Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-17
THE HOUSEHOLD.
HOME ADoRNMENT AND DOMESTIC ECON
oMy-ALL AROUND THE HOUSE


Correspondents Of this department win not be lin
tied in their epistles, but conciseness is prefer
able, and but one side OF page must De writer
upon Questions pertinent to this department.
viii be answered in this column
TREATMENT OF NERVOUSNESS. 1t is alb
solutely Indispensable to health of the ner
vous system that you always, everywhere
inhale pure, fresh air. Get out into the
sunshine all you can, and get all the sun.
shine you can into your home. Try to
preserve sunshiny temper and DISPOSE
ton, and ever look on the sunshiny side
of life. Take sufficient amount of men
tai and physical exercise, but carefully
avoid overworking either mind or body.
Get all the rest you need, and all the sleep
you can. Give proper attention 10 diet
as regards quantity, quality, and its health
full preparation, and abstain from the use
of stimulants in any form. Let your APP
parel be sufficient in amount, of proper
material, and made up and worn upon
hygienic principles. Attention must be
given TO promote the most scrupulous per-
sonal cleanliness, by frequent, and, if able,
daily bathing. As harm results from inju-
dicious bathing, few simple rules may
not be amiss. The best time for bathing
is usually about the middle of the fore
noon, although during warm weather a
bath just before retiring is very soothing
to the nerves. Never battle Just before or
after eating, or when exhausted by severe
mental or physical exercise. Always
battle in a room sufficiently warm that you
may not feel the least chill. and in water
OF whatever temperature is best adapted
to your particular case A cold bath mist
never be taken when you are too cold, too
warm or greatly fatigued. The head
should be wet in cold water before
the bath. Soap should not be
used in daily bathing once or twice q
week is often enough, and after its use the
body must be rinsed in clear water. Spir-
its of ammonia, in the proportion of a tea
spoonful to tablespoonful in an ordinary
washbowl of water, is highly beneficial for
its cleansing properties, and good nerve
tonic. Salt in about the same proportion
dissolved in the water is also good. The
bath should be followed by brisk rubbing
with coarse towel or fesh-brush, until
reaction takes place and the body is in a
healthy glow. Then get into bed, cover up
warm and rest for half an hour or more,
after which exercise should be taken. a
friction bath or air bath just before retiring
is often wonderfully soothing to the nerves,
as is also the application of cold water
along the spine, or rubbing the body with
a dry flannel that has been saturated with
sailed water. Now, FOR a nervine, drink
freely of skullcap tea. Warm hop tea has
been recommended for nervousness. Un-
der the care of my physicians have derived
great benefit from ammonia and phosphorus
in almost every form, bromide of potassa,
and other similar medicines. Electricity is
highly beneficial to many but that which
is of far more value in the case of nervous
ness than medicine or volumes of hygienic
instructions, is the benefit derived from
pleasant social intercourse, the congenial
companionship of loved and loving friends
invalid Edna, Masonville, Ia.
To CURE FRS OF SNEEzING. "A CORE
spontlent of the British Medical Journal
says: During the recent rapid changes of
temperature / caught severe cold in my
head, accompanied by almost incessant
sneezing. My unfortunate nose gave me
no rest. The slightest impact of cold air,
or passing from the outside air into warm
room, equally brought on fit of sneezing.
In vain l snuffed camphor and pulsatilla !;
the light catarrh still triumphed over me.
At length | resolved to see what the
maintenance of uniform rate of tempera-
ture would do toward diminishing the irri-
liability of my Schneiderian membrane,
and accordingly plugged my nostrils with
cotton wool. The effect was instantaneous :;
sneezed 10 more. Again and again I
tested the efficacy of this simple remedy,
always with the same result. However
near | was to sneeze, the introduction of
the pledgets stopped it at once. Nor was
there any inconvenience from their pres
ence, making them sufficiently fine not to
tickle, and yet leaving them sufficiently
really worth knowing, for incessant sneez-
ing is among the greatest of smaller ills,
and it seems only a rational conclusion to
hope that this simple plan may furnish the
most efficient remedy against one of the
most distressing symptoms OF hay fever.
PROOF SPIRIT.-Proof spirit was so
called because, in the pre-scientific age, it
was customary to levy duty ON spirits by
a rough-and-ready process called the
"proof," which was conducted as follows :
A small heap of gunpowder was wetted
with the spirit to be tested, and the wet
spirit was then ignited. If the spirit was
strong, the gunpowder became ignited and
flashed off very soon after the spirit was
lighted but If the spirit was weak, the
water left behind it wetted the gunpowder,
SO that it did not catch fire. A careful in
vestigation of the true constitution of the
spirit showed that the weakest spirit capa-
bic of igniting the gunpowder had the fol-
10 "a water, 80 76, and a specific gravity
of 0.920. This is known as proof spirit.
Spirits either stronger or weaker than this
are spoken of as overproof or underproof.
Thus, spirit was said TO be % per cent.
overproof or underproof if 100 measures of
it would, on dilution, yield l25 measures
of proof spirit. 1t was underproof if 100
measures only contained 70 measures of
proof spirit. In these days, though the
terms are still retained, the estimates are
made by the hydrometer.
STRAWBERRY SHoRTcAKE. A CORE
spondent Of the american Fa7mer tells
how he makes the article Make light
rich shortcake of almost any kind. pre-
fer the soda-biscuit recipe, with little
more shortening added. Roll the dough
rather thinner than for biscuit, and shape
it to fit your baking-pans. Have ready
quantity of strawberries, the more the
better; two quarts will make it very good,
with the quantity of dough made from two
quarts of flour. Mash the strawberries,
make them quite sweet (of course with
white sugar); add to this pint of rich
cream. When the pans with the short
cake are taken from the oven thoroughly
done, split them open butter each half
literally with good butter lay one upon
large dish spread the mashed strawber-
ries thickly over it; lay the other half on
the top of this, buttered sides of both up.
Again spread thickly with mashed fruit.
You may, by having pans of uniform size,