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THE 
 
 HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE. 
 
 MANUAL OF INFORMATION 
 
 ON EVERYTHING 
 
 That relates to Household Economies. 
 
 
 0, 
 
 
 J 
 
 FRANK M. REED, 
 
 PUBLISHER, 
 
 New York. 
 
 1^1 <:■ 
 
liOOD BOOKS FOR W% MD OlD, MIEKIED 11 SIllE. 
 
 CENTS. 
 
 The model L,etter-l¥ritcr 15 
 
 Old Secrets and New DiKcoTerics SO 
 
 Preserving' and JTIanufacturing^ Secrets 50 
 
 Housewife's Treasure 30 
 
 Educating^ the Horse 25 
 
 L.ife in the Back Woods 20 
 
 The American Sphinx 25 
 
 Courtship and Marriage 15 
 
 I^cisiirc-Hour Woric^ for Ijadies 20 
 
 Every liady Her Own Dressmaker HO 
 
 Health Hints. A Book on Beauty 50 
 
 The Amateur's Guide to Maggie and Mystery 25 
 
 Napoleon's Oraculum 15 
 
 Ventriloquism (with Instractions for Making the Magic Whistle) 15 
 
 Love and Courtship Cards 30 
 
 An Easy Road to Fortune 50 
 
 The Eover's Companion 25 
 
 Magric I'hotogfraphs, or Spirit Pictures 30 
 
 Magic Trick Cards 25 
 
 Magic Dial for Secret Correspondence.... 25 
 
 The Black Art Fully Exposed and Eaid Bare 25 
 
 How to Write Short-Hand 25 
 
 How to Talk and Debate 15 
 
 Ho^v to Entertain a Social Party 25 
 
 . Shadow Pantomime of Mother Goose 30 
 
 Swimming and Skating. A Guide for Learners 20 
 
 Spectral Illusions. A New Method of Showing Ghosts 50 
 
 Singing Made Easy 20 
 
 The Happy Home Songster • 20 
 
 The Fireside Songster SSO 
 
 How to AVoo and Ho^r to W^in 15 
 
 Our Boys' and Girls' Favorite Speaker 20 
 
 The Complete Fortune-Teller and Dream Book 15 
 
 The Dancer's Guide and Bali-Room Companion 25 
 
 How to Behave. A Guide to True Politeness 15 
 
 Eaughing Gas. With Comic Illustrations 25 
 
 Salt, Pepper and Mustard. A Book of Fun SO 
 
 The Jolly Joker's Game-Bag. A Comic Book 15 
 
 Secrets for Farmers SO 
 
 The STvindlers of America: Who They Are, and How They Work 25 
 
 The Common-Sense Cook-Book 20 
 
 Robinson Crusoe. Prof usely Illustrated 30 
 
 The Home Chemist and Perfumer 20 
 
 25 First-Class Photographs for SI, or 10 for 50 
 
 30 Artistic Gem Chromos for $1, or 12 for 50 
 
 A BEAUTrPULLY ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE. 
 
 Address FR^ISTK IVT. REEE), 
 
 139 EIGHTH STREET, NEW^ TORK. 
 
 THIS BOOK IS 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 
 
 F. M. REED, 
 
 in the OfSce of the librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
THE HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE. 
 
 Paper Hangring;. — The first thing to be thought of is the se- 
 lection of paper hangings. According to the taste or judgment with 
 which the pattern is chosen, so will the appearance of the room, 
 when prepared, be agreeable or displeasing. Large patterns should, 
 of course, be only used in large rooms. Dark-tinted papers are 
 most suitable for light rooms, and light papers for dark rooms ; 
 many a dingy or gloomy apartment may be made to wear a cheer- 
 ful aspect by attention to this particular. Stripes, whether on a 
 lady's dress, or on the walls of a room, always give the effect of 
 hight ; consequently a low room is improved by being hung with a 
 striped paper. The effect is produced by a wavy stripe as well as 
 a straight one, and, as curved lines are the most graceful, they 
 should generally be preferred. Any pattern with lines crossed so 
 as to form a square, is unsuitable for a low room ; but with the lines 
 made sloping or diagonal, there is not the same objection. A 
 diamond trellis pattern, with a small plant creeping over it, looks 
 well in a small summer parlor. For a common sitting-room, a 
 small geometrical pattern is very suitable ; being well covered, it 
 does not show accidental stains or bruises, and, in the constant re- 
 petition of the design, there is no one object to attract the eye more 
 than another. These are sometimes called Elizabethan patterns ; 
 they are much used for staircases, halls, and passages, but they are 
 not to be chosen at random. According to the hight and dimen- 
 sions of the passage or staircase, such should be the pattern. A 
 large pattern on a narrow staircase, and in a passage not more than 
 eight feet in hight, has a very heavy and disagreeable effect. A 
 light gray, or yellow marble, divided into blocks by thin lines, and 
 varnished, will be found suitable for most passages, if care be taken 
 to adapt the size of the blocks to the place where they are to ap- 
 pear. A size that would look well in a hall twenty feet wide, 
 would be altogether too large in one of only four or six feet. Many 
 persons must have noticed, in their visits of business or pleasure, 
 that some houses present a cheerful aspect as soon as the door is 
 opened, while others look so dull that they make one low-spirited 
 upon entering them. The difference is caused by the good or bad 
 taste with which they have been papered and painted. A safe rule 
 
4 The Housewife^ s Treasure. 
 
 with regard to paper hangings, is to choose nothing that looks ex- 
 travagant or unnatural. Regard should be had to the uses of an 
 apartment ; a drawing-room should be light and cheerful ; a parlor 
 should look warm and comfortable without being gloomy; bedroom 
 papers should be cool and quiet, and generally of a small pattern, 
 and of such colors as harmonize with bed-furniture and other fit- 
 tings. It is worth while to consider the sort of pictures to be hung 
 on a wall ; gilt frames show best on a dark ground, and dark frames 
 on a light ground ; taking care however to avoid violent contrasts. 
 Heavy borders are seldom used now ; they make a room low, with- 
 out being ornamental. 
 
 The paper being purchased, the walk should next be looked to, 
 in order to be sure that they are in proper condition to hold the 
 paper. A new unwhitewashed wall will absorb the paste so rapidly 
 that, before drying, there will be left too little body of paste on the 
 surface to hold the paper. A coating of good glue size, made by 
 dissolving a half a pound of glue in a gallon of water, or a coating 
 of good paste, put on and allowed to dry before the paper is hung, 
 will provide for this difficulty. 
 
 If the wall has already been papered it should be removed. Many 
 lives have been lost from the laziness or ignorance of pager-hangers, 
 who have laid on one paper above another, instead of tearing off 
 the old one before hanging the new. There was a very handsome 
 house near one of our provincial towns which could never keep its 
 tenants, and at last stood empty and became worthless, because a 
 detestable fever seized upon every family that lived in it. A ready- 
 witted observer promised the owner to find out the cause. He 
 traced the mischief to one room, and presently conjectured what 
 was the matter there. He let a slip of glass into the wall, and 
 found it the next day dimmed with a foetid condensed vapor. He 
 tore down a strip of paper, and found abundant cause for any 
 amount of fever. For generations the walls had been papered 
 afresh, without the removal of anything underneath. And there 
 was the putrid size of old paper inches deep ! A thorough 
 clearance, and scraping, and cleaning, put an end to the fever, and 
 restored the value of the house. 
 
 If the wall be whitewashed, it should be scratched with a stiff 
 brush, to remove every particle of loose lime from the surface; after 
 which it should be thoroughly swept down with a broom, and coat- 
 ed with the glue size or thin paste. 
 
 A long table of thin boards cleated together and placed on 
 wooden horses, such as are used by carpenters, a pair of sharp 
 shears — with long blades if possible — a whitewash brush, a pail for 
 paste, and a yard of cotton cloth, are the implements required. 
 The table or board platform should be level on its upper surface to 
 
The Housewife^ Treasure. 5 
 
 facilitate the distribution of the paste. The latter should be free 
 from lumps, and should be laid on as evenly as possible. It should 
 be made of good sweet rye or wheat flour, beaten smooth in cold 
 water before boiling, and should not be allowed to boil more than 
 a minute or two, but should be raised to the boiling point slowly, 
 being continually stirred till it is taken from the fire. 
 
 Inexpert hands often find difficulty in making the patterns match 
 in the juxtaposed pieces. No general directions can be given for 
 this, but a little study at the outset will often save cutting to waste, 
 and other difficulties.. In this matter, as in others, it is wise to 
 "first be sure you are right, then go ahead." As soon as the proper 
 way to cut the paper is decided upon, a whole roll, or more, may 
 be cut at once, and the pieces laid, printed side downwards, upon 
 the table, weights being placed upon the ends to prevent curling. 
 The paste should then be applied to the back of the uppermost 
 piece, as expeditiously as possible, as the longer the time employed 
 in this part of the operation, the more tender will the paper get, 
 and the more difficult it will be to lay it properly. 
 
 The upper end of the piece should then be taken by the corners, 
 and the operator, stepping upon a bench or step-ladder, should 
 barely stick the piece at the top, and in such a manner that the 
 edge shall coincide with the piece previously hung ; this can be done 
 by sighting down the trimmed edge of the piece, while it is held in 
 the hands. The cloth should now be held in a loose bunch, and 
 the paper smoothed with it from top to bottom, care being taken 
 to work out all air from under the paper, which, if not thoroughly 
 done, will give it a very unsightly blistered appearance. 
 
 If the wall be uneven or crooked, as is often the case in old 
 houses, it will be difficult to avoid wrinkles, but they can be most- 
 ly god rid of, by cutting the paper and allowing the cut edges to 
 lap over each other, in places where there Avould otherwise be a 
 wrinkle. 
 
 By following these directions the most inexperienced will be able 
 to do a reasonably tidy piece of work, but of course much skill is 
 only secured by practice. 
 
 To clean Wall Paper. — Cut into 8 half-quarters a stale 
 quartern loaf; with one of these pieces, after having blown off all 
 the dust from the paper to be cleaned by means of a good pair of 
 bellows, begin at the top of the room, holding the crust in the hand, 
 and wiping lightly downward with the crumb, about half a yard at 
 each stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is completely clean- 
 ed all round ; then go again round with the like sweeping stroke 
 downward, always commencing each successive course a little 
 higher than the upper stroke had extended, till the bottom be 
 
6 TJic Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 finished. This operation, if carefully performed, will frequently 
 make very old paper look almost equal to new. Great caution must 
 be used not by any means to rub the paper hard, nor to attempt 
 cleaning it the cross or horizontal way. The dirty part of the bread 
 too must be each time cut away, and the pieces renewed as often 
 as is necessary. 
 
 Paste for Paper Hang'ing'. — A new form of paste for at- 
 taching paper hangings to walls, and one which, besides possessing 
 the merit of cheapness, has the advantage of preventing the paper 
 from separating or peeling ofT, is prepared by first softening i8 
 pounds of finely powdered bole in water, and then draining ofif the 
 surplus water from the mass. One and a quarter pounds of glue 
 are next to be boiled into glue water, and the bole and two pounds 
 of gypsum are then stirred in, and the whole mass forced through a 
 sieve by means of a brush. This is afterwards diluted with water to 
 the condition of a thin paste or dressing, when it is ready for use. 
 This paste is not only much cheaper than the ordinary flour paste, 
 but it has the advantage of adhering better to whitewashed surfaces, 
 especially to walls that have been coated over several times, and 
 from which the coating has not been carefully removed. In some 
 cases it is advisable, when putting fine paper on old walls, to coat 
 them by means of this paste with a ground paper, and to apply the 
 paper hanging itself to this with the ordinary paste. 
 
 To Clean Carpets. — Brussels carpets may be .cleaned as 
 follows: — Take them up and shake and beat them, so as to render 
 them perfectly free from dust. Have the floor thoroughly scoured 
 and dry, and nail the carpet firmly down upon it. If still much 
 soiled, it may be cleaned in the following manner: — Take a pailful 
 of clean cold spring water, and put into it about 3 gills of ox-gall. 
 Take another pail with clean cold water only. Now rub with a 
 soft scrubbing brush some of the ox-gall water on the carpet, which 
 will raise a lather. When a conveniant sized portion is done, wash 
 the lather off with a clean linen cloth dipped in the clean water. 
 Let this water be changed frequently. When all the lather has 
 disappeared, rub the part with a clean dry cloth. After all is done, 
 open the window to allow the carpet to dry. A carpet treated in 
 this manner will be greatly refreshed in color, particulary the greens. 
 — In nulling down a carpet after the floor has been washed, be cer- 
 tain that the floor is quite dry, or the nails will rust and injure the 
 carpet. Fuller's earth is used for cleaning carpets, and weak solu- 
 tions of alum or soda are used for reviving the colors. The crumb 
 of a hot wheaten loaf rubbed over a carpet has been found effective. 
 
 To remove Grease fVoiii Carpets. — i. Mix a little soap 
 into a gallon of warm soft water, then add half an ounce of borax; 
 
The Housewife' s Ttrasure. 7 
 
 wash the part well with clean cloth, and the grease or dirty spot 
 will soon disappear. — 2. Cover the grease spot with whiting, and let 
 it remain until it becomes saturated with the grease; then scrape 
 it off, and cover it with another coat of whiting, and if this does not 
 remove the grease, repeat the application. Three coats of whiting 
 will, in most cases, remove the grease, when it should be brushed 
 off with a clothes brush. If oil has been spilt on a carpet, that part 
 of the carpet must be loosened up, and the floor beneath it well 
 scrubbed with warm soap and water, and fuller's earth ; otherwise 
 the grease will continue yet to come through. 
 
 Hoir to use and maaiag^e Brooms. — First, buy your 
 broom; and in buying, choose green brush. See that the broom- 
 head will not shake in the handle ; if it does, reject it ; for the handle 
 having been green when the broom was made, in sweeping the 
 brush will keep falling out. Next, open the broom below the sewing, 
 and see if there is any stalk. It should be all brush ; for as the stalk 
 of broom corn is brittle ; if there are any below the twine, they will 
 be continually breaking off. Now, in using a broom, don't expect 
 it to support you through the process of sweeping ; that is how it 
 gets its bent appearance or curl on the edge which some brooms 
 have, and all the good that comes of it is, that you wear yourself, 
 carpet and broom out quicker. We have seen a broom used so 
 unskillfuUy, that one would almost think the person engaged in 
 using it was endeavoring to change the place of the dust from the 
 floor to the furniture. It requires some science, or at least some 
 skill, to use a broom well, as it does to do anything else. To use a 
 broom skillfully, the handle should incline forward and not backward, 
 as is often the case. If the top of the broom inclines forward of the 
 part next the floor it v/ill prevent much of the dust from rising into 
 the air, and will carry it along by a gentle sliding motion toward the 
 place where it is to be disposed of If, on the other hand, the 
 handle of the broom inclines backward, the dust is sent into the air 
 by a kind of jerk, to the great annoyance of those who occupy the 
 room, and to the great detriment of everything the apartment 
 contains. More than this, it wears the threads of the carpet quicker, 
 injures the paint more, if the room is uncarpeted, and destroys the 
 broom sooner than if the sweeping was done in a more rational way. 
 A new broom sweeps clean, because it is the proper shape ; "keep it 
 so by sweeping on each side alternately. Wetting it before sweeping, 
 will restore its flexibility ; and if wet in boiling suds, once a week, 
 they will become very tough, will not cut a carpet, last much 
 longer and always sweep like a new broom. Do not keep a broom 
 near the fire; the brush is liable to break, being so dry. Do not 
 store brooms where there are rats or mice ; they like the corn. A 
 
8 The Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 broom that is all out of shape, may be restored by soaking, then 
 pressed in shape between something heavy. 
 
 To keep Houses cool in Hot l¥eather. — In very hot 
 days a cool apartment is a real luxury to be had far oftener than 
 most people suppose possible. The secret consists, not in letting in 
 cool air, for naturally all do that whenever they have the chance ; 
 but in keeping out the hot air. If the air outside a room or house 
 be cooler than the air inside, let it in by all means; but if it be 
 hotter, carefally keep it out. A stair-case window left open during 
 the night will often cool thepassagesof a house, and the rooms, too, 
 if their doors be not shut; but it must be closed at 8 or 9 o'clock, 
 in the morning, or, if on the sunny side, at 4 or 5 o'clock, and the 
 blind drawn down. The mistake people generally make is to throw 
 open their windows at all hours of the day, no matter whether the 
 atmosphere outside be cool or scorching. Let us have some air, they 
 say, and in comes the treacherous breeze — for even hot air is pleasant 
 while it is gently blowing, taking away perspiration, and thereby 
 cooling the skin ; but the apartment is made warmer, instead of 
 cooler, and as soon as they move out of the draught they find their 
 room to be more uncomfortable than before. Let in cool air — keep 
 out hot — that is the only formula to insure the minimum of discom- 
 fort. Sitting-rooms may generally be kept cool during the whole 
 day if the doors be only opened for egress, and the windows kept 
 closed and shielded from direct sunshine by a blind. If the atmos- 
 phere of a room be impure from any cause, let it be renewed ; hot 
 air is less injurious than bad air. If a room be small in comparison 
 with the number of persons engaged in it, free ventilation becomes 
 indispensable. 
 
 Country Soap making. — In most parts of this country it 
 is as convenient, and much cheaper, to make soap from the lye of 
 leached ashes than from a soda lye. To leach the ashes properly 
 for this purpose, from two to five per cent, of lime should be added, 
 to give proper causticity to the potash in solution which the lye 
 contains. The ordinary process is to have a receptacle made of 
 boards and lined with straw, cone-shaped, the lye running through 
 at the bottom. Upon the straw, fresh wood ashes mixed with a 
 little lime, is placed, and water poured thcron and allowed to filter 
 through and trickle out from the point into a proper vessel. The 
 lye will not be of uniform strength. Hot water poured upon the 
 ashes makes a stronger lye than cold; in other words, it extracts 
 more potash from the ashes. To get the lye to a uniform strength, 
 and one proper for soap making, boil it until a sound potato will 
 float upon its surface. This is the farm wife's specific gravity test, 
 and it is as accurate as any sold by the opticians. Then, into a 
 
The Housewife s Treasure. g 
 
 kettle two-thirds full of lye, in with your melted fat, by ladlefuls at 
 a time, and stir until it is creamy; now begin to add the salt by 
 small handfuls, stirring carefully and rapidly until a ring made of 
 soapy matter on the stirring stick, remains visible. Then allow the 
 fire to go out, and the soap to harden. It usually gathers on the 
 top of the spent lye, from which it may be lifted when hard, or the 
 lye can be poured off by tipping the kettle. Soft soap is made in 
 the same way, without the salt. A correspondent of a monthly 
 magazine gives the following method of making soap for family use 
 in the country: I start the lye to boiling, and then while boiling, if 
 the lye is not strong enough to eat the leather off a quill, boil it 
 down until it is. When it will just eat the feather, let the kettle be 
 a little more than one third full of lye, and put in grease, skins of 
 the hogs, bacon rinds, meat fryings, and the like, untill the kettle is 
 about two-thirds full. The kettle must not be full, for with the least 
 bit too much fire, over the soap goes. It is better to put in a little 
 less than the necessary amount of grease. Lye and grease combine 
 in certain proportions, but pass the limit, and no amount of boiling 
 will take up an excess of grease. It will remain on top, hot or cold, 
 and will be very troublesome ; whereas a little too much lye will sink 
 to the bottom when the soap comes. If the proportions are good, 
 a little fire only is required to keep it boiling, and in a few hours it 
 is done. Then take a bucket of weak lye, and let it boil up with 
 the soap once. This will not disturb the already made soap, but 
 will wash the dirt out that was in the grease, and with it settle to 
 the bottom. When the soap is cold it can be cut out in cakes. 
 Exposure to the air will soften it down until it is of about the con- 
 sistence of mush, and a little darker, growing fairer and fairer. Some, 
 instead of putting in lye to wash the dirt out of the soap, put in salt 
 and water. The soap thus made is whiter, but is apt to be too 
 stiff to use easily in the wash-tub. It makes excellent ball soap for 
 washing dirty hands. I take some weaker lye and the clean part of 
 that which is left in the bottom of the soap kettles, and enough to 
 half fill one of the kettles or more, setting it in some convenient 
 place outdoors. I put a stick of wood, on the north side of the top 
 of the kettle, lay on some boards, making a roof which is easily 
 managed to shed rain, and lay another stick on top to keep the roof 
 in place. By lifting one of the boards a little, I can put in from 
 time to time whatever soap-fat is gathered in the family through 
 the summer. Whenever the sun snines, I remove the cover and stir 
 the lye. I facilitate the business a little in this way, and I have by 
 fall a half kettle of decent soap, and no trouble with soap-fat in hot 
 weather. 
 
