DICTIONARY OF DAILY WANTS. One very thick volume, strongly bound. $3.75. DICTIONARY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. Two thick volumes, strongly bound. $5.00. DICTIONARY OF MEDICAL AND SURGICAL KNOWLEDGE. One thick volume, strongly bound. $2.50. REASON WHY. DENOMINATIONAL. $1.75. REASON WHY. GENERAL SCIENCE. $1.25. REASON WHY. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. $1.75. PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE AND FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. $1.25. FAMILY SAVE-ALL; OR, SECONDARY COOKERY. $1.25. REASON WHY. GARDENER’S AND FARMER’S. $1.25. HISTORICAL REASON WHY. ENGLISH HISTORY. $1.25. REASON WHY. NATURAL HISTORY. $1.25. BIBLICAL REASON WHY. SACRED HISTORY. $1.25. HOUSEWIFE’S REASON WHY. DOMESTIC SCIENCE. $1.25. ENQUIRE WITHIN UPON EVERYTHING. $1.25. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. $1.25. CORNER CUPBOARD. A FAMILY REPOSITORY. $1.25. JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY ALL ROUND OUR HOUSE; OR, THE INTERVIEW. $1.25. THIS BOOK, THE RESULT OF HUNDREDS OF VALUED CONTRIBUTIONS, ACCUMULATED AND APPROVED DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS, IS DEDICATED TO EVERY HOUSEWIFE, BY THE ORIGINAL EDITOR OF THE “FAMILY FRIEND,” IN THE BELIEF THAT IT WILL LESSEN THE CARES OF DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT, AID THE PRACTICE OF HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY, AND PROVE A HELP IN MANY EMERGENCIES, WHICH MAY AFFECT THE COMFORT OF HOME. LONDON, _October, 1860_. PREFACE. Every Englishman’s house is his Castle; the Husband has to do battle with the struggles and competition of life; to provide for the wants of his little fortress; and to keep those formidable enemies Debt, Discontent, and Poverty, from the door. And many and arduous are the battles which he has to brave; frequently testing to their utmost the powers of heart and mind. At the right hand of the Master of the citadel stands the Housewife, his help-meet, companion, and comforter. Upon her devolves the duty of keeping away the more subtile enemies that attack the dwellers of the citadel within: Disease, Uncleanliness, and Waste, are among the silent but stubborn foes which, unless they are fairly resisted at their first approach, destroy the foundation, shatter the walls, and reduce to ruin, both in a moral and a material sense, the Domestic stronghold which it is Man’s mission to erect and defend, and Woman’s mission to preserve in all its happiness and integrity. The “PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE,” which we now present to the public in a greatly enlarged and much improved form, is a Hand-book to guide the Wife in the discharge of those duties upon which the well-being of Home depends; and without the proper fulfilment of which the most earnest efforts of the best Husband will ever fail to secure their reward. In proof that we do not over-estimate the importance of Woman’s influence in the household, remember the words of Solomon: “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”