Martha McCulloch-Williams

“ Dig up the earth in pots so as to keep a light, clean surface. Green scum, while not dangerous, does not make for plant health.
For Roaches, dip cut potatoes in arsenic mixed with sugar and lay cut side down on the pots and about them. Gather up every morning, dropping instantly into a vessel of boiling water—this to destroy such insects as remain alive. But never put out poison if there are children in the house. ”

“ Dog biscuit day in and out destroys appetite and thrift. Shift every other day to table scraps, oatmeal porridge, cornmeal mush cooked with broth, or raw meat and bones. Give milk almost every day—not too much. Be sparing of the raw meat; a zest suffices. Tiny house dogs ought to have light breakfasts, with a hearty dinner around two o’clock, and nothing more. Dogs running out need much more food, otherwise they get into mischief. ”

“ With a simple clean fracture, as across a platter, wash edges very clean, using a brush and suds, rinse in hot water, then coat thickly with pure white lead rubbed thicker than cream in raw linseed oil. Set the larger fragment, break up, perpendicularly in the box of sand. It must stand plumb. Fit the other piece to it, and hang evenly across it the swinging weights, which are but a strip of strong cloth doubled up into pockets at each end and filled with buckshot or pebbles, which must balance accurately. Their use is to make the join firm and fine—in fact, barely visible. ”

“ An outdoor pantry can be set on a back porch or on legs in a shady yard, or even made fast to the wall. A goods box, whitewashed, set firmly about waist high, furnished with shelves inside and a door of screen wire, will hold meat, milk, cakes, pies, bread, surplus fruit, raw or cooked, and keep them to the queen’s taste. Have clean bags with drawstrings to slip over dishes of meat, as hams, roasts, a fowl in wait for Sunday dinner. Lay raw meat upon lumps of charcoal, put other lumps over it, and wrap tight in clean cloth, then lay upon a rack or slat shelf. ”

“ Cleaning Furs: Brush well, comb twice—against grain and with it—wipe over with soft flannel, then with a wisp of cotton tied in old silk and dipped lightly in gasolene or benzine or ether. Ether is best for white furs. Work quickly, changing the cloth if it grows dirty. Comb up again, and sift over hot cornmeal or sifted sawdust, rub it well through the fur, up, down, crosswise, shake out, and hang to air. White furs after shaking out should be covered thick with starch and whiting in fine powder, mixed with enough powder blue to clear. ”

“ Fresh-ground coffee is stronger and more flavorous than that ground in bulk. Also there is less chance of adulteration. To test for adulteration, stir a pinch of ground coffee into a glass of cold water. Pure coffee settles to the bottom, leaving hardly a trace of color. Chicory will rise to the top, also making a kind of scum. Adulteration with roasted grain or bread or the artificial beans will color the water more or less deeply. Keep coffee in bright tin or glass, tightly closed, away from light, where it is dry and cool. ”

“ Point lace, being needle-made, can be needle-mended as good as new. Tack smooth upon waxed linen or stiff paper, study the breaks, and fill them with the same stitch, using the same thread. If the ground is badly broken, expedite work by laying under a bit of fine net, matching the mesh, and sewing the figures to it. Lace stitches can be learned from any book on needlework, and are none of them difficult. Irish crochet wears out all over commonly—tears or breaks, though, can be filled with a crochet hook, matching stitch and thread. ”

“ Anything which excludes air without tainting the wound or irritating it further helps a bad burn. Carron oil—a creamy mixture of lime water and sweet oil—applied with a feather, then covered with cotton, either batting or absorbent, gives a measure of relief and is also healing. Soft old linen coated with fresh egg-white laid on and allowed to dry soothes pain. Even a covering with dry flour, if nothing else is handy, is better than leaving the burn bare. ”

