Ladies’ Magazine.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2769, 26 March 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

Ladies’ Magazine.

dress and fashion.

It is not, says Mrs-. Haweis, in one of lie l - books “wicked to take pains with oneself,” and tli e art of dressing is one all women should strive to acquire. "Where pin money should be limited and there is a good "deal of evening gaiety the great consideration is to get variety without much expense. Therefore, blac*k or white can never be amiss, and are amenable to many changes and variations Amethyst and wine tones are now popular, and the choice of shades quite remarkable, so the matronly wcaier c&n readily select a becoming dress and relieve it with silk embroideiy touched with gold, or lace of antique tint. The darker tones of satin relieved with light accessories are far more becoming to a middle-aged woman than a light dress darkened by draperies and trimmings. The princess dress is constantly varied, and owes its charm to tlic arrangement of the trimming. Large jet buttons, soutache on net, yokes of tucked ninon overlaid with lace, a trained back, and trimmings in bretelle fashion are some of the details which give an up-to-date mark on a drossy toilette. In millinerv the hats are either very large or quite small. The fashion is by no means arbitrary, and there are. such diverse styles that everyone: should be suited. Huge hats are said to be dying out, but this only applies to the brim, for the crown is enormoiis, and they are still worn milled down over the ;hair. Soft felt hats of the smaller mushroom type are useful for motoring simplv trimmed with fancy plumage and a veil. All the hats, whether large or small, appear to be turned up somewhere, either at the side or tlic back, or to form a Tri-comer shape. V civet tg used for toques and large picture hats. The “style” is in the shape more than in the trimmin ~ which is noticeable by its simplicity and almost total absence, a twist of ribbon, a buckle, a dull metallic rose of oxidised tissue, or a border of gun-metal trimming beam all there is frequently to be seen on hats or toques for which such high prices as three or four guineas are asked. Made-up lace goods are always useful, and there are a hundred and one fascin. ating oddments to be found. For the coat and skirt costume there is the long plastron or jabot with high collarband fastened at the back, which makes such a dainty finish over a dark blouse, especially when the coat is opened during a call, and is one of the latest novelties. So many of the princess drosscg and bodices are: now cut with low pinafore style that tlie distinct yoke is almost indispensiblo to the dressy woman. These yokes can be made of tucked silk, mousseline. or net, the latter either spotted or nlain, with a little applique embroidery or lace round the yoke. Then there is one of tucked net and insertion or in white silk covered with tinv frills of narrow lace. These useful additions make dainty work for dull days, and enable odd bits of lace and sale remnants to be used to the greatest advantage.

RECIPES.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Two whites of egg, half a pound of castor sugar, four dcssertspoonsful .of ground almonds. Boat the whites of egg to a stiff froth, and add a littlo ratafia essence, then add the sugar, heat again until it will stand in stiff peaks, then lightly stir in the almonds. Place fn small, even-shaped teaspoonsful on kitchen paper; bake in moderate oven. When half baked place half an almond on the top of each. Double Cream (whipped).—The following is a good substitute for whipped cream, and cannot be distinguished from it: —Take quarter pint- of boiling milk and bring it to the boil, then remove it from the fire, and add to it three sheets of Marshall’s leaf gelatine, then strain it, and leave until' it is somewhat cool; then mix into it half a pint of cream, and wlii" all together to the desired consistency.

Peach Pie. —Line a pie-pi ate - '’with good pastry, and fill with peaches peeled and halved; sprinkle the fruit with half a cup of sugar, and sift over one tablespoonful of flour. If the fruit is not juicy use less flour and a few bits of butter. Bake until the peaches are done.

Blackberry Jelly.—. Required: For every four pounds of blackberries half a pint of water, for each pint of juice three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar. Remove the stalks and carefully look over the fruit. Put it in a preserving pan with the necessary quantity of water, and boil until the fruit is soft. Then strain off the juice through a wire sieve or jelly-bag. Press the fruit slightly, but do not rub it through, or the jelly will not be bright and clear. Measure the juice, pour .it back into the pan, add sugar in the above proportion, and boil steadily for about three-quarters of an hour, or until a little of it sets in a jelly when it is allowed to get cold on a plate. Pour it into small dry jars; when cold cover them. If liked, a few apples may be boiled with the blackberries. Mustard Pickles.—Remove the stalks and leaves from a medium-sized cauliflower, soak it for twenty minutes, head downwards, in cold water, then divide it into small branches; throw into salted boiling water, leave for about three minutes,, and then drain well. Wipe and cut up two quarts of small green tomatoes, and . skin half that quantity of small silver onions. Slice six green peppers. Make a brine by dissolving two cupfuls" of salt in four quarts of water, throw in the prepared vegetables, cover with a cloth, and leave until next day. Then simmer the whole gently until the vegetables are cooked. Remove them from the brine and drain well. Mix together in a large bowl a cupful of flour with eight tablespoonfuls of dry mustard. When thoroughly amalgamated, add slowly just enough vinegar to form a smooth paste. Then add a cupful of sugar and two quarts’ of vinegar. Place the howl in a large pan of hot water,-and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the vegetables, heat them thoroughly, pack into jars, and cover down securely.

