Enquire within upon everything · Chapter 11Publisher's Preface (10)
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282. Grubs
Grubs on orchard trees, and gooseberry and currant bushes, will sometimes be sufficiently numerous to spoil a crop; but if a bonfire be made with dry sticks and weeds on the windward side of the orchard, so that the smoke may blow among the trees, you will destroy thousands; for the grubs have such an objection to smoke, that very little of it makes them roll themselves up and fall off: they must be swept up afterwards and destroyed.
283. Caterpillars and Aphides
A garden syringe or engine, with a cap on the pipe full of very minute holes, will wash away these disagreeable visitors very quickly. You must bring the pipe close to the plant, and pump hard, so as to have considerable force on, and the plant, however badly infested, will soon be cleared, without receiving any injury. Afterwards rake the earth under the trees, and kill the insects that have been dislodged, or many will recover and climb up the stems of the plants. Aphides may also be cleared by means of tobacco smoke, but after this has been applied the plant should be well syringed.
284. Butterflies and Moths
Butterflies and moths however pretty, are the worst enemies one can have in a garden; a single insect of this kind may deposit eggs enough to overrun a tree with caterpillars, therefore they should be destroyed at any cost of trouble.
285. Birds
To prevent destruction of fruit buds by birds.—Just before the buds are ready to burst, and again when they have begun to expand, give them a plentiful dusting with chimney soot. The soot is unpalatable to the birds, and they will attack no bush that is thus sprinkled. It in no way injures the nascent blossom or leaf, and is washed off in due course of time by the rain.
286. Wasps
Wasps destroy a good deal of fruit, but every pair of wasps killed in spring saves the trouble and annoyance of a swarm in autumn.
287. Cure for Sting of Wasp or Bee
A little ammonia applied to the puncture will speedily relieve the pain, and so will the juice of an onion obtained by cutting an onion in half and rubbing the cut part over the part affected. It is necessary, however, to be very careful in any attempt upon a wasp, for its sting, like that of the bee, causes much pain and frequently induces considerable swelling. In case of being stung, get the blue-bag from the laundry, and rub it well into the wound as soon as possible. Later in the season, it is customary to hang vessels of beer, or water and sugar, in the fruit-trees, to entice them to drown themselves. A wasp in a window may be killed almost instantaneously by the application of a little sweet oil on the tip of a feather.
288. To protect Dahlias from Earwigs
Dip a piece of wool or cotton in oil, and slightly tie it round the stalk, about a foot from the earth. The stakes which you will put into the ground to support your plants must also be surrounded by the oiled cotton or wool, or the insects will climb up them to the blossoms and tender tops of the stems. Insects may be prevented from climbing up stakes, trees, &c., by encircling them with a broad ring of tar, which may be renewed as often as may be necessary. Small pots inverted and placed on the top of stakes form a useful trap for slugs, snails, earwigs, &c., which crawl into them for shelter in the early morning, and may thus be caught and destroyed. When it is sought to take earwigs by this means, the bottom of each pot should be filled with a wisp of hay or dried grass, or a little cotton wool.
289. To free Plants from Leaf-Lice
The following is recommended as a cheap and easy mode of getting rid of this pest:—Mix one ounce of flowers of sulphur with one bushel of sawdust; scatter this over the plants infected with these insects: they will soon be freed, though a second application may possibly be necessary.
290. A Moral
I had a little spot of ground, Where blade nor blossom grew, Though the bright sunshine all around Life-giving radiance threw. I mourned to see a spot so bare Of leaves of healthful green, And thought of bowers, and blossoms fair, I frequently had seen. Some seeds of various kinds lay by— I knew not what they were— But, rudely turning o'er the soil, I strewed them thickly there; And day by day I watched them spring From out the fertile earth, And hoped for many a lovely thing Of beauty and of worth. But as I marked their leaves unfold As weeds before my view, And saw how stubbornly and bold The thorns and nettles grew— I sighed to think that I had done, Unwittingly, a thing That, where a beauteous bower should thrive, But worthless weeds did spring. And thus I mused; the things we do, With little heed or ken, May prove of worthless growth, and strew With thorns the paths of men; For little deeds, like little seeds, May flowers prove, or noxious weeds!