 To prepare Animal Fat Tor Soap making:. — Tal- 
 low, when exposed at comrrton temperature in the air, gradually 
 
lo The Housewife's Treasure. 
 
 acquires an unpleasant, rank smell. This can be prevented by 
 cutting it in slices, and boiling it in water containing for every one 
 hundred pounds of fat (water, thirty-five to forty pounds) one 
 quarter of a pound of alum, one half pound of salt; this is boiled 
 too^ether and strained ; the cake of strained fat taken up and washed 
 in clean water; then remelted at a low heat, and poured into a 
 barrel containing twice as much water (by measure) as of the melted 
 grease, and to this water add about ten per cent, of good clear sweet 
 soap compared to the amount of grease, the water not to be more 
 then blood-heat, and the temperature of the grease about the same. 
 The whole is thoroughly stirred with a broad stick till cold, when 
 it is allowed to rest and separate from the water, which is afterward 
 withdrawn, and the fat remaining, in a granular state, completely 
 drained, and finally dried in a current of dry air, is then transferred 
 and packed in firkins, crocks or barrels. Grained fat thus prepared, 
 is kept sweet, and is also acted on by the lye with a far greater 
 ease and rapidity, in consequence no doubt of its grain-like state, 
 which enables the alkali in the lye to act upon a greater surface at 
 once without requiring the boiling of the fat with the lye, and pro- 
 ducing a soap free of rank smell, while the grained fat in suet may 
 be preserved sweet for soap-making purposes-for years, if thoroughly 
 dried before packing away. 
 
 To preserve €3^rease. — Boil all the scraps, rinds, and bones, 
 in a weak lye, and the purer grease in clear water. Let the mixture 
 cool, take off the cake of grease, and strain it. It is well to do this 
 occasionally, as you save it ; for when kept a long time, impure 
 grease becomes offensive. You must be careful to dry off all the 
 water before laying it away in your grease tub, if you wish it to 
 keep sweet. 
 
 To imriiTy ^rcasCo — If the grease is very foul in smell, it 
 should be put in a boiler with water, on the fire, (about three times 
 as much water as of the grease), a small quantity (say a teaspoonful 
 for five to ten pounds of grease) of permanganate of potash added, 
 by stirring, to the whole, and after the mixture has cooled a little, 
 it is strained through a cloth, and allowed to rest, when the cake of 
 fat is taken out and put in a cool place, or in the pot in which it is 
 to be remelted for transformation into soap. The purpose of the 
 permanganate of potash is to remove the rank odor of the grease, 
 which otherwise would contaminate the soap also. 
 
 Cheanical solt Soap. — Take grease, 8 lbs.; caustic soda, 
 8 lbs.; sal-soda, i lb.; melt the grease in a kettle, melt the sodas in 
 soft water, 4 gals., and pour all into a barrel holding 40 gals, and 
 fill up with soft water, and the labor is done. When the caustic 
 soda cannot be obtained of soapmakers, you will make it by taking 
 
The Housewife's Treasure. Ii 
 
 soda-ash and fresh slaked lime, of each eight pounds; dissolving 
 them in the water with the sal-soda, and when settled, pouring off 
 the clear liquid. 
 
 Home made Soap trom caustic Soda.— It sometimes 
 happens that caustic soda is not within reach, and yet sal-soda is 
 to be had. To transform this material into a suitable lye for soap- 
 making, this is a convenient and suitable process. Dissolve sal-soda, 
 say three pounds, in two gallons of warm water. Slake in a firkin 
 three pounds of good quicklime; add to it the soda solution; stir the 
 whole thoroughly with a stick, and add two gallons of boiling water; 
 stir again, and let it settle. Pour off the clear liquor in a clean iron 
 boiler*' placed on the fire, and stir into it six pounds of clarified 
 grease, and two ounces of powdered borax. Let it boil slowly till 
 it gets' thick and ropy (about ten minutes boiling), and pour it into 
 a tub or tight box, as stated above. Soap thus made is an excellent 
 hard soap for family use; after drying a month or so in a dry-room, 
 and cut into bars, it is fit for use. 
 
 Hard Soap.— Take 6 pounds of sal-soda, 6 pounds grease, 
 and 3 pounds quick lime. Thoroughly mix the soda and lime in 
 four gallons of water, pour off from the sediment, put in the grease 
 and boil 20 minutes ; pour off and before entirely cold cut in bars. 
 
 Soft Soap.— I. Take i gallon of soft soap, to which add I 
 gill of common salt, and boil an hour. When cold, separate the 
 lye from the crude. Add to the crude 2 pounds of sal soda, and 
 boil in 2 gallons soft water till dissolved. If you wish it better, 
 slice 2 pounds of common bar soap, and dissolve in the above. If 
 the soft soap makes more than 3 pounds of crude, add in proportion 
 to the sal soda and water. — 2. For one barrel take potash, eight 
 pound; melted and clarified fat, eight pounds. Crack the potash 
 in small lumps, and put it into a large iron pot of three or four 
 gallons capacity, with hot boiling water to nearly fill it. Heat 
 the fat in another iron pot quite hot. Put three or four gallons 
 of hot water in the barrel, previously cleaned and ready for 
 u.se, and ladle in it alternately the hot fat and hot lye ; stir the 
 whole briskly for a while before more lye and fat are ladled in, 
 and gradually add enough hot water to fill the barrel ; stir again the 
 whole, after each ladle of hot water, till the v/hole becomes a creamy 
 mass, uniform in its appearance. Allow it to rest for three months 
 in a temperate place or cellar. — 3. Dissolve a quarter of a pound of 
 lime in a gallon of cold water, then take off the clear ; dissolve half 
 a pound of sal-soda in a quart of water, and mix it with the clear 
 lime-water ; one pound of brown soap, disolved in a gallon of water, 
 is then to be added to the clear liquor formed with the sal-soda and 
 lime-water, and this lorms the soap. This soft soap is excellent for 
 
12 The Housewife's Treasure. 
 
 boiling white linens. It removes all grease that is in them, because 
 it contains an excess of caustic lye. About one quart of it is suffi- 
 cient for boiling clothes in a ten gallon copper. A quantity of this 
 may be made up and kept for constant use. 
 
 Jacksons Universal l¥ashmg^ Compound. — Two and 
 a-half pounds of sal soda; one-half pound of borax; one-quarter 
 pound of rosin; two ounces of salts tartar; one ounce of liquid 
 ammonia; dissolve the soda, borax and rosin in four quarts of water, 
 and let it boil ten minutes; when cold, add salts of tartar and am- 
 monia, with four gallons of water; keep corked tight. Directions 
 for using: — Put your clothes in clear water the night before you 
 want to wash; in the morning wring them out and place them in 
 a tub; then put in your boiler five gallons of water, one-half pint 
 washing compound, one-half pint of soft soap ; when quite hot, but 
 not boiling, pour it over your clothes; cover them, and let them 
 stand twenty minutes, when they are ready to be looked over, and 
 the streaks can be easily rubbed out with the hands; have ready in 
 your boiler the same quantity of water, soap and compound; put 
 in your clothes, let them come to a boil, when they are ready to rinse 
 and hang up; do not let them boil too long, or they will be yellow. 
 The same water that your first clothes were washed through will do 
 for the next by being heated again. 
 
 German "Washing Fluid. — The use of soda for washing 
 linen is very injurious to the tissue, and imparts to it a yellow color. 
 In Germany and Belgium,, the following mixture is now extensively 
 and beneficially used: 2 lbs. of soda are dissolved in about 5 gallons 
 water as hot as the hand can bear it; then next is added to this 
 fluid, three large sized tablespoonfuls of liquid ammonia and one 
 spoonful of best oil of turpentine. These fluids are incorporated 
 rapidly by means of beating them together with a small birch broom. 
 The linen is then soaked'in this liquid for three hours, care being 
 taken to cover the washing tub by a closely fitting wooden cover. 
 By this means the linen is thoroughly cleaned, saving much rubbing, 
 time and fuel. Ammonia does not aflect the linen or woolen goods, 
 and is largely used as a washing liquor in the North of England. 
 
 Tallow Candles (By Dipping.)— The broaches being covered 
 with wicks, are arranged in frames ready for dipping. The dipping 
 cistern being filled with tallow of a proper temperature from the 
 boiler, one of the frames is placed upon the end of the dipping 
 beam, and pressed down gently into the melted fat; it is next with- 
 drawn, the bottoms of the candles just touched against a board 
 placed on one side of the cistern, for the purpose, and then removed 
 to the rack. Another is now taken and treated in the same manner, 
 and the process is continued with fresh frames until those first dip- 
 
The Housewife'' s Treasure, 13 
 
 ped are sufficiently cool to undergo a second immersion. This 
 operation is repeated until the candles acquire a sufficient size, when 
 they are finally cooled, sorted, weighed, and strung in pounds for 
 sale. The dipping beam is simply a piece of wood hung from the 
 ceiling by the centre, and arranged with weights at one end, and 
 at the other with supports to receive the frame with the wicks. It 
 is so balanced that a slight pressure with the fingers is sufficient to 
 depress it so as to immerse the wicks or partly formed candles into 
 the tallow of the dipping cistern. On withdrawing the pressure, 
 the beam again assumes the horizontal position, and thus raises the 
 candles out of the melted fal. The dipping-room, or shop, is usually 
 situated in the coldest part of the premises,and furnished with a species 
 of Venetian shutters throughout the entire length of walls, (if pos- 
 sible,) after the manner of breweries, to preserve a constant current 
 of cool air. 
 
 Tallow Candlef^ (By Mouliliiig.) — Mould candles are 
 made of the best kind of tallow; a mixture of 3 parts of sheep with 
 I part of ox suet, both fresh, makes the most glossy and consistent 
 candles. The moulds are made of pewter; the part answering to 
 the bottom of the candle being left open, and a small hole at the 
 top left also for the wick ; eight or more of these moulds are fitted into 
 a stool, the upper surface of which forms a kind of trough, the bot- 
 tom part of the mould being upwards. The wicks are then intro- 
 duced by putting a long wire, furnished with an eye or hook at one 
 end, down through the mould, until it protrudes at the bottom, (or 
 rather top,)when a wick is inserted and the needle is then immediately 
 drawn back. As soon as all the moulds have received their wicks, 
 a wire is run through the loop of each and then allowed to rest on 
 the top of the moulds ; the protruding portion of the wicks is next 
 pulled tight, and properly arranged in the centers of the moulds. 
 Melted tallow of a proper temperature is now poured into the trough- 
 like part of the stool, until the moulds are all full. The wicks are 
 again pulled tight, and the whole allowed to cool. When quite 
 cold, the wire that held the wicks is withdrawn, and the candles 
 pulled out one by one, by inserting a bodkin into the loop of the 
 wick. The better class of moulds are then either bleached by ex- 
 posing them to the dew and air for a few days, or by keeping them 
 for a few weeks, until sufficiently whitened. 
 
 Preparing* Candle "Wicks. — Borax, 2 ounces; chloride of 
 calcium, chloride of ammonium, and saltpetre, i ounce each; then 
 dissolved in three quarts of water and filtered ; the wicks are soaked 
 in this solution and then dried. Another is: first steep the wicks 
 in a solution of lime-water, in which saltpetre has been dissolved. 
 To one gallon of water add 2 ounces saltpetre and ^ pound lime. 
 
14 TJie Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 Dry well the wicks before using. It improves the light, and pre- 
 vents the tallow from running. 
 
 To clariiy TaBloiir. — Dissolve one pound of alum in one 
 quart of water, add this to lOO pounds of tallow in a jacket kettle 
 (a kettle set in a larger one, and the intervening space filled with 
 water. This prevents burning the tallow.) Boil three quarters of 
 an hour and skim. Then add one pound of salt dissolved in a quart 
 of water. Boil and skim. When well clarified the tallow should be 
 nearly the color of water. 
 
 To Harden Tallow. — I have used the following mixture 
 with success: To one pound tallow take one fourth of a pound 
 common rosin; melt them together, and mold the candles the usual 
 way. This will give a candle of superior lighting power, and as 
 hard as a wax candle; a vast improvement upon the common tallow 
 candle, in all respects except color. 
 
 liiqilid Blue. — i. Take i ounce of soft Prussian blue, powder 
 it and put it into a bottle with i quart of clear rain water, and add 
 a quarter ounce of oxalic acid. A teaspoonful is sufficient for a large 
 washing. — 2. Take half a pound of best double oil of vitriol, mix 
 one ounce of Spanish indigo, pounded very fine, and scrape in a 
 Httle chalk; have an iron pot half full of sand, set this on the fire; 
 when the sand is hot, put the bottle in and let the vitriol, etc., boil 
 gently for a quarter of an hour, take the whole off the fire, and let it 
 stand for twenty-four hours, and then bottle it for use. 
 
 Methods for Destroying^ Rat§. — i. Mix some fine plaster 
 of Paris with an equal quantity of flour; put the mixture in the 
 place infested by the vermin, and a vessel full of water beside it. 
 The rats will devour the mixture, and then drink; whereupon the 
 plaster, brought into contact with the water, will become solid, 
 and like a stone in their stomachs, which will cause their death. 
 This method is evidently highly preferable to the use of arsenic, 
 which is always attended with danger. — 2. Flour, 6 pounds; sugar, 
 I pound; sulphur, 4 pounds; phosphorus, 4 pounds. — 3. When a 
 house is infested by rats which refuse to nibble at toasted cheese, and 
 the usual baits, a few drops of the highly scented oil of rhodium, 
 poured on the bottom of a cage top, will always attract before 
 morning. Where a trap baited with all manner of edibles had fail- 
 ed to attract a single rat, the oil of rhodium caused it to be com- 
 pletely crowded night after night. — 4. Mix powdered nux vomica 
 with oatmeal, and lay it in their haunts, observing proper precaution 
 to prevent accidents. — 5. (Phosphorus paste.) Take of phosphorus, 
 8 parts; liquefy it in 180 parts of luke-warm water, pour the whole 
 into a mortar, and add immediately 180 parts of rye meal; when 
 cold, mix in 180 parts of butter melted, and 125 parts of sugar. If 
 
The Housewife^ s Treasure. 15 
 
 the phosphorus is in a finely-divided state, the ingredients may be 
 all mixed at once, without melting them. This mixture will retain 
 its efficacy for many years, for the phosphorus is preserved by the 
 butter and only becomes oxidized on the surface. Rats and mice 
 eat this mixture with avidity, after which they swell out and soon 
 die. — 6. Cover the floor near their holes, with a thin layer of moist 
 caustic potash. When the rats walk on this it makes their feet sore. 
 These they lick with their tongues, which makes their mouths sore, 
 and the result is that they not only shun this locality, but appear to 
 tell all the neighboring rats about it, and eventually the house is 
 entirely abandoned by them, nothwithstanding that the neighbor- 
 hood may be teeming with them. — 7. Corks, cut as thin as wafers, 
 roasted or stewed in grease, and placed in their tracks; or dried 
 sponge in small pieces, fried or dipped in honey, with a little oil of 
 rhodium, or bird-lime, laid in their haunts, will stick to their fur and 
 cause their departure. If a live rat be caught, and well rubbed or 
 brushed over with tar, and train-oil, and afterwards put to escape 
 in the holes of others, they will disappear. 
 
 How to wash Dishes. — First make sure before break- 
 fast or dinner that there is plenty of water in the boiler, 
 and also in the tea-kettle. After the table is cleared, the 
 tablecloth brushed off and neatly folded away and the dining-room 
 disposed of, proceed with your dishes. First take a large dish-pan, 
 put into it a piece of soap, and pour over the soap three or four 
 dipperfuls of hot water from the boiler. Then add 2 or 3 dipperfuls 
 of cold soft water. Then the dish-cloth. The water should now be so 
 cool as not to turn the hands red when put into it. Take the dish- 
 cloth and rub from the soap the melted surface, and put the remain- 
 der away. Wash a dish at a time and pass it to another pan. When 
 all are done, or the pan is full, take the tea-kettle and pour over 
 enough hot water to thoroughly rinse and heat them. Now take 
 them from the water, one at a time, and place them bottom-side up 
 upon a tray or pan to drain. If they have been properly washed, 
 this hot rinsing water will run off or evaporate in a minute, leaving 
 the dishes nearly dry. However, they should now be wiped with a 
 clean, dry towel, and put away. JDishes must be washed in 
 soft water. Especially is this necessary where soap is used. And 
 soap is really indispensable in washing dishes properly. The dishes 
 should be scraped free from grease, crumbs, bones, etc., before 
 commencing to wash them. A neat house-keeper will have the 
 same dish-cloth in use until it is worn out, when it should be put 
 into the ragbag. Never allow the dish-cloth to be used for anything 
 else but washing dishes. 
 
 Teast. — I. In 2 quarts of water let 2 oz. of hops boil for ^ an 
 
1 6 The Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 hour; strain the Hquor, and let it stand in a wide earthenware bowl. 
 When lukewarm add a small quantity of salt — say ^ handful — and 
 1/ of a ib. of sugar. Take some of the liquor, and well mix up in 
 it ^ a ib. of the best flour, beating this up thoroughly to the whole 
 afterwards. The next day but one put in i ^ ib. of boiled and mashed 
 potatoes; let it stand one more day, after which it may be bottled 
 for use. It should be kept near the fire while making, so as to keep 
 it about the temperature of new milk, and it should also be frequently 
 stirred during the process of making. When bottled, it should be 
 kept in a cool place. — 2. Take 1 2 large potatoes, a pint of hops boiled 
 in a gallon of water; mash the potatoes well, add a teacupful of 
 sugar and one of salt, and i pint of yeast. Let it rise a day, then 
 put it into a jug and cork it loosely; put about yi a pint to a gallon 
 of bread-raising. — 3. Boil i ib. of good flour, a ^ of a ib. of brown 
 sugar, and a little salt, in 2 gallons of water for an hour. When 
 milk warm, bottle it and cork close. It will be fit for use in 24 hours. 
 I pint of the yeast will make 1 8 lbs. of bread. 
 
 Yeast Cakes. — Put into 3 pints of water a handful of hops, 
 and nearly a quart of pared potatoes, cut into small pieces. Boil for 
 ^ an hour, and strain, while scalding hot, into sufficient flour to 
 make a stiff batter. Stir it well, adding one tablespoonful of fresh 
 yeast, and set in a warm place to rise. When light, mix it stiff with 
 Indian meal, roll out thin, and cut into round cakes or square 
 pieces about 25^ inches in diameter. Dry these thoroughly, and 
 keep them in a bag in a dry place. They will remain good for months. 
 
 General Antidotes and rules to be observed In 
 accidental Poisoning^. — The first thing to be done, when a 
 person has swallowed a poison of any kind, is to empty the stomach, 
 by taking a teaspoonful of common salt and the same quantity of 
 ground mustard stirred rapidly in a teacup of water, warm or cold, 
 and swallowed instantly. Next give water to drink, cold or warm, 
 as fast as possible, a quart or more at a time, and as fast as vomited 
 drink more; tepid water is best, as it opens the pores of the skin, 
 and thus gives the speediest cure to the poisonous article. If pains 
 begin to be felt in the bowels, it shows that part at least of the 
 poison has passed downwards* then large and repeated injections of 
 tepid water should be given, the object in both cases being to dilute 
 the poison as quickly and as largely as possible. Do not wait for 
 warm water — take that which is nearest at hand, cold or warm, for 
 every second of time saved is of immense importance. It has been 
 found that there is hardly any poison which, being diluted in a suffi- 
 cient quantity with water, may not prove inoffensive. This virtue, 
 coupled with its universal availability, makes it a valuable remedial 
 agent in poisoning. 
 
