Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 245, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1914 — HINTS FOR HOUSEWIVES [ARTICLE]

HINTS FOR HOUSEWIVES

PRACTICAL BUGGE3TIONB PERTAINING TO THE HOME. Simple Method of Providing for Plants When Family Has to Leave Home —How to Prevent Accumulation of Flies. If you Intend leaving home for a few days and wish to keep your palms and other plants well Watered during your absence, take a tub and get as many bricks as you have pots to place in the tub. Cover the bricks with water, and the plants placed on them will draw all the moisture they require, and keep in good condition. > Mildew stains are sometimes a source of great trouble, and are difficult -to remove unless you know Just the right way. Rub a little soap over the mildew spots, and on top of this a little chalk and lemon jnlce. If the garment is then put out in the sun for a couple of hours and afterwards washed in the usual way the spots will disappear. To wash a sweater knead the sweater in warm water in which a little soap has been dissolved. Repeat three times using fresh suds each time. Rinse in tepiff water to which a little ammonia has been added. Press out as much moisture as possible and hang out to dry in the wind. To prevent the accumulation of flies, wash the windows and frames, picture glass and gas brackets with fluid ammonia and water. This will destroy the eggs. It will also produce a splendid clearness and lasting polish to the glass and mirror. s To keep butter, pqt your butter. In a dish and place it in another one with water and a little .salt. Then place another cover over !L and it will keep quite fresh and firm in hot weather. Never throw small pieces of new linoleum away. Keep them in your coal box; it saves the box wearing at the bottom. Use some to stand saucepans on and to line housemaid’s box, also the kitchen boot-blacking and metal-cleaning boxes. Cut in small pieces, it will make a bright fire with a few sticks added. If you want to stiffen a straw hat that has become limp, brush it over with a mixture made by dissolving a few drops of gum in a little vinegar. It is also a good plan to wire the brim with some very fine wire, and a good black bat dye will work wonders with a black straw, but be sure that you choose a dye that will not “run” should you be caught in a shower. Brass, silver or Sheffield plate that has been lacquered should never be cleaned with metal polish, bath brick or anything else of the kind, but merely rubbed with a soft cloth and finished with silk dusters. If the pieces are very dirty, a little sweet oil may be used. It saves a lot of trouble if Bilver and brass candlesticks, etc., are lacquered. The lacquer can be bought and applied with a soft brush. The article should be perfectly clean, dry and bright.