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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1905)
OCTOBER 20, 1905 11 The Commoner. vrscd in lritchen chemistry, it might ,of be so bad; but-if is not safe, and ifldom satisfactory, to alter recipes j .jorantly, just because of "looks." Pi'W cooks know the difference be i '.eon pastry flour ana bread flour, .ind it is of no use in many cases to !-' one that pastry flour, having less jj.iton than bread flour, will make tho cake or pie crust shorter with a qivcn amount of butter than the broad flour will do! The majority of women know little or nothing about tho different kinds of flour, and fewer null have any idea of accuracy in measuring or weighing of ingredients, or of methods of testing heat in cook Pi v, or facilities for doing it. A Word With Our Querists I frequently receive letters from omi readers asking for information regarding special treatments for something which is troubling them, and many of them ask that, in case I do not know anything, I use the Query Box through which to bring out the desired information. In sev eral instances I have done this; but have decided that it is an unwise thins to do, from the fact that it is an easy matter ror unprincipled quacks and irresponsible venders of "cure-all" nostrums to write letters io me. commendatory of themselves and their methods, signing names of alleged beneficiaries (supposably readers of The Commoner-) to these letters, and thus getting the benefit of the confidence one might give to a disinterested friend. This matter has been pointed' out to me in a way that carries weight, and hereafter T must not play into the hands of such persons. If I can give you some simple, tried home treatment, approved ;by a re sponsible physician, I shall be glad to do so. A great many times, such treatment will relieve or benefit where the costlier physician's pre scription may fail, and in any case, it should do no harm. But the bet ter way for you would be, in diseases of a complicated or uncertain char acter, not to depend on "correspond ence" treatment, but take advice per sonally of the best physician you know; one who can, from personal ob servation, diagnose your case more correctly and prescribe suitable rem edies. Meantime, I am always "keep ing my eyes open" for means by which I may be useful to you, and I shall be glad to help you, in any way I con, and you shall send your Queries, in full confidence that I have our interests at heart. It is best, at all times, to depend more on hygienic habits than upon drugs, but drugs often have their place, though they should be of the least harmful nature and used very sparingly. Query Box Worried. A lemon, cut in halves and dipped frequently in salt is an excellent scourer for brass articles. M. C. To remove the lime deposit from the tea kettle, boil vinegar in 1he kettle; this will loosen the crust ho it may be removed. Anxious. Do not worry about the jewelry. If your hosiery, shoes, gloves ana neckwear are neat and dean, the shabby gown will not be B" noticeable. Francis. For the hardened shoes, Tub them well with castor oil before i fire, and set aside for twelve hours before using. The oiling may be' done night, and the shoes ivill be ready at ioi wear in the morning. (t. S. For the gummed machine, oil every place with the best coal oil, run the machine rapidly for a few minutes, or until it rims easily, then rii-an every part of it with a soft cloth, give it a good oiling with the best machine oil, and you will have no further trouble. You must not use poor oil on a sewing machine. Irma. Marshmallow candy is so called from a decoction of the marsh mallow root formerly used in its prep aration; but as this Imparts a pecu liar, bitter taste to the candy, it is not now used by most confectioners. B. M. Onion juice is obtained by peeling a" large, juicy onion, cutting in pieces and squeezing hard in a wooden lemon squeezer. A good sized onion should give two table spoonfuls of juice. Or, the onion may be shredded and the juice pressed out of the shreds. Mysie. Spots of iron rust should be wet with lemon juice, then covered with table salt and laid out in the sunshine. It is better to prevent the spots by wrapping the hooks in your wardiobe with cloth, or pieces of old kid gloves. Emma S.--The cold cream was evi dently spoiled by having been kept too long. Almond oil, whicji enters largely into ' its make-up, becomes rancid more quickly than any other oil, and if only slightly rancid, it will irritate a delicate skin. Rose water is also an ingredient, and this sours and becomes musty very quickly. The cream should be fresh. Laundry. To make rice water for starching delicate fabrics, boil one cupful of rice in three quarts of water until the rice is tender; drain and use Ug water the same as starch; the rice may be used for the table. Wet the fabric in the rice water, wring or squeeze as dry as possible, roll in a dry cloth for an hour or so, and iron. Housewife. Tjjere is no better cleansing agent for the porcelain fittings and nickel fixtures of the bath room than coal oil. If allowed to get very dirty, a slight scouring soap should be used, but it is not ad visable, as the daily use of coal oil will leave no call for it. For the sfains on the marble use pulverized rotten-stone, or a weak solution of oxalic acid, such as is used by marble cutters. Disgusted. One of the most effect ual remedies for vermin in the, hair is cocculus indicus. It is poisonous to small insects and fishes, but not to the higher order of animals. Have the druggist fill a pint bottle half full of the berries and then fill up with whisky. Moisten the scalp thorough ly at night, and in the morning wash the hair in tepid water. This will kill both lice and nits; it will not harm the hair, and two or three ap plications are enough. One can not help getting such tilings at school, sometimes; but to keep them gra cious! D. A. W. There is but one kind of cream tartar, unless the pure article is adulterated then there are two. The soda used in cookery is the bi carbonate. Tariar is a deposit formed on the sides of casks from wine, and when white is called cream tartar. Emory. For the invalid with "cold feet, take three thicknesses of heavy unbleached cotton and make into a liberal sized bag; stitch twice around the edces. and this will hold any kind of salt without sifting. A covering to slip over may be made of any bright cloth. Fill the bog with salt, sWoh up the opening, heat the bag whout scorching and apply to the cold feet, or wherever neeueu