TX 158 .1116 Copy 1 THE HELPER A help for those who wish To Save and Make Money and to Avoid Sickness A GUIDE TO ECONOMY In Dress, Mending, Cleaning, Fuel, Food, Medicine, Etc. Published by R. McMEANS, Chicago, III. The HELPER A help for those who wish To Save and Make Money and to Avoid Sickness A Guide to Economy In Dress, Mending, Cleaning, Fuel, Food, Medicine, Etc. Published by R. McMEANS, Chicago, 111. L THE. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Received MAR 28 1903 Copyright tntry CLASS Ct XXc. No COPY B. < If this book is merely glanced at or read carelessly, it will be of little value to you; but if it is read over and over again, and used as a book of reference, it will indeed be a "helper" in many ways. Copyrighted, March, 1903, by R. McMeans. A GUIDE TO ECONOMY. EXCELLENT ADVICE.— P. T. Barnuru, in "The Art of Money Get- ting," says: Wear the old clothes a little longer if necessary; dispense with the new pair of gloves; mend the old dress; live on plainer food if need be; so that, under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income. A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desii'ed result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending. Here is a recipe which I recommend; I have found it to work an excellent cure for extravagance, and especially for mistaken econ- omy: When you find that you have no surplus at the end of the year, and yet have a good income, I advise you to take a few sheets of paper and form them into a book and mark down every item of expenditure. Post it every day or week in two columns, one headed "necessities," or oven "comforts," and the other headed "luxuries," and you will find that the latter column will be double, treble, and frequently ten times greater than the former. The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of what most of us can earn. Dr. Franklin says, 'it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not care for fine clothes or furniture.' The old suit of clothes, and the old bonnet and dress, will answer for another season; the Croton or spring water will taste better than cham- pagne; a cold bath and a brisk walk will prove more exhilarating than a ride in the finest coach; a social chat, an evening's reading in the family circle, or an hour's play of 'hunt the slipper' and 'blind man'* buff,' will be far more pleasant than a fifty or five hundred dollar party, when the reflection on the difference in cost is indulged in by those who begin to know the pleasures of saving." A MONEY-MAKING SCHEME.— The advertiser's "plan and full par- ticulars" as given below may not be what the purchasers expected, yet the information, if put to a practical test, is worth many times the price asked. One great cause of the poverty of the present day is the failure of many 4 THE HELPER people to appreciate small things. They say if they cannot save large sums they will not save anything. They do not realize that a daily addi- tion, be it ever so small, will eventually make a large sum. If the men and women of to-day will only begin, and begin now, to save a little from their earnings and invest it in some savings bank, and weekly or monthly add to their mite, they will wear a happy smile of content and independence in a few years. Not only the pile will increase, but the ability and desire to increase it will soon grow. Let the clerk and the tradesman, the laborer and the artisan, make a beginning. Let parents teach their children to save. Begin at the fountain head to control the extravagant desires. Do not be ambitious for gigantic fortunes, but seek that which is the duty of every one to obtain— independence and a comfortable home. Wealth is within the reach of all, but it can be had only by one process— saving. For the purpose of further illustrating this important subject, the following table of daily savings is published. These amounts saved and deposited -will, at. the usual rate of interest, compounded, produce these results: In 1 year. 10 years. 50 years. 2% cents a dav $10 $130 $2,900 5% cents a day 20 260 5,800 11 cents a day 40 520 11,600 27 1 /. cents a day 100 1,300 29,000 55 cents a day 200 2,600 58,000 It is the duty of every one in a position to do so to provide for sick- ness and old age. By adopting the above plan of saving a competency is soon obtained. CLEAN YOUR OAVN CLOCKS.— Here is the great clock-cleaning secret as furnished by the advertiser How to clean clocks at a cost of one cent each. Simply remove the works from the case, take off the verge that pendulum works in, and oil same with good sperm oil. Wind up the works and place in a tin pan or earthen vessel, and cover with common gasoline. Let the works run down two or three times in the gasoline, which is sufficient to remove all dirt. Then remove the works from vessel and let gasoline evaporate from same, after which oil with clock oil and put back in the case. Weight clocks may be treated in the same manner by winding up and pulling the cord. Far better results will be obtained in this manner than by taking the works apart. Save the gasoline, as it is good for cleaning a dozen other clocks. Keep it away from the fire, as it is dangerous. HOW TO SAVE MONEY IN BUYING.— As plainly as figures can prove anything, it can be demonstrated that, when flour is $5 a barrel, she who buys it by the twenty-five pound bag pays at the rate of $6, and the purchaser by the single pound, or seven pounds, nearer $7 a barrel. Think of it! Almost half enough for another barrel! THE HELPER 5 Sugar, laid in by the small quantity, was yet more extravagant; soap, bought by the cake, or even by the bar, was almost a crime, when one could save so much by taking a box, soap being one of the commodities that improves with the keeping. Flour ripens after the barrel is opened, growing drier and lighter. Starch and sugar will keep for an indefinite time; vinegar sharpens instead of losing virtue with age. And so on through the long list of groceries down to the matter of clothing. Shoes are better for being bought a couple of months before they are to be used: we noticed the advertisements of winter wraps, flannels, furs and other articles of cold weather wear, to be sold for half price in the early spring, that the merchants might not have the trouble of storing them. The weekly wages system and the habit of buying pound quantities is the cause of the working class living in this hand-to-mouth way. Every time they purchase just enough of a. certain food for one meal an allow- ance of 10 per cent should be allowed for waste. Avoid too constant a. use of potatoes, using occasionally instead rice, hominy or macaroni. The English custom of a butterless dinner will prove an economy if meat gravies form a part of the meal. Breakfast foods are much less expen- sive if bought in bulk rather than in box. WHAT A LITTLE DRINK MONEY WILL BUY.— A moderate drinker sat down one night and wrote a letter to his grocer. The grocer, after doing some figuring, said the man was right and could get everything enumerated in the letter for what was worse than thrown away for whisky. Here is the letter: "Dear Sir: — Having been accustomed to spending 20 cents a day for whisky, I find by saving it I can now order from you during one year, 3 barrels of flour, 100 pounds of granulated sugar. 25 pounds corn starch, 125 pounds macaroni, 60 pounds white beans. pounds pepper, 1 dozen scrub brushes, 50 pounds sal-soda, 20 pounds roasted coffee, 25 cans tomatoes. 24 cans mackerel, 50 pounds best raisins, 1 dozen packages herbs, 40 pounds codfish, 110 pounds buckwheat flour. 100 pounds oatmeal, 20 pounds rice, 1 barrel crackers, 100 pounds hominy, 18 pounds mince-meat, 1 dozen brooms. 12 bottles machine oil, 20 pounds Oolong tea, 24 cans green peas, 20 pounds dried apples, 25 pounds prunes, 40 pounds laundry starch. 28 pounds table salt, 21 pounds lard, 12 bottles maple syrup, 100 bars soap. •_' gallons chow-chow, 1 ream note paper, 500 envelopes, 2 newspapers for a year. I had no idea my drinking had been costing me so much, and believe now I can live better and buy more for my family." HOW A FAMILY SAVED $100 ON A SALARY OF $700.- Economy is quite as large a factor as industry in the gaining of a fortune. With people living on small incomes, it is often the one element that de- termines whether they "make both ends meet," or run in debt and ulti- mately fail. The following example shows how one family, whose in- come was only $700 a year, actually saved $100. Mr. , of , THE HELPER found himself getting behind, in money matters, and determined to prac tice rigid economy. He found a great many leakages in the household. Perhaps some one who reads this will find the same or similar leaks, and learn why he is not prospering. Scraps of meat thrown away, mak- ing loss of dinners worth, $12.50; puddings thrown away, $0; waste of coal in not sifting, $5; one-half barrel of apples from not sorting, $1.50; wash tub fell to pieces because left dry, $1; one-fourth loaf of bread every day thrown away (90 loaves at 10 cents per loaf), $9, ten dozen preserves, one-fourth lost, at twenty-five cents per can, $7.50; twenty bar- rels of ashes, five cents per barrel, $1; waste of bones which could be used for soup, $1.50; waste of heat at the damper, one-tenth in a ton of coal, ten tons per year, $5; waste of gas in not turning down lights when not needed, $12; canned salmon, one-fourth spoiled because can was left open, twenty-five cans, $1; cheese (one-half used, the rest thrown away because hard), twenty-five pounds, $2; potatoes, for want of sprout- ing, one barrel, $1; clothing, for lack of attention, $15; milk, 375 quarts at eight cents per quart, one-fifth allowed to spoil, $6; umbrellas which could be mended, $1; shoes thrown away when they could be used by having heels fixed, $3; kitchen slops, $1; waste of vegetables, $5; wear of carpet for lack of rugs in places most used, $3. Total waste, $100. WASTE IN THE KITCHEN.— Waste in the kitchen is often very great from apparently trivial sources. Housekeepers should read and ponder: In cooking meats, the water is thrown out without removing the grease, or the grease from the dripping-pan is thrown away. Pieces of bread in the bread-box, and cake in the cake-box. are left to dry and mold. Scraps of meat are thrown away. Cold potatoes are left to sour and spoil. Preserves are opened, forgotten, and left to mold and ferment. Dried fruits are not looked after, and become wormy. Vinegar and sauce are left standing in tin. Apples are left to decay for want of "sorting over." Corks are left out of the molasses and vinegar jugs. The tea-canister is left open. Victuals are left exposed to be eaten by mice. Bones of meat and the carcass of turkey are thrown away, when they could be used in making good soups. Vegetables and puddings left from the dinner are thrown away. Sugar, tea, coffee, and rice are carelessly spilled in the handling. Soap is left to dissolve and waste in the water. Dish-towels are used for dish-cloths. Towels are used for holders. Brooms and mops are not hung up. Cn.-il is wasted bv not sifting the ashes. THE HELPER 7 More coal is burned than necessary, by not arranging dampers when not using the fire. Lights are left burning when not used. Tin dishes are not properly cleansed and dried. Knives and forks get rusty, for want of care. Pails and wash-tubs fall to pieces, because left dry. Potatoes in the cellar grow, and thus become unfit for eating. Ashes are thrown out and wasted, when they could be utilized in different ways. Carpets are swept with stub brooms which wear out the carpet tex- ture. Sheets are scorched and injured by being used in ironing. Good forks are used and ruined in toasting bread. The flour is sifted in a wasteful manner, or the bread-pan left with dough sticking to it. Cold puddings are considered good for nothing, when often they can be steamed for the next day, or, in case of rice, made over in other forms. Vegetables are thrown away that would warm for breakfast nicely. Cream is left to mould and spoil. Mustard is left to spoil in the cruse, or rust, etc. Vinegar is allowed to stand until the tin vessel becomes corroded and spoiled. Pickles become spoiled by the leaking out or evaporation of the vin- egar. Pork spoils for want of salt, and beef because the brine wants scald- ing. Cheese molds, and is eaten by mice or vermin. Tea and coffee-pots are injured on the stove. Potatoes are "peeled" before boiling, thus losing a large fraction of the substance. It is much more economical to boil before the rind is removed; then only the thin rind is lost. Wooden-ware is uuscalded, and left to warp and crack. Put the pieces of bread into a jar until you have a quantity of them, and use them as they are needed. They are nice for milk toast, chicken dressing, hash and croquettes. When they become very dry roll them into a powder with a rolling pin and use them just as you would cracker crumbs. Save the fryings and meat drippings. Water in which meat has been boiled should be allowed to stand until it is cold, when the grease will collect on the top, and it can be taken off. To clarify it put it over the fire and heat until the water has evaporated. There are many ways in which it can be used, and it will be as good as lard or butter. Oil is spilled while the lamps are being filled; the gasoline can is left open and its contents evaporate. The water in which the clothes are 8 THE HELPER washed is softened with lye or sal soda, which rots the goods and ruins the colors. Borax would cleanse the garments beautifully without injury to fabric or color. If the pudding is put in a disli that is not well greased its contents stick, thereby wasting part of it. Coffee should be drained off the grounds after each meal and the coffee pot rinsed out before the coffee is put. back: otherwise it will taste old and bitter and be unfit for use. THE VALUE OF FOOD.— A quart bowl of porridge, made of equal parts of Indian meal and rolled Graham crackers, is more health-gener- ating, and more strength-giving, than two pounds of porterhouse beef- steak. In like manner, you will find it chemically true that five long, deep, well appropriated inspirations of pure air, are more invigorating than a cup of either wiue, brandy, or coffee. The chief food of the Roman gladiator, was barley-cakes and oil; and this diet is eminently fitted to give muscular strength and endurance. The Roman soldier had little or no meat. His daily rations were one pound of barley, three ounces of oil. and a pint of thin wine. Peas and beans are the most nutritious of vegetables, containing as as much carbon as wheat, and double the amount of muscle-formiug food. In certain seasons of the year eggs are cheaper than meat and will give in proportion the same amount of nourishment. A bushel of pota- toes at one dollar gives little nourishment compared to fifty cents* worth of rice. Gluten macaroni gives meat value and at one fifth the cost. Old peas, beans and lentils are much more nutritious than meat and at about one-fourth the cost. A pound of oatmeal contains twice as much of the same kind of nutrition as a pound of lean steak. Yet the one costs six cents, while the other costs two or three times as much. Even in the matter of compactness, says Dr. Hutchinson, artificial foods, as given to the patient, do not compare favorably with many natural foods. For example, if it is a question of giving sugar, a pound of honey at 9 pence is a better source of sugar than a pound of malt extract at 3 shillings. Again, take cod liver oil emulsions as a means of administering fat. "In cream you get a more valuable substance, be- cause ordinary cream contains more than 50 per cent of fat. and but- ter fat is as easily digested and absorbed as the fat of cod-liver oil. besides being much more palatable and considerably cheaper." The article in common use as food which has the greatest food value in proportion to cost is cornmeal; the article having greatest cost in pro- portion to its food value is the oyster. Well-cooked oatmeal eaten with a raw apple is claimed to be an ideal diet for humanity, and a man can keep strong and healthy on this at the smallest possible outlay. THE HELPER 9 How many realize the value of apples as a food? Eaten freely by expectant mothers they ensure regular action of the bowels, and baby will be all the stronger and healthier. SUGAR, TO SAVE.— Chemists say it takes more than twice as much sugar to sweeten preserves, sauces and the like if put in when they be- gin to cook, as it does to add it after the process is accomplished. Very sour fruits require an unlimited amount of sugar, considerable of which may be saved by stirring in a little soda before sweetening. A NEW ART, OR THE LIGHTNING INTEREST RULES.— Reduce the whole time to months and set it down in figures; divide the number of days by three, and set the quotient down to the right of the months, and multiply that by the quotient of the money divided by two; the answer will the the interest at six per cent. To change to any other rate, multiply the interest by it and divide by six. $160— one year, seven months, twenty-one days, at six per cent. $1(30— 2— $80x197— $15.76 at 6. Parties in New York are teaching this rule at $5 a scholar. A HELPFUL HINT.— So sure is it that the love and culture of flowers lead to prosperity that iu proportion as the love for a few pot- ted plants and flowers at home increases so the waste of money on meretricious ornament is checked or stopped. The education absorbed by the eye is of great importance, and flowers and plants instruct as no tt'xt-books ever can. HOW TO SAVE YOUR COAL.— The following has been sold ex- tensively for various sums from 25 cents up; and is recommended as a great coal saver: To 2 quarts chloride of sodium (common rock salt) add 4 ounces nitrate of potash (salt petre). Dissolve in two gallons of water, sprinkle over the coal and when dry is ready to use. Above quantity is enough for a ton. Another plan for saving fuel is to mix thoroughly 100 pounds of common rock salt with 30 pounds of ordinary sand. Put a handful on the fire, and when the fire gets low, put on another handful. This prepa- ration has been put up in 5 pound packages and retailed at 25 cents. SOFT COAL AND COKE.