1881 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
289 
are quite cool and are put away. Starch 
that sticks to them bums on, and soils the 
clothes. Beeswax is often recommended for 
cleaning the irons when starch sticks to them. 
I usually have a little salt on a paper on my 
ironing table, and rub my iron on this when¬ 
ever the starch sticks. Various things put 
in the starch, when cooking, or while hot, as 
spermaceti, starch gelatine, lard, tallow, but¬ 
ter, and others, prevent the starch from stick¬ 
ing to the iron. At present I use a very lit¬ 
tle powdered borax and a bit of nice beef tal¬ 
low. The borax seems to add both stiffness 
and gloss, and suits me (with the tallow) as 
well as anything I have tried. A little clean 
grease of some kind prevents stickiness. Of 
course the starch must be well boiled. In 
making it, the starch is first stirred smooth 
in cold water, and then either turned slowly 
into boiling water, or boiling water turned 
slowly into it, stirring briskly all the time in 
either case, until the starch turns from a dead 
white color to a bluish clearness. The old 
rule for each shirt bosom, with collar and 
wristbands, was two even teaspoonfuls of dry 
starch. A little less will do when gelatine, 
or borax, or gum arabic water is added to the 
starch. Eub the starch into the garment 
well, and examine it before ironing. If lumps 
of starch are seen, rub them off with a damp 
cloth. There should be no lumps in the starch 
when used, and if you cannot make it and 
use it without lumpiness, or a thick scum 
over it, strain it through a starch-bag be¬ 
fore using. It is always safest to lay a thin 
cloth over a bosom or collar when you first 
put the hot iron upon it. Go over it once so, 
then remove it, and iron directly upon its 
linen. By this precaution you discover the 
state of your irons, whether too hot or soiled, 
and sometimes prevent disaster. You should 
however always test your iron on a cloth used 
for the purpose. In ironing garments with 
cold starch, always begin with a clean cloth 
laid over the linen. Ironing hard with an 
iron not too hot, after the linen is pressed 
smooth, adds polish, but no common iron can 
do this like a regular polishing iron. 
A Door Fender for Children. 
Mr. F. J. Hunter, Washington, D. C., 
writes : “ I take the liberty of sending you a 
description of an article as made by me, and 
now in use at my house. It is a frame-work 
Fig. 1.— A DOOR FENDER OR GUARD. 
to place between the jambs of a door frame 
to prevent small children from crawling out 
• of the room. It is made in the form of bars, 
and is much neater than the solid board. Its 
construction can be readily understood after 
a moment’s inspection. The material is of 
white pine ‘| 2 inch thick. The bars, as seen 
in figure 1, are two inches wide, and the space 
between them is two inches. On one jamb of 
the door frame is fastened a piece two inches 
wide and mortised, as shown in figure 2, a. 
The piece on the other jamb is more difficult 
to make. First a piece,, b, is made and fas¬ 
tened to the jamb, then the piece, d, is made 
and fastened to the jamb one-half inch from 
b, leaving room for the piece, c, to slide be- 
g==j ^ m v MS 
a bo de 
Fig. 2. —PARTS OF THE FENDER. 
tween them ; the piece, c, is bevelled on both 
edges—the pieces b, and d, on the inside 
edge only. In putting the slats or bars in 
position, one end is first placed in the bottom 
hole in a, then raise the other end and slide 
it down between b and d, to its proper 
notch, and so on until each bar is in its place, 
then slide the piece, c, down through the 
dove-tail opening between b, and d, and the 
‘ fence’ is complete.”—The engravings given 
herewith are made from the sketches that 
accompanied Mr. Hunter’s contribution. 
Household Uotes and Queries. 
Curds and Whey. —This is a most accept¬ 
able dessert at. any time, but especially in 
summer, when the ease with which it is pre¬ 
pared is greatly in its favor. It is not only 
agreeable but wholesome, which may not be 
said of all desserts, and children may partake 
of it freely. It is simply milk curdled by the 
use of Liquid Eennet; and is eaten with sugar 
or sugar and cream. Add to it jelly or 
stewed fruit of some kind, and it forms what 
is called in some localities “Junket,” a de¬ 
licious combination deserving a more pleasing 
name. Directions accompany the Liquid 
Rennet; usually two teaspoonfuls to a pint 
of slightly warmed milk: the curd will be 
formed in a few minutes. One who has 
the rennet in the house is always prepared to 
furnish a choice dessert at a short notice. In 
the absence of liquid rennet, a piece of the 
rennet, salted and dried for cheese making, 
may be used, soaking a fragment in a little 
warm water and adding the liquid to the 
milk. The quality varies so that, as in cheese 
making, the size can only be learned by 
experiment. The same piece may be dried 
and used again several times over. 
