Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/116

 latter is best, into the bowl till it reaches the height to which you wish to colour it. Let it stand 15 or 20 minutes and then pour the spirit out through the stem taking care not to touch the upper part of the bowl. Use cut tobacco, smoke as often as you please, but never more than half way down. Leave the dottle in as long as the pipe will draw without cleaning, or till a good colour shows through. It should show lightly up to where the spirit soaked in, after four weeks or so. This recipe is from an experienced old smoker.

To Waterproof Boots for Sportsmen.—Make an ointment of four tablespoonsful of lard, four of olive oil and one of or raw rubber. Melt these ingredients together on a slow fire. Then moisten the sole of the boot with hot water, and smear the stuff over it. It will render the boots quite waterproof.

To Preserve Buggy Harness.— First rub in one or two coats of lamp black and castor oil (mixed) just warmed sufficiently to make it rub readily. Then sponge with warm soap suds. When quite dry rub over with a mixture of oil and tallow and enough lamp black or Prussian blue to colour it. Rub in well, using very little mixture at a time, till it looks like new.

Moths, Silver Fish, &amp;c.—Every housewife knows to her cost the ravages of these tiny creatures. They are, in many parts of the colonies, even worse than cockroaches, eating into every kind of cloth and muslin. Camphor is a preventative to a certain extent, though by no means a sure one. Wood of the camphor is better almost than the gum, tack chips of it inside wardrobes and drawers, it will also drive cockroaches away. Carpets when put away are liable to be totally destroyed by moths. Salt will preserve them. The coarse salt sprinkled through the folds. It is a good custom to sweep the carpet once a month or so, for sometimes the moths eat away under the sides and corners and do damage unknown to the housewife. Salt sprinkled lightly round the edges will prevent all this. And if the drawing room suite is treated the same way, that is salt sprinkled into the folds before brushing, not a moth will come near it. Coarse salt scattered about wardrobes, closets, cupboards, etc., will keep moths and silver fish away. Any rooms where they are, should be swept with salt. It does not injure carpets, on the contrary it tends to brighten the colours, and is a great purifier removing stuffy and musty smells. Dresses, gentlemen's clothes, &amp;c., that are continually left hanging up should be well beaten with a light cane to drive away all insect life. Then dissolve a drachm of camphor in two ounces of spirits of wine and with this sprinkle each article plentifully. It will not injure the most delicate colours and the smell will go off if hung in the air a few minutes before wearing.

To Keep Moths Away.—Brush every part of the wardrobe and drawers with spirits of wine, being sure to get into all the cracks and crevices. Cedar chips and sawdust will also keep moths away. It is a good plan to sprinkle a thin layer under the carpet before it is tacked down, or else soak sheets of brown paper in a solution of spirits of wine and lay them under.

To Clean Carpet Without Removing it.—To one large bucketful of water add three pints of ox gall (you can get your butcher to bring it to you). Wash the carpet with this until a lather is the result and then wash off with clean water.

To Patch Old Boots.—In the far bush, where one cannot get to a cobbler, it is as well to know how to put a patch on an "old friend." Make a cement by dissolving a small lump of in chloroform—make it the consistency of honey. Cut the piece for the patch from an old boot, a little larger than the hole. Heat the two surfaces at the fire, spread the cement on the boot, and quickly place the patch over it.