TJie Housewife's Treasure. 17 
 
 To £xtm^iii!Sih Fire m a chiiiiney. — One of the sim- 
 plest methods is to scatter a handful oi flowers of sulphur over the 
 dullest part of the burning coals, the mephitic vapors arising from 
 which will not support combustion, and consequently extinguish 
 the flames. Another method is to shut the doors and windows, and 
 to stop up the bottom of the chimney with a piece of wet carpet or 
 blanket, throwing a little water or flowers of sulphur, or salt, on the 
 fire immediately before doing so. By this means the draught is 
 stopped, and the burning soot must be extinguished for want of air. 
 If the chimney be stopped at the top, instead of the bottom, the 
 whole of the smoke must, of course, be driven into the apartment. 
 If every fireplace were provided with a damper, or shutter of sheet- 
 iron or tin plate, sufficiently large to choke it thoroughly, fires in 
 chimneys would become of little consequence, as it would only be 
 necessary to apply this damper to put them out. 
 
 To make Bread iritliOiiit Flour. — A Frenchman named 
 Sezille has discovered a method of making bread from unground 
 wheat, without first grinding and bolting it into flour. The making 
 of bread by this new system is a three-fold process — namely, washing 
 the wheat, fermentation, and the final admixture and flavoring. The 
 grain is put in a vessel, covered with water, and stirred until the 
 lighter grains and extraneous particles are either dissolved or 
 left floating on the surface. The mass is then freed from the 
 water, and put into a cylinder, like a nutmeg-grater, whose revolu- 
 tions remove the outer skin of the grain. This is all that is really 
 necessary to remove. Next, the wheat thus cleansed is immersed 
 in twice its own weight of water, heated to 750, to which has been 
 added i part of half- dry yeast, and 5 or 6 oz. of glucose to 200 parts 
 of water. A days exposure to this bath secures the necessary degree 
 of absorption and fermentation, and the color will also have been 
 extracted from exterior surface of the grain. The water being then 
 removed, the wheat will be not far from white in color. Next the 
 stiffened mass is put through rollers, which mash it into a glutinous 
 pulp, and mix regularly through the whole bulk all the remaining 
 particles of skin or bran. The dough — for such it now is — is then 
 put into a trough, flavored with salt which has been dissolved in 
 water, and given an apportunity to absorb more water if necessary, 
 ahd then thoroughly kneaded by hand. Nothing, now, is needed 
 but to treat it just as flour-dough is treated, and, when sufficiently 
 light, hand it over to the oven. It is claimed that by this process the 
 eater secures the entire nutriment of the wheat, and that it produces 
 ^ more bread than under the present system. It is probable that 
 the bread thus made will lack that whiteness which is so much 
 sought after by modest housewives, but then the result will be most 
 
1 8 The Housewife's Treasure. 
 
 nutritious. Owing, however, to the time consumed in preparing the 
 grain for the oven, it is not hkely that this new process will for some 
 time to come supersede the old fashioned method of setting a sponge 
 over-night for the next day's baking. 
 
 To Mend Crockery Ware. — Wash the vessel gently and 
 thoroughly with soap and water and let it dry without wiping. The 
 pieces should then be fitted together as soon as possible, and kept 
 in their places by winding firmly over the bowl or dish a strong 
 thread, or a piece of twine; put the broken article into a boiler, an 
 inch or two larger each way, and fill them both with sweet, cold, 
 skimmed milk; set the boiler over the fire, and boil for ten or fifteen 
 minutes; take it off, and let it stand till quite cold, when the string, 
 or twine, may be cut, and the article washed in warm water. 
 
 To prevent liamp Chimneys Breaking-. — To prevent 
 lamp glasses breaking by the sudden contact with heat, the best 
 way is to cut or scratch the base of the glass with a glazier's diamond. 
 Another method is to put the glasses into a saucepan of water and 
 boil them. This seasons them. 
 
 To prevent L<ainp!$ Smoking. — Soak the wick in strong 
 vinegar, and dry it well before you use it; it will then burn both 
 sweet and pleasant, and gives much satisfaction for the trifling trouble 
 taken in preparing it. 
 
 To Remove Iron Ruf^t. — Every particle of rust on iron 
 may be removed by first softening it with petroleum, and, then 
 rubbing well with coarse sand-paper. To paint iron, take lamp- 
 black sufficient for two coats, and mix with equal quantities of Japan 
 varnish and boiled linseed oil. 
 
 To preserve Clothing and Furs trom Moths. — i. 
 
 Procure shavings of cedar-wood, and enclose in muslin bags, which 
 should be distributed freely among the clothes. — 2. Procure shavings 
 of camphor- wood, and enlose in bags. — 3. Sprinkle pimento (allspice) 
 berries among the clothes. — 4. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of 
 the musk plant. — 5. An ounce of gum camphor and one of the 
 powdered shell of red pepper are macerated in 8 ounces of strong 
 alcohol for several days, then strained. With this tincture the furs 
 or clothes are sprinkled over, and rolled up in sheets. — 6. Carefully 
 shake and brush woolens early in the spring, so as to be certain that 
 no eggs are in them; then sew them up in cotton or linen wrappers, 
 putting a piece of camphor gum, tied up in a bit of muslin, into each 
 bundle, or into the chests and closets where the articles are to lie. 
 No moth will approach while the smell of the camphor continues. 
 When the gum is evaporated, it must be renewed. Enclose them 
 in a moth-proof box with camphor no matter whether made of white 
 
The Housewife's Treasure. 19 
 
 paper or white pine, before any eggs are laid on them by early 
 spring moths. The notion of having a trunk made of some particu- 
 lar kind of wood for tliis purpose, is nonsense. Furs or woolens, 
 put away in spring time, before moth eggs are laid, into boxes, 
 trunks, drawers, or closets even, where moths cannot enter, will be 
 safe from the ravages of mothworms, provided none were in them 
 that were laid late in the autumn, for they are not of spontaneous 
 production. 
 
 To Destroy House Flies. — House flies are present just in 
 proportion to the dirt and uncleanliness there is in a house. The 
 cleaner the house and surrounding, the fewer flies there will be. — 
 
 1. They may be efiectually destroyed by putting half a spoonful of 
 black pepper in powder on a teaspoonful of brown sugar, and one 
 teaspoonful of cream; mix therri well together and place them in a 
 room where the flies are troublesome, and they will soon disappear. — 
 
 2. The butchers of Geneva have, from time immemorial, prevented 
 flies from approaching the meat which they expose for sale, by the 
 use of laurel oil. This oil, the smell of which, although a little strong, 
 is not very bffensive, drives away flies; and they dare not come 
 near the walls or the wainscots which have been rubbed with it. — 
 
 3. Flies are kept out of stables, (a place they propagate in great 
 numbers) by using sawdust which is saturated with carbolic acid 
 diluted — one part of acid to a hundred parts of water — the sawdust 
 scattered about in stables keeps all flies away. A similar application 
 of the acid ought to keep them from kitchens. 
 
 To kill moths in Carpets. — Wring a coarse crash towel 
 out of clear water, spread it smoothly on the carpet, iron it dry with 
 a good hot iron, repeating . the operation on all parts of the carpet 
 suspected of being infested with moths. No need to press hard, 
 and neither the pile nor color of the carpet will be injured, and the 
 moths will be destroyed by the heat and steam. 
 
 To preserve Knives Irom Rust. — Never wrap them in 
 woolen cloths. When they are not to be used for some time, have 
 them made bright and perfectly dry; then take a soft rag, and rub 
 each blade with dry wood ashes. — Wrap them closely in thick brown 
 paper, and lay them in a drawer or dry closet. A set of elegant 
 knives, used only on great occasions, were kept in this way for over 
 a hundred years without a spot of rust. 
 
 To prevent Ivory Knife Handles trom cracking:. — 
 Never let knife-blades stand in hot water,as is sometimes done to make 
 them wash easily. The heat expands the steel which runs up into 
 the handle a very little, and this cracks the ivory. Knife-handles 
 should never lie in water. A handsome knife, or one used for cook- 
 ing, is soon spoiled in this way. 
 
20 The Housewife s Treasure. 
 
 To Tasten liOOise Knire Handles. — The best cement for 
 this purpose consist of one pound of colophony (purchasable at the 
 druggist's) and eight ounces of sulphur, which are to be melted to- 
 gether, and either kept in bars or reduced to powder. One part of 
 the powder is to be mixed with half a part of iron filings, fine sand 
 or brick dust, and the cavity of the handle is then to be filled with 
 this mixture. The stem of the knife or fork is then firmly inserted 
 and kept in position until the cement hardens. 
 
 To Clean and Brig^hten Matting: and oil cloth. — 
 
 Wash it twice during the summer with salt and water, say about a 
 pint of salt, dissolved in half a pailful of warm, soft water, drying 
 the matting quickly with a soft cloth. The salt will prevent it from 
 turning yellow. Another plan is, after the oilcloth is scrubbed and 
 dried, to rub it all over with a cloth dipped in milk. This will bring 
 the colors out very bright. 
 
 To prevent Rust in Tea-kettles. — Keep an oyster-shell 
 in your tea-kettle. By attracting the stony particles, to itself, it 
 will prevent the formation of a crust. 
 
 To take Ink out of Boards.— Strong muriatic acid, or spir- 
 its of salt,applied with a piece of cloth; afterwards well washed 
 with water. 
 
 Households Weig^hts and measures. — Wheat flour Aveighs 
 one pound to a quart. Butter, when soft, one pound to a quart. 
 Indian meal, one pound two ounces to a quart. Loaf sugar, broken, 
 one pound to a quart. White sugar, powdered, one pound one 
 ounce to a quart. Eggs, average size, ten to a pound. 
 
 To Beniore Taste from ^""ew Wood. — New keg, churn, 
 bucket, or other wooden vessel will generafUy communicate a disagree- 
 able odor to anything that is put into it To prevent this inconvenience 
 first scald the vessel with boiling water, letting the water remain in 
 it till cold. Then dissolve some pearlash or soda in lukewarm water, 
 adding a little bit of lime to it, and wash the inside of the vessel 
 well with the solution. Afterward scald it M^ell with plain hot water, 
 and rinse it with cold water before you use it. 
 
 Care of Canaries. — i. Especial care must be taken to keep 
 the canary thoroughly clean. For this purpose the cage should be 
 strewed every morning with clean sand, or rather, fine gravel, for 
 small pebbles are absolutely essential to life and health in cage birds; 
 fresh water must be given every day, both for drinking and bathing; 
 the latter being in a shallow vessel; and, during the moulting season, 
 a small bit of iron should be put into the water for drinking. The 
 food of a canary should consist principally of summer rape seed, 
 that is, of those small brown rape-seeds which are obtained from 
 
TJie Housewife' s Treasure. 2 i 
 
 plants sown in the spring, and which ripen during the summer; 
 large and black rape-seeds, on the contrary, are produced by such 
 plants as are sown in autumn, and reaped in spring. A little chick- 
 weed in spring, lettuce-leaves in summer, and endive in autumn, 
 with slices of sweet apple in winter, may be safely given, but bread 
 and sugar ought to be generally avoided. Occasionally also, a few 
 poppy or canary seeds, and a small quantity of bruised hemp-seed 
 may be added, but the last very sparingly. Cleanliness, simple food 
 and fresh but not cold air are essential to the well-being of a canary. 
 During the winter, the cage should never be hung in a room with- 
 out a fire, but even then, when the air is mild, and the sun 
 shines bright, the little prisoner will be refreshed by having the 
 window open. The cage should never be less then eight inches in 
 diameter, and a foot high, with perches at different heights. 
 
 To cleana Paint. — Provide a plate with some of the best 
 whiting to be had, and have ready some clean warm water and a 
 piece of flannel, which dip into the water and squeeze nearly dry; 
 then take as much whiting as will adhere to it, apply it to the painted 
 surface, when a little rubbing will instantly remove any dirt or grease. 
 After which wash well with clean water, rubbing it dry with soft 
 flannels. Paint thus cleaned looks as well as when first laid on, 
 without any injury to the most delicate colors. It is far better than 
 using soap, and does not require more than half the time and labor. 
 
 To Destroy Cockroaches aocl Seatles. — i. Strew the 
 roots of black hellebore, at night, in the places infested by these 
 vermin, and they will be found in the morning dead, or dying. Black 
 hellebore grows in marshy grounds, and may be had at the herb 
 shops. — 2. Put about a quart of water sweetened with molasses in a 
 tin wash basin or smooth glazed china bowl. Set it at evening in a 
 place frequented by bugs. Around the basin put an old piece of 
 carpet that the bugs can have easy access to the top. They will go 
 down in the water and stay till you come. — 3. Take pulverized 
 borax 4 parts, flour i part, mix intimately and distribute the mixture 
 in cupboards which are frequented by the roaches, or blow it, by 
 means of a bellows, into the holes or cracks that are infested by them. 
 — 4. By scattering a handful of fresh cucumber parings about the 
 house. — 5. Take carbonic acid and powdered camphor in equal 
 parts; put them in a bottle; they will become fluid. With a painter's 
 brush of the size called a sash-tool, put the mixture on the cracks 
 or places where the roaches hide; they will come out at once. Then 
 kill. — 6. Mix up a quantity of fresh burned plaster of paris (gypsum, 
 such as is used for making molds and ornaments) with wheat flour 
 and a little sugar, distribute on shallow plates and box board, and 
 place it in the corners of the kitchen and pantry, where they fre- 
 
22 The Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 quent In the darkness they will feast themselves on it. Whether 
 it interferes with the digestion or not, is difficult to ascertain, but 
 after three or four night renewal of the preparation, no cockroaches 
 will be found on the premises. 
 
 Hinfi^ oil Marketing'. — The purchaser will do well to keep 
 in view one or two simple rules. Whatever kind of provisions may be 
 required, it is invariably the wisest course to deal with those trades- 
 people who have a large business, and who are known and respect- 
 able. It is the interest of such persons to supply their customers 
 with the best articles, and for this purpose they themselves must go 
 to the best markets. As a general rule they are under no tempta- 
 tion to overcharge their customers. Their success in business and 
 their profit depend on the number of their retail transactions, and 
 if the number be great, they are all the more able to supply the best 
 articles, and to be content with the smallest profits on each indivi- 
 dual sale. As an illustration of this it may be stated that, with very 
 few exceptions, all commodities are dearer, as well of inferior qual- 
 ity, in shops in the suburbs than in those situated in places of the 
 greatest concourse: the reason is that small dealers, who have com- 
 paratively few transactions, must necessarily make up for the 
 defects of their business by obtaining large profits on individual 
 sales, while, at the same time, they have little or no encouragement 
 to obtain the best goods, and in many cases want of sufijcient capi- 
 tal renders this impracticable. It will be usually found, however, 
 that there is no economy in purchasing inferior articles. In butcher's 
 meat, for examples, the best meat, and the best parts of the meat, 
 although at first a little dearer, are in reality cheaper in the end. 
 
 To test Kerosene Oil. — ^The only reliable test is the tem- 
 perature of the flashing point, that is, the temperature at which the 
 petroleum takes fire when a burning match is applied to its surface. 
 This test can be easily applied. Into a flat dish or saucer, pour the 
 oil to be tried, until it is at least half an inch deep; then hold a burn- 
 ing match or paper near the surface. At the point of contact the 
 combustion is often very lively, as the taper draws up some of the 
 liquid, but if the petroleum be safe and free from naphtha, the flame 
 does not spread over the surface. If the petroleum has been adul- 
 terated, as soon as the match touches the surface a blue lambent 
 flame flashes accross it, and in a few moments the body of the oil 
 will be on fire. Such an oil is dangerous — liable to explode in lamps, 
 and to give of inflammable vapors at all times. Any oil which takes 
 fire when a match is held near its surface, and continues to burn 
 ought to be condemned at once and thrown into the streets. 
 
 To make Umbrellas Ia§t liOng".— Most persons, when 
 they come in from the rain, put their umbrellas in the rack with the 
 
The Housewife's Treasure. .23 
 
 handle upward. They should put it downward; because when the 
 handle is upward the water runs down inside to the place where the 
 ribs are joined to the handle, and cannot get out, but stays rotting 
 the cloth and rusting the metal until slowly dried away. • The wire 
 securing the ribs soon rusts and breaks. If placed the other end up, 
 the water readily runs off, and the umbrella dries almost immediately. 
 
 To Kemove Grease spots. — Take benzine, 20 ounces; al- 
 cohol (strong), 5 ounces; ether, 2 drachms; ammonia, i drachm. — 2. 
 (Javclle water.) Take bleaching powder, i ounce; carbonate of 
 potassa, I ounce; water, 33 ounces. Triturate the bleaching powder 
 in the cold with 25 ounces of water, then add the carbonate of potassa, 
 previously dissolved in the rest of the water, sliake well and let it 
 settle. The supernatent liquor is filtered, if necessary, and mixed 
 with one ounce of hydrochloric acid, when it is ready for use. 
 
 To Banish and Destroy Ants. — i. Perfect cleanliness. — 
 2. Pulverized borax sprinkled in places they frequent. — 3. A few 
 leaves of green worm-wood, scattered among their haunts. — 4. The 
 use of camphor. — 5. A sponge can be sprinkled with sugar and laid 
 upon shelves when ants are numerous; the next morning plunge 
 quickly into boiling water, and most of the intruders will be de- 
 stroyed.^ — 6. Carbolic acid wiped around the edges of the shelves 
 and wherever they seem to come from. 
 
 To Exterminate Bed-Bii^s. — i. Perfect cleanliness. No 
 
 bed-bugs or other vermin will infest a house, the mistress of which 
 is of orderly and cleanly habits, and fine tastes. — 2. Two ounces of 
 red arsenic, a ^ of a pound of white soap, yi an ounce of camphor 
 dissolved in a teaspoonful of spirits rectified, made into a paste of 
 the consistency of cream. Place this mixture in the openings and 
 cracks of the beadstead. — 3. Where bed-bugs are present the best, 
 quickest and handiest exterminator is kerosene or crude petroleum 
 oil, drenching all parts of the article of furniture thoroughly and 
 effectively. 
 
 To get Rid of Fleas. — Much of the largest number of fleas 
 are brought into our family circles by pet dogs and cats. The oil 
 of pennyroyal will drive these insects off; but a cheaper method, 
 where the herb flourishes, is to throw your cats and dogs into a 
 decoction of it once a week. When the herb cannot be got, the oil 
 can be procured. In this case, saturate strings with it and tie them 
 around the necks of dogs and cats. These applications should be 
 repeated every twelve or fifteen days. Mint, freshly cut. and hung 
 round a beadstead, or on the furniture, will prevent annoyance from 
 bed insects ; a few drops of essential oil of lavender will be more 
 efficacious. 
 
24 TJie Housewife's Treasure. 
 
 To Prevent ITIould in Ink. — The microscope has revealed 
 the fact that mould is a plant, propagated like other plants; and any- 
 thing that will kill vegetation will prevent ink or any other mould. 
 The common remedies applied for this purpose are, creosote, carbolic 
 acid, oil of cloves, bergamot, or many other ethereal oils, acetic acid, 
 alcohol, corrosive sublimate, arsenic, etc.; but always added in com- 
 paratively small quantities. 
 
 How to liWy Carpets. — Cover the floor with thick brown 
 paper, which is sold in large rolls for the purpose; have the carpet 
 properly fitted, and, on the binding of the edges, sew at regular 
 distances small brass rings in such a manner that when the carpet is 
 laid they will not appear beyond the edges. Round the side of the 
 room drive medium-sized brass-headed nails, at the same distances 
 from each other as the rings are sewed on the carpet; when ready, 
 begin at the top of the room and hook the rings over the brass- 
 headed nails, which must be driven into the floor far enough to ad- 
 mit of the rings catching a firm hold. When the top is hooked on, 
 stretch the carpet to the opposite side and hook it on, then fasten 
 the sides in like manner. This is much less troublesome and is more 
 economical than nailing down carpets. 
 
