Chapter XXIV: Part 24

Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap
in another, and a clean cloth or towel folded three or four times. On
the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of
flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to
the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards
the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this
process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though
clean; if coloured, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry; and
old gloves will soon look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy,
smooth, well-shaped, and elastic.

2254. Preserving the Colour of Dresses.

The colours of merinos, mousseline-de-laines, ginghams, chintzes,
printed lawns, &c., may be preserved by using water that is only milk
warm; making a lather with white soap, _before_ you put in the dress,
instead of rubbing it on the material; and stirring into a first and
second tub of water a large tablespoonful of oxgall. The gall can be
obtained from the butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in
every house. No coloured articles should be allowed to remain long in
the water. They must be washed fast, and then rinsed through two cold
waters. In each, rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, which
will help to brighten the colours; and after rinsing, hang them out
immediately. When _ironing-dry_ (or still a little damp), bring them
in; have irons ready heated, and iron them at once--as it injures the
colours to allow them to remain damp too long--or sprinkle and roll
them up in a cover for ironing next day. If they cannot be
conveniently ironed immediately, let them hang till they are _quite_
dry, and then damp and fold them on the, _following day,_ a quarter of
an hour before ironing.

It is better not to do coloured dresses on the day of the general
wash, but to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be
undertaken in clear bright weather. If allowed to freeze, the colours
will be irreparably injured. We need scarcely say that no coloured
articles should ever be boiled or scalded. If you get from a shop a
slip for testing the durability of colours, give it a fair trial by
washing it as above; afterwards pinning it to the edge of a towel, and
hanging it to dry. Some colours (especially pinks and light greens),
though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon
as a warm iron is applied to them; the pink turning purplish, and the
green bluish. No coloured article should be smoothed with a _hot_
iron.

[A GAMBLER AND A SWINDLER ARE NEAR NEIGHBOURS.]

2255. To Renovate Silks (1).

Sponge faded silks with warm water and soap, then rub them with a dry
cloth on a flat board; afterwards iron them on the _inside_ with a
smoothing iron. Old black silks may be improved by sponging with
spirits; in this case, the ironing may be done on the right side, thin
paper being spread over to prevent glazing.

2256. Black Silk Reviver (2).

Boil logwood in water for half an hour; then simmer the silk half an
hour; take it out, and put into the dye a little blue vitriol, or
green copperas; cool it, and simmer the silk for half an hour. Or,
boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until it is
reduced to one pint; squeeze the leaves, and bottle the liquor for
use. When wanted, sponge the silk with this preparation.

2257. Restoring Colour to Silk (3).

When the colour has been taken from silk by acids, it may be restored
by applying to the spot a little hart's-horn, or sal volatile.

2258. To Remove Water Stains from Black Crape.

When a drop of water falls on a black crape veil or collar, it leaves
a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this, spread the crape on a
table (laying on it a large book or a paper-weight to keep it steady),
and place underneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a large
camel's-hair brush dipped in common ink go over the stain, and then
wipe off the ink with a small piece of old soft silk. It will dry at
once, and the white mark will be seen no more.

2259. To Remove Stains from Mourning Dresses.

Boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until reduced to a
pint. Bombazines, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a
sponge dipped in this liquor, and the stains will be instantly removed.

2260. Wax.

Wax may be taken out of cloth by holding a red-hot iron within an inch
or two of the marks, and afterwards rubbing them with a soft clean rag.

2261. Grease Spots from Silk.

Upon a deal table lay a piece of woollen cloth or baize, upon which
lay smoothly the part stained, with the right side downwards. Having
spread a piece of brown paper on the top, apply a flat iron just hot
enough to scorch the paper. About five or eight seconds is usually
sufficient. Then rub the stained part briskly with a piece of
whity-brown paper.

2262. Liquid for Preserving Furs from Moth.

Warm water, one pint; corrosive sublimate, twelve grains. If washed
with this, and afterwards dried, furs are safe from moth. Care should
be taken to label the liquid--_Poison._

[ONE DOUBT MAY LEAD TO DISBELIEF.]

2263. Velvet.

When Velvet gets crushed from pressure, hold the parts over a basin of
_hot_ water, with the lining of the article next the water; the pile
will soon rise, and assume its original beauty.

2264. Stockings.

Worsted and Lambs'-Wool stockings should never be mended with worsted
or lambs'-wool, because, the latter being new, it shrinks more than
the stockings, and draws them up till the toes become short and
narrow, and the heels have no shape left.

2265. Making Flannels.

All Flannels should be soaked before they are made up, first in cold,
then in hot water, in order to shrink them.

2266. Washing Flannel.

Flannel should always he washed with white soap, and in warm but not
boiling water.

2267. Brewing.

The best time of the year for brewing is the autumn. The spring is
also suitable, but less so. It is a great object to secure a moderate
temperature for the cooling of the worts, and to insure gradual
fermentation. To those who wish to enter upon the practice, without
any previous knowledge, we would advise their calling in the aid of
some one practically acquainted with the process for the first
operation. By so doing they will save a great deal of trouble,
disappointment, and expense. In all places, town or country, there
are persons who have worked in brewing establishments, or in
gentlemen's families where they have superintended the operations of
the brew-house, and the aid of such persons would be valuable. With
such assistance, the following receipts will be of importance, since
many who are able to go through the manipulations of brewing are
unaware of the proper proportions to employ:

2268. Ale.

Take three bushels of malt, three pounds of hops, fifty-two gallons of
water, for two workings. Or,--malt, two bushels and a half; sugar,
three pounds; hops, three pounds; coriander seeds, one ounce;
capsicum, a drachm. Thirty-six gallons. This gives a pleasant ale,
with a good body.