291. Taking a House
Before taking a house, be careful to calculate that the rent is not too high in proportion to your means; for remember that the rent is a claim that must be paid with but little delay, and that the landlord has greater power over your property than any other creditor. It is difficult to assign any fixed proportion between income and rental to suit all cases, but a reasonable basis for the settlement of this point may be found in the assertion that while not less than one-tenth of a man's entire income need be set apart for rent, not more than a sixth, or at the very utmost a fifth should be devoted to this purpose, and this amount ought to include parochial rates and taxes.
292. Having determined the Amount of Rent
Having determined the amount of rent which you can afford to pay, be careful to select the best and most convenient house which can be obtained for that sum. And in making that selection let the following matters be carefully considered:
293. First—Carefully regard the Healthfulness of the Situation
Find out the nature of the sub-soil on which the house stands—for example, a gravel or chalk subsoil is better than a subsoil of clay, because the former admits of a speedy escape of the surplus water in time of heavy and continuous rain, while the latter does not. Avoid the neighbourhood of graveyards, and of factories giving forth unhealthy vapours. Avoid low and damp districts, the course of canals, and localities of reservoirs of water, gas works, &c. Make inquiries as to the drainage of the neighbourhood, and inspect the drainage and water supply of the premises. A house standing on an incline is likely to be better drained than one standing upon the summit of a hill, or on a level below a hill. Endeavour to obtain a position where the direct sunlight falls upon the house, for this is absolutely essential to health; and give preference to a house the openings of which are sheltered from the north and east winds.
294. Second—Consider the Distance of the House
Consider the distance of the house from your place of occupation: and also its relation to provision markets, and shops in the neighbourhood.
295. Examine the House in Detail
Having considered these material and leading features, examine the house in detail, carefully looking into its state of repair; notice the windows that are broken; whether the chimneys smoke; whether they have been recently swept; whether the paper on the walls is damaged, especially in the lower parts, and the corners, by the skirtings; whether the locks, bolts, handles of doors, and window fastenings are in proper condition; make a list of the fixtures; ascertain whether all rates and taxes have been paid by the previous tenant, and whether the person from whom you take the house is the original landlord, or his agent or tenant. And do not commit yourself by the signing of any agreement until you are satisfied upon all these points,
and see that all has been done which the landlord may have undertaken to do, before you take possession of the house
.
A Blunt Knife Shows a Dull Wife.
296. If you are about to Furnish a House
If you are about to furnish a house, buy merely enough to get along with at first, and add other things by degrees. It is only by experience that you can tell what will be the wants of your family. If you spend all your money, you will find you have purchased many things you do not actually want, and have no means left to get many things which you do want. If you have enough, and more than enough, to get everything suitable to your situation, do not think you must spend all, you may be able to lay out in furniture, merely because you happen to have it. Begin humbly. As riches increase, it is easy and pleasant to increase in comforts; but it is always painful and inconvenient to decrease. Neatness, tastefulness, and good sense may be shown in the management of a small household, and the arrangement of a little furniture, as well as upon a larger scale. The consideration which many purchase by living beyond their income, and, of course, living upon others, is not worth the trouble it costs. It does not, in fact, procure a man valuable friends, or extensive influence.
297. Carpets
In buying carpets, as in everything else, those of the best quality are cheapest in the end. As it is extremely desirable that they should look as clean as possible, avoid buying carpeting that has any white in it. Even a very small portion of white interspersed through the pattern will in a short time give a dirty appearance to the whole.
298. A Carpet in which all the Colours are Light
A carpet in which all the colours are light never has a clean, bright effect, from the want of dark tints to contrast and set off the light ones.
