CANARY BIRDS

Canary Birds — Do not keep in a room that is being painted or has odor of new paint. Do not hang over a stove or grate which contains fire. Do not set cage in a window, and shut it down upon it; the draft is injurious. Do not wash cage bottom, but scrape clean with a knife, and then put on some fresh gravel ; the moisture breeds red mites, and is injurious to the bird. Do not keep the birds you intend to breed in the spring together during the winter. Do not keep single birds in a room where others are breeding, or males and females in mating season in the same room in separate cages, as it is likely to cause pairing fever. Feed canary and rape seed, but no hemp. For diarrhea put a rusty piece of iron in water dish, changing water not oftener than twice a week, and bread boiled in milk as for the asth- ma; boil it well in this case, so that when cold it will cut like cheese ; give freely with plenty of vegetables.

Moulting is not a disease, yet during this period all birds are more or less sick, and some suffer severely. They require plenty of nourish- ing food. Worms, insects, and fruit to those which eat them ; and to those which live upon dry seeds, bread dipped in milk, fruit and vege- tables. — Airs. Mary Winget.

Teeth — Many, while attentive to their teeth, do more injury than good by too much officiousness, daily applying some dentrifice tooth pow- der, often impure and injurious, and rubbing them so hard as not only to injure the enamel by excessive friction, but also to hurt the gums even more than by a toothpick. Tooth powders advertised in newspapers are to be suspected, as some of them are not free from corrosive ingredients. Charcoal, (which whitens the teeth very nicely) pumice stone, cuttle fish, and similar substances, are unfit for use in tooth powders, as all are to a certain extent insoluble in the mouth and are forced between the margin of the gums, forming a nucleus for a deposit. Below will be found a few good formulas for dentrifices :

Creta preparata lb s. ii. j.; powdered borax Jb i.; powdered orris root lb i.; cardamom seeds z. i. j.; white sugar lb i.; flavor as you wish, either with wintgrgreen, rose or jasmine. If color is desired, one pound of rose pink and as much less o^ creta preparata is used.

The following is a simple and cheap preparation, and is pretty good. Take of prepared chalk and fine old Windsor soap pulverized well, in proportion of about six parts of the former to one of the latter. Soap is a veiy beneficial ingredient of tooth powder. — H. W. Morey, D. D. S.

378 THE BUCKKYE COOK BOOK.

Cutting Teeth — The time the first teeth make their appearance varies, but the following dates approximate the time: Central incisors froip five to eight months after birth ; lateral incisors from seven to ten ; first molars from twelve to sixteen ; cuspids, or eye teeth from fourteen to twenty ; second molars from twenty to thirty-six. The first teeth should be protected from, decay as far as possible by careful cleaning daily ; if decay makes its appearance, the cavity should be promptly filled, and the tooth saved until displaced by the permanent teeth. About the sixth year the first molars of the permanent teeth make their appearance. They are generally supposed to belong to the first or milk teeth and are frequently lost for want of care. A little more attention given to the first teeth would save parents and children sleepless nights and suffering. — B. L. Taylor^ D. D. S., Minneapolis.

Queen Bess Complexion Wash — Put in a vial one drachm of benzoin gum in powder, one drachm nutmeg oil, six drops of orange blossom tea, or apple blossoms put in half pint rainwater and boiled down to one teaspoonful and strained, one pint of sherry wine. Bathe the face morning and night ; will remove all flesh worms and freckles, and give a beautiful complexion. Or, put one ounce pow- dered gum of benzoin in pint whisky ; to use put enough in the water in wash bowl till it is milky.

Cologne Water — One quart alcohol, three drachms oil lavender^^ one drachm oil rosemary, three drachms oil bergamot, three drachms essence lemon, three drops oil cinnamon.

Clean Hair Brushes by pouring on the brush a teaspoon of am- monia, wash thoroughly in cold or tepid water, and expose to sun about two hours. The same process cleans tooth brushes.

Boston Bernett Powder for the Face — Five cents worth of bay rum, five cents worth of magnesia snow flake, five cents worth of ber- gamot, five cents worth of oil of lemon ; mix in a pint bottle and fill up with rain water. Perfectly harmless and splendid. — Emma Collins.

For Chapped Hands, Face or Lips. — Ten drops carbolic acid in one ounce glycerine ; apply freely at night. '

Indelible Ink. — Two drams lunar caustic, six ounces distilled or rain watyrjVd^^Qiye' and add two drams gum water, wet the linen with -t«S' reparation. 7 Dissolve one-half ounce prepared natron, in four ounoe^ water, add half ounce gum water (recipe below); after smoothing it with a warm iron, write with the ink, using a gold, quill, or a new steel pen. The writing must be exposed to a hot sun for twelve hours, do not wash for one week, then be particular to get out the stain which the. preparation will make. If this is followed in every particular there need never be a failure. Gum water for the above is composed of two drams gum arable to four ounces water. One tea- spoon makes two drams, two tablespaons make one ounce. If at any time the ink becomes too pale add a little of pure lunar caustic. Never write without using the preparation, as it will rot the cloth.

