_ water, of which pour in a little at
intervals; so as gradually to increase the temperature of the foot
bath, till it becomes as warm as it can be borne with comfort; after
which, the feet should be taken out before the water cools. This is a
much better way than to put them at first into very warm water, and let
it grow cool before they are taken out. Clean stockings, well warmed,
should be ready to put on the feet as soon as they are out of the water,
and have been rubbed dry with a flannel.
CURE FOR A RUN-ROUND.--That disease of the finger or toe commonly called
a _run-round_, may be easily cured by a remedy so simple that persons
who have not seen it tried are generally incredulous as to its efficacy.
The first symptoms of the complaint are heat, pain, swelling, and
redness at the top of the nail. The inflammation, if not checked, will
soon go round the whole of the nail, causing intense pain, accompanied
by a festering or gathering of yellow matter, and ending in the loss of
the nail. To prevent all this, as soon as the first symptoms of swelling
and inflammation commence, lay the finger flat on the table, and let the
nail be scratched, all over with the sharp point of a pair of scissors,
or a penknife. This excoriation must be done first crossways, and then
lengthways, so as thoroughly to scratch up the _whole surface_ of the
nail, leaving it rough and white. This little operation does not give
the slightest pain; and we have never, _in a single instance_, known it
fail. By next morning the finger will be well. If done before the
festering commences, it is a _certain_ and speedy cure. And it will even
succeed at a later stage of the disease, by first opening with a needle
that part of the swelling where the yellow matter has begun to appear;
and afterwards by scratching up the surface of the nail with scissors or
penknife.
Hard horny warts on the hands can be cured _positively_, and without
pain, by touching their tops twice a day or more with a clean quill pen,
dipped in aquafortis. The wart, after a few applications of the
aquafortis, will turn brown, and crumble till it falls off.
For ring-worms there is no remedy so good as mercurial ointment, rubbed
on it at night, and not washed off till morning. It causes no pain, and
by repetition will _always_ effect a cure.
TO APPLY AN EYE-STONE.--Eye-stones are frequently used to extract motes
from the eye, sparks from steam-engines, and other extraneous
substances. They are to be procured at the druggists’. They cost but two
or three cents a piece; and it is well to get several, that in case one
fails you may try another. To give an eye-stone activity, lay it for
about five minutes in a saucer of vinegar and water; and if it is a good
one it will soon begin to move or swim round in the liquid. Then wipe it
dry, and let it be introduced beneath the eye-lid, binding a
handkerchief closely round the eye. The eye-stone will make the circuit
of the eye, and in its progress take up the mote, which it will bring
with it, when on the pain ceasing, the handkerchief is removed.
Eye-stones are the eyes of lobsters.
When a mote or spark gets into your eye, immediately pull down the lower
eye-lash; and, at the same moment with a handkerchief in your hand, blow
your nose violently. This will frequently expel the mote without further
trouble. A mote will sometimes come out by merely holding your eye wide
open in a cup or glass filled to the brim with clear cold water. Or,
take a pin, and wrapping its head in the corner of a soft cambric
handkerchief, sweep carefully round the eye with it, above and below,
inserting it under the lid. This should be done with a firm and steady
hand, and will often bring out the mote. Another way is to take a long
clean bristle from a brush, tie the ends together with a bit of thread
so as to form a loop, and sweep round the eye with it, so that the loop
may catch the mote and bring it out.
A particle of iron or steel, has, _we know_, been extracted from the
eye, by holding near it a powerful magnet.
Rail-road sparks, &c., have frequently been removed from the eye by
introducing the feather-end of a quill, and sweeping it round beneath
the edge of the lid. If done with care and dexterity it will generally
succeed.
CURE FOR THE TETTER.--Obtain at a druggist’s an ounce of sulphur_et_ of
potash. Be careful to ask for this article _precisely_. It is a
preparation of sulphur and potash. Put the sulphuret into a large glass
jar; pour on it a quart of cold soft water; and leave it to dissolve,
having first corked it tightly. Afterwards add to it a wine-glass of
rose-water. It may be more convenient afterwards to transfer it to
smaller bottles, taking care to leave them closely corked. Pour into
each a table-spoonful or more of rose-water. To use it, pour a little
into a saucer, and dipping in a soft sponge, bathe the eruption five or
six times a day. Persist, and, in most cases, it will very soon effect a
cure. It is, indeed, a safe and most excellent remedy. Should the tetter
re-appear with the return of cold weather, immediately resume the use of
this solution. A bath in which sulphuret of potash was dissolved in
water (in the above proportions) has succeeded in curing the tetter
after the eruption had spread all over the body of a child.
