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Elderly Ladies

Young people sometimes feel that it makes very little difference how mothers and grandmothers dress as long as they themselves can make as fair a show as the family circumstances allow a mistake which is unjust and prejudicial to all parties. It is a disgraceful, and in a great measure, a purely American notion, happily banished now from large cities, but still hanging about the country, that a young lady, even if her parents are not rich, must be gaily, and as far as possible, richly clothed, and be able to show soft jeweled hands, as white as the piano keys she touches deftly or otherwise, as the case may be, while mamma spends her overworked time in the meanest of clothes, and by reason of shabbiness is seldom seen by her daughter's friends, or by any one else except at church. Too often it is conscience rather than choice that takes her there, where the comfort of the service is swallowed in the consciousness of the utter forlornness and awkwardness of her appearance in obsolete dress and antiquated mantilla that were bought long before the daughters grew up to monopolize what little comfort and luxury life in narrow circumstances can give. The mother who allows herself to be set aside in this way, and brings up her daughters to feel that hers is the secondary place to theirs, fails dismally in her duty to them and reaps her reward in the want of respect rendered to her. But if the mother of a family is herself to blame for the want of nicety in her dress, the same can not always be said of the grandmother, whose failing strength takes her partially out of the active cares of life, and who ought to be the object of tender consideration from every one in the nousehold; and it should be every one's care to have her comfortable and well-dressed-an object of pride, a sort of show-piece, instead of a poor, pushed-aside, forlorn object, to be kept out of sight. Some clever writer says that a highly-presentable and well-appointed grandmother in a family is a patent of respectability.

There is no arbitrary dictum requiring certain things, but custom restricts them to a narrow choice of color-brown, purple, black, and gray being the only ones allowed. Artistically considered, brown should be also excluded, on account of its unbecomingness to the dull tints of hair, eyes, and complexion. The ideal dress for an old lady-and one may as well know what the ideal is, even if there is but small hope of investing it in the realis severely plain velvet, with soft tulle handkerchief folded across the breast, rich lace ruffles at the wrist to shade the withered hands, and a decorous cap, which makes no attempt to be a head-dress, but has protecting strings of lace or ribbon to tie loosely under the chin. We can not all dress our dear old grandmothers thus grandly and picturesquely, but we can make them comfortable, and fashion their clothes as tastefully as our means will allow, remembering that the love of pretty things to wear begins with a woman's life and. generally lasts as long as she does-perhaps she is never too old to be gratified with a pretty cap or dress. A black silk dress is not always a possible thing for an old lady, but if, by any economy the purchase can be made, it is a wise one, for it will last any length of time as a best dress, and be such a comfort to the owner as to repay any sacrifice incurred when it was bought. It should be made very plainly. If the lady is very stout, and likes the style, it can be made a close-fitting Gabrielle or princesse, but the usual style is preferable. The waist should fit comfortably, and, unless the wearer has delicate lungs, may be cut with the neck open down to the waist, and filled in with a lace or lawn handkerchief. An over-skirt is not too youthful, if it is not long and entirely unlooped, but many old ladies prefer single-skirted dresses. In that case the breadths are but little gored; the one in front may be shaped like an apron, and the others left straight and sewed upon the waistband in large plaits, except right in the center of the back, where they may be shirred for a short distance, to the depth of an inch or two. The bottom of the dress may be left plain, or may be bound with velvet instead of the usual braid, or may be trimmed with one or more wide flat bands or folds of the silk. The sleeves may be trimmed at the hand to correspond with the finish on the skirt; and if the waist is not open as suggested, a small square collar trimmed in the same way can be added. If circumstances do not allow the silk, black cashmere is certainly the next choice, and will be very handsome made up in the same way. It can be made to look richer by edging the folds and bias pieces with milliner's folds or narrow pipings of silk, Failing the cashmere, black alpaca of the best quality that can be afforded is the best substitute. Silk pipings are not so pretty upon this material, but their place may be taken by galloon, or the skirt may be set off by two groups, three or four in each, of narrow double folds of alpaca.

A comfortable and welcome fashion for old ladies, which was perhaps suggested by the rage for fichus of all kinds, is a shoulder cape, in shape like a Sontag, except that the fronts fasten like a dress with buttons, instead of being crossed. This is made of black silk, quilted in tiny diamonds over a single thickness of wadding, and edged with a double cord, or with a very narrow black lace plaited on. It can be worn with any dress, and is becoming SO much adopted by old ladies in the East that they frequently have cloth or crocheted capes of the same shape made to wear in change with the more dressy one.

Circulars are frequently mentioned in fashion journals as being well adapted to old ladies, but they are really far from being the best shape for their wraps, as, having no sleeves, they drag heavily from the neck, and become very tiresome. A better style is a loose-fitting double-breasted sacque, rather 'ong, but not enough SO to be heavy and burdensome. Caps and bonnets are delicate points, and the old lady whose means are too straightened to allow her to call professional skill to her aid (and even that is not always equal to the situation) is fortunate if she has a friendly relative with taste and capacity enough to undertake the critical task, which, to be successful, should be really a labor of love. The caps should be pure white, and the bonnets black. A well -defined border or ruche of white is pretty and becoming, but an indefinite mingling of black and white in either cap or bonnet is unbecoming. Small bonnets are out of the question for old ladies who need a shape that will amply protect the head, and even the back of the neck, where SO many nerves center that embrace so many nerves center that embrace the slightest opportunity of exposure to ache remorselessly. Still the bonnet must not be too large, unless to shade a large fat face; a small head and delicate features in a great coal-scuttle of a hat look like a caricature, and the beauty of a bonnet lies in its fitness.

They say there are no old women in modern times, so it would not be safe to mention an age to which the plainness of attire advocated in this article belongs. But it was designed for those who honestly feel themselves beyond the period when "One a charm from dress can borrow,' NOTE. The article "Dress Making at Home," is chiefly condensed from a series of arti cles which appeared in that excellent monthly, Andrews' Bazar," published by W.R. Andrews, New York.

In coloring always use plenty of water (soft water when obtainable); never crowd the goods, taking care that they float in the liquid. The rule is four gallons of water to one pound of goods. In rinsing always use plenty of clear water; and in preparing goods for coloring, clean off all dirt and grease spots. To test color of dye, pour it from a dish held high, and look through it to the light. A pound of extract of logwood is equal to four pounds of logwood chips. Fustic should be boiled in a sack of open texture. The other ingredients are put into the water. All black goods should be washed in soap-suds after coloring. Let every implement used about coloring be scrupulously clean. In preparing the goods, scour well with soap and water, washing the soap well out and dipping in warm water before placing in the dye. All goods should be well aired, rinsed, and hung out carefully after dyeing. Silks and delicate fabrics must be handled tenderly, or injury will be done. In case a very large quantity of goods are to be dyed, a slightly smaller proportion of water than the rule above given may be used. The "Family Dyes," lately introduced and now kept for sale by all druggists, are very convenient and give good results. They are aniline dyes, and come in the form of a powder, put up in papers, and labeled with full instructions for using. The preparations for using these dyes are very simple, and no experience is required if the instructions are implicitly followed. The color card shows the exact shade of the color you select, and there is no trouble in experimenting to get the right shade. Besides, the dyes are cheap and the results are equal to those produced by the profes sional dyer. There are several manufacturers of aniline dyes, and inquiry at the nearest drug store will secure all the information as to prices, colors, etc. that may be desired by any lady.

COLOR BETWEEN PURPLE AND BLUE FOR WOOL OR SILK. -For four pounds of goods, take bichromate of potash one ounce, and alum one and a quarter goods, take bichromate of potash one ounce, and alum one and a quarter ounces; dissolve and bring water to boiling point; put in goods and boil one hour; then empty dye and make new with one pound logwood (or onefourth pound extract of logwood), and boil goods in this one hour longer. Use more logwood to make color darker, or less to make it lighter.

BLEACH FOR WOOL, SILK, OR STRAW. -Mix one pound oxalic acid, one pound table salt, and twelve gallons water; lay goods in this mixture for table salt, and twelve gallons water; lay goods in this mixture for one hour; ; remove and thoroughly rinse and nse and work.

SCARLET FOR WOOL. -For ten pounds flannel or yarn, take two and a half pounds of ground lac dye, one and a half pounds scarlet spirit (see recipe), of ground lac dye, one and a half pounds scarlet spirit (see recipe), half pound tartar, one and one-fifth ounces flavine (or according to shade (620) desired), one and a fifth ounces tin crystals, half pound muriatic acid. Boil all together for fifteen minutes; cool to 170° Fah.; put in goods, handling quickly at first, then boil one hour, rinse while hot, before gum and impurities harden. A small quantity of sulphuric acid may be added to this recipe, to dissolve gum. This scarlet stands soap better than cochineal. SCARLET SPIRIT. - Two pounds muriatic acid (22° B.), two ounces feathered tin, and one-fourth pound water. Place acid in a stoneware jar, add the tin, let it dissolve, and keep a few days before using. The tin is feathered by melting it and pouring it from a height of five or six feet into a pailful of water. This spirit is used in certain colors, particularly scarlets, orange, and pink.

