HOUSEHOLD HINTS. 



have known cases in which bleeding from rery 

 serious wounds has been stopped by the applica- 

 tion of hat-stuff or fine floss, when all other means 

 failed. 



The Teeth. The cleaning and proper manage- 

 ment of the teeth is the most difficult operation 

 of the toilet. Whether arising from heat of the 

 stomach or other constitutional causes, the teeth 

 in some cases are much more liable to become 

 discoloured and decay than in others. In general, 

 even in the worst cases, much might be done in 

 youth to prevent future deterioration of teeth; but 

 children are ignorant, and parents are lamentably 

 careless on this important matter of personal 

 economy, and remedies often require to be applied 

 when too late. Parents desirous of seeing their 

 children grow up with good teeth, should cause 

 them to be cleaned with scrupulous regularity 

 daily, though only with a brush and tepid water. 

 If the teeth appear crowded, so that there is a 

 fear of one tooth shooting over another, a dentist 

 ought by all means to be employed to thin the 

 row, and allow all to grow straight. 



The daily cleaning of the teeth should take 

 place every morning after washing the face. Em- 

 ploy in preference tepid water and a moderately 

 soft brush, taking care not to injure the gums by 

 the friction. Various dentifrices or powders are 

 offered for sale, which the opulent have oppor- 

 tunities of testing ; but we know of none better 

 than finely powdered charcoal that is, charred 

 wood well ground in a mortar, and kept in a box 

 secluded from the air. It may be purchased, 

 ready for use, at a small price from perfumers. 

 By putting a little of this on the wet brush, and 

 rubbing the teeth with it, impurities and discol- 

 orations will be removed without injuring the 

 enamel. Rinse well afterwards with clean water. 

 Those who object to the colour of the charcoal, 

 may use with advantage precipitated chalk. All 

 preparations, such as those of chalk, pumice, 

 cuttle-fish bone, &c., act mechanically, and are 

 liable to injure the enamel unless used with care. 

 Chemical solutions are free from this objection ; 

 but unless their composition is thoroughly known, 

 it is better to avoid them. In case of foulness or 

 sponginess of the gums, powdered rhatany, cin- 

 chona bark, and catechu, on account of their 

 astringent properties, have been found to be use- 

 ful. Good yellow soap is, we believe, an admir- 

 able cleansing agent. 



The Breath. Usually, the cause of a fetid 

 breath is either a bad state of the stomach, or 

 half-rotten and ill-cleaned teeth. Bringing the 

 stomach into a proper condition by medical 

 advice, or seeking the assistance of a dentist, will 

 effect a remedy. Nothing, however, can obviate 

 the daily use of washing and brushing the teeth. 

 A valuable wash for the teeth and gums, consists 

 of borax and tincture of myrrh and camphor, thus 

 prepared : Dissolve two ounces of borax in three 

 pints of warm water ; before quite cold, add thereto 

 one tea-spoonful of tincture of myrrh, and one 

 table-spoonful of spirit of camphor ; bottle the mix- 

 ture for use. One wine-glass of the solution, added 

 to half a pint of tepid water, is sufficient for each 

 application. 



The Nails. Keeping the nails of the fingers in 

 order is a proper duty of the toilet They should 

 be brushed with soap and water when washing 

 the hands. While still wet, or when wiping the 



| hands with the towel, push back the skin which 

 is apt to grow over the nail, and thus keep the root 

 of the nails neatly rounded. The points of the 

 nails should be regularly pared once or twice a 

 week. For whitening the nails, we have seen the 

 following mixture recommended : Two drachms 



; of diluted sulphuric acid ; one drachm tincture of 

 myrrh ; and four ounces of pure soft water. The 

 nails to be dipped into this mixture after the 

 hands have been thoroughly cleansed with soap 

 and water. Without adverting to the danger of 



f such preparations, it may be remarked that the 

 nails have naturally a delicate flesh or pinkish 

 colour and shining polish, and that to -whiten 



\ them is as absurd as to stain them yellow, after 



| the fashion of the orientals. 



The Hair. In. a sound and healthy constitu- 



; tion, the best preserver and beautifier of the hair 

 is regular and careful cleaning. Washing, comb- 

 ing, and brushing are quite sufficient to keep it 

 in proper order ; and where these fail, no amount 

 of oils, lotions, powders, or appliances, will remedy 

 the evil We might almost say the same thing 

 of baldness, which is for the most part constitu- 

 tional At the first symptom of baldness, shaving 

 the head sometimes proves successful Stray 

 hairs sometimes grow in the nose and ears to an 



i uncomfortable extent Thin or shorten them with 



j a toilet-scissors ; or if it is wished to remove them 

 which is not always a very safe plan do so 

 smartly with a pair of tweezers. The chemical 

 depilatories in use in the fashionable world are 

 almost without exception highly objectionable pre- 



' parations, having the effect not only of removing 

 the hair, but destroying likewise the vitality of the 

 skin to which they may be incautiously applied. 

 The majority of them are composed of quicklime, 



orpiment, and some strong alkali substances the 

 name of which may warn parties against their 

 application. Hair-dyes are equally objectionable, 

 and are all only temporary expedients, as the hair, 

 upon growing, soon leaves an undyed surface 

 beneath. They -are principally of two sorts 



i those into which litharge and quicklime enter, 

 and those in which nitrate of silver forms the 

 chief ingredient Thus, to render the hair instan- 

 taneously black, we are directed 'to moisten it 

 with a solution of nitrate of silver in water (i to 7 

 or 8), and then with a weak solution of hydro- 

 sulphuret of ammonia ! ' 



Pomatum. This is a soft unguent, which is fre- 

 quentlyused for softeningthe hands, and preventing 

 them chapping in cold dry weather, or for moisten- 

 ing the hair. It was originally named from its 

 containing apple (pomum, Latin), and consisted 

 of lard, rose-water, and the pulp of apples. It 

 now consists of perfumed hog's-lard, the apple 

 being omitted. The famed sultana pomatum is 

 made as follows : Melt together half a pound of 

 beef-suet, the same of bears-grease, an ounce of 

 white wax, and two ounces of olive-oil ; and add 

 to it, tied up loosely in muslin, one ounce of 

 bruised cloves, half an ounce of cinnamon, two 

 bruised Tonquin beans, and four grains of mink ; 

 strain, and put into pots. The article called bears- 

 grease usually sold in the shops, is little else than 

 perfumed beef-marrow and lard ; and the many 

 oils offered for restoring and softening the hair 

 are chiefly olive or almond oil, perfumed with 

 different scents. In general, if the hair be well 

 brushed, no such applications are necessary, and 