CURE FOR EXCORIATED NOSTRILS.--If, after a severe cold in the head, the
inside of the nostrils continue sore and inflamed, rub them lightly with
a little kreosote ointment, applied to the interior of your nose with
the finger. Do this at night, and several times during the day. It will
very soon effect a cure; often in twenty-four hours.
FOR A CHAFED UPPER LIP.--For a chafed upper lip and soreness of the end
of the nose, such as generally accompanies a cold in the head or
influenza, much relief may be found from the homely remedy of greasing
the excoriation, at night on going to bed, with a bit of mutton tallow
(that of a candle will do) held to the fire to soften. Extend the
application over all the nose and even between the eyes. It is well to
keep always in the house some nice tallow, prepared by boiling and
skimming a sufficient quantity of fresh mutton fat, (there must not be a
particle of salt about it,) and then pouring it warm into gallicups,
which should be closely covered as soon as the liquid has congealed.
CURE FOR PRICKLY HEAT.--Mix a _large_ portion of wheat bran with either
cold or lukewarm water, and use it as a bath twice or thrice a day.
Children who are covered with prickly heat in warm weather will be thus
effectually relieved from that tormenting eruption. As soon as it begins
to appear on the neck, face, or arms, commence using the bran-water on
these parts repeatedly through the day, and it may probably spread no
farther. If it does, the bran-water bath will certainly cure it, if
persisted in.
BROWN MIXTURE FOR A COUGH.--Mix in a large bottle, half an ounce of
liquorice; a quarter of an ounce of gum-arabic; two tea-spoonfuls of
antimonial wine; sixty drops of laudanum; and half a pint of water.
Shake it well, and when the ingredients are thoroughly amalgamated it
will be fit for use. For a cold and cough, take a dessert-spoonful three
or four times a day, shaking or stirring it first.
RED LIP SALVE.--Mix together equal portions of the best suet and the
best lard. There must be no salt about them. Boil slowly, and skim and
stir the mixture. Then add a small thin bag of alkanet chips; and when
it has coloured the mixture of a fine deep red, take it out. While
cooling, stir in, very hard, sufficient rose or orange-flower water to
give it a fine perfume. A few drops of oil of rhodium will impart to it
a very agreeable rose-scent.
Cold cream for excoriated nostrils, chafed upper lips, or chapped hands
may be made nearly as above, but with one-third suet, and two-thirds
lard, and no alkanet. When it has boiled thoroughly, remove it from the
fire, and stir in, gradually, a large portion of rose-water, or a little
oil of rhodium, beating very hard. Put it into small gallicups, with
close covers.
MUSTARD PLASTERS.--Mustard plasters are frequently very efficacious in
rheumatic or other pains occasioned by cold. It is best to make them
entirely of mustard and vinegar without any mixture of flour. They
should be spread between two pieces of thin muslin, and bound on the
part affected. As soon as the irritation or burning becomes
uncomfortable, take off the plaster. They should never remain on longer
than twenty minutes; as by that time the beneficial effect will be
produced, if at all. When a mustard plaster has been taken off, wash the
part tenderly with a sponge and warm water. If the irritation on the
skin continues troublesome, apply successive poultices of grated
bread-crumbs wetted with lead water.
A mustard plaster behind the ear will often remove a toothache, earache,
or a rheumatic pain in the head. Applied to the wrists they will
frequently check an ague-fit, if put on as soon as the first symptoms of
chill evince themselves.
OPODELDOC.--Take an ounce of gum camphor; half a drachm of oil of
rosemary; half a drachm of oil of origanum; two ounces of castile soap
cut small; and half a pint of spirits of wine. Boil these all together
for half an hour after the boiling has commenced. Let the mixture cool
in the vessel, and then bottle it for use. It is a good embrocation for
bruises, sprains, stiffness of the neck and shoulder, and for rheumatic
pains.
CAMPHOR SPIRITS.--Break up into small bits an ounce of gum camphor, and
put it into a pint glass bottle. Then fill up with spirits of wine, cork
it, and leave the camphor to dissolve, shaking it occasionally. This
will be found quite as good as the camphor spirits obtained at the
druggist’s, and the cost will be far less. It is well to keep a bottle
of it always in the house. When taken to remove faintness or nervous
affections, pour a few drops into a wine-glass of water. Camphor kept
for external use is best when dissolved in whisky, as it produces less
irritation of the skin than when melted in alcohol.