299. For a Similar Reason
carpets whose colours are all of what artists call middle tint (neither dark nor light), cannot fail to look dull and dingy, even when quite new.
300. For a Carpet to be really Beautiful
and in good taste, there should be, as in a picture, a judicious disposal of light and shadow, with a gradation of very bright and of very dark tints; some almost white, and others almost or quite black.
301. The Best Carpets
The most truly chaste, rich, and elegant carpets are those which are of one colour only, the pattern, if pattern it may be called, being formed by a judicious arrangement of every variety of shade of this colour. For instance, a Brussels carpet entirely red; the pattern formed by shades or tints varying from the deepest crimson (almost a black), to the palest pink (almost a white). Also one of green only, shaded from the darkest bottle-green, in some parts of the pattern, to the lightest pea-green in others. Or one in which there is no colour but brown, in all its various gradations, some of the shades being nearly black, others of a light buff.
302. The Curtains, Sofas, &c.
The curtains, sofas, &c., must be of corresponding colours, that the effect of the whole may be satisfactory to the eye.
303. Colours of Carpets.
Carpets of many gaudy colours are much less in demand than formerly. Two or three colours only, with the dark and light shades of each, make a very handsome carpet.
304. Hearth-Rug
If you cannot obtain a Hearth-rug that exactly corresponds with the carpet, get one entirely different; for a decided contrast looks better than a bad match. The hearth-rug, however, should reflect the colour or colours of the carpet if possible.
305. Sheepskin Rugs
Large rugs of sheepskin, in white, crimson, or black, form comfortable and effective hearth-rugs for a drawing-room or dining-room. In the winter these may be removed and an ordinary woollen rug laid down as long as fires are kept up.
A Bad Broom Leaves a Dirty Room.
306. Wallpaper
In choosing paper for a room, avoid that which has a variety of colours, or a large showy figure, as no furniture can appear to advantage with such. Large figured papering makes a small room look smaller, but, on the contrary, a paper covered with a small pattern makes a room look larger, and a striped paper, the stripes running from ceiling to floor, makes a low room look higher.
307. Kitchen Floors
The best covering for a kitchen floor is a thick unfigured oil-cloth, of one colour. Linoleum or kamptulicon is warmer to the feet than the ordinary painted oilcloth.
308. Family Tool Chests
Much inconvenience and considerable expense might be saved if it were the general custom to keep in every house certain tools for the purpose of performing at home what are called small jobs, instead of being always obliged to send for a mechanic and pay him for executing little things that, in most cases, could be sufficiently well done by a man or boy belonging to the family, if the proper instruments were at hand.
309. The Cost
The cost of these articles is very trifling, and the advantages of having them always in the house are far beyond the expense.
310. Example Contents
For instance, there should be an axe, a hatchet, a saw (a large wood saw also, with a buck or stand, if wood is burned), a hammer, a tack-hammer, a mallet, three or four gimlets and bradawls of different sizes, two screw-drivers, a chisel, a small plane, one or two jack-knives, a pair of large scissors or shears, and a carpet fork or stretcher.
311. Nails
Also an assortment of nails of various sizes, from large spikes down to small tacks, not forgetting some large and small brass-headed nails.
312. Screws
An assortment of screws, likewise, will be found very convenient, and iron hooks of different sizes on which to hang things.
313. Container
The nails and screws should be kept in a wooden box, made with divisions to separate the various sorts and sizes, for it is very troublesome to have them mixed.
314. Maintain Supply
And let care be taken to keep up the supply, lest it should run out unexpectedly, and the deficiency cause delay and inconvenience at a time when some are wanted.
315. Tool Closet
It is well to have somewhere, in the lower part of the house, a roomy light closet, appropriated entirely to tools, and things of equal utility, for executing promptly such little repairs as may be required from time to time, without the delay or expense of procuring an artisan. This closet should have at least one large shelf, and that about three feet from the floor.