 To snake ^tair Carpets E(ast. — Slips of paper should 
 always be, placed over the edges of the stairs, under the carpet. 
 This will diminish the friction between the carpet and the boards 
 underneath it. The strips should be in length within an inch or 
 two of the width of the carpet, and four or five inches in breadth, 
 as convenient. This simple expedient will preserve the carpet half 
 as long again as it would last without the strips. 
 
 To prevent Files from Injasring^ PictHrc Frames. 
 — Boil three or four onions in a pint of water: then with a gilding 
 brush do over your glasses and frames, and the flies will not alight 
 on the article so washed. This may be used without apprehension, 
 as it will not do the least injury to the frames. 
 
 Mo^w \q cflean Tin. — Never use lye to clean tin, it will soon 
 spoil it. Make it clean with suds, and rub it with whiting, and it 
 will look well, and last much longer. 
 
 no^v to Bnend Tin Pans. — This can be done quickly and 
 easily by the use of putty, and is much better than to throw them 
 away. Put it on the outside; let it dry thoroughly, and they will 
 never need mending in the same place again. 
 
 To Meniove Stains troin Books. — To remove ink stains 
 
 from a book, first wash the paper with warm water, using a camel's 
 
 hair brush for the purpose. By this means the surface ink is got 
 
 j rid of; the paper must now be wet with a solution of oxalate of 
 
TJlc Housewife' s Treasure. 25 
 
 potash, or, better still, oxalic acid in the proportion of one ounce to half 
 a pint of water. The ink stains will immediately disappear. Finally, 
 again Avash the stained place with clean water, and dry it with white 
 blotting paper. 
 
 To cleani ]?Iarl>le. — i. Brush the dust off the piece to 
 be cleaned, then apply with a brush a good coat of gum arabic, 
 about the consistency of a thick office mucilage, expose it to 
 the sun or dry wind, or both. In a short time it will crack 
 and peel off. If all the gum should not peel off, wash it with clean 
 water and a clean cloth. Of course, if the first application does 
 not have desired effect, it should be applied again. — 2. Make a paste 
 with soft soap and whiting. Wash the marble first with it, and then 
 leave a coat of the paste upon it for two or three days. Afterwards 
 wash off with warm (not hot) water and soap. — 3. Chalk (in fine 
 powder), i part; pumice, i part; common soda, 2 parts. Mix. 
 Wash the spots with this powder, mixed Avith a little water, then 
 clean the Avhole of the stone, and wash off with soap and water. 
 
 To cleaiQ Silver Ornaments. — Boil them in soap and water 
 for five minutes; then put them in a basin with the same hot soap and 
 water, and scrub them gently with a very soft brush while hot; then 
 rinse and dry with a linen rag. Heat a piece of common unglazed 
 earthen ware, or a piece of brick or tile in the fire; take it off, and 
 place the. ornaments upon it for the purpose of drying them, and 
 causing every particle of moisture to evaporate; as the moisture, 
 which otherwise would remain on the silver, will cause it to tarnish, 
 or assume a greenish hue. All ornaments, whether gold or silver, 
 can be kept from tarnishing if they are carefully covered from the 
 air in boxwood sawdust, which will also dry them after being washed. 
 To prevcBBt ISools sqineakins". — Squeaking boots and shoes 
 are a great annoyance, especially in entering a sick room, or a church 
 after the service has commenced. To remedy it, boil linseed oil and 
 saturate the soles with the same. 
 
 House cleaiiiaig'. — In cleaning a room, the carpet should 
 come up first, not only because of the dust, but to give the floor all 
 day to dry, not leaving it to be scrubbed last, as we have seen 
 some bad managers do, and pay for it by influenzas. Where the 
 walls are papered, they should next be swept with a clean towel 
 pinned firmly round a broom, if there is not a brush kept for 
 the purpose. The ceilings of chambers are usually whitewashed; 
 this is the next proceeding; and the walls scrubbed, if painted or 
 hard finished. Then come windows and wood-work, in all things 
 being careful to use as little slop as will thoroughly answer the pur- 
 pose. In cleaning wood-work, use little soap, but plenty of clean 
 water, which will prevent discoloration. If dirty spots and patches 
 
26 The Housewife s Treasure. 
 
 are wiped off the year round, faithfully, there will bo much less need 
 of scrubbing the boards bare in "house cleaning." 
 
 To Scour Floors.— Take some clean, well-sifted sand, 
 scatter it on the floor, have ready one ounce of potash dissolved in 
 a pint of water, sprinkle it over the sand, and with a scrubbing brush 
 and good mottled soap rub the boards along their length. Chang- 
 ing the water frequently and using it very hot, make the boards 
 white; the potash, if properly applied, will remove all stains. 
 
 To clean liOoMii^ CJlasses. — Take a newspaper, or part 
 of one, according to the size of the glass. Fold it small, and dip it 
 into a basin of clean cold water; when thoroughly wet, squeeze it 
 out in your hand as you would a sponge, and then rub it hard all 
 over the face of the glass, taking care that it is not so wet as to run 
 down in streams. In fact, the paper must only be complete moistened, 
 or damped all through. After the glass has been well rubbed with 
 a wet paper, let it rest a few minutes, and then go over it with a 
 fresh dry newspaper (folded small in your hand) till it looks clear and 
 bright — which it will almost immediately, and with no further trouble. 
 This method, simple as it is, is the best and most expeditious for 
 cleaning mirrors, and it will be found so on trial — giving it a clear- 
 ness and polish that can be produced by no other process. It is 
 equally convenient, speedy, and effective. The inside of the win- 
 dow frames may be cleaned in this manner to look beautifully clear; 
 the windows being first washed on the outside. , 
 
 Ho'wr to ira^h Crraining:. — Take clear warm water, a 
 clean, white cloth, and wash a small place and wipe dry with another 
 clean white cloth. Do not wet any more space than you can dry 
 immediately with your cloth as it must not be left to dry in the 
 atmosphere; it must be rubbed dry, hence the necessity for clean 
 white cloths. If the paint has been neglected until very much soil- 
 ed with greasy fingers, or specked with a summers growth of flies, 
 a very little hard soap may be put in the first water, and then rinsed 
 off with clear water, but avoid soap if you possibly can, as it dulls 
 the varnish, however carefully used. On no account must it be rub- 
 bed on with a cloth. 
 
 To prepare Sheep SIoei for Mats. — Make a strong lather 
 with hot water, and let it stand till cold ; wash the fresh skin in it, 
 carefully squeezing out all the dirt, from the wool; wash it in cold 
 water till all the soap is taken out. Dissolve a pound each of salt 
 and alum in two gallons of hot water, and put the skin into a tub 
 sufficient to cover it; let it soak for twelve hours and hang it over a 
 pole to drain. When well drained, stretch it carefully on a board to 
 dry, and stretch several times while drying. Before it is quite dry, 
 sprinkle on the flesh side one ounce each oi finely pulverized alum 
 
The Housewife' s Treasure. 27 
 
 and salpetre, rubbing it in weU. Try if the wool be firm on the 
 skin; if not, let it remain a day or two, then rub again with alum; 
 fold the flesh sides together and hang in the shade for two or three 
 days, turning them over each day till quite dry. Scrape the flesh 
 side with a blunt knife, and rub it with pumice or rotten stone. 
 
 Hoiv to clioo^e a House in Renting^. — ^The choice of a 
 house is in importance second only to the selection of a friend. The 
 best residence is one which is not inconveniently distant from your 
 place of business — is in a cheerful and healthy locality, and of which the 
 rent, including rates, and taxes, does not exceed one-sixth of your in- 
 come. Do not choose a neighborhood merely because it is fashionable, 
 and carefully avoid occupying a dwelling in a locality of doubtfully 
 reputation. Be particular as to whether it is dry, with convenient 
 sewage and plenty of water. A southern or western aspect is to 
 be preferred. Should the house be infested with vermin avoid it. 
 See that the windows and doors are well secured, that there are 
 proper means of ventilation, and that the chimneys do not smoke. 
 Let all needful repairs be made by the landlord before the com- 
 pletion of your agreement, otherwise you will probably be required 
 to execute them at your own expense. Do not deal with a landlord 
 who is commonly reputed as being disobliging, greedy, or litigious. 
 In every case have a lease properly drawn out and stamped. Avoid 
 the neighborhood of a sluggish stream, a mill-dam, or fresh-water 
 Lake. The penalties are rheumatism, ague, impaired eyesight, loss 
 of appetite, asthma and other distressing ailments. Choose a house 
 away from the vicinity of tan-yards, and tallow, soap, ?ind chemical 
 works. The neighborhood of old and crowded burial-grounds and 
 of slaughterhouses is to be shunned. A low situation is perilous, 
 especially, during the prevalence of epidemics. Never lease a house 
 in a narrow street, unless the back premises are open and extensive. 
 Before closing your bargain try to obtain some account of the house 
 from a former occupant. 
 
 Caution in visiting' iSick-Room. — Never venture into a 
 sick-room in a violent perspiration (if circumstances requireacontinu- 
 ance there for any time), for the moment the body becomes cold, it is 
 in a state likely to absorb the infection, and receive the disease. Nor 
 visit a sick person (especially if the complaint be of a contagious 
 nature), with an empty stomach; as this disposes the system more 
 readily to receive the infection. In attending a sick person, stand 
 where the air passes from the door or window to the bed of the 
 diseased, not betwixt the diseased person and any fire that is in the 
 room, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in that 
 direction, and much danger would arise from breathing in it. Do 
 not enter the room the first thing in the morning before it has been 
 
28 The Housewife' s Treasure. 
 
 aired; and when you come away, take some food, change your 
 clothing immediately, and expose the latter to the air for some days_ 
 
 To soften Putty ivheii hard. — Break the putty in lumps of 
 the size of a hen's &^^, add a small portion of linseed oil, and water 
 sufficient to cover the putty; boil this in an iron vessel for about ten 
 minutes, and stir it when hot. The oil will mix with the putty. 
 Then pour the water off, and it will be like fresh made. For remov- 
 ing hard putty from a window-sash, take a square piece of iron, 
 make the same red hot, and run it along the putty till it gets soft. 
 The putty will peel off without injuring the wood work. Concen- 
 trated lye, made of lime and alkali, will effect the wood and make it 
 rot quicker. 
 
 To clean €rlas^ Olobes. — If the globes are much stained on 
 the outside by smoke, soak them in tolerable hot water with a little 
 washing soda, dissolved in it, then put a teaspoonful of powdered 
 ammonia into a pan of lukewarm water, and with a tolerably hard 
 brush wash the globes till the smoke stain disappears; rinse in clean 
 cold water, and let them drain till dry; they will be quite as white 
 and clear as new globes. 
 
 To RemoTe Orease from Stoneis, l§teps or Passag'es. 
 — Pour strong soda and water boiling hot over the spot, lay on it 
 a little fuUer's-earth made into a thin paste with boiling water, let it 
 remain all night, and if the grease be not removed, repeat the pro- 
 cess. Grease is sometimes taken out by rubbing the spot with a 
 hard stone (not hearthstone), using sand and very hot water with 
 soap and soda. 
 
 To make Cider Vme§"ar. — i. The most profitable return 
 from such apples as are made into cider is the further transformation 
 of the juice into vinegar. To do this, the barrels should be com- 
 pletely filled, so that all impurities that "working" — fermenting — 
 throws off will be ejected through the bung-hole. This process 
 should be completed before the barrel is put in the cellar, and when 
 this is done, the purified juice should be drawn out of the original' 
 cask and put into others where there is a small amount of old vine- 
 gar, which will amazingly hasten the desired result. If no vinegar 
 can be obtained to "start" the cider, it must remain in a dry cellar 
 six months, and perhaps a year (the longer the better), before it will 
 be fit for the table. 
 
 To make Wicks for Candles. — Of late years the best 
 candles are made in such manner that they do not require snuffing. 
 The simplest way of effecting this is to make the wick with one strand 
 of loosely twisted cotton, which will become slightly stretched when 
 the wick is placed in the candle, but will contract again on its burn- 
 ing, removing the force that kept it extended. If this roving be 
 
The Housewife^ s Treasure. 29 
 
 placed at the outside of the wick, it is evident that when it contracts, 
 it will pull the latter into a curved shape, and thus expose its up- 
 per part to the outer portion of the flame, as will be consumed with 
 sufficient rapidity to prevent the necessity of using the snuffers. The 
 same may be effected by placing the candle at an angle of about 
 45°, by which means the upper part of the wick will be out of the 
 flame; but this plan, besides being tmsightly, is liable to the risk of 
 the tallow, dropping beyond the candle-stick. Platted wicks, so ar- 
 ranged that one portion shall be stretched more than another, have 
 long been adopted for the same purpose. 
 
 To make ^oap l>y the Cold way, — The fat is melted at a 
 low heat, not warmer than blood heat, and the lye gradually added 
 — 40 ibs. of strong lye (about 36°, Beaume) to 80 fbs. of fat, and 
 less, even should the lye be stronger still. The lye should be per- 
 fectly clear, and no more than tepid in temperature. The fat and 
 the lye should be persistently stirred with a board or wooden spatula, 
 having sharp edges at its lower end, and rounded at its upper, for 
 easy handling. The paddling should be kept up until a ring drawn 
 with the spatula remains visible a short time. It is at that point 
 that the coloring matters and perfumes are added, if any are want- 
 ed. The parts should then be run into frames, previously lined with 
 muslin so carefully that no folds be formed at the edges of the box. 
 Each frame should be entirely filled with thi soap, and well closed, 
 with the margin of the muslin, and also fitted with a modern cover. 
 The whole should be left for about one day to rest in a mild tem- 
 perature, the complete change or saponification completing itself jn 
 the frames, where the temperature rises spontaneously to sometimes 
 over 175° F. Under the influence of this action the various consti- 
 tuent principles in the mass, including the glycerine, become further 
 combined, and a soap produced almost resembling that of boiled 
 soaps. At the expiration of twenty-four hours the soap may be 
 taken up from the frames, and cut up in bars to dry. Sometimes, 
 especially when mutton tallow is mostly employed with soda for the 
 lye, one-tenth of potash is added, to diminish the hardness of the 
 soap; at the same time it increases its solubility and quality, the soap 
 resulting from that addition not being brittle when dry, as it would 
 be when exclusively made of hard tallow and soda lye. The yield 
 of such soap is about 150 lbs. to 100 ibs. of fat. 
 
 'Waf^liiilg^ Ffimds. — i. Take one pound of sal soda and half a 
 pound of unslaked lime, put them into a gallon of water and boil 
 twenty minutes; let it stand till cool, then drain off and put into a 
 strong jar or jug; soak your dirty clothes over night, or until they 
 are wet through, then wring them out and rub on plenty of soap, 
 and in one boiler of clothes, well covered with water, add one tea- 
 
30 The Housewife's Treasure. 
 
 cupful of fluid; boil half an hour briskly, and then wash them 
 thoroughly through one suds, rinse, and your clothes will look better 
 than the old way of washing twice before boiling. — 2. Five pounds 
 of sal soda, one pound of borax, one pound of unslaked lime. Dis- 
 solve the soda and borax in one gallon of boiling water; slake the 
 lime in the same quantity of boiling water; then pour them both 
 into eight gallons of cold water; stir a few times and let it stand un- 
 til morning, when the clear fluid should be poured off into jars, ready 
 for use. For two pails full of water use half a pint of the compound. 
 Soak your clothes over night, putting soap on the soiled parts. In 
 the morning wring them out and put them on to boil, first putting 
 some of the fluid and soap into the boiler. After boiling ten or 
 twelve minutes, take them out into your machine or tub and the 
 dirt will rub right off; then rinse well in two waters. — 3. One and 
 one quarter pound of washing soda, ^ pound borax, and dissolve 
 in 4 quarts of water by boiling. When the mixture is cold add 
 about one half a teacupfull of water of ammonia (hartshorn), and 
 bottle for use, taking care to keep the fluid corked from the air. 
 For use take a cupful to a pailful of water. — 4. Sal soda and borax, 
 y^ ib. each; gum camphor, i oz.; alcohol, ^ pint. Dissolve the 
 soda and borax in one gallon of boiling rain water, pour in two gal- 
 lons of cold rain water, add the camphor first dissolved in the alcohol, 
 stir well and bottle for use. Four tablespoonfuls of the preparation 
 are to be mixed with a pint of soft soap, and the clothes boiled in a 
 suds made of this. It is all the better if the clothes are soaked over 
 night, before putting them into the suds. — 5. Soak your clothes over 
 night in a clear, cold water; in the morning have over the fire what 
 water is necessary to boil them in, add one tablespoonful of saleratus, 
 one pint of soft soap, or one quarter of a bar of hard soap, wring or 
 drain your clothes from the water in which they have stood over 
 night, put them in your boiler, boil three quarters of an hour, when 
 they will need but little rubbing, rinse, and your clothes will be 
 beautifully white. Your suds will be excellent for washing colored 
 clothing of all kinds, as it does not injure the nicest prints. One 
 pound of saleratus will do twenty washings for any common family. 
 
 Care of Beds. — ^The care of beds is not tmderstood, even 
 by some good housewives; when abed is freshly made it often smells 
 strong. Constant airing will, if the feathers are good, and only new, 
 remove the scent. A bed in constant use should be invariably 
 beaten and shaken up daily, to enable the feathers to renew their 
 elasticity. It should lie, after it is shaken up, for two or three hours 
 in a well-ventilated room. If the bed is in a room which cannot be 
 spared so long, it should be put out to air two full days of the week. 
 In airing beds the sun should not shine directly upon them. It is 
 
The Housewife^ s Treasure. 31 
 
 air, not heat, which they need. We have seen beds lying on a roof 
 where the direct and reflected rays of the sun had full power, and the 
 feathers, without doubt, were stewing, and the oil in the quill be- 
 coming rancid, so that the bed smells worse after airing than before. 
 Always air beds in the shade on cool and windy days. Featherbeds 
 should be opened every three or four years, the ticks washed, the 
 seams soaped and waxed, and the feathers renovated. Feathers 
 were never intended for human beings to sleep on. They are 
 always without exception debilitating. Straw, corn husks, com- 
 pressed sponge, or curled hair, should always be used in pre- 
 ference. 
 
 To choose Carpets. — ^The carpet ought to assimilate with 
 the style of the paperhangings, but the quality of the material must 
 depend on the capability of the purchaser's pocket In carpets, as 
 in many other things, the dearest articles are generally the cheapest 
 in the end. In illustration of this we may state the carpet in our 
 
 dining-room cost a yard, and although it has been in daily use 
 
 lor four years it looks as well as ever. For dining and drawing rooms 
 Brussels carpets are the best. If the room are small choose small pat- 
 terns with few colors, or of a pattern formed of shades of the same 
 'color as the ground, such as a green carpet with mosses or small 
 ferns in various shades of green, or a carpet with an indistinct pat- 
 tern of ribbons or arabesques of a small size. When there is nothing 
 very decided to attract the eye, the defects of wear are not so ob- 
 vious. Stair carpets are also best of Brussels make; crimson wears 
 longest; they must be of a pattern that will admit of being turned 
 upside down, as it is a good plan frequently to change the position 
 of the carpet, that the edge of each step may not always come in 
 the same spot, which would soon wear the fabric, A small gay 
 pattern of crimson or oak colors wears best; avoid blues or lilacs or 
 shades of stone colors: the two former fade quickly, and the latter 
 always looks dirty. 
 
 Mopping^ and Cleaning: Floors. — The practice of mop- 
 ping floors to often, is a loss of time, and a waste of strength, and 
 is as inconsistent with reason, as the habit of blacking cooking stoves 
 every time they are used; and I am not sure but wet floors are as 
 detrimental to health as the dust sent forth by the too frequent use of 
 the common stove blacking. Mopping painted floors too often, and 
 with hot soapsuds, wears off the paint, causing needless expense of 
 both time and money. It is difficult to say, how often a painted, or 
 an unpainted floor should be washed, for that depends on cir- 
 cumstances; but it requires that the cloth, mop and water, should, 
 be as clean as a supply of the latter will admit, and the floor wiped 
 as dry as possible; and that every corner, and other retired spots, 
 
22 The Housewife s Treasure. 
 
 under beds, bureaus, or any other article which may be in the apart- 
 ments, should have a fair chance to partake of the cleansing. 
 
