MISTRESS--MOTHER--NURSE--AND MAID.
_In which are set forth the prominent Duties of each department,
and the most important Rules for the guidance and care of the
Household._
OF THE TABLE
814. The taste and management of the mistress are always displayed in
the general conduct of the table; for, though that department of the
household be not always under her direction, it is always under her
eye. Its management involves judgment in expenditure, respectability
of appearance, and the comfort of her husband as well as of those
who partake of their hospitality. Inattention to it is always
inexcusable, and should be avoided for the lady's own sake, as it
occasions a disagreeable degree of bustle, and evident annoyance to
herself, which is never observable in a well-regulated establishment.
Perhaps there are few occasions on which the respectability of a man
is more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may
accidentally bring home a visitor. Every one ought to live according
to his circumstances, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to
emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but, if merely two
or three dishes be well served, with the proper accompaniments, the
table-linen clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that
is necessary be at hand, the expectation of both the husband and
friend will be gratified, because no interruption of the domestic
arrangements will disturb their social intercourse.
Should there be only a joint and a pudding, they should always be
served up separately; and the dishes, however small the party, should
always form two courses. Thus, in the old fashioned style of "fish,
soup, and a roast," the soup and fish are placed at the top and
bottom of the table, removed by the joint with vegetables and pastry;
or, should the company consist of eight or ten, a couple or more
of side-dishes in the first course, with game and a pudding in the
second, accompanied by confectionary, are quite sufficient.
In most of the books which treat of cookery, various bills of fare
are given, which are never exactly followed. The mistress should give
a moderate number of those dishes which are most in season. The cuts
which are inserted in some of those lists, put the soup in the middle
of the table--where it should never be placed. For a small party, a
single lamp in the centre is sufficient; but, for a larger number,
the room should be lighted with lamps hung over the table, and the
centre occupied by a _plateau_ of glass or plate, ornamented with
flowers or figures.
815. _Carefulness._--A proper quantity of household articles should
always be allowed for daily use. Each should also be kept in its
proper place, and applied to its proper use. Let all repairs be done
as soon as wanted, remembering the old adage of "a stitch in time;"
and never, if possible, defer any necessary household concern a
moment beyond the time when it ought to be attended to.
In the purchase of glass and crockery-ware, either the most customary
patterns should be chosen, in order to secure their being easily
matched, when broken; or, if a scarce design be adopted, an extra
quantity should be bought, to guard against the annoyance of the set
being spoiled by breakage--which, in the course of time, must be
expected to happen. There should likewise be plenty of common dishes,
that the table-set may not be used for putting away cold meat, &c.
The cook should be encouraged to be careful of coals and cinders: for
the latter there is a new contrivance for sifting, without dispersing
the dust, by means of a covered tin bucket.
Small coal, wetted, makes the strongest fire for the back of the
grate, but must remain untouched till it cakes. Cinders, lightly
wetted, give a great degree of heat, and are better than coal, for
furnaces, ironing-stoves, and ovens.
816. _Attention to little things._--By attention to _little things_,
the neat appearance of a house may be secured, and time and labor
saved. For instance, when you are sewing, carefully deposit your
bits of thread, &c., in a little basket or box, instead of throwing
them on the floor. And again: set your chairs out a little from the
wall, instead of putting them close to it, which would not only rub
the paint from the chairs, but would soon deface the beauty of the
wall-paper. These appear like trifling things--but nothing is too
trifling to demand our attention, when we are endeavoring to fulfil
the duties of our sphere.
817. _Cheerfulness._--Does it seem singular that _cheerfulness_ is
placed among the requisites for good house-keeping? But it is of far
more importance than you would, at first view, imagine. What matters
it to a brother or husband, if the house be ever so neat, or the
meals punctually and well prepared, if the mistress of it is fretful
and fault-finding--ever discontented and complaining. The _outside_
of such a house is ever the most attractive to him, and any and
_every_ excuse will be made for absenting himself; and the plea of
business or engagements will be made to her who is doomed to pass her
hours needlessly in solitude.
818. _Of Economy in Expenditure._--Economy should be the first
point in all families, whatever be their circumstances. A prudent
housekeeper will regulate the ordinary expenses of a family,
according to the annual sum allowed for housekeeping. By this means,
the provision will be uniformly good, and it will not be requisite to
practise meanness on many occasions, for the sake of meeting extra
expense on one.
The best check upon outrunning an income is to pay bills weekly, for
you may then retrench in time. This practice is likewise a salutary
check upon the correctness of the accounts themselves.
To young beginners in housekeeping, the following brief _hints on
domestic economy_, in the management of a moderate income, may
perhaps not prove unacceptable.
A bill of parcels and receipt should be required, even if the money
be paid at the time of purchase; and, to avoid mistakes, let the
goods be compared with these when brought home; or, if paid or at
future periods, a bill should be sent with the article, and regularly
filed on separate files for each tradesman.
An inventory of furniture, linen, and china should be kept, and the
things examined by it twice a-year, or oftener if there be a change
of servants; the articles used by servants should be intrusted to
their care, with a list, as is done with the plate. In articles not
in common use, such as spare bedding, tickets of parchment, numbered
and specifying to what they belong, should be sewed on each; and
minor articles in daily use, such as household cloths and kitchen
requisites, should be occasionally looked to.
819. _Books and Accounts._--Housekeeping books, with printed forms
for the various heads of expenditure, and the several articles,
are used in many families; but accounts may be kept with as much
certainty in plain books.
820. _Servants._--In the _hiring of Servants_, it is an excellent
plan to agree to increase their wages annually to a fixed sum,
where it should stop, and to recommend that a portion of it should
be regularly placed in a savings-bank. An incentive will thus be
offered to good conduct; and when the hoard saved up amounts to any
considerable sum, the possessor will generally feel more inclined to
enlarge than to expend it.
A kindly feeling of indulgence on the part of the mistress
towards her servants, in the matter of petty faults, coupled with
good-natured attention to their daily comforts, and occasional
permission to visit and receive a few of their near friends, would
go far to create a cordial degree of attachment, which must be
ever desirable to a respectable family, and cheaply purchased by
such consideration. Mildness of language will generally be met by
respectful language on the part of a servant, and of itself will
produce a saving of temper at least to the master or mistress. Due
praise will mostly be found a powerful stimulus to good, and in some
measure a preventive to bad conduct, on the part of a servant.
Do not speak harshly or imperatively to servants, or tell them of
their faults in the presence of strangers or visitors; but take the
earliest opportunity of reproving them after your company have left.
821. _Store-room._--A store-room is essential for the custody of
articles in constant use, as well as for others which are only
occasionally called for. These should be at hand when wanted, each in
separate drawers, or on shelves and pegs, all under the lock and key
of the mistress, and never be given out to the servants but under her
inspection.
Pickles and preserves, prepared and purchased sauces, and all sorts
of groceries, should be there stored; the spices pounded and corked
up in small bottles, sugar broken, and everything in readiness for
use. Lemon-peel, thyme, parsley, and all sorts of sweet herbs, should
be dried and grated for use in seasons of plenty; the tops of tongues
saved, and dried, for grating into omelets, &c.; and care taken that
nothing be wasted that can be turned to good account.
Coarse nets suspended in the store-room are very useful in preserving
the finer kinds of fruit, lemons, &c., which are spoiled if allowed
to touch. When _lemons_ and _oranges_ are cheap, a proper quantity
should be bought and prepared, both for preserving the juice, and
keeping the peel for sweetmeats and grating, especially by those who
live in the country, where they cannot always be had; and they are
perpetually wanted in cookery.
822. _Sugar._--The lowest-priced and coarsest sugar is not the
cheapest in the end, as it is heavy, dirty, and of a very inferior
degree of sweetness; that which is most refined is the sweetest: the
best has a bright and gravelly appearance. East India sugars appear
finer in proportion to the price; but they do not contain so much
sweetness as the other kinds. Loaf-sugars should be chosen as fine
and as close in texture as possible, except they are for preserving,
when the coarse, strong, open kind is preferable.
823. _Pepper._--The finest Cayenne pepper consists of powdered
bird-pepper; but, as this is of a bad color, it is often adulterated
to heighten the color. English chilies, dried and pounded, make good
pepper.
White pepper is inferior to black, although the former is sold at the
highest price. White pepper is merely black pepper deprived of its
outer coating, which has a stimulating property; so that white pepper
is much weaker than black.
824. _Cinnamon_, when good, is rather thin and pliable, and about the
substance of thick paper, of yellowish-brown color, sweetish taste,
and pleasant odor: that which is hard, thick, and dark-colored,
should be rejected.
825. _Articles in Season._--Some weak-minded persons affect to
despise articles of food when they are plentiful and cheap, not
knowing that such is the time when the articles are in the greatest
perfection.
Young and inexperienced housekeepers sometimes incur unnecessary
expense by ordering articles of food when they are scarce, dear, and
hardly come into season. This can only be prevented by attention to
the seasons of different articles.
826. _Every Family to make their own Sweet Oil._--With a small
hand-mill, every family might make their own sweet oil. This may
easily be done, by grinding or beating the seeds of white poppies
into a paste, then boil it in water, and skim off the oil as it
rises; one bushel of seed weighs fifty pounds, and produces two
gallons of oil. Of the sweet olive oil sold, one-half is oil of
poppies. The poppies will grow in any garden; it is the large-head
white poppy, sold by apothecaries. Large fields are sown with poppies
in France and Flanders, for the purpose of expressing oil from their
seed for food. When the seed is taken out, the poppy head when dried
is boiled to an extract, which is sold at two shillings per ounce,
and it is to be preferred to opium, which now sells very high. Large
fortunes may be acquired by the cultivation of poppies. Women and
children could attend to the cultivation of any quantity required
for their own use, in making oil, and it would be found a profitable
branch of industry, when engaged in on a large scale.
827. _Candles and Lamps._--In purchasing wax, spermaceti, or
composition candles for _company_, there will be a saving by
proportioning the length and size of the lights to the probable
duration of the party. Mixed wax and spermaceti make the best
candles, of which a long _four_ (that is, four to the pound,) will
last ten hours; a short _six_ will burn six hours; a _three_, twelve
hours.
A moderate-sized French table-lamp, will consume a quarter of a pint
of oil in twelve hours and a half.
A common japanned kitchen-lamp, with one burner, will consume
one-eighth of a pint of oil in nine hours.
828. _Neats'-foot Oil._--Boil the feet for several hours, as for
making stock for jelly; skim off the oily matter from time to time
as it rises, and, when it ceases to come up, pour off the water; next
day, take off the cake of fat and oil which will be found on the top;
boil it and the oil before obtained, together with a little cold
water; let it cool; pour off the water, and bottle the oil for use.
This oil being perfectly pure, and free from smell, may be used with
the French lights in a sick-room.
829. _Soap._--Soap, as well as candles, is improved by keeping. Buy
your store for the winter as early as September, and cut the large
bars of soap into pieces, to dry. It goes farther, and is better.
830. _Coals._--Lay in your stock of coal and wood, during summer,
when fuel of all kinds is cheapest.
831. _Good method of making Fires._--In managing your fires during
the day, first lay on a shovelful of the dust and ashes from under
the grate, then a few coals, then more ashes, and afterwards a few
more coals, and thus proceed till your grate is properly filled,
placing a few round coals in front. You will find that the ashes
retain the heat better than coals alone; you will have less smoke, a
pleasant fire, and a very little waste left at night.
832. _Kitchen-Paper._--Whited-brown and common writing is much
used: it should be bought by the ream or half-ream, which will be
much cheaper than by the quire. White paper only should be used for
singeing, and for covering meat, pastry, &c.
833. _Economy in Tinder._--The very high price of paper, at present,
renders the saving of even the smallest quantity of linen or cotton
rags of consequence, as they sell very dear. Trifling as it may be
thought, yet it will be found that a considerable quantity of rags
may be saved in a family, by using as tinder for lighting matches,
the contents of the common snuffers, collected in the course of the
evening.
834. _To prevent Accidents, from leaving a poker in the fire._--The
following invention is equally simple and secure:--Immediately above
that square part of the poker, by blacksmiths called "the bit," let
a small cross of iron, about an inch and a half each way, be welded
in.
The good consequences of this simple contrivance will be--
1st. If the poker, by the fire giving way, should slip out, it will
probably catch on the edge of the fender.
2d. If it should not, it cannot injure the hearth or carpet, as the
hot part of the poker will be borne up some inches.
3d. The poker cannot be run into the fire further than the bit,
which, in regard to a polished poker, is also of some consequence.
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF INFANTS, YOUNG CHILDREN, AND THE SICK.
