HINTS AND HELPS. 493 



oughly in white flour. It should then be hung out of doors for about thirty 

 minutes. Eepeat the process several times, and the fur will be equal to 

 new. 



An Home-made Reft^gerator. — Nearly all housekeepers who are not 

 able to obtain a refrigerator, keep their ice wrapped up in bits of old car- 

 peting or some non-conducting material, which wastes the ice, and affords 

 no help in preserving food. To them these directions may offer attractions: 

 Take two large wooden boxes — dry goods boxes for instance — select the sec- 

 ond one about a couple of inches smaller on all sides, and bore a one-inch 

 hole in both, correspondingly to give drainage and ventilation. Perhaps a 

 couple of holes would do better. Fill up the space under the boxes with 

 powdered charcoal or coal ashes. Put the inner bgx in place and fill up all 

 the spaces with the same. Sawdust might do if nothing better is procurable, 

 yet it is apt to become mtisty. Fix on the lids to both boxes to fit tightly, 

 with iron hinges (leather ones can be substituted), and fasten with straps 

 of leather, or a lock and key. Put shelves on each side of the inner box by 

 means of cleats. Leave a place in the center fcr the ice. This is a rough 

 refrigerator, to be sure, but far better than none. A zinc lining, or one ol 

 felting, would improve the inner box. A rack made of lathing can be laid 

 at the bottom for the ice to rest upon. Legs can be added to the outer box 

 liy putting pieces of wood at each comer, and the drainage and ventilation 

 will be improYcd; and an ingenious man can make an excellent ice box in 

 tMs way. 



Cleaning Carpetii. — In all our own experiments we have found nothing 

 so safe and serviceable as bran slightly moistened — only very slightly— just 

 sufficient to hold the particles together. In this case it is not neccssarj- to 

 stop and clean the broom every few minutes. Sweeping the carpet after 

 the bran has been sprinkled over it not only cleans the carpet and gathers 

 all the dirt into the bran, but keeps the broom clean at the same time. If 

 too much dampened, aside from injuring the carpet it makes the work 

 harder, becau-so the bran becomes verj' heavy if very damp. The bran 

 should be sifted evenly over the floor, and then the room swept as usual. 

 The bran scours and cleanses the whole fabric, very little dust is made while 

 sweeping with it, and scarcely any settles on furniture-, pictures, etc., after 

 the work is accomplished, because every particle of dirt, thread, bits of 

 paper or lint is gathered up into the mass of bran that is being moved over 

 the floor, and so thoroughly incorjHjrated with it that it will not be easily 

 separated. Cari>et3 swept in this way retain very little dust, as will be 

 plainly demonstrated whenever they arc taken up to be shaken. 



Hints on Cake Baking. — When cakes are made without yeast or eggs, 

 soda and powder being the substitutes, they require quick baking in a 

 moderately hot oven, and should be drawn directly when they are done, or 

 they get dry and tasteless. For a plain cake, made with one pound of flour, 

 etc., the time to be allowed in baking would be from forty to fifty muiutes, 

 at the outside not more than an hour. Yeast cakes take longer — say from 

 ten to fifteen minutes — and ^ill bear to be left iu the oven rather over the 

 time without much injury. Very rich cakes, in which butter and eggs pre- 

 dominate, take, of course, a much longer time to cook; pound cake taking 

 from an hour and a half to two hours, and bride cake three and a half. On 

 no account should the oven be too hot when the cakes are put in — that is, 

 not hot enough to brown at once; if so, iu five minutes the whole outside 