2269. Amber Ale.

Three bushels of amber malt, three quarters of a bushel of pale amber
malt, two pounds of hops, a tablespoonful of salt. Three mashes, forty
to fifty gallons. Skim, and fine with isinglass.

2270. Burton Ale.

One quarter of pale malt, eight pounds and a half pale hops; mash
three times. Work the first mash at 170°, second at 176°, third at
150°. Boil the first wort by itself; when boiling add three pounds of
honey, a pound and a half of coriander seeds, one ounce of salt. Mix
the worts when boiled, cool to 61°, set to work with a pint and a half
of yeast. As soon as the liquor gets yeasty, skim the head half off;
rouse the rest with another pint and a half of yeast, three quarters
of an ounce of bay salt, and a quarter of a pound of malt or bean
flour. This makes a hogshead.

2271. Edinburgh Ale.

Mash two barrels per quarter, at 183°; mash for three quarters of an
hour; let it stand one hour, and allow half an hour to run off. Or,
mash one barrel per quarter, at 190°; mash three quarters of an hour,
let it stand three quarters of an hour, and tap.

2272. Porter.

Brown amber and pale malt, in equal quantities; turn them into the
mash-tub. Turn on the first liquor at 165°; mash one hour, then coat
the whole with dry malt. In one hour set the tap. Mix ten pounds of
brown hops to a quarter of malt, half old, half new; boil the first
wort briskly with the hops for three quarters of an hour, after
putting into the copper one pound and a half of sugar, and one pound
and a half of extract of liquorice to the barrel, turn it into
coolers, rousing the wort the while. Turn on the second liquor at
174°, set tap again in an hour. The second wort having run off, turn
on again at 145°; mash an hour, and stand an hour; boil the second
wort with the same hops for one hour. Turn into the coolers, and let
into the tub at 64°, mixing the yeast as it comes down. Cleanse the
second day at 80°, previously adding a mixture of flour and salt, and
rousing well.

[WHEN IN MOTION, TO PUSH ON IS EASY.]

2273. Making Wines.

Wines from Rhubarb, Unripe Grapes, Currants, Gooseberries, &c.--The
whole art of wine-making consists in the proper management of the
fermenting process; the same quantity of fruit, whether it be rhubarb,
currants, gooseberries, unripe grapes, leaves, tops, and tendrils,
water, and sugar, will produce two different kinds of wine, by varying
the process of fermentation only--that is, a dry wine like sherry, or
a brisk beverage like champagne; but neither rhubarb, currants, nor
gooseberries will produce a wine with the true champagne flavour; it
is to be obtained only from the fruit of the grape, ripe or unripe,
its leaves, tops, and tendrils. The following receipt will do for
rhubarb, or any of the above-mentioned fruits.

2274. English Champagne.

Take fifty pounds of rhubarb and thirty-seven pounds of fine moist
sugar. Provide a tub that will hold from fifteen to twenty gallons,
taking care that it has a hole for a tap near the bottom. In this tub
bruise the rhubarb; when done, add four gallons of water; let the
whole be well stirred together; cover the tub with a cloth or blanket,
and let the materials stand for twenty-four hours; then draw off the
liquor through the tap; add one or two more gallons of water to the
pulp, let it be well stirred, and then allowed to remain an hour or
two to settle, then draw off; mix the two liquors together, and in it
dissolve the sugar.

Let the tub be made clean, and return the liquor to it, cover it with
a blanket, and place it in a room the temperature of which is not
below 60° Fahr.; here it is to remain for twenty-four, forty-eight, or
more hours, until there is an appearance of fermentation having begun,
when it should be drawn off into the ten-gallon cask, as fine as
possible, which cask must be filled up to the bung-hole with water, if
there is not liquor enough; let it lean to one side a little, that it
may discharge itself; if there is any liquor left in the tub not quite
fine, pass it through flannel, and fill up with that instead of water.

As the fermentation proceeds and the liquor diminishes, it must be
filled up daily, to encourage the fermentation, for ten or twelve
days; it then becomes more moderate, when the bung should be put in,
and a gimlet hole made at the side of it, fitted with a spile; this
spile should be taken out every two or three days, according to the
state of the fermentation, for eight or ten days, to allow some of the
carbonic acid gas to escape. When this state is passed, the cask may
he kept full by pouring a little liquor in at the vent-hole once a
week or ten days, for three or four weeks.

This operation is performed at long intervals, of a month or more,
till the end of December, when on a fine frosty day it should be drawn
off from the lees as fine as possible; and the turbid part passed
through flannel. Make the cask clean, return the liquor to it, with
one drachm of isinglass (pure) dissolved in a little water; stir the
whole together, and put the bung in firmly.

Choose a clear dry day in March for bottling. The bottles should be
champagne bottles--common wine bottles are not strong enough; secure
the corks in a proper manner with wire, &c. The liquor is generally
made up to two or three pints over the ten gallons, which is bottled
for the purpose of filling the cask as it is wanted. The wine contains
spirit enough without the addition of brandy, which spoils all wines;
a proper fermentation producing spirit enough.

The way to obtain a dry wine from these materials is to keep the cask
constantly filled up to the bung-hole, daily or every other day, as
long as any fermentation is perceptible by applying the ear near to
the hole; the bung may then be put in lightly for a time, before
finally fixing it; it may be racked off on a fine day in December, and
fined with isinglass as above directed, and bottled in March.