COCHINEAL SCARLET. -For five pounds of wool, yarn, or cloth, take two ounces cream tartar, one and a fourth ounces of pulverized cochineal, one pound scarlet spirit; boil the dye; dip the goods, working them well for fifteen minutes; then boil one and a half hours, slowly stirring the goods all the while; take out, wash in clear water, and dry in doors or in the shade. PURPLE DYE.-For ten pounds of goods, use alum twelve ounces, muriate of tin one teacupful, pulverized cochineal two ounces, cream of tartar eight ounces. Boil the alum, tin, and cream of tartar for twenty minutes; add the cochineal, and boil five minutes; immerse the goods two hours; remove and enter them in a new dye composed of Brazil wood twelve pounds, logwood two pounds, alum one pound, muriate of tin two cupsful, adding a little extract of indigo, made as follows:

EXTRACT OF INDIGO. - Take oil of vitriol two pounds, and stir into it finely, pulverized indigo eight ounces, stirring briskly for the first half-hour, then cover it up, and stir four or five times daily for a few days; then add a little pulverized chalk, stirring it up, and keep adding it as long as it foams. It will neutralize the acid. Keep it closely corked. LIGHT SILVER DRAB.-For ten pounds of goods, use logwood two ounces, alum about the same quantity; boil well, enter the goods, and dip them for one hour. Grade the color to any desired shade by using equal parts of logwood and alum.

CHROME BLACK FOR WOOL. -For ten pounds of goods, use blue vitriol twelve ounces; boil it a short time, then dip the wool or fabric threequarters of an hour, airing frequently; take out goods, and make a dye with logwood six pounds; boil half an hour, dip three quarters of an hour; air the goods, and dip quarter of an hour longer; wash in strong soap suds. A good fast color.

DARK SNUFF BROWN ON WOOL. -For ten pounds of goods, take camwood two pounds; boil for twenty minutes then dip the goods for three-quarters of an hour; then take them out, and add to the dye fustic five pounds; boil twelve minutes, and dip the goods three-quarters of an hour; then add blue vitriol two ounces, copperas eight ounces; dip again forty minntes; add more copperas, if the shade is required darker.

WINE COLOR DYE. -For ten pounds of goods, use camwood two pounds; boil twenty minutes; dip the goods half an hour; boil again, and dip forty minutes; then darken with blue vitriol three ounces; and should you wish it darker, add one pound of copperas.

PINK DYE FOR WOOL. For ten pounds of goods, take alum one pound; boil, and immerse the goods fifty minutes; then add to the dye cochineal well pulverized three ounces, cream of tartar twelve ounces; boil, and enter the goods while boiling, until the color is satisfactory. ORANGE DYE.-For ten pounds of goods, use argal ten ounces, muriate of tin two gills; boil, and dip one hour; then add to the dye, fustic five pounds, madder one pint, and dip again forty minutes. If preferred, cochineal four ounces may be used instead of the madder, as a better color is induced by it.

SKY BLUE ON COTTON. - Ten pounds of goods, blue vitriol one pound: boil a short time, then enter the goods, dip three hours, and transfer to a bath of strong lime water. A fine brown color will be imparted to the goods if they are then put through a solution of prussiate of potash. A BROWN DYE ON WOOL may be induced by a decoction of white oak bark, with variety of shade according to the quantity employed. If the goods be first passed through a solution of alum the color will be brightened. BROWN ON COTTON. - Catecheu, or terra japonica, gives cotton a brown color, blue vitriol turns it on the bronze, green copperas darkens it, when applied as a mordant and the stuff boiled in the bath boiling hot. Acetate of alumina, as a mordant, brightens it. The French color named "Carmelite" is given with catechu one pound, verdigris four ounces, and sal ammoniac five ounces.

BROWN ON WOOL AND SILK.-Infusion or decoction of walnut-peels dyes wool and silk brown color, which is brightened by alum. Horse chestnut peels also impart a brown color; a mordant of muriate of tin turns it on the bronze; and sugar of lead the reddish-brown.

SOLITAIRE.-Sulphate or muriate of manganese, dissolved in water with a little tartaric acid, imparts this beautiful bronze tint. The stuff after being put through the solution must be turned through a weak lye of potash, and afterward through another of chloride of lime, to brighten and fix it. Prussiate of copper gives a bronze or yellowish-brown color to silk. The piece wellmordanted with blue vitriol may be passed through a solution of prussiate of potash.

FULLER'S PURIFIER FOR CLOTHS. - Dry, pulverize, and sift the following ingredients: Fuller's earth six pounds, French chalk four ounces, pipeclay one pound; make into a paste with rectified oil of turpentine one ounce, alcohol two ounces, melted oil soap one and a half pounds. Make up the mixture into cakes of any desired size, keeping them in water or small wooden boxes. A less quantity can be made by using same proportions. GREEN ON COTTON. -For ten pounds of goods, use fustic two and a half pounds, blue vitriol two and a half ounces, soft soap one pint, and logwood chips four ounces. Soak the logwood over night in a brass vessel; put it on the fire in the morning, adding the other ingredients. When quite hot it is ready for dyeing; enter the goods at once, and handle well. Different shades may be obtained by letting part of the goods remain longer in the dye.

PINK DYE FOR COTTON. -For ten pounds of goods, use redwood one pound, muriate of tin half a pound; boil the redwood one hour, turn off into a large vessel, add the muriate of tin, and put in the goods; let it stand a few minutes (five or ten), and a nice pink will be produced. It is quite a fast color.

YELLOW ON SILK. -For ten pounds goods, use sugar of lead seven and a half ounces, alum two pounds; enter the goods, and let them remain twelve hours; remove them, drain, and make a new dye with fustic one pounds. Immerse until the color suits.

RED DYE FOR WOOL. -For ten pounds of goods, make a tolerably thick paste of lac dye and sulphuric acid, and allow it to stand for a day. Now take tartar one pound, tin liquor half a pound, and twelve ounces of the above paste; make a hot bath with sufficient water, and enter the goods for three-quarters of an hour; afterwards carefully rinse and dry. YELLOW ON COTTON. -For ten pounds goods, use sugar of lead one pound, dip the goods two hours. Make a new dye with bichromate of potash half a pound; dip until the color suits; wring out and dry; if not yellow enough, repeat the operation.

VIOLET DYE ON SILK OR WOOL. -A good violet dye may be given by passing the goods first through a solution of verdigris, then through a decoction of logwood, and lastly alum water. A fast violet may be given by dyeing the goods crimson with cochineal, without alum or tartar, and, after rinsing, passing them through the indigo vat. Linens or cottons are first galled with eighteen per cent. of gall nuts; next passed through a mordant of alum, iron liquor, and sulphate of copper, working them well; then worked in a madder bath made with an equal weight of root; and lastly brightened with soap or soda.

SLATE DYE ON SILK. -For a small quantity, take a pan of warm water and about a teacupful of logwood liquor, pretty strong, and a piece of pearl ash the size of a nut; take gray colored goods and handle a little in this liquid, and it is finished. If too much logwood is used, the color will be too dark. For a straw color on silk, use swartweed; boil in a brass vessel, and set with alum.

LILAC DYE ON SILK.-For five pounds of silk, use archil seven and a half pounds; mix it well with the liquor; make it boil quarter of an hour; dip the silk quickly, then let it cool, and wash it in river water, and a fine halfviolet, or lilac, more or less full, will be obtained. GREEN DYE ON SILK. -Take green ebony, boil it in water, and let it settle; take the clear liquor, as hot as you can bear your hands in it, and handle your goods in it until of a bright yellow; then take water and put in a little sulphate of indigo; handle your goods in this till of the shade desired. The ebony may previously be boiled in a bag to prevent it sticking to the silk. BROWN ON SILK. -Dissolve annatto one pound, pearl ash four pounds, in boiling water, and pass the silk through it for two hours; then take it out, squeeze it well and dry; next give it a mordant of alum, and pass it first through a bath of Brazil-wood, and afterward through a bath of logwood to which a little green copperas has been added; wring it out and dry; afterward rinse well. MULBERRY ON SILK.-For five pounds of silk, use alum one pound and a quarter; dip fifty minutes; wash out, and make a dye with Brazil-wood five ounces and logwood one and a quarter ounces, by boiling together; dip in this half an hour; then add more Brazil-wood and logwood, equal parts, until the color suits.

GREEN DYE ON WOOL AND SILK. - Equal quantities of yellow oak and hickory bark; make a strong yellow bath by boiling; shade to the desired tint, by adding a small quantity of extract of indigo. ORANGE DYE.-For ten pounds of goods, use sugar of lead half a pound; boil fifteen minutes; when a little cool, enter the goods, and dip for two hours; wring them out, make a fresh dye with bichromate of potash one pound, madder quarter of a pound; immerse until of the desired color. The shade may be varied by dipping in lime-water.

