HOUSEHOLD ASSISTANT. A CYCLOPEDIA OF WHAT EVERY ONE SHOULD KNOW. COMPLETE DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING AND DOING OVER FIVE THOUSAND THINGS NECESSARY IN BUSINESS, THE TRADES, THE SHOP, THE HOME, THE FARM, AND THE KITCHEN. Comprising Recipes, Prescriptions, Medicines, Manufacturing Processes, of other useful hints and helps. GATHERED FROM THE MOST RELIABLE SOURCES. COMPILED AND ARRANGED By S. H. BURT. NEW YORK: A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER. PREFACE. What every one should know "are those practical, handy ways of doing, making and mending all sorts and kinds of things, ignorance of which necessitates so much extra labor, trouble, anxiety and expense. In the common daily experience of every one there are hundreds of occasions when a knowledge of "how to do" would add largely to the success, comfort or safety of life. There are emergencies constantly arising, both in the ordinary course of business and trade, and through the occurrence of accidents, that require instant attention, or the results will be most disastrous. There are innumerable instances where a practical knowledge of the elements of Medicine and Surgery would be of incalculable benefit in preserving life. The comfort, luxury and beauty of the household can be largely increased by a little study of the means of repairing our posessions. It is to supply much needed information on these and other common but essential topics that this book has been made. It has been the intention of the compiler to gather into this volume all those practical rules, recipes and hints which are capable of being followed and applied by any one without high-priced professional advice or instruction; to show the way of doing things oneself without unnecessary delay, labor or expense; to gather much that has existed in the general experience of men and women, but which has never been classified, and to present this mass of information in a handy form so that it may be easy of access whenever the constantly recurring occasions demand. A list of the contents of this book would include all the simple recipes, prescriptions and medicines. their composition, uses and effects, which a family employs; it would contain descriptions of all the manufacturing processess, the trade secrets, the chemical and mechanical agents, etc., that should form a part of the industrial equipment of every artisan and mechanic; it would contain business, law, and mercantile information by means of which the trades are conducted; it would contain complete directions for doing all those common things that daily perplex housekeepers all over the land; it would contain many hints and directions of value to the farmer, relating to the culture of the land, the growing of crops and fruits, the rearing of live stock, etc.; it would contain directions for mastering those branches of art work that are occupying so much attention at present; it would contain rules for conduct in all sorts of emergencies, from the poisoning of a human being to the breaking of a chair leg, from a catalogue of antidotes to the recipe for making a furniture varnish. All these things, and many more, this book contains. The alphabetical arrangement of subjects has been selected as the most convenient for reference. From hundreds of reliable sources the articles have been selected, and no thing has been admitted which has not the sanction of usage and worth. Some of the information between these covers will not be unfamiliar to each reader, but what new hints and helps are gleaned will repay one fifty times the cost; and as people cannot always remember what they do know when it is most necessary, this little mentor and guide should always be at hand, ready to give you its aid. In presenting this book to the Public, the compiler feels assured that its usefulness and novelty will be an immediate passport to favor, and that its worth will bring it lasting popularity. NEW YORK, 1884. S. H. B. WHAT EVERY ONE SHOULD KNOW. A Cyclopedia of Practical Information. Abscess. In some particulars an abscess resembles a large boil. There is an inflammatory condition, with heat, pain, and swelling. The result of this inflammation is the discharge of degenerated matter or pus. They may be opened as soon as pulsation is detected, the same as boils, or the operation may be delayed until by using hot water compresses, flax seed poultice, bread and hot milk poultice, they come to a point or head. The matter or pus should be completely discharged by gentle pressure, and the cavity freely washed out by injecting a mixture of one part carbolic acid and twenty of warm water, and pressure exerted by a bandage, when healing will rapidly take place. Acid (Strawberry).-Take three pounds of ripe strawberries, two ounces of citric acid, and one quart of spring water. Dissolve the acid in the water, and pour it on the strawberries, and let them stand in a cool place twenty-four hours. Then drain the liquid off, and pour it on three more pounds of fruit; let it stand twenty-four hours. Add to the liquid its own weight of sugar; boil it three or four minutes in a porcelain-lined preserve kettle, lest metal may affect the taste, and, when cool, cork it in bottles lightly for three days, then tightly, and seal them. Keep in a dry and cool place. It is delicious for sick and well. Aconite Liniment.-Tincture of aconite root, tincture of arnica flowers, laudanum in equal parts. Mix thoroughly; a very useful lini ment. Aconite-poisoning by.—This root has been sometimes swallowed for horseradish. The symptoms of poisoning by this means, or by an overdose are tingling and numbness of the tongue, throat, and limbs, pain in the stomach, vomiting, purging, feeble pulse, labored breathing, and great prostration. Give an emetic of sulphate of zinc in water, or three or four spoonfuls of table salt and water. Use an alcoholic stimulant, and in the meantime send for the family phys cian. |