Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-03-04

who are not ashamed of economy, by
Mrs. Child" and published in 1885.
It's delapidated condition shows hard
usage, and with the hope that these old
time aids to frugality may help the
modern housewife "who is not ashamed
of economy" we give the following e1-
tracts:
HINTS ON ALL SUBJECTS.
If you are troubled to get soft water
for washing, fill tub or barrel half
full of ashes, and fill it up with water,
so that you may have lye whenever you
want it. A gallon of strong lye put into
great kettle of hard water will make it
as soft as rain water. Some people use
pearlash or potash; but this costs some
thing, and is very apt to injure the text
ure of the cloth.
If you have a strip Of land, do not
throw away suds. Both ashes and suds
are good manure for bushes and young
plants.
Pulverized alum possesses the prop
erty of purifying water. A large spoon.
full stirred into hogshead of water will
so purify it, that in few hours the dirt
will all sink to the bottom, and it will be
as fresh and clear as spring water. Four
gallons may be purified by a teaspoon
full.
Suet and lard keep better in tin than
earthen.
Suet keeps good all the year round, if
chopped and packed down in stone
jar, covered with molasses.
Pick suet free from veins and skin,
melt it in water over moderate fire, let
it cool till it forms into hard cake,
then wipe it dry, and put it in clean
paper in linen bags.
Do not let coffee and tea stand in tin.
Scald your wooden ware often; and keep
your tin ware dry.
Never allow ashes to be taken up in
wood, or put into wood. Always have
your tinder-bo1 and lantern ready for
use, in case of sudden alarm. Have i'm
portant papers all together, where you
can lay your hand on them at once, in
case of fire.
Keep an old blanket and sheet on pur-
pose for ironing, and on no account
suffer any other to be used. Have plenty
of holders always made, that your
towels may not be burned out in such
service.
Keep a coarse broom for the cellar
stairs, woodshed, yard, etc. No good
housekeeper allows her carpet broom to
be used for such things.
Have all the good bits of vegetables
and meat collected after dinner and
minced before they are set away; that
they may be in readiness to make little
savoury mince meat for supper or break
fast. Take the skins off your potatoes
before they grow cold.
Have plenty of crash towels in the
kitchen; never let your white napkins
be used there.
Soap your dirtiest clothes, and soak
them in soft water over night.
Use hard soap to wash your clothes,
and soft to wash your floors. Soft soap
is so slippery that it wastes good deal
in washing clothes.
Keep bag for odd pieces of tape and
strings; they will come in use. Keep a
bag or box for old buttons, so that you
may know where to 60 when you want
one.
Run the heels of stockings faithfully;
and mend thin places, as we'll as holes.
"A stitch in time saves nine"
A little salt sprinkled in starch while
it is boiling, tends to prevent it from
sticking; it is likewise good to stir it
with clean spermaceti candle.
A few potatoes sliced, and boiling
water poured over them, makes an ex-
cellent preparation for cleansing and
stiffening old rusty black silk.
Lime pulverized, sifted through
coarse muslin, and stirred up tolerably
thick in white of eggs, makes strong
cement for glass and china. Plaster of
Paris is still better, particularly for
terial. 1t should be stirred up by the
spoonful, as it is wanted.
When plain tortoise-shell combs are
defaced, the polish may be renewed by
rubbing them with pulverized rotten
stone and oil. The rotten-stone should
be sifted through muslin. 1t looks bet
ter to be rubbed on by the hand. The
Jewellers afterward polish them with dry
rouge po,cder; but sifted magnesia does
just as well-and if the ladies had rouge,
perhaps they would, by mistake, put it
upon their cheeks, instead of their
combs; and thereby spoil their COM
plexions.
The best way to cleanse gold is, to
wash it in warm suds made of delicate
soap, with ten or fifteen drops of sal
volatile in it. This makes jewels very
brilliant.
Straw carpets should be washed in
salt and water, and wiped with dry,
coarse towel. They have strong tend
ency to turn yellow; and the salt pre-
vents it. Moisture makes them decay
soon; therefore they should be kept
thoroughly dry.
SIMPLE REMEDIES.
Cotton wool, wet with sweet oil and
paregoric, relieves the ear-ache very
soon.
A good quantity of old cheese is the
best thing to eat, when distressed by
eating too much fruit, or oppressed
with any kind of food. Physicians have
given it in cases Of extreme danger.
Honey and milk is very good for
worms; so is strong salt water; likewise
powdered sage and molasses taken
freely.
Equal parts of camphor, spirits of
wine and hartshorn, well mixed, and
rubbed upon the throat, is said to be
good for the Group.
A rind of pork bound upon wound
occasiOned by needle, pin or nail, pre-
vents the lock-jaw 1t should be always
applied. Spirits of turpentine is good to
prevent the lock-jaw. Strong soft soap,
mixed with pulverized chalk, about as
thick as batter, put in thin cloth or
bag, upon the wound, is said to be a
preventive to this dangerous disorder.
Boiled potatoes are said to cleanse the
hands as we'll as common soap; they pre-
vent chops in the winter season, and keep
the skin soft and healthy.
Burnt alum held in the mouth is good
for toe canker.
A poultice made of ginger or of COM
mon chickweed that grows about ones
door in the country, has given great re-
lief to the tooth ache, when applied fire.
quently to the cheek.
Night sweats have been cured, when
more powerful remedies had failed, by
fasting morning and night, and drinking
cold sage tea constantly and freely.
Vipepar curds made by pOurinp vim