The Ravalli Republican. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1894-1899, 1897-10-20
HOUSEHOLD ECONOMICS.
Methods That Obtained In the Early Part
nf the Century,.

THU oET1OL.O ESOlNoNIl0o'
Methods That Obtained In the Early Part
Of the Century.
An old cookbook, printed in the
year 1885 and bearing the title The
American Frugal Housewife, " with
a. dedication "to those who are not
ashamed Of economy, " is full of in
tecesting reading as a comparative
study in household economics. Many
things were necessary to the house-
keeper of SO years ago that are un-
known nowadays or have complete
ly outlived their usefulness. It is
Greek almost to the modern woman
to be told that ''the coverings Of oil
TASKS, neatly sewed together with
strong thread, make useful table
mats" or "when a white navarino.
bonnet gets soiled, rip it in pieces.
and wash it with soft water and,
while damp, sponge it. with strong,
strained saffron tea, then press: on.
the wrong side, and it will look like
a new leghorn. = Other cautions
that are obsolete today are to "savo
walls and bottles" preserve the
backs of old letters to write upon,
elaborate directions for making over
mattresses and pillows at home,
bow to prevent a pump handle from
freezing set in cold weather and
scores of similar directions, The.
compiler advises, for example, tha,
it is wise to have always the tinder
box and lantern ready on going to
bed, in case of sudden alarm, and,
after much considering, decides that
lin the city it is better to exchange
ashes and grease for soap, but in the
country it is by far the best econ
omy to make ones own soap" and
pages of minute. directions follow,
So on with scores of similar direc-
tons concerning a life that has
ceased to be. =..--.
The chapter devoted to simple
remedies would cause the hair OF the
modern practitioner, stepped in the
germ theory Of disease, to rise up-
night. 70 prevent lockjaw lye, a
mind Of pork, strong soft soap, spir~
its of turpentine and pulverized
chalk are recommended. For throat
distemper, the old name for diph-
iberia, a poultico of roasted apple
mixed with an ounce of tobacco, the
whole wet with spirits OF wine and
spread: on a linen rag, to be bound
about the throat, is panacea. Tc
stop the blood from a wound apply
scrapings Of sole leather. A spoon
full of ashes stirred in cider is sug
eested to relieve nausea in cholera
morbus A salve to reduce intlamma
tion in wounds is made from lar(
melted and cooled five times in sue
eession, then simmcred with sllcct
onions and once moro cooled. Low
blackberry tea is prescribed for calo
mel sore mouth. One suggestion
may be of value to the modern moth
er. 10 administer a dose of caste
oil to children SO that they WI
never suspect its presence-wi]
even love the decoction-it shoul
be boiled with an equal quantity c
sweetened milk, and, when colo
given as drink The actual foo
recipes of the book are held in
dozen pages, but there is much spac
devoted to herb lore, the prepar;
tions for keeping meats, tho NAL
ing of dyestutfs, homemade winc
beers and the like. Preserves al
dismissed in a page with the lacon
introduction: Economical peop
will seldom use preserves exce]
for sickness. They are unhealth,
expensive and useless to those wi
are well'' Altogether the 'Frug
HOUSEWIFE is an illuminating bit
retrospective literature.-New Yo1
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