THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2573, 6 August 1909, Page 3

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

THE POOR TOOLS THAT WOMEN USE.. (By Alary W. Hudson in the “Ladies’ Home Journal.”) It is not strange that a woman often does poor and unprofitable work when one considers the chronic condition of her tools; there seems to. be inherent in her a preference for dull knives and scissors, heavy iron tea-kettles and skillets, for stubby, worn-out brooms and dusting brushes, "for gummy sew-ing-machines and clogged carpetswoepers. Why is it that the average housekeeper will put. oil til] to-morrow what sho would save time and strength by doing to-day? “Just this time,” she says"to herself, “I will use the sewing machine jn this hard-running condition. To-morrow I will give it a regular overhauling.” As a consequence, her thread breaks, her back aches, she grows nervous and irritable, and tho work is poorly done. Why does she not take a lesson from tho reaper her husband runs, or the locomotive her son drives past the farm on the new'branch road? The oil-can is always ready there; so is the “waste” to wipe away superfluous drops of lubricant; there are no wound-up ravelings nor dust collections in that smoothly-running machine. “Yes, but I haven’t time,” the woman will say, “to take such great care of my sewing-machine”—not realising that it does not take time but rather sav,es time to have good tools and to keep them in good condition. And by tools I do not mean hammer, saw, axe or awl; though when a woman must use these she would greatly decrease the difficulty of the unaccustomed work by making sure that they, too, were quite fit. These are, however, a man's tools, and woman has her own particular implements. If she would look to it that they are kept in proper condition for the work to be done with them tho “drudgery” of housekeeping would bo lessened. . Do, for 'instance, have plenty of dishcloths and keep them clean; do not try to get along with one, hanging it in a dark corner when not in use. Wash them, boil them, .sun them in summer and freeze them in winter; for if there is one place more than another where microbes “delight to dwell” it is surely in a stale dishcloth. Have a steellink dishcloth for pot and pan and kettle, and save your silver spoons and your fingernails. Have a mop dishcloth to use in very hot water, and regard the appearance of your hands as something not beneath a woman’s care. Have at least three pans when you wash dishes, for washing, rinsing and draining; better two for draining, so that fine china and glass heed not he put in with largo and heavy dishes. To do things in tho right way is no more trouble and secures far better results than to do them in the wrong way. The right way to fill and trim a lamp, for instance, is to spread a newspaper on the table under your lamp. Then sit down, so that you can look across the wick, -and trim it either with the lingers by pinching off tho ash, or with sharp scissors—never with an old dull pair. Take some interest in your work to do it well, economically, skilfully, expeditiously and to achieve good results. Cherish the feeling that the wise care of the home is a duty, a pleasure, a profitable employment; and that a house so cared for is a haven for all tho family and all the family’s friends.

THE CHARM OF SURGICAL NURSING.

The “Australian Nurses' Journal” deplores the fact that many nurses seem to be led by the glamour of the operating theatre to neglect the medical side of°their training., Judging by results in the recent examinations, far more attention is given by nurses to surgical nursing than to medical, and while almost all the candidates could readily answer the questions regarding operations, many of them were quite at sea when asked about the complications to be watched for in a heart case, or how they would soothe a restless and sleepless patient. As the journal points out, most private cases are medical ones, for nearly all surgical cases go to tlie hospitals, and nurses should for their own benefit pay'more attention to the medical side of their profession. It would certainly be a great pity if the spirit of excitement which pervades so much of our ihodern liie should find its way into what should be the calmest of professions, nursing. Very much the same thing has been noticed among New Zealand nurses. Surgical nursing appeals to many more than medical nursing does. Patience and long care are required for the successful treatment of a medical case, and there is not the short-lived but intense interest that attaches to a difficult case where a delicate operation has been performed.

THE SIMPLER LIFE. The tendency among people of position in London is towards simplicity in entertaining, it is said. Costly food, ornate floral decorations and undue display of all kinds are frowned upon. Informal gatherings are more and more in favor. The people who really count, after all, have never made extravagant display. The sensationally extravagant balls, dinners, and parties which have caused a stir from time to time were given, as a rule, by people who were not in the forefront, but meant at all costs to get there. This sort of thing spreads money, but, as an English paper remarks, it does more harm than good, for it forces other people into a more expensive kind of entertainment than they can afford, and it discourages that unostentatious hospitality in which true enjoyment lies.