[A WORD BEFORE IS WORTH TWO BEHIND.]

2275. Parsnip Wine.

Take fifteen pounds of sliced parsnips, and boil until quite soft in
five gallons of water; squeeze the liquor well out of them, run it
through a sieve, and add three pounds of coarse lump sugar to every
gallon of liquor. Boil the whole for three quarters of an hour. When
it is nearly cold, add a little yeast on toast. Let it remain in a tub
for ten days, stirring it from the bottom every day; then put it into
a cask, in which it should remain for a year. As it works over, fill
it up every day.

2276. Turnip Wine.

Take a large number of turnips, pare and slice them; then place in a
cider-press, and obtain all the juice you can. To every gallon of
juice add three pounds of lump sugar, and half a pint of brandy, Pour
the liquor into a cask, and when it las done working, bung it close
for three months, and draw off into another cask. When it is fine,
bottle, and cork well.

2277. Blackberry Wine.

Gather the fruit when ripe, on a dry day. Put into a vessel, with the
head out, and a tap fitted near the bottom; pour on boiling water to
cover it. Mash the berries with your hands, and let them stand covered
till the pulp rises to the top and forms a crust, in three or four
days. Then draw off the fluid into another vessel, and to every
gallon add one pound of sugar; mix well, and put it into a cask, to
work for a week or ten days, and throw off any remaining lees, keeping
the cask well filled, particularly at the commencement. When the
working has ceased, bung it down; after six to twelve months it may be
bottled.

2278. Black or White Elderberry Wine.

Gather the berries ripe and dry, pick them, bruise them with your
hands, and strain them. Set the liquor by in glazed earthen vessels
for twelve hours, to settle; put to every pint of juice a pint and a
half of water, and to every gallon of this liquor three pounds of good
moist sugar; set in a kettle over the fire, and when it is ready to
boil, clarify it with the white of four or five eggs; let it boil one
hour, and when it is almost cold work it with strong ale yeast, and
tun it, filling up the vessel from time to time with the same liquor,
saved on purpose, as it sinks by working. In a month's time, if the
vessel holds about eight gallons, it will be fine and fit to bottle,
and after bottling, will be fit to drink in twelve months.

2279. Arrack (Imitation).

Dissolve two scruples of flowers of benjamin in a quart of good rum,
and it will impart to the spirit the fragrance of arrack.

2280. Devonshire Junket.

Put warm milk into a bowl, turn it with a little rennet, then add some
scalded cream, sugar, and cinnamon on the top, without breaking the
curd.

2281. A Nightcap For Travellers.

Take your pocket handkerchief, and laying it out the full square,
double down _one-third_ over the other part. Then raise the whole and
turn it over, so that the third folded down shall now be underneath.
Take hold of one of the folded corners, and draw its point towards the
centre; then do the same with the other, as in making a cocked-hat, or
a boat, of paper. Then take hold of the two remaining corners, and
twisting the hem of the handkerchief, continue to roll it until it
meets the double corners brought to the centre, and catches them up a
little. Lift the whole, and you will see the form of a cap, which,
when applied to the head, will cover the head and ears, and, being
tied under the chin, will not come off. Very little practice will
enable you to regulate the size of the folds so as to fit the head.

2282. Scotch Punch, or Whisky Toddy.

Pour about a wineglassful of _boiling_ water into a half-pint tumbler,
and sweeten according to taste. Stir well up, then put in a
wineglassful of whisky, and add a wineglassful and a half more boiling
water. _Be sure the water _is boiling_. Never put lemon into toddy.
The two in combination, in almost every instance, produce acidity in
the stomach. If possible, store your whisky _in the wood_, not in
bottles as keeping it in the cask mellows it, and dissipates the
coarser particles.

[MAN DOUBLES HIS EVILS BY BROODING UPON THEM.]

2283. Athol Brose.

Put a wineglassful of whisky into a half-pint tumbler; sweeten with a
large teaspoonful of honey, and fill up with milk that has been
_nearly_ brought to boiling over a clear fire. Remember that "milk
boiled is milk spoiled."

2284. Buttered Rum.

Put a wineglassful of good rum into a half-pint tumbler, with a lump
or two of sugar and a piece of butter the size of a filbert. Fill up
with _boiling_ water. This is excellent for hoarseness and husky
condition of the throat.

2285. Raspberry Vinegar.

Put a pound of very fine ripe raspberries in a bowl, _bruise them
well_, and pour upon them a quart of the best white wine vinegar; next
day strain the liquor on a pound of fresh ripe raspberries; bruise
_them_ also, and the following day do the same, _but do not squeeze
the fruit, or it will make it ferment_; only drain the liquor as dry
as you can from it. Finally, pass it through a canvas bag, previously
wet with the vinegar, to prevent waste. Put the juice into a stone
jar, with a _pound of sugar_, broken into lumps, to _every pint of
juice_; stir, and when melted, put the jar into a pan of water; let it
simmer, and skim it; let it cool, then bottle it; when cold it will be
fine, and thick, like strained honey, newly prepared.

