FEBRUARY 219 



the wicks in very strong vinegar ; then let them dry 

 completely before they are used. 



A series of penny books, published as the ' Domestic 

 Science Series,' is full of useful information. The only 

 one I actually know, called ' Manual of Housewifery for 

 Elementary Schools,' by Helena Head, to be bought at 

 4 Princes Road, Liverpool, seems to me thoroughly 

 practical. 



One thing I must copy out of Mrs. Roundell's most 

 excellent 'Practical Cookery Book,' more especially as it 

 is not a cooking receipt, but a cure for one of the most 

 distinct worries that affect nearly every house in Eng- 

 land, more especially if keeping down in the spring is 

 neglected — and yet how few servants do not neglect it 

 till it has become a plague! — I mean blackbeetles. Mrs. 

 Roundell gives the following receipt, and we found it 

 excellent in a new flat in London which swarmed with 

 them : 



'To Destroy Blackbeetles. — Not loiig ago the 

 kitchens and bakeries of the Fir Vale Union Work- 

 house at Sheffield swarmed with blackbeetles, to such an 

 extent that the Government Inspector feared the build- 

 ings would have to be pulled down. The insects even 

 got into the soup and bread provided for the inmates, in 

 spite of all vigilance and every remedy. The Board of 

 Guardians, in despair, consulted the curator of the 

 Shefaeld Museum— Mr. Howarth, F.Z.S.— and he in- 

 vented a pastji which in a short time completely freed 

 the workhouse from blackbeetles. This "Union" cock- 

 roach paste can be had in tins from Mr. Hewitt, chemist, 

 66 Division street, Shefi&eld. It never fails in its effect.' 



' Keating' s Powder' is also effectual if the beetles are 

 swept up in the morning and destroyed. 