 To keep Silver Brigrht. — For the preservation of the luster 
 of articles of silver or plated ware, when not needed for actual use 
 for a considerable time, a coating of collodion (to be had at the drug 
 store), may be employed to great advantage. The articles are to be 
 heated, and the collodion then carefully applied by means of a brush, 
 so as to cover the surface thoroughly and uniformly. It is used 
 most conveniently when diluted with alcohol, as for photographic 
 purposes. Articles thus prepared exhibit no trace whatever of their 
 covering, and have stood for more than a year in shop windows and 
 in dwellings, retaining their white luster and color, while other 
 pieces not thus prepared became seriously tarnished. 
 
 To clean Knives. — i. Cut a good-sized solid, raw potato 
 in two; dip the flat surface in powdered brick-dust, and rub the knife- 
 blades. Stains and rust will disappear. — 2. One of the best sub- 
 stances for cleaning knives and forks is charcoal, reduced to a fine 
 powder, and applied in the same manner as brick-dust is used. — 3. 
 Water lime is also used for this purpose. Have a box with a par- 
 tition and keep the lime in one part and the cloths in the other. Wet 
 a small cloth a little and dip it in the lime, and after the articles are 
 well washed and wiped, rub them until the spots are removed. 
 Then take a larger, dry cloth, dip it in the lime, and rub the articles 
 until polished to suit. Wipe off the dust from .the knives and forks 
 with a dry cloth, and they are ready to put away. 
 
 Mow to test Water. — Mechanical impurities in water are 
 removed only by filtration; chemical impurities cannot be removed 
 in this manner. If lime is supposed to be present in water, the best 
 test is to mix with it a small quantity of oxalic acid in a small ves- 
 sel; lime, if present, will be revealed in a white precipitate. Car- 
 bonate of iron is best detected by the tincture of galls, which produces 
 a black precipitate. If the penknife, dipped in water, assumes a 
 yellowish coating, copper is present. The best method of detecting 
 the presence of vegetable and animal matter is by dropping into 
 it a small quantity of sulphuric acid ; the water becomes black. 
 
 To inend china and Glassivare. — A useful cement is pro- 
 duced by powdered chalk and white of egg. A mixture of equal 
 parts of white of egg, white lead, and glue forms a strong cement; 
 or take a very thick solution of gum arable in water, and stir into it 
 plaster of Paris until the mixture becomes a viscous paste. Apply 
 it with a brush to the fractured edges, and stick them together. 
 In three days the article caimot again be broken in the same place. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 ^Jf Ask the first Agent you meet to show yoic a copy of this book. 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE. 
 
 By JOHN COWAN, M. D. 
 
 Is the name of a new Physiological work, of Standard and Permanent value, for which we 
 desire active and experienced Agents in every Town and County in the United States and 
 Dominion of Canada. The book is one that should be possessed by every man and woman 
 in the land, and to this end it will be our endeavour, to circulate it very extensively. In fact 
 we have set out with the firm determination to sell 
 
 HALF A MILLION COPIES, 
 
 And we will do it, for we never yet failed to carry out a possible purpose once formed. This 
 immense circulation will require the services of an army of enterprising and pushing Agents, 
 and if the reader is so situated as to accept an agency, or knows of a capable person who will 
 do so, we will be pleased to have him write us for our Conditions, which contain better terms 
 than any other Publisher allows. The business requires but little capital, and is attended with 
 absolutely no risk. We have Agents who are making from $30 to $60 a week, clear of all 
 expenses, according to their experience, ability, energy in canvassing, &c. : Writes an Agent 
 from Ohio : 
 
 Sirs: — I enclose $ — for ten Copies of "The Science of a New Life." I got the book and 
 "outfit" this noon, and went out the same evening canvassing. I was out an hour, and got 
 elevea names. I think if I do as well every day, you will have no cause to complain; &c., &c. 
 
 E. W. ALLEN. 
 Another Agent in Va. writes thus : 
 
 Gents : — Please excuse me for not reporting sooner; I did not think it was necessary to 
 report so often. Yet I have not been idle. I have c.invassed about half of the territory you 
 assigned .ne, and hav^ got, up to this date, three hundred and thirty-six (336) good and 
 responsible subscribers. I took your plan for it, not to pass a house without calling. I 
 think it best to get partly through canvassing before I deliver any of the books. I think I 
 can get through by the first of March, at any rate I have agreed to deliver them between 
 the first of March and the first of April ; I hope by that time to have five or six hundred sub- 
 scribers. I shall, in future, report oftener. The ten copies I sent to you for shortly after 
 receiving my outfit was to supply some of my subscribers that were moving west. You 
 seem to think this is a hard work to sell, but I beg to differ ; &c., &c. 
 
 Yours very truly, A. R. SMITH. 
 
 We have a lady .\gent in Maine, who at this date of writinghas cleared over three hundred 
 dollars in two months canvassing. Of course, she sells, or solicits subscriptions only from those 
 of her own sex. 
 
 In canvassing for THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE, there is no competition ; we 
 allow exclusive territory to .^.gents, and with the instructions we give, coupled with energy and 
 perseverance, they cannot help making money. 
 
 ^p^ For Prices and Conditions see next page. 
 
PRICES AND CONDITIONS: 
 The "SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE", is printed from beautiful clear new type, on fine 
 talendered paper, tinted, in one volume of over 400 large octavo pages, loo first-class engravings, 
 with a fine steel engraved frontispiece of the author. 
 
 It is issued in three different styles of binding, (the same also in German), 
 
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 E^ On receipt of any of these prices, the book securely enveloped, will be sent by mail, 
 with the postage fully prepaid. 
 
 1^^ Purchasers will please note that "The Science of a New Life" is not sold in the 
 bookstores, but only by our duly authorized canvassing Agents, and by the Puljlishers, to 
 whom orders should be adressed when it is not convenient to secure a copy from one of 
 our Agents. 
 
 Ey To avoid all possible danger of loss, money should be sent only in a registered letter, 
 or by a post-office money order ; when sent otherwise, it is entirely at the risk of the 
 sender. 
 
 ^W In no instance is a single copy of the book sold for less than the retail price. We 
 mention this, because many sent for our confidential circulars, with the purpose of getting a 
 copy at agents prices, whereas the Agent himself has to pay full price for the first copy besides 
 an additional sum for the "outfit". Don't send for a Confidential Circular unless you realy 
 desire an Agency. 
 
 Address all orders to COWAN & CO., Reform Book Publishers, 
 
 139 Eighth St., M-ro York. 
 
 Be siwe to ask the first Agent you see to shota you a Copy. 
 
 NO BETTER INVESTMENT. 
 
 Invest ten thousand dollars at interest, and it will not return you the same sterling value 
 that ONLY three dollars invested in a copy of "The Science of a New Life" will. Why? 
 Simply because, perfect health, bounding strength, a long life, and unalloyed happiness are of 
 infinitely greater value than dollars and cents, and these desirable requirements are contained 
 in Dr. Cowan's Book. 
 
 A Wife and Mother thus writes to the publishers : 
 * * * I can spend my time in no better way than canvassing for such a book. I have a copy 
 of it — have read and re-read it. O if I had only had it two years earlier, the tears it might 
 have saved me. Would that I could be an aid to put it into the hands of every man and woman 
 in the land. God will certainly bless you in your earnest endeavours to rescue mankind from 
 the depths of the darkness into which they have been plunged. 
 
 An Agent who has sold over a thousand Copies of the work writes : My opinion of the 
 book is — the world wants it, the present state of humanity demands it. Nor can the physical 
 and moral condition of the world be improved until humanity feels their need for this book. 
 
 A gentleman who for thirty years has been a minister and for 20 years a physican writes 
 thus : While recently over in Oregon, I providentially saw for the first time a copy of your 
 valuable, because much needed work "The Science of a New Life," I had not read an hour in 
 it until satisfied it was the book of all others this generation most needed. For thirty years I 
 have seen a need for this work, and have hoped someone of sufficient information, standing and 
 talent would produce it. I have purchased and read the Copy alluded to, and find it more than 
 meets my highest expectation of moral and scientific worth. * * * * Wishing to be as useful to 
 my fellow creatures as possible, I have resolved to write out a few lectures from it, and deliver 
 them to the public as I travel through this territory. Of course I will give you credit for the 
 subject matter and recommend the work. 
 
 |^P° The careful reading of the following pages, will give a fust idea of zuhat merit 
 the book contains. 
 
 The ancients were ever longing and searching for an Elixir Pltcc, the Water of Life, a 
 draft of which would enable them to five for ever. The pages of "The Science of a New Life," 
 will furnish you a better elixir than the ancients ever dreamed of in their wildest flights of 
 imagination, for, though it will not enable you to live for ever, yet its pages contain information 
 that if heeded and obeyed, will endow you with such a measure of health, strength, purity of 
 body and mind and intense happiness as to make you the envied of mankind, a man among men, 
 a woman among women. 
 
THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE, 
 
 By JOHN COWAN, M. D. 
 
 HINKING and reflecting persons must allow that we 
 as men and women are just as our parents made us. 
 That all our irregularities of mind and disposition, 
 our infirmities of soul and body, have been trans- 
 mitted and bequeathed to us by those who gave us 
 birth; and that one of the objects in living on this 
 earth is — in those who live rightly — to overcome the 
 crooked and bad that we were endowed with. 
 This being so, any information that throws light on 
 this immensely important subject should be wel- 
 comed with unbounded delight. This "The Sci- 
 ence of a New Life" professes to do — in a plain, 
 understandable manner — with great earnestness of 
 purpose, with undoubted purity of motive, with a 
 spirit that breathes a reverence for God's greatest 
 handiwork — man, indicating how, by and through 
 the observance of given laws, a clean, sweet, healthy 
 and talented reproduction may result, and perfection, 
 on this earth therefore be possible of attainment. 
 It also gives all necessary suggestions in the right 
 choosing of husbands and wives, so that harmony 
 and happiness will result, and discord and divorces 
 be avoided. 
 
 '^ Especially does it advocate and encourage in man 
 
 and woman continence, purity of thought and asso- 
 ciation, ^nd all that socially ennobles and elevates — leading the soul out of the filth and 
 slough of sensuality up into the charmed and lovable atmosphere that encircles those who 
 are chaste and pure in thought, word, and deed. 
 
 AUogether it aims in a systematic manner to cover the whole ground of human social life 
 bounded by the entrance into the marriage state and the birth of a new life — with the inter- 
 mediate results of wrong-doing, and their indications, causes, and remedies. 
 
 Some people look with distrust on all that concerns the intimate social relations of the 
 sexes, as knowledge that is dangerous and contaminating, that should be hid away in dark 
 corners, or entirely excommunicated, abolished, or destroyed. Such thoughts and desires 
 spring altogether from a wrong and misdirected education, instilling in the mind of the indi- 
 vidual views and opinions tliat are narrow, contracted and unfair. That a knowledge of the 
 whole of that part of human physiology that treats of the intimate social relations of the 
 sexes can injure or in any way degrade the thought, the mind, the body, or the soul of the 
 individual, would be a sad reflection on God's loving justice and mercy. 
 
 This book has most approvingly been noticed by divines of all denominations, physi- 
 cians, and by over three hundred of the most prominent and influential papers of the coun- 
 try. Some — only a very few — of these notices, or rather short extracts from them will be 
 found on the pages following the Table of Contents, to which the reader is referred. These 
 notices do not include the scores of letters received from the people, whose great sympa- 
 thetic hearts beat in response to the high aims and noble purposes inculcated in the book. 
 
 ^'^'^A! 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 CHAPTER I. — Marriage and its Advantages. 
 
 Men who are unmarried— — Reasons advanced for remaining single Marriage a natural condition of adult 
 
 life The great desires and aims of life, how only to be secured through marriage Objects in Mar- 
 rying False objects How mistakes are made in choosing Should those afflicted wuh consump- 
 tion and other diseases marry ? The great wrong done in this direction The true and only objects 
 
 in marrying, ........... ,5 — jg 
 
 CHAPTER II. — Age at which to Marrv. 
 How determined Puberty, how accelerated, how retarded The error in fixing the popular age for mar- 
 riage The true age at which to marry as determined by physiology Why children born of early 
 
 marriages are undesirable — -The effect of early marriage on the woman On the man The result of 
 
 unions between persons of disproportionate ages Between old men and young women, . 30 35 
 
 CHAPTER III.— The Law of Choice. 
 
 Its great importance It is as easily understood and as applicable as any other law that governs mind and 
 
 matter Mode of forming matrimonial alliances among the Assyrians Chinese Moors Turki 
 
 Tartars Siberians The custom of purchasing wives Modern marriages analyzed Th« ▼«- 
 
COIVAN &- COMPANY'S CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS, 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE— Contents Continued. 
 
 ery-day result The choosing a wiic and purchasing a farm compared Wherein consists the differ- 
 ence The great error made in choosing The only true mode Resuhing in a harmonious and per- 
 fect love-union Phrenology as a guide in choosiuj;, ....... 36 — 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV.— Love Analyzed. 
 
 'Ij love, as popularly used, a rcqiiirement in choosing a wife or husband ? Poets and novelists on love 
 
 The mistiness surrounding the true meaning of the word The mistakes made in its application 
 
 Characteristics of mock love Rationale of true love The definition of perfect sexual love Pa- 
 rental love Brotherly and sisterly love Love of God Reciprocity of thought and feeling as a re- 
 quirement in love Love at first sigh Jan perfect love exist ?- Health and purity of body as a re- 
 quirement to its existence Sickness and filthy habits as a bar to its existence, . , 45 — =0 
 
 CHAPTER v.— Qualities the Man Should Avoid in Choosing. 
 
 Transmitted disease Hysterical women Small waists Why their possessors are incapable of making 
 
 good wives Natural waists, or no wives Why large men should not marry small women Igno- 
 rant and wrongly educated Strong-minded women Modern accomplishments, their utter uselessness 
 
 in married life Knowledge of household affairs a requisite in all women who marry Skin-deep 
 
 beauty and true beauty compared Extravagance of dress and ornament False hair, false " forms," 
 
 etc. Women who are indolent and lazy .Marriage of cousins, right or wrong ? Extracts from the 
 
 ■works of Drs. Carpenter and Voisin The author's opinion and advice on the subject Tempera- 
 ments Widows Divorced women Difference in religious faith Women who have a greater 
 
 fondness for balls, parties and gossip, than for home associations Other qualities that are to be avoided 
 
 How and when to see women to learn their characteristics Phrenology as a help What should 
 
 be done on choosing and being accepted Advertising for a wife Arguments favoring its use Mode 
 
 to proceed Objections considered, ........ 51 — 63 
 
 CHAPTER VI. — Qualities the Vv'oman Should Avoid i.r Choosing. 
 The feverish desire of women to get married Indications of the result Who responsible Perfect wom- 
 anhood should be reached before the thought of marriage is entertained Sickness and ill health in the 
 
 man Men possessing the disgusting habit of using tobacco, and the degrading one of using alcoholic 
 
 liquors, should be avoided Why ? An unsolved mystery Lustful and licentious men Are mod- 
 erate drinkers desirable as husbands ? The " fast" man and "rake," and woman's shame in recognizing 
 
 such Fallen women, and woman's duty to such Effeminate men Men having no visible means of 
 
 support Blood-relations Widowers Divorced men Irreligious and profane men Gamblers 
 
 Mean men Lazy men Marrying strangers on short acquaintance Marrying for money or a 
 
 home Woman, in being sought after, should appear only in her every-day character The importance 
 
 of this as affecting her future welfare Should women be allowed to advertise for husbands ? Doubts 
 
 on the subject If attempted, how to avoid evil results F;iiling an offer of marriage, what then ? 
 
 " Old" maids Words of consolation and cheer to unmarried women, . . . 64 — 73 
 
 CHAPTER VII, — The Anatomy and Physiology of Generation in Woman. 
 
 The importance of a knowledge of reproductive physiology in all who think of marrying The uterus 
 
 Ligaments Cavity of the uterus Structure Fallopian tubes Ovaries Their structure 
 
 Graffian follicles Ovum, or egg Size and formation of human egg How it ripens and is thrown 
 
 off The corpus luteum I'he febrile excitement produced by the ripening of the Graffian vesicle and 
 
 escape of the egg The vagina Labia Hymen Menstruation When it first appears and 
 
 when it cpases Its origin and nature Ovarian pregnancy Tubal pregnancy The mammary 
 
 glands Nipples The secretion of milk Colestrium, ..... 74 — 86 
 
 CHAPTER VIII.— The Anatomy and Physiology of Generation in M.\n. 
 
 Prostate gland Cowper glands Testes Scrotum Stiucture of the testes Vasa recta Vasa 
 
 deferens Spermatic cord Vesiculje seminales Ejactilatory ducts Semen lis nature, liow it 
 
 originates, am: how perfected Spermatozoa Effect of first appearance of semen en boy Effect of 
 
 its re-absorption in the continent man The Law of Sex Is there a law governing the production of 
 
 children of different sex s at will'? Different theories on the subject The latest theory probably the 
 
 right one Mode of procedure, as given by the discoverer, for parents to generate male or female children 
 
 at will, ............ 87 — 104 
 
 CHAPTER IX — Amativeness — its Use and Abuse. 
 
 The cerebellum Its two-fold nature Aniativeness Its siae in proportion to rest of brain Its location 
 
 The higher the organ of the brain, the greater the pleasure derived from its e.xercise 1 he nervous 
 
 fluid Where originated i'he effect when largely drawn on by amativeness Sensuality Its uni- 
 versality among all classes and all ages The effect on amative desires by the observance of right and 
 
 wrong dietetic habits Causes of abnormal amative desires in women The results of the abuse of am- 
 ativeness The effect on the nervous system The semen, capable of giving life, is, when reabsorbed, 
 
 capable of renewing life Promiscuous indulgence Risks incurred A sad case Hospital sights 
 
 Excessive indulgence between the married The slave-life of the wife in this direction The re- 
 sults Amative excesses in those newly married No pure love where there is sexual excess Dis- 
 gust, not love, born of this great wrong Easily read signs of sexual excess in tne man and woman 
 
 The great necessity for a reformation in this direction, ..... 105 — 123 
 
 CHAPTER X.— The Prevention of Conceptio.n. 
 
 The true reason of the desire for knowledge on this subject Mode adopted by the " Perfectionists" — —Its 
 
 difliculty of observance Its harmfulness The method advocated by latter-day physiologists, founded 
 
 on the theory of the monthly arrival at and departure from the womb of the ovum Wherein it fails 
 
 Intercourse during lactation How it results in conception-^— Other methods of conception, and the 
 
COIVAJV & COMPANTS CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE— Contents Continued. 
 
 harm ihcy Jo- — -The only true method of prevention as ordained by God ^The observance of which 
 
 carries with it no bad after-effects, ........ 121 — 1:3 
 
 CHAPTER XI.— The Law ok Continence. 
 
