The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million, by Sarah Josepha Hale This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million Containing Four Thousand Five Hundred and Forty-five Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc. in the Useful, Ornamental, and Domestic Arts Author: Sarah Josepha Hale Release Date: July 12, 2014 [EBook #46254] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MRS. HALE'S RECEIPTS *** Produced by Julia Miller, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) TRANSCRIBER NOTE Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources. Changes in the text are identified with a thin dotted blue underline, with more information in the mouse-hover popup. More detail can be found at the end of the book. M R S . H A L E ' S RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION: CONTAINING FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc. IN THE USEFUL, ORNAMENTAL, AND DOMESTIC ARTS, AND IN THE CONDUCT OF LIFE. BEING A COMPLETE FAMILY DIRECTORY. RELATIVE TO Accomplishments,Economy, Ladies' Work, Phrenology, Amusements, Etching, Feather Work, Potichomanie, Beauty, Etiquette, Manners, Poultry, Birds, Flowers, Marriage, Riding, Building, Gardening, Medicines, Swimming, Children, Grecian Painting,Needlework, Surgery, Domestic Cookery, Health, Nursing, Temperance, Courtship, Home, Out-Door Work,Trees, etc. Dress, etc. Housekeeping, Painting, Women's Duties, Words of Washington, etc. B Y M R S . S A R A H J O S E P HA HA LE . P hilad elp hia: T. B. PETERSON, NO. 306 CHESTNUT STREET. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by SARAH JOSEPHA HALE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PREFACE. "All the labor of man is for his mouth," says Solomon. If this proverb be understood, as it was undoubtedly meant —that the chief aim and purpose of all human labor are to make the homes of mankind places of enjoyment, we see how important the art of household management becomes. While preparing my "New Cook Book," I was naturally led to examine the subject, and the result was a deep conviction of the need of another work on domestic economy, or directions how to guide the house. This led me to prepare the present treatise, embodying rules and receipts, such as never before have been brought together for the help and instruction of a household. "Knowledge is power" always; knowledge used for good purposes is wisdom. Knowledge, like gold, must be gained by personal effort; and usually, in small quantities, and by continued exertions, both wisdom and gold are accumulated. It has been by washing the sands of common experience and gathering the small bits of science and art found here and there on the mining ground of common knowledge, that this large work, containing the pure gold of truth, applicable to all the needs of common life, has been made. A few nuggets will be seen, such as the collected maxims of Franklin, and the "Words of Washington," never before placed within the reach of the popular mind. In the economy and well-being of the family, personally and individually, improvement should be sedulously kept in view. It is not enough that woman understands the art of cookery and of managing her house: she must also take care of herself; of children; of all who will be dependent on her for direction, for health, for happiness. Personal appearance is important; the art of beautifying a home is important; the knowledge of ways and means by which the clothing of a family may be kept in good order, with the least expense of time and money, is important; some knowledge of plants, flowers, gardening, and of domestic animals, is of much benefit, particularly to those who live in the country; and more important than all, is a knowledge of the best means of preserving or restoring health. Then there is the very important matter of home happiness to be kept in view. Amusements, accomplishments, elegant arts, manners, modes of conduct in society; all these are necessary knowledge. And to crown the whole, those indispensable rules and maxims of moral improvement, which are the foundation of good in the character and life of rational, immortal beings, must be made familiar. All this has been attempted in "Receipts for the Million," as every person may see by examining "The Table of Contents" and the "Index." The aim of both my works on domestic matters has been to awaken the attention of my own sex to these subjects, belonging, so unquestionably, to woman's department. The home administration is in her hands; how salutary and powerful this may be made in its influence on humanity is yet hardly imagined, even by the most sagacious and earnest advocates of woman's elevation. Would that those of my sex who are urging onward, into the industrial pursuits, and other professions appropriate for men, might turn their attention to improvements in domestic economy. Here is an open field, where their heads and hearts as well as hands may find ample scope and noble objects. The really great woman never undervalues her own sphere. Madame Roland excelled in her ménage; Mrs. Somerville is eminent for domestic qualities; Mrs. Sigourney is a pattern housekeeper; and a multitude of other names and examples may be met with in my recent work,[A] where genius is found adorning home pursuits. There should be Lectures on Housekeeping, and other subjects connected with domestic life, instituted in every Ladies Seminary. This would serve to remedy, in some degree, the evils that now attend a boarding-school education. The grand defect of this is, that teachers too often leave out of sight the application of learning to the home pursuits of young ladies. So when these return to the parental roof, they give themselves up to novel reading, as their chief mental resource. A better time is coming. Women, capable of using their faculties for the improvement of society, will not much longer remain in the castle of indolence. Miss Nightingale will find followers. And as the active pursuits of women will naturally centre in the domestic circle, great advances in the art of making home the place of happiness must be made. May this book help onward the good work. S. J. H. Philadelphia, October 1st, 1857. CONTENTS Preface Contents [Pg 3] [4] [5] 3 5 PART I. HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS. House Cleaning—Repairing Furniture—Cleaning Stoves and Grates—Mending Glass, China, &c.