MISCELLANEOUS. 379

Magic Furniture Polish — Half pint alcohol, half ounce resin, half ounce gum shellac, a few drops aniline brown ; let stand over night and add three fourths pint raw linseed oil and half pint spirits turpentine ; shake well before using. Apply with cotton flannel, and rub dry with another cloth. — O. M. Scott.

To Clean Silverware Easily — Save water in which potatoes have been boiled with a little salt, let it become sour, which it will do in a few days; heat and wash the articles with a woolen cloth, rinse in pure water, dry and polish with chamois leather. Never allow a particle of soap to touch silver or plated ware.

To Make Rag Rugs — Cut rags and sew hit and miss, or fancy striped as you choose; use wooden needles, round, smooth and pointed at one end, of any convenient length. The knitting is done back and forth (like old fashioned suspenders), always taking off the first stitch. — Anna F. Hisey.

To Destroy Weeds in Walks — Boil ten pounds stone lime, five gallons water and one pound flour of sulphur, let settle, pour off clear part and sprinkle freely upon the weedy walks.

To Keep away Moths — Dust your furs with powdered alum, working it well in at the roots of the hair. Do not air woolen articles and furs in the summer sunshine. They should be put aside in the early spring and left untouched until October.

To Preserve Books. — Bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over with spirits of wine. A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mold and damp. Russia leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never molds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to preserve valuable manuscripts. Russia leather covered books, placed in a stationers' window will destroy flies and other insects.

Black for Woolens — One ounce vitriol, one ounce extract log' wood to two pounds goods ; color in iron. Dissolve the extract over night in warm water. Pulverize the vitriol, put it into boiling water sufficient to cover the goods. Wash the goods well, rinse in warm water, then simmer a few minutes in vitriol water. Take out, wash thoroughly in clear water, then dip in boiling logwood dye till the color is good, stirring often and lifting up so it will get the air. Dry, then wash in suds and rinse. In renovating black alpaca that has be- come rusty, dissolve the logwood only, as nothing is needed to set the color. Wash the goods well in sud.s, rinse, dip in logwood dye, boil a few minutes, stirring and lifting to air. When dry wash again in suds and rinse in water in which a little gum arabic has been dis- solved and press smoothly on the wrong side while damp. Dyed in this way the color will not rub off more than from new goods, and looks a-; good as new. When extract of logwood is used, it is only needful to boil enough to dissolve before putting in the goods.

Unfermentei) Wine for Communion — Weigh the grapes, pick

380 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.

from the stems, put in a porcelain kettle, add very little water and cook till stones and pulp separate ; press and strain through a thick cloth, return juice to kettle, add three pounds sugar to every ten pounds grapes ; heat to simmering, bottle hot and seal. This makes one gallon, and is good.

To Press Satin— All satin goods should be pressed upon the right side. To press and clean black silk, shake out all dust, clean well with a flannel cloth, rubbing it up and down over the silk ; this takes , out all dust that may be left ; take some good lager beer and sponge the silk, both on the wrong and right side, sponging across the width of the silk, and not down the length, and with a moderately warm iron press what is intended for the wrong side. After sponging it is better to wait a few moments before pressing, as the irons will not be so apt to stick.

To Take Out Mildew — Wet the cloth and rub on soap and chalk mixed together, and lay in the sun. Or, lay the cloth in buttermilk for a short time, take out, and place in the hot sun". Or, put lemon juice on and treat in the same way.

A Good Cement for mending almost anything, may be made by mixing litharge and glycerine to the consistency of thick cream or fresh putty. This cement is useful for mending stone jars, stopping leaks in seams of tin pans or wash boilers, cracks and holes in iron kettles, fastening on lamp tops ; in all cases the article mended should not be used till the cement has hardened. This cement will resist the action of water, hot or cold, acids, and almost any degree of heat. Cement for attaching metal to glass. Mix two ounces of a thick so- lution of glue with one ounce of linseed oil varnish, and half an ounce of pure spirits of turpentine ; boil the whole together in a close vessel. After it has been applied to the glass and metal, clamp together for two or three days, till dr,y. Cement for china. To a thick solution of gum arable add enough plaster of paris to form a sticky paste ; apply -with a brush and stick edges together. To paste paper on tin. Make a thin paste of gum tragacanth and water, to which add a few drops of oil of vitriol. Mix a pound each of transparent glue and very strong vinegar, one quart alcohol, a small quantity of alum, and dissolve by means of a water bath. This is useful for- uniting horn, , pearl, shell and bone. — B. H. Gilbert.

Lightning Cream for Clothes or Paint — Four ounces white Castile soap, four ounces ammonia, two ounces ether, two ounces al- cohol, one ounce glycerine ; cut the soap fine, dissolve in one quart soft water over the fire, and when dissolved add other ingredients.

Cochineal Coloring — To a pound of wool take two gallons rain water, one ourice cream tartar, one and a half ounces cochineal, two ounces solution tiii, one-fourth ounce turmeric; first put the water in a copper kettle and let it boil, put in the cream tartar, in five minutes the cochineal, in five minutes solution tin, in five minutes turmeric, in five minutes yarn, boil an hour, slir all the time. Riiise in cold water.

HIT AND MISS. 381