# Ask the "Household Guide -or- Domestic Cyclopedia", c1900 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467 "2010-05-23T16:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/1 "2010-05-23T16:11:08Z")
Yesterday was spent garage-saleing. For those unfamiliar with this activity, it is not, as the name suggests, taking garages out on the lake for recreation. Instead, it is largely a process whereby one person transfers her worthless knickknacks and Reader’s Digest Condensed Novels to another person for trivial amounts of currency. One popular variation substitutes baby clothing and used breast pumps for the Condensed Novels. But sometimes treasures are found. It was at an estate sale\* that I saw a pile of books that looked very, very awful. Most of the books looked awful because they were over a hundred years old and were falling apart; the last looked awful because it was by Dan Brown. I purchased one of the former for a quarter. (\*Note: An estate sale is simply a type of garage sale where the person selling her worthless crap is dead.) This is how I became the proud owner of ```auto The Household Guide or Domestic Cyclopedia. A Practical Family PHysician, Home Remedies and Home Treatment on All Diseases. An Instructor on Nursing, Housekeeping and Home Adornments. BY PROF B.G. Jefferis, M.D., Ph.D., AND J.L. Nichols, A.M. ------------------ ALSO A Complete Cook Book by Mrs. J.L. Nichols ``` I am thus now in possession of immense practical knowledge of housekeeping, home remedies, etiquette, and sundry other related matters. I am willing to share this knowledge with the world. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/2 "2010-05-23T16:16:05Z")
What is the best way to discipline insolent help? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/3 "2010-05-23T16:23:56Z")
My son shows signs of favouring use of his left hand over use of his right hand. What should I do? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/4 "2010-05-23T16:30:41Z")
My monthly courses seem to be inhibited\*, can you recommend a remedy for my hysterical condition? \*No, not really, don’t get your tongues a waggin’, now. ---
**Author:** ![Meme\_Chose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Meme\_Chose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meme_Chose)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/5 "2010-05-23T16:31:19Z")
I suffer so from the vapors. I am barely able to carry on my work with the W.C.T.U. Is there some remedy that will afford me some relief? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/6 "2010-05-23T16:32:36Z")
You will probably find that many of the “cures” involve toxic chemicals or poisons which you would have great difficulty buying now. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/7 "2010-05-23T17:07:56Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/8 "2010-05-23T17:49:21Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > What is the best way to discipline insolent help? There is not a lot of detail specific to discipline _techniques_. But page 332 lists 14 “Good Rules for the Mistress” for interacting with servants. Number 9 says simply, “When you reprove, do so firmly and decidedly.” Number 10 then states, “Only allow your rules to be broken once; let dismissal, with customary notice, follow the second offense.” In short, it seems that discipline techniques are not needed, since if a servant is in need of discipline, they are also in need of a new job. However, it is important to note that, per number 13, one should: “Be kind to your servants when they are ill, and thoughtful of them always; in nine cases out of ten the considerate mistress will be rewarded by faithful service.” Immediately following this list is another list, this one for the servant. Included in this list are the following items: > [@](#): > > 1. Be punctual. Keep your brooms, brushes, dusters, pots, kettles and pans clean and sweet. Obey your mistress in every particular; go to her when you are in doubt. If your fellow servant shirk their duties, and their doing so affects your work, take the first opportunity you have of explaining this to your mistress, being careful not to exaggerate. > 2. Do not do rough work while wearing a white apron. Have large gingham aprons for such purposes, and keep your white one hanging where it can be easily gotten at. > … > 3. If you have a lover, confide in your mistress and obtain her permission to have him spend his evenings with you; do not meet him on the street, or try to “smuggle” him into the kitchen. Sitcom writers of the world, take note. It might be best to consider the advice given about servants in general, in order to avoid having the need to discipline them. Thus a special section is headed “The Servant Question”. > [@](#): > > **The Servant Question** > The vexed question of “domestic service” is a serious one, and like its companion problem, the “labor question,” its solution can