If, while preserving, or in any other way, you stain your hands, a few drops of muriatic acid will remove the stain at once. It is very convenient to have a bottle of this liquid always in the house, for a black, ugly stain on the hand is a very disagreeable sight; but the bottle should be put in a secure place, where children or careless servants cannot meddle with it. It is poisonous, but perfectly safe if kept securely and used as directed. Wet the spot with the acid, rub quickly over the stain, and immediately wash in clear water, else it will burn and make your hands uncomfortably rough. After washing off the acid, give your hands a good washing in hot soapsuds, using a nail- or finger-brush to clean all round the nails, which in preserving or paring fruit are usually badly discolored. Those brushes which have a nail-cleaner at the top of the handle are the best. No one should be without a finger-brush, and to none is it more indispensable than to those who have the most of the family work to do. Wet the brush and rub soap on it; then brush the nails and inside of the hands with it before you finish washing them. Nothing more effectually removes the stains and dirt, which will of course settle on the inside of the hands when handling pots and kettles or working over the stove; and even if your hands are roughened by no such labor, the nail-brush is of great service. Often when in haste, the dress or apron is caught against a hook or nail, and a sad rent is made. Whatever your hurry, do not go a moment with this accident unrepaired. If it happens while some article is over the fire which may not be left a moment without danger or injury, you can at least pin up the unsightly hole. Always carry a small pincushion, filled with pins, in your pocket; if you do not need one yourself, somebody else may be in trouble for want of only a pin; and make it a point, as far as possible, to keep a needle ready threaded near by, so that at a moment’s warning you can temporarily run up any rent made while at work, which, if in your power, is far better than pinning it up. A big grease spot or prominent rent on a woman’s dress is a poor recommendation, and we confess we never see them without forming an unfavorable opinion, if a stranger, or experiencing a feeling of mortification and annoyance, if a friend. A looking-glass, comb, and brush are out of place in the kitchen, but a small glass in a back hall or entry close by, with a shelf beneath for the comb and brush, are quite necessary for your servants, and it is a great convenience to have another near by for your own use, so that if hastily summoned from the kitchen, you can smooth your hair, and by the glass assure yourself that there is nothing untidy about you.