4 June 1881 - Useful Hints

HOUSEHOLD RECIPES FOR DIARRHOEA –

1. Heat a breakfast saucer to insure dryness; pour into it a wineglassful of pale brandy. Set the spirit on fire with a strip of clean lighted writing-paper, and let it burn until the quantity is reduced one third. Pour this into half a point of boiling milk; drink it when moderately warm; repeat, if necessary, but take only half the quantity at once after the first dose. Arrowroot may be substituted for milk, but whether made with water or milk, should be boiled, not merely mixed with boiling liquid.

2. Take twenty to thirty drops of elixir of vitriol, or, as it is often called, diluted sulphuric acid, in a wineglassful of cold water; three to five drops of laudanum may be added to the dose when there is great internal pain. Repeat, if needful, either with or without the laudanum, according to circumstance. The dose is a medium one for an adult. A very eminent physician, who was peculiarly successful during a terrible outbreak of cholera, told the writer that he had found this most valuable in the early stages of that terrible disease and in diarrhoea.

SIMPLE REMEDIES FOR RHEUMATISM –

1. One of the best possible remedies for rheumatism is a soda bath. Dissolve 2 oz sesqui carbonate of soda, or a 1/4 lb of common washing soda, in an ordinary warm bath. Remain in it fifteen to twenty minutes, adding hot water from time to time, so as to keep up the temperature to the last. The bath may be repeated after an interval of three days, or a single affected limb may be bathed daily.

2. Rheumatic pains in a joint may often be much relieved, or even cured, by the application at the outset of spirits of camphor. Pour a little into the hand, and rub the part night and morning; the spirit dries almost instantly. In applying a mustard poultice, always interpose a bit of old transparent muslin between it and the skin. After removing the poultice cover the place inflamed by the mustard with a piece of cotton wadding. It gives great comfort.

CAMOMILE FLOWERS

Amongst the simple domestic remedies which should always be kept within reach may be classed dried camomile flowers. A strong decoction of these, used as a hot fomentation, is extremely soothing. The following are instances of  the value of camomile. A dear little boy had a gathering under the nail of the great toe. His mother stewed camomile flowers, put them in a bowl, and immersed the child's foot in the decoction. She packed the flowers above and around the ailing toe, and as they cooled changed them for hot ones. So long as the child's foot was in the water he suffered little pain; so at bed-time it was packed in a mass of the stewed flowers in a flannel bag. He fell asleep, and in the morning it was found the gathering had broken and the toe was comparatively well. A boil on the cheek and a large gathering inside the mouth and neuralgic pains in the face have been similarly relieved by fomenting with a strong decoction of camomile flowers. The following is an excellent way of applying this simple remedy. Make two flannel bags and fill them; but not so tightly as to make them hard, with boiled flowers. Squeeze one bag and apply it, as hot as can be borne, to the painful part, and cover with two or three thicknesses of warm dry flannel to keep in the  heat. When getting cool, change with the second bag, which should be kept steaming hot between two plates in an oven. Being freshly wrung through the strong decoction after use, and again to put steam in the oven, a supply of hot bags will be kept up. The heat is retained much longer than in the case of fomentations with flannels merely wrung out of the hot decoction and applied. The writer has so often experienced relief and been soothed from pain to rest by the above method of using camomile that she cannot speak too highly of its value as a domestic remedy.

FOR STRENGTHENING THE EYES

Plunge the upper part of the face in a bowl of clean, cold water, opening and shutting the eyes two or three times in the water, so that they have a cold bath every morning. The sensation is neither painful nor unpleasant, but the effect is very beneficial.

 A VERY SOOTHING APPLICATION FOR INFLAMED EYES AND EYELIDS –

Seared milk, prepared as follows:- Stir a cup of new milk with a red hot poker till nearly boiling; let the milk settle, then strain it through muslin, leaving all bits of dust behind, and, when lukewarm, apply with a bit of soft linen to the inflamed eyes. In using eye lotions take a separate rag for each eye, and only pour out as much of the lotion as you are likely to require at one time. Wash and rinse the rags or lint each time after using, so that you may always begin with a perfectly clean piece. The seared milk may be used very often, and is an excellent application, especially  for the tender eyes of infants.

