by Barkham Burroughs
Available in 217 free installments
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Pickle.--Make eight gallons of brine strong enough to float an egg; add two pounds of brown sugar or a quart of molasses, and four ounces of saltpetre; boil and skim clean, and pour cold on your meat. Meat intended for smoking should remain in pickle about four weeks. This pickle can be boiled over, and with a fresh cup of sugar and salt used all summer. Some persons use as much soda as saltpetre. It will correct acidity, but we think impairs the meat.
WASHING PREPARATION.--Take a 1/4 of a pound of soap, a 1/4 of a pound of soda, and a 1/4 of a pound of quicklime. Cut up the soup and dissolve it in 1 quart of boiling water; pour 1 quart of boiling water over the soda, and 3 quarts of boiling water upon the quicklime. The lime must be quick and fresh; if it is good it will bubble up on pouring the hot water upon it. Each must be prepared in separate vessels. The lime must settle so as to leave the water on the top perfectly clear; then strain it carefully (not disturbing the settlings) into the washboiler with the soda and soap; let it scald long enough to dissolve the soap, then add 6 gallons of soap water. The clothes must be put to soak over night, after rubbing soap upon the dirtiest parts of them. After having the above in readiness, wring out the clothes which have been put in soak, put them on to boil, and let each lot boil half an hour; the same water will answer for the whole washing. After boiling each lot half an hour drain them from the boiling water put them in a tub and pour upon them two or three pailsful of clear, hot water; after this they will want very little rubbing; then rinse through two waters, blueing the last. When dried they will be a beautiful white. After washing the cleanest part of the white clothes, take two pails of the suds in which they have been washed, put it over the fire and scald, and this will wash all the flannels and colored clothes without any extra soap. The white flannels, after being well washed in the suds, will require to be scalded by turning on a teakettle of boiling water.
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HOW TO DESTROY HOUSEHOLD PESTS
HOW TO DESTROY ANTS.--Ants that frequent houses or gardens may he destroyed by taking flower of brimstone half a pound and potash four ounces; set them in an iron or earthen pan over the fire till dissolved and united; afterward beat them to a powder, and infuse a little of this powder in water; and wherever you sprinkle it the ants will die or fly the place.
HOW TO DESTROY BLACK ANTS.--A few leaves of green wormwood, scattered among the haunts of these troublesome insects, is said to be effectual in dislodging them.
HOW TO DESTROY RED ANTS.--The best way to get rid of ants, is to set a quantity of cracked walnuts or shell-barks on plates, and put them in the closet or places where the ants congregate. They are very fond of these, and will collect on them in myriads. When they have collected on them make a general auto-da-fe, by turning nuts and ants together into the fire, and then replenish the plates with fresh nuts. After they have become so thinned off as to cease collecting on plates, powder some camphor and put in the holes and crevices, whereupon the remainder of them will speedily depart. It may help the process of getting them to assemble on shell-barks, to remove all edibles out of their way for the time.
HOW TO DESTROY BLACK BEES.--Place two or three shallow vessels--the larger kind of flower-pot saucers will do--half filled with water, on the floors where they assemble, with strips of cardboard running from the edge of the vessel to the floor, at a gentle inclination; these the unwelcome guests will eagerly ascend, and so find a watery grave.
HOW TO DESTROY BED-BUGS.--1. When they have made a lodgement in the wall, fill all the apertures with a mixture of soft soap and scotch snuff. Take the bedstead to pieces, and treat that in the same way. 2. A strong decoction of red pepper applied to bedsteads will either kill the bugs or drive them away. 3. Put
