THINGS WORTH REMEMBERING.
MANY an angry expletive or forceful action might be avoided if a few common-sense suggestions were remembered. Unfortunately, it is frequently the things that do not apply to the particular case that come to mind, while the special one is forgotten till the need for it has passed. For instance, the knowledge of how to keep ice in the sick-room may be of service in saving life. A deep tin pan or pail should be taken, and a piece of flannel so fastened over the top that it will sag in the middle, but not enough to touch the bottom of the pail. A good-sized piece of ice can be placed in the flannel, and completely wrapped in its folds so that no air can reach it. Small pieces of ice can be broken off, using a hatpin. When windows rattle in heavy winds a few slips of folded newspaper will stop the unpleasant noise, besides keeping out the wind. Paper is an excellent weather stripping, and it is a wonder that some enterprising dealer has not patented a way to use it. Pinning the curtains together on very cold nights will prevent the chill of the glass from lowering the temperature of the room. When the dreaded house-cleaning time arrives, the careful mother of the family finds so many annoyances that a few hints regarding some of them may not be scorned. Keys that never seem to stay in place may be fastened to the knobs by small gilt cords. Doors that will not open easily and drawers that stick may frequently be put in good condition by rubbing the offending edges with stove blacking, or even a soft lead-pencil. The wearisome and continual polishing of brasses may be avoided if, when they are in fine condition, they are varnished with a colorless shellac, kept in any paint store. A simple polish for furniture can be made of one part turpentine and three parts linseed oil, and is quite as efficacious as any of the expensive ones with fancy names. Kerosene oil will remove finger marks without taking off paint or varnish as well. Common washing soda will cleanse the drain pipes. Salt or Indian meal will brighten the carpets and keep the dust from rising. When a broom has been used for heavy sweeping, it keeps longer if it is dipped in hot water, shaken out well, and allowed to hang up until dry. When hard water is used, if a common marble—not glass—is put in the kettle, it will prevent the flakes of lime from forming on the sides. When a double boiler is improvised from two saucepans, a couple of nails placed in the lower one will prevent burning, and insure the water reaching every part. Lemons will keep better if strung on a cord through the blossom end, and hung up in a dark place; they must not touch each other. Tho it is my last suggestion, it may not be the least, that slightly moistening the button-holes of stiffly starched collars may prevent a morning episode that is quite common, “even in the best-regulated families.”—Selected.