ed up in the butter at
the time of making it, and care must be taken not to handle it too much.
Meat hung in a dairy will taint the air, and spoil the milk.--See
BUTTER, CHEESE, CHURNING, &c.

DAMP BEDS. Of all other means of taking cold, damp beds are the most
dangerous, and persons who keep them in their houses are guilty of a
species of murder, though it unfortunately happens that no housewife is
willing to acknowledge that _her_ beds were ever damp. There is however
no other effectual way of preventing the dreadful effects so often
experienced in this way, than by keeping the beds in constant use, or
causing them frequently to be slept in till they are wanted by a
stranger. In inns, where the beds are used almost every night, nothing
more is necessary than to keep the rooms well aired, and the linen quite
dry. If a bed be suspected of dampness, introduce a glass goblet between
the sheets with its bottom upwards, immediately after the warming pan
is taken out. After a few minutes, if any moisture adheres to the inside
of the glass, it is a certain sign that the bed is damp: but if only a
slight steam appears, all is safe. If a goblet be not at hand, a looking
glass will answer the purpose. The safest way in all such cases is to
take off the sheets, and sleep between the blankets.

DAMP HOUSES. Nothing is more common than for persons to hazard their
lives by inhabiting a dwelling almost as soon as the plasterer or the
painter has performed his work, and yet this ought to be guarded against
with the utmost care. The custom of sitting in a room lately washed, and
before it is thoroughly dried, is also highly injurious to health. Colds
occasioned by these means often bring on asthmas and incurable
consumptions.

DAMP WALLS. When a house has undergone repairs, the walls are apt to
become damp, as well as when it has been new built. To prevent the ill
effects, powder some glass fine, mix it with slacked lime, dry the
mixture well in an iron pot, and pass it through a flour sieve. Then
boil some tar with a little grease for a quarter of an hour, and make a
cement of the whole together. Care must be taken to prevent any moisture
from mixing with the cement, which must be used as soon as made. Lay it
on the damp part of the wall like common plaster about a foot square at
a time, or it will quickly become too hard for use: if the wall be very
wet, a second coating will be required. Common hair mortar may then be
laid