Liquid Rennet.— In view of the fact that 
this is seldom kept in the country stores, Mrs. 
S. M., Crawford Co., Wis., and others would 
like to know how to prepare it. The follow¬ 
ing is from a source that we have found to be 
generally reliable. The stomach of a calf is 
cleaned, and all fat and other extraneous 
matter removed as for drying. It is then 
cut small and weighed, well rubbed and 
kneaded with one-fourtli its weight of salt, 
and allowed to stand, the recipe says five or 
six weeks, though we have no doubt that a 
much less time will answer. Water is then 
added, an ounce and a half to each ounce of 
rennet, and to each pint of water used, two 
ounces of rum, brandy, or other liquor ; as 
the spirits are only to preserve it, half as 
much alcohol will answer quite as well. Let 
stand for 24 hours and strain through fine 
muslin: keep in small, well corked bottles 
in a cool place. Two or three teaspoonfuls 
should curdle a quart of milk,but rennets vary 
so much that a trial must decide the quantity. 
Fruit Stains. — Napkins, table cloths, 
handkerchiefs, and other linens indicate that 
the season of fruits is at hand. The careful 
housewife will never allow these stained ar¬ 
ticles go into the wash without first dis¬ 
charging the stain, as the soap will set the 
color and make it all the more difficult to re¬ 
move afterwards. Some stains will yield to 
boiling water, if applied at once. Many for 
their complete removal require a bleaching 
liquid. “ Javelle Water,” sold by druggists, 
is the best preparation of the kind, but a 
solution of Chloride of Lime answers near¬ 
ly as well. Put a quarter of a pound of 
fresh Choride of Lime into a quart jar, add 
a little water, and stir with a stick until 
all the lumps are broken and a smooth mix¬ 
ture made ; fill up the jar with water and 
set aside. The next day, or when the liquid 
is perfectly clear, pour off from the dregs 
and keep in well stopped bottles in a dark, 
cool place. Wetting fruit stains with this 
will usually discharge them at once. Never 
allow this liquid to dry on the fabric, and 
never put soap upon it, until it has first been 
thoroughly rinsed in clear water. 
Raspberry Vinegar.— In these hot days 
a little raspberry vinegar added to a glass of 
cold water, makes a most refreshing drink. 
When raspberries are abundant is the time 
to provide a supply, and the wild berries are 
quite as good as any—if not the best. One 
of the simplest methods is, to place the ber¬ 
ries in a jar and cover with the best cider 
vinegar; set in, a cool place, and the next 
day add as many more raspberries as the 
vinegar will cover. The next day set the 
jar in a pan or kettle of cold water, and 
gradually heat the water to boiling. If a 
glass jar is used, some sticks must be placed 
between it and the kettle. When the berries 
are scalded through, strain, and for every 
pint and a half of juice add a pound of sugar, 
heat to the boiling point in a porcelain kettle, 
remove the scum as it forms, and when the 
“vinegar” is cool, bottle and cork securely. 
A Crfam Warmer.— Mr. Wm. Alexan¬ 
der, Louisville, N. Y., sends a description of a 
Cream Warmer, and a sketch from which the 
accompanying engrav¬ 
ing is made. It consists 
of a tin vessel 34 feet 
long, with the lower 
portion 6 inches wide 
and 15 inches high, the 
upper part being pro¬ 
longed into a tube. This 
is to be filled with hot 
water and put into the 
churn with the cream, 
and then occasion¬ 
ally moved until the 
t A CREAM WARMER. 
cream is ot the right 
temperature for churning. It saves warm¬ 
ing the milk on the stove in pans, and 
can be made at any country tin-shop for 
about a dollar, and will last for many years. 