316. Drawer
Beneath this shelf may be a deep drawer, divided into two compartments. This drawer may contain cakes of glue, pieces of chalk, and balls of twine of different size and quality.
317. Shelves
There may be shelves at the sides of the closet for glue-pots, paste-pots and brushes, pots for black, white, green, and red paint, cans of oil and varnish, paint-brushes, &c.
318. Hanging Tools
Against the wall, above the large shelf, let the tools be suspended, or laid across nails or hooks of proper size to support them.
319. More Effective.
This is much better than keeping them in a box, where they may be injured by rubbing against each other, and the hand may be hurt in feeling among them to find the thing that is wanted.
320. Visible
But when hung up against the back wall of the closet, of course each tool can be seen at a glance.
321. Organization
There is an excellent and simple contrivance for designating the exact places allotted to all these articles in a very complete tool closet.
322. Outlined Tools
On the closet wall, directly under the large nails that support the tools, is drawn with a small brush dipped in black paint or ink, a representation in outline of the tool or instrument belonging to that particular place.
A Husband's Wrath Spoils the Best Broth.
323. Examples of Outlining
For instance, under each saw is sketched the outline of that saw, under each gimlet a sketch of that gimlet, under the screw-drivers are slight drawings of screw-drivers.
324. Place Shown
So that when any tool that has been taken away for use is brought back to the closet, the exact spot to which it belongs can be found in a moment; and the confusion which is occasioned in putting tools away in a box and looking for them again when they are wanted, is thus prevented.
325. Wrapping Paper
Wrapping paper may be piled on the floor under the large shelf. It can be bought at a low price by the ream, at the large paper warehouses; and every house should keep a supply of it in several varieties. For instance, coarse brown paper for common purposes, which is strong, thick, and in large sheets, is useful for packing heavy articles; and equally so for keeping silks, ribbons, blondes, &c., as it preserves their colours.
326. Printed Papers
Printed papers are unfit for wrapping anything, as the printing ink rubs off on the articles enclosed in them, and also soils the gloves of the person that carries the parcel.
327. Waste Newspapers
Waste newspapers had best be used for lighting fires and singeing poultry. If you have accumulated more than you can use, your butcher or grocer will generally buy them of you if they are clean.
328. Waste Paper
Waste paper that has been written on, cut into slips, and creased and folded, makes very good allumettes or lamp-lighters. These matters may appear of trifling importance, but order and regularity are necessary to happiness.
329. Beds for the Poor.
Beech-tree leaves are recommended for filling the beds of poor persons. They should be gathered on a dry day in the autumn, and perfectly dried. It is said that the smell of them is pleasant and that they will not harbour vermin. They are also very springy.
330. To Preserve Tables
A piece of oilcloth (about twenty inches long) is a useful appendage to a common sitting-room. Kept in the closet, it can be available at any time, in order to place upon it jars, lamps, &c., whose contents are likely to soil your table during the process of emptying or filling them. A wing and duster are harmonious accompaniments to the oilcloth.
331. Protecting Gilt Frames
Gilt frames may be protected from flies and dust by pinning tarlatan over them. Tarlatan fit for the purpose may be purchased at the draper's. It is an excellent material for keeping dust from books, vases, wool work, and every description of household ornament.
332. Damp Walls
The following method is recommended to prevent the effect of damp walls on paper in rooms:—Line the damp part of the wall with sheet lead, rolled very thin, and fastened up with small copper nails. It may be immediately covered with paper. The lead is not to be thicker than that which is used to line tea-chests.
333. Another Method
Another mode of preventing the ill effects of damp in walls on wall-paper, is to cover the damp part with a varnish formed of naphtha and shellac, in the proportion of 1/4 lb. of the latter to a quart of the former. The smell of the mixture is unpleasant, but it wears off in a short time, and the wall is covered with a hard coating utterly impervious to damp, and to which the wall paper can be attached in the usual way.
