Boil new earthen in bran-water, putting the articles in, when cold. Do the same with porcelain kettles. Never leave wooden vessels out of doors, as they fall to pieces. In Winter, lift the handle of a pump, and cover it with blankets, to keep it from freezing.
Broken earthen and china, can often be mended, by tying it up, and boiling it in milk. Diamond cement, when genuine, is very effectual for the same purpose. Old putty can be softened by muriatic acid. Nail slats across nursery windows. Scatter ashes on slippery ice, at the door; or rather, remove it. Clarify impure water with powdered alum, a teaspoonful to a barrel.
NOTE.
A volume, entitled the American Housekeeper's Receipt Book, prepared by the author of this work, under the supervision of several experienced housekeepers, is designed as a Supplement to this treatise on Domestic Economy. The following Preface and Analysis of the Contents will indicate its design more fully:
Preface (for the American Housekeeper's Receipt Book.)
The following objects are aimed at in this work:
First, to furnish an original collection of receipts, which shall embrace a great variety of simple and well-cooked dishes, designed for every-day comfort and enjoyment.
Second, to include in the collection only such receipts as have been tested by superior housekeepers, and warranted to be the best. It is not a book made up in any department by copying from other books, but entirely from the experience of the best practical housekeepers.