 Its great importance— The prevailing ignorance on the subject Definition of the word continence— Hovr 
 
 often is the sexual act permissible between a man and wife living a pure and chaste life The only true 
 
 solution being God's divine law in this direction The only natural time for intercourse Anything dif- 
 fering from this carries with it sin and sickness Some objections to a continent fe considered— ^Locko, 
 
 Newton and Pitt, men who never married, and who were known to live continent lives The elementary 
 
 differences between a life of licentiousness and a life of strict continence— —The true use of the reproduc- 
 tive element^— The difficulty in adopting and living a continent life Rules for guidance The reac- 
 tion produced by a sudden arrest of sexual excess and the use of alcoholic liquors compared and explained 
 
 ——Health not compatible with seminal emissions Plan of Life— Tobacco— —Alcoholic liquors 
 
 Gluttony Food to be used and avoided Bread- Dress Exercise Beds and sleeping rooms 
 
 Hours for rest and exercise — —Habits — ■ — Employment Choice of companions Training of the 
 
 will-power— Drugs and patent medicines— Quack doctors— Cultivation of the religious senti- 
 ments, ............ 129 — 150 
 
 CHAPTER XII. — Children, their Desirability. 
 An essential requisite in a perfect union that parental love be present The command to " increase and mul- 
 tiply"- Why children arc troublesome to rear— — -The remedy Small families and no families among 
 
 the married on the increase Large families 3 thing of the past The cause lor the growing antipathy 
 
 to have children -Beauty and youth retained, if not acquired, by having children under right condi- 
 tions The loneliness and desolation of life without children The bearing and rearing of children a 
 
 glorious privilege— The perfection of love and happiness that comes of generating bright and beautiful 
 children— Abdon, Judge of Israel, with his forty sons and thirty grandchildren Increase of offspring 
 and overcrowded populations, ...... ^ . . J51 — 154 
 
 CHAPTER XIII — Thb Law of Genius. 
 Plainness .ind mediocrity among mankind the rule, and beauty and genius the exception The cause Ed- 
 ucational and benevolent institutions, in the elevation of humanity, of very small moment in comparison 
 
 with the pre-natal influence of the mother All the workings of this universe, from the smallest to the 
 
 greatest, governed by law In the production of offspring there too must be a law The la\T of chance 
 
 or accident the law observed by the mass of mankind The great wrong done by the non-observance of 
 
 the law of reproduction The deformed, homely, and diseased— ^The mediocre The world's great, 
 
 theii appearance explained The immense importance of a light birthright on the future welfare of man- 
 kind — -Extending into eternity An imbecile or idiot here cannot bloom into a Shakespeare or Milton 
 
 an the next world — —A nature endov/cd by the parents with a licentious, gluttonous, wicked nature, will 
 
 not, on leaving this earth, lake on the garments of purity, innocence and holiness The fundamental 
 
 principles of genius iji reproduction Some obstacles to its observance Their remedies The re- 
 quirements in women whose desire it is to observe the law of genius in the production of bright and beau- 
 tiful children The requirements in men Three periods of transmitted influence Period of intro- 
 ductory preparation Period of gcstatory influence Period of nursing influence The mother's in- 
 fluence during these periods The father's influence The time at which the ovum, or egg, is in its 
 
 freshest and ripest Btate, at which time it should be impregnated Husband and wife's duty during the 
 
 period of introductory preparation The principal requisites required to transmit desirable qualities to 
 
 the offspring The quality of genius, or beauty, not necessary in the parents to enable them to transmit 
 
 these qualities to their offspring Definition of genius as given by Webster Talent always in demand, 
 
 mediocrity always at a discount The pursuit of life for the child to be determined on before ccnception 
 
 Farmers — —Farming the most desirable occupation in life Where they fail and how they fail 
 
 What they are and what they should be Other occupations Adam Smith on vegetarianism First 
 
 thing to be done in the observance of the season of introductory preparation Th-^ importance of a life 
 
 free from injurious and filthy habits during this period Order Truthfulness Reverence for God 
 
 Unity of plans and desires The introductory period one of intensity of thought and action Sup- 
 pose a plan of life be adopted for a male child, and a female appear What then ? Instruction by ex- 
 amples-- — The expense for educating the future child should commence with the introductory period of 
 
 preparation This law of genius can be adopted by ttie poorest as well as the richest Is a necessity as 
 
 much to the laborer as to the diplomatist In transmission of genius, the j-arents do not require to knov 
 
 so much as to trj', to experiment The transmission of accessory qualities as guides and aids to the pie- 
 
 dominant faculty Religious sentiments Transmitted beauty of face and form Parents can as eas- 
 ily have beautiful children as they can homely ones Rules to be observed Ejcamples Parents can 
 
 generate children of a cheerful, healthy, laughing nature as e.isily as they can the reverse The plan to 
 
 be followed easy of observance Importance of a life of strict chastity during these different periods of 
 
 pre-natal influence Feverish pursuit of money as a barrier to the observance of this law A father's 
 
 direct influence om the new life ends with the period of introductory preparation Importance of a close 
 
 observance by hiin^ — -Result of a united observance of this law, .... 155— 17s 
 
 Part Second — The Consummation. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV.— The Conception of a New Life. 
 
 The proper season Best months Rest time of day Light and darkness Light the source of li/a 
 
 Darkness the synonyrn of death The new life should be generated when the husband and wife are 
 
 at their perfection of physical and mental strength The time of day this occurs The sleeping room 
 
COWAiY & COMPANYS CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE— Contents CoNTiNtiBO. 
 
 ■ The morning exercise of the devotional sentiments^ — 'Out-door exercise- Purity of thoughts ■ 
 
 The consummation, ....,.., i^g jg^ 
 
 CHAPTER XV.— The Physiology of Intra-Uterine Growth. 
 
 Growth of the e^g after fecundation The remarkable change that takes place— '—Segmentation of the vi- 
 
 tellusi I Blustodermic membrane — —External layer Internal layer— -Chorion— —Ovum at end of first 
 
 month Relation of the cord, placenta, membrane, etc— —Embryo, how nourished— "'Placenta Foe- 
 tal circulaiion— Description of growth of ovum from tenth day to ninth month— Growth and develop- 
 n.ent of the face, .■.....,. , , iSi igj 
 
 CHAPTER XVI.— Period of Gestative Influence. 
 
 Ill* fecundated egg When the physical life commences — —When the soul life commences— The medium 
 
 of communication l;etween the soul and the body The medium of communication between the mother 
 
 and foetus The first great requirement to be observed by the mother during this period— —I'he food to 
 
 be used at this time i'he only allowab'e drink -Dyspepsia, how traiismittecl— — The importance ol 
 
 air and light' — Baths Sleep -Habits of thought and action to be observed— —Period of gestative 
 
 influence to be divided into two sections-^ The first four months, the physical in the mother predomina- 
 ting — --The last five, the mental predominating — —Indisputable reasons why sexual congress should not 
 take place between the husband and wife during this period— —Illustrations of the wonderful power of pre- 
 natal influence A young prodigy An engineer — —Woman's right to choose new paths of labor 
 
 Woman's mediocrity in her present alloted paths of labor How to be remedied— —Napoleon I The 
 
 poet Burns Why Scotland produces such a number of literary and scientific men Other illustrations 
 
 — The result, when this law is slighted and disregarded Children with bad tempers Untruthful, 
 
 sickly, scrofulous, consumptive, homely, desire for tobacco -Fondness for alcoholic liquors, licentious, 
 
 imbecile, idiotic, dishonest, revengeful Cases illustrating these facts— -The great responsibility parents 
 
 accept in generating new beings for eternity, .... . . 192 — 234 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL— Pregnancy, its Signs and Duration, 
 
 How originating a new life affects the nature of the mother Signs indicating that pregnancy has taken 
 
 place— —Failure in recurrence of the menses— —Morning sickness -Salivation— — Mammary changes 
 
 Secretion of milk— Enlargement of the abdomen — —Quickening Pregnancy may exist without 
 
 any of these signs Duration of pregnancy 'Viability of the child -Plan to adopt to save life in 3 
 
 birth at the seventh month, ,,.,,..,, 235 — 246 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII.— Disorders of Pregnancy, 
 
 Bearing of children a natural process— Why some women have easy, and others dififrcult births Underly- 
 ing cause of ill health during pregnancy Nausea and vomiting— — -Longings— — Fainting Sleep- 
 lessness Costiveness — — Diarrhcea— Piles Pruritus—Heartburn—^ — Toothache— — Headache 
 
 Palpitation of the heart -Swelling of the feet and legs' Pain in the breast Hysteria— — Irritation 
 
 of the bladder Jaundice Vomiting of blood — -Vaccination— —Salivation Abortion, or Mis- 
 carriage What it indicates — —Its frequency, how caused— —Effects on the Woman serious and lasting 
 
 ——Symptoms— How to arrest How to prevent, , , , , 247 — 255 
 
 CHAPTER XIX.— Confinement. 
 
 Mode of life to be adopted to insure an easy birth Clothing— Food that will prematurely hard^m the bones 
 
 Food that will keep them in a cartilaginous state— —Prevention from suffering in parturition The 
 
 time when this particular kind of food should be used — —Baths a great help to easy child-birth Injec- 
 tions Pure air ard sunlight -Exercise — —Preparations for Confinement — —The presence of gos- 
 siping friends and neighbors undesirable ^Who should be present Commencement of labor First 
 
 indications -How to proceed in case the accoucher fails \a attend, . . . 256—263 
 
 CHAPTER XX.— Management of Mother and Child After Delivery. 
 
 Removal of soiled clothes Bathing ^Hovv the abdominal bandage is useless -What to substitute in its 
 
 place Visitors Ventilation of the lying-in chamber Mistakes in regard to diet at this time 
 
 The breasts Milk-fever Care of Nipples— — -Management of child after birth- Baths— Dress ■ 
 
 Exercise- Nursing room— —Food Soothing syrups How often should a child be nursed— When 
 
 should it be weaned, ... . m . . - • • 264 — 278 
 
 CHAPTER XX. — Period of Nursing Influence. 
 
 How the character of the chi.'i is influenc?d by the mother during this period— —The great wrong done the 
 child when not nursed by the mother— Maternal influence at this period greatly under-estimated Ef- 
 fect of the use of wrong food and drink by the mother on the health and character of the child Effect 
 
 of mental effort on the nursing child The mother can transmit desirable mental and physical qualities 
 
 to the child during this period Full directions to' this end, .... 279 286 
 
 Part Third — ^Wrongs Righted, 
 
 CHAPTER XXII.— Fceticide. 
 
 Its extent —A nation o^ murderers As prevalent in the country as in the city— —Proofs The crime a 
 
 murder, no more ; no less ^ .Arguments the perpetrators advance to shield their iniquity When life is 
 
 present in the embryo When the soul is present -Classes of society in which the women are found 
 
 who practice ante-natal child-murder — -Church-members and professing Christians not exempt The 
 
 crime against the wife and child of an undesired maternity Who responsible Letter* from womcD 
 
 6 
 
COWAN & COMPANY'S CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 who have suffered, exposing the cause and its results in all their hideous deformity Results of forced 
 
 abortions on the Ijody and soul of the mother Proportion who die The local effects Effects on the 
 
 children born after Sterility a frequent result Beauty destroyed Old age hastened Remorse of 
 
 conscience The ever-present phantom of a great crime These undeveloped souls as witnesses in the 
 
 next world Advice offered, the observance of which will result in less danger and harm to the mother 
 
 Effect on the child should the woman fail in accomplishing her desire Suggestions as to how tho 
 
 great crime is to be treated and prevented No forced abortions practiced by Roman Catholics The 
 
 duty of ministers and teachers Parting words to unmarried women, . . . 280 tis 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII.— Diseases Peculiar to Women. 
 Their cause and symptoms Directions for home-treatment and cure Why women are so universally com- 
 plaining A rich field ^or quack:? and patent-medicine venders Absent menstruation Retained 
 
 menstruation Suppressed menstruation Chronic suppression Irregular menstruation Painful- 
 menstruation Profuse menstruation Vicarious menstruation Cessation of menstruation Chlo- 
 rosis Tnflaminalion of the ovaries Inflammation of the uterus Chronic inflammation Ulcer- 
 ation of the uterus Tiunor in the uterus Cancer of the uterus Corroding ulcer Cauliflower ex 
 
 crescence Displacement uf the uterus Prolapsus uteri, or falling of the womb Retroversion of 
 
 the uterus Retroflexion .Ante-version Leucorrhoea or "whites," . . . 311 — 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV.— Diseases Peculiar to Men. 
 
 Their cause and .symptoms, with directions for home-treatment and cure Gonorrhoea and cure Gleet 
 
 Phymosis Paraphymosis Stricture of the urethra Swelled testicle Inflammation of the pros- 
 tate gland Inflammation of the bladder Vegetations The chancroid and chancre Buboes-^^- 
 
 Syphilis — -Diagnostic difference between the chancroid and chancre Involuntary nocturnal emissions 
 
 — Spermatozoa .Miscellaneous disorders affecting emission, erection and the semen, . 330 364 
 
 CHAPTER XXV.— Masturbatio.n. 
 
 Its cause, results and cure Its extent Its effects on the character and future prospects of the individual 
 
 Evidence from the superintendent of a lunatic asylum as to its prevalence Exciting and transmitted 
 
 causes Signs in the boy, girl or man, that he who runs may read Home-method of cure and restora- 
 tion to perfect manhood Requirements necessary to its prevention, , . 365 — 375 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. — Sterility and Impotence. 
 
 Cause, treatment and cure One of the first l.aws promulgated by the Almighty, "Increase and multiply" 
 
 The incapacity to observe this law a source of hfe-long misery and unhappiness Sterility, in most 
 
 cases, susceptible of removal ; 1 wo classes Violated physiological laws as causes How excess in 
 
 the newly married results in sterility Why a large proportion of the newly married have no desire for 
 
 children How sterility occurs after the birth of one or two children Inflammation of the uterus as a 
 
 cause General debility Prolapsus and obliquity of the womb as causes Imperforate hymen 
 
 Stricture of the vagina Tumors Stricture of the neck of the uterus Obliteration of Fallopian 
 
 tubes — -Inflammation of ovaries .Absence of uterus Congenital shortness of vagina Undevel- 
 oped ovaries Impothncv in Man Lowering of the vital force by excess Masturbation Want 
 
 of sexual feeling Non-descent of the testicles Hernia Varicocele Stricture of the urethra 
 
 Obesity Abnormal condition of the erectile tissue A na.ural phymosis— Temperament, 376 — 384 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII.— Subjects OF WHICH More Might DE Said, .... 385 — 396 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII.— A Happy Married Life— How Secured 397—410. 
 
 Personal and newspaper notices. 
 
 \_From the Woman'' s Advocate.'] 
 
 The title of this work suggests the idea of another hfe on this earth-plane of existence- 
 
 higher, hoher, and purer in its aims, aspirations, and desires, and yet it does not suggest, 
 or even intimate, to the prospective reader the true character and nature of the vohime in. 
 its mission before tlie world. To the actual reader the title is truly significant and appropri- 
 ate — as the writer so beautifully unfolds the Laws of Reproduction, by and through the ob- 
 servance of which the highest and jnirest type of humanity may be and is produced. The 
 regeneration of the race, through the laws of physiological and psychological reproduction; 
 is the leadmg and perhaps the grandest thought of Dr. Cowan's work. 
 
COIVAN &■ COMPANY'S CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 PERSONAL AND NEWSPAPER NOTICES. 
 
 \_From Di'. Dio Le-Mis, of Boston, the ivcll-knaion Author and Lecturer.'^ 
 Dr. Cowan — Dear Sir : I have read your work, "The Science of a New Life." I have 
 more than read it — 1 have studied, I have feasted upon it. 
 
 During the last twenty years I have eagerly sought everything upon this most vital sub- 
 ject, but I liave found nothing which approaches in simplicity, delicacy, earnestness and 
 power this work. On my own account, and in behalf of the myriads to whom your incom- 
 parable book will carry hope and life, I thank you. 
 
 For years I have been gathering material for such a work. Constantly I have applica- 
 tions for the book, which years ago I promised the public. Now I shall most conscientiously 
 and joyfully send them to you. I am most respectfully yours, DIO LEWIS, 
 
 \_Extract of a Letter from Robert Dale Oiuen to the Author. ] 
 
 I thank you much for the brave book you were so kind as to send me. The subjects 
 upon which it touches are among the most important of any connected with Social Science, 
 and the world is your debtor for the bold stand you have taken. 
 
 Yours sincerely, ROBERT DALE OWEN. 
 
 [^Frovt J\e7>. Octavius B. Frothingham, of New York. ] 
 
 I have read with care "The Science of a New Life." If a million of the married and 
 unmarried would do the same, they would learn many things of deepest import to their 
 welfare. 
 
 Not that I am prepared to give it my unqualified praise ; but the substance of the book 
 is excellent, its purpose high, its counsel noble, its spirit earnest, humane, and pure. I 
 trust it will have a very wide circulation. Sincerely yours, O. B. FROTHINGHAM. 
 
 \^From IF. Watte IVartter, Editor of the Michigan State Register. ] 
 
 I can hardly thank you sufficiently for your great goodness in sending me this magnificent 
 v.'ork, and I shall do my best to procure for you an active Agent in this State. I regard 
 " The Science of a New Life" as the ablest and best work of the kind yet published, and 
 feel assured that it will do incalculable good in the world. Such a work has long been 
 needed, and I trust it will find earnest, thoughtful readers in every household in the land. 
 It deserves a generous reception. Yours respectfully, W. WAITE WARNER. 
 
 \From Francis E. Abbott, Editor Index, Toledo.'^ 
 
 Dr. John Cowan's " Science of a New Life" is a work devoted to all that relates to mar- 
 riage and written in a style and spirit that command our unqualified approbation. It is 
 plain, direct, and practical — yet permeated with so deep a reverence for the marriage rela- 
 tion, and so utter an abhorrence of what we are ashamed to call fashionable abominations, 
 that pruriency will be rebuked, and the love of purity heightened by its perusal. There 
 can be no question that physiological knowledge of this character is sorely needed by thou- 
 sands and thousands of people, whose innocent offspring must pay the penalty of their pa- 
 rents' ignorance or vice. To those who would put a really unexceptionable book on these 
 subjects in the hands of young persons approaching maturity, we can conscientiously recom- 
 naend this as one that will enlighten without debasing. 
 
 \_From Rev. N f. Burton, of Hartford, Conn."] 
 
 I have read Dr. Cowan's " Science of a New Life," dedicated by him to " all the mar- 
 ried, but particularly to those who contemplate marriage," and I think it is a decidedly 
 good book to circulate. The Doctor writes with the most downright plainness on the most 
 delicate matters, but with the most perfect purity, and with an evident intention to do good. 
 He inclines to be an extremist at points — as, for example, where he lays it down that no 
 woman should marry a man who uses tobacco ; but his exaggerations are always in the di- 
 rection of good morals and the noblest life, and I wish him any amount of success in circu- 
 llating his book. Truly yours, N. J. BURTON. 
 
 8 
 
COU^AN & COMPANTS CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 \_From Rev. E. 0. TVarrf, Presbyterian Minister, of Bethany, Pa."] 
 
 "The Science of a New Life," by John Cowan, M.D., I consider well worthy of patron- 
 age, and cheerfully commend it to the confidence of my people, and hope it shall have a 
 very extensive circulation. Rev. li. O. WARD. 
 
 [Prom Moore'' s Rural New- Vorier."] 
 
 "If ever the reformation of the world is to be accomplished — if ever the millennium of 
 purity, chastity, and intense happiness reaches this earth, it can only do so through rightly 
 directed pre-natal laws." Such is the sentiment upon which this book is built up — a senti- 
 ment not admirably expressed, but admirable in its meaning. To a correct understanding 
 of the laws pre-natal and post-natal, as also to a more thorough comprehension of what 
 marriage should be, and what it should accomplish for mutual happiness, these four hun- 
 dred and five octavo pages by Dr. Cowan must greatly conduce. They are devoted to top- 
 ics concerning which no person arrived at years of thoughtfulness should be ignorant. They 
 treat of these topics in a plain, sensible manner, in language that none but a prude can ob- 
 ject to, and are apparently written in no spirit of quackery, but for a worthy purpose. 
 Could the book be placed in the hands of every young person contemplating matrimony it 
 would assuredly do much good. 
 
 [Prom the Christian Advocate, Nov York.'\ 
 
 It is a difficult as well as a delicate task to discuss in a proper nvinner the subject of re- 
 production of a new human life. This the author of this work has undertaken, going into 
 details of facts and philosophy, with constantly applied suggestions of a physiological, san- 
 itary and moral character. The method and execution of the work are quite unexception- 
 able, and many of its practical suggestions are certainly valuable. 
 