835. In a previous work--"Mrs. Hale's New Cook Book,"--I gave
many receipts for preparing food for invalids and children; but
something more is needed. Young mothers and nurses, who are often
inexperienced, will, I am sure, thank me for taking pains to procure,
from the most eminent authorities, the best directions and recipes
to aid them in the discharge of their arduous and most important
duties. The preservation of life, and the formation of the physical
constitution, as well as the moral development of the young beings
committed by Divine Providence to the especial care of woman, render
it one of the best accomplishments of our sex, to learn all we can
respecting the high vocation whereunto we are called, viz., that of
conservators of humanity.
836. _Of young Infants._--Immediately on the birth of the child, it
should be received into soft fine flannel, sufficient completely
to envelop or wrap round the body, in which, with the mouth and
nose scarcely exposed, it should repose at least an hour. The child
may then be washed with _tepid_ water, tenderly and cautiously,
yet speedily made dry with soft linen cloth. Afterwards let it be
expeditiously dressed, and put into a warm, bed, and, during the
first week or fortnight, exposed as little as possible to cold air:
how long this caution may be necessary, will depend on the season of
the year, or the temperature of the atmosphere. By strictly adhering
to this mode of managing a new-born infant, it will not suffer from
catarrh, cough, difficulty of breathing, diarrhea, sore eyes, or
stoppage in the head.
Children are frequently placed under the care of a nurse, who, from
her experience, is supposed qualified for the important trust; but
it often happens, either from her obstinacy or self-importance, that
the most judicious plan of treatment recommended by the attending
physician, is defeated.
At this period the mother is called on, by religious and moral
obligation, as well as by the ties of natural affection, to suckle
her infant: no doubt could be entertained of her immediate assent to
so powerful an impulse, if uninfluenced by her friends or relatives.
It cannot be denied, that she may be disqualified for the office
by various maladies, by an incipient phthisis, by a scorbutic or
scrofulous taint, by hysterical or nervous affections, &c. However,
the fitness or unfitness of the mother for this endearing office,
should be determined by the attending physician. There are many
instances recorded of women who had been extremely delicate and
sickly previous to their first confinement, becoming afterwards
healthy and robust. On the contrary, there are several histories of
other women, who previously had enjoyed good health, suffering from
counteracting the regular process of nature. The flow of the milk
being checked, undue determinations have taken place to the chest or
head, and in some cases proved fatal.
In the bowels of children at the time of their birth, there is an
accumulation of what is called "the meconium." For whatever purpose
it was intended before the birth of the child, it would become
injurious were it afterwards suffered to remain. Nature has provided
the means for its removal, by giving to the new milk an aperient
quality. Therefore it is advisable to wait, even to the third day,
for the appearance of the milk, rather than attempt to remove the
meconium by castor oil, or any other mild aperient medicine. The
coats of the child's stomach and bowels are so extremely tender and
irritable, that the mildest purgative will give pain, and disorder
the health of the infant. By waiting for the milk, relief is obtained
by the means nature has provided, without the slightest inconvenience.
837. _Clothing._--The clothing for children cannot be too simple: it
should be so formed as to admit of being easily and quickly changed,
free from all bandages or pins, and secured only by tape. Shoes or
stockings may be dispensed with, until the child begins to use its
legs, as they keep the feet wet and unpleasant, unless changed every
hour. The child left to itself, will soon begin to enjoy the use and
freedom of its limbs.
838. _Food._--The proper food for children is a subject of
more importance. That which nature has provided is the milk of
its parent; but, when this is lacking, a preparation formed of
cow's milk and water, with a little loaf sugar, in the following
proportions, supplies the desideratum:--Take of fresh cow's milk, one
table-spoonful; hot water, two table-spoonfuls; loaf sugar, as much
as may be agreeable. Such nourishment will alone be sufficient for
its support, until the end of the first three months. At this period,
it may require a small portion of light animal food, of which, how
to select the most nutritious, to regulate the quantity, and to
administer it, after proper intervals, must depend on the experience
of the nurse. Experience is often superseded by convenience: if
the child cries, the nurse attributes it to a want of food, and,
by her agency, it is fed almost every hour, both night and day. It
is seldom that a child cries from abstinence, if it be healthy and
free from pain. In the infantile state, the powers of the digestive
organs are much weaker than at a more advanced period of life;
and therefore, although the food is more simple, it requires an
interval of some hours to convert it into chyle: if this process be
interrupted by frequent feeding, the chyle will be crude, and pass
off without affording due nourishment to the child. Sickness in
children arises from the quality or quantity of their food, unduly
administered. The food for children should be light and simple--gruel
alone, or mixed with cow's milk; mutton broth, or beef tea; stale
bread, rusks, or biscuits, boiled in water to a proper consistence,
and a little sugar added. The great mortality of children in large
towns, may be attributed to the poverty of their parents, who cannot
purchase the necessary food or clothing, nor find leisure to attend
to cleanliness, air, and exercise, so indispensably necessary to the
well-being of their offspring. In the wealthy ranks of society, these
means are easily obtained; and in the management of their children,
we have only to dread the abuse of these advantages. Happy would it
be both for rich and poor, if the superfluities of the one could be
transferred for the benefit of the other.
When six months old, a child may be fed every four hours, when
awake. Nothing can be more injurious to health than too frequent or
irregular meals. Children, if left to themselves, soon acquire the
habit of passing through the night without being fed.
839. _Weaning_ of children should not take place under six months,
if the mother be in health, nor be deferred beyond nine months. It
cannot be too frequently impressed on the mind of the parent, that
the future health and strength of her child depend on a due supply
of the food which nature has provided. Regarding her own health, the
chances are that it will be improved--at all events, it is incumbent
on her to make the experiment; if her strength falls off, she may at
any time retire from the effort, and engage a wet-nurse.
This _foster-parent_ should not be more than thirty years of age,
nor should her milk be more than three months old. She should be in
health, free from scorbutic or scrofulous taints, from cutaneous
scurf, or eruptions, perfectly clean in her person, and extremely
neat in her management of whatever concerns the child. She must be
sober and temperate: her diet should consist of a due proportion
of bread, fresh meat, and vegetables; her drink, tea, chocolate,
and milk and water; but on no consideration either wine or any
other spirituous liquors. These, if drank by the nurse, will prove
injurious to the child.
840. _Proper Medicines for Infants._--Nature has not only provided
food for infants, but likewise given to them a constitution capable
of correcting those slight deviations from health, to which alone
they are liable when properly nursed. This has induced many to
assert that medicines are not required in the nursery: perhaps the
assertion might be correct, if children were suffered to remain in
a state of nature: the further they are removed from it, the evils
they have to contend with bear a proportionate increase. As most of
their complaints arise from a want of attention to their food, to
air, and exercise, by a prompt and skilful use of medicine, these
complaints may be removed; therefore, it is not the use but the abuse
of medicine that should be avoided. If a child be tormented by a pin
running into the flesh, no one would contend against the removal of
the pin.
The diseases to which children are liable, are sore eyes, sore ears,
sore head, scald head, sickness and vomiting, thrush, red gum,
yellow gum, pain in the bowels, diarrhea, dentition, chilblains,
rickets, worms, scrofula, catarrh, cough, measles, &c.
841. _Sore Eyes_ frequently occur on the second or third day after
the birth, occasioned by too early an exposure of the child to a
cold atmosphere: the eyelids swell, become closed, and discharge a
purulent matter. It may be relieved by fomenting the eyelids with
equal parts of lime water and elder-flower water. Dip some fine old
linen cloth into this mixture, moderately warmed, and apply it to
the eyelids. This is a mild astringent application: if the swellings
should not be reduced by it, the following, which is more astringent,
will probably succeed: Take of white vitriol, two grains; rose-water,
two ounces; mix them together. Should it be necessary, the quantity
of white vitriol may be increased.
842. _Sore Ears._--Excoriations of the skin frequently happen either
behind the ears, in the folds of the skin, on the neck, in the
groins, or wherever the folds of the skin, come in contact. Wash the
skin morning and evening with cold water, make it perfectly dry with
a fine linen cloth, then shake on lightly the following powder: Take
white ceruse, one part; wheaten starch, in flour, three parts; mix
them together. Or, take Goulard's extract, French brandy, of each,
one drachm; rose-water, four ounces. Mix them together, and apply it
with soft linen cloth to the excoriations of the skin.
The following liniment may be relied on: Take acetate of lead, one
scruple; rose-water, half an ounce; melted beef marrow, one ounce.
Rub the acetate of lead in the rose-water, until they are intimately
mixed, then melt the marrow over a gentle heat; afterwards pour the
mixture upon the marrow by little and little, taking care that each
addition be incorporated with the marrow, so as to form an uniform
mass. This may be applied with a camels'-hair pencil.
843. _Sore Head._--This complaint appears first on the forehead, in
large white spots or scabs, which, if neglected, soon spread over
the whole surface of the head. It is sometimes dry, at others moist,
with a thin, watery discharge. It is named the crusta lactea, or
milky crust. There are two methods of treating it. Nurses encourage
the discharge by applying cabbage leaves, oil-cloth, &c.; this is by
no means necessary; it makes the head offensive, and the appearance
of the child disgusting. It is much better to cure it as soon as
possible, by washing the scabs night and morning with equal parts of
brandy and water; then lay on the following ointment: Take, olive
oil, five drachms; white wax, two drachms; calcined zinc, one drachm.
Melt the oil and wax together, then add the zinc by degrees, and keep
stirring it until they are intimately mixed.
844. _Scald Head_ is totally unlike the preceding disease:
brown-colored scabs appear on the crown of the head, which discharge
a glutinous matter, and unite the hairs, so as to prevent their being
separated with a comb: these scabs continue to spread until they
occupy the whole of the scalp.
Keep the hair cut as close as possible, wash the head with a strong
solution of soap in water, night and morning; as soon as it can be
done, instead of cutting the hair with scissors, let it be shaved
close once a day.
Every one has a remedy for this complaint; perhaps the following
ointment will be found one of the most effective: Take Barbadoes tar,
one ounce; the dust of the lycoperdon, or puff fungus, one drachm.
Mix them well together, and rub in a part of it to the roots of the
hair, after washing the head with the soap and water. By steadily
persevering in these means, and giving an occasional purge, the cure
will soon be accomplished.
845. _Sickness and Vomiting._--Soon after the birth, children
are frequently annoyed by these symptoms: they are occasioned by
the indiscreet conduct of the nurses, who are apt to give either
improper food or medicine. At this early period, as before remarked,
the stomach is incapable of digesting any other food than the milk
of its mother; consequently, whatever is forced into it, remains
there undigested, until, by a convulsive effort, it is thrown off
by vomiting. So long as it remains in the stomach, the child is
restless, and in other respects indisposed. It may be relieved by a
tea-spoonful of castor-oil, to be repeated, until one or two motions
are occasioned.
Children who are dry nursed are most subject to sickness and
vomiting; the natural remedy is the breast of a healthy woman.
Without this relief, gripings and diarrhea frequently come on and
prove fatal.
Children so circumstanced, may be relieved by the following emetic:
Take of ipecacuanha, two drachms; boiling water, four ounces. Let
them stand together until the water grows cold, then strain off the
liquor. To one ounce of the liquor, add eight drops of antimonial
wine. Dose, two tea-spoonfuls every half hour, until it excites
vomiting.
846. _The Thrush_, or sore mouth, is a complaint very painful, and,
if neglected, fatal to children. When it first comes on, it resembles
small pieces of curd lying loose upon the tongue; it gradually
spreads itself over the inside of the mouth, but afterwards rapidly
advances to the throat, stomach, and bowels. Therefore, when the
white specks appear, proper means should be instantly employed to
remove them, or to suspend their progress. If the child be costive,
give the following aperient:
Take of calcined magnesia, two scruples; common mint water, two
ounces; mix them together. The dose, a dessert-spoonful every half
hour, until it operates. Or, take of manna, one ounce; senna leaves,
one drachm; common mint-water, four ounces. Boil them together, until
the manna be dissolved, then strain off the liquor. Dose, two drachms
every half hour, until two or more motions are occasioned.
For cleaning the mouth, take equal parts of borax and white sugar;
rub them together into a fine powder. Of this put a small quantity
into the child's mouth, which will be distributed to every part by
the motion of its tongue. Repeat this application three or four times
a day: if used early, it will keep the mouth free from white specks,
and remove the complaint in a few days.
If, on the contrary, it should be neglected, and suffered to extend
to the stomach and bowels, gentle emetics ought to be employed,
such as the following antimonial emetic: Take of antimonial wine,
forty drops; mint-water, two ounces. Mix them together. Dose, a
dessert-spoonful every half hour, until it excites vomiting.
This disease rarely occurs in children, who take no other food but
the milk of the mother, or foster-parent. It is so far contagious,
that if a healthy child be put to the breast of a woman, who is
suckling another child, having the thrush, it will contract this
complaint.
847. _Red Gum_ requires no farther attention than keeping the bowels
gently open, and avoiding an exposure to cold air. It is symptomatic
of healthy action, and ought not to be checked.