BLUE ON COTTON. -For ten pounds of goods, use copperas half a pound; boil, and dip twenty minutes; then dip in soap-suds, and return to the dye three or four times; then make a new bath with prussiate of potash two ounces, oil of vitriol one-third of a pint; boil half an hour; rinse out and dry.

SOLFERINO AND MAGENTA DYES ON WHITE WOOLEN, SILK, OR COTTON AND WOOLEN MIXTURES. -For one pound of woolen goods, Magenta shade, ninetysix grains, apothecaries' weight, of aniline red will be required; dissolve in a little warm alcohol, using-say-six fluid ounces of alcohol, or about six gills alcohol, per ounce of aniline. Many dyers use wood spirit, because of its cheapness. For a Solferino shade use sixty-four grains aniline red, dissolved in four ounces alcohol, to each pound of goods. Cold water, one quart, will dissolve these small quantities of aniline red, but the cleanest and quickest way will be found by using the alcohol or wood spirit. Clean the cloth and goods by steeping, at a gentle heat, in weak soap suds; rinse in several messes of clean water, and lay aside moist. The alcoholic solution of aniline is to be added from time to time to the warm or hot dye bath, till the color on the goods is of the desired shade. The goods are to be removed from the dye bath before each addition of the alcoholic solution, and the bath is to be well stirred before the goods are returned. The alcoholic solution should be first dropped into a little water, and well mixed, and the mixture should then be strained into the dye bath. If the color is not dark enough after working from twenty to thirty minutes, repeat the removal of the goods from the bath and the addition of the solution, and the re-immersion of the goods from fifteen to thirty minutes more, or until suited; then remove from the bath and rinse in several messes of clean water, and dry in the shade. Use about four gallons water for dye bath for one pound of goods; less water for larger quantities.

LIQUID DYE COLORS.-1. Blue. - Dilute Saxon blue, or sulphate of indigo, with water. If required for delicate work, neutralize with chalk. 2. Purple. -Add a little alum to a strained decoction of logwood. 3. Green.-Dissolve sap green in water, and add a little alum. 4. Yellow. -Dissolve annatto in a weak lye of subcarbonate of soda, or potash. 5. Golden color. -Steep French berries in hot water, strain, and add a little gum and alum. 6. Red.-Dissolve carmine in ammonia, or in weak carbonate of potash water; or infuse powdered cochineal in water, strain, and add a little gum in water. The preceding colors, thickened with a little gum, may be used as inks in writing, or as colors to tint maps, foils, artificial flowers, etc., or to paint on velvet. TO CLEANSE WOOL. - Make a hot bath composed of water four parts, urine one part; enter the wool, opening it out to admit the full action of the liquid; after twenty minutes' immersion, remove from the liquid, and allow it to drain; then rinse it in clean running water, and spread out to dry. The liquid is good for subsequent operations; only keep up the propertions, and use no soap.

VIOLET DYE ON STRAW BONNETS. -Take alum four pounds, tartaric acid one pound, chloride of tin one pound. Dissolve and boil; allow the hats to remain in the boiling solution two hours; then add as much of a decoction of logwood and carmine of indigo as is requisite to induce the desired shade; and lastly, rinse finally in water in which some alum has been dissolved. SILVER GRAY DYE ON STRAW. -For five hats-select the whitest hats, and soften them in a bath of crystallized soda, to which some clean lime water has been added, (See "Lime water.") Boil for two hours, in a large vessel, using for bath a decoction of the following, viz.: alum one pound, tartaric acid one-tenth of a pound, some ammoniacal cochineal, and carmine of indigo; a little sulphuric acid may be necessary in order to neutralize the alkali of the cochineal dye. If the last-mentioned ingredients are used, let the hats remain for an hour longer in the boiling bath, then rinse in slightly acidulated water.

LIME WATER FOR DYERS' USE. -Put stone lime one pound, and strong limewater one and a half pounds, into a pail of water; rummage well for seven or eight minutes; then let it rest until the lime is precipitated and the water clear; add this quantity to a tubful of clear water. ANILINE GREEN ON SILK.-Iodine green, or night green, dissolves easily in warm water. For a liquid dye, one pound may be dissolved in one gallon alcohol, and mixed with two gallons water containing one ounce sulphuric acid.

TO DYE ANILINE SCARLET. -For every ten pounds of goods dissolve half a pound white vitriol (sulphate of zinc), at 180° Fah.; place the goods into this bath for ten minutes; then add the color, prepared by boiling for a few minutes, quarter of a pound aniline scarlet in three-quarters of a gallon water, stirring the same continually. This solution has to be filtered before being added to the bath. The goods remain in the latter for fifteen minutes, when they have become browned, and must be boiled for another half hour in the same bath after the addition of sal-ammoniac. The more of this is added the deeper will be the shade.

BISMARCK BROWN FOR DYEING. - Mix together one pound Bismarck, five gallons water, and three-quarters of a pound sulphuric acid. This paste dissolves easily in hot water, and may be used directly for dyeing. A liquid dye may be prepared by making the bulk of the above mixture to two gallons, with alcohol. To dye with the above mixture, sour with sulphuric acid; add a quantity of sulphate of soda, immerse the wool, and add the color by small portions, keeping the temperature under 212° Fah. Very interesting shades may be developed by combining the color with indigo paste or picric acid.

TO DYE WOOL WITH ANILINE GREEN. - For wool, prepare two baths-one containing the dissolved dye and a quantity of carbonate of soda or borax. In this the wool is placed, and the temperature is raised to 212º Fah. A grayish green is produced, which must be brightened and fixed in a second bath of water 100° Fah., to which some acetic acid has been added. Cotton. requires preparation by sumac.

ANILINE BLUE. -To ten pounds of fabric, dissolve two ounces aniline blue in three-tenths of a quart hot alcohol; strain through a filter. and add it to a bath of 130° Fah.; also one pound glauber salts, and half a pound acetic acid: enter the goods, and handle them well for twenty minutes; next heat it slowly to 200° Fah.; then add half a pound sulphuric acid diluted with water; let the whole boil twenty minutes longer; then rinse and dry. If the aniline be added in two or three proportions during the process of coloring, it will facilitate the evenness of the color.

ANILINE RED.--Inclose the aniline in a small muslin bag; have a kettle (tin or brass) filled with moderately hot water, and rub the substance out; then immerse the goods to be colored, and in a short time they are done. It improves the color to wring the goods out of strong soap-suds before putting them in the dye. This is a permanent color on wool or silk. ANILINE VIOLET AND PURPLE. -Acidulate the bath by sulphuric acid, or use sulphate of soda-both these substances render the shade bluish. Dye at 212º Fah. To give a fair middle shade to ten pounds of wool, a quantity of solution equal to one-half to three-quarters of an ounce of the solid dye will be required. The color of the dyed fabric is improved by washing in soap and water, and then passing through a bath soured by sulphuric acid. ANILINE BLACK FOR DYEING. - Water twenty to thirty parts, chlorate of potassa one part, sal-ammoniac one part, chloride of copper one part, aniline hydrochloric acid one part, previously mixed together. It is essential that the preparation should be acid, and the more acid it is the more rapid will be the production of the blacks; if too much so, it may injure the fabric. ANILINE BROWN DYE. -Dissolve one pound of the brown in two gallons of spirit, specific gravity 8200; add a sufficient quantity to the dye bath, and immerse the fabric. Wool possesses a very strong affinity for this color, and no mordant is required.

TO BLEACH FEATHERS. - Place the feathers from three to four hours in a tepid dilute solution of bichromate of potassa, to which, cautiously, some nitric acid has been added (a small quantity only). To remove a greenish hue induced by this solution, place them in a dilute solution of sulphuric acid, in water, whereby the feathers become perfectly white and bleached. TO CLEAN STRAW BONNETS.-First brush them with soap and water, then with a solution of oxalic acid.

CRIMSON FOR SILK. -For one pound of silk, alum three ounces; dip, at hand-heat, one hour; take out, and drain, while making a new dye, by boiling ten minutes, cochineal three ounces, bruised gall-nuts two ounces, and cream of tartar half an ounce, in one pail of water; when a little cool, begin to dip, raising the heat to a boil, continuing to dip one hour; wash and dry.