hardly be satisfactorily accomplished in this country, where our servants and our “lower classes” are made up of aliens, many of whom are untrained and unfitted for the positions which they undertake to fill. > **American-Born Women** instinctively object to domestic service as a means of livelihood. They are usually fairly well educated, as our excellent public school system gives opportunities to all. The American girl would do anything rather than domestic service; she considers it menial and beneath her, and so, when she starts out for herself in the world, she undertakes type-writing, or telegraphy, or clerking in an office, or she becomes an amanuensis or a factory hand, or does everything else rather than the work for which she is thoroughly well equipped by both experience and inheritance. It is a very rare thing to find an American girl in service; and when she is discovered, what a joy she is to the finder, for we are sure we have in our house honesty, energy, and often great capability. > \*\*Foreigners. - \*\* It would seem that no honest work faithfully performed could be beneath any one, and the domestic servant in America has many privileges which a clerk or a factory girl cannot enjoy. However, this is not a popular opinion, and so our domestics are mostly foreigners, who come to this country only to make money, who look upon us merely as a means to that end, and the sooner that end is accomplished the better for both of us. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/9 "2010-05-23T18:04:34Z")
What is an appropriate menu for when I have my parents over for dinner or supper? What is the most a la mode way to decorate my parlour? I am afraid my current home adornments are falling behind the times. Are my printed lithographs and punch-embroidered pillow shams still in vogue? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/10 "2010-05-23T18:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > The Servant Question > The vexed question of “domestic service” is a serious one, and like its companion problem, the “labor question,” its solution can hardly be satisfactorily accomplished in this country, where our servants and our “lower classes” are made up of aliens, many of whom are untrained and unfitted for the positions which they undertake to fill. > American-Born Women instinctively object to domestic service as a means of livelihood. They are usually fairly well educated, as our excellent public school system gives opportunities to all. The American girl would do anything rather than domestic service; she considers it menial and beneath her, and so, when she starts out for herself in the world, she undertakes type-writing, or telegraphy, or clerking in an office, or she becomes an amanuensis or a factory hand, or does everything else rather than the work for which she is thoroughly well equipped by both experience and inheritance. It is a very rare thing to find an American girl in service; and when she is discovered, what a joy she is to the finder, for we are sure we have in our house honesty, energy, and often great capability. > Foreigners. - It would seem that no honest work faithfully performed could be beneath any one, and the domestic servant in America has many privileges which a clerk or a factory girl cannot enjoy. However, this is not a popular opinion, and so our domestics are mostly foreigners, who come to this country only to make money, who look upon us merely as a means to that end, and the sooner that end is accomplished the better for both of us. Fess up. This is from an opinion piece on that new Arizona law, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/11 "2010-05-23T18:27:34Z")
In the 70’s (1970’s, not 1870’s) I worked for an attorney, a single woman who had a maid/housekeeper. She chastised the housekeeper because she (1) used the front door instead of a side door to enter the house and (2) had the poor judgment to set up the ironing board on the white carpet in the living room, so she could watch TV while ironing. I am not shitting you. The lawyer dictated a letter detailing the housekeeper’s faults, and I typed it. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/12 "2010-05-23T19:40:14Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > My son shows signs of favouring use of his left hand over use of his right hand. What should I do? I have pored over many sections of this wondrous volume, but I’m afraid it seems to be silent on this important matter. There is an index, so I first looked for the obvious - “left-handed”: > [@](#): > > … > Lawn, how to improve 509 > Laxative, a palatable 167 > Laxative (see Magnesia) 120 > Laxative (see Mandrake) 121 > Laxative (see Mustard) 120 > Laxative (see Olive Oil) 119 > Laxative (see Rhubarb) 120 > Laxative (see Sulphur) 122 > Lead Colic 183 > Leather, how to improve 396 > Lemonade 474 > Lemon for Felons 105 > Lemon Juice 118, 272 > Leucorrhoea 184 > Lice, how to destroy 