Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/120

 and mix with the same quantity of cinnamon, nutmeg (grated) and mace. Place in muslin bags and hang here and there about presses, &amp;c., and no moth or silver fish will come.

To Get Rid of Rats.—MizMix [sic] ordinary white wash and sufficient copperas in it to make it a yellow colour. Paint the shelves, room or floors where the rats come, and in every crevice or hole put a few crystals of copperas and scatter the powder freely about their haunts.

To Get Rid of Ants' Nests.—Very often these little pests build in all sorts of inconvenient places. The only thing that seems to dislodge them is borax. Sprinkle it freely round and about their holes, then with a fine rose on a water can water all over it. The ants will very soon leave.

Another method is poisoning them with a little vitriol mixed with sweetened water and placed near their haunts, but the borax is the best and most harmless.

Cockroach Poison.—Mix red lead, flour and sugar in equal quantities and place it near their haunts. There is a green powder, very good for the purpose; it is sold by all chemists I think. The phosphate is best of all, but be careful to burn all dead cockroaches or the domestic animals and fowls may get them and die. In one of my periodical raids on the nimble 'roach I managed to poison 16 pure bred game hens, a pet kitten and a pet oppossum, so it hardly compensated me for the three hundred and odd cockroaches I did pick up.

To Clean Furs.—All light coloured furs, such as grey, brown, white, &amp;c., &amp;c., can be cleaned by rubbing the wrong way of the fur with a piece of flannel dipped in flour, or sprinkle the flour on and then rub, when one flannel is soiled take a fresh one at once, and when the fur is clean shake and rub again till all the flour is out. Bran can be used in place of the flour but it must be heated in a pan then thoroughly rubbed into the fur and shaken out again.

To Wash Chamois Leathers.—Make a solution (weak) of soda and warm water. Put in the leathers, rub well with soft soap and let them soak for a couple of hours then rub well till quite clean. Rinse thoroughly in some warm, soapy, soda water, if clean water is used the leathers will dry hard. Wring in a rough towel and dry quickly, then pull till soft and pliable.

To Put Out Fire in a Chimney.—Throw some flowers of sulphur on to the fire in the grate, or if that has been drawn light the sulphur in a tin dish and hang a blanket in front of the fireplace, the sulphur fumes will effectually extinguish the burning soot. Very often the blanket alone will put out the fire by stopping all draught. It should be well wetted. The very first thing to do when the chimney is on fire is to rush for a blanket, wet it, and hold it in front of the fireplace, when the roaring noise will stop directly, and unless the chimney is known to be very dirty there will be no need to burn the sulphur or take any other means to extinguish the fire as it will be the better for burning out and thus clearing out all soot.

A Delicate Glue for Mounting Ferns, Shells, Photographs, &amp;c.—Two teaspoonsful of gum arabic melted in half a cup of water, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and one of starch. Boil till thick.

To Wash Windows.—Brush away all cobwebs with a clean paint or white wash brush, then wash the wood work thoroughly before touching the glass. Use no soap to the glass, but simply warm water with a few drops of ammonia in it. Use a small pointed stick and a piece of cloth to get into the corners, wipe dry with a soft cloth, not linen on account of the fluff, or lint. Polish with tissue paper or old newspaper.

To Clean Old Brass and Copper.—Make a solution (strong) of washing soda and water boiling hot and dip the article to be cleaned into it, and then