CINNAMON OR BROWN ON COTTON AND SILK.-Give the goods as much color from a solution of blue vitriol (two ouces to water one gallon) as it will take up in dipping fifteen minutes; then run it through lime-water; this will make a beautiful sky-blue of much durability; it has now to be run through a solution of prussiate of potash, one ounce to water one gallon. TO COLOR STRAW HATS OR BONNETS A BEAUTIFUL SLATE. - First soak the bonnet in rather strong warm suds for fifteen minutes, to remove sizing or stiffening; then rinse in warm water, to get out the soap; now scald cudbear one ounce in sufficient water to cover the hat or bonnet; work the hat or bonnet in this dye, at 180° of heat, until you get a light-purple; now have a bucket of cold water, blued with the extract of indigo half an ounce, and work or stir the bonnet in this until the tint pleases; dry, then rinse out with cold water, and dry again in the shade. If you get the purple too deep in shade, the final slate will be too dark.

TO CLEAN OSTRICH FEATHERS. -Cut some white curd soap in small pieces, pour boiling water on them, and add a little pearl ash. When the soap is quite dissolved and the mixture cool enough for the hand to bear, plunge the feathers into it, and draw them through the hand till the dirt appears squeezed out of them; pass them through a clean lather with some blue in it; then rinse them in cold water with blue, to give them a good color. Beat them against the hand, to shake off the water, and dry by shaking them near a fire. When perfectly dry, coil each fiber separately with a blunt knife or ivory folder.

TO CLEAN FURS.-For dark furs, warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, taking care that it does not burn, to prevent which it must be briskly stirred. When well warmed, rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand. Repeat this two or three times; then shake the fur, and give it another sharp brushing, until free from dust. For white furs, lay them on a table, and rub well with bran made moist with warm water; rub until quite dry, and afterward with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel; then dry with book muslin. Light furs, in addition to the above, should be well rubbed with magnesia, or a piece of book muslin, after the bran process, against the way of the fur.

CHIP OR STRAW HATS OR BONNETS may be dyed black by boiling them three or four hours in a strong liquor of logwood. adding a little copperas occasionally. Let the bonnets remain in the liquor all night; then take out to dry in the air; if the black is not satisfactory, dye again after drying. Rub inside and out with a sponge moistened in fine oil; then block. Red Dye. Boil ground Brazil-wood in a lye of potash, and boil your straw hats, etc., in it. Blue Dye. -Take a sufficient quantity of potash lye, one pound of litmus, or lacmus, ground; make a decoction, and then put in the straw, and boil it.

METHOD OF BLEACHING STRAW. - Dip the straw in a solution of cxygenated muriatic acid saturated with potash. (Oxygenated muriate of lime is much cheaper.) The straw is thus rendered very white, and its flexibility is increased. BLEACHING STRAW GOODS. - Straw is bleached by simply exposing it in a closed chamber to the fumes of burning sulphur-an old flour barrel is the apparatus most used for the purpose by milliners, a flat stone being laid on the ground, the sulphur ignited thereon, and the barrel, containing the goods to be bleached, turned over it. The goods should be previously washed in pure water.

VARNISH FOR FADED RUBBER GOODS.-Black Japan varnish diluted with a little linseed oil.

TO BLEACH LINEN. -Mix common bleaching powder in the proportion of one pound to a gallon of water; stir it occasionally for three days; let it settle, and pour it off clear Then make a lye of one pound of soda to one gallon of boiling soft water, in which soak the linen for twelve hours, and boil it half an hour. Next soak it in the bleaching liquor, made as above; and, lastly, wash it in the usual manner. Discolored linen or muslin may be restored by putting a portion of bleaching liquor into the tub wherein the articles are soaking.

DYE FOR FEATHERS. - Black-Immerse for two or three days in a bath, at first hot, of logwood eight parts, and copperas, or acetate of iron, one part. Blue-with the indigo vat. Brown-by using any of the brown dyes for silk or woolen. Crimson-a mordant of alum, followed by a hot bath of Brazilwood, afterward by a weak dye of cudbear. Pink or Rose-with safflower or lemon juice. Plum-with the red dye, followed by an alkaline bath. Red -a mordant of alum, followed by a bath of Brazil-wood. Yellow-a mordant of alum, followed by a bath of turmeric or weld.

Green Dye-take of verdigris and verditer, of each one ounce, gum water one pint; mix them well, and dip the feathers, they having been first soaked in hot water, into the said mixture. For Purple, use lake and indigo. For Carnation, vermillion and smalt. Thin gum or starch water should be used in dyeing feathers. COLORS FOR ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. - The French employ velvet, fine cambric, and kid for the petals, and taffeta for the leaves. Very recently thin plates of bleached whalebone have been used for some portions of the artificial flowers. Colors and Stains :-Blue-Indigo, dissolved in oil of vitriol, and the acid partly neutralized with salt of tartar or whiting. Green-a solution of distilled verdigris. Lilac-liquid archil. Redcarmine dissolved in a solution of salt of tartar, or in spirits of hartshorn. Violet-liquid archil, mixed with a little salt of tartar. Yellow-tincture of turmeric. The colors are generally applied with the fingers.

BLACK VARNISH FOR CHIP AND STRAW HATS. - Best alcohol four ounces, pulverized black sealing-wax one ounce put them into a phial, and put the phial into a warm place, stirring or shaking occasionally until the wax is dissolved. Apply it, when warm, before the fire or in the sun. This makes fire or in the sun. a beautiful gloss.

DYES FOR FURS.-Brown-use tincture of logwood. Red-ground Brazilwood half a pound, water one and a half quarts, cochineal half an ounce; boil the Brazil-wood in the water one hour; strain and add the cochineal; boil fifteen minutes. Scarlet color-boil half an ounce saffron in half a pint of water, and pass over the work before applying the red. Bluelogwood seven ounces, blue vitriol one ounce, water twenty-two ounces; boil. Purple-logwood eleven ounces, alum six ounces, water twenty-nine ounces. Green-strong vinegar one. and a half pints, best verdigris two ounces (ground fine), sap green one-quarter of an ounce mix all together, and beil.

TO RAISE A NAP ON CLOTH. - Clean the article well; soak it in cold water for half an hour ; put it on a board, and rub the thread-bare parts with a half-worn hatter's card filled with flocks, or with a teazle, or a prickly thistle until a nap is raised then lay the nap the right way with a hatter's brush, and hang up to dry.

FINE CLARET FOR WOOL.-Boil thirteen pounds of goods two hours with seven pounds of camwood, one-tenth pound logwood, and one fourth pound of copperas to darken.

RUSSIAN BROWN FOR WOOL.-For thirteen pounds goods, boil two pounds fustic and four pounds camwood an hour, and if too light color, add onetenth pound each copperas and alum to darken. BOTTLE-GREEN FOR WOOL.-Boil ten pounds wool with one-tenth pound chrome and one-fifth pound alum; take out, put in a vessel of clean water three pounds fustic and one and a half pounds logwood, and boil another hour.

BLACK FOR WOOL. -For twenty-five pounds of goods, boil goods in a solution of five-eights pounds each bichromate potash and blue vitriol, and one-half pound argol, one hour; take out, re-fill kettle with clean water, and add three pounds dissolved extract of logwood; put in goods, and simmer one hour and a half; take out, rinse, scour with soap, and dry. This makes a blue-black. To make a jet-black, add three pounds fustic with the logwood.

BLUE FOR COTTON. -Put ten pounds cotton, two and a half pounds copperas, in niteen to twenty gallons water, and boil two hours; after boiling, take out, rinse in clear water, re-fill kettle with water, and add one-half pound prussiate of potash. Boil goods in this half an hour, lift out half goods, half an hour, lift out goods, and slowly add one half pound oil of vitriol; return goods, and boil an vitriol; return goods, and boil half an hour. Rinse in clear water, and dry.

GREEN FOR COTTON. -Add eight pounds fustic and one-half pound alum to the blue mixture of the preceding rule, put in goods, and simmer until the required shade of green is obtained.

CHROME-YELLOW FOR COTTON. -For fifteen pounds cotton goods or yarns, dissolve eight ounces of white sugar of lead in one tub, and eight ounces of chrome in another. Put goods first in with sugar of lead, wring out goods well, and shake back into the liquid again, repeating the operation five times (in order to make the goods absorb as much color as possible); then put them through the chrome tub in the same way; then return again to the sugar of lead tub; treat as before; rinse off well, and dry. To make a dark shade, use brown sugar of lead, repeating three times in the sugar of lead and twice in the chrome.

A GOOD BLACK FOR COTTON. - To a tub of cold water add, for twenty pounds goods, five pounds sumac; wring and shake out goods, and return to liquid a few times; let stand all night in sumac; then to another tub of water add a few pails of lime-water; put in goods, wring out, and put into another tub of cold water in which is two pounds of dissolved copperas and a pailful of old sumac liquor; wring out six times; wring out, and put into the lime-tub again, adding two more pails of lime-water. Prepare another tub of water, and adding to it six pounds of logwood and one pound of fustic previously scalded; put in the cotton, and wring out and return ten times; lift out, darken liquid with a little copperas, and return the goods. The omission of the sumac gives a purplish black, while the recipe as above gives a jet black.