ELDER FLOWER WATER –

The simple distilled water without any mixture – is an admirable cosmetic. After exposure to a burning sun, wet the corner of a towel with elder flower water, and dab it lightly over the face. The heat and smarting will be immediately allayed, and freckles prevented. A rag wetted with it will remove the smarting caused by nettle stings, and is also a very cooling and pleasant application to a tender skin after washing. It may be used twice daily.

 A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION –

At the end of a meal a good deal is tea is often left in the pot. Perhaps the readers of THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER may care to know what we do with such "leavings." We pour it into a large bottle and give it to a poor old woman, who is thankful to be thus saved the expense of providing herself with her favourite beverage. If the cork is left out the tea will keep perfectly through the day, and the old woman sends for it in the afternoon. It is easily warmed up, and she finds it has a far better flavour than what she used to buy for herself.

14 May 1881 - Useful Hints

CALVES' FEET JELLY. – Split four feet, and boil them gently in a gallon of water for four hours, skimming well when the broth is reduced to half that quantity. Strain the stock into a basin through a sieve, and when cold and in a firm jelly scrape off the grease, wash the surface with scalding water, wipe, and place it in a stew-pan, adding 2 lbs of sugar, the juice of 12 lemons, the rind of 6, a bruised stick of cinnamon, and 20 coriander seeds. Set on the fire, dissolve, and add the whites of 6 eggs well whisked with half-a-pint of water; continue whisking the jelly, while on the fire, until it commence to boil. Then add a pint of sherry, put on the lid, laying some live embers of charcoal upon it, and leave the jelly to simmer slowly by the side of the stove for about twenty minutes longer. Then pour through a jelly bag into a basin, returning it again through the bag, until it passes quite clear and bright-looking. It can be coloured with cochineal, or annatto, or other suitable preparations to be procured at a chemist's.

MACARONI CHEESE. – Cut the macaroni in two or three inch lengths, place in a stewpan with 3/4 lb of grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese, 4 oz of fresh butter, a spoonful of good béchamel; season with pepper and salt, toss all well over the fire, pile it in the centre of a dish, bordered round with fried croutons of bread, covering also the bottom. Cover the top with equal parts of fine bread-crumbs and grated Parmesan, and pour over all a little melted butter through the holes of a spoon, and place the dish in the oven to be baked.

TAPIOCA CREAM. – Soak two tablespoonfuls of tapioca over night in just enough water to cover it. Boil one quart of milk with the tapioca in the morning; add a little more than half a tea cup of lump sugar, a pinch of salt, and the yolks of three eggs well beaten; stir them in the milk, then remove it from the fire. Flavour to taste with lemon or vanilla; beat the three whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and drop them on the cream when cold.

CURE FOR CHILBLAINS. – Bathe the parts affected in the water in which potatoes have been boiled, as hot as can be borne. On the first appearance of the blains this bath, affords relief, and in the more advanced stages repetition prevents breaking out, and generally results in a cure. One ounce of white coppers dissolved in a quart of water and applied occasionally is also considered efficacious.

A NICE WAY TO BAKE APPLES. – Choose good sour apples, dig out the cores, and fill the cavities with sugar, and, if liked, a small clove. Place the apples in a dish, or tin, with about a cup of water. Bake them in a quick oven. This makes a good dish for children, and is very cooling and pleasant for invalids.

AN EASY WAY TO MAKE AN OMELETTE. – Beat the whites and yolks of three eggs separately, add a teaspoonful of water and a pinch of salt to the yolks; beat and mix them with the whites lightly. Put about as much butter as will lie in the bowl of a teaspoon into the frying-pan, hold it over the fire till it melts, then pour in the egg. When the surface is nearly dry, fold one half of the omelette over the other, slide it gently off on a plate and serve quickly.

