The National tribune., 1907-06-06

!, I drort in on friend the other morn
t ing, and found her deep in the pre-
, serving" business. She came into the
= pleasant sitting room and received me
most cordially. looking as fresh as q
{ field pink in her neat calico dress. made
: especially for Kitchen" purposes, with
a generous Bingham apron enveloping
| her. and after chatting a moment she
asked me to go to the kitchen with her
and see the lovely lot of jelly and mar
malade she had been putting up. Il
! do not like to trust it to my servants,
, she said; they have enough to do. and
then / fiatter myself that l know better
how to do it than most anybody else
So L went with her to her neat. sirupy-
smelling kitchen. where kettle of
plum jelly was just ready to come off.
The plums were the wild variety, and
you know they are generally very sour
and often bitter. AS my friend stood
over the kettle | saw her take spoon
full of some white stuff and dash it in
the jelly, and it foamed up to the top
of the kettle in most remarkable way;
then she stirred it briskly. 1t fell back,
and i saw a green scum and lots of Sed-
iment come to the top, which she quick
~ lifted off, and then took the jelly
from the fire and poured into the
glasses standing ready in a pan of hot
water OF course. l was curious, and
told me that it was common baking
soda that she had used. II always use
it when l am putting away sour berries
and jellies,'' she said. Now, these
plums actually quicker your mouth to
eat and develop a dreadful bitterness
when cooked. but half teaspoonful of
soda to a gallon of jelly sugared and
just ready to come off will take away
all the bitter. acrid taste and clarity the
| liquid wonderfully. 1 always use soda
when cooking plums and cranberries or
any fruit of that kind. A teaspoonful
to a gallon is about right. Put it in
when the fruit is put on, and the in
slant it Loils up once pour the water off
and put more hot water on" L went
right home and tried it with some
plums that nv cook had declared mot
fit for white folks to eat" and it worked
| like a charm.
| Beware of ice water and ice cold
drinks of any kind this scorching
weather, particularly if you are over
heated. Sudden cooling of the stomach
leads To many ills, the worst of which
| is sunstroke.
Forget your vanity, and let your baby
have little comfort during the warm
weather. During the middle of the day
| take off all the child's clothes. includ-
ii5 ana StOCklISS, DdtHe IL III Wa
ter with little borax in it, pin up it's
hair. and put on it a pair of thin draw
] ers and a long Bingham apron. and turn
lit loose. If it is restless and fretfui
put it in the bath tub, and let it play in
an inch or two of water-in its clothes
the water will not hurt them-or let i'll
have a basin of water on the veranda
if it is shady there. Next to a sand
pile. tin of water is a delight to- a
little Child. L know of one mother who
has a tub of slightly warmed water
placed in the center of her kitchen
floor. and her two small children play
in it for hours. after she has left the
kitchen. and when they get tired she
dresses them for the afternoon. and
mops up the water they have splashed
on the floor. It is a clean and cooling
plaything. and can't possibly hurt the |
child If the day is warm. rs |
a great many people have invested
in the pretty white pamDas grass, and
by this time it is so dusty and soiled
looking that it will have to be thrown |
away, unless somebody comes to the
rescue. The National Tribune is always
ready to do that. Fill tub half full of |
tepid water, and lay the pampas grass
down in it. Take shaved white soap
that has been soaking till it is soft. and
picking the grass up at the stem end,
SLOWLY ana JWlSI the grass
thru the soapy hand. all the time keep
ing up the twisting motion. Have
little borax in the water. and after the
SOaping shake the grass gently in the
water, and all the dirt will come right
ont. Then rinse in clean water by
shaking it gently. 1t will come forth
from the ordeal as white and glistening
and press geraly, then hold in the sun
and shake it I'll all the delicate branch
es have opened out You must handle il
carefully right thru. but you will be
rewarded for your labors.
You can make most of your light
gowns yourself. but for some reason a
dark gown has to have more careful
treatment, both in cutting and sewing.
1t will be economy to hire a good dress
maker for your dark gowns.
To wash cut glass and have it clear
and shining you should have a soft
brush and dry it lastly, after using a
linen towel, with tissue paper.
If Your rooms are small select 4 car
pet with 4 small figure. and, if possible,
an indistinct one. The large-figured
carpets dwarf the dimensions of room.
Never buy the massive styles of furni-
ture for a small room for the same
the light bamboo or willow fur {!
niture is always prettier for a small I
house.
The amateur at a sewing machine /
does not know that the best
way to fasten the thread at the end of {
the seam is to turn back on the seam I
just sewn and stitch for half an inch Or
more; then you can cut the thread and
not stop to tie, which takes a great deal I
of time and is absolutely necessary if s
out all the time. n
Here is one woman'S way of Femoy-
ing resin, tar or axle grease from cloth c
ing. she says that she never found q '
stain SO obstreperous that it would not
yield to her efforts, tho the fabric will
be apt to fade if it is at all high col t
ored. 1t works to IA charm on white a
goods: Apply any kind of grease to the h
stain and then soap it well with good f
washing soap and let it stand awhile. I
Then Arench 1t we'll with turpentine and c
wash with warm water. 1t may take Y
several applications. :
Striped awning cloth makes good 8
strong laundry bag. Ii it is to be much
in evidence make it square, and put a
vide ruff1e around it. Let the flap be |;
nearly half as deep as the bag and il
pointed. fastening with big pearl but ii
on, and ruffied. Across the back of the c