—Coloring and Polishing Furniture, &c.—Removing unpleasant Odors—Fires—Water and Cisterns—Carriages and Harness— Washing—To remove Stains—To clean Silks, Lace, &c.—Paste, Glue, and Cement—Dyeing—Blacking for Boots, Shoes, &c.—To destroy Insects—The Kitchen, &c. PART II. HEALTH AND BEAUTY. Rules for the preservation of Health—Simple Recipes efficacious in common diseases and slight injuries—Burns and Scalds—Fevers—Plasters, Blisters, Ointments, &c.—Poisons and Antidotes—Baths and Bathing—The Toilet, or hints for the preservation of Beauty—The Dressing-Table PART III. HOME PURSUITS AND DOMESTIC ARTS. Needle-work—Explanation of Stitches—Preparation of House-Linen—Patchwork—Silk Embroidery—Fancy-work —Ink—Birds, Fish, Flowers, &c.—House-Plants—Window-Plants—To manage a Watch PART IV. DOMESTIC ECONOMY, AND OTHER MATTERS WORTH KNOWING. Teas—Coffee—Various Recipes for making Essences, &c.—Preserving Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs, &c.—Hints to Farmers—Management of a Horse—Raising Poultry—Preservation from Fire—Drowning—Suffocation— Thunderstorms PART V. MISTRESS, MOTHER, NURSE, AND MAID. Of the Table—On the management of Infants, young Children, and the Sick—Qualifications of a good Nurse—Food for the Sick and for Children—Drinks for the Sick—Simple mixtures—Rules for Women Servants PART VI. HINTS ABOUT AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, &c. Manure—Soil—Hay—Grains—Vegetables—To destroy Insects—Vermin—Weeds—Cows, Calves, Sheep, &c.— Gardening—The Orchard—Timber—Building—Bees PART VII. MISCELLANEOUS. Choice and cheap Cookery—New Receipts—Southern Dishes—Cakes, Bread, Pies, and Puddings—Home-made Wines, Mead, Nectar, &c.—Washing—Hints on Diet, Exercise, and Economy—Painting—Books—Periodicals and Newspapers PART VIII. ELEGANT AND INGENIOUS ARTS. Water-Colors used in Drawing—Directions for mixing Colors—Wash Colors for Maps—To paint Flowers, Birds, Landscapes, &c., in Water-Colors—Potichomanie—Grecian Painting—Diaphanic Feather Flowers—Sea-Weeds —Botanical Specimens, Leaf Impressions, &c.—Transferring to Glass, Wood, &c.—Emblematic Stones—Staining Stone, Wood, &c.—Ornamental Leather work—Dyeing— Games—Evening Pastime PART IX. WORK IN DOORS AND OUT. Household maxims—Household receipts for many things—Care of Furs—Wise economy—Things to know— Cleanliness—Prevention of accidents—Domestic hints—More hints on Agriculture—Cattle—Gardening—Drying Page 9 to 88 Page 89 to 150 Page 151 to 187 [6] Page 188 to 209 Page 210 to 264 Page 265 to 318 Page 319 to 384 Page 385 to 431 [7] Herbs—Properties and uses of Vegetables—Vegetables to cultivate—Fruit Trees and Fruit—Vermin on Trees PART X. PERSONAL MATTERS. Dress of Ladies—Dress of a Gentleman—Manners—Rules of Etiquette—Dinner Parties—Balls and Evening Parties— Courtship and Marriage—Marriage Ceremony—After Marriage—Directions to a Wife—Directions to a Husband —Our House—Conversation—Rules of Conduct PART XI. HEALTH AND WEALTH. Preservation of Health—Baths—Exercise—Terms expressing the properties of medicines—Ointments and Cerates— Embrocations and Liniments—Enemas—Poultices—Special rules for the prevention of Cholera—Rules for a Sick Room—Domestic Surgery—Bandages—Riches—Temperance—Way to Wealth PART XII. THE FAMILY AT HOME. A good Table—Bread, &c.—Meats—Vegetables—Household management—Beverages—Useful Receipts for Family Practice—Miscellaneous Receipts, Rules, &c.—Dietetic maxims—Hints to Mechanics and Workmen— Maxims and Morals for all Men—Home Industry for Young Ladies—Pets—Swimming—Riding—Home Counsels —Parlor Amusements—The training of Daughters, &c.—Sentiments of Flowers—Signs of the Weather—Air—Its effects on Life—Importance of Laws—Phrenology—Synopsis of American History—Words of Washington— Useful Family Tables Index M R S . H A L E ' S RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION, CONTAINING FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE RECEIPTS, FACTS, ETC. PART I. HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS. House cleaning—Repairing Furniture—Washing—Mending Glass, China, &c.—Dyeing—Blacking for Boots, Shoes, &c.—To destroy Insects—The Kitchen, &c. 1. House Cleaning.—The spring is more particularly the time for house-cleaning; though, of course, it requires attention monthly. Begin at the top of the house; first take up the carpets, and, if they require it, let them be scoured; or as carpets are sometimes injured by scouring, they may be well beaten, and if necessary, washed with soda and water. Remove all the furniture from the room, have the chimneys swept where fires have been kept, and clean and blacken the grates. Wrap old towels, (they should be clean), around the bristles of the broom, and sweep lightly the ceiling and paper; or, if requisite, the paper should be cleaned with bread, as elsewhere directed. Then wash the paint with a flannel or sponge, and soap and water, and, as fast as one person cleans, another should follow, and with clean cloths, wipe the paint perfectly dry. Let the windows be cleaned, and scour the floor. Let the furniture be well rubbed; and the floor Page 431 to 484 Page 484 to 533 Page 533 to 590 Page 590 to 699 703 [8] [9] being dry, and the carpets laid down, the furniture may be replaced. The paper should be swept every three months. 2. To clean Bed-rooms.—In cleaning bed-rooms infested with bugs, take the bedsteads asunder, and wash every part of them, but especially the joints, with a strong solution of corrosive sublimate in spirits of turpentine; as the sublimate is a fatal poison, the bottle containing the above solution should be labelled "Poison;" it should be used very carefully, and laid on with a brush kept for the purpose. Bugs can only be removed from walls by taking down the paper, washing them with the above poison, and re-papering. In bed-rooms with fires, a whisk-brush is best to clear the curtains and hangings from dust. To remove grease or oil from boards, drop on the spots spirits of turpentine before the floor is scoured. The house-maid should be provided with a box, with divisions, to convey her various utensils, as brushes, black lead, &c., from room to room, and a small mat to kneel upon while cleaning the grate. 