OATMEAL CAKES. – Mix a handful of fresh coarse oatmeal with a little water and a pinch of salt; rub in a little butter. Make the paste sufficiently moist to roll out the thickness of a shilling; put it on a girdle over a clear fire. When slightly brown on one side, toast the other side before the fire. Each cake must be mixed separately.

SCALDED BATTER PUDDING. – Four piled tablespoonfuls of flour, four eggs, a little salt, and rather less than a pint of ilk. Mix salt with the flour, and when the milk is quite boiling pour it gradually over the flour, stirring it with a fork until it is sufficiently mixed. Set it to cool, and in the meanwhile whisk the eggs very thoroughly and stir them in to the other ingredients when these are just warm. Boil for an hour and a half in a well-buttered cloth, leaving room  for the pudding to rise. It will be very light and delicate, a perfect pudding for an invalid; but in the preparation no spoon should be used, the mixing being done wholly with a fork. Serve with wine sauce, or, if this is objected to, plain melted butter and jam, or a little raspberry vinegar.

SIMPLE RECIPES FOR COUGH, HOARSENESS, AND THROAT IRRITATION:-

1. Soak a soft fig for about a week in pale brandy, and take half when the cough is troublesome.

2. Put a lemon in boiling water. Boil it for a quarter of an hour. Then press out the pulp into a jar, removing the pips, and mix it very thoroughly with a quarter of a pound of honey. Take a teaspoonful when required.

3. Dissolve 1 oz of gum Arabic and 14 lb of sugar candy in a pint of water. A little lemon juice and a chip or two of the rind, cut off very thin, may be added, and greatly improve the flavour. A teaspoonful of the mixture taken a bedtime will often allay the tickling and irritation of the throat, and secure a night's rest. It should be sipped very slowly. By sucking a little pure gum Arabic the same effect may be produced as it coats over the susceptible surface. The mixture is, however, more palatable, and especially for children.

4. Thin linseed tea, which should always be boiled, not merely infused, sweetened with sugar-candy and flavoured with lemon juice and rind, is also an excellent demulcient, and highly nutritious. Some black Spanish juice may be boiled with the linseed. This old-fashioned remedy is often undervalued, because it is extremely cheap, and may be used with only the limit of the patient's inclination.

5. For tickling in the throat a teaspoonful of the soft, cold pulp of a roasted apple often proves useful, especially in the night.

6. Put a large tablespoonful of black currant jam into half a pint of boiling water. Stir and bruise thoroughly; let it stand till cold, and drink of the liquor when the cough is troublesome.

7. Half a teaspoonful of Condy's fluid – crimson – mixed in half a tumbler of water is an excellent morning gargle for a susceptible throat. It is also a purifying wash for the mouth and teeth, but should not be swallowed.

See you next year! :)

19 February 1881 - Useful Hints

COFFEE utensils or brass articles may be as thoroughly cleaned and look as bright by washing them with a solution of salt and vinegar as by using oxalic acid, with the advantage of running no risk of poisoning either children or careless persons. Use as much salt as the vinegar will dissolve, and apply with a woollen rag, rubbing vigorously, then polish with pulverised chalk, and the article will look like new, with little labour, as the acid of the vinegar is very efficient in removing all stains from either copper or brass.

VEAL BALLS - One half pound of cold veal, eight tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, one teaspoonful of mixed dried herbs, and one half-teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, one salt-spoonful of grated nutmeg, tow eggs. Put six tablespoonfuls of the bread crumb into a bowl, and chopping the vela finely mix it therewith. Season this with the pepper and salt, adding the nutmeg, also the parsley and herbs, after which the whole must be thoroughly mixed together. To give this consistency drop in the yolks of the two eggs, saving the whites separate upon a plate. Roll the mixture now into small balls, using an ounce of flour upon the hands to prevent sticking. Beat the whites of the eggs slightly, roll the balls therein, and placing the remaining bread-crumbs in a paper, roll them also in it. Throw them into smoking, clarified fat for four minutes, when they should be taken out and put to drain on kitchen paper, after which serve upon a hot napkin.

