To Remove The Odor From A Vial

The odor of its last contents may be removed from a vial by filling it with cold water, and letting it stand in any airy place uncorked for three days, changing the water every day.

To Loosen A Glass Stopper

The manner in which apothecaries loosen glass stoppers when there is difficulty in getting them out, is to press the thumb of the right hand very hard against the lower part of the stopper, and then give the stopper a twist the other way, with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, keeping the bottle stiff in a steady position.

To Make Shoes Or Boots Water-Proof

Melt together, in a pipkin, equal quantities of beeswax and mutton suet. While liquid rub it over the leather, including the soles To Soften Boots and Shoes. - Kerosene will soften boots and shoes which have been hardened by water, and render them as pliable as new.

To Remove Stains, Spots, And Mildew From Furniture

Take half a pint of ninety-eight per cent, alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverized resin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil, shake well and apply with a brush or sponge. Sweet oil will remove finger marks from varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.

To Freshen Gilt Frames

Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dusting them, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whites of three eggs. Scraped patches should be touched up with gold paint. Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oil paintings. Other methods should not be employed without some skill.

To Fill Cracks In Plaster

Use vinegar instead of water to mix your plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not "set" for twenty or thirty minutes, whereas if you use water the plaster will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it. Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a tableknife To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glassware. - Immerse the article in a pot filled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boil the water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resist any sudden change of temperature.

To Remove Paint From Window-Glass

Rub it well with hot, sharp vinegar.

To Clean Stovepipe

A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stove will clean out the stovepipe.

To Brighten Carpets

Carpets, after the dust has been beaten out, may be brightened by scattering upon them cornmeal mixed with salt and then sweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets should be thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side, after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and water.

Kerosene Stains in Carpets may be removed by sprinkling buckwheat flour over the spot. If one sprinkling is not enough, repeat.

To Keep Flowers Fresh exclude them from the air. To do this wet them thoroughly, put them in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton, or wet newspaper, then place in a cool spot. To preserve bouquets, put a little saltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets, and the flowers will live for a fortnight.