516 > … Drat. Ok, how about just “handedness”, or simply “hand”? > [@](#): > > **H** > Hair, brushes 282 > Hair, care of 280, 282 > Hair Dressings 275 > Hair Dyeing 282 > Hair Falling Out 279, 287 > Hairs, gray 282 > Hair Oils and Tonics, 281, 284, 285 > Hair, structure of 278 > Hair, style of wearing 276 > Hams, how to pickle 409 > Hands, care of 269 > Happy, how to manage to be 329 > … Hmm, not exactly what we’re looking for, but let’s see what the good book has to say about caring for hands on page 269: > [@](#): > > **How to Take Care of the Hands** > To prevent chapping and roughness of the hands, soap should be used very sparingly and the hands should never be washed just before going out of doors. If the hands are inclined to be rough, it is best to use a little mutton tallow after each washing. > … > **Beautiful Hands** - The First thing one should do, in order to secure beautiful hands, is to see to existing blemishes, and their removal, if that be possible. > … > I may say here at once, that no girl can expect to have pretty hands who lets herself get below par. They will be red and rough, because the heart is not strong enough to receive back the blood as well as it ought. Therefore it gets dammed up in the extremities - and with what results? Why, coldness of hands and feet, clammy feet or hands, red, rough hands, red ears, and - let me whisper it - a red nose. All very useful, but not what we’re looking for. For one final attempt, I note from Wikipedia that “sinistral” is a term meaning “left-handed” (and having obvious etymological connotations). Anything? > [@](#): > > … > Shaving, hints on 286 > Shirt Bosoms, how to polish 492 > Sick Headache 131,134 > Silk, how to clean 387 > Silk, how to wash 387, 495 > Silver, how to shine 368 > Silverware 352 > Sinks, how to purify 353, 374 > Skin Diseases (see Burdock) 114 > Skin Diseases (see Juniper) 118 > Skin Diseases (see Lime) 120 > Skin Diseases (see Oak Bark) 121 > Skin Diseases (see Baking Soda) 123 > Skin Diseases (see Saltpetre) 124 > Skin Troubles 257 > … Alas, no luck. The closest thing to a mention of handedness that I can find by random perusal of the yellowed pages is part of a list of table manners: > [@](#): > > 1. Whenever you use your fingers to convey anything to your mouth or to remove anything from the mouth, let it be the fingers of the left hand. I will continue to absorb the knowledge of the Cyclopedia, and will update you if I find a direct answer to your query. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/13 "2010-05-23T19:47:14Z")
Does it say anything about disguising a delicate condition? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/14 "2010-05-23T19:48:39Z")
do you look up medical treatments based on disease or symptom? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/15 "2010-05-23T19:51:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Shirt Bosoms, how to polish 492 (okay, don’t worry…I’m not going to lower the quality of the Dope by stooping to juvenile smirking…) So will someone please explain to me how you polish a shirt? ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/16 "2010-05-23T20:16:38Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > My monthly courses seem to be inhibited\*, can you recommend a remedy for my hysterical condition? From a (very long) list: > [@](#): > > **HOW TO USE ALL KINDS OF HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES** > … > 55. **Hooping Cough.** - Ipecacuanha, drosera, cuprum veratrum gelsemium, veratrum viride, or belladonna (with head symptoms). > 56. **Hysteria.** - Ignatia, gelsemium, pulsatilla. > 57. **Impure Blood.** - Hepar sulphur and sulphur alternately > … Let me pause while Firefox’s built-in spell-checker finishes its workout. Alright, you may be wondering what “homeopathic” means. I looked it up. Homeopathy is an olde-timee set of quack medical ideas believed by simpler people from a simpler time because they were dumb. It was debunked long ago and so nobody knows what it is anymore. I also looked up [gelsemium](http://www.google.com/products?q=gelsemium&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf), [ignatia](http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=Ignatia&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=W4f5S4eVBpTYNYjwkIQI&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDQQrQQwAg), and [pulsatilla](http://www.google.com/products?q=pulsatilla&hl=en&aq=f), in case you were curious. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/17 "2010-05-23T20:19:49Z")