SAVOURY HASH - Three quarters of a pound of cold meat, one Spanish onion, one ounce of butter, one ounce of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper, one dessert-spoonful of catsup, one dessert-spoonful of Harvey's sauce, one half-pint of second stock, one carrot, one turnip. Clean and chop fine both the carrot and the turnip, when they must be put to boil in a small saucepan with boiling water until tender, which will take about twenty minutes. While these are cooking melt the butter in a separate saucepan, brown it in the onion sliced, then cutting into slices cold roast beef, or beefsteak, roll them in the flour, and, placing these slices in the butter with the onion, brown slightly also. Pour over this the stock, the Harvey's sauce, and catsup, stir gently until the stock boils, and season with pepper and salt. When the meat is thoroughly heated through arrange them in a flat dish and pour the grave over. Strain the water from the carrot and turnip, and pile them high on the top of the pieces of meat when ready for serving.

CUSTARD PIE - Three eggs, three gills of milk, one ounce of sugar, one half-teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Line a pie-tin with pie-crust, and putting the eggs and sugar into a bowl, beat them together until the eggs become very light. Add to this the milk, and pour all into the crust-lined pie tin; place the whole in a moderate oven, and bake the pie for half an hour. When done, grate over the surface the nutmeg, and serve cold or hot, as the taste may suggest, although custard pie should be cooled at once if desired cold, as the crust soaks and becomes unpalatable with standing.

A SIMPLE SPONGE CAKE - Take five eggs, three quarters of a pound of sifted sugar, break the eggs upon the latter, beat all together for half an hour. Take the weight of two and a half eggs in their shells of flour, and after the time of beating is expired stir in the flour the grated rind of a lemon and as much of the juice as desired, and pour immediately into a tin lined with buttered paper; place at once into a rather cool oven.

CLEANING WHITE FURS - Wash in a cold lather of soap and water, with a little soda and blue; if not sufficiently clean, draw it through several clean lathers; rinse in fresh water, and hang up to dry.

PREPARATION OF FRUIT ICES - Take one pint of strawberries, one pint of cream, rather less than half a pound of white sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Wash the fruit through a sieve, remove the seeds, mix all together, and freeze; adding a little new milk to quicken the process. Strawberry and raspberry jam may be used in lieu of fresh fruit, or equal quantities of the two together; but in this case less sugar will be required.

WATER ICE may be made thus. Take a large bottle of the fruit, the juice of a lemon, one pound of sugar, and half a pint of water. Rub the fruit through a sieve, mix and freeze.

LEMON AND ORANGE WATER ICE - Make thus. Of the juice and the water each half a pint, rasping off the rind before squeezing with lump sugar, and adding it to the juice; then mix, strain, leave to stand for an hour, and freeze. Beat up the whites of three eggs with a little sugar, and as the ice begins to set work it in with a spatula.

STRAINED INDIA-RUBBER - Professor Tait has found that india-rubber , after having been stretched for years and become permanently strained, or if it be stretched while warm nearly to rupture, will recover its former dimensions when it is dipped into hot water.

STOOPING AT WORK - The Lancet says: "The dangers which the seamstress, especially the young undeveloped girl, incurs by prolonged stooping over her work have been exposed by us on more than one occasion. Every practitioner will have been able to trace cases of deviation of the spine, uterine complaints, etc., to the bending of the back, and the crossing of the legs for so many hours day after day Our object now is to record the successful attempt made by Dr. Malherbe to avoid these melancholy consequences of an industrious occupation. The new system employed is that of fixing to the edge of an ordinary table a sort of cushion on which the work can be easily fastened or spread out, and represents the seamstress's knees. A framework of the simplest description admits of the raising or lowering of this cushion, so that the work may be done either sitting or standing; but in either case the vertebral column is maintained perfectly straight, while the facility thus given to a change of position will tend to mitigate the fatigue a young person would otherwise experience. Recognising that example is more forcible than theory when waging war against common routine, Dr. Malherbe at once sought an opportunity for making some practical experiment. He therefore introduced his contrivance at the Communal School of Nantes, and no objection was raised on the part of the pupils. Two among them had a slight tendency to malformation, which has been to some extent rectified since the introduction of this reform in the attitude of sewing. Evidently the remedy to a great evil is simple and practical, and should be made the subject of more extensive experiments.

