Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/627

 TOILET RECIPES, ITEMS. 585

To remove stains, rub a slice of raw potato upon the stains; or wash the hands in lemon juice or steeped laurel-leaves.

To give a fine color to the nails, the hands and fingers must be well lathered and washed with fine soap ; then the nails must be rubbed with equal parts of cinnebar and emery, followed by oil of bitter almonds. To take white spots from the nails, melt equal parts of pitch and tur- pentine in a small cup ; add to it vinegar and powdered sulphur. Rub this on the nails and the spots will soon disappear.

TOILET SOAP.

ONE pound of washing soda, one pound of lard or clear tallow, half a pound of unslaked lime, one tablespoonful of salt, three quarts of water. Put the soda and lime in a large dish, and pour over the water, boiling hot ; stir until dissolved ; let it stand until clear, then pour off the clear liquid, add the grease and salt ; boil four hours, then pour into pans to cool. If it should be inclined to curdle or separate, indi- cating the lime to be too strong, pour in a little more water, and boil again. Perfume as you please, and pour into molds a shallow dish, and, when cold, cut into bars to dry.

ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS.

THE following list gives some of the more common poisons and the remedies most likely to be on hand in case of need:

Acids: These cause great heat and sensation of burning pain from the mouth down to the stomach. The remedies are : Magnesia, soda, pearl ash, or soap dissolved in water, every two minutes ; then use the stomach pump, or an emetic.

Alkali: Drink freely of water with vinegar or lemon juice in it, made very strong of the sour.

Ammonia: Remedy is lemon juice or vinegar.

Arsenic Remedies: Give prompt emetic of mustard and salt, a tablespoonful of each, in a coffeecup of warm water ; then follow with sweet oil, butter made warm, or milk. Also may use the white of an egg in half a cupful of milk or lime water. Chalk and water is good, and the preparation of iron, ten drops in water every half hour j hy- drated magnesia.

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