TO DYE BLUE. - A very beautiful blue may be produced in an hour by the following process: "For each pound of material take two and a half ounces of alum and one and a half of cream tartar. Boil them together in a brass or copper kettle for about an hour. Take sufficient warm water to cover the goods, and color it to the shade you may desire with chemic blue. Put all into the copper kettle, and boil it a short time, taking care to keep it stirred all the time; remove the cloth, wash in clear cold water, and hang up to dry ."

ROYAL BLUE FOR SILK. -Take ten pounds of silk, make up a tub of nitrate of iron at six degrees, to which add one pint of good muriate of tin and four ounces of tartaric acid; wring out and return, repeating for about an hour; in another tub, add one and a half pounds of dissolved prussiate and one gill of oil of vitriol. Wash goods out of iron tub, and put into prussiate tub; repeat in iron twice and once in prussiate; wash out of the iron, and put in a tub in which oil of vitriol, until it tastes sour, has been dissolved; give six wrings to clear of any rust that may adhere to it. More prussiate will produce a darker, and a less a lighter color, but the same quantity of iron and tin must be used.

YELLOW-BROWN FOR WOOLEN YARN. - For ten bunches, dye with two pounds of camwood , five pounds fustic, and one each of logwood and copperas. SCARLET FOR WOOLEN YARN. - Boil eight pounds yarn one hour with onehalf pound cochineal, two pounds of young fustic, seven-tenths of a pound pound cochineal, two pounds of young fustic, seven-tenths of a pound of white or brown tartar, threetenths of a quart of oxalic muriate of tin. PURPLE FOR LADIES' CLOTH. - For twenty-five yards goods, boil two and a half hours with ten pounds of alum, two pounds of argol, and one-fourth of hours with ten pounds of alum, two pounds of argol, and one-fourth of a quart nitrate of tin; wash well, and finish with seven and a half pounds logwood and one pound of peach-wood in a clean vessel. Put in cool in finishing, and heat to boiling-point.

When people fall sick they seem to lose what little common sense they possessed when well. Men and women who are reasonably wise and reasonable in other matters, cherish the most absurd superstitions, and follow the advice of the most transparent quacks when it comes to disease and medicine. A little reflection will convince any reasonable person that no single medicine will cure all diseases, indeed no medicine will cure the same disease in different persons, and in different stages. Any candid physician will admit that the use of medicines by the most skillful and experienced practitioner, is, to a great extent, an experiment. What is "one man's meat is another's poison," and even the best physician needs to know the constitution of the patient, and to study the symptoms of disease before he can prescribe safely, to say nothing of curing the disease. And yet there are intelligent men and women who buy patent nostrums, and pour them down their throats, knowing nothing of the disease, or of the probable effect of the alleged remedy. For instance, a child has a cough and a "cough remedy" is purchased and dealt out. Now, there are many kinds of coughs. The cough may be "dry," or it may be "loose;" the symptoms may differ in various ways, and yet the "cough remedy" given for a "dry" cough may be intended for a "loose" one, and so all the symptoms may be aggravated, perhaps, with a fatal result. The physician's advice and experience is chiefly valuable to tell us what the disease is and the best possible treatment for it. It is dangerous in the extreme to administer any powerful remedy, or any medicine the nature and effect of which are not known, without the advice of some one who knows the disease and its probable effect. The household medicine chest should contain only simple remedies, the effect of which, at worst, can not be very injurious; and in all dangerous or violent diseases a physician should be promptly called. FOR COLDS, drink hot pennyroyal tea.

GLYCERINE is excellent to rub on chafes, burns, or chapped hands or sun scalds.

FOR BURNS.-Lime-water, olive-oil, and glycerine, equal parts; applied on lint.

LINIMENT.-Three ounces each of tincture of opium, camphorated oil, and soap liniment.

FOR JAUNDICE. -The yolk of an egg, raw or slightly cooked, is excellent food in jaundice.

FOR QUINSY, gargle with water as hot as can be borne. This gives great relief, even in severe cases.

LINIMENT. The common May-weed blossoms put in alcohol are much superior to arnica for the same use.

TO CHECK VOMITING- Give a tea-spoon of whole black mustard seed. A table-spoon may be given in severe cases. (629), FOR SICK HEADACHE. - Whenever the symptoms are felt coming on, drink a cupful of thoroughwort or boneset-tea.

FOR STIFF JOINTS. -Oil made by trying up common angle worms, is excellent to apply to sinews drawn up by sprains or disease. PLEURISY.-Oiled silk placed over the chest of those suffering from pneumonia or pleurisy, will give great relief and hasten recovery. FOR RHEUMATISM. - To one pint alcohol, add one table-spoon pulverized potash, and a lump of gum-camphor the size of a walnut. Use as a liniment. CHRONIC DIARRHOEA is cured by drinking orange-peel tea; sweeten with loaf-sugar, and use as a common drink for twenty-four to thirty-six hours. TO STOP BLEEDING. - Apply wet tea-leaves, or scrapings of sole-leather to a fresh cut and it will stop the bleeding, or apply a paste of flour and vinegar.

TO STOP BLEEDING AT THE NOSE. - Bathe the feet in very hot water, drinking at the same time a pint of cayenne pepper tea, or hold both arms above the head.

FOR DRESSING CUTS, WOUNDS OR SORES. -Surgeon's solution of carbolic acid and pure glycerine mixed in equal parts, and applied on soft lint or linen cloth.

DIRT IN THE EYE. -To remove specks of dirt from the eye, immerse the eye in cool water, then wink and roll the eyeball until the desired result is accomplished.

HOARSENESS. It is said hoarseness may be relieved by using the white of an egg, thoroughly beaten, mixed with lemon-juice and sugar. Take a teaspoonful occasionally. REMEDY FOR PILES. - Mix a tea-spoon of sulphur with a tea-cup of milk, and take twice a day, morning and night, until improvement takes place; then take occasionally.

WOUND FROM RUSTY NAIL. - Smoke this or any inflamed wound over the fume of burning woolen cloth, wool or sugar, for fifteen minutes, and the pain will be taken out.

FOR SPRAINS.-The white of an egg, and salt mixed to a thick paste is one of the best remedies for sprains, or bruises, or lameness, for man or beast. Rub well the part affected.

TO PREVENT SEA-SICKNESS. - Make a pad of wool or horse hair, and bind over the stomach. Brandy and water, very weak, is the best remedy ta allay the heat and irritation.

A VALUABLE LINIMENT. - One ounce wormwood to one pint alcohol. Or, bruise the green stalks of wormwood, moisten with vinegar, and apply to the sprain. Good for man or beast.

TO RELIEVE ASTHMA. - Wet blotting-paper in strong solution of saltpetre, dry it, and burn a piece three inches square on a plate in sleepingroom, and it will afford quick relief. MANNA AND MILK. -Take a quart of fresh skim milk, and boil in it one ounce of manna; drinking this quantity cool, in small draughts, at intervals during the day, is good for consumptives.

TO PREVENT SKIN FROM DISCOLORING AFTER A BRUISE. - Apply immedi-- ately, or as soon as possible, a little dry starch or arrow-root, moistened with. cold water, or rub over with common table butter.

SICK HEADACHE.-Elixir of guarana, prepared by Brewer & Co., Springfield, Mass. Take one tea-spoon every half hour until four have been taken, on the first intimation that the headache is coming on. HOT WATER FOR A COUGH. -For a tight, hoarse cough, where phlegm is not raised, or with difficulty, take hot water often, as hot as can be sipped. This will be found to give immediate and permanent relief. SPRAINS OR LAMENESS. -Two ounces camphorated spirits, two ounces sweet oil, two ounces ammonia, two ounces chloroform; shake well before using, and rub it in by a fire. It is very excellent for a family liniment. CHEROKEE LINIMENT. - One ounce gum-camphor, dissolved in alcohol, one ounce each of spirits turpentine, sweet oil, hemlock oil, origanum oil, and cedar oil, two ounces spirits hartshorn. Use externally. Shake well before using.

FOR BURNS OR BRUISES. - Apply peach-tree leaves, the smooth side next the skin, and bind them on. For burns, when there is danger of mortification, or even if it has already set in, bind on strips of cloth dipped in clean tar.

SALVE FOR CUTS AND BURNS.-To one-half pound of sweet lard add onefourth pound of beeswax and the same of resin; beat all together till well mixed; pour in a little tin box. Apply a little to the wound on a soft cotton cloth.

FOR IVY POISONING. -A simple and effectual remedy for ivy poisoning, is said to be sweet spirits of nitre. Bathe the affected parts two or three times during the day, and the next morning scarcely any trace of the poison will remain.

FOR THE LUNGS. -A quart (or less if too strong) of tar, stirred six minutes in a gallon of water, and one-fourth, or a tumbler, taken four times a day, an hour or two after meals, is said to clear the lungs, and give greater ease in public speaking.

