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ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, AND GOSSIP 
ABOUT HOME AEEAIRS. 
Painting. —Mrs. R. J.—Will you please tell us 
whether your painting is on white velveteen? We 
will give you a list of colors for this work, which 
were purchased by the members of a class in Chicago a 
few years since, each one paying $12.00 for the list, 
which at the time we were bound not to make public 
in any way for three years : so we hope you will ap¬ 
preciate the effort made to aid you through the Cabi¬ 
net. 
For the colors, use the various pigments we will 
name, mixed with gum. alcohol, etc., as named and 
gum-tragacanth. 
Black. —India ink, well rubbed with water, mixed 
with gum-tragacanth. 
Blue. —Prussian blue, or cobalt, rubbed in soft wa¬ 
ter and thickened with the gum. Dark-blue—grind 
Prussian blue in soft water, thickening it with gum- 
tragacanth boiled to a jelly. Where very light tints 
are required and a little ivory-white ground in gum- 
water, this produces a prettier tint than merely weak¬ 
ening the blue. 
Brown. —One-quarter of an ounce of pulverized 
Brazil wood, making a decoction by macerating it in 
one gill of alcohol (spirits of wine.) You will find 
this an unusually rich tint. Use no gum. 
Crimson. —Take one drachm of powdered carmine 
and dissolve it in a quarter of a drachm of spirits of 
ammonia. You will use this tint for the deep colors 
of rich crimson flowers, such as roses, and for the 
deepening of pink in the higher lights. It will require 
no gum. 
Pink. —The loveliest tints of pink are produced 
by the use of pink saucer with a little acetic acid or 
lemon juice. 
Purple. —Mix the pink from a saucer, with the blue 
from Prussian blue, with gum. 
Yellow. —One ounce French berries in half a pint 
of soft water infused for several hours by standing in 
a vessel of hot water, then boiled until reduced to one- 
half the quantity, adding a piece of alum, that when 
powdered will rest upon the point of a knife. 
Greens. —Very light yellow green leaves must first 
receive a coat of this yellow, then one of light green 
made by rubbing a little blue with it, and adding 
gum. 
Various blue and yellow greens are made with 
French yellow and Prussian blue. 
Orange is produced by a mixture of crimson and 
yellow, best produced by rubbing up a little of the 
color from a pink-saucer with gum-water, and giving 
a smooth coat of this, then covering with yellow. 
We use the stiff Poonah brushes for this work; 
they are round in form, and the color is put on by 
what is termed stippling;. that is, a succession of taps, 
holding the brush in a perpendicular position, then 
when necessary giving the softening touches. 
We can safely advise the Poonah method of paint¬ 
ing, called some years ago Theorem painting, for this 
purpose. This is done by means of sets of a kind of 
stencil cards, through which the various colors are 
applied, and by which means the work is so simplified 
that a very tyro in the art of painting may achieve 
wonderful success. 
In answer to your question regarding the introduc¬ 
tion of white, we would say, that among other colors, 
it is exceedingly pretty even on white grounds. Use 
India ink, weakened with water, and applied as just 
directed, tinging and touching up with French yellow 
and gum-jelly. 
We direct your attention to a few suggestions and 
hints on this subject in a back number of Harper's 
Bazar, No. 38, Vol. IV. You will obtain the ma¬ 
terials for the work from any artists’ colorman. 
Exterminating Moles.—Mrs. J. B. S., Nash¬ 
ville, Tenn.—We received your letter, and though 
questions regarding floral subjects do not belong pro¬ 
perly to this page of the Cabinet, we feel inclined to 
tell you very briefly of our own experience regarding 
moles, or at least give you an easy and most satisfac¬ 
tory mode of exterminating them, which is by planting 
the Ricinus (Castor Oil Bean) in the ground wherein 
they make their “ runs.” Since ridding our own 
grounds of the nuisance, we have given and sent seeds 
to many persons, and in every single case have re¬ 
ceived information of the perfect success of this 
remedy. 
One gentleman writes us that in his neighborhood 
(in Tennessee) the common Castor Bean is called “ the 
mole-plant ” from the fact of its possessing this pecu¬ 
liar property. It is at least an easy experiment. 
Courses for a Dinner.—An Inquirer.—Your 
questions are just such as gave rise to this “Home’’ 
department, which is now working such an immense 
amount of good. The following two—selected from 
your five—we answer this month : 
1st. Will some of your readers in “ the world of 
fashion,” tell me how many “ courses ” are proper 
for a dinner company? Not an ultra fashionable one, 
but with a few chosen friends and a family gather¬ 
ing? 
2d. Should a lady take one of the meat dishes; 
and is it considered proper for her to carve? 
(“Query: Is by “lady’’mean the hostess? We 
presume so.) 
3d. What is “ Javil ” or “ Javelle water? and will 
it, remove mildew ? I should be glad to have this 
question answered as soon as possible, as a quantity 
of my lineu has been ruined by mildew. 
