Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers

burnt in the morning, and the dishes set again at night. If you find a closet infested with ants, remove every thing that will attract them, scald and clean it well, and they will soon leave it. It is said that strips of cotton or linen dipped in spirits of turpentine, and placed about the closets, will drive them away. Mats should be placed at all the outside doors, and at the top and bottom of the cellar stairs. Putting Straw under Carpets. It is thought that carpets wear better when straw is spread over the floor before they are put down, and it will prevent the dust from rising so much. Care should be taken to have them well tacked down, as it is dangerous on account of fire. Where straw is used, they may be kept down a much longer time without being shaken. Picking Geese, &c. When you pick geese and ducks, have a tub of boiling water; dip each one in, turning it over to let every part be well scalded, and as each one is scalded, wrap it up in a cloth, and when they are nearly cold, pick them. In this way the pen feathers are loosened, and they can be picked much cleaner. Wetting the feathers does not hurt them if they are well dried. They should be put in bags, and frequently sunned. Baking them in the oven after the bread comes out, cures them more thoroughly than any other way. Turkey and chicken feathers are not so good for beds as goose and duck; they may be picked in the same way. Marble, &c. Marble mantles should be washed but seldom; wipe off spots with a damp cloth, and rub them dry. Hearths should be washed with soap and water. When there is a spot of grease, mix clay or whiting with soft soap, and put on. Soap-stone hearths may be scoured with soap and fine sand, and washed off. To Restore Colors taken out by Acid, &c. Hartshorn rubbed on a silk or woollen garment will restore the color without