THE following is the Scotch method of washing woollen shawls - Scrape one pound of soap and boil it down in water When cooling beat it with the hand; it will become a sort of jelly. Add three tablespoonfuls of spirits of turpentine and one of spirits of hartshorn. Wash the article thoroughly in it, then rinse in cold water until all the soap is taken off, then in salt and water. Fold between two sheets, taking care not to allow two folds of the article washed to lie together. Mangle and iron with a very cool iron. Shawls done in this way look like new. Use the salt only where there are delicate colours that may strike.

31 July 1880 - Useful Hints

FIG PUDDING - One half-pound of figs, one half-pound of bread-crumbs, one half-pound of sugar, one half-pound of beef suet, three eggs. Remove the skin from the suet, chop it very finely, put it into a bowl, and, chopping the figs very finely, mix both together. Stir into this the bread-crumbs, beat in a separate bowl the eggs and sugar, mix this with the figs, suet, and bread-crumbs, and, greasing the interior of the mould, pour this into it, put on the cover, and plunging it into a large saucepan of boiling water, let it with its contents boil for two hours.

LEMON SAUCE - One lemon, six pieces of cut loaf sugar, one teacupful of cold water. Pare the rind from the lemon, and cut this into strips the size of a straw. Put these strips of lemon-rind into a small saucepan, together with the lumps of sugar, and, covering these with the cold water,  squeeze into the mixture the juice of the lemon. Put the saucepan over the fire, and stir the contents until boiling. When this takes place, cover the saucepan, and drawing it to one side of the fire, let all simmer slowly for twenty minutes. This sauce should be poured over the pudding with which it is served, in order that the straws of lemon-rind may garnish the top of the pudding.

LEMON CHEESE CAKES - Take 3 lemons - grating the rind and squeezing out the juice - 6 eggs, well whisked, and 1 pound of sifted or lump sugar. Put all into a jar, stand and boil in a pan of water till thick, stirring occasionally, for about three-quarters of an hour. Then cover and keep in a cool place.

LEMON SPONGE - One ounce of gelatine, one pint of water, two lemons, one half-pound of cut loaf sugar, whites of three eggs. Put the gelatine into a bowl, cover it with cold water, and let it soak for twenty minutes. At the end of this time add to it the rind of the lemons, squeeze over the lemon-juice, throw in the sugar, and pour all into a copper or porcelain-lined saucepan, place the saucepan over the fire, and stir its contents until boiling, after which it must be allowed to boil for two minutes. at the end of this time pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, and let it remain therein until cold, but not long enough to set. Beat the whites of eggs slightly, pour them into the mixture in the bowl, and stir all together, when all must be whisked until thick and white. Pour the sponge into a mould, stand it in a cool, dry place, and when "set," turn it out upon, and serve in, a crystal dessert dish.

WELCOME GUEST PUDDING - Eight ounces of bread-crumbs, one half-pint of milk, four ounces of beef suet, three ounces of citron, four ounces of sugar, rind of one lemon, one grain of salt. Place four ounces of the bread-crumbs in a bowl, and, bringing the milk to a boil, pour it over them. Cover the bowl with a plate, and allow the bread-crumbs to soak in the milk for ten minutes. While the bread-crumbs are soaking, pour over the almonds some boiling water to blanch them, and remove their skins. Remove the skin from the suet and chop it very finely, and chop the almonds. Stir into the bowl with the soaked bread-crumbs the four remaining ounces of crumbs, add to this the chopped suet and almonds, also the grated rind of lemon, together with the sugar and citron, cut into very small pieces. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs very carefully, drop the yolks one by one into the bowl, and stir all well together. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, adding the grain of salt. Mix this lightly with the other ingredients in the bowl, and, taking a quart mould, dry it thoroughly, greasing the interior with butter, pouring into it the mixture, and place securely over the top a greased sheet of kitchen paper. Place the mould, when filled, in a deep saucepan, containing enough water to reach halfway up the side, and let the pudding boil therein two hours. When done, the mould should be removed from the boiling water, allow two minutes for it to cool, and then turn the pudding out on the hot platter. This should be served with jam, or lemon sauce.

