TO FAKMEKS' WIVES. 191 



mouth and throat in clear water. After each meal but 

 half a minute will be required to rinse the mouth, so that 

 no particle of food may remain in the teeth to breed tar- 

 tar and decay. If there are bad teeth that are past filling, 

 summon a little grit and have them removed at once ; 

 as besides being unsightly they are like constant ma- 

 laria to the lungs. If one is afflicted with bad breath, 

 even if the teeth are sound, the stomach needs atten- 

 tion, and a series of charcoal powders with plain diet 

 will soon correct its evil ways. 



White and soft hands are not always compatible with 

 big ironings and all the miscellaneous work of a farm- 

 kitchen, but .your hands can receive better treatment 

 than you perhaps give them. "My mamma's hands 

 are white, and she wears a pretty ring," boasted one 

 little four-year old to a playmate who, with pitifully 

 downcast eyes and mute lips, was realizing the fact 

 that her mamma's hands were nothing to brag of. 

 Both these mothers were busy workers, but on^e "took 

 care" of herself a little, while the other did not, and 

 kept her rings in a box. 



It is not vanity or silliness to make the best of even 

 our hands. In sweeping floors, polishing stoves, and in 

 garden work, old gloves should always be worn ; and 

 there should be plenty of holders about the stove for 

 managing kettles, and saucepans, and taking things from 

 the oven. An excellent thing in winter is a thick flan- 

 nel mitten made large enough to slip on easily, and hung 

 handily at the back of the stove, to be used in opening 

 the stove and putting in wood. At night a little glycer- 

 ine thinned with lemon juice and rubbed on the hands 

 will tend to keep them soft and prevent roughness and 

 chapping. This mixture is also excellent for burning 

 from wind and sun. 



Glycerine, borax, ammonia, sea-salt, and lemon juice, 

 are all cheap and excellent "cosmetics" and aids to 