848. _Infantile Jaundice._--The skin of new-born infants is sometimes
tinged with bile, and gives the appearance of jaundice; by some it
has been named the yellow gum. It seems to be occasioned by the
sudden change in the circulation of the blood, immediately on the
birth, by which an increased flow of blood is conveyed to the liver,
and consequently an increased secretion of bile follows, which from
various causes may be prevented from passing off freely into the
intestines. It is attended with no danger, and is generally removed
by mild purgatives.
The hare-lip, frænum linguæ, or tongue-tied, requires surgical aid.
849. _Pain in the Bowels_ may happen with or without diarrhea, and
is often produced by improper food, or exposure to cold air. The
symptoms are frequent fits of crying, drawing up the knees towards
the bowels, which are hard and tense to the touch, accompanied
either with an obstinate costiveness, or thin, watery, and frequent
evacuations, slimy, sour, and of a green color. This complaint is
oftentimes relieved by the following powders: Take Turkey rhubarb,
in very fine powder, calcined magnesia, of each, twelve grains;
compound powder of ipecacuanha, four grains. Mix them well together,
and divide them into six doses: one to be given night and morning,
to a child under three months; above that age, the dose should be
increased.
The health and diet of the mother, or nurse, should be strictly
attended to. In some cases the pain is extremely acute, and the
agony of the child is known by its cries. Whenever this happens,
the following mixture may be given: Take of Turkey rhubarb, in fine
powder, twelve grains; magnesia, eight grains; tincture of rhubarb,
one drachm; syrup of poppies, two drachms; simple mint-water, an
ounce and a half. Mix them together. Dose, if within the first or
second month, two tea-spoonfuls every fourth hour. The phial should
be shaken before the medicine is poured out.
850. _Other remedies for the Colic in Infants._--A great variety of
cordials, spices, and opiates, has been recommended, and frequently
used, to relieve the pain and expel the wind. They may sometimes
answer the purpose, especially in sudden fits of pain in the stomach,
from cold or any other accidental cause. At all times, they should
be sufficiently diluted with water, cautiously given, and seldom
repeated. When the effects of these medicines go off, the pain
returns; therefore it is not a desirable mode of obtaining relief. Of
the cordials, Geneva, mixed with water, is the least objectionable;
being impregnated with the essential oil of juniper-berries, it is an
excellent and safe carminative. However, these warm medicines are by
no means to be relied on for the removal of the cause of this malady,
their effect being merely temporary: such as Godfrey's cordial, and
other nostrums--being compounds of opium, spices, and brandy. Opium,
when judiciously administered, is an invaluable remedy; the dose of
it should be most accurately proportioned to the age of the patient,
and urgency of the symptoms, otherwise it may become a _poison_;
and, therefore, should never be given to children, unless under the
direction of the most skilful in the profession. Few nurseries are
without a medicine of this kind; it quiets the pain of the infant,
induces sleep, and leaves the nurse to her repose. Children under
this treatment become languid, pallid, incapable of exertion, and, at
length, rickety.
The following anodyne mixture will generally relieve the griping
pains of diarrhea:--Take of prepared chalk, and gum-arabic, each one
drachm; syrup of white poppies, three drachms; Geneva, two drachms;
water, four ounces. Mix them together. Dose, a dessert-spoonful after
each motion.
In bowel-complaints, chalk has been objected to, as too powerful
an astringent in checking diarrhea suddenly: this may be obviated
by giving it only after each motion. When the bowels have been
previously acted on, either by the rhubarb powders, or by the
antimonial emetic, the chalk mixture is a never-failing remedy. It
may be given with or without opium, according to the urgency of the
symptoms.
The following medicine, by exciting a determination to the skin,
effectually relieves the sufferings of the child:--Take ipecacuanha,
in coarse powder, two drachms; boiling water, four ounces. When cold,
strain off the liquor through a fine piece of linen cloth: then add
to three ounces of this liquor--of Geneva, three drachms; syrup of
white poppies, two drachms. Dose, a dessert-spoonful every fourth
hour.
When this state of the bowels is followed by convulsions, the lower
extremities, or the whole body, should be immersed in a warm bath.
During the preparation of a bath, flannel dipped in warm water and
wrung dry, may be applied to the extremities. Leeches and blisters,
under skilful directions, will subdue the violence of the symptoms.
851. _Convulsions_--Are generally symptomatic, and, for the most
part, in children, occasioned by the growth of their teeth:
therefore, the gums should be carefully examined, to ascertain
whether they arise from this cause; if so, the lancet should be
immediately and freely used, to divide the gum down to the teeth.
This operation is not painful, nor in the least degree hazardous,
therefore ought not to be delayed.
852. _Dentition._--There is no period in infancy that requires more
skill and attention, than that which passes from the first movement
of the teeth in their sockets, to their subsequent advance through
the gums. At the birth of the child, the teeth are lodged within the
jaw-bones, and enveloped by a membrane or bag, which is distended as
the teeth enlarge and press forward, frequently attended with pain,
fever, diarrhea, and convulsions. These symptoms first appear towards
the end of the third month, when the child is said to be breeding its
teeth: they arise from the first enlargement of the teeth in their
sockets, and subside as soon as they pass above the jaw. Between the
sixth and ninth month, the teeth as they rise, press upon the gums,
when the same train of symptoms take place. Some children suffer very
little pain during this process; others suffer most severely: this
depends chiefly on the nerves being more or less irritable. When
the child preserves its appetite and cheerfulness, and is free from
fever, no medicine can be required, except what may be necessary
to obviate costiveness. This should be carefully attended to, as
nothing tends more effectually to relieve or prevent the symptoms of
dentition, than a free discharge from the bowels.
An increased secretion of saliva marks the first advance of the
teeth, followed, in irritable habits, by diarrhea, fever, thirst,
and convulsions. The use of the gum-lancet should not be neglected,
whenever the symptoms are urgent. The parents frequently object to
this mode of relief, conceiving it to be a painful operation. As a
proof of the contrary, children that have once been relieved by it,
will eagerly press their gums upon the lancet. If the tooth should
not appear after the first use of the lancet, the incision may be
frequently repeated.
The symptoms may be relieved by the following emetic:--Take of
tartar-emetic, one grain; dissolve it in two ounces of distilled
water. Dose, two tea-spoonfuls every half-hour, until it excites
vomiting.
This remedy will relax the tension of the gums, and lessen the force
of the fever.
If the habit of the child should be costive, the mildest purgatives
should be employed, to occasion two or more motions daily--such
as manna, dissolved in common mint-water; or senna-tea; or the
following:--Take of senna leaves, one drachm; the yellow rind of the
lemon, eight grains: boil them in two ounces of water; strain off the
liquor, when cold; and give a dessert-spoonful as a dose for children
three or four months old. Or, take manna and fresh-drawn oil of sweet
almonds, of each, one ounce; syrup of roses, two ounces: mix them
together. Dose, a dessert-spoonful.
853. _The Croup_--At its commencement has the appearance of common
catarrh, but speedily assumes its peculiar character, which is marked
by hoarseness, with a shrillness and ringing sound in coughing
and breathing; so shrill is the noise made by the child, that it
resembles the sound of air forced through a tube of brass. This
inflammation, seated in the membrane which lines the windpipe, is
attended with stricture, difficult respiration, cough, quick pulse,
heat, and a flushed countenance.
This disease comes on suddenly, and is extremely rapid in its
progress; therefore, vigorous measures must be instantly adopted.
Give an emetic, then apply a blister across the throat, and keep the
bowels open with laxative injections.
854. _Cure for Croup._--Dr. Fisher, of Boston, relates in a late
number of the Medical _Journal_, a case in which a severe attack of
croup was cured by the application of sponge, wrung out of hot water,
to the throat, together with water treatment, which he describes as
follows:--
"Soon after making the first application of sponges to the throat,
I wrapped the child in a woolen blanket, wrung out in warm water,
as a substitute for a warm bath, and gave twenty drops of the wine
of antimony in a little sweetened water, which was swallowed with
difficulty. I persevered in the application of the hot, moist sponges
for an hour, when the child was so much relieved that I ventured to
leave it.
"These applications were continued through the night, and in the
morning the child was well."
It will never do to trifle with this terrible disease. The quicker
the remedies are applied, the better. Instead of antimony, we would
recommend small quantities of alum water, given every ten or fifteen
minutes, until the child vomits.
855. _Rickets_--Are, for the most part, induced by improper food
and bad nursing. Their approach is marked by a sickly, pallid
countenance, cough, and difficult respiration. The bones of the legs
and arms lose their firmness, and become more or less crooked; the
bones of the head do not unite, and the spine becomes distorted. At
its first appearance it may be successfully counteracted by a strict
attention to cleanliness in every thing that concerns the child, by
exercise in the open air, by cold bathing, by friction of the limbs
night and morning, and by a light, nutritious diet. Before the use
of the bath, the bowels should be cleared by the following aperient
powder:--
Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, six grains; calcined magnesia, three
grains; common mint-water, six drachms. Mix them together.
During the use of the cold bath, either Peruvian bark or steel may be
employed to strengthen the child: such as,
The precipitate of the sulphate of iron, three grains; syrup of
cinnamon, a tea-spoonful. When mixed, to be taken three times a-day.
Or, take of the resinous extract of bark, one drachm; the syrup of
cinnamon, seven drachms. Mix them together. The dose, a tea-spoonful,
three times a-day.
856. _Scrofula._--Although it has been considered as an hereditary
disease, may be induced in a child, whose parents have no such taint,
by a neglect of proper food, air and exercise. On the contrary, when
the taint does exist in the parent, the offspring may pass through
life with the enjoyment of tolerable health, by a strict attention to
those means which are known to invigorate the body. Of preventives,
there are none so efficacious as sea air, sea bathing, and the
internal use of the sea water, in sufficient quantity to act on
the bowels, and the local application of it to the glands which are
enlarged. Indeed, the children of diseased parents should reside on
the coast, in order to have the full benefit of these advantages.
Friction should be applied generally on the surface of the body, with
the hand covered with a flannel glove, night and morning. Food of
easy digestion is to be preferred, such as shell-fish, game, poultry,
beef or mutton. Bark and steel, as medicines, may be occasionally
administered with good effect. This disease, which bids defiance to
the regular physician, cannot with propriety be placed on the list of
casualties, or sudden seizures.
857. _Worms._--There are three species of worms which infest the
intestines: namely, the flat worm, or tænia; the long, round worm,
lumbrici; the short, round worm, or ascarides. The tænia is of rare
occurrence when compared with the lumbrici or ascarides, but more
difficult to remove. Full doses of sulphate of iron, with occasional
active doses of calomel, force them to retire. The lumbrici are
destroyed by repeated doses of calomel and scammony. The ascarides,
being found in the lowest portion of the intestines, are easily
removed by injections of lime-water, or a solution of aloes.
Parents who would preserve their children from worms, ought to allow
them plenty of exercise in the open air; to take care that their
food be wholesome and sufficiently solid; and, as far as possible,
to prevent their eating raw herbs, roots, or green trashy fruits. It
will not be amiss to allow a child who is subject to worms, a glass
of red wine after meals; as every thing that braces and strengthens
the stomach, is good both for preventing and expelling these vermin.
In order to prevent any mistake of what I have here said in favor
of _solid_ food, it may be proper to observe, that I only made use
of that word in opposition to _slops_ of every kind; not to advise
parents to cram their children with meat, two or three times a-day.
This should only be allowed at dinner, and in moderate quantities,
or it would create, instead of preventing, worms; for there is no
substance in nature which generates so many worms as the flesh of
animals, when in a state of putrefaction. Meat, therefore, at the
principal meal, should always be accompanied with plenty of good
bread, and young, tender, and well-boiled vegetables; especially
in the spring, when these are poured forth from the bosom of the
earth in such profusion. They promote the end in view, by keeping
the body moderately open, without the aid of artificial physic.
The ripe fruits of autumn produce the same effect; and, from their
cooling, antiputrescent qualities, are as wholesome as the unripe are
pernicious. I also very earnestly conjure parents not to take the
alarm at every imaginary symptom of worms, and directly run for drugs
to the quack, or apothecary. They should first try the good effects
of proper diet and regimen, and never have recourse to medicines till
after unequivocal proofs of the nature of the complaint.
Honey and milk are very good for worms; so is strong salt water;
likewise, powdered sage and molasses taken freely.
858. _Quinsy_--Is the common inflammatory sore throat, attended by a
sense of heat and fulness in the throat, by difficult deglutition,
generally preceded by shivering, with a sense of coldness. On
inspection, the tonsils appear red and enlarged. These symptoms
continuing to increase, the patient is threatened with suffocation,
the tonsils suppurate, when, by a spontaneous bursting of the
abscess, relief instantly follows. It often happens that the abscess
does not give way so soon as expected, when the puncture of a lancet
puts an end to the alarming sufferings of the patient. In some cases,
the quantity of matter contained in the tumor is very considerable,
and instances have occurred, when, from the sudden bursting of the
tumor, the patient being in a horizontal position, suffocation has
followed, from the matter falling into the lungs.