The pain of a fly-blister will be much alleviated by sprinkling powdered
gum camphor thickly over the surface of the plaster before it is put on.
This should always be done.
REMEDY FOR ARSENIC.--Dissolve a few scruples of sulphuret of potash in
half a pint, or a pint of water, and administer it a little at a time,
as the patient can bear it; having first given the white of an egg.
Another remedy is to mix two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard with
sufficient warm water to thin it, so as to make it easy to swallow. It
acts as an emetic, and is good for any poison.
ANTIDOTE TO CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.--If corrosive sublimate (one of the
worst poisons) has been swallowed, immediately drink a large quantity of
olive oil, even the whole contents of a flask; or more, indeed, if that
is not found sufficient. This remedy, if taken in time, is always
efficacious. If it cannot be _immediately_ obtained, try white of egg.
REMEDY FOR AN OVER-DOSE OF LAUDANUM.--A cup of the _strongest possible_
coffee has been known to keep the patient awake, and effect a positive
cure when all other means have failed. After the fatal sleep has been
thus prevented, and the patient is thoroughly roused and excited, let an
emetic be administered.
MEDICATED PRUNES.--Take a quarter of an ounce of senna and manna
(obtained ready mixed from the druggists’) and pour on it not quite a
pint of boiling water. Cover it; set it by the fire; and let it infuse
for an hour. If the vessel in which you prepare it has a spout, stop up
the spout with a roll or wad of soft paper. This should always be done
in making herb teas, or other decoctions; as a portion of the strength
evaporates at the spout. When the infusion of senna and manna has thus
stood an hour at the fire, strain it into a skillet or sauce-pan (one
lined with porcelain will be best) and stir in a large wine-glass or a
small teacup-full of West India molasses. Add about half a pound or more
of the best prunes; putting in sufficient prunes to absorb all the
liquid during the process of stewing. Then cover the vessel closely,
and let it stew (stirring it up occasionally) for an hour; or till you
find the stones of the prunes are all loose. If stewed too long, the
prunes will taste weak and insipid. When done, put it into a dish to
cool; and pick out all the stones. If properly prepared there will be no
perceptible taste of the senna and manna. It may be given to children at
their lunch or supper.
FINE HOARHOUND CANDY.--Take a large bunch of the herb hoarhound, as
green and fresh as you can get it. Having picked it clean, and washed
it, cut it up (leaves and stalks) with scissors. Scald, twice, a china
tea-pot or a covered pitcher; then empty it of the hot water. Put in the
hoarhound, pressing it down with your hands. The pot should be about
two-thirds full of the herb. Then fill it up with boiling water; cover
it closely, and wedge a small roll of paper tightly into the mouth of
the spout, to prevent any of the strength escaping with the steam. Set
it close to the fire to infuse, and keep it there till it begins to
boil. Then immediately take it away, and strain it into another vessel.
Mix with the liquid sufficient powdered loaf-sugar to make it a very
thick paste. When the sugar is in, set it over the fire, and give it a
boil, stirring and skimming it well. Take a shallow, square tin pan,
grease it slightly with sweet oil, and put into it the candy, as soon as
it is well boiled; smoothing the surface with a wet knife-blade. Sift
over it some powdered sugar. Set it away to cool; and when nearly
congealed, score it in squares. It is a well-known remedy for coughs and
hoarseness.
If you find it too thin, you may stir in, while boiling, a spoonful of
flour, of arrow-root, or of finely-powdered starch.
Another way of making this candy is, to boil the hoarhound in barely as
much water as will cover it, and till all the juice is extracted. Then
squeeze it through a cloth, and give the strained liquid another boil,
stirring in, gradually, sugar enough to make it very thick and stiff.
Afterwards sift sugar over a shallow tin pan, fill it with the paste,
and leave it to congeal; scoring it in squares before it is quite hard.
Any herb-candy may be made as above.
FINE LAVENDER COMPOUND.--For this purpose, use lavender buds, gathered
just before they are ready to blow. As soon as the blossom expands into
a flower, a portion of its strength and fragrance immediately
evaporates. This is also the case with roses; which, for rose-water,
should always be gathered, not after they are blown, but when just about
to open.
