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Some Kitchen Kinks: Save

Save every morsel of old linen as it comes from the laundry, for emergencies. Cut it into strips two to three inches wide and join them, laying one end upon the other, and sewing around the edge. Cut off ravelings, then begin at one end and roll up. Make as many of these rolls as will go into a wide-mouthed fruit jar.

Fill the top with absorbent cotton, set the jar upon a trivet in a kettle of cold water deep enough to have the water come nearly to the neck, and allow it to come almost to the boiling point. The jar will need a weight laid across the top to hold it steady. Keep the water about 180° F. for three hours. Lift off the kettle, and let stand until water becomes cold. Then take the jar out, screw on the top tightly, wipe, and put away. The linen will then be so perfectly sterilized that in using it there will be no possible danger of infecting a fresh wound. Save old pocket handkerchiefs and bits of soft linen and lawn for poultice bags, making them of different sizes-some as large as an eight-inch square, others just big enough to poultice a boil. Stitch them around three sides on the machine, then they can be tied tightly at the neck. When they are wanted, fill the bag half full of whatever the poultice is made of and press it into shape between the palms. When poulticing a boil, lay over it first a scrap of thin sterilized linen moistened with olive oil and on top of that place the hot poultice. When poultices must be applied very hot, fill three bags and keep them in the oven, where two can ept as hot as possible. After pu the poultice on, cover with sd folds of old flannel, which help retain the heat. In making mul plasters, mix with the white of gg instead of water, as it has al drawing power necessary, yet iter blisters the skin. Use half mus and half flour, then cover the to the plaster with thin old linen. The Sick Room. - Pet ventilation, a sunny exposure,l, if possible, a fireplace, which much to do with keeping the pure, are necessary for the sick n; which should be kept perfectneat and clean in every detail. are floor with a few small rugs, vh can be taken up and shaken, iery much better than a carpet, or e matting.

A string mop, used noisely about the floor, carries away the dirt without raising dust. Thed should be placed so the patient be shut off from any draughts, al in a position that will not allow isun or a gas light to glare in his e A single bed is far better thaa double one, for various reasons. The best frame is of iron or bra with a woven wire or national sng, both of which can readily be pt clean and free from dust. It oht to be set on strong, noiseless cars, so it can be moved quietly and ely whenever necessary. The high the bed the better, as it is much eær for a nurse to lift a helpless pant when not obliged to bend verylow. If obliged to use a double b, try to have the patient sleep onone side during the day, leaving the ther side comfortable for night. A pod hair or felt mattress is a neceity, and it ought to be in one piece, s steady use of a divided mattress isliable to make it slip around and becme very uncomfortable. Cotton sheet are superior to linen, even in summer, when coolness is desired, because otton is not a quick producer of hea and it does not absorb perspiration, as linen does, afterwards chilling the body.

Wool blankets, light or wam, according to tason of the year, are much better a comfortable. A dimity cove or linen sheet is more comfor than a heavy Marseilles countne. The pillows are better thin narrow than thick and square.

The furni of a sick room should be as simps possible; all heavy draperies upholstered chairs being remov Thin muslin curtains add to theerfulness, and a dark shade, if tl are no outside shutters, is alt a necessity during long summays, when the chamber has to be kened during sleeping hours. All table that is steady on its legad light enough to be easily liftes a necessary article of furniture. not allow it, however, to get pilep with all sorts of useless thingsKeep it covered with a clean towand reserve it for the necessary ticles which should be found the the thermometer in its glass of be water, a pad and pencil, whichay be needed during the doctor's v, and a movable hand screen, toe on occasions when the patient wis to be shaded from the light. A nall night lamp, which burns with dull glow, is frequently a necessit If sick nursing has to be done ring cold weather, when artificial at is necessary, try to alleviate t dryness of the atmosphere. Ts can be done by keeping a basin water upon the radiator, or settingefore the register a threefold scra of cheese cloth, which should be kept constantly wet. A light scrn is another sick-room necessity. The best is one of plain bamboo, which does not hold dust, the pans made of some washable stuff ru on rods, so they can be quickly hanged for laundering. If possible, have no plumbing fixtures in a sic room, and when it opens into a hth room keep the adjoining door cloed as much as possible.