— A stove dealer of long experience informs Good Housekeeping that a cheap fuel of rare excellence is a mixture of bituminous coal and coke, the latter counteracting the tendency of the coal to lump in the firebox, while the coal tempers the great heat from the coke, which tends to burn out the stove. Never place a range or cooking stove opposite a door or window if it can be avoided, as any draft will prevent the oven from baking well. A piece of zinc placed on coals of hot fire will clean out the stove- pipe, the vapor produced carries off the soot by chemical decomposition. Try turning a pan over your flat-irons while they are on the stove. 10 THE HELPER It is an excellent way To save fuel, as you can keep them hot with one- half the fire. Save potato parings, for after being dried iu the oven they are ex- cellent for fire lighting. Thus wood is saved and something is utilized which would otherwise go into the dustbin and add to its unsavory odors. As to the principles of cooking, remember that water cannot be made more than boiling hot— no matter how much you hasten the tire you cannot hasten the cooking, of meat, potatoes, etc.. one moment; a brisk boil is sufficient. When meat is to be boiled for eating, put it into boil- ing water at the beginning, by which its juices are preserved. But if you wish to extract these juices for soup or broth, cut the meat in small pieces, into cold water, and let it simmer slowly. The same principle holds good in baking, also. Make the oven the right heat, and give it time to bake through, is the true plan; if you attempt to hurry it. you only burn, instead of cooking it done. If you attempt the boiling to hurry, The wood only is wasted; But. in attempting the baking to hurry, The food, as well, isn't tit to be tasted. BOOTS AND SHOES, HOW TO MAKE THEM LAST LONGER.— It is said '2 parts of tallow and 1 of resin, melted together and applied to the soles of new boots or shoes, as much as the leather will absorb, will double their wear. Every family should procure a can of tar (not coal tar) or a bottle of linseed oil. Place shoes b< ittoms up in hot sun or warm place, paint or coat soles over with either tar or oil; when absorbed or dried in, repeat five + o eight times. It is better if they may be allowed to harden for a time. Soles will endure many times the wear and be impervious to moisture. Twenty-live cents' worth of material will save a family many thousand per cent on the investment, while the benefit to health may extend to the saving of life. Such application can be made to shoos at any time, but if applied while new it is surprising the amount of wear before same becomes perceptible. Boots and shoes should be made so large as to admit of wearing cork soles. Cork is so bad a conductor of heat, that with it in the boots, the feet are always warm on the coldest stone floor. The following sole saver is now being sold extensively: Guttapercha cut up small. 4 ounces. Melt in a saucepan at a gentle heat and add Copal Varnish, 1 quart. (Get the cheap, no need to use the best.) Have the varnish warmed before adding it and mix thoroughly with the melted guttapercha. Take off the fire, stir constantly, and add Oil of Mirbane, ¥2 ounce. Mix well and the Saver is made. Directions are to apply three ■*oats to the soles and heels of new shoes, allowing one coat to dry be- THE HELPER 11 fore putting on another. A 2-ounce bottle sells for 20 or 25 cents. Two ounces should do 3 pair of shoes. TO REMEDY TIGHT SHOES.— In a hurry, or otherwise, a shoe may be gotten that is a little narrow, and while it must be worn, yet it is uncomfortably tight. In such cases, take a folded cloth, and wet it in hot water, and lay it over that part of the shoe that pinches; many times it will afford relief at once. In order to stretch that part of the shoe, and cause it to tit to the shape of the foot, change the wet cloth several times, so as to keep up the heat and moisture, while the foot presses it. Another way to remedy tight shoes is to wet some oats or corn, and immediately put as much as possible into the shoe, and leave for twenty-four hours. The swelling of the grain will widen the shoe. HOW TO MEND OLD BOOTS AND SHOES— No matter how full of holes the soles may be, if the upper leathers are sound and the stitch- ing firm, they can be covered with gutta-percha, and with a little ex- pense they will be "Amaist as gude as new." The gutta-percha can be bought in thin sheets, and a pattern taken of the sole and then cut out by it. Warm the soles a little, and press the gutta-percha firmly over them. Let them stand awhile, and they will do you good service. On the other hand, if the tops of your shoes or sliipers are shabby, and the soles perfectly good, they can be covered tightly with woolen cloth or velvet, stitched on as closely as possible to the regular seam. A pair of boots can be covered with black lasting so neatly, that one would easily mistake them for new boots. A pair of slippers that are worn out can be made to do duty for sickness, if covered with knitting or crochet work, and be soft and warm to the feet. TO SAVE YOUR BOOTS.— A new wrinkle may be learned from an English solider who was noted for keeping his boots in better condi- tion and making them last longer than any of his brother officers. When asked what he did to them to prevent the leather from cracking and keeping it soft and smooth his reply was: "Mutton bone." When an explanation was demanded, he said: "It is nothing. I assure you. My man asks the cook for a knuckle bone, which he cleans and then bakes. After rubbing the leather with cream he then froths them as hard as he can with the bone. Usually my boots last me three years." METAL POLISH.— Here is the formula for the best polish ever in- vented for gold, silver, brass, nickel or copper. A polish needs no rub- bing, but simply apply and when dry wipe off. It will make tarnished metal look like new and will not injure it in the least. Its harmlessness may be proven by rubbing on the back of the hand. Wood alcohol three parts, aqua ammonia one part, prepared chalk one-half part. Shake often when using, to keep chalk stirred up. FURNITURE POLISH.— The English recipe for polishing furniture is L2 THE HELPER as follows: Shave five cents' worth of yellow beeswax into enough tur- pentine to make the consistency of paste. When it is dissolved, apply with a soft woolen cloth to the surface to be polished, then rub briskly with a flannel or soft cloth until thoroughly dry. It is really wonder- ful in results, making a surface as highly polished as a professional pol- isher could make it. After one trial the most skeptical will be convinced of the value of this recipe. STOVE POLISH. THE BEST.— Mrs. A. P. Burton, of Texas, writes as follows to Happy Hours: "I send a recipe for making the best stove- polish I ever used. It cost me one dollar, but I am glad to pass it along, feeling sure it will be of benefit to other housekeepers. Shave fine one-half bar of good soap, add one and one-half pints of rain- water, put over the fire and heat until dissolved, then add ten cents- worth of plumbago. Stir until this is dissolved, and just before taking from the fire add one tablespoonful of turpentine. The mixture should resemble soft soap, and when cold will be a paste polish. When you wish to black your stove put on an old glove, take your brush and pro- ceed as usual— taking care that the stove is not too warm. I have some of this polish that was made five years ago; it is dry and hard, but I have only to moisten it with a little water and it is as good as ever. I used to polish stoves as a business, and this is the polish I used. It makes no dirt if rightly mixed and handled. Any little girl or boy could make money if they would go at the work in the right way and do it neatly." COPPER POLISH.— This polish for copper and the one following for brass, is used in a large establishment in Chicago, and has been sold by the man wiio does the polishing for .$5. This is the Copper Polish: Equal parts of powdered pumice stone and oxalic acid (powdered). The brass polish is made as follows: Stearine. 1 lb.; tripoli, 2 lbs.; benzine, 1 gallon. STOVE POLISH.— A very simple and excellent stove polish is made by simply using finely pulverized plumbago (black lead). Use a damp woolen rag, dip in the powder, and apply to the stove. Rub with a dry cloth, and a most beautiful polish will appear. This is very cheap and effective. Mix stove polish with strong soap suds, add a little molas- ses, and see how much better it polishes than if clear water is used. When rubbing up your stoves do not forget that the isinglass win- dows may be most quickly and thoroughly brightened by vinegar and water. Rub them quickly with a soft rag dipped into the water and vinegar, being careful to go well into the corners. This will keep the windows clean for a long time. A WINNING PLAN.— In the fall of the year just before the first advance in the price of eggs, buy as many as you can with the capital THE HELPER 13 you wish to invest and pack in barrels or boxes of oats, packing about three inches of oats to each layer of eggs, being careful that the eggs do not touch each other. Turn the barrels or boxes in which you pack the eggs, every few days to prevent the yolks from settling and sticking to the sides of the shells, and they will keep much longer. When prices advance, as they always do during December and January, sell your eggs and pocket the profits. ONE HUNDRED POUNDS OF SOAP FOR $1.— Potash, 6 lbs.: lard, 4 lbs.; powdered resin, 4 oz. Mix all together and set aside for five days, then put the whole into a cask containing 10 gallons warm water, stir twice a day for ten days, and you will have 100 pounds of excellent soap. TO DOUBLE THE STRENGTH OF TEA.— Steam the tea leaves be- fore steeping. By this method it is claimed fourteen pints of good qual- ity may be brewed from one ounce of tea. Another method is to grind the leaves like coffee before steeping. The finest tea I ever tasted in any part of the world was made by the deck steward on the good ship Merion. He was loath to reveal the secret of it, but after a good deal of teasing and passing over a few shil- lings, he confessed that the quality of the beverage was due to the addi- tion of a "nip of salt" to the fine grade of tea used. I have since acted on this hint, and have been surprised at the improvement in quality.— S. L. B., in Good Housekeeping. A well-known authority says: "The people of this country honestly believe they are getting Java and Mocha berries, and they are paying- forty cents a pound for Brazilian berries, when the highest price of those berries at wholesale to-day is twelve cents a pound. I think the Brazil- ian coffee is practically "just as good as the Java. To be within the cer- tain limits of truth, I would say that not over three per cent of the cof- fee imported into the United States comes from Java and Arabia, and this statement is thoroughly established by the official figures of the treasury department." MEAT, TO SAVE MONEY IN BUYING.— One woman says: "I never have bought a pound of steak; it is expensive. I buy the rump of beef, slice off steaks, pound thoroughly and fry or broil them. A dif- ference of six to eight cents a pound is worth saving, and properly pre- pared the steak is quite as good. In buying meats the shoulder of a lamb is as good as any meat on sale, and yet costs about half what fancy cuts are sold for." MEAT. TO IMPROVE.— A Avell-known cook says: "I find I can make a beefsteak of the inferior quality, such as rump or round, as tender as the most expensive cuts, if treated to an oil bath twenty-four hours long. A tablespoonful of the finest olive oil is sufficient. Pour it over the steak, then rub it with the fingers into every part thoroughly. Put 14 THE HELPER it in a cold place, the coolest corner of the refrigerator in summer or a well chilled pantry in winter. Sometimes in a large hotel the steaks are cut a week before they are wanted, well oiled and put in cold storage.'" A tablespoonful of vinegar put in the water in which meat Is boiling will make the meat tender. When anything is accidentally made too salt it can be counteracted by adding a tablespoonful of vinegar and a tablespoonful of sugar. If mutton chops are rubbed over with lemon juice before broiling their flavor will be much- improved. In making stew, add two teaspoonfuls of vinegar to each pound of meat. This does not give a sour taste, but improves the flavor and adds to the tenderness of the meat. MEAT. TO KEEP FRESH.— An intelligent sailor says: "Beefsteak may be kept fresh three months at sea, by packing in corn meal, say one inch between the slices of steak. The meal also will keep sweet. In the above manner, steak may lie kept on land, in midsummer, for three weeks." THE CHEAPEST FISH in the market is halibut, even when it is almost twice the price of cod or haddock. In cod one has to pay for bone, head, tail and skin, which are all waste. Almost every morsel of halibut is eatable. ICE. TO SAVE.— A writer in Good Housekeeping says: "I made a fortunate discovery at the beginning of the summer, that has lessened the amount of my ice bill. I tried first putting a newspaper over the ice in the refrigerator: but as I like to use the small piece, left in the box when the new ice comes, for my water cooler, I found this would not do, as the ice tasted of the paper. Then I tried wrapping the ire in flannel. This was good, but to keep a fresh flannel ready and all clean and sweet made extra labor. Finally I spread a double thickness of old carpet over the outside top of the refrigerator. This was a per- fect success. My ice account from April 1 to October 1 was two dol- lars less than the year previous, and we certainly had as warm a sum- mer. I made more ices and frozen desserts this summer, too." Take a new flower pot. wrap in a wet cloth, put over butter, and the butter will keep as upon ice. EGGS, TO SAVE.— When eggs are high it seems almost an extrava*- game to make cake, but if you will follow my rule, two eggs will be found to go as far as three would in the ordinary way. First, mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the butter beaten to a cream, the yolks well beaten, and the milk. Lastly add the stiffly beaten whites. Boiled carrots, when properly treated, form an excellent substitute for eggs in pudding. They must be boiled, mashed and pressed through THE HELPER 15 a coarse cloth or hair sieve strainer. The pulp is then introduced among the other ingredients of the pudding, to the total omission of eggs. A pudding made in this way is much lighter than where eggs are used, and is much more palatable. STALE BREAD, TO SAVE.— A dry loaf, milk-soaked, can be rebaked, and is as good as new. Bread on which fast-boiling milk is poured makes a good supper for dyspeptics. A porous bread-pan, set in an inch of water, keeps the bread fresh a long time. MOTHS, TO GET RID OF.— Sprinkle tansy leaves freely about your woolens and furs, and the moths will never get into them. Salt is now pronounced to be, beyond all other things, the best exterminator of moths. Women in hospitals, large storage rooms, have tried all rem- edies only to come back to common salt. For carpets, just previous to their storage, there is nothing better to keep out moths than to sweep them with salt— just the ordinary, common, dry salt. Particles of salt re- main in the carpet, and these keep out the moths. Cedar chests are best to keep flannels, for cloth moths are never found in them. Red cedar chips are good to keep in drawers, wardrobes, closets, trunks, etc., to keep out moths. SUBSTITUTE FOR MOTH BALLS.— Try putting tansy leaves in the Winter blankets when packing them away. In former generations moth balls were not known, but tansy leaves were freely sprinkled among the furs, blankets and woolen clothing put out of harm's way during the Summer months, and such things always came out fresh and sweet in the Autumn. Bits of raw cotton or wadding saturated with the oil of pennyroyal, and placed in corners, on closet shelves and in boxes or drawers, will drive away several kinds of objectionable insects, cockroaches, ants, etc. Placed in a saucer in the windows it will help drive away flies. SOAP, HOW TO SAVE— Soap, if good (and you should use no other), is worth saving to the least bit. A soap-shaker will accomplish this pur- pose for laundry soap. To utilize the remnants of the more costly toilet soaps make a small bag of fine flannel; put in the odds and ends from washstand and bathroom as they accumulate. It will lather freely in water, and the flannel has cleansing qualities of its own. WASHING MADE EASY.— A woman of experience says: "Fully ont> third of my dread of washing has been eliminated since I learned that a small scrubbing-brush would take the place of a washboard. It will clean the dirtiest places easily, more quickly and with less wear on the clothes than the old way. Lay the garments on a smooth board, soap the soiled places, scrub them with the brush and the spots disappear like magic." 1C THE HELPER A careful housekeeper says: "I want to give my method of wash- ing; it is so easy, and the clothes are so beautifully white and clean that I am sure all will be pleased with it. If hard water is used it must first be cleansed. Now sort the clothes, putting all that you wish to boil in a tub. the dirtiest at the bottom and the liner pieces on top. Cover them well with soft water, cold or luke-warm. Put the boiler on the stove with as much water as is needed to boil the clothes, and to each pailful add a teaspoonful of pulverized borax, one-fourth bar of good laundry soap and a tablespoonful of kerosene. Wring out your clothes, throw them into the boiler, let them scald twenty minutes, and lift them out into a tub of water or put them through a washer, though I prefer a wash-board. They need very little rubbing. This is a splendid way to wash light quilts, men's overalls, etc., and is really a boon to women who are not strong. When you wash put a tablespoonful of turpentine in the boiling water, and a heaping teaspoonful of pulverized borax in the rinsing-water, and see how white and nice the clothes will be." CEMENT TO MEND CHINA.— Take a very thick solution of gum arabic, and stir into it plaster of Paris, until the mixture is of proper consistency. Apply it with a brush to the fractional edges of the china- ware, and stick them together. In a few days it will be impossible to break the article in the same place. GLASS, TO TOUGHEN.