To guard against these evils, an emetic of ipecacuanha should be
administered, and a blister applied to the neck. As soon as the
effect of the emetic has ceased, and the stomach will receive it,
give the following aperient mixture:--Take of tartarized kali, three
drachms; infusion of senna, two ounces; tincture of senna, two
drachms. Mix them together.
If blisters are objected to, a piece of fine flannel, moistened with
the compound spirit of ammonia, may be placed round the neck. Gargles
are to be used in every stage of this disease; at first, they should
be mildly detergent, as the following:--Take of barley-water, six
ounces and a half; honey of roses, one ounce; tincture of myrrh, and
vinegar, of each, two drachms. Mix them together, and cleanse the
mouth and throat with some of the gargle from time to time.
When the violence of the symptoms begins to subside, a sharper
gargle becomes necessary; for this purpose the following is
recommended:--Take of infusion of red roses, seven ounces; honey of
roses, one ounce; diluted sulphuric acid, twenty drops. Mix them
together.
Throughout the course of this disease, keep the bowels open with mild
purgatives or laxative injections. When the swelling of the tonsils
comes on rapidly, send instantly for a surgeon.
859. _Whooping Cough._--This is a violent, convulsive cough, attended
at first with slight febrile symptoms. Its shortest duration is three
weeks; during this time, the symptoms may be rendered milder, or more
aggravated, by the mode of treatment.
During the first three or four weeks, keep the child or patient in an
uniform degree of temperature; if possible, never below 64 degrees of
Fahrenheit's scale. The diet should be light, chiefly bread, milk,
and vegetables with butter. Rice or Indian puddings, with plenty of
molasses, are good food for children in this disease. If the cough is
very violent, and the phlegm hard in the throat, a gentle emetic of
ipecacuanha, or some preparation of antimony, should be given every
second or third morning, to clear the stomach from the mucus which,
in this cough, is constantly secreted. By these means, the violence
of the disease will soon be overcome; whereas, by an exposure to cold
air, and neglecting all precautions, you may aggravate and continue
the cough for months. In the summer, change of air is one of the best
remedies; and be sure to avoid whatever has a tendency to irritate
the throat, or excite the action of the heart. In this, as in every
other disease, the state of the bowels should be carefully attended
to. A mild aperient is sometimes necessary.
860. _Colds._--The best _preventive_ of colds, is to wash your
children every day thoroughly in cold water, if they are strong
enough to bear it; if not, add a little warm water, and rub the skin
dry. This keeps the pores open. If they do take cold, give them a
warm bath as soon as possible; if that is not convenient, bathe the
feet and hands, and wash the body all over in warm water; then give a
cup of warm tea, and cover the patient in bed.
861.--If a _Sore Throat_ follow, take a tumbler of molasses and
water, half-and-half, when going to bed; and rub the throat with a
mixture of sweet or goose-oil and spirits of turpentine; then wear
flannel round it.
862. _Canker, or Sore Month._--Steep blackberry-leaves, sweeten with
honey, sprinkle in a little burnt alum, and wash the mouth often with
this decoction.
863. _Cutaneous Eruptions in Children._--Children, while on the
breast, are seldom free from eruptions of one kind or other. These,
however, are not often dangerous, and ought never to be dried up
but with the greatest caution. They tend to free the bodies of
infants from hurtful humors, which, if retained, might produce fatal
disorders. The eruptions of children are chiefly owing to improper
food and neglect of cleanliness. If a child be stuffed at all hours
with food that its stomach is not able to digest, such food not
being properly assimilated, instead of nourishing the body, fills it
with gross humors. These must either break out in form of eruptions
upon the skin, or remain in the body, and occasion fevers and other
internal disorders.
Eruptions are the effect of improper food, or want of cleanliness:
a proper attention to these alone will generally be sufficient to
remove them. If this should not be the case, some drying medicines
will be necessary. When they are applied, the body ought at the same
time to be kept open, and cold is carefully to be avoided. We know
no medicine that is more safe for drying up cutaneous eruptions than
sulphur, provided it be prudently used. A little of the flour of
sulphur may be mixed with fresh butter, oil, or hog's lard, and the
parts affected frequently touched with it.
The most obstinate of all the eruptions incident to children are, the
_tinea capitis_, or scabbed head, and chilblains. The scabbed head
is often exceedingly difficult to cure, and sometimes, indeed, the
cure proves worse than the disease. I have frequently known children
seized with internal disorders, of which they died soon after their
scabbed heads had been healed by the application of drying medicines.
The cure ought always first to be attempted by keeping the head very
clean, cutting off the hair, combing and brushing away the scabs,
&c. If this is not sufficient, let the head be shaved once a-week,
washed daily with yellow soap, and gently anointed with a liniment
made of train-oil, eight ounces, red precipitate, in fine powder,
one drachm. And if there be proud flesh, it should be touched with
a bit of blue vitriol, or sprinkled with a little burnt alum. While
these things are doing, the patient must be confined to a regular
light diet, the body should be kept gently open, and cold, as far as
possible, ought to be avoided. To prevent any bad consequences from
stopping this discharge, it will be proper, especially in children of
a gross habit, to make an issue in the neck or arm, which may be kept
open till the patient becomes more strong, and the constitution be
somewhat mended.
864. _Wounded Feet._--When a nail or pin has been run into the foot,
instantly bind on a rind of salt pork; if the foot swell, bathe it in
a strong decoction of wormwood, then bind on another rind of pork,
and keep quiet till the wound is well. The lockjaw is often caused by
such wounds, if neglected.
865. _For a Bruise or Sprain._--Bathe the part in cold water, till
you can get ready a decoction of wormwood. This is one of the
best remedies for sprains and bruises. When the wormwood is fresh
gathered, pound the leaves and wet them either with water or vinegar,
and bind them on the bruise; when the herb is dry, put it into cold
water, and let it boil a short time, then bathe the bruise and bind
on the herb.
Always keep cotton wool, scraped lint, and wormwood on hand.
866. _Ear-ache in Children._--The ear-ache is usually caused by a
sudden cold. Steam the head over hot herbs, bathe the feet, and put
into the ear cotton wool wet with sweet oil and paregoric.
867. _To make Artificial Sea Water, for bathing Children._--Take
common sea salt, two pounds; bitter purging salt, two ounces,
magnesia earth, half an ounce; dissolve all in river water, six
gallons. These are the exact proportions and contents of sea water,
from an accurate analyzation.
868. _Another method of making Sea Water._--Take common salt, half an
ounce; rain, or river water, pure, a pint; spirit of sea salt, twenty
drops. Mix it.
869. _Valuable concise Rules for preserving Health in Winter._--Keep
the feet from wet, and the head well defended when in bed; avoid
too plentiful meals; drink moderately warm and generous, but not
inflaming liquors; go not abroad without breakfast. Shun the night
air as you would the plague; and let your houses be kept from damps
by warm fires. By observing these few and simple rules, better health
may be expected than from the use of the most powerful medicines.
870. _Avoid, as much as possible, living near Church-yards._--The
putrid emanations arising from church-yards are very dangerous;
and parish-churches, in which many corpses are interred, become
impregnated with an air so corrupted, especially in spring, when the
ground begins to grow warm, that it is prudent to avoid this evil as
much as possible, as it may be, and, in some cases, has been, one of
the chief sources of putrid fevers which are so prevalent at that
season.
871. _Cautions in visiting Sick Rooms._--Do not venture into a sick
room if you are in a violent perspiration; for the moment your body
becomes cold, it is in a state likely to absorb the infection; nor
visit a sick person, (if the complaint be of a contagious nature,)
with an _empty stomach_, nor swallow your saliva. In attending a
sick person, place yourself where the air passes from the door or
window, to the bed of the invalid, not between the invalid and the
fire, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in that
direction, and you would run much danger from breathing in it.
872. _Syncope, or Fainting._--When fainting comes on from loss of
blood, inanition, or sudden emotions of the mind, the patient should
be placed in a horizontal position, with the head gently raised.
Volatile salts should be applied to the nose, and when the patient
is sufficiently recovered, a few spoonfuls of warm cordial medicine
should be administered.
873. _Preventive of Autumnal Rheumatisms._--For the sake of bright
and polished stoves, do not, when the weather is cold, refrain from
making fires. There is not a more useful document for health to the
inhabitants of this climate, than "follow your feelings."
874. _To promote Sleep._--No fire, candle, rush-light, or lamp,
should be kept burning, during the night, in a bed-room; for it not
only vitiates the air, but disturbs the nerves of the child. Keep the
bed-chamber well ventilated--this greatly promotes healthful rest.
875. _Useful Properties of Celandine._--The juice of this plant cures
tetters and ring-worms, destroys warts, and cures the itch.
876. _Singularly useful Properties of Garlic._--The smell of garlic,
which is formidable to many ladies, is, perhaps, the most infallible
remedy in the world against the vapors, and all the nervous disorders
to which women are subject. Of this (says St. Pierre) I have had
repeated experience.
877. _The Usefulness of two common Plants._--Every plant in the
corn-field possesses virtues particularly adapted to the maladies
incident to the condition of the laboring man. The poppy cures the
pleurisy, procures sleep, stops hemorrhages, and spitting of blood.
Poppy seeds form an emulsion similar to that from almonds in every
respect, when prepared in the same manner. They also yield, by
expression, fine salad oil, like that from Florence. The blue-bottle
is diuretic, vulnerary, cordial, and cooling; an antidote to the
stings of venomous insects, and a remedy for inflammation of the eyes.
QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD NURSE.
878. _Good Temper._--An even temper is among the principal
qualifications, if not the most desirable one, for a good nurse; and
without this gentleness and a kind manner, she must be considered
deficient.
879. _Firmness._--Next in importance to good temper, are _firmness_
and decision of character, the exercise of which is frequently, or
rather absolutely indispensable, in the management of the sick.
880. _Discrimination._--This talent enables the nurse to distinguish
between circumstances which, to an unobserving person, appear nearly
allied to each other, but where there is, in reality, an important
difference. It is only or generally acquired by experience and
observation, and requires good sense as its foundation and support.
It is the faculty of right judgment.
881. _Self-denial._--The business of taking care of the sick, if
rightly attended to, requires a devotion to the interests and wants
of the patient, which can only be given by the good nurse, who can
willingly, and from her heart, practise the heavenly precepts of
doing as she would be done by, and denying herself any indulgences
that interfere with her duties.
882. _General Intelligence._--Another important qualification of a
good nurse, is such knowledge of reading, and subjects of general
interest, as make her able to interest and amuse her patient during
the weary hours of slow recovery, or desponding intervals of
intermitting diseases.
883. _Abstinence from improper habits._--The habit of using snuff in
any manner--smoking--sipping intoxicating liquors--taking opium--or
indulging in any improper and disagreeable habit of actions or
expressions, should be carefully avoided by those who hold the
responsible and important station of nurses of the sick.
884. _Cleanliness._--This is a cardinal virtue; and no woman can be a
good nurse who is careless in her own apparel, and slatternly in her
habits. In the preparation of food for the sick, the most scrupulous
neatness should be observed.
885. _Industry, Economy, and Good Housewifery._--All three of these
qualifications are essential, and usually associated in the same
person; but, the _exercise_ of qualities is necessary to their
improvement--and a nurse who has proved herself competent, is most
worthy of being trusted.
886. _Prudence and Piety._--The principles of true discretion, or
prudence of character, are based on the Christian religion, as are
all the moral virtues. The nurse must be religious, or she will
rarely be discreet; and the opportunities constantly afforded her of
influencing the mind and heart of her patient, render her station
one of great trust and responsibility. A _good nurse_ is a woman that
deserves honor as well as reward.
887. _Rules for the Nurse._--1. Keep the patient's room quiet,
well-aired, and clean as possible.
2. Never excite disagreeable mental emotions in the sick, by telling
sad stories and melancholy news; nor allow the presence of unpleasant
persons or objects.
3. Never whisper, nor seem to be telling what the sick are not
permitted to hear.
4. Administer to the necessities of the invalid, promptly and kindly;
but do not worry him with questions and constant attentions, when
these are not needed.
5. Never disturb the quiet sleep of the patient, even to give
medicine, unless peremptorily charged to do so by the physician. A
refreshing sleep is often better than medicine, for the sick; but do
not sleep yourself, and allow the suffering one to lie awake, and
needing your care.
888. _Administering Medicine._--There are certain rules, if observed
in giving medicine, that will render the duty less disagreeable to
the nurse, by making it more tolerable to the patient.
1st. Select the most agreeable and suitable ingredient in which it is
to be exhibited.