2286. Ginger Beer.

The following receipt is taken from the celebrated treatise of Dr.
Pereira on Diet. The honey gives the beverage a peculiar softness, and
from not being fermented with yeast, it is less violent in its action
when opened, but requires to be kept a somewhat longer time before
use. White sugar, five pounds; lemon juice, one quarter of a pint;
honey, one quarter of a pound; ginger, bruised, five ounces; water,
four gallons and a half. Boil the ginger in three quarts of the water
for half an hour, then add the sugar, lemon juice and honey, with the
remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth; when cold add a
quarter of the white of an egg, and a small teaspoonful of essence of
lemon; let the whole stand four days, and bottle; it will keep for
many months. This quantity will make 100 bottles.

2287. Ginger-beer Powders.

_Blue paper_; Carbonate of soda, thirty grains; powdered ginger, five
grains; ground white sugar, one drachm to one drachm and a half;
essence of lemon, one drop. Add the essence to the sugar, then the
other ingredients. A quantity should be mixed and divided, as
recommended for Seidlitz powders.--_White paper_; Tartaric acid,
thirty grains. _Directions_.--Dissolve the contents of the blue paper
in water; stir in the contents of the white paper, and drink during
effervescence. Ginger-beer powders do not meet with such general
acceptation as lemon and kali, the powdered ginger rendering the
liquid slightly turbid.

2288. Lemonade.

Powdered sugar, four pounds; citric or tartaric acid, one ounce;
essence of lemon, two drachms; mix well. Two or three teaspoonfuls
make a very sweet and agreeable glass of extemporaneous lemonade.

2289. Milk Lemonade.

Dissolve three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar in one pint of
boiling water, and mix with them one gill of lemon juice, and one gill
of sherry, then add three gills of cold milk. Stir the whole well
together, and strain it.

2290. Champagne Lemonade.

Champagne Lemonade, composed of two bottles of champagne, one bottle
of seltzer water, three pomegranates, three lemons, and of sugar
sufficient, is a _princely beverage_ in hot weather; only care must be
taken that perspiration is not hereby too much encouraged.

2291. Summer Champagne.

To four parts of seltzer water add one of Moselle wine (or hock), and
put a teaspoonful of powdered sugar into a wineglassful of this
mixture; an effervescence takes place, and the result is a sort of
champagne, which is more wholesome in hot weather than the genuine
wine known by that name.

[THINK OF EASE BUT WORK ON.]

2292. Lemon and Kali, or Sherbet.

Large quantities of this wholesome and refreshing preparation are
manufactured and consumed every summer; it is sold in bottles, and
also as a beverage, made by dissolving a large teaspoonful in a
tumbler two-thirds filled with water. The ingredients are--ground
white sugar, half a pound; tartaric acid and carbonate of soda, of
each a quarter of a pound; essence of lemon, forty drops. All the
powders should be well dried; add the essence to the sugar, then the
other powders; stir all together, and mix by passing twice through a
hair sieve. Must be kept in tightly-corked bottles, into which a damp
spoon must not be inserted. The sugar must be ground, or very finely
pulverized, in a pestle and mortar. The powdered sugar sold for icing
cakes will do.

2293. Soda Water Powders.

One pound of carbonate of soda, and thirteen and a half ounces of
tartaric acid, supply the materials for 256 powders of each sort. Put
into blue papers thirty grains of carbonate of soda, and into white
papers twenty-five grains of tartaric acid.

_Directions_.--Dissolve the contents of the blue paper in half a
tumbler of water, stir in the other powder, and drink during
effervescence. Soda powders furnish a saline beverage which is very
slightly laxative, and well calculated to allay the thirst in hot
weather.

2294. Seidlitz Powders.

Seidlitz powders are usually put up in two papers. The larger blue
paper contains tartarized soda (also called Rochelle salt) two
drachms, and carbonate of soda two scruples; in practice it will he
found more convenient to mix the two materials in larger quantity by
passing them twice through a sieve, and then divide the mixture either
by weight or measure, than to make each powder separately. One pound
of tartarized soda, and five ounces and a half of carbonate of soda,
will make sixty powders. The smaller powder, usually placed in white
paper, consists of tartaric acid, half a drachm.

_Directions for Use_.--Dissolve the contents of blue paper in half a
tumbler of cold water, stir in the other powder, and drink during
effervescence. (_See par_. 2291.)

2295. Economy of Tea.

A given quantity of tea is similar to malt--only imparting strength to
a given quantity of water, therefore any additional quantity is waste.
Two small teaspoonfuls of good black tea and one three parts full of
green, is sufficient to make three teacupfuls agreeable, the water
being put in, in a boiling state, at once; a second addition of water
gives a vapid flavour to tea.

2296. Preparing Tea.

In preparing tea a good economist will be careful to have the best
water, that is, the softest and least impregnated with foreign
mixture; for if tea be infused in hard and in soft water, the latter
will always yield the greatest quantity of the tannin matter, and will
strike the deepest black with sulphate of iron in solution.

2297. Tea-making.

Dr. Kitchiner recommends that all the water necessary should be poured
in at once, as the second drawing is bad. When much tea is wanted, it
is better to have two tea-pots instead of two drawings.

2298. Another Method.

The water should be fresh boiled, not exhausted by long boiling. Scald
the teapot and empty it; then put in as much water as necessary for
the first cups; put the tea on it as in brewing, and close the lid as
quickly as possible. Let it stand three minutes and a half, or, if the
quantity be large, four minutes, then fill the cups. This is greatly
superior to the ordinary method, the aroma being preserved instead of
escaping with the steam, as it does when the water is poured on the
tea.

2299. Substitute for Cream in Tea or Coffee.

Beat the white of an egg to a froth, put to it a very small lump of
butter, and mix well. Then stir it in gradually, so that it may not
curdle. If perfectly mixed, it will be an excellent substitute for
cream.