3. Scouring Bed-rooms.—This should never be done in winter if it can be avoided, as it is productive of many coughs and colds. If inevitable, a dry day should be selected, and the windows and doors should be left wide open till dusk. A fire ought always to be made in the room after cleaning. 4. To clean Carpets.—Before sweeping a carpet, sprinkle over it a few handfuls of waste tea-leaves. A stiff hair- broom or brush should be used, unless the carpet be very dirty, when a whisk or carpet-broom should be used first, followed by another made of hair to take off the loose dirt. The frequent use of a stiff broom soon injures the beauty of the best carpet. An ordinary clothes-brush is best adapted for superior carpets. When Brussels carpets are very much soiled, take them up and beat them perfectly free from dust. Have the floor thoroughly scoured and dry, and nail the carpet firmly down to it. If still soiled, take a pailful of clean, cold water, and put into it about three gills of ox-gall. Take another pail, with clean, cold water only; now rub with a soft scrubbing- brush some of the ox-gall water on the carpet, which will raise a lather. When a convenient-sized portion is done, wash the lather off with a clean linen cloth dipped in the clean water. Let this water be changed frequently. When all the lather has disappeared, rub the part with a clean, dry cloth. After all is done, open the window to allow the carpet to dry. A carpet treated in this manner, will be greatly refreshed in color, particularly the greens. Kidderminster carpets will scarcely bear the above treatment without becoming so soft as speedily to become dirty again. This may, in some measure, be prevented by brushing them over with a hot, weak solution of size in water, to which a little alum has been added. Curd soap dissolved in hot water, may be used instead of ox-gall, but it is more likely to injure the colors, if produced by false dyes. Where there are spots of grease in the carpeting, they may be covered with curd soap dissolved in boiling water, and rubbed with a brush until the stains are removed, when they must be cleaned with warm water as before. The addition of a little gall to the soap renders it more efficacious. The carpets should be nailed on the full stretch, else they will shrink. Fullers' earth is also used for cleaning carpets; and alum, or soda, dissolved in water, for reviving the colors. 5. To clean Turkey Carpets.—To revive the color of a Turkey carpet, beat it well with a stick till the dust is all got out; then, with a lemon or sorrel juice, take out the spots of ink, if the carpet be stained with any; wash it in cold water, and afterwards shake out all the water from the threads of the carpet. When it is thoroughly dry, rub it all over with the crumb of a hot wheaten loaf; and, if the weather is very fine, hang it out in the open air a night or two. 6. Cheap Carpeting.—Sew together strips of the cheapest cotton cloth, of the size of the room, and tack the edges to the floor. Then paper the cloth, as you would the sides of a room, with any sort of room paper. After being well dried, give it two coats of varnish, and your carpet is finished. It can be washed like carpets, without injury, retains its gloss, and, on chambers or sleeping rooms, where it will not meet rough usage, will last for two years, as good as new. 7. To beat a Carpet.—Hang the carpet upon a clothes-line, or upon a stout line between two trees; it should then be beaten on the wrong side, by three or four persons, each having a pliable stick, with cloth tied strongly in a knob on the end, in order to prevent the carpet from being torn, or the seams split, by the sharp end of the stick. When thoroughly beaten on the wrong side, the carpet should be turned, and beaten on the right side. 8. Floor or Oil Cloths.—Floor-cloths should be chosen that are painted on a fine cloth, which is well covered with the color, and the patterns on which do not rise much above the ground, as they wear out first. The durability of the cloth will depend much on these particulars, but more especially on the time it has been painted, and the goodness of the colors. If they have not been allowed sufficient time for becoming thoroughly hardened, a very little use will injure them; and, as they are very expensive articles, care in preserving them is necessary. It answers to keep them some time before they are used, either hung up in a dry barn where they will have air, or laid down in a spare room. When taken up for the winter, they should be rolled round a carpet-roller, and observe not to crack the paint by turning the edges in too suddenly. Old carpets answer extremely well, painted and seasoned some months before laid down. If for passages, the width [10] [11] [12] must be directed when they are sent to the manufactory, as they are cut before painting. 9. To clean Floor cloths.—Sweep, then wipe them with a flannel; and when all dust and spots are removed, rub with a waxed flannel, and then with a dry plain one; but use little wax, and rub only enough with the latter to give a little smoothness, or it may endanger falling. Washing now and then with milk, after the above sweeping and dry-rubbing them, gives as beautiful a look, and they are less slippery. 10. Method of Cleaning Paper-hangings.