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  MRS. HALE'S

  RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION:

  CONTAINING

  FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE

  Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc.

  IN THE

  USEFUL, ORNAMENTAL, AND DOMESTIC ARTS,

  AND IN THE CONDUCT OF LIFE.

  BEING A

  COMPLETE FAMILY DIRECTORY.

  RELATIVE TO

  Accomplishments,|Economy,         |Ladies' Work, |Phrenology,
                  |                 |              |
  Amusements,     |Etching,         |Feather Work, |Potichomanie,
                  |                 |              |
  Beauty,         |Etiquette,       |Manners,      |Poultry,
                  |                 |              |
  Birds,          |Flowers,         |Marriage,     |Riding,
                  |                 |              |
  Building,       |Gardening,       |Medicines,    |Swimming,
                  |                 |              |
  Children,       |Grecian Painting,|Needlework,   |Surgery, Domestic
                  |                 |              |
  Cookery,        |Health,          |Nursing,      |Temperance,
                  |                 |              |
  Courtship,      |Home,            |Out-Door Work,|Trees, etc.
                  |                 |              |
  Dress, etc.     |Housekeeping,    |Painting,     |Women's Duties,

                      Words of Washington, etc.

  BY MRS. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.

  Philadelphia:
  T. B. PETERSON, NO. 306 CHESTNUT STREET.




  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by

  SARAH JOSEPHA HALE,

  In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in
  and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




PREFACE.


"_All the labor of man is for his mouth,_" says Solomon. If this
proverb be understood, as it was undoubtedly meant--that the chief
aim and purpose of all human labor are to make the homes of mankind
places of enjoyment, we see how important the art of household
management becomes.

While preparing my "New Cook Book," I was naturally led to examine
the subject, and the result was a deep conviction of the need of
another work on domestic economy, or directions how to guide the
house. This led me to prepare the present treatise, embodying rules
and receipts, such as never before have been brought together for the
help and instruction of a household.

"_Knowledge is power_" always; knowledge used for good purposes is
wisdom. Knowledge, like gold, must be gained by personal effort; and
usually, in small quantities, and by continued exertions, both wisdom
and gold are accumulated.

It has been by washing the sands of common experience and gathering
the small bits of science and art found here and there on the mining
ground of common knowledge, that this large work, containing the pure
gold of truth, applicable to all the needs of common life, has been
made. A few _nuggets_ will be seen, such as the collected maxims of
Franklin, and the "Words of Washington," never before placed within
the reach of the popular mind.

In the economy and well-being of the family, personally and
individually, improvement should be sedulously kept in view. It is
not enough that woman understands the art of cookery and of managing
her house: she must also take care of herself; of children; of all
who will be dependent on her for direction, for health, for happiness.

Personal appearance is important; the art of beautifying a home is
important; the knowledge of ways and means by which the clothing
of a family may be kept in good order, with the least expense of
time and money, is important; some knowledge of plants, flowers,
gardening, and of domestic animals, is of much benefit, particularly
to those who live in the country; and more important than all, is a
knowledge of the best means of preserving or restoring health. Then
there is the very important matter of home happiness to be kept in
view. Amusements, accomplishments, elegant arts, manners, modes of
conduct in society; all these are necessary knowledge. And to crown
the whole, those indispensable rules and maxims of moral improvement,
which are the foundation of good in the character and life of
rational, immortal beings, must be made familiar. All this has been
attempted in "Receipts for the Million," as every person may see by
examining "The Table of Contents" and the "Index."

The aim of both my works on domestic matters has been to awaken
the attention of my own sex to these subjects, belonging, so
unquestionably, to woman's department. _The home administration_
is in her hands; how salutary and powerful this may be made in its
influence on humanity is yet hardly imagined, even by the most
sagacious and earnest advocates of woman's elevation.

Would that those of my sex who are urging onward, into the industrial
pursuits, and other professions appropriate for men, might turn
their attention to improvements in domestic economy. Here is an open
field, where their heads and hearts as well as hands may find ample
scope and noble objects. The really great woman never undervalues her
own sphere. Madame Roland excelled in her _menage_; Mrs. Somerville
is eminent for domestic qualities; Mrs. Sigourney is a pattern
housekeeper; and a multitude of other names and examples may be
met with in my recent work,[A] where genius is found adorning home
pursuits.

