Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-06-25
ON R
Improving the Old Homestead with Aa
Artistic Garb of New Wi,ltewash.

"A INV WCll-ulIllcu ISlutA ~ upOli lutbV
ters of general interest to housekecpers.
coming from one who understands fully
what he is talking about, may be bene-
fetal. If they are received in the proper
spirit my object will have been attained.
All l care for is to furnish all the infor-
nation I can and do all the good l can.
Life is made up of these little acts Of
kindness, and to be well informed, and
then to be able to spread that informal
ton around all over the country IN such
Il way as to ameliorate the condition OF
u race, is 4 most fortunate thing for
the posscssor and a great boon to thosd
who may be the recipients of that in
formation.
A good, durable whitcwash may be
made by shaking pure lime with salt and
a light solution of water. Mix while
cold and stir gently while boiling, so
that it will not burn or. Let it stand
ten minutes and then carefully skim it.
If it does not settle readily drop in the
yolk of an egg. Do not put glue in
your whitewash in order to make it
stick. 1t is a great mistake to unite
glue or baking powder with whitewash
that is to be used on the walls or ceiling
of Il parlor.
A gallon of milk will improve n large
quantity Of whitewash, but the cream
may be taken off before the milk is used.
To apply whitewash on a ceiling is not
a difficult process, and many people pay
a professional when they might do ii
equally we'll themselves. !
Take n whitewash brush of about the
medium height and dip it in the liquid
preparation. Next carefully remove
the surplus by gently pressing the brush
against the side of the pail. You can
then stand on the piano and apply the
solution to the ceiling. a little at a time.
If you do this, however, do not step for
ward into the works of the piano or set
the pail on the strings while you are at
work. After you have been at workfor
a few moments and getyoursl sleeves we'll
filled with whitcwash, you may empty
them back into the pail, thus saving the
surplus, which otherwise might be
wasted. Care should be used in spatter-
ing oil paintings and bcic-a-brac on the
walls. Some oil paintings look better
spattered with whitewash, while others
do not. For this reason a keen dis
elimination is necessary, and everym
may not succeed with the brush.
Whitewash may be removed from the
eye by the judicious use of muriatic
acid, which cuts the lime and purities
the eye itself. removing any animal sub
stance also that may have fallen into
the socket, including the eye itself.
Maple sugar may be made by
squeezing the juice out Of the maple
tree and boiling it down to about the
consistency of the spring poem. The
maple flavor is not injurious to the
taste, and does not interfere with tho
popularity of this Justly celebrated dope
for the hot pancake. Much maple
sirup and sugar grow in Vermont,
and l have often wondered what be-
comes of this healthful beverage.
Why maple sirup. made from the Juice
OF the maple tree. should not find it's
than 1 can understand.
A cheap and tasty window curtain
may be made of the finest batiste, cut
the proper length, and then decorated
with painted flowers. Most any lady
can readily paint these flowers in any
design or at least q great many seem
to think they can. The flowers may be
any variety which fancy may dictate,
such as corn flowers, daisies, pond lilies
or forget-me-nots, and, if they do not
look just right, they may be erased
while still green by boiling the cur
tains in a solution of benzine and tur-
pentlne. say two parts Of the former to
n~inety-eight of thelatter.
A design to which my attention has
been recently calledconsists of aunique,
%improvised flower. composed by a
young lady who is destined to make her
mark some day, unless some one inter-
feres. She has already made her mark
in several places ia fact, but these flow
ers certainly deserve something moro
than Il mere passing notice. They are
not copied from the monotonous and
tedious uniformity so much affected in
nature, but they stand out by them
selves and attract the attention at once,
because of their bold originality. In
stead OF copying nature, and thus be-
coming tiresome, she has, constructed a
flower that is a cross between Il rose
cancer and Il ginger cooky 1t grows
on a perpendicular stem. that lookslike
4 dark green hat-rack with buds on it,
that remind the enraptured spectator
of an aggravated fclon on Il dark red
thumb, just peeping out Of pale green,
weather-beaten bandage.
Nothing so bold in conception or so
utterly free from conventionality has
come within N.Y. range of observation
for years. The inllammatory condition
of the blossom itself, the bold and math-
ematically perpendicular poiso of the
stem. and the early stages Of eruption
visible in the complexion of the bud,
challenge the admiration of the philan-
thropist and the board of health.
1t stands out as u work of art, alone
and safe from imitation. 1t certainly
has never been successfully initiated by
nature, and l do not think it ever will
be. While nature loves to give us freaks
now and then, l may safely say that
she will never furnish us with u flower
like this, a flower that looks rs though
it had been nailed on the parent stem
with single nails, while the foliage, it
would seem, was cut out of sheet-iron