—Cut into eight half quarters a large loaf, two days old; it must neither be newer nor staler. With one of these pieces, after having blown off all the dust from the paper to be cleaned, by means of a good pair of bellows, begin at the top of the room, holding the crust in the hand, and wiping lightly downward with the crumb, about half a yard at each stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is completely cleaned all round. Then go round again, with the like sweeping stroke downwards, always commencing each successive course a little higher than the upper stroke had extended, till the bottom be finished. This operation, if carefully performed, will frequently make very old paper look almost equal to new. Great caution must be used not by any means to rub the paper hard, nor to attempt cleaning it the cross, or horizontal way. The dirty part of the bread, too, must be each time cut away, and the pieces renewed as soon as it may become necessary. 11. To clean Paint.—Never use a cloth, but take off the dust with a little long-haired brush, after blowing off the loose parts with the bellows. With care, paint will look well for a long time, if guarded from the influence of the sun. When soiled, dip a sponge or a bit of flannel into soda and water, wash it off quickly, and dry immediately, or the soda will eat off the color. Some persons use strong soap and water, instead. When the wainscot requires scouring, it should be done from the top downwards, and the water be prevented from running on the unclean parts as much as possible, or marks will be made which will appear after the whole is finished. One person should dry with old linen, as fast as the other has scoured off the dirt, and washed off the soap. 12. To give to Boards a beautiful appearance.—After washing them very nicely with soda and warm water and a brush, wash them with a very large sponge and clean water. Both times observe to leave no spot untouched; and clean straight up and down, not crossing from board to board; then dry with clean cloths, rubbed hard up and down in the same way. The floors should not be often wetted, but very thoroughly when done; and once a-week dry-rubbed with hot sand and a heavy brush the right way of the boards. The sides of stairs or passages on which are carpets or floor-cloths, should be washed with sponge instead of linen or flannel, and the edges will not be soiled. Different sponges should be kept for the above two uses; and those and the brushes should be well washed when done with, and kept in dry places. 12a. To extract Oil from Boards or Stone.—Make a strong ley of pearlashes and soft water, and add as much unslaked lime as it will take up; stir it together, and then let it settle a few minutes; bottle it, and stop close; have ready some water to lower it as used, and scour the part with it. If the liquor should lie long on the boards, it will draw out the color of them; therefore do it with care and expedition. 13. To scour Boards.—Mix together one part lime, three parts common sand, and two parts soft soap; lay a little of this on the scrubbing-brush, and rub the board thoroughly. Afterwards rinse with clean water, and dry with a clean coarse cloth. This will keep the boards a good color: it is also useful in keeping away vermin. For that object, early in the spring, beds should be taken down, and furniture in general removed and examined; bed-hangings and window- curtains, if not washed, should be shaken and brushed; and the joints of bedsteads, the backs of drawers, and indeed, every part of furniture, except polished mahogany, should be carefully cleaned with the above mixture, or with equal parts of lime and soft soap, without any sand. In old houses, where there are holes in the boards, which often abound with vermin, after scrubbing in, as far as the brush can reach, a thick plaster of the above should be spread over the holes, and covered with paper. When these things are timely attended to, and combined with general cleanliness, vermin may generally be kept away, even in crowded cities. 14. To wash Stone Stairs and Halls.—Wash them first with hot water and a clean flannel, and then wash them over with pipe-clay mixed in water. When dry, rub them, with a coarse flannel. 15. To take Oil and Grease out of Floors and Stone Halls.—Make a strong infusion of potash with boiling water; add to it as much quick-lime as will make it of the consistence of thick cream; let it stand a night, then pour off the clear part, which is to be bottled for use. When wanted, warm a little of it; pour it upon the spots, and after it has been on them for a few minutes, scour it off with warm water and soap, as it is apt to discolor the boards when left too long on them. When put upon stone, it is best to let it remain all night; and if the stain be a bad one, a little powdered hot lime [13] [14] may be put upon it before the infusion is poured on. 16. To clean Marble.—Muriatic acid, either diluted or pure, as occasion may require, proves efficacious. If too strong, it will deprive the marble of its polish, which may be easily restored by the use of a piece of felt, with some powder of putty or tripoli, with either, making use of water. 17. To clean Marble. Another way.—Mix ¼ lb. of soft soap with the same of pounded whiting, 1 oz. of soda, and a piece of stone-blue the size of a walnut; boil these together for ¼ of an hour; whilst hot, rub it over the marble with a piece of flannel, and leave it on for 24 hours; then wash it off with clean water, and polish the marble with a piece of coarse flannel, or what is better, a piece of an old hat. 18. To take Stains out of Marble.—Mix unslaked lime in finest powder with stringent soap-ley, pretty thick, and instantly with a painter's brush lay it on the whole of the marble. In two months' time wash it off perfectly clean; then have ready a fine thick lather of soft soap, boiled in soft water; dip a brush in it, and scour the marble. This will, with very good rubbing, give a beautiful polish. 19. To take Iron-stains out of Marble.—An equal quantity of fresh spirit of vitriol and lemon-juice being mixed in a bottle, shake it well; wet the spots, and in a few minutes rub with soft linen till they disappear. 20. Mixture for cleaning Stone Stairs, Hall Pavements, &c.—Boil together half a pint each of size and stone-blue water, with two table-spoonfuls of whiting, and two cakes of pipe-makers' clay, in about two quarts of water. Wash the stones over with a flannel slightly wetted in this mixture; and when dry, rub them with flannel and a brush. Some persons recommend beer, but water is much better for the purpose. 