The household (of the Detroit free press)

Wipe the hands perfectly dry after immersing them in water ; this is imperative if they are desired to be kept white. To keep the hands from chapping in cold weather, use of glycerine, one ounce; spermaceti, two drachms; olive oil, two ounces. Mix together with the aid of heat. Apply this every night, and, if time will admit of it, every morning. In winter, do not wash them in cold or hot water. It should be just blood warm, and no more nor less. Do not go out of doors with them uncovered. In summer, use cold water, unless the hands perspire very much, as the hands of some people do. These latter should use tepid water. In warm weather, a good preparation for the hands is this: Take half an ounce of powdered alum, the whites of two eggs and mix together. Then add enough bran to make into a thick paste. Apply this once a day, after washing, and, after rubbing the hands together well for a few minutes, wipe off with a soft towel. This will give them a soft, brilliant hue, and check any undue amount of perspiration. What is called cream of roses is also an excellent preparation for the hands, either in winter or summer. It is made as follows : Take compound tincture of benzoin half an ounce, almond and Malaga oil of each an ounce, attar of roses five drops, honey two ounces, and enough rose-water to make the mixture measure six ounces. Apply as often as you like. This is equally good for the face, and will soften and keep the skin white. For very warm weather a mixture of lemon juice and powdered borax is a fine whitener of the skin, and is also suited to those who have bluish hands, in which the blue veins show too strongly. Those who have their hands disfigured by warts can rid themselves of them by using carbolic acid, pure and undiluted. Apply it twice a day to the warts, and the acid will slowly destroy them. Every day they should be carefully scraped with a dull knife, but be careful not to make them bleed. If this fails, then use C. P. (chemically pure) nitric acid. Use this with care, as, if it touches the skin, it will burn it, as well as impart to it a nasty-looking yellow color, which nothing will remove. The nitric acid should be dropped on the wart with the point of a needle, and be allowed to remain there before washing off, until a burning sensation is felt. By both these chemicals, warts can always be removed without leaving a scar. Care of the Nails — The shape of the nails is very significant. The slender, tapering nail, of a rosy pink line, with a shell-like, transparent edge, denotes a refined nature. Broad, stubby nails indicate coarseness, though often great good nature, and the slender, tapering nail is often the accompaniment of a shrewish and quick temper. The best appliance is a nail brush used in water softened by the addition of a little borax and really fine toilet soap. In well-brushed and well-caredfor nails, the little curtain-like rim which surrounds them is well pushed or rolled back, displaying generally a delicate little crescent at the root. The skin of the finger should never be allowed to grow up on the nail. In paring and trimming, the shape given should always be as long an oval as possible. The corners should be carefully and closely cut, and the centers left rather long, so as to give the long, oval shape.