The Ladies Book of Useful Information - Anonymous (the unexpected everything .txt) 📗

one ounce; Peruvian bark, one ounce; prepared chalk, one ounce; myrrh, one-half ounce. Mix.

To Remove Offensive Breath.—For this purpose, almost the only substance that should be admitted to the toilet is the concentrated solution of chloride of soda. From six to ten drops of it in a wineglassful of spring water, taken immediately after the operations of the toilet are completed.

In some cases, the odor arising from caries is combined with that of the stomach. If the mouth be well rinsed with a teaspoonful of the solution of the chloride in a tumbler of water, the bad odor of the teeth will be removed.

Rye Tooth Powder.—Rye contains carbonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, manganese, and silica, all suitable for application to the teeth. Therefore, a fine tooth powder is made by burning rye, or rye bread, to ashes, and grinding it to powder by passing the rolling-pin over it. Pass the powder through a sieve, and use.

Camphorated Chalk.—This favorite tooth powder is easily made. Take a pound of prepared chalk, and with this mix two drams of camphor very finely powdered, and moisten with spirits of wine. Thoroughly mix.

To Remove the Yellow Color from Teeth.—Take of dry hypochlorite of lime, one-half dram; red coral, two drams. Tincturate and mix thoroughly. This powder is employed in the following manner: A new brush is slightly moistened, then dipped in the powder and applied to the teeth. A few days after the use of this powder the teeth will acquire a beautiful white color.

Camphor Paste.—Take one ounce of oil ammoniac, four drams of camphor. Let the above be very finely powdered, then mix it with sufficient honey to make it into a smooth paste; triturate it until entirely smooth. This is a most excellent paste for preserving and beautifying the teeth.

Preservative Tincture for the Teeth and Gums.—Take four drams of camphor, one ounce of tincture of myrrh, one ounce of tincture of bark, and one ounce of rectified spirits of wine; mix them, and put 30 or 40 drops in a wineglassful of water. Pour a little of this upon your brush before you apply it to the powder, and when the teeth are clean, wash the mouth, teeth, and gums with the remainder. It will in ordinary cases prevent toothache.

Powerfully Cleansing Dentifrice.—Take fine powder of pumice stone, four drams; fine powder of cuttlefish bone, four drams; add one scruple of subcarbonate of soda. Mix them well together, color and scent according to taste, and then pass it through a fine sieve.

Infallible Cure for Toothache.—Take alum, reduced to an impalpable powder, two drams; nitreous spirits of ether, seven drams. Mix, and apply them to the tooth. This is said to be an infallible cure for all kinds of toothache, unless the disease is connected with rheumatism.

Mixture for Decayed Teeth.—Make a balsam with a sufficient quantity of honey, two scruples of myrrh in fine powder, a scruple of gum juniper, and ten grains of rock alum. A portion to be applied frequently to the decayed tooth.

To Whiten and Beautify the Teeth.—Take gum tragacanth, one ounce; pumice stone, two drams; gum arabic, one ounce; cream of tartar, one ounce. Dissolve the gums in rose-water, and adding to it the powder, form the whole into little sticks, which are to be dried slowly in the shade, and afterwards kept for use. Use on the brush like soap.

HOW TO HAVE SOFT, WHITE AND BEAUTIFUL HANDS.

There are very few beautiful hands, but to make the hands beautiful rests, with scarcely an exception, with the possessor. Now that chiromancy has become so fashionable as to be a part of a great many entertainments, it is very desirable that the hands should present an attractive appearance. A soft, white, delicate hand, with neatly-kept nails, forms an important factor in a pleasing personal appearance, and is something any man or woman may possess themselves of with a little care. Of course it goes without saying, that requisite is perfect cleanliness of both the hands and nails. The best and purest soap should be used, and when soft water cannot be obtained, a few drops of ammonia, or a little borax, should be added to the water in which the hands are washed, and they should always be thoroughly dried. A lotion of one ounce glycerine, one ounce rose-water, ten drops of carbolic acid, and forty drops of hamamelis, is excellent to use on the hands before they are dried each time they are washed.

Persons who do housework should wear the India rubber gloves which are made for the purpose and can be purchased in any size for from $1.00 to $1.25 as they are with or without wrists.

Rubbing the hands once or twice a day in oatmeal tends to whiten them and make them soft and flexible.

The following bleaches the hands and arms and makes them beautifully soft and white:—

Bleaching Lotion.—Bitter almonds, ten ounces; iris powder, one ounce; pulverized horse-chestnut, two ounces; essence of bergamot, one dram; carbonate of potash, two drams; mix. Use on the hands after washing, and on retiring for the night.

Five grains of chloridated lime in a pint of warm water will whiten the hands and remove all stains, but as this is not always quite harmless to a delicate skin, it is perhaps better to remove stains with a cut of lemon, and use the preparation given above for whitening them.