21. To Color or Paper the Walls of Rooms.—If a ceiling or wall is to be whitewashed or colored, the first thing to be done is, to wash off the dirt and stains with a brush and clean water, being careful to move the brush in one direction, up and down, and not all sorts of ways, or the work will look smeary afterwards. When dry, the ceiling is ready for whitewash, which is to be made by mixing whiting and water together, till quite smooth, and as thick as cream. Dissolve half-an-ounce of glue in a teacupful of water, stir it into the whitewash. This size, as it is called, prevents the white or color rubbing off the wall, and a teacupful is enough for a gallon of wash. Stone color is made by mixing a little yellow ochre and blue black with the size, and then stirring it into the whitewash; yellow or red ochre are also good colors, and, with vermilion or indigo, any shade may be prepared, according to taste. If paper is to be used, the wall must be washed with clean water, as above explained; and while wet, the old color must be scraped off with a knife, or a smooth-edged steel scraper of any sort. It will be best to wet a yard or two at a time, and then scrape. Next, wash the wall all over with size, made with an ounce of glue to a gallon of water; and when this is dry, the wall is ready for the paper. This must be cut into lengths according to the different parts of the room; one edge of the plain strip must be cut off close to the pattern, and the other left half an inch wide. If the paper is thick, it should lie a minute or two after it is pasted; but if thin, the sooner it is on the wall, the better. Begin by placing the close- cut edge of the paper at one side of the window, stick it securely to meet the ceiling, let it hang straight, and then press it down lightly and regularly with a clean cloth. The close-cut edge of the next length will cover the half-inch left on the first one, and so make a neat join; and in this way you may go all round the room, and finish at the other side of the window. 22. Damp Walls.—Damp may be prevented from exuding from walls by first drying them thoroughly, and then covering them with the following mixture: In a quart of linseed oil, boil three ounces of litharge, and four ounces of resin. Apply this in successive coats, and it will form a hard varnish on the wall after the fifth coating. 23. To clean Moreen Curtains.—Having removed the dust and clinging dirt as much as possible with a brush, lay the curtain on a large table, sprinkle on it a little bran, and rub it round with a piece of clean flannel; when the bran and flannel become soiled, use fresh, and continue rubbing till the moreen looks bright, which it will do in a short time. 24. To clean Calico Furniture.—Shake off the loose dust; then lightly brush with a small, long-haired furniture- brush; after which wipe it closely with clean flannels, and rub it with dry bread. If properly done, the curtains will look nearly as well as at first; and, if the color be not light, they will not require washing for years. Fold in large parcels, and put carefully by. While the furniture remains up, it should be preserved from the sun and air as much as possible, which injure delicate colors; and the dust may be blown off with bellows. By the above mode curtains may be kept clean, even to use with the linings newly dipped. 25. Making Beds.—Close or press bedsteads are ill adapted for young persons or invalids; when their use is [15] [16] [17] unavoidable, the bed-clothes should be displaced every morning, and left for a short time before they are shut up. The windows of bed-rooms should be kept open for some hours every day, to carry off the effluvia from the bed- clothes; the bed should also be shaken up, and the clothes spread about, in which state the longer they remain, the better. The bed being made, the clothes should not be tucked in at the sides or foot, as that prevents any further purification taking place, by the cool air passing through them. A warming-pan should be chosen without holes in the lid. About a yard of moderately-sized iron chain, made red hot and put into the pan, is a simple and excellent substitute for coals. 26. To Detect Dampness in Beds.—Let the bed be well warmed, and immediately after the warming-pan is taken out, introduce between the sheets, in an inverted position, a clean glass goblet: after it has remained in that situation a few minutes, examine it; if found dry and not tarnished with steam, the bed is perfectly safe; and vice versa. In the latter case, it will be best to sleep between the blankets. 27. Beech-tree Leaves.—The leaves of the beech-tree, collected at autumn, in dry weather, form an admirable article for filling beds for the poor. The smell is grateful and wholesome; they do not harbor vermin, are very elastic, and may be replenished annually without cost. 28. Useful Hints relative to Bed-clothes, Mattresses, Cushions, &c.—The purity of feathers and wool employed for mattresses and cushions ought to be considered as a first object of salubrity. Animal emanations may, under many circumstances, be prejudicial to the health; but the danger is still greater, when the wool is impregnated with sweat of persons who have experienced putrid and contagious diseases. Bed-clothes, and the wool of mattresses, therefore, cannot be too often beat, carded, cleaned, and washed. This is a caution which cannot be too often recommended. It would be very easy in most situations, and very effectual, to fumigate them with muriatic gas. 29. To clean Feathers of their Oil.—In each gallon of clean water mix a pound of quick-lime, and when the undissolved lime settles in fine powder, pour off the lime-water for use. Having put the feathers to be cleaned into a tub, pour the clear lime-water upon them, and stir them well about; let them remain three or four days in the lime-water, which should then be separated from them by laying them in a sieve. The feathers should next be washed in clean water, and dried upon fine nets; they will then only require beating, to get rid of the dust, previous to use. To restore the spring of damaged feathers, it is only necessary to dip them in warm water for a short time. 30. To purify Wool infested with Insects.