The farm cook & rule book

Much energy is saved if the housewife sits down on a high stool while ironing, washing dishes, stirring up the cake batter, paring potatoes and attending to other household duties. If a hole is made through the top of this stool through which the finger may be placed, it is easy to carry this device from one part of the room to another. Prop for Sick Person An ordinary kitchen chair placed back down at the head of the bed supplies a support for the pillow against which the patient may lean. This makes it much easier for an ill person to sit up in bed. GRANDMOTHER'S BEAUTY SECRETS Cucumber Cream To soothe an inflamed skin or to soften a dry one, cucumber cream may be used. Take 2 cucumbers that are ripe and yellow, wash thoroughly and cut in thin slices. Place in a saucepan and add barely enough cold water to cover. Simmer gently until the mass is soft and mushy. Rub through a fine sieve and strain through a cloth. To every 3 ounces of cucumber juice add 3 ounces of almond oil and y? ounce of white wax. Heat until all the ingredients are melted. Then beat the mixture until it becomes cold, adding a few drops of tincture of benzoin during the beating. Strawberry Lotion For whitening the 'skin this lotion is excellent. Crush ripe strawberries in a saucepan to extract the juice and boil them 5 minutes, mashing them with a spoon during the cooking. Strain off the juice and cool. Measure and mix 1 part of alcohol with 2 parts of strawberry juice. Bottle and use a very little to remove tan or yellowness from the skin. Fresh Berry Lotion Mash % cupful of ripe strawberries and add the same amount of cold water. Before retiring and after the face, neck and arms have been washed, apply the strawberry mixture to the skin. When washed off in the mornings the skin will be more nearly white. Lettuce Cream A cream which serves for a bleach and a healing lotion is made from lettuce. Select large lettuce leaves and cover them GRANDMOTHER'S BEAUTY SECRETS 269 With boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes; then pour off the water and pound the lettuce with a potato masher. Strain through a fine sieve. Then melt 1 ounce of white wax, 1 ounce of spermacetti and 4 ounces of almond oil in a double boiler or over water. The mixture should not boil, but just melt. Remove from the stove and add drop by drop the lettuce juice, beating the mixture constantly with a fork until the cream is smooth, light and cold. Preventing Wrinkles If strawberries are ripe, they may be combined with cream to be used on the face to prevent wrinkles. Mash 6 large and ripe berries and add an equal amount of heavy cream. Pat this on the face with the finger tips, applying it liberally under the eyes and other places where wrinkles are likely to come. Lemon Bleach Squeeze the juice of two lemons in 1 cupful of water and wash the face with this two times daily to remove freckles. If one wishes, the lemon juice may be stirred into as much sugar as it will hold and this is rubbed on the face. Horseradish Bleach Select a medium-sized horseradish root and grate very fine. Cover with fresh buttermilk and let stand overnight. Strain through fine muslin and bottle the liquid. Wash the face with this night and morning for a bleach. Milk Remedies