Connecticut western news., 1877-05-04
DOMESTIC.

NECESSITY OF SUNLIGHT.-Instead of
 excluding the sunlight from our houses, says the ufdcturer and Builder, lest
 it fade carpets, draw flies and bring
 freckles, we should open every door and window and bid it enter. It brings
 life and health and joy; there is heal ing in its beams; it drives away disease and dampness, mould, megrims. h. stead of doing this, however, many careful housewives close the blinds. draw down the shades, lock the door, shut out the glorifying rays and rejoice in the dim and musty coolness and twi- light of their unhealthy apartments. during the glare of the noontide to sub- | quivering with heat, but in the morn ing and in the evening we may freely indulge in the sun bath and let it flood all our rooms, and if at It's very fiercest and brightest it has full entrance to our sleeping-rooms, so much the better for us. Wire netting in doors and win dows excludes not flies and mosquitos only, but all other insects, and those who have once used it will continue to do so. With this as a protection from intrusive winged creatures one may al- most dispense with shades and shutters and enjoy all the benefits of an open l house without any annoyances so fre- quent in warm weather. But better the annoyances with sunshine than freedom from them without it. Statis- tics of epidemics have shown that if they rage in any part of city they will prevail in houses which are exposed to the least sunshine, while those most exposed to it will not be at all or slightly affected. Even in the same house persons occupying rooms exposed to sunlight will be healthier and repulse epidemical influences better than those occupying rooms where no sunlight enters.
 INSTEAD of cutting the cabbage head in quarters and throwing it into the pot with piece of fat meat, just take out the heart from each piece and drop it into kettle of cold water with a handful of salt. Let it boil slowly until tender, and drain off all the water; add piece of butter, a spoonful of sweet cream and some pepper; stir it up well and serve it up hot. For hot slaw cut the cabbage fine either with knife on the table, or put into the chopin g-b bowl get it in small pieces some way; then cook it until tender in just enough water to keep it from burning. When tender, add a spoonful or two of fried meat fat, or butter if preferred, the same of thick cream, vinegar to suit the taste, and pepper and salt the same. Don't have it so juicy that it will spoil everything else on your plate. Cold slaw should be chopped as fine as mince- meat, and while chopping add little salt and pepper. Put into deep dish, and pour on good vinegar, sweetened as for lettuce. Dish it out in deep sauce plates. This is excellent with oyster soup.
 A NICE polish for the restoration of old furniture may be made by putting half an ounce of shellac, the same Quan- tity of gum lac and quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac into pint of spirits of wine. Put them all together in stone bottle near the fire, shaking 1t very often. As soon as the gums are dissolved it is ready for use. Then take a roller of woolen rags-soft old broad cloth will do nicely-put little of the polish on it, also few drops of linseed oil. Rub the surface to be polished with this, going round and round over small space at a time, until it begins to be quite smooth. Then finish by second rubbing with spirits of wine and more of the polish.
 MUTTON SoUP.-Take the fore-quarter of mutton, cut out the bone from the shoulder, and put it down to boil in two quarts of water; as soon as it boils skim it well; set it where it will keep simmering for an hour; then add the. meat, also more boiling water; skim again as soon as any scum rises; grate one good-sized carrot, chop three onions, three yellow turnips, and some celery quite small, and add to the soup; boil slowly five hours; soak a cupful of rice or barley. according to taste, in some tepid water, and add with the meat; season with the grated rind of lemon, little chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and sprinkle of nutmeg.
 CHEAP FUEL.-One bushel of small coal or sawdust, or both mixed together, two bushels of sand, one bushel and half of clay. Let them be mixed together with common water, like or dinary mortar; the more they are stirred and mixed together the better; then make them into balls, or with a small mould make them in the shape of bricks, pile them in dry plate, and when they are hard and sufficiently dry they may be used. A fire cannot be lighted with them, but when the fire is quite lighted, put them on behind, with coal or two on in front, and they will be found to keep up stronger fire than any fuel of the common kind.
 HE Lancet says that the throat symp- toms are the most trust worthy for the purpose of diagnosis in the initial stage of scarlet fever. The soft part of the palate is extensively reddened, and not merely the tonsils, as is the case in the hrst instance in ordinary sore throat When this condition is met with, &C., companied by a very hot skin and a very quick pulse, accompanied or pre- ceded by sickness, with thickly furred tongue, red borders and prominent paplllae, case of scarlet fever may be prepared for.
 SALT ON STEAK.-It is much better to broil or fry the steak without saltine. adding the salt after the meat is on the platter, as the salt draws the juice out of the meat if put on before it is cooked, thereby making it dry and indigestible. In cooking steak the object is to keep in the juice as much as possible, hence the meat should be scared over as 4uAChly dS pOSS1Dle on both sides, and frequently turned while cooking over very hot fire.
 POTATO CRoQUETs.-Boil and mash potatoes when hot, and add piece of out6er the size of an egg, a teaspoonful or white powdered sugar, salt, and two well-beaten eggs; mix well together, and then make it into small cone or pear shaped pieces; let them stand til quite cold; then dip them into raw egg and bread crumbs, plenty of the latter, and fry in boiling lard.
 NEURALGIA IN THE HEAD.-Have a | flannel can made tn fastnn nndnr 4ha