— Every day glassware, such as tumblers, goblets, etc., may be greatly toughened and breakages often prevented by placing them in a large boiler or pan containing cold water, set on the front of the stove, letting them come to a boil, and boil for several hours, after which they may be removed back and remain in the same water until it is cool. BEDBUGS, TO DESTROY.— Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of corro- sive sublimate in half a pint of wood alcohol; add a quart of gasoline and with a new, clean machine-oil can inject the mixture into every crack and crevice of furniture and walls. Do this twice a week for a month keeping a sharp lookout between times for any sign of the invaders. Ex amine the mattresses and pillows daily. This method if faithfully car- ried out will extirpate the wretched plagues. It is warranted. In getting rid of bedbugs, moths and corns, the average person is apt to fly from one remedy to another, when the fact of the matter is, there is little difference. To destroy bugs and moths requires constant vigilance; ami as for corns it is impossible to cure them as long as the conditions which caused them remain. Equal parts of kerosene and turpentine is an excellent preventive of bugs, while some use kerosene alone, sometimes using a quart, to a lied. E3ASIER SWEEPING.— This way does away with so much sweeping, and the dust is allayed, and the back gets a rest, and it is a woman's THE HELPER 17 friend. Fill a basin full of hot water and dissolve two tablespoonfuls of pearline into it; stir up well and dip your broom, which must be new. or right clean, and sweep a width at a time. When the water gets dirty or black looking,- change for fresh, and it allays the dust and brightens up the carpet wonderfully, and does not fade a single color. You will not need to sweep that carpet again for two days. You can brush it up a little, but this amounts to a spring cleaning with most of the carpets. ROACHES, TO GET RID OF.— If you are troubled with ants or roaches, croton bugs in your pantry or closets, wash the shelves and floor with a strong solution of borax water, then sprinkle dry, pow- dered borax over them and cover with clean newspapers. Tansy will destroy or drive away small black ants. TO PATCH LACE CURTAINS INVISIBLY.— Cut a piece of the required size out of an old one and dip it in starch. Then press it on the curtain with a hot iron and you will have the defective spot well mended until washing day for it comes round again. Uo not iron your curtains, for ironing breaks the threads. Instead, mangle and shake them out; any creases which remains will soon disappear when they are hung up. THE BEST BREAD THAT EVER WAS MADE.— This is a great claim, but a true one, as everybody with a healthy appetite will concede. One pint of whole wheat flour, one pint of graham Hour, a tablespoonful of sugar, a little salt, and one coffee-cup of chopped raisins. Dissolve a Fleischmann's compressed yeast cake in a little warm water, and add enough warm, rich milk to make a soft dough. Stir briskly, and set in warm place to rise. When light, stir again, pour into pans— note the "pour"— and let stand fifteen or twenty minutes until it begins to re-rise. Bake in moderate oven. BAKING POWDER, HOME-MADE.— No. 1. 8 ounces of bicarbonate of soda, 5c; i> ounces tartaric acid, 25c; 1 quart sifted flour, 5c; total, 35c. No. 2. S ounces bicarbonate of soda. 5c; to 50 cents per vessel, according to the place you buy it and the celebrity of the name on the label. For 15 cents enough tooth powder to last a family a year can be put together. THE HELPER 27 Buy the chalk in bulk and with it some ground castile soap, which all druggists sell. Put them together in the proportion of one-eighth soap to seven-eighths chalk. Mix well and till any and all the empty tooth- powder jars or bottles that you may have around. If flavoring is liked it is easy to add a little wintergreen or peppermint. HAIR, HEALTH.— -"Some years ago," Mark Twain said to a friend, "my hair began to fall out. I knew at the time a man of about 70 years who had a very thick mop of hair. I asked him what the secret was, and he told me to just plow my scalp with a hard brush. Well, 1 tried his advice, and I have not lost a single hair in eleven years." A hundred strokes of the brush every night is better than all the "hair healths" ever foisted upon guillible womankind. ECONOMY IN DRESS.— A woman of limited means is well aware of the possibilities of a black dress. Such a dress can be worn upon almost any occasion. One lady always has at least one good black dress, yet she seldom buys any black material. If she has several pieces of cash- mere or serge of different colors, but about the same quality, she makes a strong solution of black diamond dye for wool and puts them in it. After boiling the required length of time, they will come forth a beau- tiful jet black, and no one can tell any difference in the shade of the pieces. Sometimes she purchases new trimming, and when it is made up, she has a beautiful new dress at a trifling expense. She always uses heavy skirt linings which make the skirt hang better; when the making over time arrives, these are washed, starched and ironed carefully, and they are as nice as new. New waist lining, stiffening for the skirt and skirt binding are the principal items of expense. For the latter, she has found that a good binding may be obtained by buying a good quality of velveteen cut on the bias and preparing it. The neatest way to mend taffeta waists where they split from con- stant creasing is to put courtplaster on the back of the break and press with a hot iron. It is nearly always a successful experiment. Discarded sheets serve for dust-sheets: towels by a process of evolu- tion become wash-cloths, and ragged napkins make desirable face cloths. A hat and trimmings may be worn a much longer time, if the dust be brushed well off after walking. One flannel petticoat will wear nearly as long as two, if turned be- hind part before, when the front begins to wear thin. A shabby silk shirtwaist has been known to continue its mission in life as a first-rate jacket lining. During a visit at an army post a woman picked up a new wrinkle from the soldiers. They use a. crust of bread often, to clean the white stripes of their trousers. This is an excellent idea when applied to light felt hats, gloves or even a wool gown. 28 THE HELPER Many people who are fond of wearing delicate and pretty colors deny themselves because of the tendency such colors have to lose their brightness. I have solved that problem to my own satisfaction. I wore a pink wash dress all last summer and it was laundered repeatedly, and it is still as bright and pretty as the day I bought it. I always put a little pink dye in the rinse water— that is the secret. Whenever I pur- chase a washable shirt waist or any garment that will fade, I buy a package of dye of that color, and faded clothes are a thing of the past at our house now.— Mrs. R. A. B., in Good Housekeeping. When you buy a worsted dress get something that is all-wool, even if you have to do with less trimming; then as long as there is a piece of it left it will do to make over for the little ones. As your husband is expected to dress well, buy white shirts; these he can wear till they are worn out. The fancy colors will fade, and have to be thrown one side. Have him buy clothes that do not soil easily. When they do get soiled, dust them thoroughly, put two or three gallons of gasoline in a tub out in the yard, or somewhere away from any artificial light or fire, and rub them on a board the same as you would if using water instead of gasoline. Hang on the line all day to dry and air, then mend all worn places and press well. If you take pains to press the pants frequently, creasing them, they will have a new appearance until worn out, and the knees will not "bag." In this way you can keep his clothing look- ing well. Gasoline does not shrink the clothes, and it is almost the only thing that does not. If there is any gasoline left when you have finished your work put it in a jug and cork tightly. The dirt will settle to the bottom and it can be used again if poured off carefully. If you wish to wear your worsted skirt from one to three winters, and have it always look as nice as new, brush it thoroughly, put it on the ironing- board, place over it a damp cloth and press it exactly as you would men's pants. Do this every month or so. If there are any spots on the skirt sponge with water, soap and ammonia first, then press. SHRUNKEN FLANNEL, TO RESTORE.— A newspaper correspond- ent says: "If you will wring a piece of cheescloth out of cold water, lay it smoothly over the woolen garment and then iron with a very hot iron till the cloth is dry the shrinkage will disappear and the garment will look like new. My mother always presses the finest of flannels and woolen garments in this way and has the best results. I have known her to take flannels which had shrunk so badly they were useless and in this manner restore them to their natural size." Carefully pull and stretch. Another way to prevent the shrinkage of flannel, put new flannel Into cleaji cold water and let it remain for a week, changing the water often. Then wash in warm water, using a little soap. Whalebones when bent need not be thrown away as useless. They should be soaked in hot water for a time, then straightened out under a press until dry. when they will be quite fit to use again. THE HELPER 29 When you are feeliug somewhat discouraged over the millinery propo- sition brush last spring's black hat, sponge with warm water diluted slightly with ammonia, and it will be almost as fresh as new, and your spirits will rise amazingly. A skirt that had been marred by a rent in the front breadth, and a stain near the bottom at the side, was saved from entire remaking by a line of braid run up from the botton in a pattern to cover the spots, and continued all round, creeping up the front breadth far enough to hide the rent. There are many mothers who cannot afford to cast a child's dress aside when it becomes too small, faded or otherwise unwearable, and perhaps a few suggestions as to remodeling them will be helpful. If the skirt and waist is joined in one seam, a belt placed between them length- ens the dress. Two dresses may often be converted into one by using the best parts of each one. A circular tlounce added to the bottom of a gored skirt will lengthen and widen it, and in this and many other ways, fashion favors the economical woman. TO REMOVE SHINE FROM CLOTHES.— Remember that the gloss on the elbows and shoulders of a gown can be eradicated by gentle friction with eniery cloth. Rub just enough to raise a little nap, and then, in the case of cashmere or other smooth materials, go over the place a few times with a warm silk handkerchief. SIMPLE METHOD OF CLEANING A WOOLEN DRESS.— The fol- lowing simple method of cleaning a dress skirt has been so thoroughly tested that no one need hesitate about trying it. The rule was first learned from a cook who accidentally had a cup of melted butter spilled over her dress. It was thought to be beyond reclaiming, but the cook herself declared that she could take every bit of the grease out— ano she did. Since then the rule has been applied to many less hopeless cases, and invariably with the most satisfactory of results. Take three-fourths of a pail of cold soft water and add one teacupful of ammonia. Thoroughly brush and shake the dress skirt, then rinse it up and down repeatedly in this ammonia water. After thoroughly "sousing" it, let it lie in the water for an hour. Once more rinse it up and down, then take it out, squeezing the water from it, but not wring- ing it. Put up two lines so that they shall cross each other and hang the skirt upon them, pinning the bottom to the crossed lines so that the skirt shall be well spread apart. While the skirt is still quite damp iron it upon the wrong side, ironing till dry.— Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune. PRIZE CLEANING PROCESS.— The English Society of Arts offered a prize of $100 for the best process of cleaning silk, woolens and cot- 30 THE HELPER ton fabrics, one that would not change their color or injure them iu any way. The winning l-ecipe was as follows: Grate two good-sized potatoes into a pint of clear, clean, soft water. Strain through a coarse sieve into a gallon of water, and let the liquid settle. Pour the starchy fluid from the sediment and it is ready for use. Rub the articles gently in the liquid, linse thoroughly in clear water, dry and press. HOW TO CLEAN YOUR DRESSES.— A word about cleaning, which is an important part of the spring making over. In nine cases out of ten things can be cleaned just as well at home as at the cleaner's. The secret of the so-called "dry cleaning" is very simple. The thing that is to be cleaned is merely immersed in gasoline and left covered with the liquid for twenty-four hours. A regular wash boiler is the best vessel to use, as it can be covered, and by throwing a blanket over the tin cover remain nearly enough airtight. Gasoline will not hurt the material in the least. A whole velvet hat covdd be thrown into it, feath- ers and all, and come out none the worse for its bath, nor will it fade or streak the color as soap and water do. After the clothes have soaked a day and night it will be time to lift them out. They should not be rubbed, but soused up and down in the gasoline. Sometimes if they are really very dirty they may not be clean even then, in which case it is best to cover them with fresh gasoline and leave them another day. REMOVING BAD SPOTS.— An actress who has had much experience in cleaning her own dresses, says that if spots are stubborn they should be held on the palm of one hand and lathered well with the palm of the other, ivory soap being dipped in the gasoline and used for lather. Tailors clean suits without ripping them by placing them on ironing boards, with the skirt thrown over the board as for ironing. A bowl of gasoline is used and a hair clothes brush. The dress is brushed briskly downward, following the straight of the goods, with the brush dipped every few seconds in the gasoline. The whole thing must be done quickly so as to dampen but not wet the material. The boiler in which clothes are being cleaned should, if possible, be kept outside, as it is dangerous to have the quantity of gasoline necessary for cleaning around the kitchen. Here is a way to get rid of the smell or' gasoline that so often clings to home cleaned clothes in spite of much frantic airing and shaking and sunning. It must be heated out. When the fabric is thoroughly dry place it over the radiator or steam pipes, or if these are unavailable, cover it with a thin cloth and drive the scent out by going over it well with a hot iron. After all traces of the gasoline are dispelled from the woolen stuff then renovate it entirely, put it right side up on an ironing boai'd, cover it with a damp cloth and go over with a hot iron, being careful to lift the Avet cloth as you move the iron. This gives the steam a chance to come up from the wool and raise the nap of the cloth. This lifting of the wet cloth in time to let THE HELPER 31 the steam lift the nap up is a particular point in renovating cloth. If, on the other hand, the fabric is ironed dry through the wet cloth the nap will be flattened and the surface hat and uneven. The treatment just described is the means tailors use for taking the "shine"' off men's clothes when they become glossy in places. They are not ironed dry, but ''pressed and steamed," and left to dry out naturally. Gasoline is a powerful anesthetic agent and should never be used in a close room. SKIRTS. HOW TO SAVE.— The girl who is traveling gave me a new idea the other day. It was an idea in petticoats and I grasped it thank- fully, says a writer in the Kansas City Journal. She had on a silk skirt It was an ordinary taffeta skirt, made with ruffles and a yoke. But when she took it off I saw that it had a deep facing of some sort of thin stuff around the hem and that the front breadth was likewise lined. The girl who is traveling showed me how she kept her silk skirts from cutting into ribbons. It was by means of this facing, and the facing was made of pongee. "Pongee." she said, "is very light. It doesn't soil easily, and it's not as expensive as you would think. Two yards were all I needed for This. I faced the bottom of the skirt, you see. where it rubs against my shoe tops and then I thought 1 would put it in the front against, my knees. The plan has worked admirably. Once I have taken out the facing and have had it washed. "The skirt has already lasted twice Ihe alloted span of a silk petti- coat, and I am hoping it may have nine lives." MEN'S HATS, TO GIVE THEM DOUBLE WEAR.— "I'll tell you why it is," said the best dresser in German-town, (he other day, says a writer in the Philadelphia Record. "It is because one man brushes his hat with a stiff bristle whisk and the other rubs his softly with a piece of woolen cloth. A piece of woolen cloth, rubbed over a hat with a cir- cular motion that conforms to the grain, doesn't rub off the nap at all, but keeps it lustrous and firm and of good color. I buy one two-and-a- half hat a year, and rub it each morning with a bit of flannel. I guar- antee that it outlasts three $5 hats that are raked and scraped with whisks every day." TO REVIVE BLACK CLOTH.— Rub it with this solution, and it will be restored to its original blackness: Boil together for two hours half a pound of bruised galls, one pound of logwood, i quarter of a pound of green vitriol and three quarts of water. MENDING, HINTS ON.— If your rubber overshoes develop a sudden hole, patch them with adhesive. It will also mend your umbrella, your cloth skirt and the crown of your felt hat, not to mention the dilapidated back of your pet receipt-book or the cracked side of your favorite jar- dinier. 32 THE HELPER STOCKINGS, TO IMPROVE.