SLEEPLESSNESS. - Wet a cloth in cold water, and lay it on the back of the neck. Fold a towel smoothly over it, and very often it will soothe the weary brain, and quiet the nerves better than an opiate. It is particularly useful in case of a dull headache.

BEE STINGS. Any absorbent will give relief from bee stings, but perhaps nothing is more effectual than lean raw meat. The sting of a bee or wasp may be almost instantly relieved by it. It is said to cure the bite of a rattlesnake, and relieve erysipelas.

FOR A COLD.-Cayenne pepper-tea for a cold. Put a quarter of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a tea-cup; pour over hot water and sweeten with sugar. Or, steep horseradish in a gill of vinegar, add a gill of honey, and take a tea-spoon every twenty minutes.

PASTE FOR SCRAP-BOOKS.-Corn-flour makes the best paste for scrap-books. Dissolve a small quantity in cold water, then cook it thoroughly. Be careful not to get it too thick. When cold, it should be thin enough to apply with. a brush. It will not mould or stain the paper.

BLACKENED EYE.-Should the eye or any other part be blackened by a fall or blow, apply a cloth wrung out of very warm water, and renew it until the pain ceases. The moisture and heat liquefy the blood, and send it back to its proper channel. Never use cold water to a bruise.

FOR ERYSIPELAS. - A simple poultice made from cranberries pounded fine, and applied in a raw state, is said to be a certain cure; or slip off the outer bark of elder, break up the wood with the inner bark, and steep in buttermilk; drink and apply to the parts affected.

FOR SORE THROAT. - Take five cents worth of chlorate of potash, dissolve, and take a tea-spoon every hour, and also gargle with it. Or, to a tea-cup vinegar add salt and cayenne pepper, making it as strong as can be taken (some add a little pulverized alum), and gargle often with it. BURNS.-Common baking soda-the bicarbonate-has been found to cure burns or scalds, affording immediate relief when it is promptly applied. For a dry burn, the soda should be made into paste with water. For a scald or wet burned surface, the powdered soda (or borax will do as well) should be dusted on.

TO RELIEVE TOOTHACHE. - Apply powdered alum, or fill mouth with warm water, and immediately after with cold; or saturate a piece of cotton with a strong solution of ammonia, and apply to the tooth. For toothache and inflamed face caused by it, apply a poultice of pounded slippery-elm bark and cold water.

A GOOD CURE FOR COLDS is to boil two ounces of flaxseed in one quart of water; strain and add two ounces of rock candy, one-half pint of honey, juice of three lemons; mix, and let all boil well; let cool, and bottle. Dose -One cupful before bed, one-half cupful before meals. The hotter you drink it the better.

TAPE WORMS are said to be removed by refraining from supper and breakfast, and at eight o'clock taking one-third part of two hundred minced pumpkin seeds, the shells of which have been removed by hot water; at nine take another third, at ten the remainder, and follow it at eleven with strong dose of castor-oil.

FOR COLD IN THE HEAD.-As soon as you feel that you have a cold in the head, put a tea-spoonful of sugar in a goblet, and on it put six drops of camphor, stir it, and fill the glass half full of water; stir, till the sugar is dissolved, then take a dessert-spoonful every twenty minutes. This is a sure cure if taken as directed.

TO PREVENT TAKING COLD. - If out in cold weather with insufficient clothing or wrappings, fold a newspaper and spread across the chest. Persons having weak lungs can in this way make for themselves a very cheap and perfect lung protector. Large papers spread between quilts at night, add much to the warmth.

SALVE. The following is an excellent salve for burns, cuts, or sores of long standing: Take equal parts of melted beeswax, mutton suet, pulverized resin, burnt alum, honey, Venice of turpentine, sweet-oil. Cook over a slow fire all together. Stir till it commences to thicken; then strain through a cloth and pour in earthen boxes.

CATARRH COLD.-Ten drops carbolic acid, and seven and a half each of iodine and chloroform; heat a few drops over a spirit lamp in a test tube, holding the mouth of the tube to the nostrils as soon as volatization is effected. Repeat every two minutes, until the patient sneezes a number of times, when the troublesome symptoms will disappear. NEURALGIA. One-half drachm sal-ammonia in one ounce of camphorwater. Take a tea-spoon several times, five minutes apart, until relieved. Another simple remedy is horseradish. Grate, and mix it in vinegar, the same as for table purposes, and apply to the temple when the face or head is affected, or the wrist, when the pain is in the arm or shoulder. WHOOPING COUGH. - Mix one lemon sliced, half pint flax-seed, two ounces honey, and one quart water, and simmer, not boil, four hours; strain when cool, and if there is less than a pint of the mixture, add water. Dose: one table-spoon four times a day, and one also, after each severe fit of coughing. Warranted to cure in four days if given when the child first "whoops." WORMS. A mother gives the following: "Once a week invariably-and generally when we had cold meat minced-I gave gave the children a dinner which is hailed with delight, and looked forward to; this is a dish of boiled onions. The little things knew that they were taking the best of medicine for expelling what most children suffer from-worms. Mine were kept free by this remedy alone."

FOR SORE THROAT use as a remedy one ounce of camphorated oil and five cents worth of chlorate of potash. Whenever any soreness appears in the throat, put the potash in half a tumbler of water, and with it gargle the throat thoroughly, then rub the neck thoroughly with the camphorated oil at night before going to bed, and also pin around the throat a small strip of woolen flannel.

EYE WASH.-Sulphate of zinc two grains, sulphate of morphine one-half grain, distilled water one ounce; mix, and bottle. Drop in the eye (a drop or two at once,) then wink the eye several times, so that the wash may reach all the parts; and keep quiet and do not use the eyes for about an hour. This wash is for blood-shot eyes, and when used it will produce quite a smarting sensation.

CONKLIN'S SALVE. -One pound of resin, two ounces mutton tallow, one of beeswax, one-half gill alcoholic spirits, add a little of the gum of balsam; boil all together slowly, until it has done rising or foaming, or until it begins to appear clear. Pour the mixture into a pail of cold water, and when it gathers, take it out, roll on boards and cut it off. Care must be taken not to burn it. Moisten the hands in brandy while working.

MUSTARD PLASTER. -Mix with boiling water, vinegar, or white of an egg (the latter is best when a blister is not wanted) to consistency the same as if for the table. Some add a little flour when not wanted so strong. Spread on half a thin muslin cloth, cover with the other half, or put on cloth, and put over it a thin piece of gauze; apply, and when removed, wash the skin with a soft sponge, and apply a little sweet cream or oil. SPRAINS. If a sprain is nothing more than a sprain-that is, if no bones are broken or put out-wrap the part in several folds of flannel which has been wrung out of hot water, and cover it with a dry bandage, and rest it for some days, or even weeks. Entire rest at first, and moderate rest afterward, are absolutely necessary after a sprain. If it is in the ankle, the foot should be raised as high as may be comfortable; if in the wrist, it should be carried in a sling.

FRENCH REMEDY FOR CONSUMPTION. - One-half pound finely cut up fresh beefsteak; one drachm pulverized charcoal; four ounces pulverized sugar; four ounces rye whisky; one pint boiling water. Mix all together, let it stand in a cool place over night, and give from one to two tea-spoons liquid and meat before each meal. The dose should be small at first, until the stomach becomes used to it, and then gradually increased. This remedy has the merit of simplicity.

COUGH MIXTURE. - Dissolve one-fourth pound gum-arabic in half-pint boiling water, add a half tea-cup sugar and honey, and two table-spoons lemon juice, steep for five or ten minutes; bottle and cork, add water, and take; or boil one ounce each of licorice-stick and anise-seed, and half ounce senna in one quart of water, ten minutes; strain, add two tea-cups molasses or honey, boil down to a pint and then bottle; or, to one pint whisky add one-half pound rock candy and two ounces glycerine.

DRUNKENNESS. - There is a prescription in use in England for the cure of drunkenness, by which thousands are said to have been assisted in recovering themselves. It is as follows: Sulphate of iron, five grains; peppermint water, eleven drachms; spirit of nutmeg, one drachm; twice a day. This preparation acts as a stimulant and tonic, and partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and moral prostration that follows a sudden cessation from the use of stimulating drinks. CATARRH.-Wet and cold at the surface of the body is a cause of catarrh, but the most fruitful source is wet and cold feet, and yet there is nothing more easy to avoid. Warm socks, horse-hair soles, and goloshes will always keep the feet dry and warm. It does not seem to be understood that although a boot or shoe may not leak, yet if the sole is damp, it by evaporation conducts away the heat from the foot, and ought never to be worn when not exercising. The neck should be covered lightly, but too much covering predisposes to catarrhal troubles by causing congestion of the membrane affected in this disease. Bed-rooms ought to be well aired, and warmed if possible, by an open fire, in damp, chilly weather.