An acellent way to admit fresh air to a sick room in winter, when a windowis near the bed, is to open it the deired height, then stretch piece of cheese cloth over the opening and tack it fast. A still more convenient way is to put the cheese cloth on a small frame that will fit into this opening; it can then be removed at any time. A handy way to fumigate the sick room is to place a brick in a large wash basin, and on this set a baking tin containing sulphur. If the sulphur is burned directly in the basin, you are liable to crack or break it.

A valuable remedy for proud flesh, an obstinate outgrowth of flesh from small sores, consists of alum. A lump of alum is placed upon a stove just hot enough to enable it to turn to dry powder. The powder placed on the affected part repeatedly and covered with a bandage can be relied upon to effect speedy and inexpensive cure. has never failed to cure when even the services of a physician were vainly resorted to. a It Another good remedy: use powdered resin. Apply as above; do not heat the resin, however.

If there is an invalid in the family who must be fanned, have your "handy man" make wooden handles for several large palm-leaf fans.

These should be longer than the stem handles, nicely polished, and nearly as large as that of a broom. The center of the stick is hollowed, then the stem of the fan is inserted and fastened firmly with glue. These handles may be made at home by using the hollow end of a windowshade roller. The wooden handle, on account of its size, does not cramp the hand as does the small stem.

All winter, keep in the medicine closet a small jar of turpentine and lard, melted together in equal quantities. If one shows signs of hoarseness, give the neck and chest a vigorous rubbing with this homemade liniment.

For jammed fingers, immerse the hand in water as hot as can be borne and rub vigorously. Do up in sweet oil or vaseline. If the bruise is on the face, apply a cloth wrung from WHAT THE HOME NURSE OUGHT TO KNOW 1135 hot water, to prevent the blood from settling; afterwards apply the oil.

A cure for eczema is to take yellow carrots, scrape them, and fry slowly in fresh lard till brown. Drain off the lard and melt in it 1 tablespoonful of powdered resin. Stir well, put in a jar, and when it is cool mix in 1 teaspoonful of sulphur. Apply each day; the cure will be speedy. Castor oil will not be objectionable to children if put in a bottle with an equal quantity of pure glycerin, heated, and shaken well. Each drop of oil will be coated with glycerin and rendered almost tasteless.

WHAT AN INVALID MAY EAT Sick-room diets are classified as liquid, light, and convalescent. The first consists wholly of liquid food, and is given in cases of typhoid fever and other severe illnesses. In typhoid, nothing is allowed for some time except milk, but during the run of other diseases gruels, beef tea, and broths are prescribed to keep up the strength. In fevers, a large number of cooling drinks, characterized as acid, starchy, or albuminous, are frequently ordered. Cocoa, hot milk, and various malt preparations are given at night to produce sleep, while occasionally doctors prescribe drinks containing rum, sherry, or brandy, when the patient is in need of such stimulation.

A "light diet" is the term used for the food that is given when a patient who has been very sick is beginning to improve. It includes almost everything that is found in the liquid diet, and, in addition, soft-boiled eggs, soups, broths, raw oysters, toast, delicate cream soups, chicken broth, soft custard, fruit, gelatines, light puddings, and a small amount of poultry, game, or tender meat.

Convalescent diet includes all the dishes which have been already spoken of, only as the patient grows stronger the amount grows a little larger day by day, and includes more nourishing foods. with a larger variety. Baked potatoes begin to appear on the tray, beefsteak, broiled mutton chops, sweetbreads, broiled chicken, sponge cake, boiled rice, small pieces of broiled fresh fish, a slice of tender rare roast beef, and ice cream.