2d. Take as small a quantity of this as can possibly be made to
answer the purpose of mixing.
3d. If it be disagreeable to the taste, prepare the mouth for its
reception by holding in, and rinsing it with some acid, as strong
vinegar, lemon juice, or something of the kind.
4th. Never mix the medicine within sight or hearing of the patient.
5th. Let it be prepared without her knowledge; and insist upon its
being taken immediately upon being presented, for the longer her mind
is permitted to dwell upon it, the more abhorrent it will become.
6th. Endeavor to destroy the taste and smell as much as possible, by
any appropriate means, when it has not been done by the apothecary or
physician.
7th. Let the mouth be well rinsed with the acid after taking it, and
let a swallow or two of lemonade, or some other admissible drink, be
taken.
889. _Plasters and Poultices--Mustard Plasters._--Take a sufficient
quantity of bread crumbs finely rubbed, add mustard in proportion to
the required strength; form a poultice of the proper consistency,
by adding vinegar or water. Dr. Wood thinks water preferable, as
he is of the opinion that vinegar destroys an essential property
of the mustard. Mustard employed for this purpose should be whole
grain, fresh as can be procured, and bruised or mashed in a mortar,
or by any other convenient means. When mustard cannot be procured,
horse radish leaves may be substituted; they must be rolled with a
rolling-pin, to mash and make soft the hard stems, and withered by
pouring over them a little scalding water.
After they have been applied, the feet must be frequently examined
to see that they do not get cold. Often more harm than good is done
by the nurse neglecting this part of her duty. Burdock and cabbage
leaves are frequently directed to be applied to the feet; they are
prepared in the same manner, and require the same attention.
890. _Spice Plaster._--Pulverized cloves, cinnamon, and Cayenne
pepper, half an ounce each; mix, and add flour and wine of galls, or
diluted spirits, to form this plaster; lay it hot on the region of
the stomach. It is excellent for pains and spasms.
891. _Alum Cataplasm._--Take any quantity of the white of eggs;
agitate it with a large lump of alum, till it be coagulated.
892. _Cataplasm of common Salt._--Take crumbs of bread, and linseed
meal, of each equal parts; water, saturated with salt, a sufficient
quantity to give it a proper consistency.
This poultice may be applied to the indolent swellings of the glands,
in scrofulous habits, where the patient is deprived of the benefit
of the sea air and water. A constant use of it will frequently
occasion great inflammation of the skin, requiring a suspension of
its use for a few days; but as soon as the inflammation subsides, it
should be repeated. By the use of this poultice, strumous humors,
and scrofulous enlargements, of a chronic nature, have been totally
dispersed.
893. _Cerate of Cantharides._--Take of spermaceti ointment, six
drachms; cantharides, in fine powder, one drachm. Mix them together.
This is the proper application to keep up a constant discharge from
the part to which a blister has been applied.
894. _Bark Poultice._--Take of Peruvian bark, one ounce: sprinkle it
over a piece of thick muslin of the required size; take another piece
of the same size; lay it over the bark, and quilt them together,
to keep the bark to its place; moisten it with brandy or vinegar.
Some of the aromatics may be used in conjunction with the bark, if
indicated.
Let it be worn over the stomach and bowels. It has proved singularly
beneficial in cases of obstinate intermittents, and debility arising
therefrom.
895. _Mush Poultice._--Mush poultices are sometimes ordered; this
constitutes an invaluable application in cases of violent pain in the
stomach and bowels, such as colic, cramp, &c. It is made by simply
boiling the corn-meal until it attains the proper consistency. It
must be spread on a cloth, and applied as warm as can be endured.
We have known the most inveterate cases relieved by it in fifteen
minutes.--_Shore._
FOOD FOR THE SICK AND FOR CHILDREN.
896. A few rules, the reasons for which may be found in the
Introductory Remarks of "Mrs. Hale's New Cook Book," will be of some
advantage here:--
First. Select those substances that are the most soluble--that are
readily converted into chyle by the _gastric juice_.
Second. Those that experience has shown to be the most nutritious.
Third. Those that contain the least amount of stimulus.
Fourth. These to be given in quantity and frequency proportioned to
the general strength or debility of the patient.
By careful observation, the feelings of the invalid will be found to
furnish the most unequivocal evidence of the truth of the foregoing
principles--any deviation from which will soon be attended with
symptoms more or less unpleasant.
897. _Arrow-root_--Contains, in small bulk, a greater proportion of
nourishment than any other farinaceous substance yet known.
Take of arrow-root, one table-spoonful; sweet milk, half a pint;
boiling-water, half a pint: boil these together for a few moments.
898. _Arrow-root Jelly._--Take one spoonful of arrow-root, and cold
water sufficient to form a paste; add one pint of boiling water:
stir it briskly, and boil it a few minutes, when it will become a
smooth, clear jelly. A little sugar and sherry wine may be added, for
debilitated patients; but for infants, a drop or two of the essence
of caraway-seed or cinnamon is preferable, wine being very apt to
become acid in the stomach of infants, and thus disagree with the
bowels.
899. _Sago._--Take two table-spoonfuls of sago, and one pint of
boiling water; stir together, and boil gently, until it thickens.
Wine, sugar, and nutmeg may be added, according to circumstances.
900. _Boiled Flour._--Take of fine flour, one pound; tie it up in a
linen cloth as tight as possible, and, after frequently dipping it
in cold water, dredge the outside with flour, till a crust is formed
round it, which will prevent the water soaking into it while boiling.
It is then to be boiled until it becomes a hard, dry mass.
Two or three spoonfuls of this may be grated, and prepared in
the same manner as arrow-root, for which it forms an excellent
substitute, and can be obtained in the country, where, perhaps, the
other cannot.
901. _A nourishing Jelly for a Sick Person._--Put into a stone jar or
jug, a set of calf's-feet, cut in pieces, a quart of milk, five pints
of water, a little mace, half an ounce of isinglass, and a handful
of hartshorn shavings. Tie some brown paper over the jug, and put it
into the oven with household bread. When done, strain it through a
sieve; and when cold, take off the fat. Some of it may occasionally
be warmed up with wine and sugar. It is good taken as broth, with
herbs.
902. _Restorative._--One ounce of candied eringo-root, one ounce of
sago, one ounce of pearl-barley, and one ounce of rice. Boil them
in four quarts of water, till reduced to half that quantity. Take a
dessert-spoonful either in milk or wine.
903. _Vegetable Soup._--Take one turnip, one potato, and one onion;
let them be sliced, and boiled in one quart of water for an hour; add
as much salt and parsley as is agreeable, and pour the whole on a
slice of toasted bread.
904. _Egg Gruel._--Boil a pint of new milk; beat two new-laid eggs to
a light froth, and pour in while the milk boils: stir them together
thoroughly, but do not let them boil, sweeten it with the best of
loaf-sugar, and grate in a whole nutmeg; add a little salt, if you
like it. Drink half of it while it is warm, and the other half in two
hours. It is said to be good for the dysentery, as well as nourishing.
905. _Rice Jelly._--Boil a quarter of a pound of rice-flour with half
a pound of loaf-sugar, in a quart of water, till the whole becomes
one glutinous mass; then strain off the jelly, and let it stand to
cool. This food is very nourishing and beneficial to invalids.
906. _Gruels._--Have ready a pint of boiling water, and mix three
large spoonfuls of finely-sifted oat-meal, rye, or Indian, in cold
water; pour it into the skillet while the water boils; let it boil
eight or ten minutes. Throw in a large handful of raisins to boil, if
the patient is well enough to bear them. When put in a bowl, add a
little salt, white sugar, and nutmeg.
907. _Stewed Prunes._--Stew them very gently in a small quantity
of water, till the stones slip out. Physicians consider them safe
nourishment in fevers.
DRINKS FOR THE SICK.
908. Water is the beverage prepared by the bountiful Creator to
allay the thirst of all living creatures on the earth; and when the
bare quenching of thirst is the object, clear, pure cold water is
the best drink that can be given: but, when other objects are to be
attained, a combination becomes necessary, into which, generally,
enters an acid, an alkali, a stimulus, a tonic, or some article of
nourishment. In bilious diseases, acidulated drinks are often found
beneficial--and one of the best of these is in the form of lemonade.
909. _Lemonade._--Take fresh lemon-juice, four ounces; fresh and very
thin-peeled lemon, half an ounce; white sugar, four ounces; boiling
water, three pints. Let this mixture stand till cold, then strain for
use. As this drink sometimes causes pain in the bowels, it should not
be drank too freely.
910. _Apple-Water._--Take one tart apple of ordinary size, well
baked; let it be well mashed; pour on it one pint of boiling water;
beat them well together; let it stand to cool, and strain it off for
use. Add loaf-sugar, if the patient desire it.
911. _Vinegar Mixture._--Take of good vinegar three ounces, water,
one pint; loaf-sugar, two-and-a-half ounces.
ALKALESCENT DRINKS.
912. These are used for what is commonly termed, a _sour
stomach_--_heart-burn_--arising from indigestion. The following is
the combination employed by an eminent physician, in his own case.
913. _Dyspeptic Ley._--Take of hickory ashes, 1 quart; soot, two
ounces; boiling water, 1 gallon. Mix, and let them stand for
twenty-four hours, frequently stirring the ingredients; then pour
off the ley, and bottle it up. A tea-cup of this liquor may be given
three times a-day.
STIMULATING DRINKS.
914. These are given in cases of great debility. Madeira, sherry,
or port wines are usually combined with some other fluid, like the
following.
915. _Wine Whey._--Take of fresh cow's milk, half a pint; white
Madeira wine, one ounce. Boil the milk, then add the wine.
916. _Mustard Whey._--Cow's milk, 1 pint; bruised mustard seed, one
ounce; simmer together till the curd separates, then add half a pint
of Madeira wine. A spoonful of this to be taken every hour or two, in
low fevers and cases of debilitated stomachs.
TONIC DRINKS.
917. _Decoction of Peruvian Bark._--Peruvian bark, bruised, one
ounce; cold water, one pint. Boil together for ten minutes, then add
half an ounce of Virginia snake-root, and two drachms of orange-peel,
bruised. Keep the infusion near the fire for half an hour, in a close
vessel. A wine-glassful may be taken every hour.
918. _Columbo Root and Ginger._--Colombo root, bruised, one ounce;
ginger, two drachms; boiling water, one pint. Let them infuse
one hour by the fire; and give of the strained liquor (cold) a
wine-glassful every two hours.
This infusion, when freely used, has proved successful in bowel
complaint (chronic diarrhea) of long standing.
919. _Peruvian Bark and Valerian._--For this decoction, take Peruvian
bark, bruised, one ounce; water, one pint; take of Valerian root, one
ounce; boiling water, one pint; infuse for one hour and strain. Add
the decoction of bark to this infusion, and give a tea-cupful, cold,
three or four times a-day.
This is chiefly employed in rheumatic headache in which it is
sometimes very serviceable. It was a favorite prescription of the
late Dr. Parrish.
920. _Chamomile and Orange-peel._--For this infusion, take
chamomile-flowers, one ounce; orange-peel, half an ounce; cold water,
three pints; soak together twenty-four hours. Take a tea-cupful four
times a-day.
The chamomile infusion is more agreeable to the taste when cold, and
is less apt to spoil than when made of boiling water.
921. _Wild Cherry-tree Bark._--Take of this bark, dried and bruised,
one ounce; orange-peel, bruised, two drachms; water, one pint. Boil
the bark alone for ten minutes, then add the orange-peel. Take a
wine-glassful, cold, twice a-day.
922. _Dog-wood Bark._--Dog-wood bark, bruised, one ounce; water, one
pint. Boil for twenty or thirty minutes and strain. A wine-glassful
may be given every hour. This is a very good substitute for Peruvian
bark in fever-and-ague.
923. _Sage Tea._--Night sweats have been cured, when more powerful
remedies had failed, by fasting morning and night, and drinking cold
sage tea constantly and freely.
924. _Gentian-root Infusion._--Gentian-root, half an ounce;
orange-peel, pounded, two drachms; hot water, one pint. Let these
stand an hour. This will be found useful in debility of the digestive
organs. A wine-glassful may be given every two or three hours.
925. _Infusion for Rheumatism._--One ounce of gum-guaiacum must be
bruised and put into a pint of French brandy, in which it must remain
for at least thirty hours. When the gum is dissolved, shake the
bottle, and pour a little of this infusion into rather more than a
wine-glassful of tepid water; take this at bed-time, for three nights.
926. _Mixture for Rheumatism._--One ounce of salad mustard must be
simmered in a pint of soft water, till the liquor is reduced to half
a pint; strain it through muslin, and add a pint of milk, fresh from
the cow. Let it boil only two minutes, and take a small tea-cupful,
milk-warm, night and morning.
NUTRITIVE DRINKS.
