Ink for Zinc Labels. — Verdigris, two drachms ; ammonia, two
drachms ; soft water, four ounces ; lampblack, one drachm. Mix in
a mortar, adding the water by a little at a time ; keep in a glass-
stoppered bottle. Shake before using. Write on the zinc with a
quill pen, and when dry it is ready for use.
To Black a Brick Hearth. — Mix some black-lead with soft soap
and a little water and boil it ; then lay it on with a brush. Or mix
the lead with water only.
To Cut Glass Jars. — Fill the jar with lard-oil to where you want
to cut the jar; then heat an iron-rod or bar to red-heat; immerse in
the oil ; the unequal expansion will crack the jar all round at the
surface of the oil, and you can lift off the top part.
To Clean Furniture. — One quart of cold drawn linseed-oil, half
a pint of gin, or spirits of wine, half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of
57^ THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
butter of antimony, half a pint of turpentine. This mixture requires
to be well shaken before it is used. A little of it is then to be poured
upon a rubber, which must be well applied to the surface of the fur-
niture. Several applications will be necessary for new furniture, or
for such as has previously been French polished or rubbed with
beeswax.
The leaves of the common walnut-tree, placed over doors, win-
dows, mantels, or in wreaths or bunches about the house, will drive
flies away.
Kettles which come with a new stove can be cleaned by boiling
potato peelings in them over a slow fire.
Porcelain kettles that have become brown can be rendered
nearly as white as when new by boiling potatoes in them.
Small quantities of ice may be preserved in summer by making a
bag large enough to hold the ice ; then make another much larger
bag, and fill the space between with sawdust.
If by chance the wash-boiler should spring a leak when filled with
clothes over a brisk fire, carefully press the clothes away from the
side of the leak and sift a small teaspoonful of Indian meal over the
water ; the leak will close immediately.
Stone-jars, which have become offensive and unfit for use, may be
rendered perfectly sweet by packing them full of earth and letting
them stand two or three weeks.
Good housekeepers never permit soup to cool in the iron pot in
which it is cooked.
Hay-water is a great sweetener of tin, wooden and iron ware. A
handful of hay boiled in new kettles of iron or tin removes all dis-
agreeable taste. ;
Water slightly impregnated with petroleum, applied to plants or
animals infected with insects, will destroy the latter at once.
A PINT OF mustard-seed put in a barrel of cider will preserve it
sweet for several months.
Castor-oil is an excellent thing to soften leather.
A small piece of paper or linen, moistened with spirits of turpen-
MISCELLANEOUS HOUSEHOLD RECIPES. 577
tine, and put into a bureau or wardrobe for a single day, Ivvo or three
times a year, is a sufificient preservation against moths.
Keep soft soap three months before using.
Oilcloths and straw matting can be kept bright by washing twice
during the summer with salt and water — say about a pint of salt dis-
solved in about a pailful of warm, soft water — drying the matting
quickly with a soft cloth. The salt will prevent it turning yellow.
Page 374
Presented as published in 1883. 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
Ink for Zinc Labels. — Verdigris, two drachms ; ammonia, two drachms ; soft water, four ounces ; lampblack, one drachm. Mix in a mortar, adding the water by a little at a time ; keep in a glassstoppered bottle. Shake before using. Write on the zinc with a quill pen, and when dry it is ready for use.
To Black a Brick Hearth. — Mix some black-lead with soft soap and a little water and boil it ; then lay it on with a brush. Or mix the lead with water only.
To Cut Glass Jars. — Fill the jar with lard-oil to where you want to cut the jar; then heat an iron-rod or bar to red-heat; immerse in the oil ; the unequal expansion will crack the jar all round at the surface of the oil, and you can lift off the top part.
To Clean Furniture. — One quart of cold drawn linseed-oil, half a pint of gin, or spirits of wine, half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of
57^ THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
butter of antimony, half a pint of turpentine. This mixture requires to be well shaken before it is used. A little of it is then to be poured upon a rubber, which must be well applied to the surface of the furniture. Several applications will be necessary for new furniture, or for such as has previously been French polished or rubbed with beeswax.
The leaves of the common walnut-tree, placed over doors, windows, mantels, or in wreaths or bunches about the house, will drive flies away.
Kettles which come with a new stove can be cleaned by boiling potato peelings in them over a slow fire.
Porcelain kettles that have become brown can be rendered nearly as white as when new by boiling potatoes in them.
Small quantities of ice may be preserved in summer by making a bag large enough to hold the ice ; then make another much larger bag, and fill the space between with sawdust.
If by chance the wash-boiler should spring a leak when filled with clothes over a brisk fire, carefully press the clothes away from the side of the leak and sift a small teaspoonful of Indian meal over the water ; the leak will close immediately.
Stone-jars, which have become offensive and unfit for use, may be rendered perfectly sweet by packing them full of earth and letting them stand two or three weeks.
Good housekeepers never permit soup to cool in the iron pot in which it is cooked.
Hay-water is a great sweetener of tin, wooden and iron ware. A handful of hay boiled in new kettles of iron or tin removes all disagreeable taste. ;
Water slightly impregnated with petroleum, applied to plants or animals infected with insects, will destroy the latter at once.
A PINT OF mustard-seed put in a barrel of cider will preserve it sweet for several months.
Castor-oil is an excellent thing to soften leather.
A small piece of paper or linen, moistened with spirits of turpen-
tine, and put into a bureau or wardrobe for a single day, two or three times a year, is a sufificient preservation against moths.
Keep soft soap three months before using.
Oilcloths and straw matting can be kept bright by washing twice during the summer with salt and water — say about a pint of salt dissolved in about a pailful of warm, soft water — drying the matting quickly with a soft cloth. The salt will prevent it turning yellow.