There should be Lectures on Housekeeping, and other subjects
connected with domestic life, instituted in every Ladies Seminary.
This would serve to remedy, in some degree, the evils that now attend
a boarding-school education. The grand defect of this is, that
teachers too often leave out of sight the application of learning
to the home pursuits of young ladies. So when these return to the
parental roof, they give themselves up to novel reading, as their
chief mental resource.

A better time is coming. Women, capable of using their faculties for
the improvement of society, will not much longer remain in the castle
of indolence. Miss Nightingale will find followers. And as the active
pursuits of women will naturally centre in the domestic circle, great
advances in the art of making home the place of happiness must be
made.

May this book help onward the good work.

  S. J. H.

  _Philadelphia_, October 1st, 1857.




  CONTENTS


  PREFACE                                                         3

  CONTENTS                                                        5

  PART I.

  HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS.

  House Cleaning--Repairing Furniture--Cleaning Stoves and
  Grates--Mending Glass, China, &c.--Coloring and Polishing
  Furniture, &c.--Removing unpleasant Odors--Fires--Water and
  Cisterns--Carriages and Harness--Washing--To remove Stains--To
  clean Silks, Lace, &c.--Paste, Glue, and Cement--Dyeing--Blacking
  for Boots, Shoes, &c.--To destroy Insects--The
  Kitchen, &c.                                        _Page 9 to 88_

  PART II.

  HEALTH AND BEAUTY.

  Rules for the preservation of Health--Simple Recipes efficacious
  in common diseases and slight injuries--Burns and Scalds--Fevers
  --Plasters, Blisters, Ointments, &c.--Poisons and Antidotes--Baths
  and Bathing--The Toilet, or hints for the preservation
  of Beauty--The Dressing-Table                     _Page 89 to 150_

  PART III.

  HOME PURSUITS AND DOMESTIC ARTS.

  Needle-work--Explanation of Stitches--Preparation of House-Linen
  --Patchwork--Silk Embroidery--Fancy-work--Ink--Birds,
  Fish, Flowers, &c.--House-Plants--Window-Plants--To
  manage a Watch                                   _Page 151 to 187_

  PART IV.

  DOMESTIC ECONOMY, AND OTHER MATTERS WORTH KNOWING.

  Teas--Coffee--Various Recipes for making Essences, &c.--Preserving
  Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs, &c.--Hints to Farmers--Management
  of a Horse--Raising Poultry--Preservation from
  Fire--Drowning--Suffocation--Thunderstorms       _Page 188 to 209_

  PART V.

  MISTRESS, MOTHER, NURSE, AND MAID.

  Of the Table--On the management of Infants, young Children,
  and the Sick--Qualifications of a good Nurse--Food for the Sick
  and for Children--Drinks for the Sick--Simple mixtures--Rules
  for Women Servants                               _Page 210 to 264_

  PART VI.

  HINTS ABOUT AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, &c.

  Manure--Soil--Hay--Grains--Vegetables--To destroy Insects--Vermin
  --Weeds--Cows, Calves, Sheep, &c.--Gardening--The
  Orchard--Timber--Building--Bees                  _Page 265 to 318_

  PART VII.

  MISCELLANEOUS.

  Choice and cheap Cookery--New Receipts--Southern Dishes--Cakes,
  Bread, Pies, and Puddings--Home-made Wines, Mead,
  Nectar, &c.--Washing--Hints on Diet, Exercise, and Economy
  --Painting--Books--Periodicals and Newspapers    _Page 319 to 384_

  PART VIII.

  ELEGANT AND INGENIOUS ARTS.

  Water-Colors used in Drawing--Directions for mixing Colors--Wash
  Colors for Maps--To paint Flowers, Birds, Landscapes,
  &c., in Water-Colors--Potichomanie--Grecian Painting--Diaphanic
  Feather Flowers--Sea-Weeds--Botanical Specimens, Leaf
  Impressions, &c.--Transferring to Glass, Wood, &c.--Emblematic
  Stones--Staining Stone, Wood, &c.--Ornamental Leather work--Dyeing
  --Games--Evening Pastime                        _Page 385 to 431_

  PART IX.

  WORK IN DOORS AND OUT.