[PERSEVERANCE IS THE BRIDGE BY WHICH DIFFICULTY IS OVERCOME.]

2300. Making Coffee.

In making Coffee, observe that the broader the bottom and the smaller
the top of the vessel, the better the coffee will be.

2301. Turkish Mode of Making Coffee.

The Turkish way of making coffee produces a very different result from
that to which we are accustomed. A small conical saucepan something
like our beer-warmer, with a long handle, and calculated to hold about
two tablespoonfuls of water, is the vessel used. The fresh roasted
berry is pounded, not ground, and about a dessertspoonful is put into
the minute boiler; it is then nearly filled with water, and thrust
among the embers. A few seconds suffice to make it boil, and the
decoction, grounds and all, is poured out into a small cup, which fits
into a brass socket, much like the cup of an acorn, and holding the
china cup as that does the acorn itself. The Turks seem to drink this
decoction boiling, and swallow the grounds with the liquid. We allow
it to remain a minute, in order to leave the sediment at the bottom.
It is always taken plain; sugar or cream would be thought to spoil it;
and Europeans, after a little practice, are said to prefer it to the
clear infusion drunk in France. In every hut these coffee boilers may
be seen suspended, and the means for pounding the roasted berry are
always at hand.

2302. Coffee Milk.

(FOR THE SICK-ROOM.)--Boil a dessertspoonful of ground coffee, in
nearly a pint of milk, a quarter of an hour, then put into it a
shaving or two of isinglass, and clear it; let it boil a few minutes,
and set it by the side of the fire to clarify. This is a very fine
breakfast beverage; but it should be sweetened with sugar of a good
quality.

2303. Iceland Moss Chocolate

(FOR THE SICK-ROOM).--Iceland moss has been in the highest repute on
the Continent as the most efficacious remedy in incipient pulmonary
complaints; combined with chocolate, it will be found a nutritious
article of diet, and may be taken as a morning and evening beverage.

_Directions_.--Mix a teaspoonful of the chocolate with a teaspoonful
of boiling water or milk, stirring it constantly until it is
completely dissolved.

2304. Alum Whey.

A pint of cow's milk boiled with two drachms of alum, until a curd is
formed. Then strain off the liquor, and add spirit of nutmeg, two
ounces; syrup of cloves, an ounce. It is useful in diabetes, and in
uterine fluxes, &c.

2305. Barley Water.

Pearl barley, two ounces; wash till freed from dust, in cold water.
Boil in a quart of water a few minutes, strain off the liquor, and
throw it away. Then boil the barley in four pints and a-half of water,
until it is reduced one half.

2306. Agreeable Effervescent Drink for Heartburn, &c.

Orange juice (of one orange), water, and lump sugar to flavour, and in
proportion to acidity of orange, bicarbonate of soda about half a
teaspoonful. Mix orange juice, water, and sugar together in a tumbler,
then put in the soda, stir, and the effervescence ensues.

2307. Apple Water.

A tart apple well baked and mashed, on which pour a pint of boiling
water. Beat up, cool, and strain. Add sugar if desired. Cooling drink
for sick persons.

2308. Tincture of Lemon Peel.

A very easy and economical way of obtaining and preserving the flavour
of lemon peel, is to fill a wide-mouthed pint bottle half full of
brandy, or proof spirit; and when you use a lemon pare the rind off
very thin, and put it into the brandy, &c.; in a fortnight it will
impregnate the spirit with the flavour very strongly.

2309. Camomile Tea.

One ounce of the flowers to a quart of water boiling. Simmer for
fifteen minutes and strain. Emetic when taken warm; tonic when cold.

_Dose_, from a wine-glassful to a breakfast cup.

[SOLITUDE IS THE NURSE OF WISDOM.]

2310. Borax and its Uses.

The utility of borax for medicinal purposes, such as relieving
soreness of the throat, and for the cure of thrush in young children,
has long been known, but it is only in the present day that its good
qualities as an antiseptic have become known, and its use in every
kind of domestic work, in the laundry, in the garden, vinery, and
greenhouse, and even for the toilet, under various forms and in
different preparations bearing the general name of "Patent Californian
Borax," specially prepared for all personal and domestic purposes, has
been promoted by its production in small packets, varying in price
from 1d. to 6d., which may be purchased of almost any chemist, oilman,
grocer, or dealer, throughout the world.

2311. Its Antiseptic Qualities.

The Patent Borax, which consists of a combination of boron and sodium,
acts in a marvellous manner as an arrester of decay, and as such is
useful for the preservation of meat, milk, butter, and all articles of
animal food liable to taint and decay, especially in hot weather.
When infused in small quantities in water, it preserves and softens it
for drinking, cooking, washing, and all household purposes; it whitens
linen and cleanses it far better than soda, it kills harmful insect
life, though perfectly harmless to human beings and domestic animals;
it cleanses and heals ulcers, festering wounds, sore throat, &c.; is
useful in the nursery for washing the heads of children, cleans
sponges, destroys unpleasant and unwholesome smells, and is beneficial
to teeth and gums when used as a tooth-powder, or put in water used
for washing the teeth.

2312. Borax as a Disinfectant.

Alone or dissolved in water, and used freely to pour down closets,
sinks, &c., it removes all noisome smells, acting as a purifier, and
rendering even impure water wholesome. It should be used frequently
where sewer gas is suspected.