Answer .—The Javelle water sold by druggists can 
be easily prepared by yourself, and it will remove mil¬ 
dew if perseveringly used, though one application 
may not. 
Take two pounds sal-soda and one pound of chlo¬ 
ride of lime; put them into a jar and pour on one and 
a half gallons of rain water; allow to stand un¬ 
covered for twenty-four hours; then bottle for use, 
first stirring well and allowing to settle. When re¬ 
quired for use, take one pint of the Javelle water to 
a gallon of soft water (for removing mildew, iron-rust, 
indelible ink, etc.), make boiling hot, and put in the 
mildew or stained article for ten minutes; then take 
them out, and place them in hot water; add two gal¬ 
lons of soft water, in which, an ounce of oxalic acid 
has been dissolved, to the Javelle water; stir well, 
and as soon as it comes to a boi 1 , put the washed 
pieces in and boil until the stains disappear, which 
will soon be effected, as the first scald will start the 
process of bleaching. Afterwards wash in two warm 
suds; rinse well, and the fabric will be white ds snow, 
yet not injured in any wise. 
Oranges.—Alice B., New Orleans, writes us a 
most pleasant letter, and asks: Will you tell me of 
some tasteful and nice dishes of oranges ? We have 
abundance of them, and I should be glad to do some¬ 
thing besides simply preserve them. 
Answer. —There are many beautiful modes of utiliz¬ 
ing oranges, and I will give you one or two of them, 
though from mere description you can form no idea of 
their charming appearance. Take some fine oranges 
and with the point of a penknife cut out from the top 
apiece about the size of a “nickel,” or a “ dime,” 
perhaps; then with the handle of a salt or egg-spoon 
empty the skins of their contents, using great care not 
to break them. Throw the rinds into cold water as 
emptied; take the juice and pulp; squeeze out all 
juice and strain it through a jelly-bag until clear; add 
to the juice, for each coffeecupful, the juice of two 
lemons and zest rubbed on hard lump sugar, also the 
zczt of one orange; one package of gelatine, one pint 
boiling water, two and a half cupfuls sugar, including 
the flavored lumps, and a glass of brandy, or water, 
if brandy is not used. S.ti'r all well together, soaking 
the gelatine in two cupfuls of cold water for an hour 
previously. Pour the boiling water over, and allow 
to infuse on the back of the stove for another hour; 
then bring to a boil and strain through a jelly-bag 
until clear; color one-half of it with sufficient cochi¬ 
neal, dissolved in water, to make it a fine rose-pink 
color, but leave the remainder quite pale. When it 
is nearly cold, drain and wipe the orange rinds, and fill 
them with alternate stripes of the two jellies. When 
they are perfectly cold cut them into quarters aud 
dispose them tastefully in a dish with a few light 
sprays of green between, such as myrtle, ferns, or 
curled parsley. You can scarcely imagine the beauty 
of this dish. 
Oranges Moulded. —Put a half dozen oranges, be¬ 
ing careful not to break the thin skin which covers 
and separates the parts. Divide into quarters or sixths. 
Boil a half pound of loaf sugar in six tablespoonfuls 
of water until at “ crackling,” or “candy height;” dip 
the quartered fruit in this and fasten them together, 
one overlapping another, against the sides of a well 
oiled plain mould; (we use a tin pail ;) arrange one 
layer running to the right, the next above it to the 
left. There may be two or three other layers, (only 
on the sides of the mould.) Put plenty of the candy 
to bind the pieces in a solid mass. When they are 
solid, turn them out carefully on a dish, and fill the 
centre with a nice whipped cream made of one coffee 
cupful of cream, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of 
sugar and a little almond or other flavor. 
Orange Jelly Baskets. —Take a .very sharp pen¬ 
knife and mark out a ring round the centre of each 
orange, horizontally. Then a strip, one inch or less 
wide, across the top, simulating a handle; cut just 
through the rind; then remove the sections between 
the handles and top, also diamond-shaped pieces on 
the basket, leaving the rind in lattice work ; then with 
the handle of a salt-spoon, remove all the pulp, slip¬ 
ping the thin knife or handle beneath the basket-han¬ 
dle and loosening it from the pulp. Press this pulp 
through a sieve, and use a part or the whole of it for 
filling the baskets, first putting a layer of orange then 
cocoanut, grated with sugar, sprinkled over both ; you 
may add a little wine to the orange, if liked. The 
snow-white cocoanut looks lovely on the orange- 
colored baskets, but they should be intermingled with 
others containing red, white, amber, aud green jellies. 
A large dish full makes a beautiful table ornament. 
Aunt Carrie. 
How to Make a Feather Chair. —Procure good 
large turkey feathers and cut them in points; take and 
form them into an old-fashion armed chair (it is a 
pretty ornament), fastening them with small pins; 
put a cushion of bright silk in the bottom, a wee 
bit of a tidv on the back. 
