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A Treatise on Domestic Economy; For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School
by Beecher, Catharine Esther · Page 257 of 373 · 130,276 words
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raise it to the proper height, as soon as may be, or it will either smoke, or form a crust. Renew the wick, when only an inch and a half long. Close-woven wicks are better than those which are loose. Dipping wicks in vinegar, makes them burn clearer than they otherwise would. Plain shades do not injure the eyes, like cut ones; and prints and pictures appear better by them, than by the others. Lamps should be lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be shaded from the lights. Small screens, made for the purpose, should be kept at hand. A person with weak eyes, can use them, safely, much longer, when they are shaded from the glare of the light, than if they are not so. Fill the entry-lamp, every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns, twice a week, if used often. Provide small, one-wicked lamps, to carry about; and broad-bottomed lamps, for the kitchen, as these are not easily upset. A good night-lamp is made, with a small one-wicked lamp and a roll of tin to set over it. Have some holes made in the bottom of this cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Very cheap floating tapers, can be bought, to burn in a teacup of oil through the night. Wickyarn, drawn repeatedly through melted wax, till stiff and smooth, makes a good taper, for use in sealing letters. It can be twined in fanciful forms, and kept on the writing-table. _To make Candles._ The nicest candles, are run in moulds. For this purpose, melt together one quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an ounce of camphor, two ounces of alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton tallow. Soak the wicks, in lime-water and saltpetre, and, when dry, fix them in the moulds, and pour in the melted tallow. Let them remain one night, to cool, then warm them, a little, to loosen them, draw them out, and, when hard, put them in a box, in a dry
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