To soften the hands and remove stains, put a couple of hand-fuls of bran in a bowl of hot soap suds, keep the hands in this, brushing, rubbing and soaking them thoroughly in the warm mixture, which should be of the consistency of thin gruel. This is healing and softening. Coid boiled potatoes will cleanse the hands and keep the skin soft and healthy.

To Remove stains on the hands, lemon juice is frequently sufficient, also the above baths. They may be touched with oxalic ' acid successfully for this, but it is rank poison. Rinse the hands after using it, and rub glycerine, or cold cream, on the spot. Rub-bing the hands in fresh tomato parings will remove apple and potato stains.

Indian meal mixed with lemon juice, or good cider vinegar, is very soothing for hands roughened by cold or labor. It will also remove stains. Keep some prepared in a bowl. Rub the hands in this, rinse thoroughly, rub in a few drops of glycerine and dry. This is an excellent preparation for chapped hands, and will remove the unpleasant effects resulting from keeping the hands in soft soap, or other strong soap suds. The acid destroys the effect of the alkali.

Glycerine Preparation

2 ounces of pure glycerine, juice of one lemon. Mix and apply to the hands. Shake well before using. This will heal and whiten the hands.

Cosmetic Gloves

These are designed to soften and often the hands, and are worn at night. Take a pair of strong kid or dog-skin gloves and brush over the inside with the following mixture, or else rub plentifully over the hands and draw on the gloves. Fresh should be put on every night, and two or three weeks is as long as one pair of gloves should be used. They should be loosely fitting. Take equal quantities of spermaceti and pure bees-wax. Scrape fine, cover with sweet oil and simmer until it becomes liquid. Use a small china cup or jar; set in a vessel of boiling water. Add a few drops of, rose-water and blend thoroughly. Take from the fire and let it form in the same cup. In the morning wash the hands with warm water and oat-meal or almond powder, not soap, and a manifest improvement in color and texture will be the result.

Finger Nails

Trim evenly and prettily, a very little deeper in the center. Do not leave them too long. Do not bite them off. If children are inclined to do this, put extract of quassia on the finger tips, and the, extreme bitter will soon break up the habit. Cleanse the nails every day with a nail-brush, which should be soft instead of harsh and stiff, thus avoiding the use of a knife in cleaning, which roughens the under surface and causes dust to adhere more readily. Bub the nails with a coarse towel, not only for the polish, but to keep the skin of the fingers from growing up on them in unsightly ridges. Expose the white half-moon or lunette at the root as much as possible, as this lengthens the oval outline of the nail.

Finger Nail Polish

Pure oxide of zinc tinted with carmine and perfumed to suit. Apply by rubbing on the nail with the finger or a nail-polisher covered with leather (chamois). It renders the surface smooth, bright and pink. It need not be used too often. It also tinges the finger tips daintily.

Coloring For Lips

Take the following Hand Pomade and add Alkanet powder, until color suits; it is delicate and harmless.

2 ounces oil of sweet almonds; 1 ounce spermaceti; ½ ounce rice flour. Heat over slow fire, stir until cold. Add few drops of oil of rose.

Fever Blisters

At the first symptoms touch the affected spot carefully with the following preparation every few hours: 10 drops carbolic acid, 1 teaspoonful glycerine, 2 drops oil of roses. Never rub the sore spot to irritate it.

Lip Salves

Cold cream, glycerine, lettuce cream, etc., are all good for roughened and cracked lips.