—The process of purification consists in putting into three pints of boiling water a pound and a half of alum, and as much cream of tartar, which are diluted in twenty-three pints more of cold water. The wool is then left immersed in this liquor during some days, after which it is washed and dried. After this operation, it will no longer be subject to be attacked by insects. 31. To clean Looking-glasses.—Keep for this purpose a piece of sponge, a cloth, and a silk handkerchief, all entirely free from dirt, as the least grit will scratch the fine surface of the glass. First, sponge it with a little spirit of wine, or gin and water, so as to clean off all spots; then, dust over it powder-blue, tied in muslin, rub it lightly and quickly off with the cloth, and finish by rubbing it with the silk handkerchief. Be careful not to rub the edges of the frames. 32. To preserve Gilding, and clean it.—It is impossible to prevent flies from staining the gilding without covering it; before which, blow off the light dust, and pass a feather or clean brush over it, but never touch it with water; then, with strips of paper, or rather gauze, cover the frames of your glasses, and do not remove till the flies are gone. Linen takes off the gilding and deadens its brightness; it should, therefore, never be used for wiping it. A good preventive against flies is, to boil three or four leeks in a pint of water, and then with a gilding-brush wash over the glasses and frames with the liquid, and the flies will not go near the articles so washed. This will not injure the frames in the least. Stains or spots may be removed by gently wiping them with cotton dipped in sweet oil. 33. To retouch the rubbed parts of a Picture-frame.—Give the wood a coating of size made by dissolving isinglass with a weak spirit. When nearly dry, lay on some gold leaf; and polish, when quite dry, with an agate burnisher, or any similar substance. 34. Furniture Oil.—Put into a jar one pint of linseed oil into which stir one ounce of powdered rose pink, and one ounce of alkanet root, beaten in a mortar: set the jar in a warm place for a few days, when the oil will be deeply colored, and the substances having settled, the oil may be poured off, and will be excellent for darkening new mahogany. [18] [19] 35. Furniture Paste.—Put turpentine into a glazed pot, and scrape beeswax into it, which stir about till the liquid is of the thickness of cream; it will then be good for months, if kept clean; and furniture cleaned with the liquid thus made, will not receive stains so readily as when the turpentine and wax are heated over the fire; which plan is, besides, very dangerous; but if the heating be preferred, place the vessel containing the wax and turpentine in another containing boiling water. 36. French Polish for Furniture.—To one pint of spirits of wine, add half an ounce of gum-shellac, half an ounce of gum-lac, a quarter of an ounce of gum-sandarac; place the whole in a gentle heat, frequently shaking it, till the gums are dissolved, when it is fit for use. Make a roller of list, put a little of the polish upon it, and cover that with a piece of soft linen rag, which must be lightly touched with cold-drawn linseed oil. Rub the wood in a circular direction, not covering too large a space at a time, till the pores of the wood are sufficiently filled up. After this, rub in the same manner spirits of wine, with a small portion of the polish added to it; and a most brilliant polish will be produced. If the article should have been polished with wax, it will be necessary to clean it off with fine glass paper. 37. Another Polish and Varnish.—The only way to preserve polish on rosewood French-polished furniture, is to keep it continually rubbed with a chamois leather and a silk handkerchief. We have no better remedy to offer for scratches on the wood than filling them in with a little oil covered with alkanet-root. The following varnish for furniture not French-polished, has been highly recommended: Melt one part of virgin white wax with eight parts of petroleum; lay a slight coat of this mixture on the wood with a fine brush while warm; the oil will then evaporate, and leave a thin coat of wax, which should afterwards be polished with a coarse woolen cloth. 38. Polish for Dining Tables.—Is to rub them with cold-drawn linseed oil, thus: Put a little in the middle of a table, and then with a piece of linen (never use woolen) cloth rub it well all over the table; then take another piece of linen and rub it for ten minutes, then rub it till quite dry with another cloth. This must be done every day for some months, when you will find your mahogany acquire a permanent and beautiful lustre, unattainable by any other means, and equal to the finest French polish; and if the table is covered with the table-cloth only, the hottest dishes will make no impression upon it; and when once this polish is produced, it will only require dry rubbing with a linen cloth for about ten minutes, twice in a week, to preserve it in the highest perfection; which never fails to please your employers; and remember, that to please others is always the surest way to profit yourself. If the appearance must be more immediately produced, take some Furniture Paste. 39. Varnished Furniture.—This may be finished off so as to look equal to the best French polished wood, in the following manner, which is also suitable to other varnished surfaces. Take two ounces of Tripoli powder, put it into an earthen pot, with just enough water to cover it; then take a piece of white flannel, lay it over a piece of cork or rubber, and proceed to polish the varnish, always wetting it with the Tripoli and water. It will be known when the process is finished by wiping a part of the work with a sponge, and observing whether there is a fair, even gloss. When this is the case, take a bit of mutton suet and fine flour, and clean the work. Frames of varnished wood may be cleaned to look new, by careful washing with a sponge and soap and water, but nothing stronger should be used. 40. Varnish for Violins, &c.