Original White House Cookbook

To Keep Milk Sweet: — Put into a panful a spoonful of grated horseradish, it will keep it sweet for days. To Take Rust from Steel Implements or Knives: — Rub them well with kerosene oil, leaving them covered with it a day or so ; then rub them hard and well with finely powdered unslaked lime. Poison Water: — Water boiled in galvanized iron becomes poisonous, and cold water passed through zinc-lined iron pipes should never be used for cooking or drinking. Hot water for cooking should never be taken from hot water pipes; keep a supply heated in kettles. Scouring Soap for Cotton and Silk Goods: — Mix one pound of common soap, half of a pound of beef-gall and one ounce and a half of Venetian turpentine. A Paint for Wood or Stone that Resists All Moisture: — Melt twelve ounces of resin ; mix with it, thoroughly, six gallons of fish oil and one pound of melted sulphur. Rub up some ochre or any other coloring substance with a little linseed oil, enough to give it the right color and thickness. Apply several coats of the hot composition with a brush. The first coat should be very thin. To Ventilate a Room: — Place a pitcher of cold water on a table in your room and it will absorb all the gases with which the room is filled 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 fore 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.