— If you will wash the feet of new hose before they are worn you will tiud their lasting qualities enhanced. A saleswoman in the hosiery department of a large store said this and we have since followd the suggestion with profit. When the knee of a stocking becomes so worn that the nest step would be" the darning of a huge hole, cut out the weak spot, set in a stout piece from a discarded pair, darning back and forth around the patch on the wrong side, and the hole on the right. The sleeves of men's white shirts can be used to make over a night- dress where the body is still too good to throw aside. Rip off the cuff and a little bit of insertion for cuffband and an embroidery ruffle makes a good, almost new sleeve. The lower part of the body of shirt has been used for making drawers for children. Also these pieces are good for the lining of a pieced home- made quilt. The bosom, with the collar- band, makes a good thick bib for little children, by sewing a button on one side of the collarband. TO PREVENT FADING IN GENERAL.— Here is a good general method for preventing the fading of colors in wash goods. Make a strong solution of salt and very hot water, say one-half a cupful of salt to two gallons of water. While the solution is very hot, put the gar- ment into it, and let it stand until cold. Wring the goods, and dry them. A salesman at a lawn counter in one of Boston's big stores told us not long ago that the rinsing of these thin, delicate fabrics in water to which a little gum arabic is added, helps materially to preserve the sheer, new appearance which starch does not give. The ironing should be done on the wrong side, as our friend suggests. In putting away a white silk or muslin gown it is a good idea to put in the box several cakes of white wax. Wrap the gown in plenty of white tissue paper -and put blue paper over all. The wax will turn quite yellow in time, but the clear white of the gown will be preserved. A woman who treats her clothes with beautiful care- says that for hanging silk petticoats, or skirts of silk, chiffon, net or anything adorned with flounces, she sews three or four loops along under the facing of the skirt, rather than in the waist belt, by which the average woman hangs her clothes. She claims when flounces are hung the opposite way from that in which they are worn they are freshened and take on a new lease cit' life. If one could judge by the pristine freshness of the wearer's garb her theory is a useful one. How many of you know that blood-stains are easily removed by soak- ing towels, sheets, etc., in warm water in which a teaspoonful of tar- taric acid is dissolved? Wondering why cloth dresses made and pressed at home never had the same air as when a tailor pressed them, a tailor was asked for the THE HELPER 33 secret. "There is no secret," said he. "At home one is in too great a hurry and has the iron too hot. Use a warm iron and press very slowly." CLEANING FLUIDS FOR LIGHT COLORS— Velvet, silk, cotton and wool: One quart deodorized benzine, one ounce alcohol, one-eighth ounce bay rum, one-eighth ounce ammonia, one-eighth ounce chloroform, one- eighth ounce ether, one-eighth ounce wintergreen oil, one-half dram borax. Shake well; apply with a soft cloth; rub dry. Do not use near fire or artificial light. A cleaning fluid that will not injure the most delicate fabrics, and which costs about 25 cents a quart, is made as follows: Sulphuric ether, 1 dram; chloroform, 1 dram; alcohol, 2 drams; oil of wintergreen, 1 dram; naphtha, 2 pints. Blue cotton goods that have never been wet, if laid a little while in water made very strong with spirits of turpentine, never afterward fade by washing— a blessing to a large part of the human family. Rag carpet is thoroughly cleansed by laying on the grass through a hard rain. Linen shades will look almost neAV when cleaned by stretching them on a table and rubbing them with powdered bath brick, applied with a piece of flannel. DRY CLEANING.— If any of you anxious ones wish to know of a good inexpensive dry cleaner for flannel, cashmere, knit shawls, etc., tell them to try half and half of salt and flour. Rub it in and on to the article with energy. Then shake till none remains and they will be surprised as well as pleased. This can be used for all kinds of colored goods. To clean dust or grime from light cloths first brush thoroughly, then rub with corn-meal, using a piece of light cloth for the rubbing. By this simple process cream-tan broadcloth coats and skirts, so much worn now, have been entirely freshened and cleaned. To polish black straw, get a bottle of good shoe-dressing, wet the hat, and put on the dressing exactly as you would do on shoes. When well covered let it dry in the sun, and if not black enough give another coat. HOW ONE WOMAN SAVES ON CLOTHES.—A correspondent of The Housekeeper says: "In ripping an outing flannel nightdress I found the best parts would make a pair of small under drawers, the good pieces wash cloths, then came strips for carpet rags, while seams and wornout parts w r ent into the paper bags. It took but a few moments to put each kind in its place, and that was out of the way. Young housekeepers will find, if such things are done at the right moment little time is consumed. Things left to accumulate make a very discour- aging pile and much is wasted. The best parts of sheets, worn through 34 THE HELPER the middle, I used for slips to keep The kitchen lounge pillows clean The center I tore into strips for bandages, as I think it a good plan to have such things handy. In these little things one economizes in time as well as money." TABLE LINEN, TO SAVE.— Do not allow holes to appear in table linen until it is all so thin that it has to be laid aside. On Saturday, be- fore the clothes are sorted for the washing, look over all the soiled table clot lis and napkins, holding them to the light. Use embroidery floss to correspond with the quality of the linen, and every thin place should be darned or run as neatly as possible. You have no idea how much longer linen will last when cared for in this way. SOME GOOD HINTS ON CLEANING.— A correspondent of the American Woman says: "To remove iron-rust, use a mixture of equal quantities of benzine and powdered borax. This will take out the worst spots, and there is no danger to the fabric if allowed to remain on it There is such danger in using the oxalic acid, so frequently recom- mended. If too strong, or not thoroughly removed at once, it is very likely to rot or weaken the fibre. Mildew is still more difficult to remove but most spots will yield to a mixture of powdered borax and chalk, together with exposure to the sun. To take out stains of fruit, tea and coffee from table-linen, stretch the place on which is the spot over a bowl or similar dish and pour through it a stream of boiling water. If stubborn, dissolve in the water a little borax. Hot borax-water is very effectual in sweetening chamber and kitchen pails, sink drains, etc. Here is my recipe for removing peach stains. Put some sulphur on a tin plate light it, and after wetting the stain hold it over the sulphur. Repeat, wetting it as often as it gets dry. I have tried it on white linen and white silk with good results." TO REMOVE SCORCH.— A careful housewife says: "To remove scorch from white fabrics, try this plan: One day while sitting in the cosy kitchen of my next-door neighbor we heard a hasty exclamation from the girl at the ironing-board. She had set a hot flat-iron on a fine linen table-cloth, and the stain showed through three thicknesses of the linen. Although badly blackened, it was still firm. Mrs. S. put a basin of water on the stove and shook into it as much borax as it would dissolve. When very hot she soaked the spots in it and laid them in the hot sun, repeating as often as they dried. I could see no difference while there, but later Avhen they washed she called me to see, and I could not find the burnt places." WHITE SILK, TO WASH.— A careful woman says: "I will tell you how I wash white silk. I used a white silk waist for two summers, washing it every week and it did not turn yellow. I use cold water and castile soap and wash it by hand: rinse it and dry. Do not sprinkle. THE HELPER 35 When ironed it looks just like new. In washing colored or striped silk* I put a little salt in the water and they do not fade. It is the warm water and the sprinkling and ironing that turn them yellow." USES OF OLD GLOVES.— Old gloves should not be thrown away as soon as they are discarded, for they are still useful in a number of ways after they are no longer fit for wear in the street. Probably every- body understands their value as a protection for the hands in garden- ing, rowing or cleaning a bicycle, and most persons have a few glove fingers laid away in reserve for use in case the hand is injured, but bits of glove kid may be utilized in many fashions. They are excellent for applying dressing to kid shoes, for making watch cases and pen wipers, and for tying over the tops of bottles in traveling to keep the stopper secure. Suspenders may be mended with kid, spectacles, jew- elry and finger nails polished with it. Strips may be cut from the clean part of the wrist of mousquetaire gloves, these strips to be neatly stitched upon the edge of the collar, cuffs and belt of a tailor-made gown as an appropriate finish. There is material enough in the arms of long evening gloves to make pretty little shoes for infants, and those long arms usually go to waste, the hand part becoming soiled and worn long before the rest is defaced. A VALUABLE HINT.— While the starch is still hot on the stove drop into it a lump of alum, and stir slowly until it is dissolved. A lump half the size of the thumb to two quarts of starch is about the right propor- tion. Your flat-iron will never dream of sticking; your aprons, shirt- waists, etc.. will keep clean much longer; the dirt does not rub in easily, and as this starch gives the fabrics somewhat of a water-proof nature spatters can often be rubbed or washed off before the material has had time to absorb them. TO RENOVATE VEILS.— It does not follow that because a veil has been rained upon it is a ruined veil. By carefully removing it from the hat, in order not to tear the mesh, and then pinning it over a pillow, the impromptu bath will sometimes prove rather a blessing, and the original freshness will be restored. TESTS FOR CLOTH.— Of the goods sold as "all wool." there is not one-tenth that is genuine. In the greater part, the main component is cotton. The test is simple. All that is necessary is to pull out a few threads and apply a lighted match. Cotton will go off in a blaze: wool will shrivel up. To distinguish true, pure linen from the counterfeit article is even easier. The intending buyer need but wet her finger and apply it to the goods. If they be pure linen, the moisture will pass straight through; the spot touched will be soaked at once, and almost immediately one side will be as wet as the other. 36 THE HELPER Frauds are more numerous in silk than in any other fabric, but here, also, the material of adulteration is cotton. Its presence can readily be discovered. Draw a few threads out. The pieces of cotton will snap off short when pulled, while the silk will stretch and permit a consid- erable pull before breaking:. Silk, cotton, and wool, these are the three materials of cloth, and by the methods given, the purchaser can at least make certain that she is obtaining what she paid for. A TRIUMPH.— The following is from the American Woman: "One of the sisters asked some time ago how to wash a black satine skirt and have it come out looking 'as nice as new.' At last I have solved this problem, and wish to record the method while the victory inspires me. Oh, that black satine dress! How much time and patience have I wasted with it! How often have I washed it carefully with the purest of soap and the softest of Avater, only to have it come from the iron- table either a limp, lustreless rag or a stiff, shiny board, according to whether I used starch or not! But either way I wore it I had the grim consolation that it looked neither better nor worse than the black wash- dresses of my neighbors. At last I found and tried the following, which. I gladly pass on: Mix a half cupful of flour smooth with cold water, add two or three quarts of boiling water, and add it all to enough warm water in which to wash the dress, skirt, or waist, as the case may be. Wash, using no soap; rinse thoroughly twice, dry well, and do not sprinkle until just before ironing. Iron on the wrong side, or over a thin black cloth where that is impossible. My dress is perfectly clean and has just the lustre and stiffness of new goods." BLACK SILK. TO REMOVE SHINE FROM.— A dressmaker says: "Many years of experience in dressmaking have taught me that noth- ing will give better results in taking the shine from black silk than very strong cold, clear coffee, with a few drops of alcohol in it. Stretch and pin goods if possible, sponge evenly, and it will retain its color and look like new." Sore throat in the early stages can be cured by honey taken warm. To relieve heartburn, take a half teaspoonful of pulverized charcoal, or a few kernels of corn parched very brown. Two or three drops of oil of peppermint mixed with an equal amount of suet rubbed over baby's chest gives instant relief in case of a bad cold on the lungs, or a cough. Barley water is said to be one of the best renovators for a worn-out system. A teaspoonful of salt in a glass of water, taken before breakfast, is said by people who have tried it, to be a ^ure cure for hay fever. THE HELPER 37 DIPHTHERIA, TO PREVENT.— While there is nothing on earth that will absolutely prevent diphtheria or any other contagious disease, there are measures and remedies which are certainly of value. The following compound is extensively sold for $1.00 a pint bottle. It can be made at the expense of a few cents. For the cure of sore throat and to prevent diphtheria take one ounce of black cohosh root, put it in a bowl and pour on it a pint of boiling water. When it is steeped use it. hot as possible as a gargle. Many cases of so-called diphtheria could be cured by a gargle of salt and water if taken at the start, gargling every hour. -or half hour, if necessary. The writer as well as a friend of the same age, at one time suffered frequently from quinsy or tonsilitis. They took fifteen drops of tincture of iron in a little water at the first appear- ance of soreness in the throat, and neither of them had quinsy since —now ten years ago. The mixture should not touch the teeth, as it is apt to injure them. No drink or food should be taken for an hour after the mixture is taken. The treatment given for croup is very efficacious for sore throat and diphtheria. E. F. Rotesch, of Tacoma, Wash., says he had four children afflicted with diphtheria at one time. They were very ill, and were given up to die by the doctor, when he decided to try a simple remedy kept in every house. He got coal oil and poured a teaspoonful into the mouth, and in an instant coughing commenced. Great pieces of yellow matter came up and the sick were free to breathe. The throat was washed with oil every two hours, and a gargle of salt water was used, and the third day all were up and playing. One drop of tincture of iron in a teacup of water is recommended for diph- theria, the dose to be increased one drop with each year. The solution should be used as a gargle, and once an hour a teaspoonful should be swallowed. SCARLET FEVER. TO CURE.— An emineut physician says he cured ninety-nine out of every hundred cases of scarlet fever by giving the patient warm lemonade with a little gum arabic dissolved in it. A cloth wrung out in hot water should be laid upon the stomach and renewed as soon as it becomes cold. Scarlet fever and small-pox may be pre- vented by rinsing the mouth with a little listerine several times a week. CROUP, CURE FOR.— One authority upon such matters makes the bold assertion that nine-tenths of the children who die of croup might be saved by the timely application of roasted onions, mashed, laid upon a napkin, and well moistened with goose oil, sweet oil, or if neither of these is at hand, melted hog's lard, the whole to be applied as warm as the child can bear it, to the throat and upper part of the chest Sim- ilar poultices should be placed on the hands and feet. This treatment is also very efficacious in diphtheria. A mother says: "For croup. I find skunk-oil the best remedy. Rub it 38 THE HELPER od the chest of the little one when you give it internally. A teaspoonful is a dose, and I never have to administer the third one." Some firms are selling a preventive for croup in the shape of a cord, for $1 up. It is nothing else but a silk cord, long enough to go several times around the neck, double it. twist, and tie loosely about the throat. This is an old and tried means of preventing this dreaded disease. EXCELLENT ADVICE.— Mrs. Hattie Gullett, of Moran, Kansas, says: •'Dear mothers, do you know that you may save yourselves great anxiety and trouble and the little ones much suffering if, during the winter months, you occasionally burn a little sulphur through your house? Do this once in two weeks. It is also a good plan to keep a can of lime and copperas in the sleeping-rooms, as it is an excellent disinfectant. I follow this practice, and have not had a physician in my house for ten years." WHOOPING-COUGH.— For the whooping-cough just pound the best black resin very tine, and give as much as will lie on a cent, in a little moist sugar, three times a day, commencing before breakfast. This simple remedy has been known to cure the most obstinate cases of whooping-cough in three weeks. Another good thing for the same dis- ease is, steep a handful of chestnut leaves in a pint of boiling water, sweeten, cool, and give the tea as a common drink five or six times a day. A towel dipped in hot water, wrung out rapidly, folded to proper size, and applied to the abdomen, with a dry flannel over the hot towel, acts like magic in infantile colic. Laying the baby face down over a hot water bag is also efficient in mild cases. A famous physician says: "In children when they have pain of any kind in stomach or bowels, give them ten drops homeopathic tincture chamomilla in half a tumbler of water; teaspoonful every twenty min- utes. It is the best "baby medicine" in the world." COLDS, HOW TO PREVENT IN CHILDREN.