2313. Borax for Cleansing Purposes.

A solution Patent in hot water, allowed to cool, is useful for washing
any kind of glass or china, imparting a lustre and brightness to them
that they never exhibit when washed in the ordinary way. When it is
put into water used for washing floors it destroys all vermin with
which the solution comes in contact.

2314. Borax as a Vermin Killer.

When sprinkled in the form of powder on places infested with insects,
black beetles, &c., these troublesome pests with soon disappear.

2315. Its use in Cleansing Marble.

Sprinkle some borax on the marble, wherever it is stained or soiled,
and then wash the marble with hot water and a little borax soap
powder, applied with a soft flannel.

2316. Borax in Cookery.

A few grains added to the tea before the water is poured on it greatly
improves the flavour of the infusion. When used instead of soda, or
carbonate of soda, in cooking vegetables, such as greens, peas, beans,
&c., it improves their flavour, preserves their colour, and renders
them tender. Vegetables, eaten in an uncooked state, as, salad, are
rendered more crisp and of better flavour, by steeping them for a
short time before they are brought to table in a solution of borax.

2317. Borax as a Preservative of Meat, &c.

Meat may be preserved, and taint removed by soaking it for a short
time in a solution of Patent Californian Borax, or by sprinkling it
with the dry powder. Game, poultry, hams, bacon, and all kinds of
meat may be thus preserved. Milk cans should be washed with the
solution, and milk itself may be preserved and kept sweet for some
time by adding to each quart about half a thimbleful of this prepared
borax dissolved in a tablespoonful of hot water. Butter may also be
preserved by washing it in a solution of borax, or sprinkling the
powder over it, or the cloths in which it is wrapped.

[JUDGEMENT IS THE THRONE OF PRUDENCE.]

2318. Borax in the Laundry.

For washing add a threepenny packet to every ten gallons of hot water
used; let the clothes soak all night in the solution; in the morning
give them a slight boil, adding a little more Patent Borax, if they be
very greasy or dirty. By this means the clothes are rendered whiter,
soap is saved, and the hands are uninjured. It acts, moreover, as a
disinfectant, if the clothes have been taken from the bed or person of
anyone who is suffering from any infectious disorder. Flannels are
rendered softer, and the appearance of lace, fine articles, coloured
prints, soiled ribbons, &c., greatly improved by washing them in this
solution. A teaspoonful to each pint of starch, when hot, will add to
the stiffness and gloss of linen when ironed.

2319. To Revive Black Lace.

Lay the lace on a piece of clean smooth board, and moisten it all over
with a piece of black silk dipped in a solution of a teaspoonful of
Patent Borax to a pint of warm water. Iron while damp, after covering
the lace with a piece of black silk or cloth.

2320. Borax for the Toilet.

As a wash for the mouth add half a teaspoonful of spirits of camphor,
and a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh to a pint of hot water, in
which a penny packet of Patent Borax has been dissolved, and use a
wineglassful of this mixture in half a tumbler of water, when brushing
the teeth. When the mouth is washed out with this solution, it removes
the smell of tobacco and any unpleasant odour arising from decayed
teeth. Camphorated chalk dentrifice is improved as a tooth powder by
the addition of a little powdered borax. For washing hair brushes,
sponges, etc., a solution of a small packet in a pint of hot water
should be used.

2321. Borax in the Nursery.

A little borax added to water for bathing infants and children has a
beneficial effect on the skin. For cleaning the hair and removing
scurf or dandruff wash the head with a solution of a small packet of
borax in a pint of hot water, after which the head should be rinsed
with cold water, and carefully dried. This wash may be improved by the
addition of half an ounce of rosemary spirit sold by any chemist.

2322. Borax in the Garden.

A solution made by dissolving borax in hot water in the proportion of
a penny packet of the former to a pint of the latter, will kill the
green fly on roses, and other plants. A weaker solution may be used
for syringing the plants. When applied to the stems of fruit trees,
and other trees, it destroys all insects in and about the bark, and
clears the blight on apple trees. For these purposes the solution
should be applied with a brush. For washing the shelves, boards, and
woodwork of greenhouses, the solution is especially valuable, and when
used for syringing vines in the proportion of a pint of the solution
to ten gallons of water, and half a pound of borax dry soap, as soon
as the grapes have been thinned, it will keep them free from red
spider and all other insects.

2323. Fever or Infection.

In all cases of fever or infectious diseases, it should be freely used
in the room by dusting the dry powder over floors, carpets, mats, &c.
(it will not injure the finest fabrics), and by placing in dishes or
other vehicles, into which hot water should be poured. It has _no
smell_, but quickly removes _all smells_. In cases of death it is most
valuable; the corpse may be kept perfectly sweet by merely dusting
into ears, nose, mouth, under arm-pits, feet, &c., or when any
moisture exudes. It will preserve features and skin fresh as in life
for many weeks, and keep the corpse free from decomposition.

2324. Vaseline.

What it is.--This indispensable household requisite is a product of
petroleum, from which it is obtained by an elaborate system of
nitration, without the addition or aid of any chemical whatever. The
substance thus produced, to which the name of "Vaseline" has been
given, is in the form of a lemon-coloured jelly, completely devoid of
either smell or taste, and of exquisite softness and smoothness to the
touch. This jelly, which is one of the finest emollients known, and is
possessed of healing and other medicinal properties, forms the basis
of many preparations which are now widely used all the world over.