OUR BABIES.

(By “Hygeia,”)

Published under the auspices of the Society for the .Promotion of the Health of Women and Children.

HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

The following is a continuation of the : president’s address at the second annual conference -of the Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children : Spe.lking as a woman, I feel very strongly that our views and Work Should be Taken More Seriously, and treated with more sympathy and less of expressed misgiving by the Chief Health Officer for the Dominion. In season and out of season lie has openly pronounced the opinion that the society would quickly succumb as soon as patronage and fashion, the onlj T raison d’etre and motive power visible to hum, was withdrawn. He tells us thaifc tins is the special quality lie has observed m philanthropic enterprises, and we .may assume, therefore, that all efforts for the betterment of mankind, which spring from -the human heart, and net from an official bureau, should be sternly discouraged. Fortunately this view has not been taken by the leading local health authorities, and it would be difficult to over-estimate the encouragement and practical help we have received in this direction, especially at Auckland and Christchurch. -However I cannot see why the practical health mission which we are carrying out by means of the committees and Plunket nurses should be held by the Health Department, of all others, to be unworthy to receive a penny of Government support, seeing that the work is in its very nature the best calculated to overcome popular ignorance and Promote Public Health. With a struggle we could perhaps do without any Government help—if need bo we ‘will do without it—but it seems hardly fair that we women .should be denied some share of the assistance for our Plunket nurses which is so -freely offered—l was going to say pushed—in connection with the establishment and support of district nurses. We appreciate, and are glad to acknowledge, the handsome support given by Government to the Ivaritane Hospital, and tlie measure of aid which has been granted so far towards maintaining the Plunket nurses, but we feel that the continuance of such assistance is precarious so long as the Chief Health Officer holds and obtrudes the opinions to _ which I have referred. Having outlined some of the leading matters -with which the Conference will deal, I trust you will not think it out of place for me to state some of my own personal convictions as to a duty that, it seems to me. we ewe to the community in connection with the upbringing of girls. I feel very strongly that nearly all Modem Schemes of Education

—I am not speaking specially of New Zealand—take far too little account of the fact that our physical, intellectual, moral, and emotional natures and our practical needs in life differ fundamentally, and must always differ, from those of men so long as we remain truly women. It should be frankly recognised in schools that the natural outlook in life of every girl is marriage, instead of making the natural outlook throughout girlhood seem to be the passing of examinations with a view to living in an office or by teaching. The stress to which girls subject themselves, and are encouraged to subject themselves, at the most important epoch of their growth and development, from the point of view of womanhood and motherhood, not only in connection with schools, but also in connection with music and other such competitions, is suicidal —race suicidal in the extreme — and altogether narrow and unpatriotic. The unnecessary stress of education, and neglect of rest, normal recreation and physique, is,bad -enough with boys, but it is far more serious in the ease of girls.

The healthy hoy does not, as a rule, take school life half so seriously as the budding girl. Give a boy too much to do, and he -tends at least not to do it—that is his natural safety valve, though it often fails him; but tile girl, more conscientious and imore serous in her outlook on life, tends to abandon every other consideration to the carrying out of what is expected of her, especially if the task -be set by a piaster. Why should we women remain content to have imposed on us a System of Education Evolved by Men for their oivn sex, and according to the most thoughtful men even now quite unfit for the proper all-round development of boys? ’Would men ever have tolerated for an instant the idea that boys should be trained on a system specially created for women? Looking back on my own girlhood, when the stress of education was -infinitely less severe than it now is, I am amazed that I could ever have been brought to imagine that the- Euclid, algebra, and trigonometry with which I was crammed—with which, indeed, I quite willingly stuffed myself,, at the instance of my masters—could ever- have any serious importance in life. I' am not speaking of the aid to reasoning which -a little Euclid may afford, but of the cramming process .for examinations. 'However, we are told that there is no cramming now. Then let me read a few pathetic lines from a letter written only last week to my husband by a public school hoy, who is quite,unknown to him. This is -only one -of several such cases .which have been brought under his notice since the New Year: I am sure that some foolish blunder brought me down in ——, as I took a good position in the class. Now, I should like to work with a coach much better, for be could give me undivided attention, and the hours would not be so long. The' following is a programme of our work here, the extra hour of prep, having just been added. This I take to be the natural result of the raising of the matriculation standard decided on at the recent meeting of the University Senate. I do not give the programme, as I do not wish to identify the school. Now, I find the three hours’ work at night too much; in fact, last year we worked till IT at night for six weeks before the exam. I cannot work for so long at night, and think we get far too -much work. Please do not think that I shirk it, for I am in deadly earnestness about my exam. .. ' n It is not my place, I know, -to sky anything about my masters, but I feel I could do much better doing as I have suggested. .- . Individual attention on my weak subjects is what