The utmost daintiness is a necessity when a tray for the sick room is being set. Food that is tempting in appearance will often create an appetite where none existed. You must remember that an invalid's recovery depends as much upon the diet as upon medicine. Therefore, everything that is taken to the sick room must be of the best quality-eggs that are really fresh laid, the best of butter, the tenderest chicken and meats, and milk that is perfectly sweet. If the physician orders food served every three hours, carry the tray into the room on the stroke of the hour. He knows when the stomach requires nutrition, and unless you have been sick you can never understand what a terrible sinking sensation the patient experiences when the lunch hour is forgotten for even fifteen minutes. By making each menu just a little different from the one before, you can keep your invalid guessing. Anticipation creates appetite. If the tiny meal is delicately cooked and daintily served, it will probably be eaten with a relish.

Never offer a sick person as much as is required by a healthy appetite. a For the most nourishing kind of beef tea, choose a piece of meat from the lower part of the round. There is more juice in a piece of the animal which has been toughened by steady exercise than in a very tender cut.

If we wish to keep in the juices, the meat should be seared on the outside by exposing it to a strong heat, as in roasting, broiling, or boiling, but in this case the fiber should be rejected.

Free from fat, put through the finest knife of the meat chopper, and cover with a pint of cold water.

Heat slowly in a double boiler. In two hours the juices will be drawn out and the fiber left bleached white.

A square of wet cheese cloth may be doubled and spread over a strainer, and through this the chopped meat be wrung perfectly dry. The juice ought to be red. If it cooks long it will turn brown; then the albumen, which we wish to preserve in liquid form, would coagulate, taking from the beef tea most of its nutrition.

If the patient objects to the uncooked look of beef tea, serve in a red tumbler which is well heated, because the liquid cannot be brought t the boiling point.

Occasionally, a patient is found who has such an aversion to milk that he will not take it as a liquid.

Then try to include it in the menu in every possible form, that is, if the doctor prescribes it. It can be prepared as junket and clabbered milk; in custards, oyster and cream soups, eggnog, gruels, milk toast, cocoa, and blancmange; in the shape of cream served with cereals and soft puddings, and if chilled foods are allowed, give ice cream. Kumiss, for which a recipe is given in another chapter, is very nutritious and easily assimilated. In fact, it can be retained by a stomach which refuses almost every other sort of nourishment. It is invaluable in diseases where the patient is badly emaciated, and in dyspepsia, chronic vomiting, and diarrhea it is especially useful. If given the last thing at night to anyone suffering from insomnia, it often produces sleep. The recipe given in another chapter makes enough for a four-days' supply, and if it is to be steadily used, it ought to be made fresh every three or four days, as it will not keep longer.

Scraped Beef. - Tack down to a meat board with a couple of skewers pound of steak cut from the top of the round. With a sharp knife scrape it and lift off all the meaty substance, laying it on a platter.

When one side is scraped bare, turn over and get all that is possible off the other side; when finished, there will be nothing left but tough fher.

Mold the scraped meat with a knife into a little cake, and broil it over the coals for a few minutes. Season with pepper and salt, and serve on buttered toast.

Chicken Broth. - Cut up a small fowl, wash thoroughly, and skin it; also cut away all the fat possible.

Pour over it a quart of cold water, set it back far enough on the stove to take at least half an hour to come to a boil. Simmer very gently. When the meat begins to get tender, lift it out, strip it off the bones, and put the carcass back to simmer until all the good is out of it. Allow the soup to cool, and skim off the fat. Reheat, when needed, with a little rice, and serve quite hot. A nourishing veal soup may be made from a shank of veal in the same way.

Creamed Toast. -2 slices of bread; cupful of rice milk; 1 tablespoonful of butter; 1 teaspoonful of cornstarch; dash of salt. Toast the bread a delicate brown and butter lightly. Scald the milk, thicken slightly with cornstarch, season with salt, and pour over the toast. A very tasty dish of toast may be made from½ cupful of clam juice, taken fresh from steamed clams, and poured without thickening over toast.