Put into a large bottle four ounces of olive oil and four of spirits of camphor, and shake well. When there is pain in the chest or lungs rub with the camphorated oil. This is excellent to use in case of sprains or bruises.
For a Cold in the Head.
Mix together in a large bottle four ounces of ammonia and four of camphor. A cologne bottle with a glass stopper is the best for this preparation. When there are symptoms of a cold in the head inhale this mixture frequently.
Lime Water.
Put about four ounces of quicklime in a bowl, and pour upon it two quarts of cold water. Stir the mixture well, and cover. Let this stand for four or live hours. At the end of that time pour off the clear liquid and bottle it. Throw away the sediment.
CHAPTER XXIV.
WHEN CLEANING HOUSE.
THE season of house-cleaning is greeted with different degrees of welcome, or horror, by the several members of the family. Some people appear to think there is no good reason for this annual thorough cleaning of the house; others, however, are really glad when the time comes round again, because it furnishes an opportunity to take account of stock, as it were, discarding the worthless, and renewing wherever it is necessary. When the cleaning is finished, pride and content come with the feeling that rest and comfort can be taken with a clear conscience in a house that one knows is in good condition from top to bottom.
System Absolutely Necessary.
Every house certainly should have a thorough cleaning every year, that there may be a check put upon the accumulation of dust or dirt which might breed disease, even if no other reason influenced the housekeeper. This yearly cleaning need not be a season of discomfort to the family. If possible, a little extra help should be engaged; but even if this be out of the question, the work can be done in such a way that every one shall not be worn out by the time the cleaning is finished. Too much should not be attempted at once. If one room be taken at a time, and be finished before work is begun in another, the whole house can be cleaned without any great difficulty. It is always wise, if possible, to wait until the necessity for furnace or stove fires is past. If the house be heated by stoves, and there be some rooms in which a fire is needed only in the coldest weather, such rooms may be cleaned first, the stoves in the other rooms being removed later. There should be a perfect system in doing this work. Housekeepers differ in regard to the part of the house where the cleaning should begin, some starting with the attic and others with the cellar. Since the furnace must be cleaned some time, and dust may escape through the pipes into the various rooms above, it seems to me that the proper place to begin is down-stairs.