Having stripped the lavender buds from the stalks, measure a pint of the
buds, and mix with them half an ounce of whole mace; half an ounce of
whole cloves; two nutmegs broken up, but not grated; and half an ounce
of powdered cochineal. Put the whole into a large glass jar, and pour in
a quart of the best French brandy. Cover the jar closely; making it
completely air-tight by the addition of strong paper, pasted down over
the cover. Set it away, and leave the ingredients to infuse,
undisturbed, for a month. Then strain it into a pitcher; and from the
pitcher pour it through a funnel into bottles; corking them tightly. It
is a well-known remedy for flatulence, and pains and sickness of the
stomach. To use it, put some loaf-sugar into a spoon, and pour on
sufficient lavender to soften the sugar; then eat it.
Instead of cochineal, you may give a fine red colour to lavender
compound by tying up a quarter of an ounce of alkanet in a thin muslin
bag, (seeing that the alkanet is free from dust,) and putting the bag
into the jar while the other ingredients are infusing in the brandy.
BLACKBERRY SYRUP.--Take a sufficient quantity of fine, ripe, sweet
blackberries. Put them into a sieve placed over a large broad pan; and
with a clean potatoe-masher, (or something similar,) mash the
blackberries, and press out all their juice. Or (having bruised them
first) put the blackberries into a linen bag, and squeeze out all the
juice into a vessel placed beneath. Measure it; and to every quart of
the strained juice allow half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar; a heaped
tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon; the same of powdered cloves; and a
large nutmeg grated. Mix the spices with the juice and sugar, and boil
all together in a porcelain preserving-kettle; skimming it well. When
cold, stir into each quart of the syrup half a pint of fourth-proof
brandy. Then bottle it for use. This is a good family medicine; and is
beneficial in complaints incident to summer. It should be administered,
(at proper intervals,) from a tea-spoonful to a wine-glassful, according
to the age of the patient.
RHUBARB BITTERS.--Take two ounces of rhubarb root; half an ounce of
cardamom seeds; one drachm of Virginia snake-root; and half a drachm of
gentian root. Put these articles into a large bottle, and pour on it a
quart of good brandy.
It is excellent for children in complaints incident to summer weather.
TO PREVENT A JUG OF MOLASSES FROM RUNNING OVER.--A jug or bottle of
molasses frequently causes inconvenience by working over at the top,
after coming from the grocer’s, and being set in a room or closet that
is warmer than the place from which it was brought. To prevent this--as
soon as you receive it, pour out a portion into another vessel; for
instance, into a pitcher or bowl. Then set the jug of molasses into a
deep pan or basin, and leave it _uncorked_ till next day. By that time,
all danger from fermentation will have subsided. Then cork it tightly,
and set it away. Keep always under the bottom of the jug an old plate,
or a double piece of thick paper to receive any drippings that may run
down the sides. Never bring molasses to table without a plate or saucer
under the vessel that contains it.
West India molasses is far more wholesome and nourishing than any other,
and is decidedly the best for gingerbread, molasses-candy,
indian-puddings, &c. Sugar-house molasses, if used for those articles,
will render them hard and tough.
TO EXTINGUISH A COAL FIRE.--Many persons who burn anthracite coal in
their chambers, have suffered great inconvenience from not knowing how
to extinguish it before they go to bed. The process is very simple, and
always successful. Lift off with the tongs any large coals that may lie
on the top, and lay them on the iron hearth of the grate; they will make
good cinders to burn next day in a close-stove or furnace. Then shut up
the tongs, and with them make a hollow or deep cavity just in the centre
of the fire, heaping up the coals like a hill on each side, and making
the tongs go down to the bottom of the grate. If there are not many
coals, you may do this with the poker. The fire will immediately begin
to fade and deaden; and in less than ten minutes, it will be entirely
out, without farther trouble; unless it has been very large, and then it
may require a second stirring.
In the morning, let the grate be cleared _entirely_ of all the cinders
and ashes, and swept out clean with a brush. Cover the bottom of the
grate with a sort of flooring of small fresh coal, before you put in the
kindlings; otherwise, after the kindlings (wood or charcoal) are
lighted, they will burn away immediately, and fall through the bottom
bars of the grate, before they have had time to ignite the coal that has
been laid above them; so that the grate will have to be again cleared
out, fresh kindlings brought, and the fire built up anew, before it can
possibly succeed.
The above way of extinguishing a coal-fire answers equally well for a
close-stove or a furnace.
The heat of a grate may be considerably diminished by standing up the
blower against it; the bottom of the blower resting on the hearth. To
lessen the heat of a close-stove, leave open the large door of the
stove. In the same manner diminish the heat of a furnace.