To Remove Fruit Stains.—A solution of chloride of soda will remove peach and all fruit or vegetable stains, and is also excellent in removing mildew; but for this it must be applied several times, and exposed to the sun, while fruit can be removed by it instantly. Of course it can only be used for white cotton or linen goods. It is perfectly harmless if well rinsed in clear water immediately after using.
Bee or Wasp Stings.—Wet some cut tobacco and lay it on the sting. In five minutes it will be cured. Always keep cut tobacco in the house for such emergencies. It is invaluable and sure.
To Preserve Brooms.—Wet the broom every week in boiling suds, and it will be toughened by it, will last much longer, will not cut the carpet, and will sweep as elastic as a new broom.
Glossy Starch.—Put two ounces of white gum-arabic powder into a pitcher; pour over it a pint of boiling water, stir well and cover it up; let it stand overnight. In the morning pour it from the dregs into a clean bottle, and keep for use. A table-spoonful of this stirred into a pint of starch made in the usual manner will give your lawns, either black or printed, a new look, which nothing else can give, after being once washed. Much diluted, it is excellent for thin white muslin.
Salt for Nuts.—Many people find nuts of all kinds injurious, and some are made seriously ill by them. It is said, and we think truly, if a little salt be used with them it will prevent any injury or inconvenience arising from their use.
To Take Ink Stains from Mahogany.—Put a few drops of nitre in a teaspoonful of water. Touch the ink-spot with a feather dipped in the mixture; and as soon as the ink disappears, rub it instantly with a cloth wet in cold water, or there will be a white mark left, which will be difficult to remove.
To Keep Quinces.—Gather the fruit at the usual time, then put carefully into barrels so as not to bruise, rejecting all but the perfectly sound; then fill with water, head up, and put in the cellar. They will keep all winter, retaining all the peculiar qualities and flavor of fresh quinces.
Fruit Stains.—When berries and fruits of all kinds are in season, the housekeeper will find it necessary to look carefully after the stains. They are easily removed if attended to at once, but if left to dry for a day or two it will be a more difficult work. Stretch the stained spot tightly over a deep bowl or pail, and pour over it boiling hot water, letting it filter through till the stain disappears. The water must be really boiling, not simply scalding. If the article has been thrown into suds before looking after the stains, the hot water will not destroy them. In that case wet the stain, and while wet spread over the spot some chloride of lime, lay the piece on the grass, or hang on the clothes-line where the sun will strike through for a few minutes, and then wash and boil immediately. This is sure, but should be used with care and judgment or it will eat the cloth; but with proper oversight it is safe and reliable. Chloride of lime is largely used in bleaching linen, cotton, and silk in the different manufactures. In former times chlorine, or oxygenated muriatic gas, was used in bleaching, but its effect on the lungs of the workmen was very injurious. Since chloride of lime has been used instead of chlorine, it is considered safe for those employed in factories, and harmless in its effects on the goods bleached. In pickling, paring, or preserving fruit, the hands get badly stained. Rub them in lemon-juice; wet your nail-brush in the juice and carefully brush your nails and hands; this will remove the stains effectually. A “bleaching liquid,” prepared from chloride of lime, is very effectual in removing all stains except those made by grease. Put four ounces of chloride of lime into a wide-mouthed quart bottle, add a little water and stir well with a stick, then fill the bottle nearly full with water, and let it stand corked for two weeks, that the chloride may dissolve. During this time some gas will be disengaged, and to prevent explosion or driving out the cork it will be well twice a day to remove the cork for an instant only, and as the gas has an extremely offensive smell it is important that care should be taken not to inhale it, as it is injurious to the lungs; when diffused through the apartment in small quantity it is not hurtful. After standing two weeks, the fluid portion should be poured off and kept in a bottle in a dark place, with paper wrapped around it, as light and air injure its properties. This fluid should be kept in every family, but servants ought not to be allowed to use it indiscreetly.
Ink Stains.—If ink is spilled on clothes or carpet, do not allow it to dry, but as speedily as possible get cotton batting, and, wetting it in sweet milk, soak the spot and rub with the cotton. Wring the cotton out and soak again with milk, and if used when the ink is fresh it will soon remove it. This done, wash in warm soapsuds and rinse in clear warm water.
Buying Furs.—In purchasing furs, a sure test of what dealers call a prime fur is the length and density of the down next to the skin. This can be readily determined by blowing a brisk current of air from the mouth against the set of the fur. If the fibers open readily, exposing the skin to view, reject the article; but if the down is so dense that the breath cannot penetrate it, or at most shows but a small portion of the skin, the article may be accepted.