Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers

cheapness recommends it to all housekeepers. Candles. Weigh the tallow, then you can judge how many candles you can make, six and eight candles to the pound do very well for working and reading by, ten to the pound does to use in the kitchen or to carry about the house. Put the wicks on the rods the day before you expect to make candles, and dip them in a little melted tallow, you can then straighten them out. Have a large pot nearly half full of hot water, melt the tallow in another pot and fill it up, and keep more tallow at the fire to fill in as it is used out, put coals under the pot to keep it at a proper heat. Have poles set on stools about a foot apart, to support the rods, dip the rods in the pot, alternately, until they are as large as you wish them. Wax makes candles burn longer, but turns them yellow. The best way is, to put in two pounds of wax, when you first begin to dip, and it will be used up before they are dipped the last time, when they are done, cut off the ends and put them in boxes. Most good managers in the country make enough candles at a time to last a year. If you have not enough tallow to dip candles, you can mould some mutton tallow is very good for this purpose. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. Clear Starching. Wash your muslins nicely; rub hard soap on them, and pour boiling water on, let them lay in this half an hour, or if they are very yellow, boil them in water that has a little blue, in a bell metal kettle, let them dry in the sun, boil your starch half an hour, as it will be clearer, and the things will take less clapping, rub the starch over the muslin until it is well covered, then clap it a few times, afterwards stretch out the muslin and hold it to the fire until it smokes, then stretch, clap, and shake