in water
which is tasteless when cold.

HAND GRENADES.

Take chloride of calcium, crude, 20 parts; common salt, 5 parts; and
water, 75 parts. Mix and put in thin bottles. In case of fire, a bottle
so thrown that it will break in or very near the fire will put it out.
This mixture is better and cheaper than many of the high-priced
grenades sold for the purpose of fire protection.

HOW TO GET RID OF RATS.

Get a piece of lead pipe and use it as a funnel to introduce about 1-1/2
ounces of sulphite of potassium into any outside holes tenanted by rats.
Not to be used in dwellings. To get rid of mice use tartar emetic
mingled with any favorite food; they will eat, sicken and take their
leave.

FRIENDLY ADVICE ON MANY SUBJECTS.

Tomato in Bright's Disease.

When Thomas Jefferson brought the tomato from France to America,
thinking that if it could be induced to grow bountifully it might make
good feed for hogs, he little dreamed of the benefit he was conferring
upon posterity. A constant diet of raw tomatoes and skim-milk is said to
be a certain cure for Bright's disease. Gen. Schenck, who, when Minister
to England, became a victim to that complaint, was restored to health by
two years of this regimen.

Relief for Asthma.

An old friend of the editor of this book writes: "I have been a sufferer
from asthma for twenty-five years, and for more than a dozen years have
used the following recipe with great benefit. It is not a cure, but in
my case gives almost instant relief. Take equal parts of powdered
stramonium leaves and powdered belladonna leaves and mix thoroughly; to
each ten ounces of the mixture add one ounce of powdered saltpeter
(nitrate of potash); mix all thoroughly. I always keep some of this in a
small tin box. When I wish to use it I pour a little of the powder into
the cover of the box, light it with a match, cover the whole with a
little paper cone with the point cut off. I place the point of the cone
in my mouth, and breathe the smoke into my lungs with the air. The first
trial is very hard; it almost strangles, but if persevered in will give
great relief. This is much better than stramonium alone. The saltpeter
makes it burn freely, and also helps to give relief. When my home was in
Northern Indiana, I used to buy the leaves in Chicago already powdered.
Now I send to New York. I find it cheaper to do this than to gather and
dry the leaves. It is also almost impossible to dry and pulveri