— Children whose feet are bathed regularly night and morning in cold w r ater, then wiped, rather rubbed dry, with a coarse towel, as a rule are exempt from colds. Even washing the feet tends greatly to preserve health. The perspir- ation and dirt with which these parts are frequently covered, can not fail to obstruct their pores. This piece of cleanliness would often prevent colds and fevers. COLDS.— It is said that a few drops, ten or twenty, of a good tinc- ture of catnip, the common name for nepeta cataria, in hot water, every hour, will break up a cold in less time than any other remedy. Most of the physicians of twenty years ago can readily recall the important place catnip held In the family medicine chest in "the good old days." THE HELPER 39 It can be taken in sweetened water, and makes a most pleasant rem- edy as well as efficacious. Give it a trial when yon have a patient with a fresh cold. Cold sores may be cured at once, by holding the lips in hot water. Keep it up for about five minutes, having- water as hot as can be borne. There is no need of having the blisters break, or suffering at all with them after you feel them coming, for the hot water will kill them at once. Did you know you can stop a patient from hiccoughing by making him sneeze? A handy pinch of snuff is all that is needed. Advise those weepy people with red eye-lids to bathe them in water containing a little powdered borax. They will think you are a magic- worker. A similar lotion is good for red noses. COUGH SYRUP, THE BEST.— Inasmuch as there are many cough remedies on the market which contain opium and other injurious ingre- dients, it may be just as well to tell here how to make the best cough medicine in the world: Take 1 ounce of thorough wort, 1 ounce of slip- pery elm, 1 ounce of stick licorice, and 1 ounce of flaxseed, simmer to- gether in one quart of water until the strength is entirely extracted. Strain carefully, add one pine of best molasses and one-half pound of loaf sugar: simmer them all well together, and when cold bottle tight. This is the cheapest, best and safest medicine now or ever in use. TOOTHACHE.— A doctor says: "Boys, don't forget that a person may have constant toothache when the teeth are perfectly sound. I've known women to have good teeth pulled, over the protest of the dentist, when what they needed was phosphates of lime and soda. They wanted the doctor, not the dentist." Equal parts of alum and salt, or even salt alone, placed on a piece of cotton wool and inserted in the hollow of an aching tooth will often give relief when other means have failed. The worst toothache, or neuralgia coming from the teeth, may be speedily cured by the application to the defective tooth of a bit of cotton saturated with ammonia. CORNS.— The same doctor says: "-I have seen somewhere that linseed oil is a certain remedy for hard and soft corns. It is said to relieve the pain and induration in a short time. Apply on a soft cloth and dampen afresh night and morning. Bind a piece of cotton we1 in kerosense on corns every night for a week, and they will disappear." Another author- ity says: "Any one who is troubled with corns on the feet will find a cure in tying on them a cloth saturated witli turpentine mixed with just a little lard: do this three nights in succession, then if the corns are again troublesome after a month or so, go over the same process 40 THE HELPER again and the cure is complete. At least, it has proved so in my case, as it has been more than three years since my corns disappeared, and there is no further sign of them." INGROWING TOE NAILS.— Cut straight across, being careful not to cut the corners, and the nail will not grow in. If growing in, cut straight across and scrape the top of the nail lengthwise. Do not laugh. Try it. PILE SALVE.— Probably some one will appreciate an excellent salve for piles. It has been given to a great many, and all declare it good. Take ten grains each of calomel, morphine, nutgall and camphor, mix with one ounce of fresh lard or vaseline, and apply night and morning. DYSENTERY.— In diseases of this kind the Indians use the roots and leaves of the blackberry bush— a decoction of which, in hot water, well boiled down, is taken in doses of a gill before each meal and before re- tiring to bed. It is an almost infallible cure. Watermelon, Mark Twain says, always drives away dysentery- If one slice didn't take effect, then take a second and a third. No matter how serious the case was, three slices, he insisted, would cure it. An interested reader of The Boston Traveler sent in two recipes for children or adults who suffer with summer complaint in hot weather. She states that she has used both for years and finds them perfectly reliable. The first was her mother's never-failing remedy and the sec- ond has been known for years as the East India cholera cure. Mix one teaspoonful of the common ground cinnamon, used for cooking, with as much saleratus as can be placed on one-fourth inch of the point of a teaspoon and one teaspoonful of sugar. Pour on boiling water, let it remain until cool then add one ounce of tincture of rhubarb. The dose is one-half to a whole wineglassful. The Eastern remedy is made of one ounce each of camphor, capsicum, tincture of rhubarb, opium and pep- permint. It is to be taken in milk or water, five drops for a child, 20 drops for an adult, the dose repeated every two hours until relieved. An infant should be given no food containing starch until it cuts its teeth. Starchy foods include biscuits, corn flour, tapioca, rice, potato, etc. An infant cannot digest any of these until its teeth are cut. NATURE CURE FOR DIARRHOEA.— W. D. Wattles, in Woman's Physical Development, says: "I have made a special study of 'specific' movements for various diseases, and consider it a most important field of research. Following is a description of a movement which, if prop- erly executed, will cure any case of dysentery, diarrhoea or cholera in- fantum, that is not beyond the reach of anything but a resurrection. There is absolutely no need of allowing children to die of 'summer complaint' and the thousands of little graves in our cemeteries are a monument to the ignorance and prejudice of drug doctors and parents. THE HELPER 41 "Place the patient on back; put your hands under him a trifle above the waist line, with the fingers pressing against the sides of the spine. Now lift him until only the back of the head and heels touch the floor, and hold him for a moment in that position; then let him gently down. Repeat the movement twice, at intervals of five minutes; then allow a half hour's rest, and if necessary repeat the treatment. Only a very stub- born case will require more than three treatments. Absolutely no food should be given until the cure is complete. In the case of cholera in- fantum, hold the child by the nape of the neck and the heels; lay it, back down, across your knee, letting the head and heels hang down, so as to stretch the abdomen strongly. "If the person be too heavy to lift, seat him on a low stool, and your- self on a higher one behind him; put your knees against the small of his back, grasp him by the shoulders and bend him backward strongly, over your knees. For self-treatment, balance yourself, on your back, over a bar, on the foot-board of your bed, letting your head and heels hang down. Repeat, in all cases, as often as necessary. •'I have used this movement many times and have recommended it to numbers of people; and I have yet to learn of a case where it has failed. I believe it to be infallible when properly done. The pressure upon the abdominal plexuses of the sympathetic nerve appears to check the exces- sive peristalsis of the bowels, and to reverse their action. This knowledge if it were in the possession of parents and physicians would save thou- sands of lives every year." HALL'S HYGIENIC TREATMENT.— This so-called "secret" consists in the use of an injection of hot water into the rectum two or three times a week or more frequently, and in a quantity of a pint to a gallon. Using an ordinary family syringe. HOT LEMONADE CURE- For dyspepsia, indigestion, biliousness, sick headaches, torpid or congested liver, poison or impure blood, the cause of neuralgia and rheumatism, etc., use one-half to a full teaspoon of the juice of a lemon to a coffee cup of hot water, three times a day one-half hour before eating; drink very hot and if too sour use less lemon. In some cases, lemon may be used only once each day, taking instead hot water before the dinner and supper meal. It is always wise to do much fasting whenever the system is clogged and the above expressions of dis- ease exist. THE BEST SPRING MEDICINE.— The juice of half a lemon in a .ulass of hot water (unsugared) taken before breakfast t'xevy morning for a week is the best "spring medicine" you can have. CONSTIPATION.— This prolific cause of disease enriches pill-makers. Some doctors say that pills have done more harm in the world than war. A diet of apples, oranges, fruits of all kinds, with whole wheat 42 THE HELPER bread, oatmeal, etc., being careful not to overeat, will usually cure this disease. If constipated, work the liver vigorously; it lies about half concealed— or nearly so— under the ribs to the rig-tit of the stomach pit, or. in most cases, nearly to the right of the stomach. This organ will often cease to throw a proper volume of "bile" into the intestines; hence they become dry, and their contents do not move on. We call this con- stipation. Iu nine cases out of ten, a good shaking up of the liver will remedy this state. Exercise the whole body by any fair means on retiring and arising. A good exercise for constipation is to stand erect with hands on hips and knees straight, bending far to the left and right alternately. Another good exercise for this complaint, far better than di*ugs, is to stretch out on a level surface, bring the right leg up, clasping hands over knee, and pulling leg up as far as possible. Another tried remedy is wheat bran, which is readily swallowed when mixed with some warm liquid, a teaspoonful being sufficient for most persons. DYSPEPSIA, A CURE FOR.— Dr. Burgevin, writes to the Alkaloidal Clinic about a method which cured him and many others, after several years of continuous torture: "I ordered 1 pound of pecan nuts for an adult every day, to be eaten after each meal, i. e., one pound is the daily dose, to be divided in three equal portions. The nuts are to be cracked as they are eaten, consumed slowly immediately after eating; and at no other time. Nothing else is to be eaten between meals, but the patient is to be allowed whatever he wishes at meal times. In other words, no restriction is placed upon the diet, except that the patient must take three meals a day and no more, and these at regular hours, and eat nothing whatever between meals." MARK TWAIN'S PANACEA.— "A little starvation," Mark Twain says, "can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet; I mean total abstention from food for one or two days. I speak from experience; starvation has been my cold and fever doctor for fifteen years and has accomplished a cure in all cases." NATURE'S HEALTH RESTORER— The following method of curing disease without drugs is not new, on the contrary, has been successfully employed for years: Disease may often be cured by abstinence from all food, especially if the disorders have been brought on by luxurious liv- ing and repletion. The latter overtaxes nature, and it naturally rebels against such treatment. Indigestion, giddiness, headache, dyspepsia, men- tal depression, etc., are often the result of eating and drinking to ex- cess. Omit one. two or three meals, allow the system to rest, to regain strength, and allow the clogged organs to get rid of their burdens. The practice of drug taking to cleanse the stomach, though it mav at times THE HELPER 43 give the needed relief, always weakens the system, while abstinence secures the same result, and yet does no injury. A glass of pure cold water (not ice water), swallowed just before retiring at night, and an- other immediately upon arising in the morning, is an excellent thing for cleansing the stomach of impurities and keeping it healthy. Be tem- perate in all things, and health and happiness will be yours. Said a young gentleman to a distinguished physician of Philadelphia— "Doctor, what do you do for yourself when you have headache or other slight attacks?" "Go without my dinner." was the reply. "Well, if that will not do, how do you proceed then?" "Go without my supper?" was the answer. "But if that does not cure you, what then?" "Go without my breakfast. We physicians seldom take medicines ourselves, or use them in our families, for we know that starving is better, but we cannot make our patients believe it." HOW TO MAKE BABIES PLUMP.-A mother says: "Do you all know the value of cod-liver oil, as a medicine for small children? If a wee one has been sick, or is thin and delicate, just try greasing the little body all over every morning with the oil, and see how plump baby will get in a very short time. The next time you have that bad headache, take the juice of a lemon in a cup of hot coffee. It has relieved me when the doctor's medicine failed, and is not injurious to the system." A nurse says: "I have found that rubbing delicate persons with warm olive oil is an excellent tonic. If I had charge of a puny, sickly baby, I should feel inclined to give it oil baths instead of water baths and try the effect. The oil is quite as cleansing, and it stands to reason that such tiny beings, particularly if they are badly nourished, should not have the natural oil of the body continually washed away." A good authority says: "A friend of mine whose baby suffered from colds and colic from the age of five days to three months, tells me that since I told her of olive oil all conditions have rapidly changed for the better. A teaspoonful dose for cathartic, or small doses occasionally during the day in case of cold, is my rule. Give in prepared food or just before nursing. A teaspoonful will usually correct any tendency to bowel trouble of any kind. Olive oil is a food of value as well as a tonic; use it whenever needed and teach your children to like it. My three-year- old daughter says it is 'good,' because I smile when I give it to her." COLD ANKLES.— Doctors say that cold ankles kill more women than nerves and disease put together. This may be an exaggeration, but it is not to say when the ankles are well protected and kept perfectly warm their owner is not likely to suffer with colds. ALTERIS CORDIAL.— This famous cure is made as follows: Take coarse wheat bran, the coarser the better, put it in an oven until it becomes as coffee, then mix from two to live drachms of citrate 44 THE HELPER of iron and ammonia to about one quart of the browned bran. Mix thor- oughly. Take two or three teaspoonfuls of the mixture in milk or cream before meals. It is well to mix two or three tablespoonfuls of sugar in the compound when first made. You can use as little or as much sugar as you like. This remedy has performed some wonderful cures in weak. debilitated, broken down persons. RHEUMATISM, TO CURE.— The cures for rheumatism are legion. The following is recommended as a sure cure for rheumatism, and is cer- tainly harmless, bathe the parts affected with water in which potatoes or their skins have been boiled, using it as hot as can be borne, just before going to bed. Ky next morning the pain will be much relieved if not removed. One application of this simple remedy has cured the most obstinate rheumatic pains. The author of this book was bedridden with rheumatism for five months at one time, and after trying everything the doctors could think of, he was finally cured by the use of lemon juice. At first he took the juice of half a lemon in a little water (no sugar) every hour until 48 lemons were consumed; he was able to move around by this time; the amount of lemon juice was lessened, and in a week he was a well man. Since that time he has had slight attacks of rheumatism, all of which were quickly cured by the timely use of lemon juice. He now uses no other medicine outside of lemons when feeling unwell, which condition seldom happens. Many doctors now use lemon juice for the cure of rheumatism— indeed, it is highly recom- mended. A celebrated doctor says he can relieve the pain of rheuma- tism when caused by retention, in ten minutes, by means of an epsom salt bath: namely. 1 ounce of epsom salts to 1 gallon of water. When rheu- matism is caused by debility, the system must be built up before a cure can be made. This physician says the epsom salts in the water opens the pores of the skin as nothing else does, and this is all that is necessary when rheumatism is caused by a chill and dampness. The epsom salt bath relieves the cough in consumption, and the doctor thinks it is im- possible to cure a case of consumption without the bath. Those who have tried this kind of a bath pronounce it •'tine and dandy."' FELON, TO CURE.— For a felon take common rock-salt, dry in an oven and pound Hue. mix with equal parts spirits of turpentine, put on a cloth and wrap the finger. As it becomes dry put on more, and in twenty-four hours you are cured. The felon will be dead. A BOON FOR BURNS.— The Rev. David M. Sweets, of Shelby ville, Ky., says. "In every household there is often an immediate need for something to relieve the intense pain of a burn. The best and cheapest remedy is made as follows: Melt together two toaspoonsful of lard and five cents' worth of gum camphor and mix thoroughly. Pour into a salve box or -lass, and let stand until cool. Keep it covered tightly and convenient lor ready use. and the moment mother burns her hand on the THE HELPER 45 cooking stove, or baby falls against the hot stove, or into the open grate, apply it lavishly to the burn and bind up. It will relieve the tor- ture in a few minutes. A man not far from my home was burned by steam and fire in the explosion of a sawmill boiler. The doctor de- spaired of his life. At the suggestion of a good old "grandmother," lie was literally covered with the preparation. His pain was relieved quickly and he recovered without scars. This is a good thing to keep ready for use, as much of its efficacy depends on a speedy application." PUMPKIN SEEDS. —The medical value of pumpkin seeds are not gen- erally known. Medical Talk says: As a cure for tape worm, there is no better remedy than pumpkin seeds. The seeds should be eaten raw and no other food taken for a clay or two. This diet should be followed by a thorough physic of castor oil. This treatment is generally suffi- cient to bring away the worm. A few pumpkin seed steeped in soft water for an hour make an excellent remedy for babies when they have any urinary difficulty. Stop- page of the urine or too frequent urination is promptly relieved by pumpkin seed tea, as above described. A little sugar may be added before administered. Pumpkin seeds are cheap and are a good thing to have about the house. Eating a half dozen pumpkin seeds every day regulates the kidneys a great deal better than the doctor's stuff. They rid the stom- ach and bowels of worms and prevent gaseous fermentation. If you have dyspepsia, try roasted pumpkin seeds. If you have weakness of the kidneys, try raw pumpkin seeds. Many cases of catarrh of the bladder have been cured by pumpkin seeds. CURE EOR TOBACCO HABIT.