2325. Vaseline for Medicinal Use.

The pure jelly itself, without any addition, is an invaluable family
remedy for burns, chilblains, chapped hands, and skin roughened by
exposure to wind and water in cold weather; as well as for sun-burns,
wounds, sprains, and all diseases of the skin; for inflamed eyelids,
and for preventing pitting in small-pox, when used externally as an
ointment. When taken internally, in doses of half a teaspoonful, or in
smaller quantities, it forms a cure for diseases of the throat, chest,
and stomach, and gives speedy relief in cases of diphtheria, croup,
&c. For convenience in using it, a confection is prepared from it for
complaints of the throat and lungs. No one need fear to use it, for
although it is a product of petroleum, it is the only one that is not
dangerous to use, and is possessed of no poisonous qualities. It may
be procured from or through any chemist and druggist.

2326. Vaseline for the Toilet.

The toilet soap and tar soap made from vaseline are superior in
emollient and healing properties, to similar preparations from
glycerine. For the hair, an excellent hair tonic and pomade are
supplied, which have the effect not only of strengthening, but of
promoting its growth. For the complexion, vaseline cold cream should
be used, and for the lips, when sore and chapped by cold winds or any
other cause, vaseline camphor ice.

2327. Vaseline for the Household.

As time progresses there can be no doubt that this valuable
preparation will be turned to good account for many domestic uses. It
has already been found an excellent anti-corrosive, being an efficient
protection against rust, when smeared over guns, bicycles, arms,
knives, tools, and steel goods, of any kind in general household use.
An excellent boot and shoe paste is prepared from it, which renders
boots and shoes absolutely waterproof, and over which any ordinary
blacking may be used to produce a polish.

2328. Vaseline in the Stable.

When mixed with graphite, vaseline affords a valuable lubricant for
application to the axles of light and heavy carriages of every
description, and for all bearings in machinery of any kind, especially
where great speed is required. A paste is also prepared from it which
renders leather harness soft, pliable, impervious to wet, and free
from any tendency to crack, thus increasing its durability. Another
preparation is found most useful for the cure of injuries and diseases
of cattle and domestic animals. This, which is supplied under the name
of Veterinary Vaseline, has been found to promote the growth of the
hair, unchanged in colour, in the case of broken knees. Its use will
also improve the condition of the coat on horses, and will keep off
the flies, and cure the mange, and all skin diseases commonly met with
in the stable, including injuries to the frogs, hoofs, and fetlocks.

2329. Damp Situations, Remedy for.

People who live in damp localities, particularly near undrained land,
are apt to think that there is no help for them save in removal. They
are mistaken. Successful experiments have shown that it is possible to
materially improve the atmosphere in such neighbourhoods by the
planting of the laurel and the sunflower. The laurel gives off an
abundance of ozone, whilst the sunflower is potent in destroying the
malarial condition. These two, if planted on the most restricted scale
in a garden or any ground close to the house, will be found to
speedily increase the dryness and salubrity of the atmosphere.

2330. Plant Skeletons.

The leaves should be put into an earthen or glass vessel, and a large
quantity of rain water poured over them; after this they must be left
in the open air, and to the heat of the sun, without covering the
vessel. As the water evaporates and the leaves become dry, more water
must be added; the leaves will by this means putrefy, but the time
required for this varies; some plants will be finished in a month,
others will require two months or longer, according to the toughness
of their parenchyma. When they have been in a state of putrefaction
for some time, the two membranes will begin to separate, and the green
part of the leaf to become fluid; then the operation of clearing is to
be performed.

The leaf is to be put upon a flat white earthen plate, and covered
with clear water; and being gently squeezed with the finger, the
membranes will begin to open, and the green substance will come out at
the edges; the membranes must be carefully taken off with the finger,
and great caution must be used in separating them near the middle rib.
When once there is an opening towards this separation, the whole
membrane always follows easily; when both membranes are taken off, the
skeleton is finished, and it has to be washed clean with water, and
then dried between the leaves of a book.

2331. Fruit Skeletons.

Fruits are divested of their pulp and made into skeletons in a
different manner. Take, for an instance, a fine large pear which is
soft, and not tough; let it be carefully pared without squeezing it,
and without injuring either the crown or the stalk; put it into a pot
of rain water, covered, set it over the fire, and let it boil gently
till perfectly soft, then take it out and lay it in a dish filled with
cold water; then holding it by the stalk with one hand, rub off as
much of the pulp as you can with the finger and thumb, beginning at
the stalk and rubbing it regularly towards the crown. The fibres are
most tender towards the extremities, and are therefore to be treated
with great care there. When the pulp has thus been cleared pretty well
off, the point of a fine penknife may be of use to pick away the pulp
sticking to the core. In order to see how the operation advances, the
soiled water must be thrown away from time to time, and clean poured
on in its place. When the pulp is in this manner perfectly separated,
the clean skeleton is to be preserved in spirits of wine.

2332. To make Impressions of Leaves.

Prepare two rubbers by tying up wool or any other substance in
wash-leather; then prepare the colours in which you wish to print
leaves, by rubbing up with cold drawn linseed oil the tints that are
required, as indigo for blue, chrome for yellow, indigo and chrome for
green, &c. Get a number of leaves the size and kind you wish to stamp,
then dip the rubbers into the paint, and rub them one over the other,
so that you may have but a small quantity of the composition upon the
rubbers; place a leaf upon one rubber and moisten it gently with the
other; take the leaf off and apply it to the substance on which you
wish to make an imprint of the leaf. Upon the leaf place a piece of
white paper, press gently, and a beautiful impression of all the veins
of the leaf will be obtained.