“ Water and catnip, green or dry, should be always accessible. Do not overfeed; cats are dainty gluttons if permitted. Keep them thriving, but not fat—fat and indigestion are the roots of disease.
Rid of fleas as directed for dogs. After drying, confine for some time, first giving a saucer of milk with a teaspoonful of whisky or brandy in it. For skin troubles grease all over with the sulphur and butter, confine so as to keep from getting dirty, and wash well after twenty-four hours in hot suds, rinsing well and drying with soft towels. ”

“ Give a teacup—the same as of liquid manure—to a ten-inch pot, a tablespoonful to a four-inch one, and half that to a thumb pot. A quart will be none too much for a three-foot window box filled with soft-stemmed plants. They demand more than woody plants. Over-fertilizing is bad—it turns leaves yellow and scants bloom. Plants suffer indigestion the same as people. The remedy for it is to set them in a sink or on a grating and pour hot (not boiling) water through the pot until it runs out clear.
Insects and Insecticides: Insects are the pest of house plants. ”

“ Empty closets, wipe over, examine all accumulations of paper, boxes, etc. A bug overlooked will in a month’s space infest a whole house. Couches of rattan, wicker, or upholstered are strongholds of the blood-suckers. Set in air and drench with benzine or gasolene, leave standing a day, and drench again, shaking, brushing, and beating between drenchings.
Wicker clothes hampers and baskets, also baby carriages, are other strongholds. Scald hampers and baskets with boiling-hot soda water, then paint over with turpentine and a little sweet oil. ”

“ Burn wood that does not snap nor give out any pungent smell. Coal should be free-burning. Put it in small paper bags—thus it can be laid in the grate without noise or dust. Dampen ashes before removing, and keep hearth and fixtures clean by a daily washing. Keep the heat steady—the temperature that is ordered. Where there is distress of breathing, keep a clean kettle simmering on the fire, the spout turned outward—vapor softens air. Furnace heat coming through a floor register should be softened by setting on the register a small pan of water. ”

“ Where sunshine falls upon matting a double thickness of paper saves fading. Narrow lengths either to hang or pin about draperies will keep the draperies fresh. Paper is as nearly impervious to dust as almost anything known. Paper bags tied over gas globes, brass door knobs, and candlesticks prevent both dust and tarnish. ”

“ Electricity is useful, but not indispensable. In desperate cases use every means at hand.
Acid Poisoning: Emollients are the antidotes for acids; emetics wrench and tear seared stomach tissues. No matter what the acid—sulphuric, carbolic, nitric, or oxalic—give something soft and smooth—raw eggs, cream, starch wet as thick as cream, melted lard or butter, olive oil, or even flour and water, followed after a few minutes with magnesia stirred thick in tepid water. Let the patient rest easily, hold ammonia to the nostrils, and put hot-water bags to the feet. ”

“ Flies white and black are hardest to fight; they fly away at a touch on the pot. Set the infested plant apart, with a stick standing higher than itself fast in earth, throw a thin cloth over, letting it reach the ground all around, then slip under it a lighted smudge, and set over cloth and plant either a box or a barrel, with paper pasted over the cracks. ”

“ Beware of chipping, beware also of cracking glaze by setting in heat or boiling water. Such ware is porous enough to take up grease and other things. Cracked or chipped dishes should not be used except to hold things like raw fruit, bread, sandwiches, or dry stores.
Gilt and Cut Glass: Remove cream or jelly with a quick rinse, wash in suds or borax water, a little more than blood-warm, using a clean soft brush on the cuttings. Have a cloth on the pan bottom if the cutting is deep, the article of good size. Use white soap—resin soaps get into fine lines and stay there. ”

“ Made-up lace, as fichus, collars, and so on, must be spread smoothly upon a hard cushion, pinned, and dried in air. Things lightly soiled can be dry-cleaned by lying buried a week in corn starch mixed equally with calcined magnesia. Shake out, brush gently, and press under light weight. Moderate soiling is best remedied with gasolene, changing it as it grows dirty. Hang several days in air, under a thin cover—this takes away scent and prevents collecting dust. Silk embroidery on all grounds demands gasolene-cleaning. ”