I’m giving a party for friends. How much booze should I get per head? ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/18 "2010-05-23T20:38:51Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > So will someone please explain to me how you polish a shirt? > [@](#): > > **How to Polish or Enamel Shirt Bosoms.** > To Polish or Enamel Shirt Fronts. > > 1 ounce of white wax, > 2 ounces of spermaceti. > > Melt together. Heat gently and turn into a very shallow pan: when cold cut or break into pieces. When making boiled starch the usual way, enough for a dozen bosoms, add to it a piece of the polish the size of a hazel nut. First off, [spermaceti](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermaceti) is not what you think, and you owe your Italian friend an apology for even thinking it. Secondly, that’s a lot of bosoms. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/19 "2010-05-23T21:27:27Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > do you look up medical treatments based on disease or symptom? Perhaps I should interject a brief note about the layout of the volume. Here’s an abbreviated table of contents: ```auto **Book I** **Home and Home Influences** Home ......................................... 22 Woman, Her Power, Qualities .................... 25 ... **Health** Sunshine and Health ............................ 29 ... Evils of Window Ventilation ................... 34 ... Tea and Coffee, Why Do We Drink It ............ 45 ... **Disease**........................................ 74 How to Tell Contagious Diseases .............. 75 The Wonderful Revelation of the Microscope ..... 76 ... **Home Remedies and How to Use Them**............ 107 Properties of Salt ........................... 108 The Useful Onion ............................ 109 ... Turpentine, Facts About Eggs .................. 112 ... Cayenne Pepper, Catnip, Cinnamon, Dandelion ... 115 ... Pennyroyal, Mandrake, Oakbark, Peach Tree Bark .. 121 ... **Home Remedies and Home Treatment for All Diseases**.. 125 Colic in Adults ...................................125 Cramps and Cramp Colic, Colic in Children ...... 126 ... Dyspepsia, Egyptian Dyspepsia Cure ............ 149 ... Erysipelas and Cancer, Eczema ................. 157 ... **Sick Room Hints**... **Care and Feeding of Infants**.................. 210 ... **Book II** **Figure, Form and Beauty**...................... 245 ... **Etiquette.** Hints and Helps on Good Behavior ...... 293 Practical Rules ........................ 296 ... **Invitations.** How to Write invitations, Forms .............. 312 **Amusements**......................... 318 How to Amuse Children ................. 319 Ring Games and Frolics for Children's Parties ...... 321 ... **Book III** **The Housekeeper**..................... 328 A Model Housewife ........................... 329 How to Manage to be Happy ................. 329 ... **Home Adornments**............................. 337 ... **The Hygiene of the Bedroom**............ 345 ... **The Dining Room**............................. 349 **Kitchen Utensils**............................. 354 Household Measures and Weights ........... 354 **Household Hints**.................................. 356 ... **Family Receipts**................. 361 Scientific Method for Removing Stains ............... 362 ... How to Break a String ............... 373 ... How to Raise Canaries ................. 382 How to Keep Flowers Fresh ............. 383 How to Enlarge Portraits and Pictures ..... 384 **Reading the Paper**.................. 398 **Book IV** **Complete Cook Book**.................. 399 The Art of Cooking ................... 400 Hints for the Cook ................... 401 ... New Ways for Cooking Corn .............. 427 How to Make all Kinds of Catsups, Pickles, Salads, etc. ..... 429 ... **Book V** **In the Laundry**.................................. 491 How to Make Hard Soap .............. 492 How to Polish Shirt Bosoms .............. 492 ... **How to Destroy House Insects**....... 497 ... **Yard and Garden.** worms on Rose Bushes .................... 509 ... **Poultry**........................... 513 Practical Rules for Keeping Poultry ........... 513 Chicken Cholera, Asthma, Loss of Feathers, Gapes ......... 515 ... **A Complete Medical Dictionary**........ 522 ``` (I tried to align page numbers nicely, but sadly this is hard to do .) As you can see, **Book I** contains most of the information about disease. The section **Disease** is general information about diseases, including cutting edge knowledge obtained with microscopes. **Home Remedies and How to Use Them** lists things we all have laying about the house, and lets us know what we can cure with them. **Home Remedies and Home Treatment for All Diseases** is the inverse - it lists diseases we all suffer from, and let’s us know what to raid from the root cellar to treat them. However, nuggets of health advice seems to be sprinkled just about everywhere in the volume. Note: “The Hygiene of the Bedroom” is not as exciting as it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467/20 "2010-05-24T22:37:32Z")
Health - Evils of Window Ventilation page 34 Can you please elaborate? With the warm weather upon us, I’m in a tither over opening my windows or not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-household-guide-or-domestic-cyclopedia-c1900/540467.md?page=2)