BLISTERS FOR DIPHTHERIA. - The method of treating that form of pulmonary consumption which consists in ulceration in the substance of the lungs, by means of blisters on the chest, and thus giving an artificial outlet to the humors which otherwise discharge from the lungs, has been successfully applied to various other diseases in which vital organs organs were attacked. Even various forms of internal inflammation may in this way be drawn to the exterior, and the latest application of this method has been made with diphtheria. The new method is to blister the chest of the patient suffering from diphtheria, and the ulceration which otherwise takes place in the throat, will appear on the chest, while the throat becomes free. HEALING SALVE FOR WOUNDS. - Pint olive-oil, half ounce common resin, half ounce beeswax; melt well together, and bring oil to boiling heat; add gradually of pulverized red lead-three-eighths of a pound (for summer use a trifle more lead); in a short time after it is taken up by the oil, and the mixture becomes brown or a shining black, remove from the fire, and when nearly cold add two scruples pulverized camphor. It should remain on the fire until it attains a proper consistency for spreading, which may be known by dipping a splint or knife in the mixture from time to time, and allowing it to cool. When used spread thinly on a piece of tissue-paper or old, fine linen. Excellent for frost sores or any kind that are hard to heal. HOW TO DISTINGUISH RASHES. -Measles appear as a number of dull red spots, in many places running into each other, and is usually first seen about the face and on the forehead, near the roots of the hair, and is often preceded by running of the eyes and nose, and all the signs of severe cold. Scarlet fever appears first about the neck and chest, but not unfrequently at the bend of the elbow or under the knee, and is usually preceded by sore throat. It can be distinguished from roseola a mild disease, which is sometimes mistaken for it-by the bright red color of the skin, which appears not unlike a boiled lobster. In chicken-pox the symptom is attended by fever, the spots are small, separate pimples, and come generally over the whole body.

CUBEB BERRIES FOR CATARRH. - A new remedy for catarrh is crushed cubeb berries smoked in a pipe, emitting the smoke through the nose; after a few trials this will be easy to do. If the nose is stopped up so that it is almost impossible to breathe, one pipeful will make the head as clear as a bell. For sore throat, asthma, and bronchitis, swallowing the smoke effects immediate relief. It is the best remedy in the world for offensive breath, and will make the most foul breath pure and sweet. Sufferers from that horrid disease, ulcerated catarrh, will find this remedy unequaled, and a month's use will cure the most obstinate case. A single trial will convince any one. Eating the uncrushed berries is also good for sore throat and all bronchial complaints. After smoking, do not expose yourself to cold air for at least fifteen minutes.

SURE CURE FOR CROUP.-Boil pigs' feet in water, without salt, and let it stand over night; in the morning skim off the fat (which will be formed in a cake on top), put in a tin pan, boil until all water is evaporated; bottle, and keep for use. Give a tea-spoon every fifteen minutes on the appearance of the first symptoms, and apply freely to chest and throat, rubbing well. A celebrated physician says that a child can not have the croup if pigs' feet oil is administered at the first symptoms. Or, warm a tea-spoon with a little lard in it or goose grease; thicken with sugar, and give it to the child; it may produce vomiting, which is always desirable, thus breaking up the membrane that is forming. Apply lard or goose grease to throat and chest, with raw cotton or flannel. Care should be taken, removing only a small piece at a time of these extra wraps to prevent taking cold. FOR RHEUMATISM. - (Internal remedy.)-Three drams iodide of potash, dissolved in one-half pint of hot water. Take a table-spoonful three times a day, and drink lemonade at intervals between. (External remedy.) Liniment-Two ounces tincture arnica, one ounce camphor, one ounce belladonna, one ounce cannabis indica, one-half onnce aconite (if neuralgia), one-half ounce oil hemlock, one-half ounce wormwood, one-half ounce sassafras (if there are humors), one-fourth ounce origanum, one-fourth ounce tar (if there are sores), one-fourth ounce cajeput, one-eighth ounce peppermint, one-fourth ounce chloroform, six ounces aqua ammonia. Wet a flannel with this liniment, and rub the parts affected; or place the flannel over the rheumatic part, and cover it with thick paper, and place near it a warm brick. Immediate relief will be obtained, CURE FOR FELON. - When a felon first makes its appearance, take the inside skin of an egg-shell, and wrap it around the part affected. When the pressure becomes too painful, wet it with water, and keep it on twelve hours. Roast or bake thoroughly a large onion; mix the soft inner pulp with two heaping table-spoons of table salt, and apply the mixture to the affected part as a poultice, keeping the parts well covered. Make fresh applications at least twice a day, morning and evening, and a cure will follow in at least a week.

Or, one tea-spoon of scorched salt, one tea-spoon of corn meal, one teaspoon of scraped hard soap, one tea-spoon of beet leaves pounded up, twelve drops of turpentine, and the yolk of one egg. Mix all ingredients together in the form of a poultice, in which bind closely the swollen finger. Or, procure five or six lemons, cut off the end of one, thrust the sore finger into the lemon, and let it stay till the lemon is warm; proceed in the same way till all the six are used. Or, put a piece of Spanish-fly plaster over the spot affected, and that will draw the trouble to the surface; or, on the first appearance, apply a poultice of the common Fleur de Lis root well mashed. It will cure in a short time.

FOR CONSTIPATION. - The same remedies will not affect all persons. One or two figs eaten fasting is sufficient for some, and they are especially good in the case of children, as there is no trouble in getting them to take them. A spoon of wheaten bran in a glass of water is a simple remedy and quite effective. One or two tumblers of hot water will move almost every one, but is difficult to take. In chronic cases a faithful manipulation and moving of bowels and limbs with gentle rotary movement with the open palm, and giving all natural motions to the parts, with proper diet, will almost invariably secure the desired result. It has been known to cure a case of life-long habit, where inherited, too, and although it involves patience and perseverance, it is certainly better than to suffer the ills that result from so many patent medicines and quack nostrums. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and regularity of habit in this matter is the great thing to be impressed on people generally.

Or, three tea-cups each of coarse, clean wheat-bran and sifted flour, one heaping measure each of Horsford's bread preparation (soda and acid), seven teaspoons good butter and one of salt. Mix with cold sweet milk; roll third of an inch thick, cut with a biscuit cutter and bake thoroughly in a moderate oven; or, pour hot water on one table-spoon flax seed, pour off and at once add three or four table-spoons of cold water, and drink. This is perfectly harmless and may be taken once, twice, or thrice a day if necessary; or, a teaspoon black mustard-seed taken every morning; or a glass of cold water taken at night and first thing in the morning. SCARLET FEVER, OR SCARLATINA. - When to the feeling of general illness which accompanies all fevers is added a very rapid pulse, 120-130, and a temperature of 100°-104°-105°, and there is a dry, hot feeling in the throat, with tonsils red and swollen, and distress on trying to swallow, it is safe to suspect an infectious disease, and probably scarlet fever. The sick person should be isolated at once in a room as much apart from the other members as possible, the higher up in the house the better, and a good physician sent for. The rash generally appears about the second day, beginning on the neck and chest, and extending over the whole body, the deepest color being on the neck, the outer side of the limbs, the joints, hands and feet. The cheeks are a bright, deep red. The case having been declared to be scarlet fever, all precautions given for infectious diseases, as regards isolation and disinfection, must be observed.

The room should be kept at an even temperature of 65°; light a fire, if possible, and leave the window down an inch at the top. Throw the window open and change the air entirely twice a day, covering the patient head and all at the time and until the room is again warm. Do not be afraid of fresh, dry outside air, but be sure that the patient is covered head and all, so that no cold air is breathed, while you are airing and warming the room. Give the patient once or twice daily, a warm sponge or plunge bath, as directed by the physician, being careful that he is covered with a blanket during the bathing, thrown over the bed or tub; dry quickly with warm, soft towels, and as the patient lies in bed, rub the entire surface of the body with vaseline, cocoa-oil, or whatever oil the physician orders. The bedclothing should be warm, but never heavy; keep the feet and legs warm. Gruels, milk, simple broth, etc., are generally enough. When there is exhaustion from fever, the doctor will give orders as to stimulating nourish, ment. Cold water or weak lemonade may be given freely, unless the doctor orders differently.

Keep the patient strictly in bed; make use of the bed-pan and urinal to prevent getting up. Guard in every way a check of perspiration. If the patient is propped up in bed, see that a short jacket or small shawl is put over the night-dress, but use nothing that can not be washed. Notice the breathing at night or in sleep, whether it is even and deep, or short and labored, as if there were trouble with the air-passages. Be particularly watchful of the condition of the excretions, especially of the urine; should it become scanty or smoky-colored, report it at once to the physician. Observe whether there is a free though seemingly harmless discharge from the nose; this may indicate diphtheritic trouble. See whether there is any swelling of limbs. In short, there is nothing which must not be observed with care, and reported accurately to the doctor.