“ Parrots learn quickly to eat and drink with their owners. Coffee in moderation is good for them, but they must have water besides. Some thrive better for drinking milk; indeed, the creatures are almost uncannily human in many things. Let them bathe at discretion, provide also a dust bath. Have a roomy cage, a tall, branchy perch, and a hoop swing. Never tease nor tantalize; parrots are cross enough without; 191also jealous. Do not leave free in the room with a small child. Their beaks are cruelly sharp. Lacking insects, give small lumps of raw mutton fat. ”

“ Get the best rubber cement, have the break very clean, apply, and let harden for a day at least. Breaks in hose, tubes, and so on had better be cloth-covered—after mending, of course. Indeed, the life of such things is trebled by covering them neatly before they break. Cut strips of cloth wide enough to go round, allow half an inch for turned edges, fold down, and whip together around the hose or tube. A big pipe can have a cover of canvas stitched up. Covering protects the surface and takes up a large part of the water strain. ”

“ Work at a steady table set in good light but not glaring. Have a white table cover, a bowl of hot water, a cup of alcohol, plenty of clean rags, several camel’s-hair brushes of varying size, a tumbler of water to hold them when not in use, plenty of twine, tying-tape, new rubber bands in variety, a pair of swinging weights, and on the 76floor, out of the way, a box half full of damp earth or sand. You need in addition squares of deal or cardboard for setting out of the way mended things. Also a pound of putty mixed stiff and, if mending ornaments, gold paint and colors in powder. ”

“ Whether from gas or drowning, lay flat, the head a little higher; permit no crowding; resort to artificial respiration—lifting the arms and pressing on the chest systematically, holding the tongue out all the while; rub with alcohol, especially feet and hands; keep in air, and work gently but quickly. In cases of drowning, empty lungs of water first thing by laying face down over a bench or barrel and working the arms. ”

“ Tea is largely a matter of taste and brands, also prices. Very cheap tea is undesirable, being commonly adulterated with spent 133tea leaves. Tests vary as much as brands. A safe and easy one is to infuse a pinch of tea one minute in boiling water, pour off one-half, and let the other half stand, keeping at almost boiling heat for ten minutes. Pour off and compare in smell and taste with the first. Artificial color, if present, will show as dregs in the long steeping and reveal itself further in a faint metallic taste. ”

“ If very small, have floors of loose boards which can be taken up and scalded. Feed three times a day with grain, roots, and green stuff. Be liberal of the green stuff. With a grass run the beasts will supply most of it themselves. Scatter the food, and give only as much as will be eaten clean. Suckling mothers need extra feeds, five a day instead of three.
Dust weekly with sifted ashes, corn starch in powder, and flowers of sulphur. Use in dry weather, putting on at night. Have hutches big enough to prevent crowding. ”

“ Small thrifty plants need to be shifted yearly. After they reach a good size do not shift, fertilize instead. Keep pot surfaces clean, set at least a foot above the floor, water plentifully and regularly, but do not let it stand at the roots. Sprinkle or wipe with a damp cloth weekly, and monthly give a plunge bath in your own bath water. Let stand till barely tepid, then tie a cloth over the earth, and lay your plant on its side in the tub. ”

“ Make blue-water as deep as possible, strain, and add to the hot starch. Even with liquid blue it is well to strain—specks of blueing, once dry, are hard to get out.
Curtains: Dip cream net or madras in hay tea or weak coffee water, after rinsing—this keeps the color. Make the tea by boiling a handful of bright hay in two gallons of water for twenty minutes. Strain, and add a pinch of alum in powder. Most curtains should not be starched. Many are better not ironed. Real lace curtains should be dried on sheets spread on the floor, every point pinned smooth. ”

“ White cats, especially those with blue eyes, are more savage, less affectionate, and much harder house-broken than black, gray, or tortoise-shell ones. Often the white fellows are deaf. Each and several, cats run wild for reasonable opportunity, yet they bear housing and confinement admirably. ”