  Household maxims--Household receipts for many things--Care
  of Furs--Wise economy--Things to know--Cleanliness--Prevention
  of accidents--Domestic hints--More hints on Agriculture--Cattle
  --Gardening--Drying Herbs--Properties and uses of Vegetables
  --Vegetables to cultivate--Fruit Trees and Fruit--Vermin
  on Trees                                         _Page 431 to 484_

  PART X.

  PERSONAL MATTERS.

  Dress of Ladies--Dress of a Gentleman--Manners--Rules of
  Etiquette--Dinner Parties--Balls and Evening Parties--Courtship
  and Marriage--Marriage Ceremony--After Marriage--Directions
  to a Wife--Directions to a Husband--Our House--Conversation--Rules
  of Conduct                                       _Page 484 to 533_

  PART XI.

  HEALTH AND WEALTH.

  Preservation of Health--Baths--Exercise--Terms expressing the
  properties of medicines--Ointments and Cerates--Embrocations
  and Liniments--Enemas--Poultices--Special rules for the prevention
  of Cholera--Rules for a Sick Room--Domestic Surgery--Bandages
  --Riches--Temperance--Way to Wealth              _Page 533 to 590_

  PART XII.

  THE FAMILY AT HOME.

  A good Table--Bread, &c.--Meats--Vegetables--Household
  management--Beverages--Useful Receipts for Family Practice
  --Miscellaneous Receipts, Rules, &c.--Dietetic maxims--Hints
  to Mechanics and Workmen--Maxims and Morals for all Men--Home
  Industry for Young Ladies--Pets--Swimming--Riding--Home
  Counsels--Parlor Amusements--The training of Daughters,
  &c.--Sentiments of Flowers--Signs of the Weather--Air--Its
  effects on Life--Importance of Laws--Phrenology--Synopsis of
  American History--Words of Washington--Useful Family
  Tables                                           _Page 590 to 699_




MRS. HALE'S

RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION,

CONTAINING

FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE

RECEIPTS, FACTS, ETC.




PART I.

HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS.

  _House cleaning--Repairing Furniture--Washing--Mending Glass,
  China, &c.--Dyeing--Blacking for Boots, Shoes, &c.--To destroy
  Insects--The Kitchen, &c._


1. _House Cleaning._--The spring is more particularly the time for
house-cleaning; though, of course, it requires attention monthly.

Begin at the top of the house; first take up the carpets, and, if
they require it, let them be scoured; or as carpets are sometimes
injured by scouring, they may be well beaten, and if necessary,
washed with soda and water.

Remove all the furniture from the room, have the chimneys swept where
fires have been kept, and clean and blacken the grates. Wrap old
towels, (they should be clean), around the bristles of the broom,
and sweep lightly the ceiling and paper; or, if requisite, the paper
should be cleaned with bread, as elsewhere directed. Then wash the
paint with a flannel or sponge, and soap and water, and, as fast as
one person cleans, another should follow, and with clean cloths, wipe
the paint perfectly dry. Let the windows be cleaned, and scour the
floor. Let the furniture be well rubbed; and the floor being dry,
and the carpets laid down, the furniture may be replaced. The paper
should be swept every three months.


2. _To clean Bed-rooms._--In cleaning bed-rooms infested with bugs,
take the bedsteads asunder, and wash every part of them, but
especially the joints, with a strong solution of corrosive sublimate
in spirits of turpentine; as the sublimate is a fatal poison, the
bottle containing the above solution should be labelled "Poison;"
it should be used very carefully, and laid on with a brush kept for
the purpose. Bugs can only be removed from walls by taking down the
paper, washing them with the above poison, and re-papering.

In bed-rooms with fires, a whisk-brush is best to clear the curtains
and hangings from dust.

To remove grease or oil from boards, drop on the spots spirits of
turpentine before the floor is scoured.

The house-maid should be provided with a box, with divisions, to
convey her various utensils, as brushes, black lead, &c., from room
to room, and a small mat to kneel upon while cleaning the grate.


3. _Scouring Bed-rooms._--This should never be done in winter if it
can be avoided, as it is productive of many coughs and colds. If
inevitable, a dry day should be selected, and the windows and doors
should be left wide open till dusk. A fire ought always to be made in
the room after cleaning.


4. _To clean Carpets._