anout the body. Old-fashioned lyo hominy may bo made by using 'one lablospoonful of cooking soda (salcratus) to oach quart of corn, using the same as lyo, and washing through several waters when done. It will not be so hard on the hands as tho old-fashioned wood ashes lye. Grape Catsup from Wild Grapes. To five pounds of grapes allow two and one-half pounds of granulated sugar, a pint of good vinegar, one tablcspoonful each or ground cinna mon, alsplce, pepper and one tea spoonful of ground cloves, with a half teaspoonful of salt. Mash tho grapes, and if not too dry, add no water, but boil in their own juice uiu til soft and pulpy; then strain through a colander or coarse sieve to take out skins and seeds. To the strained pulp add the ground spices, sugar and vinegar and boil, constant ly stirring, until quite thick; then put into small bottles, seal and set away. Any small nottlos that are handy may be used by corking and dipping the corked mouth into bees wax, or sealing wax. Baked Onions. Peel nice sized onions and boil for ten minute. This will take out the strong flavor. Drain and arrange in a greased pudding dish, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and pour over all n white sauce to which a beaten egg has been added. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, set in the oven and batte, covered, for twenty minutes, then uncover and brown. To make- tho white sauce, beat three tablespoonfuls of flour in to a cupful of melted butter; stir un til it is creamy, then stir the mass slowly into one quart of boiling hot cream, stirring until thick and well cooked. For Cracked Hands This suggestion, although rather early in the season to be offered, should be preserved for time of need. Those who have worked with bleed ing cracks on the inside of their ling ers, extending in some instances near ly to the bone, know that few. things bring greater suffering to the one so afflicted. One of the most effective remedies ever tried is to wash the hands in water just as hot as can be borne without real scalding, using no soap. The water must be very hot, and the hands may be thrust in to the water and instantly withdrawn until they can be kept there for an increasing time. As the water cools, the hands should be soaked and well cleaned. Corn meal, or oatmeal may be used to scour with, as either is healing as well as cleansing. The water should be kept as hot as can bo borne during the washing process, and the hands should be rinsed in clean, very hot water, wiped on a soft, warm towel, and either held be fore the fire, or rubbed with hot corn meal until no more moisture remains. After this washing, if preferred, the hands may be well rubbed with hon ey, working it well in by wringing and rubbing as though washing them, and then drying with the soft, hot towel. Many add a little glycerine to the hot rinse water, and it is found very beneficial. This plan should be tried only at night, after the day's" work is done, as, ir so washed in the morning, the skin of the hands is left in a condition ror the cold to crack it worse than ever. On such hands, common laundry soap, with its abundance of free alkali, should never be used. AN 01.1) AND WELL T1UKD 11KMKDY t ?l!!lw'NRI;ow'S Soothing .SYUimfor children i,M SKhlonW always Ijo used for children -wlillo w mi ,s' IUoftn tho gums, allays nil nain.uurei lwi?ntvic nudl&o bust remedy for diarrhoea. went) -live cents a bottle. Requested Recipes Baked Milk. Put new, rich n stone iar and cover, either sone cover or a greased paper tied down over the mouth, and set lor several hours in a moderately hot oven, with steady heat. The milk must not boil simply bake. It is like good cream when .done, and may be used as any thick cream sauce. milk in with a For the Laundry if. is claimed that starch made bic starch; whon dissolved, It should be strained and bottiod for uso. A tablospoonful of this solution added to the Ktaich for thin dromon, skirts, laco curtains, etc., will koop them atiftland clean longer than ordinary clear starch. To wash white silk of every de scription, make a strong suds by shredding and boiling puro castilo soap in soft water; allow' tho watdr to become cool or cold, and wash tho silk in it by swishing It about, pat ting and squeezing it with the hands, but not rubbing. Squeeze tho suds out carefully and dip the goods Into another suds of the same kind, stir ring as before, and squeeze out again. Then rinse in clear, cool water until all soap Is out, squeezo out and hang In an airy, sunless place until par tially dry, pulling the wrinkles out from time to tlmu. Roll the silk carefully over a clean, muslin wrapped board, wrap In a dry cloth and let He for awhile, then Iron under a fine white cloth wnllo damp, using a moderately hot Iron. If a clear white is wanted, a few drops of blu ing should be added to the rinse wat er, but if an ivory shade is desired, use cloar water. A fancy silk waist should bo ironed on the wrong side. An excellent way to clean any kind of silk is to wash it In gasoline, being careful not to uso the gasoline any where near fire or cVon tho tinlost flame. If the goods Is very much soiled, It should be rinsed In clean gasoline. from laim- lace corn starch, Instead of ordinary .i,. ofovr.lv l much better for curtains and other laces. Laundres ses claim that hot starch turns deli cate colors dark, ana ruins them in time Two ounces of powdered gum arable to a duart of boiling water is the right proportion for gum ara- A Fair Booth Free to Any Church THE church people of America have done much for Tim Lawks' Home Journal. The magazine i.s glad to do for them when it can. To any church which expects to hold a fair this fall or winter Tub Ladies' Home Journal will send, without charge, a beautiful booth measuring eight feet square and eleven feet high. Accompanying it will be sent, also without charge, twenty large repro ductions of some of the most famous pictures which have appeared in the magazine. The pictures should bring Twenty-Five Dollars easily, and on every new subscription and renewal for the magazine taken at the fair a liberal cash allowance will be made. Almost four thousand churches took advantage of a similar offer made lat fall. One church made over Two Hundred Dolbra, another One Hun dred and Eighty Dolbra, and to on. All of them made money. If you ai intcrosted Ua church fair t be jjiven this fall or winter write mow. We ihali pre only One thousand of these booths this fall. 'Tint come, first served." The Curtis Publishing Company E 72 Arch Street, Fhiladelphic - 11 V a-