HOUSEKEEPING. 
To Blanch Almonds. 
Shell them, and pour boiling water over them in the 
proportion of a quart of water to a quarter of a pound 
of almonds. When the skins soften, rub them off with 
a clean towel. 
To make Almonds Fine. 
Let them get thoroughly cool and dry after rubbing 
off the skins, then pound them in a mortar. It is best 
to put in only three or four at a time, and to add a few 
drops of milk while they are being pounded to prevent 
their oiling. A tablespoonful of milk will be sufficient 
for a quarter of a pound of almonds. 
Almond Layer Cake. 
Whites of six eggs, two cups of powdered sugar, 
three-fourths of a cup of butter, one cup of milk, two 
and a half cups of flour, one even teaspoon of soda and 
three scant teaspoons of cream tartar. Bake in four 
jelly tins and put together with soft frosting, adding 
blanched split almonds about an inch apart on each 
layer. 
Gold Cake. 
One and one-half cups of sugar, two-thirds of a cup 
of butter, one cup of sweet milk, three cups of sifted 
flour, yolks of six eggs, one eventeaspoon soda, and three 
scant teaspoons of cream tartar. Stir the sugar and 
butter to a cream, add the yolks after beating them 
thoroughly, then the cup of sweet milk, and the flour 
through which the soda and cream tartar should pre¬ 
viously have been sifted. 
Javelle Water for Bleaching and Removing Stains. 
Dissolve one pound of sal soda in a tin vessel on the 
stove. Put one-half a pound of chloride of lime in a 
wooden pail and pour on enough cold water to dissolve 
it. Pour the soda in the pail and then fill it with boil¬ 
ing water. When it has settled, strain through a cloth 
and bottle for use. This will remove mildew or any 
stain except iron rust. Let the garment lie iD the javelle 
water until the stain disappears. 
To Remove Iron Rust from White Goods. 
Cover the spots with fine salt; squeeze lemon juice 
over it and lay it in the sun. If the first application 
does not remove the iron-rust, repeat it until it does, 
as it will not injure the fabric. 
To Bleach Lace. 
Dip it in strong soap suds, lay it on a platter and set 
it in the sun; keep a little water in the platter so the 
lace will be moist. This is an excellent method of 
bleaching antique lace tidies or lace that has been used 
on curtains and become very yellow; they will be equal 
' to new in two or three days. 
To Wash a Linen Crumb-cloth. 
| [.Lay as much of it as you can singly on the kitchen 
table; take a scrubbing-brush and soap and clean all 
the spots ; then lay another portion on the table, and so 
on till all are cleaned. If you have no washing machine 
put it into a tub of warm suds, and rub lightly on a 
rubbing board. Put no more soap on the cloth, but use 
as many waters as are needed to cleanse it. It must not 
be scalded or washed in hot water or it will bleach. 
To Do Up White Shades. 
If they are stained or yellow, rub the dirt out and lay 
them on the grass in the sun. Do not rinse them, but 
ring them out of the suds, as they bleach sooner when 
left soapy. When they are white rinse, and scald them; 
starch them in hot boiled starch, very stiff, dry them, 
and the day they are to be ironed, dip them in thin raw 
starch, dissolved in warm water; shake a little white 
soap in the starch water to make them iron smoothly; 
it will also give them a little gloss; hang them on a line 
for a half hour or until they are just right to iron, then 
fold them and let them lie awhile to be sure the damp¬ 
ness is perfectly even. They must not dry after the 
raw starching, so as not to require sprinkling. When 
ready to be ironed let two persons stretch them as 
straight as possible, and then they must be spread out 
very straight and true on the ironing table. In ironing 
do not bear on with the iron very hard, while the cloth 
is wet or it will make an uneven surface. It should look 
when done as if ironed in a mangle. The stretching 
must be done with the hands, and care must be taken 
not to push out of shape with the iron. When enough 
of the curtain has been ironed to reach to the floor, be¬ 
gin rolling it up and as fast as you iron roll the curtain. 
When it is all ironed and rolled, lay it on the ironing 
table and iron it a second time, unrolling it just fast 
enough to iron it, and rolling up again when ironed, as 
before. When done tie a string around it and let it lay 
until thoroughly dry. When ready to put on the roller 
it must be trimmed. Lay it on a table with square 
corners and use the table to square it by, so it will hang 
true. It is better to take out the hem before washing, 
and turn the curtain end for end. In that case trim 
both ends of the curtain perfectly true, and mark and 
fold the hem then roll it and stitch it on a sewing 
machine. Do not let the curtains get unrolled any more 
than necessary until they are hung, and they will then 
look like new. 
To Wash Heavy Linen Stair Covering. 
If you have stationary tubs, run warm water into two 
of them; put your linen into the first tub, take one end 
of it and lay it smoothly against the board that forms 
the division of the tubs, and with a clean scrubbing- 
brush and plenty of soap, sciub evenly as much of the 
cloth as will cover the board; when that is done, slip it 
over into the second tub and scrub another portion. 
When it is all scrubbed, rinse and starch in the usual 
manner, and you will find that when dried the linen 
will be perfectly clean, and will not be spotted as is the 
case where soap is rubbed on the linen and a rubbing- 
board is used. If you have no stationary tubs, take a 
smooth, clean board and place it in your tub as you 
would a rubbing-board, and lay your cloth on it to scrub. 
To Make Sealing Wax. 
Melt together one-half a pound of rosin and two ounces 
cf beeswax. Stir in while melting sufficient vermilion 