 [From the Round Tabic, Nruj York. ] 
 
 The dedication of Dr. Cowan's book — "To all the Married, but particularly to those who 
 contemplate Marriage" sufi'iciently indicates its scope and purpose. It is an earnest plea for 
 temperance in all things, for the subjection of the senses to the spirit, for the rule of purity 
 and continence, especially in the relation of life which most people seem to enter only to 
 find a pretext for discarding both. # » » * if only for the earnestness with which it 
 denounces and condemns the atrocious practice of ante-natal infanticide, or the scarcely less 
 revolting indecencies of prevention, the legal prostitution of all sorts for which modern mar- 
 riage is made the flimsy veil, this book would be worthj^ of the praise of every pure-minded 
 man and woman ; but it calls for even higher approbation by its recognition and emphatic 
 assertion of what to-day is so rarely recognized or admitted — the essential nobleness, purity ■ 
 and holiness of the marital state. 
 
 [Prom the Methodist Home youmal, Philadelphia, Pa. ] 
 
 This work is a clear, comprehensive, and yet concise treatment of laws which regulate hu- 
 man life, as well as those which pertain to the married relation. It is an evidently candid 
 attempt to popularize information on one of the most important subjects which come within 
 the range of human thought. The book is worthy an extended sale. 
 
 [Prom the Hartford Courant. ] 
 
 This work is very different from the works that are usually published on this subject. It 
 is a plain but chaste book, dealing with the physical problems which most concern all hu- 
 man beings in the spirit of science and humanity. What we all as society need is a better 
 understanding of physiology and the laws of health, so that men and women, knowing these 
 laws and their own constitutions, can live properly, in such physical estate as shall produce 
 the best mental state. This book is a very valuable contribution to that end. 
 
 [Prom the Scottish American, New Vorh."] 
 
 This work is specially designed for married persons and those who contemplate marriage. 
 We agree with the author in believing that " no person who exercises the unselfish and im- 
 partial of his or her nature can possibly read and reflect upon its contents without being im- 
 pressed, m a greater or smaller measure, with the re<iuirements so necessary in all that goes 
 
 9 
 
COWAN & COMPANY'S CATALOGUE OF NEW BOOKS. 
 
 to constitute life as God first planned it." The work contains a large amount of informa- 
 tion, apart from theory, of the highest value to all who prize the blessing of " a sound minJ 
 in a sound body." It is a work which may safely be placed in the hands of all married per- 
 sons, and all persons intending to marry, and their happiness would certainly be much in- 
 creased by observing the rules laid down by the author. The work is carefully printed from 
 large type, on good paper, is well bound and beautifully illustrated. 
 
 \^Froni the Revolution, Ncio Yo>-k. ] 
 
 This is one of the handsomest volumes, as well as most elaborate treatises on its subject, 
 that has for a long time appeared. To young families, or persons about entering the family 
 i-elation, it will prove a treasure. To parents, teachers, and all who have the training of 
 children, it cannot be too highly recommended. 
 
 \_Froin the Banney of Lignt, Boston. ] 
 
 We welcome a publication of this sort with undisguised sincerity, thankful that the time 
 at last has come when fundamental and radical physiological truths may be told to the peo- 
 ple plainly. Had such books been placed in the hands of youilger men two or three gener- 
 ations ago, their eflfect would have been visible enough in the physical character and habits 
 of the men of to-day. 
 
 \_From the Lowell Daily Courier. ] 
 
 This is the only book of this character we have ever seen which seem to be imbued with 
 a conscientious spirit from beginning to end. Hundreds of books on love, marriage, and 
 the relations of the sexes, have been written to sell. Many of them have done infinite 
 harm, instead of remedying the evils they pretended to combat ; but nobody can practice on 
 the principles laid down by Dr. Cowan without being better and wiser. 
 
 \^Froi>t the New York Albion.\^ 
 
 "The Science of a New Life," by John Cowan, M.D., is a hygienic and social guide 
 which many men, whether married or single, will be the better for carefully perusing. * * * 
 It devotes a large space to matters more or less physiological in their character, anil in so 
 doing treads upon somewhat delicate groiuid ; yet we have failed to detect anything which 
 might be regarded as inadmissible in a book intended for the instruction and to promote the 
 well-being of those into whose hands it may fall. It discusses the subjects on which it 
 treats in a refined and Christian spirit andXwith much good sense. 
 
 \^From the Farmer, Bridgeport, Conn.'] 
 
 Upon no topic connected with our physical well-being does so much ignorance prevail, 
 ftnd consequently abuse or wrong-doing, as Upon those so fully treated of in this work. 
 The book should have a wide circulation. The author has dedicated it to " all the married, 
 and particularly those who contemplate marriage." He should have dedicated it to " all the 
 world, and the rest of mankind," for its expositions and teachings are important not only to 
 the married and those whocontemplate marriage, but to all, both of high degree and low 
 degree, civilized or savage." 
 
 [From the Register, South Jackson, Mich. ] 
 
 Books of this character can not be multiplied too rapidly, nor can the influence of such 
 works as this, in releasing men and women ffom the strong bonds of ignorance, vice, and 
 Crime, be too highly estimated. The human race, we know, needs something stronger and 
 more powerful than the influence of a single volume, however good, to remove the many 
 evils of social and domestic life — line upon line, precept upon precept— -a little here, and a 
 great deal more there, can alone accomplish the great work of reformation, and restore the 
 wasted, sin-polluted lives of our fellow-beings to a condition of moral purity ; but we must 
 admit that Dr. Cowan has done all that any lover of his race can do to check the downward 
 course of the ignorant, thoughtless, and sinful. 
 
 iO 
 
WHAT TO EAT, AND HOW TO COOK IT; 
 
 WITH RULES FOR 
 
 Preserving, Canning, and Drying Fruits and Vegetables, 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE SCIENCE OF A NEW LIFE." 
 
 There are scores of Cook-Books in the market, but it is a question if the ingredients and the mixtures and 
 eombinations they affcc as " receipes" do not, when used as food, result in physical suffering, rather than in 
 health and vigor. 
 
 This book differs from that class of Cook-Books in that it aims to give, in a plain and understandable way. 
 the kind of food that it is best to eat in order to regain and sustain health and strength, and a mode of cooking 
 it that will make it at once palatable, nutritious and wholesome. Its contents, in part, are as follows! 
 
 Wheat and its Preparations—=«-25 different methods of cooking. 
 Corn and Rye, and their Preparations.-— ^38 different methods of cooking. 
 Oats and its Preparations— ^-'-y different methods of cooking. 
 Buckwheat and its Prep.arat'.ons 
 Barley and its Preparations. 
 
 Rice and its Picparations-«— -lo methods of cooking. 
 Sago, Tapioca and Arrowroot, and their Preparations. 
 Potatoes and their Pieparations — "^16 different methods of cooking. 
 Peas and Beans, and their Preparations— ^-14 methods of cooking. 
 Turnips, Carrots, Par.^nips and Artichokes, and their Preparations. 
 Onions, Leeks, Garlic, etc. and their Preparations. 
 Cabbage, Cauliflower, Spinach, Greens, etc., and their Preparations. 
 
 Apples, Pears, Quinces, Grapes, and their Preparations— —60 v/.ays of preparing and cooking. 
 Raisiils, Figs, Cucumbers, Melons, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, and their Preparations. 
 Pies— ^-How to make them healthfully. 
 
 Gravies and Sauces -- " 12 different kinds, without grease or spices. 
 
 Food and Drink for the Sick - ' - ^ with directions for making delicious Unfermented Wine. 
 Water— ^giving directions whereby svery house can have pure soft water. 
 Rules for Eating - ' A very important chapter. 
 
 Objectionable Articles of Diet— — equally as important, and necessarj' for all to know. 
 Poisons in Daily Use— -e.xposing the different methods of adulterating food, and horvv to detect them. 
 Preserving, Canning, and Drying Fruits and Vegetables. 
 
 As will be seen, this book differs, in mode of arrangement and method of cooking food simply and health- 
 fully, from any Cook-Eook heretofore published. 
 
 It gives 15 different recipes for making healthful, nutritious and palatable Bread, without the aid of either 
 yeast or baking pjwder. 
 
 It gives 16 different styles for healthfully cooking Potatoes. 
 
 It gives 25 modes of making Biscuit, and 30 methods of making and cooking Puddings, without the use 
 of soda, grease, etc. 
 
 It gives 12 methods of cooking Apples. 
 
 Very important information is contained under the head of " Objectionable Articles of Diet," and it tells 
 fill about Poisons in dally use, and how to detect them. 
 
 The article on " The Home Method of Preserving, Canning and Drying Fruits and Vegetables," is not 
 
 to be found in any other Cook-Book published, and is of itself well Worth thrice the price asked for the book. 
 
 Fiii.iIIy, it is so afranred that, if a housekeeper has only one or two articles in the house to prepare a 
 
 meal with, she can find out by this book the best method of cooking such articles in a palatable, inviting and 
 
 healthful manner. 
 
 Si^^'If you wish to avoid sickness and live healthfully, by eating food cooked and prepared in a simple 
 and inviting manner, send for 
 
 WHAT TO EAT, AND HOW TO COOK IT, 
 
 125 pages. Price-'-'Baund in Cloth, gilt side-stamp, 50 cents ; in Paper, 30 cents. Mailed, on receipt . 
 of price, by the Publishers, 
 
 COWAN & COMPANY, 
 139 Eighth Street, New York. 
 
Two Valuable Hand- Books. 
 
 THE USE OF TOBACCO, 
 
 versus 
 
 PURITY, CHASTITY, AND SOUND 
 HEALTH. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 How its use causes Baldness. 
 How it produces Dyspepsia and Indigestion. 
 How it decays the Teeth. 
 How it affects Hearing and Seeing. 
 How it results in Heart-Disease. 
 How it causes a fondness for Alcoholic Liquors. 
 How it weakens the memory. 
 
 How (in boys and young men) it prevents a growth into 
 a perfect Manhood— dwarfing Heart and Intellect 
 Soul and Body. 
 Every young man who aspires to be somebody — 
 to make life a success, physically, mentally and mo- 
 rally—should send for, read, and be guided by the 
 councils contained in this book. 
 
 Mailed for 30 cents ; in cloth 50 cents. 
 
 INTEMPERANCE: 
 
 ITS FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, MENTAL, 
 SOCIAL AND MORAL EVILS, 
 
 AND 
 
 ITS CAUSE AND REMEDY. 
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 How it weakens the Body. 
 How it depraves the Mind. 
 How it produces Poverty. 
 How the Taste is Transmitted. 
 How the Taste is Acquiied. 
 The effect of its use on the Young. 
 Its use at the Lord's Table 
 Its use by Physicians 
 What Eminent Men say of it. 
 
 How it drags down and degrades the body >nd soul of 
 
 all who touch, taste and handle the accursed thing. 
 
 All whose desire it is to help stamp out the evil of 
 
 Intemperance, should possess and circulate this book. 
 
 Mailed for 30 Cents ; in cloth 50 cents. 
 
 Books for Phrenologists, 
 KNOW THYSELF 
 
 Is a handsomely printed little work of 32 pages, and is just the thing in sire and matter for traveling 
 Phrenologists. It is furnished at $4 per 100 copies, Sample copies 10 cents. Phrenologists on using it, give it the 
 preferance overall other small charts, not alone for its low price, but for the arrangement of its contents and its 
 general appearance. 
 
 SELF-HELP 
 
 IN THE ATTAINMENT OF PERFECTION OF CHARACTER AND SUCCESS 
 
 IN LIFE 
 
 By JOHN COWAN, M. D., 
 
 Author of *'The Scietuc of a Ne^v Life" etc. 
 
 This is one of the best books of the kind ever published. It contains just the information required by all 
 whose desire it is to GROW UPWARD. Have you qualities of character that make your daily life mi.serable, 
 inharmonious, uncongenial ? "Self-Help" will suggest to you how they may be remedied. Have you tendencies 
 of mind that lead or tempt you to do wrong in any of the many relations you hold toward your fellow-man ? 
 "Self-Help" by its suggestions will aid you into a purer morality. Are you at a loss to know what business it is 
 best for you to follow in order to secure success in life ? This book will furnish you with the elements necessary 
 to decide rightly and secure success. Are you unsuccessful in your business aims 7 This book will show you 
 the cause of your non-success, and furnish you the stepping-stones to the royal road of wealth, health, and happiness. 
 
 The location is given of all the mental organs, and their combinations, and is thus an excellent aid to the 
 study of Phrenology, as well as to the study of one's own self. 
 
 It has a table for recording developments, and practicing Phrenologists, will, on using the book, find that it 
 gives excellent satisfaction. 
 
 Bound in extra English Cloth, bevelled boards, gilt side stamp, 150 pages, over 40 illustrations, printed on 
 
 heavy tinted paper, from new types. Price $i. To Phrenologists by the quantity at a large discount. Mailed on 
 
 receipt of price. 
 
 ADDRESS ALL ORDERS TO 
 
 COWAN & COMPANY, 
 REFORM Book Publishers, 139 Eighth Street, New York. 
 
HEALTH HINTS; 
 
 Showing how to Acquire and Retain Bodily Symmetry, Healt. 
 
 Vigor and Beauty. 
 
 This is a new book just published, that contains a fund of rare, valuable and practical 
 information on subjects that interest every man and woman, boy and girl. A partial list oi 
 its contents is as follows: 
 
 Cliapter /.—Laws of Bkauti— Definition of Beauty— Different styles of Beauty — The perfect Standard, kc, Uc. 
 
 Chapter II. — Hebeditaby Transmission — Showing how parents can have halthy and b.autiflL. ciiiliJxen, &c. 
 
 Chapter III. — AlB, Sunshine, Water and Food — How these elements influence Health and B&iuty -A whit: 
 skin and pale complexion is not beauty — Sunlight necessary to health- &c., ic. - Uow orpulence may be 
 
 gyred the Fat made Lean — How Lean jjeople may become Plump and Fat, full directions— /you need not be 
 
 lean, angular, bony, or sharp visaged, when by following the directions in this book, you can a quire c round ■ 
 ness'oi form, and a plumpness and rosiness of f?jce, that wiU be a delight and uleasure to look upon) -Pliilosc 
 phy of bathing— How properly to wash tlie face, ( few know how to do thif , simple as it may appear)— A/ha! 
 food to avoid by those who wish to regain or retain soimd health, cleai- skin and rosy cheeks— Thn best kind al. 
 Toilet Soap to use, ic, &c. 
 
 Chapter IV. — Work and Rest — How work and Rest, rightly observed, ln;.uence Health au.l B uty. 
 
 Chapter V. — Dress and Ornament — Choice of color in Dress — The harmony of color in Dress to contrasi 
 with the fair, blonde, ruddy blond, pale brunette, and florid blond — ic, ic. 
 
 Chapter VI. — The Hair and its Management — How all may have a fine head of hair — Falling of the hair- 
 To manage and dress the hair when long — How to curl the hair, without injuring it — The best Hair Dress- 
 ing — How to dress the hair for a Photograph — Brittle hair — How grey hair can be restored to its natural color — 
 To restore the hair iu Baldness — To remove superfluous hair — Falling of the hair — Best combs to use — Care of 
 hair brushes — Wheu aud how to cut the hair — Why men's hair falls out more than women's — Different methods 
 of washing the hair — How heating irons and frizzing spoils the hair — How the use of patent oils and pomades 
 destroy the hair — How to make and use the best, most simple aud harmless hair dressing at small cost — Care 
 of long hair at night — How dandruff aud itching of the Scalp may be cured, ic. — The Beard and Moustache — 
 What boys and young men should do to acquire a tine, silky and handsome Beard and moustaches, ic, ic. 
 
 Chapter VII. — Skin and Complexion — The secret of acquiring a bright and beautiful skin — How to avoid 
 flabby softness, or scraggy leanness — Anatomy and uses of the skin, ic, ic. 
 
 Chapter VIII.— Ths Mouth — giving full instructions about the lips, teeth, breath — Lips that are beautiful or 
 repulsive, how caused — Biting and sucking the Ups — To prevent chapped lips — Habits that destroy the teeth — 
 To prevent tartar — The best tooth brush — How to prevent a bad breath, ic. 
 
 Chapter /X.— The Eyes, Ears and Nose— Habits that weaken and irritate the eye— The best light to work 
 by — How to choose spectacles and fit them to the eye — Care of the ears — Deafness how to judge if curable — 
 Red noses — How to reduce largo, fleshy and unsightly noses, ic, ic. 
 
 Chapter X.— The Nkck, Hands and Feet— Care of the hands— To remove warts — Care of the finger nails— 
 To cure blisters, corns and bunions, ic , 
 
 Chapter XI. — Growths, Marks, io., that are Enemies of Beauty — Gives full directions for the cure of 
 Sunburn, Freckles, Pimples, Wrinkles, Warts, Fleshworms — No lady possessing a copy of " Health Hints " 
 need longer be troubled and annoyed by these enemies to % pleasing and inviting face aud complexion, ic, ic. 
 
 Chapter XII. — Cosmetics and Perfumery — This chapter among other things gives an analysis of Perry's 
 Moth and Freckle Lotion, Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia Balm, Laird's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's 
 Enamel, Clark's Restorative for the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer's Hair Vigor, Professor Woods Hair 
 Restorative, Hair Restorer America, Gray's Hair Restorative, Phalon's Vitalia, Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. 
 Allen's World's Hair Restorer. Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer; Martha Washington Hair Restorative, 
 ic. ic, (no room for more,) showing how the lead, ic, in these mixtures cause disease and oftimes prema 
 ture death. 
 
 Price 50 cents, or handsomely bound, iu fine cloth, with side black and gold stamp, $1 00 
 Send all orders only to the Publishers. 
 
 COWAN & Co., 
 
 No. 139 Eighth St., New York. 
 
Good Books Mailed on Eeceipt of Price. 
 
 Courtship and Marriage; or, The Mysteries of Making Love fully Explained. This 
 is an entirely new work on a most interesting subject. Contents.— First steps in courtsbip; Ad- 
 vice to both parties at the outset; Introduction to the lady's family; Restrictions imposed by etiquette; 
 What the lady should observe in early courtship; What the suitor should observe ; Etiquette as to pres- 
 ents ; The proposal ; Mode of refusal -when not approved ; Conduct to be observed by u rejected suitor ; 
 JBefu'sal by the lady's parents or guardians; Etiquette of an engagement; Demeanor of the betrothed 
 pair- Should a courtship be lonar or short; Preliminary etiquette of a wedding ; Eixing the day ; How to 
 be married ; The trousseau ; Duties to be attended to by the bridegi-oom , Who should be asked to the wed- 
 din"- iJut'ies of the bridesmaids and briJegroomsmeu; Etiquette of a wedding; Costume of bride, 
 bridesmaids, and bridegroom ; Arrival at the church ; The marriage ceremonial ; llegistry of the marriage ; 
 Eeturn home, and wedding breakfast ; Departure for the honeymoon ; Wedding cards ; Modem practice of 
 " No Cards • "' Reception and return of wedding visits ; Practical advice to a newly married couple. Mailed 
 for 15 cents. 
 
 How to Behave. — A Hand-Book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness.— Contents. — 
 Etiquette and its uses ; Introductions ; Cutting acquaintances ; Letters of introduction ; Street etiquette ; 
 Domestic etiquette and duties; Visiting; Receiving company; Evening parties; The lady's toilet; The 
 gentleman's toilet; Invitations; Etiquette of tlie ball-room ; General rules of conversation ; Bashfulness, 
 and how to overcome it; Dinner parties; Table etiquette; Carving; ;?ervants ; 1 ravelling; Visiting 
 cards ; Letter-writing ; Conclusion. This is the best book of the kind yet published, and every ijerson wish- 
 ing to' be considered well-bred, who wishes to understand the customs of good society, and to avoid incor- 
 rect and vulgar habits, should send for a copy. Mailed for 15 cents. 
 
