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Classic
Cook Books
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page 344
COAL ASHES--Make excellent garden walks. They become very hard by use and no
weeds or grass will grow through them.
TO DESTROY WEEDS IN WALKS. --Boil ten pounds stone lime, five gallons water and
one pound flour of sulphur, let settle, pour off clear part, and sprinkle freely
upon the weedy walks.
TO RETOUCH A GILT FRAME.--Wet the rubbed spot with isinglass dissolved in weak
spirits. When about dry, lay on gold leaf, and when quite dry, polish with a
very hard burnisher.
TO MEND TIN.--Scrape the tin about the hole free from grease and rust, rub on a
piece of resin until a powder lies about the hole, over it lay a piece of
solder, and hold on it a hot poker or soldering iron until it melts.
TO TEMPER LAMP CHIMNEYS.--Lamp chimneys and glass-ware for hot water is made
less liable to break by putting in cold water, bringing slowly to boiling point,
boiling for an hour, and allowing to cool before removing from water.
TO KEEP AWAY MOTHS FROM FURS.--Dust furs with powdered alum, working it well in
at the roots of the hair. Do not air woolen articles and furs in the summer
sunshine. They should be put aside in the early spring, and left untouched until
October.
TO CLEAN FURNITURE.--Take a large cotton rag well saturated with coal oil, rub
each article of furniture with it until all the mud-stains and dust have
disappeared, then go over it with a dry cloth, rubbing each piece until it is
perfectly dry. Clean once a week.
A CHEAP CARPET.--Make a cover for the floor of the cheapest cotton cloth. Tack
it down like a carpet, paper it as you would a wall with paper resembling a
carpet in figures, let it dry, varnish with two coats of varnish, and with
reasonable usage it will last two years.
MENDING PLASTER OF PARIS.--Gum shellac makes an excellent strong cement for
joining broken pieces together, and is more convenient than glue. The shellac
should be flowed upon the surfaces to be joined, firmly pressed together, and
carefully set away for about one hour.
TO MAKE RAG RUGS.--Cut rags and sew hit and miss, or fancy-striped as you
choose; use wooden needles, round, smooth, and pointed at one end, of any
convenient length. The knitting is done back and forth (like old fashioned
suspenders), always taking off the first stitch.--Anna F. Hisey.
TO START A FIRE IN DAMP, STILL WEATHER.--Light a few bits of shavings or paper
placed upon the top of grate; thus by the heated air's forcing itself into the
chimney and establishing there an upward current, the room is kept free from the
gas and smoke which is so apt to fill it, and the fire can then be lighted from
below with good success.
A CHEAP FILTER.--The most impure water may be rendered pure by filtering through
charcoal. Take a large flower-pot, put a piece of sponge or clean moss over the
hole in the bottom, fill three-quarters full of equal parts clean sand and
charcoal, the size of a pea; over this lay a linen or woolen cloth large enough
to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour the water into the cloth, and it will
come out pure.
TO PRESERVE BOOKS.--Bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over
with spirits of wine. A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from
the consuming effects of mold and damp. Russia leather which is perfumed with
the tar of the birch-tree, never molds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans
used oil of cedar to preserve valuable manuscripts. Russia-leather covered
books, placed in a stationer's window will destroy flies and other insects.
A RUSTIC FRAME.--A neat rustic frame for pictures may be made of cattail
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Classic
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