BLACKING TO PRESERVE LEATHER.—Take spermaceti oil, four ounces; molasses, twelve ounces; mix. Add by degrees twelve ounces of ivory-black, mixing it in smoothly, and rubbing it well, so as to leave no lumps; then add gradually a quart of the best white-wine vinegar. If too thick, add more vinegar; stir it hard, and let it stand in the jar three days, stirring frequently with a round stick. Bottle it for use. If still too thick, even when warmed at the fire, dilute with a little more vinegar.—A. S. BLACKING FOR DRESS BOOTS AND SHOES.—Gum arabic, eight ounces; treacle, two ounces; ink, half a pint; vinegar and spirit of wine, of each two ounces. Dissolve the gum and treacle in the ink and vinegar; then strain and add the spirit. FRENCH POLISH FOR BOOTS, SHOES, AND HARNESS.—Take two pints of the best vinegar and one pint of soft water; stir into the mixture a quarter of a pound of glue broken fine, half a pound of logwood chips, a quarter of an ounce of finely powdered indigo, a quarter of an ounce of the best soft soap, and a quarter of an ounce of isinglass. Boil for ten minutes or longer; then strain the liquid, bottle, and cork. When cold it is fit for use. Remove the dirt from the boots, &c., with a sponge and water. Then lay on the polish with a clean sponge. Should it prove too thick, hold it near the fire to warm a little, and the heat will liquify it sufficiently.—J. M. TO DETECT DAMPNESS IN BEDS.—First have the bed well warmed with a warming-pan; then, the moment the pan is taken out, introduce between the sheets an inverted glass tumbler. After it has remained there a few minutes, withdraw it. If the glass is found dry, you may go to bed without any apprehension of chill or rheumatism. If the glass is covered with drops of wet or damp steam, the safest plan is to take off the sheets and sleep between the blankets, as a second pair would probably be no better than the first. EXPELLING INSECTS GENERALLY.—All insects dislike penny-royal; the odour of it destroys some and drives away others. At seasons when fresh green bunches of penny-royal are not to be obtained, get oil of penny-royal, pour some into a saucer, and steep in it small bits of wadding or raw cotton; lay them about in corners, closet-shelves, bureau-drawers, boxes, and all places where you have seen cockroaches or ants, or wherever they are likely to be found. If the insects do not speedily disappear, renew the cotton and penny-royal. It is also well to place some of them about the bedsteads, between the sacking and the mattress. Bunches of penny-royal are excellent for brushing off that very annoying little insect, the seed tick.—H. S. C.