—Take a gallon of rectified spirits of wine, twelve ounces of mastic, and a pint of turpentine varnish; put them all together in a tin can, and keep it in a very warm place, shaking it occasionally till it is perfectly dissolved; then strain it, and it is fit for use. If you find it necessary, you may dilute it with turpentine varnish. This varnish is also very useful for furniture of plum-tree, mahogany, or rosewood. 41. White Varnish.—The white varnish used for toys is made of sandarac, eight ounces; mastic, two ounces; Canada balsam, four ounces; alcohol, one quart. This is white, drying, and capable of being polished when hard. Another varnish for objects of the toilet, such as work-boxes, card-cases, &c., is made of gum sandarac, six ounces; elemi (genuine), four ounces: anime, one ounce; camphor, half an ounce; rectified spirit, one quart. Melt slowly. These ingredients may, of course, be lessened in proportion. 42. To remove Ink-spots from Mahogany.—Drop on the spots a very small quantity of spirits of salt; rub it with a feather or piece of flannel, taking care not to let the spirit reach the fingers or clothes; in four or five minutes, wash it off with water. Or, mix a teaspoonful of burnt alum, powdered, with a quarter of an ounce of oxalic acid, in half a pint of cold water; to be used by wetting a rag with it, and rubbing it on the ink-spots. Or, crumple a piece of blotting-paper, so as to make it firm, wet it, and with it rub the ink-spot firmly and briskly, when it will disappear; and the white mark from the operation may be immediately removed by rubbing it with a cloth. 43. Or:—Dilute ½ a teaspoonful of oil of vitriol with a large spoonful of water, and touch the part with a feather; watch it, for if it stays too long, it will leave a white mark. It is, therefore, better to rub it quickly, and repeat if not quite removed. [20] [21] 44. To clean Chairs.—Scrape down one or two ounces of beeswax, put it into a jar, and pour as much spirits of turpentine over it as will cover it: let it stand till dissolved. Put a little upon a flannel or bit of green baize, rub it upon the chairs, and polish them with a brush. A very small portion of finely-powdered white rosin may be mixed with the turpentine and wax. 45. To clean and restore the Elasticity of Cane Chair Bottoms, Couches, &c.—Turn up the chair bottom, &c., and with hot water and a sponge wash the cane work well, so that it may be well soaked; should it be dirty, you must add soap; let it dry in the air, and you will find it as tight and firm as when new, providing the cane is not broken. 46. Blacking for Leather Seats, &c.—Beat well the yolks of two eggs, and the white of one; mix a tablespoonful of gin and a teaspoonful of sugar, thicken it with ivory black, add it to the eggs, and use as common blacking; the seats or cushions being left a day or two to harden. 47. To prevent Hinges Creaking.—Rub them with soft soap, or a feather dipped in oil. 48. Swallows' Nests.—To prevent swallows building under eaves, or in window corners, rub the places with oil or soft soap. 49. To clean Polished Grates and Irons.—Make into a paste with cold water, four pounds of putty-powder and one of finely-powdered whiting; rub off carefully the spots from the irons, and with a dry clean duster rub the irons with the mixture always in the same direction till bright and clear. Plain dry whiting will keep it highly polished if well attended to every day. The putty mixture should be used only to remove spots. 50. To clean the Back of the Grate, the inner Hearth, and the fronts of Cast-Iron Stoves.—Mix black lead and whites of eggs well beaten together; dip a painter's brush, and wet all over, then rub it bright with a hard brush. 51. To remove the Black from the Bright Bars of Polished Stoves in a few minutes.—Rub them well with some of the following mixture on a bit of broadcloth; when the dirt is removed, wipe them clean, and polish with glass (not sand) paper. 52. For Mixture:—Boil slowly one pound of soft soap in two quarts of water to one quart. Of this jelly take three or four spoonfuls, and mix to a consistence with emery. 53. To clean Bright Stoves.—There are many ways of cleaning a stove, but if the ornamental parts be neglected, rust will soon disfigure the surface, and lead to incalculable trouble. Emery dust, moistened into a paste with sweet oil, should be kept in a little jar; this should be applied on a bung, up and down, never crossways, until marks or burns disappear. A dry leather should then remove the oil, and a polish should afterwards be given with putty powder on a dry clean leather. 54. Another way to clean Grates.—The best mixture for cleaning bright stove-grates is rotten-stone and sweet oil: they require constant attention, for, if rust be once suffered to make its appearance, it will become a toil to efface it. Polished fire-irons, if not allowed to rust by neglect, will require merely rubbing with leather; and the higher the polish, the less likely they are to rust. If the room be shut up for a time, and the grates be not used, to prevent their rusting, cover them with lime and sweet oil. Bright fenders are cleaned as stoves; cast-iron fenders require black lead; they should not, however, be cleaned in the sitting-room, as the powdered lead may fly about and injure carpets and furniture. A good plan is to send cast-iron fenders to be bronzed or lackered by the iron-monger; they will then only require brushing, to free the dust from the ornamental work. The bright top of a fender should be cleaned with fine emery-paper. 55. To prevent Fire-Irons becoming Rusty.—Rub them with sweet oil, and dust over them unslaked lime. If they be rusty, oil them for two or three days, then wipe them dry, and polish with flour emery, powdered pumice-stone, or lime. A mixture of tripoli with half its quantity of sulphur, will also remove rust; as will emery mixed with soft soap, boiled to a jelly. The last mixture is also used for removing the fire-marks from bright bars. 56. To Color the Backs of Chimneys with Lead Ore.