CHUTNEY - English chutney may be made thus: Take half-pound of mustard seed, half-pound of salt, half-pound of raisins (stoned), half-pound of brown sugar; six ounces of garlic, six ounces of cayenne pepper, one quart of gooseberries, one quart of the best vinegar. Dry and bruise the mustard, make a syrup of the sugar with half a pint of the vinegar, dry the gooseberries and boil in half a quart of the vinegar, and well bruise the garlic in a mortar. When cold, gradually mix and thoroughly amalgamate the whole in a mortar, and then tie down well. The longer preserved the better.

RICE CAKE - Four eggs, 1/2lb white sugar, pounded and sifted, - (this can be bought ready and is called castor sugar), 1/2lb rice flour, a teaspoonful of baking powder, and a few drops of essence of lemon or almond. Beat the eggs ten minutes, add the sugar and beat ten minutes more, then the flavouring and rice flour, first mixing the baking powder with the latter, and beat five minutes more. Bake in a well-buttered mould in a moderate heated oven. N.B. Always break each egg into a cup separately, and be sure it is perfectly sweet before mixing it with others. The smallest trace of taint or staleness will spoil the whole.

WASH FOR SORE MOUTH - 1 teaspoonful powdered borax, 1 dessertspoonful of glycerine, 1 dessertspoonful of tincture of myrrh. Dissolve borax in a little water, and mix it with the other ingredients in a four-ounce bottle. Fill up with pure water, shake well, and wash the mouth three times a day. The little white ulcers which are so painful in the mouth may be *just touched with a solid caustic pencil, and the mouth rinsed either with the above wash or with 1/2 a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh, in a wine glass of water. Sometimes the ulcer may be cured by touching occasionally with pure tincture of myrrh, just in the centre.

ANOTHER WASH FOR SORE MOUTH - A teaspoonful of powdered borax, a tablespoonful of honey, and four oz of water, well mixed together. Hold in the mouth for a short time. These washes are not intended to be swallowed; but contain no injurious ingredients if a little should go down the throat.

NICE TEA CAKES - To two pounds of flour add two ounces of butter and two ounces of lard; mix them well together, then beat up four eggs to a light froth and add them to a pint of milk, with a teaspoonful of salt - pour this gradually on the flour and work it well for about eight or ten minutes. Cut the dough with a sharp knife, and roll it into thin cakes the size of a breakfast saucer. Bake them in a quick oven. Currants may be added if preferred.

The soles of boots may be made waterproof by melting a little bee's wax and mutton suet, and rubbing some slightly on the edges of the sole over the stitches.

WORSTED and lambswool stockings should not be mended with worsted or lambswool, as the new material will shrink more than the stockings, and render them short and shapeless. Soft cotton will be found better, unless the wool can be shrunk before using it.

TO CLEAN SILK - The following method has the advantage of not giving a cleaned appearance to the dresses so treated - Honey, 1/4lb; gin, 1/2 gill; soft soap, 1/4lb; boiling water, 1 1/2 pints, mix and allow to stand until blood warm. Spread the garment upon a table, on which a cloth has been previously placed. There must be no gathers. Dip a nail-brush into the mixture and rub the silk well in those places most soiled and spotted, then with a sponge to go over the whole breadth generally, rubbing gently. Then rinse the silk in cold water, hang it up to drain, and iron whilst damp. The quantity given is sufficient for a plain dress.