927. _The best Method of obtaining pure Soft Water for Medicinal
Purposes, without distilling it._--Place an earthen pan in the
fields, at a considerable distance from the smoke of any town, to
catch the rain as it falls. People living in the country, can easily
save this clean, pure rain-water. Set it for an hour in a cool
cellar, or put ice into it, and it is the most reviving drink for a
thirsty invalid.
928. _Toast and Water._--Toast thin slices of bread on both sides
carefully; then pour cold water over the bread and cover it tight for
one hour; or use boiling water, and let it cool.
929. _Waters for cooling Draughts of Preserved or Fresh Fruits--Apple
Water, Lemon Water, &c._--Pour boiling water on the preserved or
fresh fruits, sliced; or squeeze out the juice, boil it with sugar,
and add water.
930. _Barley Water._--Take pearl barley, two ounces; wash it, till it
be freed from dust, in cold water: afterwards boil it in a quart of
water for a _few_ minutes, strain off the liquor, and throw it away.
Then boil it in four pints and a half of water, until it be reduced
one half.
931. _Laxative Whey._--Take of the dried buds of the damask rose, one
ounce; rennet whey, one quart. Let them stand together twelve hours,
then strain off the liquor, and add of crystals of tartar, and white
sugar, a suitable proportion, to render it more active, and at the
same time more palatable.
932. _Wine Whey._--Wine whey is a cooling and safe drink in fevers.
Set half a pint of sweet milk at the fire, pour in one glass of wine,
and let it remain perfectly still, till it curdles; when the curds
settle, strain it, and let it cool. It should not get more than
blood-warm. A spoonful of rennet-water hastens the operation. Make
palatable with loaf-sugar and nutmeg, if the patient can bear it.
933. _Lemon Syrup, for a Cough._--To a pint and a half of water, add
two large poppy-heads, and two large lemons. Boil them till they are
soft, press the lemons into the water, strain the liquor, and add
half a drachm of saffron, and half a pound of brown sugar-candy,
pounded. Boil all together till the sugar-candy is dissolved; stir
the whole till you perceive it will jelly; strain it a second time,
and take the seeds from the poppies.
934. _Turnip Syrup, for a Cold or Affection of the Lungs._--Roast
twelve or more fine turnips in an apple roaster, press the juice from
them, and add sugar-candy to your taste. Take a tea-cupful at night
and in the morning.
935. _Rose Gargle._--Take of red rose-buds, dried, half an ounce;
boiling water, two pints; diluted vitriolic acid, three drachms; mix
these together, macerate for half an hour, and draw off the liquor.
Sweeten with an ounce of honey.
936. _Detergent Gargle._--Borax powder, two drachms; rose-water, six
ounces; honey of roses, one ounce. Mix together. To be used in the
thrush.
937. _Common Gargle._--Honey-water, seven ounces; honey of roses, six
drachms; vinegar, half an ounce; tincture of myrrh, two drachms. Mix
these together.
938. _Starch Injection._--Take of the jelly of starch, four ounces;
linseed oil, half an ounce. Mix them over a gentle heat, and add
forty drops of tincture of opium. To be used in alvine fluxes, to
allay the irritation which occasions constant tenesmus.
939. _Spermaceti Ointment._--Take of spermaceti, half an ounce; white
wax, two ounces; olive oil, four ounces. Melt them together over a
slow fire, and keep stirring till cold.
940. _Elder-flower Ointment._--Gather the buds or earliest flowers of
the elder-bush; simmer these in fresh butter, or sweet lard; it makes
a healing and cooling ointment for the skin, in cutaneous diseases.
941. _Elder-flower Poultice._--A poultice of elder-flower tea and
biscuit, is good as a preventive to mortification.
942. _White-bean Poultice._--Nothing is so good to take down
swellings, as a soft poultice of stewed white beans, put on in a thin
muslin bag, and renewed every hour or two.
A FEW SIMPLE MIXTURES, &c.
943. _Squill Mixture._--Take of the milk of ammoniacum, four ounces;
syrup of squills, three ounces; mix them together. Dose, two large
spoonsful every sixth hour. It is efficacious in coughs, asthma, and
oppression on the chest.
944. _Chalk Mixture._--Take of prepared chalk, one ounce; double
refined sugar, six drachms; gum arabic, in powder, one ounce; water,
two pints. Mix them together.
945. _Camphor Mixture._--Take of camphor, one drachm; rectified
spirit of wine, a few drops. Rub them together. Add half an ounce
of double refined sugar and one pint of boiling distilled, or rain
water. When cold, strain off the liquor.
946. _Infusion of Senna._--Take of senna leaves, one ounce and a
half; ginger, in powder, one drachm; of boiling distilled, or rain
water, one pint. Macerate for an hour. When cold, strain off the
liquor.
947. _Cordial Julep._--Take of peppermint water, four ounces; pimento
water, two ounces; compound spirit of ammonia, tincture of castor, of
each two drachms. Mix them together. Dose, two large spoonsful.
948. _Mucilage of Quince Seed._--Take of quince seeds, one drachm;
rain or distilled water, half a pint. Boil over a gentle fire, until
the liquor becomes thick and viscid.
949. _Lime Water._--Take of quick lime, eight ounces; rain or
distilled water, twelve pints. Suffer them to stand together one
hour, then decant the liquor.
950. _Alum Whey._--Take of alum, two drachms; cow's milk, one pint.
Boil them together, until the curd be formed; then strain off the
liquor, and add spirit of nutmeg, two ounces; syrup of cloves, one
ounce.
It is employed with advantage in diabetes, in uterine and other
fluxes.
951. _Whortleberries._--Whortleberries, commonly called
huckleberries, dried, are a useful medicine for children. Made into
tea, and sweetened with molasses, they are very beneficial, when the
system is in a restricted state, and the digestive powers out of
order.
952. _Blackberries._--Blackberries are extremely useful, in cases of
dysentery. To eat the berries is very healthy; tea, made of the roots
and leaves is beneficial; and a syrup made of the berries is still
better. Blackberries have sometimes effected a cure when physicians
despaired.
953. _Method of causing Children to cut their Teeth easily._--Feed
them with an ivory spoon and boat--to be made thick, round, and
smooth at the edges. Ivory being of the same hardness and texture as
the jaws and tender teeth, the gums are not hurt or injured, but,
when they are thus pressed, facilitate the teeth in their progress;
whereas, the silver implements, being of a hard texture, and the
edges made thin, bruise and wound the gums, and make a hard seam; so
that the teeth cannot make their way direct, and, if they do cut,
come irregularly; so that the operation of lancing is frequently
absolutely necessary, which, of course, must prejudice the teeth, as
some are exposed before the time they are fit to cut.
By this method, fevers, convulsions, &c., owing to the teeth being
not able to find their way through the hard seam, may be prevented.
It must be often observed, that children cry much when feeding, as if
ill, or disgusted with their food; whereas it is frequently owing to
quite the contrary; for, being hungry, and over eager to take their
food, they press hard, through eagerness, on the boat and spoon,
which, being sharp, bruises and cuts the gums, and consequently
causes great pain, which, by the ivory implements, will be prevented.
Those who cannot afford ivory, may have horn or wood, or even pewter
is greatly preferable to silver, provided the edges are made thick,
round, and smooth. The wooden sort, unless they are kept very sweet
and clean, on that very account, are the least eligible, and should
be made, however, of box, or such hard and close-textured wood as is
the least liable to be tainted by the milky food.
954. _Rules for the Preservation of the Teeth and Gums._--The teeth
are bones, thinly covered over with a fine enamel, and this enamel is
more or less substantial in different persons. Whenever this enamel
is worn through by too coarse a powder, or too frequently cleaning
the teeth, or eaten through by a scorbutic humor in the gums, the
tooth cannot remain long sound, any more than a filbert-kernel can,
when it has been penetrated by a worm.
The teeth, therefore, are to be cleaned, but with great precaution;
for, if you wear the enamel off faster by cleaning the outside than
nature supplies it within, your teeth will suffer more by this
method, than perhaps by a total neglect.
955. _Stammering._--Impediments in the speech may be cured, where
there is no mal-formation of the organs of articulation, by
perseverance, for three or four months, in the simple remedy of
reading aloud, with the teeth closed, for at least two hours in the
course of each day.
956. _Of Preservers, and Rules for the Preservation of
Sight._--Though it may be impossible to prevent the absolute decay of
sight, whether arising from age, partial disease, or illness, yet,
by prudence and good management, its natural failure may certainly
be retarded, and the general habits of the eyes strengthened, which
good purposes will be promoted by a proper attention to the following
maxims:--
1. Never sit for any length of time in absolute gloom, or exposed to
a blaze of light. The reasons on which this rule is founded, prove
the impropriety of going hastily from one extreme to the other,
whether of darkness or of light, and show us that a southern aspect
is improper for those whose sight is weak and tender.
2. Avoid reading small print.
3. Never read in the dark; nor, if the eyes be disordered, by
candle-light. Happy those who learn this lesson betimes, and begin
to preserve their sight before they are reminded by pain of the
necessity of sparing them. The frivolous attention to a quarter of
an hour in the evening, has cost numbers the perfect and comfortable
use of their eyes for many years; the mischief is effected
imperceptibly--the consequences are inevitable.
4. The eye should not be permitted to dwell on glaring objects, more
particularly on first waking in the morning; the sun should not, of
course, be suffered to shine in the room at that time, and a moderate
quantity of light only be admitted. It is easy to see that, for the
same reasons, the furniture of a bed should be neither altogether of
a white or red color; indeed, those whose eyes are weak, would find
considerable advantage in having green for the furniture of their
bed-chamber. Nature confirms the propriety of the advice given in
this rule; for the light of the day comes on by slow degrees, and
green is the universal color she presents to our eyes.
5. The long-sighted should accustom themselves to read with
rather less light, and somewhat nearer to the eye than what they
naturally like; while those that are short-sighted, should rather
use themselves to read with the book as far off as possible: by
this means, both would improve and strengthen their sight; while a
contrary course will increase its natural imperfections.
There is nothing which preserves the sight longer than always using,
both in reading and writing, that moderate degree of light which
is best suited to the eye: too little, strains them--too great a
quantity, dazzles and confounds them. The eyes are less hurt by the
want of light, than by the excess of it: too little light never does
any harm, unless they are strained by efforts to see objects to which
the degree of light is inadequate; but too great a quantity has,
by its own power, destroyed the sight. Thus, many have brought on
themselves a cataract, by frequently looking at the sun or a fire;
others have lost their sight by being brought too suddenly from an
extreme of darkness into the blaze of day. How dangerous the looking
on bright, luminous objects, is to the sight, is evident from its
effects in those countries which are covered, the greater part of the
year, with snow, where blindness is exceedingly frequent, and where
the traveller is obliged to cover his eyes with crape, to prevent
the dangerous and often sudden effects of too much light: even the
untutored savage tries to avoid the danger, by framing a little
wooden case for his eyes, with only two narrow slits. A momentary
gaze at the sun will, for a time, unfit the eyes for vision, and
render them insensible to impressions of a milder nature.
957. _The Feet_--Should be washed in cold water every morning, and
wiped very dry. Stockings, if too small, cripple the feet as surely
as small shoes. Always be careful to give the foot room enough, and
you will be rarely troubled with corns. When the toe-nails have a
tendency to turn in, so as to be painful, the nail should always
be kept scraped _very thin_, and as near the flesh as possible. As
soon as the corner of the nail can be raised up out of the flesh, it
should be kept from again entering, by putting a tuft of fine lint
under it.
958. _For Sore Feet._--The thin white skin which comes from suet, is
excellent to bind upon the feet, for chilblains. Rubbing with Castile
soap, and afterwards with honey, is likewise highly recommended.
959. _A Vapor-Bath at home._--Place _strong_ sticks across a tub of
water, at the boiling-point, and sit upon them, entirely enveloped
in a blanket, feet and all. The steam from the water will be a
vapor-bath. Some people put herbs into the water. Steam-baths are
excellent for severe colds, and for some disorders in the bowels.
They should not be taken without the advice of an experienced nurse
or physician. Great care should be taken not to renew the cold after;
it would be doubly dangerous.
RULES FOR WOMEN SERVANTS.
960. _Of the Cookmaid._--When a young woman undertakes the situation
of cookmaid in a family, where only one or two other servants are
kept, she will have many duties to perform, besides preparing and
dressing the provisions, although that is her principal business.
What those duties are, will, of course, depend very much upon the
habits of the family with whom she lives; and whether there is a
man-servant or a boy kept; as, if not, the cleaning of knives, shoes,
and various things that would be done by them, become the business of
the cook-maid.
