MISCELLANEOUS USEFUL RECIPES

489.—To Unite Broken Glass or China

Rub the edges of the pieces that require mending with the white of an egg, and then dust some slack lime upon them; hold them together till they stick, and let them dry. This cement is not liable to be softened by heat.

490.—Cement for Attaching Metal to Glass or Porcelain

Mix two ounces of a thick solution of glue with one ounce of linseed-oil varnish or three-quarters of an ounce of Venice turpentine. Boil together, agitating until the mixture becomes as intimate as possible. The pieces cemented should be fastened together for forty-eight or sixty hours.

491.—Japanese Cement

This is made by thoroughly mixing rice-flour with cold water, and then gently boiling it; it is beautifully white, and dries almost transparent.

492.—To Clean Silks, Satins, Coloured Woollen Dresses, &c.

Mix well together a quarter of a pound each of soft soap and honey, the white of an egg, and a wineglassful of gin; the article should be scoured thoroughly with rather a hard brush, rinsed in cold water, left to drain, and ironed whilst damp.

493.—To Remove Stains from Mourning Dresses

Boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until reduced to a pint. Bombazines, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a sponge dipped in this liquor, and the stains will be instantly removed.

494.—To Remove Ironmould

Rub the spot with a little powdered oxalic acid, or salts of lemon, and warm water. Let it remain a few minutes, and then well rinse it in clear water.

495.—To Clean Kid Gloves

First see that your hands are clean; then put on the gloves and wash them, as though you were washing your hands, in a basin of spirits of turpentine, until quite clean; hang them up in a warm place, or where there is a good current of air, which will carry off all smell of the turpentine.

496.—To Clean Feathers

To every gallon of water allow half a pound of quick-lime; stir the mixture well, and let it stand a night; then pour off the water that is perfectly clear, put the feathers to be cleaned into a deep tub, and pour in as much lime-water as will cover them; let them stand two or three days, stirring them frequently; then put them into a bag, and wash them thoroughly in cold water; turn them out on sieves, and wring the water from them by squeezing them in small portions with the hands, after which they may be separated, the hard quills picked out, and the down stripped from the large feathers. When they are thus carefully cleaned, lay them on a floor where air can be freely admitted; turn and shake them frequently, and when dry, put them into bags, and beat them on a knocking-stone with a knocker.

497.—To Wash Lace

Place the lace in folds, and baste it on each side; lay it in cold water for a night, and wash it in cold water with the best white soap; gently rub and squeeze it; wash it in three or four waters with the soap, and rinse it well in clean water; then put it into thin starch or rice-water; take out the basting thread, and spread it on a blanket upon a bed to dry; when it is nearly so, pick it out, and lay it in folds, and when quite dry, lay it in an old cambric handkerchief, and then in the folds of a towel; put it upon the rug, or upon a blanket laid upon a stone, and with a heavy wooden pestle, or rolling-pin, beat it hard till it looks quite smooth. A scarf or veil, after being starched, should be pinned out tight upon a cloth on the floor, and when dry, beaten in the same manner.

498.—To Wash Head and Clothes Brushes

Put a dessertspoonful of pearl-ashes into a pint of boiling-water, and shake the brush about in it till it is perfectly clean; then pour some clean hot water over it; shake, and dry it before the fire.

499.—To Clean Gold Chains, Earrings, &c.

Make a lather of soap and water, and boil the chain in it for a few minutes; immediately on taking it out, lay it in magnesia powder which has been heated by the fire, and when dry, rub it with flannel; if embossed, use a brush.

500.—To Clean Plate

Boil an ounce each of cream of tartar, alum, and common salt in a gallon of water; put the plate in and boil it, and when taken out and rubbed dry it will have a fine polish. Plate, when laid aside, will generally tarnish, but if cleaned by this method at stated periods, it will always look well.

501.—To Clean Marble

Sift through a fine sieve two parts of common soda, one of pumice-stone, and one of finely-powdered chalk, and mix it with water; rub it well all over the marble, and the stains will be removed; then wash the marble with soap and water, and it will be perfectly clean.