—Clean them with a very strong brush, and carefully rub off the dust and rust; pound about a quarter of a pound of lead ore into a fine powder, and put it into a vessel with half a pint of vinegar, then apply it to the back of the chimney with a brush. When it is made black with this liquid, take a dry brush, dip it in the same powder without vinegar; then dry and rub it with this brush, till it becomes as shining as glass. 57. To blacken the fronts of Stone Chimney-pieces.—Mix oil-varnish with lamp-black, and a little spirit of turpentine to thin it to the consistence of paint. Wash the stone with soap and water very clean; then sponge it with clear [22] [23] [24] water; and when perfectly dry, brush it over twice with this color, letting it dry between the times. It looks extremely well. The lamp-black must be sifted first. 58. Composition that will effectually prevent Iron, Steel, &c., from rusting.—This method consists in mixing, with fat oil varnish, four-fifths of well rectified spirit of turpentine. The varnish is to be applied by means of a sponge; and articles varnished in this manner will retain their metallic brilliancy, and never contract any spots of rust. It may be applied to copper, and to the preservation of philosophical instruments; which, by being brought into contact with water, are liable to lose their splendor, and become tarnished. 59. To keep Arms and polished Metal from Rust.—Dissolve one ounce of camphor in two pounds of hog's lard, observing to take off the scum; then mix as much black lead as will give the mixture an iron color. Fire-arms, &c., rubbed over with this mixture, and left with it on twenty-four hours, and then dried with a linen cloth, will keep clean for many months. 60. To preserve Irons from Rust.—Melt fresh mutton-suet, and smear over the iron with it while hot; then dust it well with unslaked lime pounded and tied up in a muslin. Irons so prepared will keep many months. Use no oil for them but salad-oil, there being water in all other. Fire-irons should be wrapped in baize, and kept in a dry place, when not used. 61. To prevent polished Hardware and Cutlery from taking Rust.—Case-knives, snuffers, watch-chains, and other small articles made of steel, may be preserved from rust, by being carefully wiped after use, and then wrapped in coarse brown paper, the virtue of which is such, that all hardware goods from Sheffield, Birmingham, &c., are always wrapped in the same. 62. Another way.—Beat into three pounds of fresh hog's-lard two drachms of camphor till it is dissolved; then add as much black lead as will make it the color of broken steel. Dip a rag in it, and rub it thick on the stove, &c., and the steel will never rust, even if wet. When it is to be used, the grease must be washed off with hot water, and the steel be dried before polishing. 63. To take Rust out of Steel.—Cover the steel with sweet oil well rubbed on it, and in forty-eight hours use unslaked lime finely powdered, to rub until all the rust disappears. 64. To clean Plate.—See that the plate is quite free from grease, by having been washed, if necessary, in warm soap and water. Then mix some whiting with water, and with a sponge rub it well on the plate, which will take the tarnish off, making use of a brush not too hard, to clean the intricate parts. Next, take some rouge-powder, mix it with water to about the thickness of cream, and with a small piece of leather (which should be kept for that purpose only) apply the rouge. This, with a little rubbing, will produce a most beautiful polish. This is the actual manner in which silversmiths clean their plate. 65. The common method of cleaning Plate.—First wash it well with soap and warm water; when perfectly dry, mix together a little whiting and sweet oil, so as to make a soft paste; then take a piece of flannel, rub it on the plate, then with a leather, and plenty of dry whiting, rub it clean off again; then with a clean leather and a brush, finish it. 66. An easy way to clean Plate.—A flannel and soap, and soft water, with proper rubbing, will clean plate nicely. It should be wiped dry with a good-sized piece of soft leather. 67. Plate Powder.—In most of the articles sold as plate powders, under a variety of names, there is an injurious mixture of quicksilver, which is said sometimes so far to penetrate and render silver brittle, that it will even break with a fall. Whiting, properly purified from sand, applied wet, and rubbed till dry, is one of the easiest, safest, and certainly the cheapest of all plate powders: jewelers and silversmiths, for small articles, seldom use any thing else. If, however, the plate be boiled a little in water, with an ounce of calcined hartshorn in powder to about three pints of water, then drained over the vessel in which it was boiled, and afterwards dried by the fire, while some soft linen rags are boiled in the liquid till they have wholly imbibed it; these rags will, when dry, not only assist to clean the plate, which must afterwards be rubbed bright with leather, but also serve admirably for cleaning brass locks, finger-plates, &c. 68. To cleanse Gold.—Wash the article in warm suds made of delicate soap and water, with ten or fifteen drops of sal-volatile. (The sal-volatile will render the metal brittle. This hint may be used or left, at pleasure.) 69. To clean Brass and Copper.—Rub it over slightly with a bit of flannel dipped in sweet oil; next, rub it hard with another bit dipped in finely-powdered rotten stone; then make it clean with a soft linen cloth, and finish by polishing it with a plate-leather. [25] [26] 70. Obs.—The inside of brass or copper vessels should be scoured with fullers' earth and water, and set to dry, else the tinning will be injured. 71. Another way to clean Brass and Copper.—Put one pennyworth of powdered rotten stone into a dry, clean quart bottle; nearly fill it up with cold soft water; shake it well, and add one penny-worth of vitriol. Rub it on with a rag, and dry it with a clean, soft cloth, and then polish it with a...