Tight lacing and tight sleeves, and even tight shoes, will cause the hands to be an unsightly red, for which no lotion or care is a remedy. If, however, all the clothing is worn so as to allow a free circulation, and the directions which have been given are regularly and constantly followed, any hand will become white, supple and delicate—a pleasure to both possessor and beholder; and it is really worth the care, which after a little time becomes a fixed habit and so is scarcely noticeable, to have such hands.

To Make the Hands White and Delicate.—Should you wish to make your hands white and delicate, wash them in hot milk and water for a day or two. On retiring to rest, rub them well over with palm oil, and put on a pair of woollen gloves. The hands should be thoroughly washed with hot water and soap the next morning, and a pair of soft leather gloves worn during the day; they should be frequently rubbed together to promote circulation. Sunburnt hands should be washed in lime water or lemon juice. Should they be severely freckled, the following will be good to use: Take of distilled water, half a pint; sal ammoniac, half a dram; oxymuriate of quicksilver, four grains; divide the two last in spirit, and gradually add the water to them; add another half pint of water, mix well together, and it is ready for use. It should be applied as often as desirable, with a piece of soft sponge. If rose-water is substituted for distilled water, the effect is pleasanter.

Remedy for Chapped Hands.—The simplest remedy is the camphor ball, to be obtained of all chemists. Powdered hemlock bark put into a piece of muslin and sprinkled on the chaps is highly recommended. Or, wash with oatmeal, and afterwards rub the hands over with dry oatmeal, so as to remove all dampness. It is a good thing to rub the hands and lips with glycerine before going to bed at night. A good oil is made by simmering: Sweet oil, one pint; Venice turpentine, three ounces; lard, half a pound; beeswax, three ounces. Simmer till the wax is melted. Rub on, or apply with a rag.

To Cure Red Hands.—Wash them frequently in warm, not hot, water, using honey soap and soft towel. Dry with violet powder, and again with a soft, dry handkerchief. Take exercise enough to promote circulation, and do not wear gloves too tight.

Almond Paste for the Hands.—Take one pound of sweet almonds, one-quarter of a pound of bread crumbs, one half a pint of spring water, one-half a pint of brandy, and the yolks of two eggs. Pound the almonds with a few drops of vinegar or water, to prevent them oiling; add the crumbs of bread, which moisten with the brandy as you mix it with the almonds and the yolks of eggs. Set this mixture over a slow fire, and stir it continually or it will adhere to the edges.

Almond Paste for Chapped Hands (which will preserve them smooth and white).—The daily use of the following paste will keep the hands smooth and white: Mix a quarter of a pound of unsalted hog's lard, which has been washed in common, and then in rose, water, with the yolks of two fresh eggs and a large spoonful of honey. Add as much paste from almonds (well pounded in a mortar) as will work it into a paste.

General Remarks.—The human hand, regarded either with reference to its ingenious construction and usefulness, or to its beauty, stands alone, in its superlative excellence, in the whole animal world. In no species of animal is the hand so wonderfully formed and so perfectly developed as in man.

To preserve the delicacy and beauty of the hands, some little care, and more than that which is ordinarily bestowed on them, is required. Foremost in consideration must be the subject of cleanliness. Dirty and coarse hands are no less marks of slothfulness and lowbreeding than clean and delicate hands are of refinement and gentility. To promote softness and whiteness of the skin, mild emollient soaps, or those abounding in oil or fat, should alone be adopted for common use; by which means the tendency to contract chaps and chilblains, and roughness from drying winds, will also be lessened. The coarse, strong kinds of soap, those abounding in alkali, should be rejected, as they tend to render the skin rough, dry and brittle. Rain, or soft, water is the best natural water for washing the hands, as it cleanses them more rapidly and completely than ordinary hard water, and with the use of less soap. It may be advantageously used tepid, or even warm; but hot water should be avoided. Distilled water, when obtainable, is preferable to even rain water. In the absence of these, water that has been boiled and allowed to settle and cool may be employed. With hard water the hands are cleansed with difficulty, and though it may be readily softened by the addition of a little soda, such an addition tends to make the skin of a delicate hand somewhat hard and rough. If hard water must be used to wash with, the only harmless substance that can be conveniently added to it is a little good powdered borax. This will also cause it to exert a genial action on the skin. Oatmeal and warm water used every night and morning as a wash will whiten and soften the roughest and darkest hands.

Coarse, Red, Dark-Skinned Hands may be whitened by the occasional use of a few grains of chloride of lime, with warm water, in the manner mentioned above.

Roughness of the Hands, induced by exposure to cold and drying winds, may, in general, be removed by the use of a little powdered pumice stone with the soap in washing them. The subsequent application, particularly at night, of the above lotions, or of two or three drops of almond or olive oil, well rubbed in, will usually effect the object completely.

The hands may be preserved dry for delicate work by rubbing a little club moss (lycopodium), in fine powder, over them. So repellent is this substance of moisture, that if a small quantity of it be sprinkled on the surface of a basin of water, the hand, by a little adroitness, may be plunged to the bottom of the basin without becoming wet.

Excessive moisture or perspiration of the hands without obvious cause is generally indicative of debility, or disordered stomach, and requires corresponding treatment.