The Portland daily press., 1890-12-31
THE HON G.
pYENa AT HOME.

D1ENG AT HOME,
People living at at distance from shops
and in remote parts Of the country where
delicate and others aniline dyes cannot be
easily procured, can be almost as we'll &C
commodated, when they wish to practise the
economy of making some old article new by
means of another color, by using the dye
stuffs that nature furnishes them in any
corner of their yard or garden. which their
great grand-mothers doubtless found suffici
ent. and by various other domestic expedi-
ents of little or no comparative cost, and
about as satisfactory in the long-run as the
new-fangled and more extensive practices.
If they wish to procure delicate rose-color,
let them steep in an earthen vessel balm
blossoms in water-the right length of time
the can discover by trial-and dip into what
ever article they wish to color, having, If the
fabric be thin, dissolved little gun-arabic
in the water, and they will probably be
pleased with the result. A white fabric can
De dyed very pretty pink If put into large
pipkin with little of the Juice of the poke
berry and some copperas, and left overnight.
All dyes, it should be remembered ON good
authority, have the art of subduing the dyer's
hand to what 1t works in, and one should
wear, In handling them, stout gloves. and
lift and stir with clothes-sticks as much as
possible. 1t one wants pale and pretty
straw color, they can have 1t by sleeping,
scaldiDg and straining the outside skins of
onions. The bark of the barDerry gives
deeper tint, and an exceedingly pleasant
canary-color can be had from the water in
which the tops of the common garden saffron
have been we'll soaked; while desirable buff
or nankeen color can be procured by boiling
birch bark in tin pail with small piece Of
alum. The void found now an then in old
gardens produces a pleasant blue, and
nf
only the garden but the pantry can aid in
the matter; for even the tea grounds, boiled
in an iron pot with few crystals of cop
peras, Will provide useful slate-colOr; and
the dark paper in which loaf of sugar
comes wrapped will give either delicate
lavender or deep purple, according to the
strength of the bath made with it. A piece
Of old iron boiled in vinegar with handful
OF c0pperas lit being remembered that cop
peras is poisoD) produces good and decent
black although lOgwoOd chips boiled in old
cider give the best black of all. And where
ever there is silk gown TO be renewed, a
sliced potato, over which half pint of boil
ing water has been poured, will produce a
dressing which will make 1t almost as good
as ever-a more expensive way being to boil
half cup OF green tea in three pints of wat
or in an iron skillet, and dip the silk there
In, breadth by breadth, never wringing the
material, and ironing 1t on the wrong side
while still wet, with a.imoderately warm
lrOD.-darperS baZar.
CANNED FOOD.
There is no doubt that there Is far too
much cheap canned food used in this coun-
try TO the exclusion of winter roots and 9TH
er vegetables, and even fresh meats, which
are more trouble to prepare, but more whole
some Since ii is more probable people will
continue to use canned fruits and vegetables
rnf nm in, in 10 mall 70 Eaa IN
few simple rules for the sake of the health
OF the family. Two sources of danger may
arise from use of this canned fruit One is
decomposition, the other tin or lead poison
Ing. Three rules given by a New York ply
slcian enables any one to detect cans that
have been spoiled and have been cooked
over or those in which the contents are be-
ginning to decompose or those which have
been improperly sealed up with an amalgam
which may produce metallic poisoning
First examine the cap of every can, and If
there are two holes soldered over instead of
fit for use. Secondly, press the bottom of
the can if it rattles like the oiler of a sew
ing machine reject 1t. 1t should be solid
Thirdly, reject every can of food that does
not show line of resin around the cap, as
we'll as at the side of the can. This shows
ably Of zinc and muriatic acid, has been
used instead of a regular solder. Reject,
without hesitation, the contents of any can
which shows rust on the inside of the cap or
on any part of the inside of the can. The
contents of such can are mixed with tin,
and dangerous to use. All canned goods, as
soon as they are opened, should be poured
out into an earthen dish and allowed to air
for at least two hours In cool place, so that
the close, tinny taste sometimes apparent to
the senses when the goods are perfectly
sound, may pass off. There is no excuse
for the use of canned meats when good fresh
use of canned corn beef that the most serious
cases Of poisoning have resulted. These
occurrences were generally in localities
where good corn beef could have been pur-
chased by the pound, but the canned corned
beef was more convenient to use because it
required little or no cooking.
BATHING THE FACE.
With regard to the merits of hot or cold