THE LADIES’ WORLD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2751, 4 March 1910, Page 3

THE LADIES’ WORLD.

HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIES. Flour should be bought in small quantities, owing to the fact that it quickly becomes musty, and for the same reason it should be kept scrupulously free from damp, iv, however, a good 1 deal is required: at once, it should he. stored in a, barrel, the cover of which should bo composed of pieces of board, to allow of sufficient air getting through. When gas globes have become very dirty with smoke, they should be soaked in warm water and soda for a while, and then washed with snap and water to which ammonia • has been added. Filially they should be rinsed in clear cold water, and dried with a linen glass-cloth. If the door of the kitchen is stained with grease the spots should bo cleaned with a preparation of Fuller’s earth. Make a good lather of soap and boiling water, stir some Fuller’s earth into the suds, and spread over the stains, leaving the mixture on the hoards overnight. The next day scour the boards with a strong brush and soap in the usual manner, and the grease will be removed. If one treatment is not sufficient-, the application should be repeated. A scrubbing-brush should never be used for cleaning oilcloth, lior should strong soda water or very hot soapsuds be employed'. A cloth dipped in a lather made of soft-soap and warm—but not hot—water will he found amply sufficient for removing dust or grease, the soap being washed off with another 'oth wrupg out in clean water. Jr panned trays or coal-scuttles which have become dull and lustreless may be restored by polishing them with a mixture of white brick and vinegar applied with a ipiece of rag. This should then bo wiped off with .another'piece of cloth, and the article rubbed with .a dry chamois leather till a brilliant polish i,.; secured. COXCEENING BLOUSES.

Tiie term “blouse” is generally accepted as describing any odd bodice which may be worn with any odd skirt. But really there is an immense difference' in the g«ius, for the blouse bodice is separate from the blouse, while there is an enormous distance between th c . blouse and the “shirt.” The old blouse is still used a good deal, because its economical advantages are obvious, and on that account its useful career is likely to extend for many years. That its kindly help is frequently abused is often too evident, for, in spite of reiterated advice to the contrary, injudicious women still insist on wearing gay bodices with any old skirt. Still, time will probably remedy this defect in taste. For the blouse-wearers who know how to regulate their fancy it may be interesting to learn that the newest models, whether ox silk, muslin, or net. are arrauged, sleeves and all, in broad, flat, horizontal tucks like a Venetian blind. Next comes the shirt blouse, which is really a tailor-made garment, and its vogue differs materially from that of the blouse, inasmuch tiiat it is quite correct when worn with a coat and skirt suit. And the simplicity and severity of its cut makes it an admirable garment for morning wear, even when a coat is unnecessary. Such shirts can lie made of any material, plain or figured, as long as the pattern is neat and regular in design. Flat (perpendicular tucks, either broad or narrow, are permitted, and are often sod into back and' front yokes, but the sleeves and collar must he absolutely neat and plain. It takes an experienced cutter to turn out a jierfect “shirt.” The third variety of blouse is found in the blouse bodice, which is host described as a blouse made of the same material as the skirt with which it is always worn. Certainly, it can be made of lace, ninon, or of any other different texture, hut it must correspond in color with the rest of the gown with which it is integrated. An ordinary dross bodice has to fit without wrinkle or crease, and it is made on a boiled lining, whereas a blouse bodice is comfortable, and its construction easy for the amateur to accomplish.

WOMEN PATRIOTS. At Norwood, England, an idea has come to birth which may have a power, ful effect, says the “Daily Mail,” upon the cause of National service. It is to form a. league of women pledged to take every opportunity of inculcating patriotic vi and of spreading among all classes a sense of the folly of being unprepared to resist invasion. The. idea originated with Lady West, wife of Sir Raymond West, who had a distinguished career as a judge in India, and a member of the Government of Bombay. She comes of “service, people,” and is imbued with the best service traditions. She moans to arouse the womanhood or England, not- onR- on the question rais. erj so strikingly in “An Englishman’s Home.” but with regard to the navy and all other patriotism and defence of the Empire. “Women can do so much,’ said Lady West, explaining the organisation which she has brought into being. “What the British Women’s Patriotic League means to do is to awaken the mothers of to-day and the mothers of to-morrow to the duty of'taking their share in creating a sound and healthy public opinion. Wo shall hold meetings all over the country, in every town, in every village, if we can ; and specially we shall aim at influencing the women of the lower class, who have no idea as yet of what an invasion would mean. At least that is true of the country generally, but exception must be made in the case of Norfolk and Suffolk, where* the people really are alarmed. They are nearest the ocean whence an invader is likely to come, and they would be the first to suffer probably.” “Every girl who is engaged,” she said briskly, “should ask her future husband: ‘What, are/ you doing about the danger of invasion?’ If lie takes no interest in it she should beware. A young man’s refusal to join the territorials would he* quits/ sufficient ground for a. "irl to break off her engagement, the* influence of a woman in this direction can be exerted in numberless wavs, directly or indirectly, by speech or silence, upon all the men ' she meets ”