The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-05-15
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Household Hints.

for polishing steel z:--4
A small quantity of turpentine addet
to stove blacking will make the stove
easier to polish.
To remove old putty from window.
frames, pass red-hot poker slowly owe,
it, and it will come off easily.
A few drops of glycerine in bottle o.
mucilage will cause the mncilsge TO ad
here to glass when used upon labels.
A bottle of Haxseed oil, chalk and
vinegar mixed to the consistency Of
cream. should be kept in every house
for burns, scalds, etc. e
To clean chromos, dampen a linen
rag slightly and go over them gently.
| II the varnish has become defaced, cover
with thin mastic varnish.
Quicksilver beaten up with the white
of an egg, and applied with q feather to
every crack and crevice of bedstead, il
the very best bug preventative.
To sew carpet.rags on machine,
make the stitch short, run it obiquely
across the rags where they are to be
Joined, and sew good many before cut,
ting the thread.
Alabaster is best cleaned by putting
it in pan of water and letting it soak
some hours until quite clean. Another
mode is to cover it with strong solu-
ton Of soda, ..,........E.. '...,..
There is no part OF the year when eel.
lars in which vegetables are stored need
ventilation oftener than the present.
If the cellars cannot be thoroughly
aired every day, the vegetables should
be removed. :.
Boil sweet or common potatoes tlil
well done, then mash or. strain. TO
each one and half pints add one pint
and half of milk, q little melted but
ter, two eggs with sugar, salt, and nut
meg or lemon to flavor. z
To clear cistern water, add two ounces
powdered alum and two ounces borax to
a twenty-barrel oistern of rain-water
that is blackened or oily, and in a few
hours the sediment Will settle, and the
water be clarified and fit for washing.
Borax is used in the washing, but it
is also used in starch. It stifens the
starch, prevents the iron sticking, and
produces q finer finish. It should be
used by dissolving half tablespoonful
in little boiling water, and mixing it
with about three pints OF the starch.
The way to clean feathers is to wash
them in lather, then rinse in cold
water, and then in water slightly blue,
and shake them until dry. If the fue
looks thready, damp it between the folds
of cloth and beat lightly, and clap it
between the hands till quite dry. It
improves them sometimes to hold them
in the steam of q kettle.
In selecting -four first look to the
color. Ii it is white with o yelowish
straw-color tint, buy it. If it is white
with blush cast, or with black specks
in it, refuse it. Next examine its ad-
hesiveness-wet and knead little of it
between your fingers; if it works soft
and sticky, it is poor. Then throw a
little lump of dry -four against smooth
surface if it falls like powder, it is bad.
Lastly, squeeze some of the -four tight
" in your hand !; if it retains the shape
given by the pressure, that too is good
sign. It is safe to buy -four that Will
stand all these tests.
Profits Of Good Feeding.
A correspondent of the Country
Gentleman, gives the following details
of his experience on this subject: Last
fall I had the offer Of a cow on an old
debt, and hesitated some as to whether
T had better lose the debt or take the COW,
as she was old and very thin, but finally
concluded to try and make something
out of her, though the chance looked
very small, and the boys made good
deal of sport of her, and said I would
get nothing but her hide. She was far,
row, and was not giving more than one
quart of milk night and morning. !
took her to the farm and told my man to
do the best he could for her. He com
menced feeding her apples, and though
she gained steadily in milk, it was some
time before she improved much in ap.
pearance: but after awhile the feed and
care began to tell on her, and in three
months she was in good condition, and
gave twelve quarts of milk daily. One
week I brought from there nine pounds
of nice butter, which the woman assured
me was the product of nine days milk,
and at the same time sold two quarts OF
milk daily, and used what they needed
in the family, consisting Of herself and
husband. I expected to feed her well,
and turn out to grass to fatten, but she
proved 80 good for milk concluded to
keep her another year. She has kept In
good order all summer, and gives about
as much milk as any of the COWS, but we
shall soon dry her of, as we expect to
have her for new milch cow this winter.
T also bought last fall flock OF store
sheep, Just as it was time to turn in tor
winter, fed tnem till the 10th Of March
on hay and oat screenings, and sold them
at an advance of $3.50 per head.
Buying Seeds.
Be careful in buying your seeds. a
German paper says that clover ana
lucern are often mixed with small, arti-
ficially prepared and colored quartz
stones. For production of these quartz
pranules there are special manufactures,
which accomplish their task 30 well that
even practiced eye would have dlticql'
ty in detecting the fraud. Old seeds,
also, are colored, sulphurized, oiled and
treated with various substances which
produce fresher and better appearance,
and are often even mixed to consider
able extent with old SEED no longer capa-
BILE of termination.
o-d 4Hpov, No~r3oA