 The Model Letter-Writer. — A Comprehensive and Complete Guide and Assistant 
 for those who desire to carry on epistolary correspondence— containing instructions for writing Letters of 
 Introduction; Letters on Business; Letters of Recommendation; Applications for Employment; Letters 
 of Con'Tatulaiiou ; Letters of Condolence ; Letters of Friendship and Relationship ; Love Letters ; Notes 
 of Invitation; Letters of Favor, of Advice, and of Eucuse, etc., etc., together with appropriate Answers 
 to each. This is an invaluable book for those persons who have not had sufficient practice to enable them 
 to write letters without great effort. Mailed for 15 cents. 
 
 The Complete Fortune-Teller and Dream Book. — This book contains a complete 
 
 Dictionary of Dreams, alphabetically arranged, with a clear interpretation of each dream, and the lucky 
 numbers that belong to it. It includes Palmistry, or telling fortunes by the lines of the hand ; fortune- 
 tellin" by the grounds in a tea or coffee cup ; how to read your future life by the white of an egg ; tells how 
 to know who your luture husband will be, and how soon you will be married; fortune-telling by cards ; 
 Hymen's lottery ; good and bad omens, etc., etc. Mailed for 15 cents. 
 
 Love and Courtship Cards. — Sparkiugr, Courting, and Love-Makins all made easy 
 by the use of these Cards. They are arranged ■v^ith such apt conversation that you will be able to ask the 
 momentous question in such a delicate manner that the girl will not suspect what you are at. They may 
 be used by two persons only, or they wiU make lots of tun for an evening party of young people. There 
 are sixty cards in all, and each answer will respond differently to every one of the questions. Mailed for 
 30 cents. 
 
 How to Woo and How to Win. — Tliis interesting work contains full and explicit rules 
 for the Etiquette of Courtship, with directions showing How to Win the Favor of the Ladies; How to begin 
 and end a Courtship ; and How Love-Letteis should be written. It not only tells how to win the favor 
 of the l.idies, but how to address a lady; conduct a courtship; "pop the question"; write love-letters ; 
 all about the' marriage ceremony ; bridal chamber ; after marriage, etc. Maded for 15 cents. 
 
 Art of Ventriloquism. — Contains simple and full directions by whicii any one may 
 acquire this amusing art, with numerous examples for practice. Also instructions for making the 
 ma^ic whistle for imitating birds, animals, and peculiar sounds of various kinds. Any boy who wishes to 
 obtain an art' by which he can develop a wonderful amount of astonishment, mystery, and fun, should 
 learn Ventriloquism, as he easily can by following the simple secret giveu in this book. Mailed for 15 cents. 
 
 Leisure-Hour Work for Ladies. — Containing Instructions for Flower and Shell 
 Work; Antique, Grecian, and Theorem Painting; Botanical Specimens: Cone Work; Anglo-Japanese 
 Work; Decalcomanie ; Diaphame ; Leather Work ; Modelling in Clay; Transferring; Crayon Drawing; 
 Photograph Coloring, etc., etc. A very complete book, and one that no young lady having spare time 
 can atlbrd to be without. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 The Dancei''s Guide and Bail-Room Companion.— Including Etiquette of the 
 
 Ball-Room This is one of the best and most complete books ever published, and it contains all that is 
 requiied to know, by the most plain or fashionable, of ball-room etiquette, behavior, manners, etc., 
 besides containing full and minute directions for all of the popular and fashionable dances, with ample ex- 
 planations, calls, etc. Mailed for 25 cents. 
 
 The American Sphinx.— A choice, curious and complete collection of Anagrams, 
 Enigmas. Charades, Rebuses, Problems. Puzzles, Cryptographs, Riddles, Conundrums, Decapitations, 
 Word Changes, etc , etc. Profusely Illustrated. Mailed for 25 cents 
 
 Our Bovs' and Girls' Favorite Speaker.— Containing patriotic. Sentimental Poetical 
 and Comic Gems of Oratory, by Chapin, Dickens, Dow, Jr., Beecher, Bums, Artemus Ward, Everett, 
 Tennyson, Webster, and others Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 Life in the Back Woods.— A Guide to the Successful Hunting and Trapping of all 
 kinds of Animals. This is at once the most complete and practical book now in the market. Mailed 
 for 20 cents. 
 
 Address FRANK M. REED. 
 
 139 Eiffbtb Street, Neiv York. 
 
Good Books Mailed on Eeceipt qf Price. 
 
 The Housewife's Treasure.— A manual of information of everytliins that relates to 
 household economies. It gives the method of making Jackson's Universal Washing Compound, which 
 will clean the diitiest cotton, linen or woolen cloths in twenty minutes without rubbing or banning the 
 material. This nceipt is being constantly peddled through the country at $5 each, and is certainly worth it. 
 It also tells all about soap-making at home, so as to make it cost about one-quarter of what bar-soap costs ; 
 it tells how to make candles by moulding or dipping; it gives seven metliods for destroying rats and 
 mice ; how to make healthy bread without flour (something entirely new) ; to preserve clothes and furs 
 from moths ; a sure plan of destroying house flies, cockroaches, beetles, ants, btd-bugs and fleas ; all 
 about house-cleaning, papering, etc., etc., and hundreds of other valuable hints just such as housekeepers 
 are wanting to know. Mailed for 30 cents. 
 
 Secrets for Farmers.— This book tells how to restore rancid butter to its orijiinal 
 flavor and purity ; a new way of coloring butter ; bow largely to increase the milk of cows ; a sure cure 
 for kicking cows ; how to make Thorley's celebrated condimental food for cattle ; how to make hens lay 
 every day in the year ; it gives an effectual remedy for the Canada thistle ; to save mice girded trees ; a 
 certain plan to destroy the curculo and peach borer ; how to convert dead animals and bones into manure ; 
 Barnet's certain preventive for the potato rot, worth $50 to any farmer ; remedy for smut in wheat ; to cure 
 bliglit in fruit-trees; to destroy the potato bug; to prevent riiildew and rust in wheat; to destroy the cut 
 worm; home-made stump machine, as good as any sold ; to keep cellars from freezing, etc., etc. It is im- 
 poa3il)le to give the full contents of this very valuable book here, space will not allow. It wiU be mailed 
 for 30 cents. 
 
 Preserving and Manufacturing Secrets. — This book gives plain directions for 
 
 preserving, canning, and storing all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and for manufacturing all kinds 
 of foreign and domestic liquors, home-made wines and summer beverages. It gives a new, simple 
 and cheap plan of preserving eggs fresli for five years (if necessary), so that when opened they will taste 
 as if freshly laid. This receipt alone has often been sold for $5. It teUs housekeepers now to make all 
 varieties of palatable and delicious fruit jellies and jams. It shows how to make a fruity and sweet-tasting 
 cider without apples that when bottled will foam and effervesce like genuine champagne. It tells how to 
 keep fruit and vegetables fresh all the year round. All about pickling. How to make all kinds of liquors 
 at home at a trifling expense, and which cannot be told from that sold at $5 to $10 a gallon, etc., etc. 
 MaUed for only 50 cents. 
 
 The Lover's Companion. — A book no lover should be without. It gives Handker- 
 chief, Parasol, Glove and Fan Flirtations ; also. Window and Dining-table Signalling ; The Language of 
 Flowers ; How to kiss deliciously ; Love Letters, and how to write them, with specimens ; Bashfulnesa and 
 Timidity, and how to overcome them, etc., etc. Mailed tor 25 cents. 
 
 Magic Trick Cards. — Used by Magicians for performing Wonderful Tricks. Every boy 
 a magician ! Every man a conjurer ! Every girl a witch ! Every one astonished 1 They are the most 
 superior Trick Cards ever offered for sale, and with them you can perform some of the most remarkable 
 illusions ever discovered. Mailed, with full directions, for 25 cents a pack. 
 
 The Black Art Fully Exposed and Laid Bare. — This book contains some of the 
 
 most marvellous things in ancient and modern magic, jugglery, etc., ever printed, and has to be seen to 
 be fully appreciated. Suffice it to say that any boy knowing the secrets it contains will be able to do 
 things that will astonish all. Illustrated. Mailed for 25 cents. 
 
 The Magic Dial. — A perfectly new invention, by the use of which secret correspondence 
 may be carried on without the fear of detection. It is simple, reliable, and can be used by any person. 
 By its use the postal card is made as private as a sealed letter. It is just the thing tor lovers. Mailed 
 for 25 cents, or two for 40 cents. 
 
 How to Entertain a Social Party. — A Collection of Tableaux, Games, Amusing 
 Experiments, Diversions. Card Tricks, Parlor Magic, Philosophical Recreations, etc. Profusely Illustrated. 
 This book contains chaste and enjoyable amusement and entertainment enough for a whole winter. 
 Mailed for 25 cents. 
 
 Educating the Horse. — A new and improved system of educating the horse Also a 
 treatise on shoeing, with new and valuable receipts for diseases of horses, together with the Rules of the 
 Union Course. This book contains matter not to be found in any other work on the horse. Mailed for 25 
 cents. 
 
 Swimming and Skating.— A complete Guide for learners. Every reader should possess 
 this l)ook so as to learn how to swim. ]Wany a young life has been nipped in the bud, many a home 
 made desolate for the want of knowing how to swim. Very fully illustrated. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 Singing Made Easy. — Explaining the pure Italian method of producing and cultivating 
 the Voice, the Management of the Breath, the best way of Improving the Ear, and mucli valuable in- 
 formation, equally useful to professional singers and amateurs. Mailed for 20 Cints. 
 
 Shadow Pantomime of Mother Goose.— A miniature theatte for the children, with 
 stage, scenery, figures, and everything complete to perform the laugh.ible Shadow Pantomime of Mother 
 Goose. A book of explanations, with 14 engravings, accompanies it. Mailed for 30 cents. 
 
 The Amateur's Guide to Magic and Mystery. — An entirely new work, containing 
 full and ample instructions on the Mysteries of Magic, Slei'ght-of-Hand Tricks, Card Tricks, etc. The 
 best work on Conjuring for Amateurs published. Illustrated. Mailed for 25 cents. 
 
 The Happy Home Songster. — A casket of time-honored vocal gems. Only favorite 
 and world-wide known songs are admitted in this and following book. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 The Fireside Songster. — A collection of the best-known sentimental, humorous, and 
 eomic songs. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 Address FRAIVK 91. REED, 
 
 139 Eig;btb Street, Ncvr York. 
 
Good Books Mailed on Receipt of Price. 
 
 How to Talk and Debate.— Contents.— Introduction — Laws of Conversation — Lis- 
 tening — Self-p08session— Appreciativeness —Conversation, when coufldental— The matter and the manner- 
 Proper aubjeets -Trifles -Objectionable subjects— Politica— Rights of women— Wit and humor— Congenial- 
 ity— Vampires and parasites— Pretenders— Books and plays— Long talks— Assumption of W'sdom— Provin- 
 cialisms- Questions and negatives -Our own hobbies— Affability — Comparisons and similes— Discursive- 
 ness— Distinct utterance- Accent and pronunciation— The voice, how to improve— Temper- Speaking one's 
 mind— Slander— Ejaculations -Fashion -Public Speaking— How to make a speech— The exordium— Thread 
 of conversation— incongruities— Stammering and hesitating— Brevity— Declamation — Extemporaneous ora- 
 tory— Written speech— J'emper and personalities— Redundances- Opening a debate— Division of the sub- 
 ject— Tlie aifirmative— The reply, etc., etc. A really valuable book, and one that every man and woman, 
 boy and girl should possess. Mailed for 16 cents. 
 
 Salt, Pepper and Mustard ; or, Spice for the million. The latest, greatest, and fun- 
 niest of all " phunny " books. Everybody wants it. It is just the thing for a spare hour, a rainy day, or 
 a wintry evening, or to make your dinner digest well. About five minutes after finishing dinner take a dip 
 into ** Salt, Pepper and Mustard," and you will never be troubled by indegestion, or dyspepsia. But don't 
 send for it unless your buttons are well sewed on. Ready-made clothing stands no sort of a chance when 
 " Salt, Pepper and Mustard " is being read and devoured Finally, don't buy ana carry it home if any of 
 your friends have weak backs : they couldn't endure it for a single moment. It has ruined thousands of 
 sober faces for ever. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 The Swindlers of America— Who They Are and How They Work — This is the most 
 complete book of the kind published. It fully exposes every trick, snare, and plan used by humbugs, 
 rogues, and swindlers to entrap the unwary, through the mails and otherwise, and oheat them of their 
 dollars and cents. You may think yourself " shni-p " ; but there are others shaper than you are ; and if 
 you are a sensible man or woman, before sending money to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that may send you 
 a letter or circular, you will send for this book, read it carefully, and remember its contents. Mailed for 
 25 cents. 
 
 Spectral Illusions.— A new and wonderful Method of showing Ghosts of any color, in 
 every man's house, without the aid of a medium, affording an immense amount of innocent amusement for 
 the home circle. This wonderful discovery is based on scientific principles, and the unprecedented demand 
 for it shows it to be one of the wonders of the age. Mailed post-paid with full directions for 50 cents. 
 
 The Management and Care of Infants and Children.— By Geo. Combe, M.D. 
 
 This is the best book ever written on the subject, and is one that no mother of a family can afford to be 
 without Its usual price in the book stores is $1.50, but it will be mailed— the Uitesl and most complete 
 edition — for only 75 cents. 
 
 Iiaughing Gas. — A Repository of Fun. Wit, and Humor. Containing the richest Comical 
 Stories, side-splitting Jokes, humorou.s Poetry, quaint Yams, brightest Scintillations of Wit. Profusely Il- 
 lustrated with funny Engravings. Altogether it contains the merriest , thoughts of the merriest men. 
 Mailed for 25 cents. 
 
 The Common Sense Cook Book.— Showing fully What to Eat and How to Cook it. 
 
 With very full directions on 'The Home Method of Presei-ving, Canning, and Drj'ine: Fruits and Vegeta- 
 bles. It tells also about Poisons in daily use and how to detect them. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe.— The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. A new and complete 
 edition of this fascinating and ever readable book, containing over 34 beautiful engravings. Every boy and 
 girl from eight to eighty should possess and read it. flailed for only 30 cents. 
 
 The Jolly Joker's Game Bag.— Containing nny immber of Komic Kuts, and bursting 
 with Laughable Stories, Witty Sayings, Queer Yarns, Odd Conundrums, Humourous Jokes, and, better 
 than all, is mailed for only 15 cents. 
 
 An Easy Road to Fortune ; or. Fifty Ways of Coining Money. A new book well 
 worth a hundred times the price asked for it. No capital required, can be done at home or abroad, day or 
 evening. Mailed for 50 cents. 
 
 How to Write Short-Hand.— By the aid of this book any person of the most ordinal. v 
 intelligence may learn to write short-hand, and report sermons, lectures, speeches, etc. Mailed lor la 
 cents. 
 
 Every Lady Her Own Dressmaker.— A new book on Dressmaking, Bleaching, 
 
 Ironing, Renovating, Dyeing, etc., etc. Mailed for 20 cents. 
 
 Photographs.— Tm/tr first class Photographs, copies of Celebrated Paintings of Portraits, 
 all different. Mailed for 50 cents, or Thirty for one dollar. 
 
 Chromes.— rw<'/t'« beautiful artistic Chromos, mounted, Landscape or Figures, all dlflferent. 
 Mailed for 50 cents, or Thirty for one dollar. 
 
 Address FRAMK M. REED, 
 
 139 Eiffbth Street, Ne^v York. 
 
THE 
 
 HOUSEWIFE'S TREASURE. 
 
 A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 
 
 ON 
 
 EVERYTHING THAT RELATES TO 
 
 HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIES 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 fiia.i^k: m:. reed, x^tjbliseler. 
 
TWO aRKAT BOOKS. 
 
 OLD SECRETS AND NEW DISCOVERIES : 
 
 Containing Information of Bare Value for all Classes, in all Conditions 
 
 of Society. 
 
 It tells all about Electrical Psychology, showing liow you can biologize any person, and whUe under the 
 influence he will do any thing you may wish him, no matter how lidiculous it may be, and Le cannot help 
 doing it , also, how to mesmerize — a secret that has been sold over and over again tbr $10 ; how to make a 
 person at a distance think of you, and how to chai-m those you meet and make them love you, whetherihey 
 will or not. 
 
 It tells how to make the wonderful Magic or Invisible Photographs and Spirit Pictures ; the Eggs of 
 Pharo's Serpents, which when lighted, though but the size of a pea, there issues from it a coiling 8erx)ent ; 
 how to perform tlie Davenport Brothers' " Spirit Mysteries " ; how to copy any kind of drawing or picture, 
 and more wonderful still, to print pictures fi-om the print itself; how to make gold and siher from tiock- 
 tin (the least said about which, the better) ; also, how to take impressions from coins, and how to imitate 
 gold and silver. 
 
 It tells how to make a horse appear a3 though he was badly foundered ; to make a horse tem- 
 porarily lame ; how to make him stand by hia food and not eat it ; how to cure a horse from the crib or suck- 
 ing wiud ; how to put a young countenance on the horse ; how to cover up the heaves ; how to make him 
 appear as if he had the glanders ; how to make a true-pulling horse baulk ; how to nerve a horse that is 
 lame, etc., etc. These horse secrets are being continually sold at one dollar each. 
 
 It tells how to make a cheap Galvanic Battery ; how to plate and gild without a battery ; how to make 
 a candle burn all night; how to make a clock tor 25 cents; how to detect counterfeit money; how to 
 banish and prevent mosquitoes from biting ; how to make yellow butter in winter ; Circassian curling 
 fluid; Sympathetic or Secret "Writing Ink ; Cologne Water; Aitificial honey ; Stammering; how to make 
 large noses small ; to cure drunkenness ; to copy letters without a press : to obtain fresh blown flowers 
 in winter , to make a good burning candle from lard ; and scores of other wonderful things for which there 
 is no room to mention. " Old Secrets and iV'eio Discovei-ies " is worth $5 to any person, but it will be mailed 
 to any addresa on receipt of only 50 cents. 
 
 HEALTH HINTS. 
 
 A new book showing; how to Acquire and Retain Bodily Symmetry, Health, Vigor, and Beauty. Its con- 
 tents are as follows : Laws of Beauty — Air, Sunsliine, Water, and Food— Work and Rest— Dress and Orna- 
 ment—The Hair and its Management— Skin and Complexion — the Mouth — The Eyes, Ears and Nose— 
 The Neck, Hands, and Feet — Growth and Marks that are Enemies of Beauty— Cosmetics and Perfumery. 
 
 Fat People.— It gives ample rules how Corpulency may be Cured — the Eat made Lean, Comely and 
 Active. 
 
 I^ean People. — It also gives directions, the following of which will enable Lean, Angular, Bony 
 or Sharp Visaged People, to be Plump and Rosy Skinned. 
 
 Gray H-.iir.— It tells how Gray Hair may be Restored to its natural color without the aid of Dyes, 
 Restorers, or Pomades. 
 
 Baldness.— It gives ample directions for Restoring Hair on Bald Heads, as well as how to stop 
 Falling of the Hair, how to Curl the Hair, etc. 
 
 Reai-A and. ITlustacbe.— It tells what Young Men should do to acquire a Fine Silky and Handsome 
 Beard and Mustache. 
 
 Freckles and Pimples.— It gives full directions for the Cure of Sunburn, Freckles, Pimples, 
 Wrinkles, Warts, etc., so that they can be entirely removed. 
 
 Cosmetics.— This chapter, among other things, gives an Analysis of Perry's Moth and Freckle 
 Lotion. Balm of White Lilies, Hagan's Magnolia Balm, Lair'l's Bloom of Youth, Phalon's Enamel, Clark's 
 Restorative for the Hair, Chevalier's Life for the Hair, Ayer"s Hair Vigor, Professor Wood's Hair Restor- 
 ative, Hair Bestorer America. Gray's Hair Restorative, Phalon's Vitalia. Ring's Vegetable Ambrosia, Mrs. 
 Allen's World's Hair Restorer, Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, Martha Washington Hair Restor- 
 ative, etc , etc. (no room tor morel, showing how the lead, etc., in these mixtures cause disease and often- 
 times premature death. Mailed for 50 cents 
 
 FRANK M. REED, 
 
 139 EIGUTII STREET, IVETV YOUK. 
 
9 
 

 
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