The skin becomes dry, and generally begins to scale off about the fith day after the rash appears. No patient should be allowed to leave his bed until this process is completed. The warm baths should be kept up, the least chilliness guarded against, and the temperature of the room allowed now to be 70°. After the peeling is over the patient should still remain in his room for two weeks, and should be separate from other members of the family not less than a month from the commencement of the disease. Severe cases of scarlet fever may follow from exposure to light ones. See that the patient is well wrapped, with hands and feet protected, on first going into the open air. The troubles which may arise out of an attack are frequently the result of carelessness on the part of the nurse, neglect of orders, exposure to cold, etc. There can not be too much care taken of the lightest case. A bad attack will compel attention, but "slight cases," so-called, are often neglected with fatal results, or life-long deafness or other disability. Dropsy, malignant sore throat, disease of the kidneys, weakness of the lungs, pleurisy, and many other maladies, lie in wait for the scarlet fever patient.-Hand-Book of Nursing.

THE TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA. - The symptoms of diphtheria are much like a common sore throat accompanied by a severe cold. The sore throat is accompanied with more fever than an ordinary cold, and there is an indescribable sickish feeling, which is easily recognized by those who have once experienced it. Later, white patches appear in the throat, on the tonsils, the back of the throat, and on the arches of the palate. The throat is generally but little swollen on the outside, but in all cases when there is a suspicion of diphtheria, it is not safe to delay sending for a physician, as the disease does its work quickly, and must be dealt with in time or it is fatal. There are really three varieties of the disease. The first is characterized by fever, severe pains in back and limbs, and very great prostration. There may be no soreness of the throat, but small white specks will be noticed on the tonsils. In the second, large patches of false membrane appear on the tonsils and back of the throat; but the glands of the neck do not become swollen. In the third, which is the true malignant diphtheria, there is swelling of the glands of the neck and under jaw, profuse and offensive discharges from the mouth and throat, and more or less discharge from the nostrils. In the first two varieties, the disease generally yields to simple treatment, but the disease is too subtle and dangerous to be trifled with, and a physician should be summoned. One of the best remedies for domestic use in the early stages of the disease, is, probably, chlorate of patash, put into a tumbler of water until no more will dissolve, and used as a gargle. If swallowed it is harmless. It is cheap-five to ten cents worth being sufficient for almost any case, and it may be kept in the house for emergencies. It is also an excellent remedy, used as above described, for ordinary sore throat. In the case of children too young to use the gargle, make a swab on the end of a firm round stick, by binding on a small piece of linen or cotton cloth; use only once and burn it, i. e., the rag. Take the handle of a teaspoon and press the tongue down so as to see plainly the condition of the throat; swab quickly and draw out. Do not worry the child by poking the stick down its throat a half dozen times, make a sure thing the first time, for if you touch the affected parts, well; better do it again in two hours. Dip swab in a preparation (which may also be used as a gargle) of alcohol, diluted with water, but as strong as the patient can bear. The alcohol acts quickly upon the poison of the disease, and is a remedy easily obtained and kept at hand. When attacked with diphtheria, the patient should be kept in bed with sufficient clothing over the body for comfort, and no more. The room should be kept well supplied with pure air, and nourishment should he given in the shape of well-prepared beef-tea every two hours. Cut fresh beef into pieces, put into a bottle without water, and boil in a pot of water. To an adult give a great spoonful of the beef-tea thus made, every two hours, and less in proportion to age. If this does not agree with the patient, or there is any difficuly in the patient's swallowing it, substitute the white of an egg; beat till smooth, mix with half a tumbler of water, and give a table-spoon at a time. This is very nourishing, and is often taken more readily than beef-tea. It is particularly important to nourish the patient with proper supplies of food in the early stages of the disease, as there is danger that the supply of vitalized blood will not be sufficient to meet the demand made by the disease. The homeopathic treatment is to begin at once with aconite and belladonna, alternately every hour. If after four hours there is no improvement, and the characteristic prostration, and the patches on the tonsils are increasing, stop the aconite, and supply its place with the proto-iodide of mercurius. Let these two remedies be continued until there is a marked change for better or worse. If for the former, let the intervals be increased to one and a half or two hours; for the latter, and there is approaching unconsciousness, with frequent arousing to cough up or hawk up the detached fragments of the deposits, that brings up tough, ropy, yellowish mucus, give kali bichromicum alone every hour. When the patient becomes really better, stop and give no more medicine while the improvement goes on satisfactorily. One reason why it is important to summon a physician as soon as the symptoms of the disease appear, is that many cases which appear slight, at first, are really most serious and fatal, while a common sore throat excites the greatest alarm, the judgment of the physician being necessary to decide the amount of danger in the case.

In some cases dry sulphur, applied to the tonsils and throat, gives relief, and in violent cases the fumes of sulphur, burned in the close room, have been used with good effect. An outward application to the throat, of lard as hot as it can be borne, is an aid to the other remedies mentioned. To avoid all causes of diphtheria, keep the house free from dirt and filth of every kind from cellar to garret. See that no sewers give off gases, no drains are left filthy, and no out-house uncleaned, and bear in mind that it is not enough to destroy bad smells by disinfectants-the cause of the smells must be removed.

A lady who had the courage and coolness to treat herself, through a severe case of diphtheria, when no physician was at hand, describes her case thus: "I first noticed spores (the characteristic white patches which appear on the throat) on my right tonsil at 9 A. M. By noon they had spread over the entire arch of the palate, and the back of the throat. Several of these were loosened before night, but during the night they had spread up the nose and down the bronchial tube. My palate and tonsils were so swollen that I could scarcely speak, and with difficulty swallow. The gland on the right side of neck was much swollen, and ached, causing a dull pain in the ear. The breath had that offensive odor peculiar to the disease, and I had an intense, burning fever. I began my remedies as soon as I discovered the spores. I took a clay pipe, filled the bowl one-eighth full of dry sulphur, powdered very fine, and shook it down into the stem. I then placed the end of the stem in my throat, and held it there in front of the spores, while an attendant blew into the bowl, and repeated this until the whole diseased surface of the throat was covered with dry sulphur, taking care to hold my breath while the sulphur was being blown in. In half an hour this was repeated. I then made a strong gargle of chlorate of potash, and half an hour after using the last sulphur, gargled my throat thoroughly. I then alternated the sulphur with the gargle of chlorate of potash every hour. At night I mixed a tea-spoon of sulphur with water, and swallowed it slowly, and continued taking it in this way three times a day. Blowing sulphur into the throat, and gargling with chlorate of potash was kept up regularly for four days, until every spore had disappeared, ex, actly as at first, except making the intervals longer as the disease abated. Whenever I felt them getting down the bronchial tube, I drew breath gently when the sulphur was being blown into my throat. It almost choked me to death, but I persevered. For my nose I snuffed up sulphur, just as old ladies take snuff, until satisfied that every part was reached. When the spores came off I watched for new ones, and did not relax my attention for one moment for five days. When better, I made a gargle of honey, sage and water, to heal and remove the swelling in the throat. I afterward treated my husband successfully for the same disease, in the same way." Diphtheria is a disease which springs from the growth of a real fungus on some of the mucous surfaces of the system, more generally of the throat. It may spread by contact of the mucous surfaces of a diseased with those of a healthy person, as in kissing, and is, to a limited degree, epidemic. From the local parts affected it spreads to the whole body, affecting the muscular and nervous systems, vitiating the lymph and nutrient fluids, and producing paralysis.

As soon as the bacterium or fungus appears on the white patches on the throat, it should no more be neglected than a bleeding gash or a broken arm, and there is almost as little need of a fatal termination of one incident as of the other.

MOTHER KROH'S FELON SALVE. - Take two pounds of fat from the outside of ham or smoked meat, six onions, resin and beeswax, each the size of an egg (use the common dark resin and wax, and for summer use increase the proportion of both). Fry ham fat until partly done, add onions sliced, fry to a light brown, skim out onions, press through a colander, and add this to lard in skillet; add resin and wax, heat and stir until thoroughly dissolved, and pour into a pan to cool. Like all salves, it must be kept closely covered or it will lose its strength, but if well covered will keep a year. A mother writes, "I never feel safe without a supply of it in the house, and have found that my children seldom need any other medicine. I use it in croup, whooping cough, diphtheria, colds, scarlet fever, lung fever, asthma, felons, boils, bealings of all kinds, burns, and sore and inflamed breasts. For the first seven, it is spread on a fine piece of Canton flannel and placed over the entire chest, and in severe cases over the back also, joining them on the shoulders and under the arms. It should be put on thick and covered with flannel or cotton batting. Keep on until it gives relief, or if it becomes uncomfortable or rough, remove, and apply a fresh poultice if necessary. It is cooling in its nature and very quieting. For burns and bealings it should be used in the form of a poultice, also for sore throat. My physicians have always encouraged its use for the above complaints. For breasts, cut a piece of cloth round with a hole in the center for the infant, then cover the breast entirely over with the cloth on which the salve has been spread. 1.