3 January 1880 - Useful Hints

CHEAP QUILTS AND PILLOWS - In the absence of eider-down, or other expensive quilts, a warm coverlet can be cheaply made by sewing cotton wadding in brown paper. A pillow, far more cool and wholesome than one stuffed with feathers, can be cheaply made by filling the case with waste paper, cut or torn into small pieces. Old letters will do, but not printed paper - the effluviam from which, when heated, may be as bad as that from badly-dressed feathers.

CHILBLAINS, HOW TO CURE - The following mixture is useful for allaying intense itching caused by chilblains. Sulphurous acid three parts, and glycerine one part, diluted with the same quantity of water. Apply with a soft camel-hair pencil.

HORSERADISH SAUCE - This is a capital addition to cold roast-beef. Take a stick or two of horseradish, grate them until you have enough pulp to fill two table-spoons. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of Swiss milk in the same quantity of ordinary milk, mix in a tea-spoonful of made mustard and a tea-spoonful of vinegar, add the horseradish pulp and mix together.

TEA - If a pot of tea has boiled on the hob, the bitter taste can be removed by adding a little cold water.

BAKING - A bowl of water put into the oven while baking will keep cakes and pastry from burning.

GILT FRAMES, TO REVIVE - After carefully dusting, wash with an ounce of soda beaten up with the whites of three eggs.

OLD BLACK SILK DRESS, TO RENOVATE - Dissolve some glue or gum-arabic in boiling water. Mix with sufficient cold water, and sponge the dress all over with it on the wrong side; dry the silk, sprinkle it a little, roll up tightly in a towel, let it remain thus for several hours. The with an iron, only moderately hot, iron it carefully out and your dress will be as good as new.

EVERTON TOFFEE, HOW TO MAKE - Procure a pound of treacle, a pound of moist sugar, and half a pound of butter. Put into a large saucepan over a clear fire. The butter of course goes in first, and then the treacle and sugar. Stir slowly with a knife; drop a little into cold water to ascertain if it is done, and if everything is satisfactory it will come out quite crisp. 

17 February 1880 - Useful Hints

TO MAKE YEAST - Yeast for home-made bread may be easily made as follows. Boil 1 lb of good flour, 1/4 lb of brown sugar, and 1/2 oz of salt in two gallons of water for one hour. When almost cold, bottle and cork closely. It will be fit for use in twenty-four hours and one pint will make four quarter loaves.

TEA CAKES - 1/4 lb fresh butter, 1/4 lb sifted sugar, 1/2 lb of flour, one egg and a little milk.

BURNS AND SCALDS - Mix limewater and olive oil in equal parts; if you have it at hand, dissolve as much carbonate of soda as possible in it; soak a piece of lint or rag in the mixture, and cover the injured part entirely with it, that it may be kept from the air. Another plan is to make a thick paste of whitening and spread it over the burn.

RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN A SICK CHAMBER.

The first thing to be remembers is that the doctor's orders are to be implicitly obeyed.

Be careful that the room is kept perfectly clean and well aired.

Endeavour always to have a supply of fresh flowers, or, where their scent is too powerful, branches of bright leaves without perfume may be substituted.

Never introduce disagreeable topics, but seek to entertain the patient by some pleasant news or tale, so as to keep the mind as much as possible from dwelling on suffering and disease.

Never ask a sick person what he will have to eat, but carefully procure such food as is suitable. Should the patient particularly desire anything, hasten to satisfy the wish unless it would be hurtful. Serve the food in small portions in an appetising manner. A small dish well cooked and served awakens an appetite, whilst a large and carelessly dressed repast produces nausea and disgust.

Be very patient and of an even and cheery temper when attending on a suffering invalid. Remember that illness often renders us unreasonable and capricious. Listen with kindness and sympathy to the complaints and murmurings of the poor sufferer.

17 April 1886 - Useful Hints - 'French or Dry Cleaning at Home for Gloves, Ties, Boots (Either Satin or Kid), Furs and Plush' - by M.C.

