Thomas County cat., 1888-04-05
CARE or THE HANDS.

aoie companions for any one. yet many
people are annoyed by their hands
chafng. which. aside from being rough
ana dissgreeable to the touch. are
often very painful This chatting Of
the skin is generally owing to washing
the hands in warm water, and i'm.
mediately after going out into the cold
air. Or it may be due to not drying
the hands thoroughly after washing.
which is by far too common practice.
After washing the hands they should
be wiped as dry as possible on the
towel and never on any account
should they be carried into the open
air damp.
In cold weather. very often the hands
chap even in the house. owing to not
being dried thoroughly; therefore. it
is OF the greatest Importance that they
be wiped perfectly dry after washing.
Women who do their own Homework
are very apt on wash-day to be care
less about their hands. owing to their
being so engrossed in their work that
they never think until too late about
this matter. Their hands are almost
constantly in and out Of water. until
tho time for hanging out the clothes.
Then they are taken out wiped hasti-
ly. carried into the open air, and made
do their duty by hanging the clothes
ON the line. A woman Of this kind
will often wonder why her hands
are SO red and rough. but rarely will
she look for the cause. To be sure, =
woman with q large washing to get
out is not supposed to dry her
hands thoroughly when pausing to
do some little thing that can be done
in short while. ere putting them
into the water again. and . careless
drying in this respect will do very
little harm. but OH going out into the
air it is of great Importance that they
be dried we'll 1t may seem to many
strange that SO much importance
should be given to the drying of the
hands ere hanging the clothes on the
line, for the clothes are wet. and.
naturally. the hands will be damp in
short time while handling them. but
as it is the back part of the hand that
usually chafes. if this is perfectly dry.
it can be kept from coming in contact
with the wet clothes. and good deal
of annoyance be avoided from chat
ing.
Some women who Go their own work
use gloves while doing the roughcr
kinds of house work. For blacking o
stove, and few other kinds of work.
gloves are necessity. but for the
greater part of the work they are
simply hinderance and very few
housewives care to use them. The
use of good soap IN the kitchen
will aid greatly in keeping the hands
smooth. but a poor grade of this
article will do great deal toward
making the hands hard and
rough Have always near a bottle of
vinegar and water. mixed together in
eqsal quantities. and after washing
the dishes. scrubbing. washing. etc.
wash the hands in tepid water: wipe
dry, then rirss thoroughly in this
mixture. This simple wash will be
found to be of great service in keep
ing the hands soft and smooth. This
preparation is good for removing
stains from the hands Lemon juice
is excellent for the samo purpose and
also removes tan. DO not allow tho
hands to remain soiled longer than
can be helped. but as soon as conven.
lent wash thoroughly in lukewarm
water, using some pure white
soap. and wipe perfectly dry. In peel
ing vegetables and fruits. such as po-
tatoes apples etc. the hands
are certain to suffer. and
tho best way to obviate this
is to wear gloves from which the
fingers have been cut halfdown. They
should fit loosely. so that the hand and
fingers may have full power to work.
If the hands have been neglected wash
in warm oatmeal water each night be-
fore going to bed. and after dkying
we'll dust over them powdered oatmeal.
If they are very rough and hard the
following mixture will benefit them
wonderfully: To the white Of an egg
add pinch Of alum, and before going
to bed each night apply to the hands.
after which put on loose pair OF
gloves 10 keep the hands from coming
in contact with the bed linen. The
use of this mixture will in q short |
time make the hands as soft and
white as can be wished When the |
hands are chapped and sore. mutton-
suet is the most he aling OF all remedies. |
Apply as often as convenient after
washing and wiping the hands
thoroughly. and the soreness will
soon disappear. Equal quantities of
white wax and mutton suet melted
together are used for tho same pur-
pose. but the plain mutton suet usual
ly does the work as we'll When com.
ing in from the cold do not hold the
hands near the fire to warm them. or
you will surely be annoyed with
chilblains. When the hands arc very
cold. placing them Immediately in