The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-10-23
USEFUL RECIPES.

10 remove stains on mahogany furni.
| ture use oxalic acid and water. Rub with
a cork till the color is restored, wash we'll
with water afterwards, and polish with
| linseed oil.
If you have learned the art Of knit
ting, you can make the requisitequantity of
small lace edging required for different
portions of your dress, the lace so made
possessing the recommendation of being
able to stand the wear and tear of repeated
washing. laa
Here are some directions said to be
worth knowing about taking unpalatable
medicines: To swallow pill, place it
under the tip of the tongue and take a
drink of water. The biggest bolus will 90
down almost without you knowing It.
The taste left in the mouth after taking
such bitter medicines as quinine, aloes,
nux-vomica, etc., is instantly neutralized
by chewing piece of lquorice root.
| "A strong alum water is sure death to
bugs of any description. Take two pounds
of pulverized alum and dissolve in three
quarts of boiling water, allowing it to re-
main over the fire until thoroughly dis
solved. Apply while hot with brush, or,
what is better, use syringe to force the
liquid in the cracks of the walls and bed
stead. Scatter also the powdered alum
freely in all these places, and you will soon
be rid of these insect nuisances which fill
one with disgust.
Professor Artus, who has devoted
himself to the discovery Of the reason why
wooden clothing, when washed with soap
and water, will insist upon shrinkingand
becoming thick and acquiring that peculiar
odor and feeling which so annoys house,
keepers, says these evil effects are due to
the decomposition of soap by the acids
present in the perspiration and other waste
of the skin which the clothing absorbs.
The fat Of the soap is then precipitated
upon the wool. These effects may be pre-
vented by sleeping the articles in warm
solution of washing soda, several hours,
then adding some warm water and few
drops of ammonia. The woolens are then to
be washed out and rinsed in lukewarm
water. w
Oatmeal is good for something besides
food All young ladies who desire white
hands will please hearken. 1t is only
necessary to sleep in pair of boxing
gloves, and for bath oatmeal is excellent.
Ii economically inclined and country bred,
it can be fed to the horses and cattle as an
oatmeal mash after being used. Oatmeal
contains small amount of oil that is food
for the skin. TO make the hands soft and
white one Of the best things is to wear at
night large mittens of cloth filled with wet
bran or oatmeal; and tied closely at the
wrist. A lady who had the whitest softest
hands in the country, confessed that she had
a great deal of housework to do. and kent
them as white as any miller's by wearing
bran mittens every night. The paste and
poultices for the face owe most of their
efficacy to their moisture, which dissoIves
the old coarse skin, and to their protection
from the air, which allows the new skin to
become tender and delicate. Oatmeal
paste is as efficacious as anything though
less agreeable than the paste made with the
white of egg, alum, and rose-water. The
alum astringes the flesh and makes it firm,
while the egg keeps it sufficiently soft, and
the rose-water perfumes the mixture and
makes the curd not so hard.