961. _General duties of the Cookmaid._--The part of the house in
which her chief work lies is the kitchen; but she is also expected
to clean the passage or hall, the stone door-steps, the bell-pull,
name-plate, knocker, and all things outside the house which are kept
cleaned; also, the kitchen stairs, pantry, servants' offices, and
areas; and, in many families, the dining-room as well as the kitchen
windows, and the light over or at the sides of the hall door. It is
her place to scour the dresser, table, shelves, &c., in the kitchen
and pantry, and to keep both places clean and in order; to wash the
plates and dishes, to keep the saucepans and all other vessels used
in cooking, or for keeping eatables in, perfectly clean, so that they
may always be ready for use; to wash and keep the pudding-cloths
sweet and clean; to sweep the carpet, and clean the grate, fender,
fire-irons, and hearth, in the breakfast-parlor; to clean the kitchen
candlesticks; to assist the housemaid in making the beds after they
have been laid open to air; to answer the door to the trades-people;
and, if there is no man-servant, nor boy kept, to brush the clothes
and shoes of the gentlemen of the family.
It is of great importance that the cookmaid should be cleanly in
her person, as well as in her cooking; and that she should never be
seen with dirty hands, which may be easily prevented by using thick
gloves, when blacking a stove or doing any other dirty work, and
always washing her hands as soon as she has finished. Nothing can be
more disagreeable than to see the person who prepares one's meals
with dirty hands or apron.
962. _Arrangements for Work in the Kitchen._--The cookmaid should
always be furnished with her own pails, brushes, flannels, and
everything she requires for her own work, and should never use the
housemaid's pails or brushes, nor suffer the housemaid to use hers. A
strict attention to this rule prevents much discomfort and confusion,
and the work is sure to be done with more regularity, and much time
saved.
963. _Work in the Breakfast-room._--Your work in the breakfast-room
generally is to light the fire, clean the stove, fender, fire-irons,
and hearth; take up the ashes, sweep the carpet, shake the
hearth-rug, and lay it down again; but this is sometimes varied in
different families. If you find there are more cinders than you can
use for lighting the fire, you should take them down to burn in the
kitchen.
964. _Of Neatness in the Breakfast-room._--In order to avoid soiling
the carpet in the breakfast-parlor, while you are lighting the fire
and cleaning the stove, you should have a piece of drugget, about a
yard wide and two yards long, or cloth of some kind, to lay down; but
whichever you use, always use it the dirty side upwards. Without this
precaution, the most careful person cannot prevent the carpet from
getting dirty before the fire-place.
965. _Punctuality in Servants._--Punctuality is a very essential
quality in a cookmaid, who ought to regulate her work so that the
dinner should always be ready at the appointed time; and to avoid
any mistake in this particular, she should know precisely the length
of time required to cook each kind of food, according to the taste
of those for whom she cooks, and then she should allow herself about
fifteen to twenty minutes more, to take up the dinner, and for any
little hindrance that may occur, she will be tolerably exact. The
best means of being punctual is to keep everything in its proper
place, and fit for use, so that no time may be lost in looking for
this thing or that, or in having to clean any utensils that may be
wanted for cooking.
966. _Economy in the Kitchen._--Never waste anything, but have places
and purposes for all articles in your keeping. Habits of economy
are easily acquired, and the cookmaid would do well to consider
how much more valuable she must be to her employers, and how much
more she will be respected, if she be careful, and make the most of
the property that is intrusted to her charge, than if she uses it
wastefully.
967. _Cleaning the Hall, &c._--If you are quick with the
breakfast-parlor work, you will, very likely, have time to clean the
door-steps and passage before breakfast, which is much better than
leaving them till afterwards: but this will, of course, depend on the
breakfast-hour, as you must not, on any account, neglect to see that
the water in the kettle is boiling, the urn-iron hot, and everything
ready to take up the moment it is wanted.
968. _Making Breakfast._--If you have toast to make, or bacon to
cook, take care to have a clear fire, so that it may be done quickly,
when wanted, and not before; for both toast and bacon should be hot
from the fire, and not suffered to stand after they are done. Dry
toast should be thin and crisp; to keep it so, set it on its edge in
the toast-rack, directly it is made.
Never boil eggs by guess; if you have no clock in the kitchen, you
should have a sand-glass or egg-boiler, for in guessing at the time,
it is not possible to be quite exact, and half a minute too much
or too little will spoil an egg. It is the duty of the cookmaid to
prepare the breakfast; and that of the housemaid to carry it up to
the breakfast-parlor.
969. _Cold Meats at Breakfast._--In some families, whatever cold meat
or cold poultry may have been left from the previous day, is served
up at breakfast; in which case it is the cookmaid's duty to send it
up, laid out neatly on clean and rather small-sized dishes, with
breakfast plates and small clean knives and forks; sometimes it will
require a little putting to rights, by trimming, and garnishing with
a few sprigs of parsley, which, of course, she will attend to.
970. _To arrange for Children, &c._--If the children of the family
breakfast in the nursery, or require to go to school early, you will,
most probably, be expected to cut their bread and butter, and get
their breakfast ready for them; or, at all events, assist in doing
so. It is your place also to get the kitchen breakfast ready for
yourself and the housemaid, &c.; and it will materially add to the
comfort of your situation, if you take care to keep your table-cloth
clean, and neatly folded, so that it may not have an untidy
appearance when spread upon the table; and let the knives, and all
the things you use for yourself and fellow servants, be clean like
those you send up to the table of the family.
971. _Taking Directions for Dinner._--In most families, it is the
custom of the lady of the house, to go into the kitchen every
morning, to make arrangements with the cook about the dinner, and to
give out from the store-closet such things as may be required for
the day's use, either by the cookmaid or housemaid. You must then
remember to ask for whatever you will want, so that you may not have
to give trouble a second time. Some ladies prefer that the cookmaid
should come into the parlor, to receive directions. Should this be
the custom, you should make it a rule to wash your hands, and put on
a clean apron, before you go in. There are some foolish servants,
who have a mistaken notion that a lady should not trouble herself
much with her kitchen; but every one ought to have the good sense to
know that it is the province and duty of a mistress to superintend
the order and management of every part of her household; and those
servants who are conscious that they waste not, and perform their
duties to the best of their ability, will never feel an objection;
but, on the contrary, will be pleased that their mistress should see
that they do so.
972. _Making Beds, &c._--When you have taken orders about dinner,
you should go up into the bed-rooms, to assist the house-maid in
making the beds--having already washed your hands, and put on your
clean bed-apron. It is very proper to keep a bed-apron entirely for
this purpose, one that will wrap quite round you, and tie together
behind; and to take it off, and fold it up, as soon as the beds are
made. It will serve for a week, with care; therefore, if you make
a rule to put on a clean one every Monday morning, the bed-clothes
and furniture will never get soiled by rubbing against your gown or
clothes. Attention to such little niceties as these is so easy, that
it is surprising any one should neglect them, particularly as they
make all the difference between a good servant and a bad one.
973. _Arrangement of the Dinner-Table._--Always have the salt-cellars
filled with fine clean salt, and the cruets and cruet-stand dusted;
and that each of the cruets are about half-full of vinegar, oil,
pepper, sugar, &c., such as they are intended to hold; and although
this is the housemaid's duty, it is only kind in the cookmaid to
give the housemaid all the information she may require or ask for;
a good dinner will look very unhandsome, unless the housemaid takes
care that the salts and cruets are clean, and sufficiently filled
to accompany it to table. The housemaid should also see that the
mustard-cruet is quite clean, before it is put on the table; for if
the mustard is dried on the edges, or on the spoon, it has a very
disagreeable appearance, and betokens an untidy servant.
974. _The Dinner-Hour, and its Duties._--In order more surely to be
correct to the dinner-hour, allow yourself from fifteen to twenty
minutes for taking up the dinner, and for any hindrances that may
occur; and take care to have the fire made up in proper time for
cooking--regulating the size of it according to what you have to
cook. It should be stirred as little as possible while you are
cooking; indeed, a good cookmaid stirs her fire only once during her
roasting, and that is when she turns the meat, or alters the hanging
of it, at which times she takes the meat and dripping-pan away from
the fire, as stirring creates both dust and smoke; but as dust or
coal may, by accident, fall into the dripping-pan, keep ready a
dish-cloth, to wipe it out directly. Be mindful, also, to keep in the
house a stock of the things that are commonly wanted, such as flour,
salt, pepper, spices, &c.; but always make a point of using up what
you had, before you begin upon the fresh supply; and be sure to put
them away into their proper places, as you receive them--as mustard,
pepper, spices, tea, coffee, &c., will spoil, if kept in the papers
they are sent home in.
975. _Of Re-cooking._--In cities, where the master of the house is
often engaged in business until late in the day, the dinner-hour may
be as late as four or five o'clock; in that case, there is an early
dinner for the children and servants, for whom a pudding is usually
to be made. It is a very material part of your business to know
how to dress over, nicely, anything left from the preceding day's
dinner, so that it may be used in the kitchen, if not required in the
dining-room. For this purpose, you should, when a joint is brought
down from the dining-room, put it on a clean dish, and pour the gravy
into a small basin or jelly-pot, and you will find it very useful in
making nice, savory dishes of cold meat, or to put into hashes and
stews, or warming up for gravy.
976. _Hot Plates for Dinner._--Before sending up dinner, take care
that you have enough hot plates. It is better to heat a few more than
the exact number, lest an extra one may be wanted.
977. _Serving up Dinner._--Whilst the dinner is being served up, the
cook-maid may be required to assist, by taking the dishes to the door
of the dining-parlor; also, in some families, by taking them from the
housemaid, or from the outside of the dining-room door, when they are
done with, that the housemaid, if she waits at dinner, may not have
to leave the room. And the cookmaid will save herself much time and
trouble, if she gets her dish-tub, in the sink, half filled with hot
water, so that she may put the dishes and plates into it the moment
they are brought from the dinner-table.
978. _Washing Dishes._--The dirty dishes and plates should be put
into a dish-tub of warm water, immediately they are taken from the
dinner table; for, by this means, half the trouble of washing-up
will be saved, as it will prevent the gravy, mustard, juice, &c.,
from cooling and drying on the plates and dishes. When you commence
washing them, add sufficient boiling water to make it hot enough to
wash them in, and with a dish-cloth wash them clean on both sides,
one at a time. Rinse them immediately, in a pan full of cold water,
part of which should stand under the tap, which should be turned a
little on to keep it full. The reason for keeping the pan full of
water and running over, is, that any grease, &c., which may rinse
off the plates and dishes, may swim over into the sink in the act of
rinsing, otherwise it would remain on the water, and make those you
rinse, after the first few, look greasy, instead of clean and bright.
979. _Washing Saucepans, Kettles, &c._--When you have washed all the
dishes and plates used at dinner, as above directed, and put them
in the rack to drain, the saucepans and kettles which have been
used for cooking, should next be cleaned. The proper plan is to fill
them with cold water as soon as the food has been taken out of them,
as, by this means, whatever may hang about the sides cannot stick
close, nor dry on hard, and they will clean much more readily. If
the insides are discolored or dirty, a little soda or wood-ash is
the best thing to clean them with; or, if they are very dirty, the
wood-ashes, or some soda, must be boiled up in them. They should
afterwards be well rinsed with boiling-hot water, wiped, and made
perfectly dry, by being placed for some time bottom upwards, before
the kitchen fire. The upper rims of saucepans, and the rims and
insides of the lids, must be kept quite clean. If tin saucepans are
not completely dry, they will soon get rusty, and if copper ones are
not perfectly cleaned and dried, they become poisonous. Never leave
food of any kind in a saucepan to become cold.
980. _Washing Pudding-cloths, &c._--Pudding-cloths should be washed
as soon as possible after the puddings are taken out of them. They
should be washed in clean warm water, without soap, rinsed and
thoroughly dried before being folded and put in the kitchen drawer,
otherwise they will give a musty smell to the puddings that are next
boiled in them. The paste-brush, egg-whisk and sieves must also be
washed, first in cold and then in warm water, and put away clean and
dry, or they will spoil whatever you use them for afterwards. All
things through which eggs are strained, should be washed, first in
cold and then in hot water.
981. _Cleaning the Sink._--First, wipe into one corner and take up
all the little bits of gristle, fat, or vegetables, or whatever else
may have collected in the sink; and, if you live in or near to a
town, throw it on the back part of the top of the kitchen fire; for,
if thrown into the dust-bin, it will either entice rats or other
vermin, or else cause an offensive and unwholesome smell. If forced
down the sink holes, the same unpleasant consequences will follow,
besides stopping-up and destroying the drains. But if you live in the
country where a pig is kept, it may be thrown into the pig tub with
the dish washings.
You must next clean the sink, which, if of stone, is best done with
a hard brush and a little soda; or, if of lead, with the following
mixture:--One pennyworth of pearlash, one pennyworth of soft-soap,
and one pennyworth of fuller's-earth, (the fuller's-earth dried,)
mixed together in a pipkin, or something of the kind, with a quart
of water. About a table-spoonful of this on a piece of flannel will
clean the leaden sink.