— Here is a recipe for the cure of the habit. Try it. Buy two ounces or more of gentian-root, coarsely ground. Take as much of it after each meal, or oftener, as amounts to a common quid of '•Hue-cut." Chew it slowly and swallow the root. Continue this a week or two and the insatiable appetite for tobacco will be gone. ROYAL RELIEF.— This extensively advertised remedy is made as fol- lows: Powdered dried mint leaves, 1 lb.; oil of peppermint, 8 oz. Mix- up into a soft paste and divide into packets of three-fourths ounce each. wrapping carefully in tinfoil to prevent evaporation. Put up this way if you sell the goods and not for the formula. Then direct all purchasers to mix above with 6 ounces of alcohol, shake thoroughly, then add enough water to make a pint. Let it stand for two days, shaking often, then filter through blotting paper and put in bottles ready for use. For internal use take ten drops on a lump of sugar. SORE THROAT.— A large household with an inclination to sore throat on the slightest exposure, in season and out of season, has 4G THE HELPER ''slammed the door on the doctor's nose" for over two years, thanks to the use of peroxide of hydrogen. Even little ones can gargle it, if it be re- duced with water. Buy in small quantities and keep the bottle tightly corked with a glass stopper. Use at the very hrst appearance of sore- ness. RALSTON BRAN LEMONADE.— The most nourishing drink for the brain and nervous system, as well as for the general vitality, is bran water. It is not likely to become popular, as it costs little or nothing; but let any person whose brain is tired or is overworked or wearied from any employment that saps the vitality take a glass of bran water, either with or without the lemonade, and the result will be surprising. Owing to the great predominance of phosphorus in bran, the nervous system as well as vitality of body and brain are quickly nourished, and the eyes become bright and all weariness departs. You should get some small flouring mill to saye you the bran; or it can be purchased of any grain dealer. One pint of bran in two quarts of water should be boiled five minutes, then strained through cheese cloth, and allowed to stand an hour or two in order to settle. Add ice; and, if you prefer, add lemons and sugar. Persons who are easily fatigued during the day should drink bran water occasionally. Shop girls, clerks, peo- ple of sedentary habits and care-worn mothers will become new beings under the influence of phosphorus taken in this way; while on the other hand any phosphates taken in medicinal drinks or liquid form sold as medicine will be found to be disorganized and therefore injurious to the health. THE BEST STIMULANT.— Hot milk is one of the best stimulants for persons suffering from hunger or extreme fatigue. Any degree of weariness of limbs and feet is instantly removed by thrusting the feet into a pail of very warm water. CHILBLAINS.— Dr. Monroe, in Practical Medicine, says: "One winter a few years ago I suffered greatly from chilblains. I tried many rem- edies, but they seemed to be ineffectual. I became very nervous from the perpetual annoyance. I applied to many physicians for relief. One suggested this, and another that. I applied to corn doctors; none gave me relief. I was nearly crazy. One evening I happened to notice at my house a bottle of acetate of zinc. I told my wife to dissolve a tea- spoonful in a washbowl of water, and I would try it. I did so, and the relief was so great that I fell asleep with my feet in the water. I used it three or four times and the chilblains were all gone. I presume I have recommended this to a hundred sufferers, and I have never heard of a failure to cure." SMALL-POX AND SCARLET FEVER CURE.- 1 herewith append a recipe which has been used to my knowledge in hundreds of cases THE HELPER 47 of small-pox. It will prevent, or cure, though the pittings are filling. When Jenner discovered the cox-pox in England the world of science overwhelmed him with fame, but when the most scientific school of medicine in the world, that of Paris, published the recipe, it passed unheeded. It is as unfailing as fate, and conquers in every instance. It will also cure scarlet fever. Here is the recipe as I have used it to cure ^mall-pox: Sulphate of zinc, one grain; digitalis, one grain; sugar, one-half teaspoonful. Dissolve in a wineglass of soft water or water which has been boiled and cooled. Take a teaspoonful every hour. Either small-pox or scarlet fever will disappear in twelve hours. For children the dose must be diminished according to age. If countries would compel their physicians to use this treatment there would be no need of pesthouses. If you value your life use this x-ecipe.— Southern Dental Journal. HEARTBURN.— After being told that lying on the left side was a cure for heartburn, Sir William Thompson, after thinking a moment, said: "Why, yes, I've heard about that remedy, but I had not thought about it for fifty years— since, in fact, I was a student in Germany. I suffered then from an attack of heartburn, and an old farmer told me to lie on my left side. I did so and got quick relief, but I had forgotten all about it, and have continued to treat my patients with sand." An- other doctor says: "Anyhow, I know that lying on the left side for an hour or two after going to bed will allow the stomach to finish up its day's work in peace and will cure many cases of indigestion with their long train of evils." A SIMPLE REMEDY.— For a sore that doesn't seem to heal, bind on light-brown sugar moistened a very little with water. 1 have known this to heal when nothing else would, and it draws out soreness, and pain. Sorghum molasses bound on in the same way is another good remedy. BURNS.— One woman says: "For burns or scalds, apply immediately the white of egg. My little girl pulled the stopper out of the washing- machine and scalded herself so badly that it seemed as if the skin would come off. I ran for an egg, applied the white, and in fifteen minutes she had ceased crying and nearly all the red had disappeared; only two little spots not so large as pennies ever showed that she had been scalded, and the clothes were boiling when I turned them into the machine." CATARRH AND HEADACHE CUKE.-Tliis cure has been sold all over the country for from 25 to 50 cents. It consists of 1 ounce of oil of mustard, 1 ounce of oil of citronella, mixed. A three-dram bottle is then filled three-fourths full with coarse salt and ten drops of the mixture dropped into the bottle, which is corked tightly. Sit down and smell the bottle till the eyes and nose water freelj, when relief will come. RAW EGGS.— A doctor in Utah writes to the Medical Brief, as fol- 48 THE HELPER lows: "For about two years the writer got on a raw-egg hobby. Every- body had to swallow raw eggs or change doctors. Thar was a bad two years for undertakers in that neighborhood, and hard times for the doctor as well. The human being, so-called, is more or less a fool. If he or she don't like a thing the doctor has a hard time that prescribes that thing. After a while the writer dropped the raw-egs hobby more or less because it did not pay. Folks did not like to bolt raw eggs whole, and the writer has concluded to let them have their way. Very sorry, but it had to come to this, for the exchequer was low. Thus, "With ways that please I now treat disease." THE CELEBRATED DRINK CURE.— A few dimes' worth of stramo- nium leaves will furnish an extract warranted to produce a physicial aversion to alcohol in all its forms — an aversion rising at last to a horror at the merest scent of once irresistible beverages. Speculators got hold of that secret and called the specific the "Vital Power Cure" in Europe, and the "Gold Cure" in America: but the fact remains that the virtue of temperance can be inoculated like tuberculine, or administered in a glass of lemonade, like a sedative in a spoonful of treacle. Before using this remedy, ask your druggist how much it would be safe to take at one time. SCIATICA.— I suffered from sciatica and rheumatism the torments of hell for six weeks, cured in less than three minutes by rubbing in from hip to heel half an ounce carbon bisulphide, Give it to suffering human- ity. A gentleman from Cauda called to see me — saw my intense sufferings — and told me a wealthy man spent a large fortune in trying to get cured of rheumatism, and ten cents' worth of the above cured him. Like a drowning man grasping a straw I tried it. and was well before I got dressed.— Dr. W. S. Cline, in Alkaloidal Clinic. EPSOM SALTS.— A popular and well-known doctor, in the course of a long article in a medical journal, has the following to say of epsom salts: "Take any empty patent medicine bottle, till it up with water and one tablespoonful of magnesium sulphate, and tell the patient to take it. according to the printed directions on the bottle, and let you know if it isn't better than what was in it. It may destroy his faith in patent medicine, but it will increase his faith in you and in salts. A half pound of epsom salts in one quart of water with vinegar enough to make it sour, will cure warts, boils, old ulcers, and is an excellent diuretic, dose one or two tablespoonfuls three or four times a day. Spinach is now in high favir as an article of diet. Chemists affirm that it contains more iron to the square inch "than most of the renowned ferruginous remedies." THE HELPER 49 One of the most common ailments among children is earache. The best remedy is a few drops of olive oil warmed to a blood-heat temperature. For earache, iet a drop of raw beet-juice fall in the ear while warm. The beet should be grated and the juice squeezed out through a cloth. A lemon applied to a felon will often abort it. Cut off one end of the lemon and stick in the linger, leaving it twelve hours. Yellow dock, root or leaves, steeped in vinegar, will cure the worst case of ringworm. Common wash- bluing applied to a ringworm will de- stroy it. It is also good for burns and sores. The application must be repeated, as it dries in fast. The juice of a lemon, taken in hot water on wakening in the morn- ing, is an excellent liver corrective, and for stout women is better than any anti-fat medicine ever invented. Daily headaches which medicines have failed to cure will disappear and the appetite will be considerably improved. A tea made of three-fourths mullein and one-fourth hoarhound is good for consumption, and a teaspoonful of extract of hoarhound in a cup of warm milk, taken three times a day, will cure this disease. And old doctor says: "Put a hot water bag over the small of the back in dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation, and bring down the patient's blessings on your devoted head." If any one having the heart-burn will chew a few grains of roasted coffee, relief will soon be obtained. To drink a little fresh, sweet milk is also good. The catarrh remedies of our nostrum venders vary in price from half a dime to a dollar; but in efficacy cannot begin to compete with a cent's worth of brown sugar, stirred up in hot water with a few drops of sweet milk. This, with persistent breathing through the nose and right living, is the best medicine for catarrh. Bind horseradish-leaves on the feet as a remedy for cramps of the limbs; continue their use for a week or two and you will be cured of the cramp. Turpentine, applied to a fresh cut or a sore, will relieve pain and pro- mote a cure. Do you know that pure pickerel-oil applied morning and evening to the ear will cure deafness? Four drops will do. Be sure and get the pure pickerel-oil. Dr. Catlin observed in his travels, that persons who kept their mouths closed during sleep in malarial districts, and breathed through the nose were less liable to fevers. The following is warranted to put flesh on a person if anything will: One quart of the best wine, one-half pint each of olive oil and bees' honey. 50 THE HELPER Shake well together and take a wineglass with each meal. The juice of a lemon can be added if found too sweet. Eat fattening things and if you have no disease you will gain in a short time. If a man would take the hint, when he goes around sneezing every few minutes, and would take a hot foot-bath, go to bed, rest and diet himself for a day or two, respiratory diseases would be scarcer than they are. FOOD MEDICINE.— Dr. Hall advances a theory that food can be used as a curative remedy equally well with medicine. He relates a case where a man was cured of biliousness by going without his supper, and with free use of lemonade. This patient rose, he says, after he began the use of this drink refreshed, and with a feeling as though his blood had liter- ally been cleansed. He further says that he cures cases of spittiug of blood by using salt: epilepsy and yellow fever by watermelons; kidney affections by celery; poison, by olive or sweet oil; erysipelas, by pounded cranberries, applied to the part affected; hydrophobia, by onions. If this theory is correct, drugs will soon become "drugs" in the market, and peo- ple will soon learn that the way to keep well is to eat certain kinds of food. The world will thus become healthier and happier. A GOOD LINIMENT.— Dr. M. S. Moore, of Florence, Ark., has the following in Medical Brief: Take two United States copper cents and nitric acid sufficient to dissolve. Dissolve in glass tumbler. Then add best apple vinegar to make one quart. Nothing but the best apple vinegar will do. If it is pure, the solution will be a clear green color. This is the best liniment on earth. Applied three times a day, will stop risings, boils, felons, will make indolent ulcers heal nicely. For any and all pains, use three times a day. I have cured many so-called cancers by applying three times a day. Will remove small tumors under the skin. It is also fine for eczema or skin diseases. Try it. PIMPLES, TO CURE.— An old doctor says in the Medical Brief: "There never was a doctor who wasn't plagued with young men and young women, who want to get rid of disfiguring pimples and black- heads. I give them the following stimulating lotion: Salicylic acid, one drach; Listerine, one ounce; Pond's Extract of Witch Hazel, two ounces. This is an excellent compound for the purpose. Also, for dandruff. Apply twice a day." Pimples and blackheads can be easily cured at home without the aid of drugs of any kind, if the following directions are carefully carried out: Take a thick Turkish towel and dip it into water as hot as the face will bear. Then bury the face into this steaming cloth until the heat has all left it. Repeat this operation for 15 or 20 minutes, night and morning, and in a fortnight you will have no blackheads. To make the skin soft and fair a nightly massage with olive or almond oil and careful protection at all times from extremes of heat and cold are the most effective means. THE HELPER 51 HUMBUGGERY AND MEDICINE.— It is almost impossible to pick up a paper, journal or magazine of any kind without at once discover- ing some valuable and tried remedy for "that tired feeling," "spring com- plaints," etc., any and all of which are the vilest of nostrums, unfit to introduce into the human system in any form, and these contrivances, etc., are offered to the people as a sure success, all of which are simply a process by which the people are being duped. If people would stop taking medicine, pay a little more attention, to diet, exercise and care of the health, the patent medicine concerns would have to move to a new country for victims, but most people are of the idea that health ■can be bought for a dollar, in a big bottle, and the bigger the bottle the more health. Doctors would also have to find some other means of livelihood. Dr. Carr, of Columbus, O., says: "Do not allow any one to persuade you that your restoration can be bottled up and taken with a teaspoon. Food; rest; exercise: sunlight; fresh air: enthusiasm; these are the things that will cure you, if anything. A long night's sleep. As many hours before midnight as possible. These are the tonics. These are the restoratives. That fellow who has something to sell in the way of a drug, or whose fingers are itching to perform a surgical operation, beware of him. He is more dangerous than a porch-climber or a sand- bagger." A man started in the manufacture of Patent Medicine, guaranteed to cure Dyspepsia and many other ills to which people think the flesh is heir. His Patent Medicine consisted of vile-tasted colored water, but the patient was instructed to take plenty of exercise, practice deep breathing, drink two quarts of water a day. abolish fear, and maintain a cheerful frame of mind, being told that these things "materially in- creased the efficiency of the medicine." And many bought the medi- cine and were cured. And the man waxed rich and fat. If you knew the power of nature when given a chance to keep your body sweet and clean and strong, would you make it a cesspool, a receptacle for patent poison? Moxie's Nerve Food, which was advertised and had a large sale some years ago, was simply "a decoction of oats made into a syrup and flavored with sassafras and wintergreen." Dr. Goodwin, in Medical World, says: "A few years ago a man from Kentucky came through this country selling a secret remedy for piles. Some healers bought it at a consideration of $300. The remedy was made as follows: Acetate of lead, 20 gr.; tannic acid, 2 dr.: calomel, 2 dr.: sulph. morphia, 4 gr.; glycerin. 