334. No Wet Scouring In Winter
Bedrooms should not be scoured in the winter time, as colds and sickness may be produced thereby. Dry scouring upon the French plan, which consists of scrubbing the floors with dry brushes, may be resorted to, and will be found more effective than can at first be imagined. If a bedroom is wet scoured, a dry day should be chosen—the windows should be opened, the linen removed, and a fire should be lit when the operation is finished.
A Wife's Art is Displayed in a Table Well Laid.
335. To Get Rid of a Bad Smell in a Room Newly Painted.
Place a vessel full of lighted charcoal in the middle of the room, and throw on it two or three handfuls of juniper berries, shut the windows, the chimney, and the door close; twenty-four hours afterwards, the room may be opened, when it will be found that the sickly, unwholesome smell will be entirely gone. The smoke of the juniper berry possesses this advantage, that should anything be left in the room, such as; tapestry, &c., none of it will be spoiled.
336. Smell of Paint
To get rid of the smell of oil paint, let a pailful of water stand in the room newly painted.
337. Airing a Larder
If a larder, by its position, will not admit of opposite windows, a current of air should be admitted by means of a flue from the outside.
338. Keeping a Door Open
To keep a door open, place a brick covered neatly with a piece of carpeting against it, when opened sufficiently.
339. To Ascertain whether a Bed be Aired
Introduce a drinking glass between the sheets for a minute or two, just when the warming-pan is taken out; if the bed be dry, there will only be a slight cloudy appearance on the glass, but if not, the damp of the bed will collect in and on the glass and assume the form of drops—a warning of danger.
340. To prevent the Smoking of a Lamp
Soak the wick in strong vinegar, and dry it well before you use it; the flame will then burn clear and bright.
341. Encrusted Tea-Kettles
Water of every kind, except rain water, will speedily cover the inside of a tea-kettle with an unpleasant crust; this may easily be guarded against by placing a clean oyster-shell or a piece of stone or marble in the tea-kettle. The shell or stone will always keep the interior of the kettle in good order, by attracting the particles of earth or of stone.
342. To Soften Hard Water
To soften hard water. or purify river water, simply boil it, and then leave it exposed to the atmosphere.
343. Cabbage Water
Cabbage water should be thrown away immediately it is done with, and the vessel rinsed with clean water, or it will cause unpleasant smells.
344. Disinfectants
A little charcoal mixed with clear water thrown into a sink will disinfect and deodorize it. Chloride of lime and carbolic acid considerably diluted, if applied in a liquid form, are good disinfectants, and carbolic powder—a pink powder with a smell resembling tar, and sold at about 2d. per lb.—is both useful and effective. The air of a bedroom may be pleasantly sweetened by throwing some ground coffee on a fire shovel previously heated.
345. Chimney Smoking
Where a chimney smokes only when a fire is first lighted, it may be guarded against by allowing the fire to kindle gradually, or by heating the chimney by burning straw or paper in the grate previous to laying in the fire.
346. Ground Glass
The frosted appearance of ground glass may be very nearly imitated by gently dabbing the glass over with a paint brush dipped in white paint or any other oil colour. The paint should be thin, and but very little colour taken up at one time on the end of the bristles. When applied with a light and even touch the resemblance is considerable.
347. Oiling Clocks
Family clocks ought only to be oiled with the very purest oil, purified by a quart of lime water to a gallon of oil, in which it has been well shaken, and suffered to stand for three or four days, when it may be drawn off.
348. Neat Mode of Soldering
Cut out a piece of tinfoil the size of the surfaces to be soldered. Then dip a feather in a solution of sal ammoniac, and wet over the surfaces of the metal, then place them in their proper position with the tinfoil between. Put the metals thus arranged on a piece of iron hot enough to melt the foil. When cold the surfaces will be found firmly soldered together.
Who Never Tries Cannot Win the Prize.
