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YELLOW, BLUE AND GREEN
XXX. SCARLET AND PINK. - XXXI. COLORING BLACK, BROWN AND SLATE.XXXII. WALNUT COLORING-BLACK WALNUT. XXXIII. COLORING CARPET RAGS. I. Value of Condensed Information.
ECIPES, to be of use, should be suited to the needs of those for whom they are intended. Elaborate preparations that can only be made by a chemist, or by the aid of scientific appliances beyond the reach of the masses, would be out of place in a book of the practical nature of this work. Tables of useful facts are also of great value in every department of life, for the reason that they present at a glance necessary information that could not be otherwise given except by many pages of print. They are simple and valuable to have at hand when needed. Every person outside of cities and villages is interested, for instance, in knowing the number of plants that may be contained on a given piece of ground; the quantity of seeds required per acre or per rod; weights per bushel of various grains, and the number of seeds in an ounce or pound; how to judge of the quality of land by its vegetation, and scores of other things of like kind. These we have grouped together in this volume so as to be easily examined, and so classified that no time need be spent in hunting for them.
II. Origin of Our Household Recipes.
In the course of the author's experience as agricultural editor and writer, many valuable, because simple, recipes relating to household art have come into his possession, partly through correspondence with the best housekeepers and partly through communications to the journals with which he has been connected. The best of this collection have been selected for reproduction in this work. The household departments have been prepared with the aid of a lady of long experience as a housekeeper, and well known for her patience and deft skill in nursing the sick. [292] III. Economy in the Kitchen-Washing Dishes.
AN English lady says: There are so many modes of washing dishes, that some will take it as quite unnecessary that they should be told how to do it. The proper way is perfectly simple. Have a pan of hot water in which a little soap has been dissolved, and then use a mop made of an old linen towel, or candle wicking fastened to the end of a stick, and then transfer them to a pan of still hotter water, and drain a moment, and wipe dry. This gives them an elegant polish. They should be wiped as soon as they have been through the last water, else they have a streaked effect, which can be felt, if not seen. It is the custom in England to drain them in racks, but we think our own mode the best at least, with the white ware so fashionable in this country, and which is so little known there.
The glassware should be washed first, then the silver, then the cups and saucers, etc., and the greasy dishes last. Never wash nor wipe more than one article at a time. When china is rough to the touch, it is simply because it is not cleansed. Hot water, and plenty of it, dry, clean towels and rapid wiping make the dishes shine like mirrors. You can wash glasses in quite hot water, by rolling them round in the water, filling them as soon as they touch it, thus making all portions of the glass equally hot. They will never crack if treated in this way. Dish-washing forms a large proportion of the daily life of the housekeeper, and anything which expedites it, and leaves time for other things, ought to be welcomed. IV. The Damper in the Stove.
THE following, on the use of the damper, by an editorial lady friend, although written for stoves in which wood is burned, contains information of equal value for those burning coal, whether hard or soft. The use of the instrument, must, however, be studied, since different fuels require different treatment. Concerning the damper, our contributor says: A damper in the stove is of great importance in a house-both as a matter of economy, and of comfort.
It makes the hot air remain in the muhu