STANDARD RECBIPTS. 513 



Shingles Made Fire-Proof. A wash composed of lime, salt, and 

 fine sand or wood ashes, put on in the ordinary way of whitewashing, 

 renders the roof much more secure against taking fire from falling cin- 

 ders, in case of fire in the vicinity. It pays the expense a hundred fold 

 in its preserving influence against the effects of the weather. The older 

 and more weather-beaten the shingles, the more benefit derived. Such 

 shingles generally become more or less warped, rough and cracked; the 

 application of the wash, by wetting the upper surface, restores them at 

 once to their original or first form, thereby closing up the space between 

 the shingles, and the lime and sand, by filling uv the cracks and pores 

 in the shingle itself, prevents its warping. 



Keeping the Moth from Furs. Darkness is all that is neces- 

 sary. The "miller," the eggs from which moths are hatched, only 

 moves in the light; -the moths themselves work in darkness. Hang the 

 furs in a very dark closet and keep ths doors shut; keep it always dark, 

 and you can have no trouble. But, as closet doors are sometimes left 

 open, the better way is to enclose the articles in a paper, put this in a 

 pillow-case, or wrap around a cloth, and hang it up in a dark closet. 

 Camphor may be placed in the bag as a preventive. Do not take out the 

 furs in June or July to give them an "airing," for then conies the 

 enemy, and it maj' be that, in fifteen minutes after exposure, it has de- 

 posited a hundred eggs. If you consider an airing indispensable, give 

 the furs a good switching, and put them quickly back. 



Remedy for Chafing. Among the annoyances to which fleshy per- 

 sons are subject in hot weather, especially if they walk much, is chafing 

 in those parts where the flesh rubs together or folds. Nothing is better, 

 as a remedy and also as a preventive, than a solution of alum in water. 

 It should be applied with a soft rag at night, before retiring. A piece of 

 alum as large as a hazel nut, dissolved in half a pint of water is sufficient. 

 It will quickly heal and harden the tender skin. 



In-Growing Toe-Nails. This most painful of the diseases of the 

 nails is caused by the improper manner of cutting the nail (generally of 

 the great toe), and then wearing a narrow, badly-made shoe. The 

 nail being too long, and rather wide at the corners, is often trimmed 

 around the corner, which gives temporary relief. But it then begins to 

 grow wider in the side where it was cut off; and, as the shoe presses the 

 flesh against the corner, the nail cuts more and more into the raw flesh, 

 which becomes excessively tender aud irritable. If this state continues 

 long, the toe becomes more and more nainful and ulcerated, and "proud 