349. Maps and Charts
Maps, charts, or engravings may be effectually varnished by brushing a very delicate coating of gutta-percha solution over their surface. It is perfectly transparent, and is said to improve the appearance of pictures. By coating both sides of important documents they can be kept waterproof and preserved perfectly.
350. Temperature of Furniture
Furniture made in the winter, and brought from a cold warehouse into a warm apartment, is very liable to crack.
351. Paper Fire-Screens
Paper fire-screens should be sized and coated with transparent varnish, otherwise they will soon become soiled and discoloured.
352. Pastilles for Burning
Cascarilla bark, eight drachms; gum benzoin, four drachms; yellow sanders, two drachms; styrax, two drachms; olibanum, two drachms; charcoal, six ounces; nitre, one drachm and a half; mucilage of tragacanth, sufficient quantity. Reduce the substances to a powder, and form into a paste with the mucilage, and divide into small cones; then put them into an oven, used quite dry.
353. Breaking Glass
Easy method of breaking glass to any required Figure.—Make a small notch by means of a file on the edge of a piece of glass, then make the end of a tobacco-pipe, or of a rod of iron of the same size, red hot in the fire, apply the hot iron to the notch, and draw it slowly along the surface of the glass in any direction you please: a crack will follow the direction of the iron.
354. Bottling and Fining
Corks should be sound, clean, and sweet. Beer and porter should be allowed to stand in the bottles a day or two before being corked. If for speedy use, wiring is not necessary. Laying the bottles on their sides will assist the ripening for use. Those that are to be kept should be wired, and put to stand upright in sawdust. Wines should be bottled in spring. If not fine enough, draw off a jugful and dissolve isinglass in it, in the proportion of half an ounce to ten gallons, and then pour back through the bung-hole. Let it stand a few weeks. Tap the cask above the lees. When the isinglass is put into the cask, stir it round with a stick, taking great care not to touch the lees at the bottom. For white wine only, mix with the isinglass a quarter of a pint of milk to each gallon of wine, some whites of eggs, beaten with some of the wine. One white of an egg to four gallons makes a good fining.
355. To Sweeten Casks
Mix half a pint of vitriol with a quart of water, pour it into the barrel, and roll it about; next day add one pound of chalk, and roll again. Bung down for three or four days, then rinse well with hot water.
356. Wrinkly Paintings
Oil paintings hung over the mantel-piece are liable to wrinkle with the heat.
357. To Loosen Glass Stoppers of Bottles
With a feather rub a drop or two of salad oil round the stopper, close to the mouth of the bottle or decanter, which must then be placed before the fire, at the distance of about eighteen inches; the heat will cause the oil to insinuate itself between the stopper and the neck. When the bottle has grown warm, gently strike the stopper on one side, and then on the other, with any light wooden instrument; then try it with the hand: if it will not yet move, place it again before the fire, adding another drop of oil. After a while strike again as before; and, by persevering in this process, however tightly it may be fastened in, you will at length succeed in loosening it.
358. The Best Oil for Lamps
The best oil for lamps, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, is that which is clear and nearly colourless, like water.
359. China or Wedgwood Teapots
China teapots are the safest, and, in many respects, the most pleasant. Wedgwood ware is very apt, after a time, to acquire a disagreeable taste.
The Best Physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet and Dr. Merryman.
360. Care of Linen
When linen is well dried and laid by for use, nothing more is necessary than to secure it from damp and insects. It may he kept free from the latter by a judicious mixture of aromatic shrubs and flowers, cut up and sewed in silken bags, which must be interspersed among the drawers and shelves. The ingredients used may consist of lavender, thyme, roses, cedar shavings, powdered sassafras, cassia, &c., into which a few drops of otto of roses, or other strong-scented perfume may be thrown.
361. Repairing Linen
In all cases it will he found more consistent with economy to examine and repair all washable articles, more especially linen, that may stand in need of it, previous to sending them to the laundry. It will also be prudent to have every article carefully numbered, and so arranged, after washing, as to have their regular turn and term in domestic use.