Useful Household Recipes.—­To purify water in glass vessels and aquariums, it is recommended to add to every 100 grammes of water four drops of a solution of one gramme of salicylic acid in 300 grammes of water.  The Norsk Fiskeritidende, published at Bergen, Norway, says that thereby the water may be kept fresh for three months without being renewed.  A cement recommended as something which can hardly be picked to pieces is made as follows:—­Mix equal parts of lime and brown sugar with water, and be sure the lime is thoroughly air-slacked.  This mortar is equal to Portland cement, and is of extraordinary strength.  For a few weeks’ preservation of organic objects in their original form, dimensions and color, Professor Grawitz recommends a mixture composed of two and a half ounces of chloride of sodium, two and three-quarters drachms of saltpetre, and one pint of water, to which is to be added three per cent. of boric acid.  To varnish chromos, take equal quantities of linseed oil and oil of turpentine; thicken by exposure to the sun and air until it becomes resinous and half evaporated; then add a portion of melted beeswax.  Varnishing pictures should always be performed in fair weather, and out of any current of cold or damp air.  A fireproof whitewash can be readily made by adding one part silicate of soda (or potash) to every five parts of whitewash.  The addition of a solution of alum to whitewash is recommended as a means to prevent the rubbing off of the wash.  A coating of a good glue size made by dissolving half a pound of glue in a gallon of water is employed when the wall is to be papered.  The most nourishing steam bath that can be applied to a person who is unable to sweat and can take but little food in the stomach:—­Produce the sweating by burning alcohol under a chair in which the person sits, with blanket covering to hold the heat.  Use caution and but little alcohol.  Fire it in a shallow iron pan or old saucer.

Own Your Own Homes.—­Every man, whether he is a working man in the common acceptation of the word or not, feels a deep interest in the management of the affairs of the city, county and State in which he lives whenever he owns a home.  He is more patriotic, and in many ways is a better citizen than the man who simply rents, and who has but little if any assurance of how long it will be before he can be ordered to move; to which may be added in many cases the saving of more money.  Of course it requires some economy to lay up a sufficient amount of money to purchase and pay for a home; but this very fact, if properly carried out after the home is acquired, may be the instrument of furnishing the means to commence and prosecute a business upon your own responsibility.  True, in some cases it will require more economy, perhaps, than we are now practicing.  But the question with every man, and especially if he is the head of a family, is, Can he afford it?  That is, can he afford to live up his wages as fast