I need, and being in earnest I am sure I could do far better at home. . . . A hard day of over 12 hours • cannot keep tlie brain clear. Tlie following is the proposed programme drawn out by the boy himself, and I think all of you will agree -that this table of restricted hours of work errs itself on the side of excess. Subjects: English, Latin, arithmetic, geometry, geography, history, zoology. Time-table. Monday. m a. m. Tuesday. 9.30 to 10.30 English Geography 10.40 to 11.40 Geometry Latin 11.50 to 1-2.45 Arithmetic Arithmetic p.m. 2.0 to 3.0 History English 3.10 to 4.10 Latin Zoology 4.15 to 5.0 Zoology Geometry 7.30 to 8.15 Geography History 8.20 to 9.15 Prep. Prep. And so oil for the rest of tlie week. Take classes with coaches at times arranged—the above is for “swot” only. Again, let me read this extract from a recent letter about a brilliant and accomplished niece of my own who is in the final year for her M.A. degree at a Home university-: B— — -has been laid up with brainfag. It is only two months since the session opened, and I am sorry her stay in Franco has not fortified her for the winter’s, work. . I may say that her stay in France had, for the most part, been occupied in attending lectures,,and in teaching, etc. But apart from imperfect physical do. velopmen-t and damaged health, there is a special reason why girls should not have all attention focussed on the intellect and examinations —it lessens their interest in motherhood, and often gives them a positive distaste for natural ties. I have myself noticed this very markedly in some of the overstrained products of our system of forcing (I cannot call it education). I believe in any true and genuine system of higher education for women, hut not in merely 'burdening the mind with useless material which no one ever thinks of retaining when once the examination is passed. I have noticed that our hot-house products are inclined to show scant in-' terestlin babies and little children, and that little children with their quick intuitions notice the absence of regard and reciprocate it. (To bo continued.)

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

Chapped Hands.—Chapped hands or lips may be cured by applying night and morning, a few drops of this lotion: — Tannin 2oz, glycerine loz, rose water 4oz.

To Clean Bamboo Furniture.—Use a brush and warm water and salt to prevent it from turning yellow. When dusting carved furniture always use a painter’s brush to get into all the crevices.

To Remove Inkstains from White Cloth.—Heat a pint of sweet milk, soak goods, in it, and the stains will disappear. For taking out fruit- stains moisten them and hold them over the fumes of a burning brimstone match. Reeipe for Grained Wood.—Cold tea is an excellent thing for cleaning grained wood.

Excellent furniture polish. —Dissolve two ounces of Castile soap in a pint of cold water. Dissolve two ounces of white wax and two ounces of beeswax in one pint of turpentine. When each group of ingredients is separately dissolved, mix both carefully and thoroughly together. Two or three tablespoonfuls of methvlated spirits should.be added. Bottle up and shake well before using. Clean cork bicycle handles, with a rag dipped in methylated spirit. Rub well, and tho cork will soon he as clean as ever. Easy Method to Fix on Buttons. — If the. buttons have come out of upholstered furniture, carriage seats, etc., place a new button Tn the 'head of a -nan-pin, push the pin through the cushion, turn the ends back, and the button will never come out again. Cleaning a White Felt Hat.—Heat sonif. bran in an oven, and scrub the hat with this, using a hard, clean brush. If the hat is very soiled, several -applications; may be necessary. Should the felt be at all limp, it can easily bo stiffened by holding it to the fire, "or pressing it with a hot -flat-iron. When knives that have been put awav for some time have become rusty, out the blades in sweet oil for half an hour, and then dig them in the,garden soil several times. Polish with fine, emery cloth, and the blades- should be brilliant.

Before sweeping linoleum or (cork lino., tie a soft, damp muslin cloth over tlie brush.’ This should be tied so- as not to crush the hairs of the brush, which should then be used in the usual way. A floor swept in this manner looks beautifully fresh and clean, and does not require- frequent washings. The best state in which mint, balm, thyme, and sage and other kitchen medicinal herbs can be- gathered for drying for winter us e is just as their flowers are opening. At that period of growth thev are found to contain more of the essential oil, on. which their flavoring, depend, than at any other. The following method of cleaning a clock; is simple- and inexpensive,:—Take a Tbit of ordinary cotton wool, about the size of an egg, pour about a teaspoonful of paraffin on. the wool, and, artei nlaoino? it in the clock', wait three or four days. If the clock is in working order, so much the better. Your clock will, if in going order, strike as of old, and at tlie end. of the specified time the wool is examined it will be found black with dust. The explanation is that the. fumes of the oil loosen the par. tides of dust, and they will fall and so are gathered on the wool. To- clean white marble, take a handful of soda, a tablespoonful of soft soap, and a gill of water. Boil these ingredients together till melted, then mix in whiting to form a paste.. Lay this jjastp, on the marble* overnight, and in the morning wash it off with clean water. To Remove Furniture Stains.—To remove the stains on old furniture which is painted white, a flannel moist, ened with kerosene will usually prove successful, while antique gold chairs and girandoles should ho sponged with a mixture of garlic and sulphur, in order to restore tho original gloss and brilliancy. A little sulphur should be stirred into a pint of water, and this should be stirred iiito a saucepan kept for the purpose, and boiled for ten minutes to a quarter of an hour with four bruised garlics or onions. A brush is the best method of applying the liquid.