2333. To make a Fac-simile of a Leaf in Copper.

This beautiful experiment can be performed by any person in possession
of a common galvanic battery. The process is as follows:

Soften a piece of gutta percha over a candle, or before a fire; knead
it with the moist fingers upon a table, until the surface is perfectly
smooth, and large enough to cover the leaf to be copied; lay the leaf
flat upon the surface, and press every part well into the
gutta-percha. In about five minutes the leaf may be removed, when, if
the operation has been carefully performed, a perfect impression of
the leaf will be made in the gutta percha.

This must now be attached to the wire in connection with the zinc end
of the battery (which can easily be done by heating the end of the
wire, and pressing it into the gutta percha), dusted well over with
the best blacklead with a camel-hair brush--the object of which is to
render it a conductor of electricity; it should then be completely
immersed in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A piece of
copper attached to the wire in connection with the copper end of the
battery must also be inserted into the copper solution facing ihe
gutta percha, but not touching it; this not only acts as a conductor
to the electricity, but also maintains the solution of copper of a
permanent strength.

In a short time the copper will be found to creep over the whole
surface of the gutta percha, and in about twenty-four hours a thick
deposit of copper will be obtained, which may then be detached from
the mould. The accuracy with which a leaf may thus be cast is truly
surprising.

2334. Leaf Printing.

After warming the leaf between the hands apply printing ink, by means
of a small leather ball containing cotton, or some soft substance, or
with the end of the finger. The leather ball (and the finger, when
used for that purpose), after the ink is applied to it, should be
pressed several times on a piece of leather, or some smooth surface,
before each application to the leaf, that the ink may be smoothly and
evenly applied. After the under surface of the leaf has been
sufficiently inked, apply it to the paper where you wish the
impression to be; and, after covering it with a slip of paper, use the
hand or roller to press upon it.

2335. Directions for Taking Leaf Impressions.

Hold oiled paper in the smoke of a lamp or of pitch, until it becomes
coated with the smoke; to this paper apply the leaf of which you wish
an impression, having previously warmed it between your hands, that it
may he pliable. Place the lower surface of the leaf upon the blackened
surface of the oil-paper, that the numerous veins, which are so
prominent on this side, may receive from the paper a portion of the
smoke. Lay a paper over the leaf, and then press it gently upon the
smoked paper with the fingers, or with a small roller covered with
woollen cloth, or some similarly soft material, so that every part of
the leaf may come in contact with the sooted oil-paper. A coating of
the smoke will adhere to the leaf. Then remove the leaf carefully, and
place the blackened surface on a sheet of white paper, or in a book
prepared for the purpose, covering the leaf with a clean slip of
paper, and pressing upon it with the fingers, or roller, as before.

Thus may be obtained the impression of a leaf, showing the perfect
outlines, together with an accurate exhibition of the veins which
extend in every direction through it, more correctly than the finest
drawing. And this process is so simple, and the materials so easily
obtained, that any person, with a little practice to enable him to
apply the right quantity of smoke to the oil-paper, and give the leaf
a proper pressure, can prepare beautiful leaf impressions, such as a
naturalist would be proud to possess.

2336. Dry Botanical Specimens for Preservation.

The plants to be preserved should be gathered when the weather is dry.
Place the ends in water, and let them remain in a cool place till the
next day. When about to be submitted to the process of drying, place
each plant between several sheets of blotting paper, and iron it with
a large smooth heater, pretty strongly warmed, till all the moisture
is dissipated. Colours may thus be fixed, which otherwise become pale,
or nearly white. Some plants require more moderate heat than others,
and herein consists the nicety of the experiment; but it is generally
found that if the iron be not too hot, and is passed rapidly yet
carefully over the surface of the blotting paper, it answers the
purpose equally well with plants of almost every variety of hue and
thickness.

In compound flowers, with those also of a stubborn and solid form, as
the Centaurea, some little art is required in cutting away the under
part, by which means the profile and forms of the flowers will be more
distinctly exhibited. This is especially necessary when the flowers
are fixed down with gum upon the paper previous to ironing, by which
means they become almost incorporated with the surface. When this very
delicate process is attempted, blotting-paper should be laid under
every part excepting the blossoms, in order to prevent staining the
white paper. Great care must be taken to keep preserved specimens in a
dry place.

2337. Collecting and Laying out Sea-weeds.

"First wash the sea-weed in fresh water, then take a plate or dish
(the larger the better), cut your paper to the size required, place
it in the plate with fresh water, and spread out the plant with a
good-sized camel-hair pencil in a natural form (picking out with the
pin gives the sea-weed an unnatural appearance, and destroys the
characteristic fall of the branches, which should be carefully
avoided); then gently raise the paper with the specimen out of the
water, placing it in a slanting position for a few moments, so as to
allow the super-abundant water to ran off; after which, place it in
the press. The press is made with either three pieces of board or
pasteboard. Lay on the first board two sheets of blotting-paper; on
that lay your specimens; place straight and smooth over them a piece
of old muslin, fine cambric, or linen; then some more
blotting-paper, and place another board on the top of that, and
continue in the same way.

"The blotting-paper and the muslin should be carefully removed and
dried every day, and then replaced; at the same time, those
specimens that are sufficiently dried may be taken away. Nothing now
remains but to write on each the name, date, and locality. You can
either gum the specimens in a scrap-book, or fix them in, as
drawings are often fastened, by making four slits in the page, and
inserting each corner. This is by far the best plan, as it admits of
their removal, without injury to the page, at any future period, if
it be required either to insert better specimens, or intermediate
species.