982. _Cleaning the Spit, Frying-pan, &c._--The spit, if one is used,
must also be always perfectly cleaned when done with. A little
dripping rubbed on a hot frying-pan or gridiron, after cleaning it,
will greatly remove the smell and taste of fish; but some persons
rub a little salt well about the inside of a hot frying-pan, with a
piece of clean paper, which also removes the taste of fish or onions.
If these things are put away into damp places, they will soon become
unfit for use.
983. _Cabbage-water to be thrown away._--Always remember that green
water, that is, water in which cabbage, or any other vegetable is
boiled, should be thrown down the sink the moment the vegetables are
out of it, while it is quite hot, and then a pailful of cold water
thrown after it, will prevent the unhealthy smell arising from green
water; but if it be left till it is cold, or nearly cold before you
throw it away, twenty pails of water thrown after it will not prevent
the smell.
984. _Scalding Milk vessels._--Be careful to scald every vessel which
has contained milk, having previously let it stand for some time
filled with cold water, and never let any other liquid be put into it
till it has undergone this process; or whatever you put in will be
spoiled.
985. _Cleaning Bread-pans, &c._--Your pan for keeping bread should be
wiped out every day, and scalded once a week; in the same way clean
the cheese-pan, or both your bread and cheese will become mouldy and
musty; and cheese should always be kept standing on its _rind_; and
the rind should be scraped before it is sent to the table.
986. _Keeping Beer._--You should not let beer stand in a pot or
jug; but, if there be any left, put it into a clean bottle, with a
tea-spoonful of sugar, and cork it tightly.
987. Never suffer two things to be put together, which would give
to each other a disagreeable taste or flavor. Never cut bread, or
butter, or meat, with a knife which has been used for cheese or
onions, or the bread, butter, or meat will taste of them. Therefore,
you should put the knife which you have used for these purposes, in
some place separate from the other knives, and never allow it to be
put with them until it has been properly cleaned.
988. _Washing Pickle and Preserve-Jars._--Whenever pickle or
preserve jars are empty, wash them well in cold water--dry them
thoroughly--and put them in a dry place. If you wash pickle or
preserve-jars in hot water, it will crack their glazed surface, and
make them porous, which spoils them for use, as pickles and preserves
require to have the air kept from them.
989. _Cleaning Dish-Covers._--Dish-covers should always be wiped
and polished as soon as they are removed from the table. If this is
done whilst they are warm, it will be but little trouble; but, if
the steam be allowed to dry on them, you will find much difficulty
in getting the tarnish off from the insides. When they are wiped and
polished, hang them up in their places immediately.
990. _Of the Paste-Board, Rolling-Pin, &c._--After making puddings
or pastry, wash your rolling-pin and paste-board, without soap, and
put it away quite dry. Never use, nor allow others to use, any of the
family dinner or tea-service, in the kitchen; as, if one thing be
broken, it would perhaps spoil a valuable set; but, always use for
cooking, the plates, dishes, and cups, provided for that purpose,
which are usually plain, and though of course equally clean, are much
less expensive. Keep the bread, cheese, butter, flour, dripping,
milk, eggs, and every thing else you may require in cooking, in their
distinct and separate places; and be careful to put them away as soon
as you have done with them.
991. _Of keeping Hot Water._--It is highly necessary that you should
keep a plentiful supply of hot water, by constantly filling-up the
boiler whenever water is taken out of it. A self-acting boiler does
not require to be filled, as it fills itself as fast as the water
is drawn out; but you must be very careful in frosty weather, to
watch whether the water continues to run; for if the water in the
pipes becomes frozen, and you allow the boiler to get empty, the
consequence is almost sure to be, that when the frost melts, the cold
water comes suddenly into the hot boiler, and splits it. The damage
can only be repaired by having a new boiler, which costs, perhaps,
from ten to twenty-five dollars; so you may see how important it is
that you should prevent so serious an accident.
992. _Of Ventilating Rooms._--Do not keep your kitchen always hot,
and be sure you let in fresh air. If the attention of every master or
mistress of a family turned to the ventilation of their dwelling, it
would be greatly the means of insuring health. One single ventilator
in the uppermost staircase window, would effect a great deal. Great
attention ought to be paid to letting the chamber-windows down from
the top, frequently through the day, particularly where the family
sits.
993. _Of preparing Tea._--When the tea-time arrives, it is your duty
to cut the bread-and-butter, or make the toast. You should never send
up more than one or two rounds of buttered toast at once, according
to the number to partake of it, that it may be hot and fresh when it
is handed round. You must cut off the crusts as close as you can,
after it is made and buttered. If a tea-urn is used, it will be your
duty to get it ready in time, and put in the boiling water when it
is wanted: you must also remember to make the urn-iron red-hot, by
putting it into the kitchen fire after dinner, or at least for an
hour before tea-time. When you use the tea-urn, be careful to do as
follows:--
Take care that the water boils, and that the urn-heater is red-hot;
then, in the first place, dust the urn, and put the boiling water
into it, before you put in the heater; and, to prevent giving an
unpleasant taste, or spoiling the boiling water by dust, or particles
of the hot iron, (which may rub off the heater as you are putting it
into its place,) be careful to put on the round rim, or ring, before
you put in the red-hot heater; and be sure, also, to avoid pouring
any water into the place where the heater goes; otherwise, when the
iron is put in, the steam may fly up in your face, and scald you
seriously. Taking the urn up into the parlor or drawing-room, is the
housemaid's business; and she should not forget the rug to place it
on, or the heat issuing from it will certainly spoil the polished
table: and it is also the housemaid's business to empty the urn when
done with, which she must be careful to turn upside down, to drain.
994. _Taking care of the Fire._--The cookmaid's last duties of the
day, are--to take great care that the kitchen fire is so nearly out,
as to be quite safe; and that nothing is left hanging before the
fire-place; then she must see that the kitchen windows and shutters
are fastened, and lock and bolt all the doors and windows that have
not been fastened earlier in the evening.
995. _Cleaning Knives, Forks, &c._--If a lad or man-servant is kept,
he cleans the steel knives and forks, as well as the shoes and boots;
and also brushes the gentlemen's clothes: but, in that large number
of families who keep no boy nor man, it becomes the business of the
cookmaid to clean the steel knives and forks. [See the best manner of
preparing the knife-board, &c., in another part of this book.]
996. _Care of Table-Knives._--Be careful to keep a good edge to your
knives, and do your utmost to preserve them from notches, especially
the carving-knife, otherwise a hot joint may get cold while the knife
has to be sent from table to be sharpened. A keen edge may be given
by cleaning alone, if care be taken, in passing the knife from you,
not to let the edge lean on the board, but, in drawing it towards
you, to lean with a little pressure on the edge.
The knives which are not in daily use, should, after being wiped with
a dry cloth, be put into the cases, or wrapped in very dry brown
paper, and so placed as not to touch each other, the same way as
the cutlers keep them. Great care should be taken that the place in
which they are put is perfectly dry--as all articles made of steel
have a tendency to contract rust, that metal having the property of
extracting damp from the atmosphere, or from anything moist near to
it. If the ivory handles of the knives and forks get stained, or
become discolored, mix a table-spoonful of water with a few drops of
spirits of salt--rub it well on with a little bit of clean rag--wash
it off with cold water--and wipe them perfectly dry.
997. _Of cleaning Boots and Shoes._--Where no man-servant is kept,
the cook or housemaid must clean the shoes and boots. First, scrape
the dirt off the shoe with a wooden knife, or piece of firewood, cut
to something of an edge. When the worst of the dirt is thus taken
off, use your hard brush to remove the remainder, or the leather
will never be bright. Stir the blacking with a short fine sponge,
tied round one end of it; and, with this, put some blacking on the
blacking-brush, and black the shoe all over; use the polishing-brush
directly, while it remains damp, and rub it lightly, yet briskly,
till the shoe shines perfectly bright. When boots or shoes are laid
down before a fire to dry, let them be placed at a good distance, or
the leather will harden and shrink, and the shoes get out of shape.
998. _Of cleaning Candlesticks._--It is the duty of the cookmaid
to clean the chamber candlesticks used by the servants, and the
candlesticks belonging to the kitchen (those used by the family
in the parlors, drawing-rooms, and best bed-rooms, belong to the
housemaid's work). Before you commence, have a sheet of thick brown
paper laid on a table, or on whatever else you intend to clean them,
to save making a grease. Then scrape off the grease on to the brown
paper with a piece of firewood, and put all you scrape off into your
kitchen-stuff. The candlesticks should then be put, upside down, in
the deepest candlestick, at a little distance from the fire, so that
all the grease may melt, and drain into one. This grease should also
be put into the kitchen stuff, and the candlesticks wiped perfectly
clean with the candlestick-rag, or with a cloth kept for that
purpose. The polishing should be done with a little dry rotten-stone,
or dry whiting, put on a leather. The cookmaid has usually a
candle-box provided for her, into which she puts all the pieces of
candle, for kitchen use. This box should be lined with white paper,
which should be frequently renewed, or the candles will become very
dirty, and be unpleasant to burn, from bits of the snuff sticking to
them. Always set the candles in the candlesticks in the fore part of
the day, that they be ready when wanted, and that all the dirty work
may be done before cooking commences.
999. _Washing-Day._--If the washing be done at home, the cookmaid
will have to assist; and the changes of linen, and the kitchen
things, usually fall to her share. She generally folds and irons
all but the fine things and the dresses. It is usual also for her
to fill the copper; and for the housemaid to sort the clothes ready
for the wash. Much time as well as labor will be saved by preparing
the clothes for the wash the day before the washing-day; that is by
putting them in soak, the fine things and coarse things in different
tubs, after having examined, and rubbed with soap such places as
are most dirty, such as the collars and wristbands of shirts, the
parts of table-cloths cloths which are most soiled, and any place in
the different articles which would require more than usual rubbing.
Indeed, everything should be prepared the day before; the copper
filled with soft water, the tubs rinsed and wiped, inside and out
(taking care that they do not leak). The best way to prevent the tubs
from leaking, is to turn them bottom upwards after using, and keep
the bottom filled with water, without which they will not only leak
but fall to pieces, in summer weather.
1000. _Care of Clothes-lines, &c._--Clothes-lines, when done with,
should be wiped quite clean, and put away dry in a bag, for future
use, or they will dirty the clothes. A bag should also be kept for
the pegs; and both bags should be kept in a dry place.
1001. _Folding and Mangling._--Before you begin to fold the clothes,
let the board be quite clean and dry, and a clean linen cloth
placed upon it. Separate those things which are to be mangled, and
those which are for rough-drying. Turn shirts, shifts, night-gowns,
pillow-cases, petticoats, &c., the right side outwards; fold them
very smoothly, and sprinkle them to a proper dampness for ironing.
If the collars, wristbands, and frills, or pleated front of a shirt,
be dipped in a little starch, then into water, and rolled up without
squeezing, it will bring the whole of the shirt to a proper dampness,
when it has lain for some time.
The articles usually mangled are, sheets, towels, table-linen,
pillow-cases, and other straight things; but if there be any folds,
they will not look well when mangled. Pearl-buttons will break in the
mangle, and cut the cloth, therefore, all things with buttons, and
even pillow-cases, if they have buttons, should not be mangled.
1002. _Of Ironing._--The ironing-blanket should be made of a thick
kind of flannel, called swan's-skin, and a coarse cloth should be
spread between it and the board. When you are ironing, be careful to
try your iron first upon some coarse article, or one of little value,
for fear of its soiling or singeing the better clothes. Let the heat
be in proportion to the article you are about to iron, and be sure
to make every part perfectly smooth.
After they are ironed, the things should be hung upon the horse
to air. The cookmaid is now done with the washing, as it is the
housemaid's business to air them, and to place them in the drawers,
when aired; but in many families, the putting of them away is done by
the mistress of the house, or by some of the young ladies.
In ironing the skirts of dresses, it is best and most proper to have
a board about thirteen inches wide and four feet long, on which
fasten, with tapes, an ironing-blanket; place one end of it on a
table, and the other end on the dresser, or something that is firm,
of the same height as the table. In using this board, pass it through
the skirt, taking care that the wet part of the dress falls into a
clothes-basket, or a cloth, which you must first put on the floor,
under the middle of the board, to save the skirt from being soiled;
and turn the skirt of the dress round the board, as you iron it.
1003. _Save the Rags._--All rags of cotton or linen should be saved
by the cookmaid; they should never be thrown away because they are
not clean. Mop-rags, lamp-rags, all should be washed, dried and put
in the rag-bag. There is no need of expending soap on them; just boil
them out in the suds after you have done washing.
Linen rags should be carefully saved; for they are extremely useful
in sickness. If they have become dirty and worn by cleaning silver,
&c., wash them, and scrape them into lint.