1676. Aromatic/Moth Repellant.

A very pleasant perfume, and also preventive against moths, may be made of the following ingredients:--Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and Tonquin beans, of each one ounce; then add as much Florentine orris root as will equal the other ingredients put together. Grind the whole well to powder, and then put it in little bags among your clothes, &c.

1677. Lavender Scent Bag.

Take of lavender flowers, free from stalk, half a pound; dried thyme and mint, of each half an ounce; ground cloves and caraways, of each a quarter of an ounce; common salt, dried, one ounce, mix the whole well together, and put the product into silk or cambric hags. In this way it will perfume the drawers and linen very nicely.

1678. Lavender Water.

Essence of musk, four drachms; essence of ambergris, four drachms; oil of cinnamon, ten drops; English lavender, six drachms; oil of geranium, two drachms; spirit of wine, twenty ounces. To be all mixed together.

1679. Honey Water.

Rectified spirit, eight ounces; oil of cloves, oil of bergamot, oil of lavender, of each half a drachm; musk, three grains; yellow sanders shavings, four drachms. Let it stand for eight days, then add two ounces each of orange-flower water and rose water.

1680. Honey Soap.

Cut thin two pounds of yellow soap into a double saucepan, occasionally stirring it till it is melted, which will be in a few minutes if the water is kept boiling around it, then add a quarter of a pound of palm oil, a quarter of a pound of honey, three pennyworth of true oil of cinnamon; let all boil together another six or eight minutes; pour out and let it stand till next day, it is then fit for immediate use. If made as directed it will be found to be a very superior soap.

1681. The Hands.

Take a winegla.s.sful of eau-de-Cologne, and another of lemon juice; then sc.r.a.pe two cakes of brown windsor soap to a powder, and mix well in a mould. When hard, it will be an excellent soap for whitening the hands.

1682 To Whiten the Nails.

Diluted sulphuric acid, two drachms; tincture of myrrh, one drachm; spring water, four ounces: mix. First cleanse with white soap and then dip the fingers into the mixture. A delicate hand is one of the chief points of beauty; and these applications are really effective.

1683. Removing Stains.

Stains may be removed from the hands by washing them in a small quant.i.ty of oil of vitriol and cold water without soap. Salts of lemon is also efficacious in removing ink-stains from the hands as well as from linen.

1684. Cold Cream.

i. Oil of almonds, one pound; white wax, four ounces. Melt together gently in an earthen vessel, and when nearly cold stir in gradually twelve ounces of rose-water.

ii. White wax and spermaceti, of each half an ounce; oil of almonds, four ounces; orange-flower water, two ounces Mix as directed for No. i.

1685. To Soften the Skin and Improve the Complexion.

If flowers of sulphur be mixed in a little milk, and after standing an hour or two, the milk (without disturbing the sulphur) be rubbed into the skin, it will keep it soft and make the complexion clear. It is to be used before washing. The mixture, it must be borne in mind, will not keep. A little should be prepared over night with evening milk, and used the next morning, but not afterwards. About a wine-gla.s.sful made for each occasion will suffice.

1686. Eyelashes.

To increase the length and strength of the eyelashes, simply clip the ends with a pair of scissors about once a month. In eastern countries mothers perform the operation on their children, both male and female, when they are mere infants, watching the opportunity whilst they sleep. The practice never fails to produce the desired effect.

1687. The Teeth.

Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of water; before quite cold, add thereto one teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh, and one tablespoonful of spirits of camphor: bottle the mixture for use. One winegla.s.sful of the solution, added to half a pint of tepid water, is sufficient for each application. This solution, applied daily, preserves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates tartarous adhesion, produces a pearl-like whiteness, arrests decay, and induces a healthy action in the gums.

1688. Camphorated Dentifrice.

Prepared chalk, one pound; camphor, one or two drachms. The camphor must be finely powdered by moistening it with a little spirit of wine, and then intimately mixing it with the chalk.

1689. Myrrh Dentifrice.

Powdered cuttlefish, one pound; powdered myrrh, two ounces.

1690. American Tooth Powder.

Coral, cuttlefish bone, dragon's blood, of each eight drachms; burnt alum and red sanders, of each four drachms; orris root, eight drachms; cloves and cinnamon, of each half a drachm; vanilla, eleven grains; rose-wood, half a drachm; rose-pink, eight drachms. All to be finely powdered and mixed.

1691. Quinine Tooth Powder.

Rose pink, two drachms; precipitated chalk, twelve drachms; carbonate of magnesia, one drachm; quinine (sulphate), six grains. All to be well mixed together.

1692 Hair Dye.

To make good hair dye some lime must be first obtained, and reduced to powder by throwing a little water upon it. The lime must then be mixed with litharge in the proportion of three parts of lime to one of litharge. This mixture, when sifted through a fine hair sieve, forms the most effectual hair dye that has yet been discovered.

1693. Directions for Application.

Put a quant.i.ty of the mixture in a saucer, pour boiling water upon it, and mix it up with a knife like thick mustard; divide the hair into thin layers with a comb, and plaster the mixture thickly into the layers to the roots, and all over the hair. When it is completely covered with it, lay over it a covering of damp blue or brown paper, then bind over it, closely, a hankerchief, then put on a night-cap, over all, and go to bed; in the morning brush out the powder, wash thoroughly with soap and warm water, then dry, curl, oil, &c. Hair thus managed will be a permanent and beautiful black.

1694. Hair Dye, usually styled Colombian, Argentine, &c., &c.

Solution No. i., Hydrosulphuret of ammonia, one ounce; solution of potash, three drachms; distilled or rain water, one ounce (all by measure). Mix, and put into small bottles, labelling it No. i.

Solution No. ii. Nitrate of silver, one drachm; distilled or rain water, two ounces. Dissolve and label No. ii.