Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/610

568 from the respiration of those eating or sleeping in the apartment. Very few realize how important such purification is for the health of the family, or, indeed, understand or realize that there can be any impurity in the rooms; yet in a few hours a pitcher or pail of cold water the colder the more effective will make the air of a room pure, but the water will be entirely unfit for use.

To Fill Cracks in Plaster:—Use vinegar instead of water to mix your plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not "set" for twenty or thirty minutes; whereas, if you use water the plaster will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it. Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife.

To Take Spots from Wash Goods:—Rub them with the yolk of egg before washing.

To Take White Spots from Varnished Furniture:—Hold a hot stove lid or plate over them and they will soon disappear.

To Prevent Oil from Becoming Rancid:—Drop a few drops of ether into the bottle containing it.

Troublesome Ants:—A heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from your sugar box and all around (there must be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants from troubling.

To Make Tough Meat Tender:—Lay it a few minutes in a strong vinegar water.

To Remove Discoloration from Bruises:—Apply a cloth wrung out in very hot water, and renew frequently until the pain ceases. Or apply raw beefsteak.

A Good Polish for Removing Stains, Spots and Mildew from Furniture is made as follows: Take half a pint of ninety-eight per cent, alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverized resin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil; shake well and apply with a brush or sponge.

To Remove Finger-Marks:—Sweet oil will remove finger-marks from varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.

To Remove Paint from Black Silk:—Patient rubbing with chloroform will remove paint from black silk or any other goods, and will not hurt the most delicate color or fabric.