American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-02-22
USEFUL SUGGESTIONS.

THE Improved Johnny Cake.-One
cup of cOrn-meal and one of flour, two
tablespoonful of mOlasses a teaspOonful
of salt; wet with buttcrmilk, adding a
teaspOonful of saleratus.
To change the faces of group to livid,
deathly whiteness, and to destroy cOlOrs,
saturate a half teacupful of common salt
in alcohol, and burn it Oh a plate in a
dark room. Let the salt soak a few min
utcs before igniting. The flame will des-
troy the most brilliant colors in the room,
and the bright dresses of the company
seem to be changed. Let each one put
his face behind the flame, and it will pre-
sent a most hideOus and CHASTITY spectacle
to those who stand before it. This is a
very serviceable experiment to make in
tableaux, where anguish, terror or death
is to be represented. The change wrought
by the flame, when the essentials are
properly prepared, is very surprising.
WHEN oil paints are used for metallic
surfaces that are subjected to heat, they
turn yellow and brown from the burning
of the organic portion of the paint. If,
instead Of oil, soluble glass be used, there
will be no organic or comb1sti-
S @ss substance mRsd with 'ro Soluble g ans
of from 400 to 500 B., to the consisten-
cy of ordinary paint, forms beautiful
and permanent color that will stand any
required heat, without browning and
blistering, and can only be removed by
mechanical means. A not very large
quantity should be mixed at one time, as
chemical change takes place and the
paint hardens.
Tuck newspapers about your plants,
fair friends, as You tuck the warm blank
cts about yourselves, at night, and your
plants will come out in the morning OF
the frostiest night, bright and green.
But, if the fires are all out, and the mer-
curry sinks below 32o, in the rooms where
the plants stand, even the newspapers
may not prove sufficient protection.
Flower lovers, however, usually cover
up fire enough in stoves, furnaces and
fire-places to prevent the atmosphere OF
their rooms from sinking too low: and
the newspapers will permit the plants to
stand in their respective places without
harm.
How TO SWEEP A CARPET.-There are
three ways to sweep carpet-one right
and two wrong ways. One wrong way
is to hold the broom nearly in front OF
the operator, with the handle inclined
backward toward him, then press down
ing the heaviest dirt half way across the
room, while the ightest particles are sent
whirling about, covering, as they settle,
every article of furniture. Another
wrong way to sweep carpet is to move
the broom forward with heavy, draw
ing stroke, by which the material to be
removed is pressed into the carpet, rath-
er than worked gently along on the sur
face. If either of these wrong ways is
adopted, the broom will wear out the car
pet more than it is worn by the occupants
of the dwelling. When "a sweeper col
lects dust-pan full of the nap of the car
pet every time it is swept, a new one will
soon be required. The right way to sweep
is to incline the handle a little forward, then
give light, drawing stroke, allowing the
broom to hardly touch the carpet. Not
one-half the weight of the broom should
be allowed to press on the carpet as the
dirt is moved forward. Let the dirt be
moved and rolled along very lightly. II
a generous supply of tea grounds, small
bits of wet paper, or clean and wet saw
dust, can be spread over the carpet before
the sweeping is commenced, all the fine
dirt will adhere to the wet material. A
little smart woman, who is a terror to
dirt, will frequently hurl it about the
room as if it were impelled by whirl-
wind, and when the task is ended, her
dust-pan will contain scarcely enough to
pay for sweeping. But by using good
broom, having u long, elastic brush, and
touching the carpet very lightly, it will
scarcely require the strength of a child
to sweep large parlOr in a few minutes.
Scarcely one housekeeper in fifty under
stands how to sweep a carpet correctly
Rural Home.