4 oz. Triturate the first four in a mortar, and add the glycerin slowly." Here will be found formulas similar in effect to a few adver- tised remedies: 52 THE HELPER COE'S ECZEMA CURE.— Milk of sulphur, y 2 oz.; carbolic acid, % 07..: glycerin, 2 oz.; water 8 oz. Mix. COKE'S DANDRUFF CURE— Resoreine, 2 dr.; glycerin. 4 dr.; bay rum. 12 dr.; water, S oz. Mix. and color with a feAV drops of burnt sugar. OMEGA OIL.— Oil of eucalyptus, S oz.; oil of turpentine, 3 oz.; olive oil, 1 oz. Mix, and color green with chlorophyll. PE-RU-NA.— Mexican juniper root, V/ 2 oz.; alcohol. 4 oz.; water, 12 oz. Macerate the juniper root in coarse powder in the alcohol and water mixed, for a week; then strain, press and filter. PIERCE'S GOLDEN MEDICAL DISCOVERY.— Lactucarium, 15 gr.; honey, 4 dr.; tincture of opium, y 2 dr.; alcohol, 2 fl. oz.; water, 5 fl. oz. Mix all together thoroughly. LYDIA PINKHAM'S VEGETABLE COMPOUND.— Cramp bark, 4 oz.; partridge berry vine, 4 oz.; poplar bark, 2 oz.; unicorn root, 2 oz; beth root, 1% oz.; cassia, 2 oz.; sugar. 24 oz. ; alcohol, 16 11. oz.; water, sufficient. Reduce the first six ingredients to powder, add boiling water enough to cover, let stand till cold, and percolate with water until 5 pints of liquid are obtained. To this add the sugar, bring to a boil, remove from the fire, strain and when cold add the alcohol. In case of serious sickness it is always best to see a regular family physician, and to have nothing to do with so-called specialists, who advertise extensively, without your regular doctor's consent. This is particularly true of sexual diseases, as many know to their sorrow. Dr. F. L. Matthay says: "I know of no other cause of disease and death and disaster to the race as great as that of over indulgence of the sexual passion. Excessive indulgence in this way takee too much oil from the body, causing constipation, sallow complexion, rheumatism, dullness of intellect, etc." One reason why animals and so-called savages have better health than civilized people is because they always attend promptly to their calls of nature: "When Nature calls at either door, Do not try to bluff her; But hastt away, whether night or day, Or health is sure to suffer." Parents cannot impress this fact too much on the minds of their children if they wish them to remain healthy. If people would eat more fruit and nuts, and less meat, they would be healthier. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." By eating slowly food is almost doubled in nutrition. FOR FEMALE TROUBLES.— One ounce of listerine; one ounce of glycerine; one-half ounce of sulphate of zinc; one-fourth ounce sub-nitrate of bismuth: thirty drops of (C. P.) carbolic acid; one quart of water. Directions for mixing and using: Put a pint of water in a quart bottle; THE HELPER 53 then add the zinc and bismuth and shake well until dissolved. Now add the other ingredients and fill the bottle full of water. Use one tablespoonful of this to four tablespoonfuls of water, injecting with a syringe. It will cure any womb trouble, healing and strengthening in a few days. Should be used night and morning, if discharge is bad. ILLNESS IN PREGNANCY.— "For the dreaded morning sickness let me tell you that I have always used blackberry wine with the best of results. This I make myself by taking the juice of the cooked berry, sweetening it and letting it ferment. As soon as you get out of bed in the morning take a swallow of this. It was prescribed by a physi- cian, and I have never known it to fail. A cup of hot tea or coffee with a cracker also serves the purpose admirably; the stomach being weak and empty causes the nausea. Some of these simple remedies will relieve much suffering if taken immediately after rising in the morning." "Old Doc," in the Medical Brief, says: "Now and then you run across a pregnant woman, who persists in trying to puke up her immor- tal soul. After trying every blamed thiug you ever heard of without doing a particle of good, vou'll make up your mind that that particu- lar woman's time has come, and it's useless fighting fate, but, I say, don't despair until you have tried tincture of iodine in one to three- drop doses. It acts like oil on troubled waters, putting an end to the disturbance so quick it's hard to believe how industrious that woman was. Try it, I say." EASY CHILDBIRTH.— A mother says: "Dig spikenard-roots and dry them. About six weeks before you expect your little guest cut up enough of the spikenard to make a tablespoonful, put it in a teacup and fill the cup with boiling water. Cover and place on your dressing- table so that you will be sure to see it as soon as you are up, and drink what you can; if but little, drink it— more is better, however. Continue with this till baby comes. I have used this, and have had three children with but little suffering. It is perfectly harmless." The spikenard may be had, we should say, of any good botanic druggist at about 10 cents a package; postage 2 cents extra. Perhaps some inexperienced ones may not know that under certain conditions there is nothing that will give so great relief as thoroughly rubbing the abdomen and well around on the hips with sweet-oil. This done once or twice a day is very beneficial. The oil acts as a lubricant and when the time of suffering comes many think it renders it easier. The little partridge vine that grows so common in the Northern States is one of the best things that is on earth to help a woman have her child without pain and without flooding or danger. It should be made in the same manner that tea is made: a fourth or a half teaspoon- ful to a cup of water boiling and steeped. 54 THE HELPER MENTAL HEALING. How the Mind Cures Disease. Mental healing is not a new discovery by any means. It has existed since man became capable of thought. The most healing medicine in the world is the saliva of a person who has a loving disposition. It is said to be impossible for a person who really loves his fellow crea- tures to have dyspepsia. "He liveth best who loveth best All things both great and small. For the good God who loveth us. He made and loveth all." It is admitted now by intelligent physicians that most of the diseases that afflict humanity are helped, if not entirely cured, by suggestion. Many doctors prescribe harmless powders or tablets to be dissolved in water. One physician says that seven-tenths of the prescriptions given to patients are harmless and are given to amuse until Nature cures. The tendency of disease is to get well. Hence we have so-called healers with their numerous testimonials. One healer claims to have cured more summer complaints than any two doctors in the world. Perhaps he has; but the fact is, they would get well without any healer's help. How then does the healer help to cure? By inspiring hope. That is all. Sometimes persons have unconsciously electrified themselves into a cure by the mind becoming so strongly impressed with the certainty of a cure that it electrified the part so powerfully as to set the absorbents at work and carried the diseased conditions off. Of course when medicines are taken Nature has a double duty to perform, for she must get rid of the medicine beside all the rest that is clogging the system. However, when nothing alse will give the patient faith, the medicine is useful. Doctors have sometimes confessed that it is faitli in their medicines that gives them healing power, and no prop- erty of the medicine. Nasty medicine is far more effective than nice medicine. Fresh air. moderate exercise, regular sleep, and kind thoughts will heal you of your diseases, pluck from memory its rooted sorrows, and put you close to all the good there is. There are thousands of cases on record where physicians have pre- scribed bread pills, or colored water, to procure a free movement THE HELPER 55 of the bowels, but they are knowing enough to first tell their patient that their harmless remedies Will do them good if anything on earth will do them good. The patients return afterwards and report a cure while the doctor smiles to himself. In fact, most doctors in giving remedies for the cure of diseases, invariably say that what they pre- scribe will cure the patient, thus inspiring hope, the greatest remedial agent on earth. Physicians and druggists often refer to patent med- icines as "faith cures.*' They know the ingredients of the advertised remedies, and consequently have no faith in them, but the general public has. I could till a book with formulas of patent medicines show- ing how cheaply and easily they can be made. I know of one medi- cine vender who claims to have sold 30,000 packages of his famous "salts" in less than two years. He never got less than 50 cents for a package. The "salts" are usually composed of one part of table salt and six parts of baking soda. Many of the "salts" with hijdi-sounding titles are made from this formula. Dr. Peebles says half a teaspoonful of capsicum in a glass of milk is better than any patent medicine in the world. Christian Scientists claim to be healthier than other sects. And they are. Why? Because they are not influenced by fear and worry to the same extent as others. When a person worries he unconsciously breathes less and thus takes in less life. The cheerful, jolly person naturally breathes more. One reason why persons afflicted with pul- monary complaints recover or have their condition improved by a trip to New Mexico or any of the other southwestern States, is because in high regions one must breathe more or he will be gasping. Therefore, it stands to reason that extra, breathing in lower altitudes will be helpful. When people read about heart diseases they often fix the mind upon their own hearts and dwell upon the disorder till they are actually sick. A man reads of kidney troubles, fixes his mind on the symptoms till he feels a peculiar sensation in his back, concludes he has kidney trouble, and he has. It was brought on by his undue anxious thought. It can be cured readily and only by changing his thought on this subject. Dis- ease pictures, as presented by medicine venders in pamphlets and in the daily papers, make a deep impression on the minds of many people, and cause much sickness. The discussion of diseased conditions by the sick and in their presence, telling of headaches, pains, backaches, weak spells, and such ills as the mind can conjure up, is always depressing and should be discouraged. It is far more conducive to health to think calm, pure and good thoughts, for they promote digestion and a pure blood. What' a wonder- ful blood purifier is a proper habit of thought! "Thoughts are things." Dr. Paul Edwards says: "I once knew a lady in Paris who cured her indigestion by simply telling her stomach l hat it must digest; that the function was a natural one. wholly and solely the duty of the stomach, 56 THE HELPER She simply sent her stomach plenty of mental force after each meal, then commanded the organ to go ahead." Reliable physicians claim that the average person requires about five pints of water every day. This drinking of water, with the extra breathing of fresh air, usually works wonders in the condition of chronic invalids. A person is told to breathe from the abdomen, taking full, deep breaths, ten or more at a time. With the expansion of the lungs, say to yourself: "I am taking in healing and strength with every breath." Every time you exhale a breath let it be with the thought: "I am getting rid of weakness, disease and pain." Deep breathing alone is often sufficient to cure stomach and bowei troubles. Water should be taken, not in large quantities, but a little at a time. The patient should also fix his mind as often as possible on a picture of health and to see himself as he would like to be, namely, healthy and strong. You ask and demand health by law and you will not only get it by following the law, but you will find happiness, peace, and joy, be- sides a strong will, a better memory and increased power of thought, conscious power and self-reliance. This is a rule which will, if followed, bring the desirable blessing of health. Whenever you eat, drink, breathe or exercise have in all the purpose of bringing into you life, health, energy, growth and power. Everything you do, do it cheerfully and with a will. Give everything the quality of your thought. When you breathe say to yourself: "This is for food— life — I am feeding from the air and removing waste and poisons from my body." (Repeat five or six times.) When you sip your fluids, if it be a hundred times a day: "This water is to insure perfect secretion and excretion, to give me a good appetite and digestion and a free movement of the bowels each day." (Repeat five or six times.) This is the best medicine in the world. As an eminent physician has recently said: "Thousands of people think themselves sick, even think themselves to death." Low spirits and hopelessness always impair vitality; we may say more bluntly, they kill. The best preventive is a cheerful mind, firm conviction, and purpose inspired by principle. Firm resolve alone often drives away disease. It is one's salvation to refuse to be worried. Let the mind dwell on beautiful pictures of health and happiness. Keep the beautiful ideals before the mind, ideals of health and strength. Culti- vate an expectation of being well, and you will realize the expectation, for what we expect, tends to appear in us. RULES OP HEALTH.— Stop thinking of the body. Keep it neat and clean and comfortably clothed. Stop finding fault with the weather and speaking of every change of the atmosphere as if sickness were contained therein. Refuse to take cold. Some people speak of certain THE HELPER 57 days as good for pneumonia ; stop describing your sensations. Stop saying you are sick; feel tired, weak, hot or cold. Cultivate thought — not sensation. Stop speaking of food as digestible or indigestible; eat what you like and be thankful. Many an invalid is living under the control of sensation as much as the glutton or the inebriate. Forget self in trying to make others happy. Banish fear by ceasing to think or talk about it; stop saying I am afraid of anything. Fear, distrust and doubt are distressing sensations. Cultivate hope, faith, and truth; they are tonics of the mind. Never eat more than three kinds of solid food for dinner. No drinking while eating. Masticate slower. Drive all com- plainings out of your homes. Do good to all: harm to none. ABSENT TREATMENT.— If you write to any of the men or women who profess to give absent treatment for all kinds of diseases, you will receive a lot of printed matter advertising their almost miraculous powers. Like patent medicine makers, they exaggerate. Like patent medicines, they also make cures, when every other means fail. Like patent medicine advertisers, they use a lot of testimonials. Now. how does the absent treatment help the sick? Chiefly through faith and hope. Usually the patient has almost unbounded faith in the healer; without it, little can be done. The patient is instructed by letter to observe certain hygienic rules in regard to breathing, drinking and exercise. He is told to breathe from the abdomen, taking full, deep breaths, ten or more at a time. With the expansion of the lungs say to yourself: "I am taking in healing and strength with every breath." Every time you exhale a breath let it be with the thought. "I am getting rid of weakness, disease and pain." Deep breathing alone is often suffi- cient to cure stomach and bowel troubles. The patient is instructed to drink plenty of water, not in large quantities, but a lirtle at a time. Guard against drinking as much as even half a tumblerful at, a time. Let there be a few moments' rest between each spoonful or wineglass- ful. This water drinking will give weight to the body, purity to the blood, clearness to the complexion and strength to the individual. In regard to exercise, the patient is usually told to avoid any kind of exercise which causes fatigue. In the morning, when you are prac- ticing your long, deep breathing, throw your arms over your head, grasping the head of the bed, then stiffen the muscles of the arms for a few moments and suddenly relax them; so with the abdomen, the legs and feet. Take a deep breath and bend over on one side, then exhale, taking another deep breath and bend over to the other side. Imagine you are about to raise from the floor a considerable weight; stoop down to the floor as if actually lifting the weight, raise yourself to your full height, bring your hands together over your head, and raise yourself slowly to the tips of your toes. It is not intended to tire the patient and if not carried to excess will not cause fatigue. These exercises 58 THE HELPER should be practiced whenever the patient feels the need of a slight stim- ulus to the circulation. Now, if the patient follows out the instructions in regard to breathing, drinking and exercise, improvement will usually follow. He will soon be able to partake freely of what Dr. Parkyn calls "the life essentials," namely, air, food, and drink, without which no sick person can over get well. The patient is also asked to fix his mind as often as possible on a picture of health, and to see himself as he would like to be, namely, healthy and strong. The instructions are an almost infallible cure for constipation, the cause of so many diseases, and very often when the cause of a disease is removed a cure follows. The patient receives one or two treatments a day, and pays from $1 to $25 per week, according to a previous agreement. A certain hour of the day is appointed when the patient is supposed to receive mental strength from the healer thousands of miles away. He is asked to sit in a comfortable chair or go to bed with the eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply, waiting for the effects which are to follow. The writer knows of persons, old and young, with firm belief in the ability of the healer, who have been helped and cured by these treatments. The absent treatments last a half hour, sometimes more. Now, any person of common sense knows that the instructions about breathing, drinking and exercise, will help anyone, and these, with faith in the healer, often cure desperate diseases. Physicians say the cure is made through suggestion; the patient's mind acts on the body independent of the healer. At the hour when the healer is supposed to be directing his thought to the sick person, he or she has been known to be fishing, reading, sleeping, etc., doing almost anything but thinking of his con- fident patron. Some absent healers have accumulated hundreds of thou- sands of dollars by these ways alone. One extensive advertiser is said to have taken three trips around the world while his patients were supposed to be receiving healing thoughts from him in a well-known American city. His secretaries sent the letter of instruction, took the money, paid the bills, etc., while the healer enjoyed life in other coun- tries, receiving his share of the proceeds at certain intervals. Absent treatment, as can easily be seen, is a good thing; but, like other good things, it can be abused. A CURE FOR POVERTY.