This method is so simple that, to young ladies who go out a great deal, gloves are a great consideration, and when by such a simple process you can have clean gloves in a few minutes, most ladies would like to learn the method, the cost of which is so trifling.  The first thing to do is to procure benzene, or benzoline (the former I prefer) from a chemist; six-pennyworth will clean at least a dozen pairs, and then can be used again, if care be taken that in returning it to the bottle no sediment is allowed to return, but wiped from the bowl with a cloth kept for that purpose.

The best thing to scrub the articles on is a common slate and an ordinary nail-brush, and care must be taken that water on no account must be allowed to come near the spirit.

There are two bowls used, one for soaking, the other for rinsing.

After soaking the articles, lay them on the slate and scrub those parts which are the most soiled gently until clean, then rinse them through the clean spirit, and put them on a rounded stick, or a glove stretcher will do if not opened, and rub gently all over until dry, then hang them up on a piece of twine to take the smell out of them.

It is always best to do your cleaning in the day with windows open, so that the air carries off any smell; although not unpleasant, some people object to it.  Light or fire should be avoided, as the spirit is inflammable, but with a little ordinary attention there is not the slightest cause for fear.

This method of cleaning is so simple that a child of ten years old could, without the slightest fatigue, clean from twenty to thirty pairs per hour.

The rubbing clothes are made of the commonest kind of coarse towelling, half a yard square, and when these are dirty and require washing, they should be thrown into strong soda water and boiled, and when thoroughly dried are ready for use.

Boot and shoe cleaning is precisely the same as for gloves, only in the case of kid shoes, instead of being dried with a cloth, they are finished with plaster of Paris, the plaster being rubbed on with the hand.

White furs are treated in the same way, and then shaken well to get the powder out and raise the fur nicely.

Dark furs are rinsed in clear spirit after scrubbing, then rubbed neatly dry with a cloth, shaken, and hung up to dry the same as gloves.

I think it best to take the linings out of muffs (but not other things) because it is very difficult to get the lining to set smooth afterwards.

Neckties are smoothed over with a warm iron after cleaning, and, as a rule, look equal to new.  Furniture coverings can have all grease removed from them by rubbing the part with the brush first, and then quickly with a cloth; if the first application is not sufficient, the second one is a certainty.

This process of cleaning removes dirt and grease of every kind, but not stains.  Sometimes a spot of grease on a dress spoils the effect, and some people think nothing will do but to re-trim or take the soiled part away; but this spirit, carefully used on the spilt part, will almost instantaneously remove all trace of grease.

8 October, 1887 - Useful Hints - French Stewed Steak, or Other Meat - How To Boil Rice as in India

French Stewed Steak, or Other Meat

The peculiarity of this method is that the gravy is always prepared before putting in the meat and vegetables.

Place in the stewpan two ounces of butter, and when thoroughly melted add a tablespoonful of flour, enough to absorb the butter, leaving sufficient moisture to stir easily about till it becomes a rich brown colour; this will take fifteen minutes. If you wish for a paler gravy, for what is called a white ragout, the mixture must be taken off the fire while it is still pale, adding three turnips sliced, two onions sliced, the steak at the top. The turnis to be laid at the bottom of the stewpan, then the onions, lastly the steak. No water - this is important.

Stew them until tender - one hour and a half or more - then take out the steak, strain the gravy from the vegetables through a sieve, take off the fat; mix it in a basin with a teaspoonful of flour, add pepper and salt, mix it all well together, then add the gravy to the vegetables; give it one boil up and pour it over the steak, and put the steak in the stewpan till wanted. Be careful to shake the pan occasionally to prevent the steak burning; flavour it to your taste.

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How to Boil Rice as in India

Two quarts of water, one pint of rice, one tablespoonful of salt.

When the water is boiling throw in a tablespoonful of salt, then the rice, after it has been well washed in cold water; let it boil twenty minutes; throw it into a colander and strain off the water. When the water is well drained off put the rice back into the same saucepan, dried by the fire, and let it stand near the fire for some minutes, till required to be dished up; thus the grains appear separately and not mashed into a pudding. Excellent with a little butter.