STEEL, To Write on. — Hold the metal over a clear charcoal fire
till it is blue, then write the desired letters upon it with oil colours ; when
they are dry take some strong vinegar, make it warm, and pour it over the
steel to remove the blue tint ; afterwards wet the oil colour with water, and
it will readily come off, leaving the lettering behind.
STIMULANT, A Natural. — Take of composition powder (for the
preparation of which see Colds, Composition Powder for), one ounce ;
loaf sugar, one pound ; boiling water, one quart. Mix well ; let it stand for
twelve hours ; strain off the liquid, and bottle for use. A wineglassful may
be taken in a tumbler of hot water, or neat, according to taste. It may be
used in the family circle or at friendly meetings.
STOCK FOR BROWN SOUPS.— Cut up four or five pounds
of shin of beef, a cow’s foot, half a pound of lean ham, half a pound of
poultry giblets, two large onions, a couple of carrots, a small head of celery,
and a few savoury herbs ; put them in a stew-pan with four quarts of water ;
add two ounces of salt, an ounce of loaf sugar, half an ounce of pepper-corns,
and a quarter of an ounce of mace. Stew for seven hours ; strain through
a fine sieve, put aside to set, and remove the oil from the top. The
strength of the soup made from this stock can be regulated according to
taste.
STONES, Indian Method of Polishing. — Mix powdered corundum
with melted lac, and as the mixture cools, shape it into oblong pieces, three
or four inches in length. Sprinkle the stones with water, and rub them
with these oblong masses, using those of fine and finer grain as the polish
increases.
STONES (PRECIOUS), A Test for. — The readiest means of
distinguishing precious stones from imitations is to touch them with the
tongue. The real stone will feel cold, while the paste will be much less so.
STOVES, To Impart a Brilliant Appearance to. — A teaspoonful
of pulverised alum mixed with black-lead will give the stove a fine lustre,
which will be quite permanent.
STOVES, To Restore Stained. — Clean off all grease, dirt, and
black-lead with turpentine first, then with strong liquid ammonia and soft
water. When thoroughly dry, give a coat of black paint, and when this is
sufficiently hard, proceed with black-lead in the ordinary way.
STRAWBERRIES, To Preserve. — Pick and weigh a number of
fine large strawberries, add the same weight of powdered sugar, and put
them in a preserving-pan over a slow fire till the sugar is melted ; then boil
them as fast as possible for twenty minutes. Make hot a number of small
jars, pour the fruit in boiling hot, lay a paper soaked in brandy over the
top, cork and seal the jars at once, and keep them through the summer in
a cold, dry cellar, and a little removed from the wall.
STRAWBERRY-BEDS. — The following is the American method
of making new strawberry-beds : — Line off strips of the old bed about six
inches wide and a foot and a half apart ; cut them into squares, take them
up with three inches of earth about their roots, and set them in the new
bed eighteen inches apart. By this means the plants will bear fruit the first
year, and it allows of the introduction of new soil to the old bed. The
operation may be performed at the beginning of March if the weather is
sufficiently advanced.
Page 206
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
STEEL, To Write on. — Hold the metal over a clear charcoal fire till it is blue, then write the desired letters upon it with oil colours ; when they are dry take some strong vinegar, make it warm, and pour it over the steel to remove the blue tint ; afterwards wet the oil colour with water, and it will readily come off, leaving the lettering behind.
STIMULANT, A Natural. — Take of composition powder (for the preparation of which see Colds, Composition Powder for), one ounce ; loaf sugar, one pound ; boiling water, one quart. Mix well ; let it stand for twelve hours ; strain off the liquid, and bottle for use. A wineglassful may be taken in a tumbler of hot water, or neat, according to taste. It may be used in the family circle or at friendly meetings.
STOCK FOR BROWN SOUPS.— Cut up four or five pounds of shin of beef, a cow’s foot, half a pound of lean ham, half a pound of poultry giblets, two large onions, a couple of carrots, a small head of celery, and a few savoury herbs ; put them in a stew-pan with four quarts of water ; add two ounces of salt, an ounce of loaf sugar, half an ounce of pepper-corns, and a quarter of an ounce of mace. Stew for seven hours ; strain through a fine sieve, put aside to set, and remove the oil from the top. The strength of the soup made from this stock can be regulated according to taste.
STONES, Indian Method of Polishing. — Mix powdered corundum with melted lac, and as the mixture cools, shape it into oblong pieces, three or four inches in length. Sprinkle the stones with water, and rub them with these oblong masses, using those of fine and finer grain as the polish increases.
STONES (PRECIOUS), A Test for. — The readiest means of distinguishing precious stones from imitations is to touch them with the tongue. The real stone will feel cold, while the paste will be much less so.
STOVES, To Impart a Brilliant Appearance to. — A teaspoonful of pulverised alum mixed with black-lead will give the stove a fine lustre, which will be quite permanent.
STOVES, To Restore Stained. — Clean off all grease, dirt, and black-lead with turpentine first, then with strong liquid ammonia and soft water. When thoroughly dry, give a coat of black paint, and when this is sufficiently hard, proceed with black-lead in the ordinary way.
STRAWBERRIES, To Preserve. — Pick and weigh a number of fine large strawberries, add the same weight of powdered sugar, and put them in a preserving-pan over a slow fire till the sugar is melted ; then boil them as fast as possible for twenty minutes. Make hot a number of small jars, pour the fruit in boiling hot, lay a paper soaked in brandy over the top, cork and seal the jars at once, and keep them through the summer in a cold, dry cellar, and a little removed from the wall.
STRAWBERRY-BEDS. — The following is the American method of making new strawberry-beds : — Line off strips of the old bed about six inches wide and a foot and a half apart ; cut them into squares, take them up with three inches of earth about their roots, and set them in the new bed eighteen inches apart. By this means the plants will bear fruit the first year, and it allows of the introduction of new soil to the old bed. The operation may be performed at the beginning of March if the weather is sufficiently advanced.