— A poor purse is generally the result of poor thoughts. If you would be successful have faith in your ability. Nothing is so essential to a leader in any kind of society or business as self-confidence. Of course, nothing can be accomplished without effort, but without confidence in one's ability to succeed there will be no effort. If one has faith in his own works he makes for himself a posi- tion at the head of the procession, and retains it by right of possession A laborer who feels that he is fit for something better than to merely labor like an ox will not remain a laborer long. His deside for better THE HELPER 59 conditions will soon grow, and his belief that these conditions are attainable will grow into faith, and faith backed by a powerful will can bring you to a realization of your desires. The reader has doubtless known persons who, having met with reverses, took up some other occu- pation for a time; but they did not follow that way of earning money for a long time, as so many do. They demanded something better, and they eventually got it. If you demand persistently any quality in which you may be lacking, you will attract an increase of such quality. The person who mentally claims the most gets the most. A belief in pov- erty often burdens and oppresses us until it makes us mentally poor. The reason why a conceited man usually succeeds is because he has more confidence in himself. Many readers will recall instances where through fear, they were afraid to try certain ways of making a living but at last they summoned up enough courage for the task, and were surprised at the ease with which it was done. The thing you believe you can do, you can do. You have heard others boasting of how easy they did certain things, you thought you could not do the same, but when you tried, you did as well, if not better. Fear is said to be the most powerful enemy cf the human race. What sane person would worry if he did not first fear? Fear is the principal source of disease, misery and unhappiness. Have faith in yourself. The more you believe you can do, the more you will do. Cultivate love, and you will be more energetic. Love men, women, children and animals, and "the green things growing," and you will labor with more pleasure and with more results. You must remember that you are "one with infinite life." If you maintain a thought, desiring any particular condition or thing, you will soon attract to you whatever you desire. An ugly mood of mind makes us sick and loses us both friends and money, while a cheerful, loving disposition attracts help from many quarters. When you send your money to any of those who profess to be able to cure poverty you receive a communication telling you to have no fear of the future and to have more confidence in your ability. This, with your faith in the power of the person giving financial treatments, makes you more confident, and, as a rule, more successful. The con- fidence iniparted to you is often worth more than the fees paid; but it is an easy fee to the "professor," who seldom does anything bul send a few cheering letters. "HOW MY HELL UPON EARTH BECAME HEAVEN."— This is the title of a book which at one time had a very large sale. It deals with a married couple who were always quarreling during the first few years of their married life, when through the influence of :i lecture on mar- riage, the husband suddenly became very loving toward his wife. The wife was in a chronic state of illness from her husband's former mis- conduct, and the change soon made the wife a well woman. The resull 60 THE HELPER was thai both were healthy and happy. The contrast between the misery of the first few years of fault-finding and looking for pleasure out- side the home and the happiness and content that follows a life of love, is vividly depicted. There is a valuable hint here for discontented married men and women. •"So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths That wind and wind. When all that the sad world needs Is just the art of being kind." "l>o your work as well as you can and be kind."' says Elbert Hubbard. "Just be kind" will attract to yourself the best that is in others, and your meed will be the association and companionship of those nobler minds who live above the heavy, murky bogs of hatred, jealousy and envy. Don't try to get even. "Like attracts like" in an inexorable law. Let the law even things up. It can do it far more effectively than you can. Just watch and see. While you watch you will rest. Resting is better than fusing. It's a great deal healthier. AX ANTIDOTE FOR WORRY.— Correct breathing is the first part to cultivate in the pursuit of beauty, just as it is the first step toward improvement in health. As a woman breathes, so she is: for the poise of the chest is the keynote to the whole figure. When the chest is in proper position the fine points of artistic wearing apparel and all the little frills of fashion, are seen to the best advantage. To breathe correctly, keep the chest up, out, forward, as if pulled up by a button. Keep the chin, the lips, the chest on a line. Hold the shoulders on a line with the hips. The observance of these directions will insure to rainy-day costumes a real dignity and picturesque effect. Breathe upward and outward, as If about to fly. drawing in the air with slow, deep breaths and letting it out gently. This conscious deep breath- ing, repeated ten or twenty times at intervals during the day. tends to expand the chest permanently, to give it classic poise and style. Re- pented four times, it is said to be a cure for worry. (rOOD ADVICE.— While it is true that the average person eats too much; true that "one-fourth of what we eat keeps lis while the other three-fourths we keep— at the risk of our lives;" yet it is also true that in addition to improper mastication and overeating, fear plays havoc with many stomachs. Have no fear of anything you eat. If you fear it do not eat it: if you eat it do not fear it. Those who are always fearing are always ailing. If you are perfectly well Nature will choose from the bill of fare such things as will best serve the needs of the body and brain; if not well, do not eat anything that disagrees with you. but get yourself in such a condition that nothing disagrees with you: that is, nothing wholesome. Drinking at meals induces people to eat more than they otherwise THE HELPER CI would, as any one can verify by experiment, and it is excess in earing that devastates the land with sickness, suffering and death. A lemon or two taken at "tea time," as an entire substitute for the ordinary "supper" of summer, would give many a man a comfortable night's sleep and an awakening of rest and invigoration, with an appetite for breakfast, to which they are strangers who will have their cup of tea or supper of "relish" or "cake" and berries or peaches and cream. As far as possible avoid fear. Fear is also a fruitful source of in- fection, for it weakens the pulse and the whole frame. Travelers in the East have told that when a dog is suddenly bitten by a rattlesnake, the wound is not considered half so deadly as when the dog has seen the reptile, and stood trembling before it; fear in this case aids and quickens the poison. Charms and amulets, met with occasionally among the poor of our country, and frequently in foreign ones, may thus actually be useful by inspiring confidence, although it is the confidence of superstition. It is stated that the ancient Italians who lived near the poisonous Pontine marshes of Italy, suffered less from fever than the moderns, as they wore warm and fleecy clothing, and that now the evil has been greatly arrested by flannel again coming into use. Laborers in such places fall victims in great numbers unless this precaution be adopted. RUNNING AFTER "STRANGE GODS."-The trouble is. people are, for some reason it is hard to explain, inclined to run after "strange gods," and if they find a "doctor" who says he can cure them in a week, when their family physician would require six months, the sick man, ten to one, will throw overboard the man of skill and education and begin taking the nostrums of the stranger, and at the same time, in all prob- ability, commence the rapid descent to the grave. What do you think, for instance, of a mixture for coughs and colds, alleged in the flaming advertisements of the proprietor, or "doctor," to be composed of every healing herb known, and actually made up only of the dirtiest kind of molasses and a small quantity of tar. with a slight infusion of flavoring to take off the edge? And then, for what costs perhaps two cents, and is dear at that price, the victim must plank down a dollar, and All his stomach with a fraud of a preparation that wouldn't cure a cold in a sick dog. And yet this thing is practiced every day. The drug stores are filled with these so-called medicines. The common liver pill is composed of aloes, colcynth and podophyllum While they are advertised as blood purifiers, they are in fad, powerful drastic purgatives, and leave the bowels in such a deplorable condition that eight out of twelve cases where taken results in piles. This tact has been substantiated by competent examination and investigation. Then there are catarrh solutions put up in pint bottles, containing six teen ounces of water, in winch is put a pinch of borax and common salt. 62 THE HELPER These are sold for $1. Everybody knows that common salt is a good remedy; bul why pay such an exorbitant price for it when it may be had for nothing at home? With this solution goes a douche for throwing the water into the head. For this you will be charged $3, a net profit of $2.50 to the quack. You may save this money by simply inhaling salt water from the palm of the hand. "Soothers" are composed of poppy syrups and morphia; nothing less. The latter is a powerful anodyne. It gives unnatural rest to children; constipates the bowels, and is particularly deleterous when the infant is teething. Do you know, you mother who do this, that you are inviting cerebral weakness? That you are paving the road to mental inactivity? That your child, simply by this, may never have the right use of its faculties? It is a fact, nevertheless. Still another variety of advertisements is sent out in every daily and in many weekly papers, that works endless evil. We refer to the demor- alizing patent medicines and "confidential" private-diseases notices. These are always swindles of the worst class, and should be shunned as though they were vipers. If one is unfortunate, the family physician is able and willing to relieve the trouble, and can do so with safety. Adver- tising doctors are generally quacks, and prey upon the misfortunes of mankind. If you are unfortunate, young man, go to your home physician, tell him all and trust to him to bring you up once more. It is said that the great cause of typhoid fever and appen- dieitus, or inflammation of the bowels, besides many other ills, is constipation. The secret of prevention is in keeping- your bowels open. Six hundred millions of anti-constipation pills are sold yearly in America, though every intelligent physician knows that no drug ever heard of can do anything for the habit except to make it worse. It is easy enough to keep your bowels always open and regular, if you are not negligent or lazy. Don't be lazy, but at a certain hour and minute each day, move your bowels. They may not move at first, but keep trying each day at the same time, preferably after breakfast, and in a short time you will be gratified by finding that you are as regular as the rest of nature. This reminds one of the inscription a traveler saw on a grave: "Here lies the remains of Jimmie dear Who went to heaven with diarrhear," He added: " 'Twere 1 tetter thus for his salvation Than to have gone with constipation." "Is there any profit in selling postage stamps?" inquired the man m search of information. "Not directly," replied the druggist, "but it gets people into the habit of going to the drug store, and after that it doesn't take long to make chronic invalids of them.'"— New England Druggist. Somebody made a fortune selling "Methnsaleh pills" to the Southern negroes, warranted to prolong their lives. THE HELPER 63 "Children who drink tea and coffee," says Dr. Ferguson, of England, "as a rule, only grow four pounds per annum between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, while those who drink milk night and morning grow fifteen pounds each year. When diseases are prevalent in the neighborhood children who use these drinks have less power to resist sickness than others." HOW TO CARE FOR CHILDREN'S FEET— It has been well said that life-long discomfort, disease, and sudden death often come to chil- dren through inattention or carelessness of the parents. A child should never be allowed to go to sleep with cold feet. The thing to be last attended to is, to see that the feet are dry and warm. Neglect of this has often resulted in a dangerous attack of croup, diphtheria, or a fatal sore throat. PRECAUTIONS IN VISITING INFECTED ROOMS.— When the great philanthropist Howard was asked what precautions he used to preserve himself from infection in the prisons, hospitals and dungeons which he visited,* he responded with his pen as follows: "I here answer once for all, next to the free goodness and mercy of the Author of my being, temperance and cleanliness are my preservatives. "Trusting in Divine Providence, and believing myself in the way of duty, I visit the most noxious cells, and while thus employed I fear no evil. "I never enter a hospital or prison before breakfast; and "In an offensive room I seldom draw my breath deeply." No better precautions than these need be given. The answer of Howard should be indelibly impressed on every memory. ONE WOMAN'S SAYING WAYS— A housekeeper writes to the Fire- side Yisitor as follows: A great saving is made by the proper care and use of cooked and un- cooked food. The first and great consideration is perfect cleanliness. The ice chest and cellar should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week. Of course circumstances and environments must be considered, but this rule is a general one. The jars in which bread is kept should be washed, scalded and dried thoroughly at least twice a week. Whatever you keep your bread in— whether can, box or jar — be very sure that nothing is put away until thoroughly cool. Otherwise the steam will cause mold and mustiness. Crusts and pieces of stale bread should not be allowed to accumulate. They are nice lor many purposes. Slices that are not too broken may be used for toast, while bits too small for this may be made into puddings, griddle cakes, dressings for fish, meat or poultry, etc. Such as are not thus taken care of should lie dried in a slow oven, rolled into fine crumbs on a board, and put away for breading croquettes, cutletts. or similar foods. Stale cake makes nice puddings. 04 THE HELPER Remember, too, that any cooked food should be perfectly cool before it is placed in the cellar or ice chest. If it is not, it will absorb an un- pleasant odor from the close atmosphere of either place. Meat should not be placed directly on the ice, as the water draws out the juices. Always place it in a pan, this being set on the ice, if desired. The habit which many people have of putting steak, chops, etc., in the wrapping paper, on ice, is a very bad one. The quicker food of all kinds cools the longer it will keep. With soups and bread this is particularly the case. Always turn bread on the side of each loaf, and set them where the fresh, cool air will circulate without drawing directly upon the loaves. Milk, cream and butter all quickly absorb strong odors, hence care imisi be taken to keep them in a cool, sweet place. If from any cause butter becomes rancid, to a pint of it add a table- spoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of soda, pour on a pint of cold water, and place over the lire until it reaches the boiling point. Set away to cool, and when hard take it from the water in a cake, wipe dry and put away for cooking purposes. It will be perfectly sweet. When eggs are scarce and high use corn starch as a substitute in cakes, puddings and for all thickening purposes. A tablespoonful of corn starch being equal to one egg. It is a useful economy of time and labor to make night-gowns of tennis flannel. It is more easily washed, does not require ironing, and will out- wear muslin. Sheets for winter, of the same material, are soft, warm and easily washed. They are as pleasant as blankets to sleep in and much more easily kept clean. Plain red calico for kitchen windows and cup- boards saves washing and is cheery to look at. Men's underwear can be nicely made over into underclothes for the children with but little work, and prove warm and serviceable. Fish may be scaled much easier by first dipping them into boiling water for a minute. Meat should not be washed before cooking, as the flavor is injured, and the nutriment decreased. Add a speck of soda when cooking beans or any vegetable which seems tough, and the cooking process is quickened. Rub a bit of soda over meat or poultry that seems overripe and wash in cold water. Rats and mice were banished from an old house which they had infested for years by a mixture of live cents worth of red pepper and five cents worth of putty. The mixture was put in their holesand other places which they were supposed to frequent. mak aa iws LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 180 427 3