Although we are in the Spring months, colds are still fairly prevalent, and there have been a good many cases of influenza. It is at this time of the year that lemons and oranges are particularly essential to bodily well-being. In all citrus fruits there is an abundance of those wonderfully potent substances called vitamins, including one which helps the body cells to resist the attacks of disease germs. Then, too, there are certain acids, of which citric acid is the most important. These are most valuable in the vital activities of the body cells and in the removal of the waste products in the nutritive processes. The acids in citrus fruits form a compound in the body, which increases the alkalinity of the blood, and the diminution of this alkalinity results in many types of ill-health.

Lemons also contain matters of direct food value, carbon compounds, and various necessary salts: phosphates, potash, iron, lime, dosium, sulphur, etc. A very important point is that all these salts, vitamins, etc., are present in lemons in a form which is easily made use of in the body.

Crude chemical salts may be taken into the stomach, but be merely wasted, not being in a form which can be absorbed by the body cells, but this is not the case when our essential chemicals are taken in a natural form. Moreover, they are so cunningly dispensed by Nature that the taking of them is a pleasure. Let us, therefore, seek our spring tonic from Nature's dispensary —the citrus tree.

How to Use Lemons.

An Early Morning Drink.—Place the juice of a lemon in a tumbler, add 9 or 10 raisins, and fill up with cold water. Leave this overnight, all ready to drink first thing in the morning. This is an excellent gentle laxative.

A hot lemon drink may be improved by adding honey for sweetening instead of sugar.

Lemon juice purifies the blood stream—dissolves acid which causes aches and pains—clears the skin of blemish—tones up the whole system. page 45 Every woman should take the juice of one lemon every day of her life.

A good wash for the teeth is made with two tablespoons of lemon juice in eight ounces of water.

Add the juice of a lemon to the last water when shampooing the hair. The acid removes all soap and makes the hair soft and fluffy.

After peeling vegetables, use lemon juice to remove the stain from the hands.

For added flavour and tenderness rub beef with the juice of a lemon before cooking. The result is particularly pleasing. Aged poultry treated likewise becomes quite tender.

If you use dripping for pastry, add the juice of a lemon—the flavour will be greatly improved.

The cleaning of brassware often presents a problem. Here follows a good way: Rub brassware with lemon rinds, then rinse in warm water and finish off with a soft cloth. The brassware will retain a rich lustre and there will be no sediment common to ordinary polishes in the grooves, and inlaid ware will have no chalky appearance.

Use old lemon rinds on your sink boards. Just give them a rub and leave to dry.

For an uncommon scent in the drawing-room try a lemon with dozens of cloves stuck in it. Pop it in an unseen corner and you and your guests will enjoy the pleasant result.

Hints to smokers: “A pipe burns through or cracks simply owing to carelessness,” says a London expert, “a new pipe should not be subjected to intense heat until the interior of the bowl is protected by a layer of carbon, although too great an accumulation of carbon must be avoided. So must the rough scraping of the bowl. And the knocking of the pipe against hard objects, also ‘lighting up’ from the flame of a candle, may easily crack the wood.” Quite. But how about the tobacco? If full of nicotine, (as it so often is), the pipe rapidly fouls and becomes clogged, necessitating continual scraping out, so that the bowl soon becomes a mere shell. Impure tobacco is bad for the pipe and worse for the smoker. You can buy a new pipe for a shilling. Health impaired by bad tobacco may cost you more than that. The purest tobacco of all is the toasted New Zealand. Hardly any nicotine in it. The toasting does it! Four brands only. Riverhead Gold. Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Cavendish, and Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead).*

Lemon juice and salt will remove rust stains from white materials.

Never mix a lemon drink in an enamel utensil on account of the risk of antimony poisoning.

For Chapped Hands—so common during wintry days—the juice of two lemons and 6d. worth of glycerine, mixed well. Bottle up and use whenever required.

Lemon Honey.—Two lemons, 8ozs. honey, 3 eggs, 4ozs. butter. Method: Grate lemon rind and squeeze juice. from lemons. Melt butter, add honey and lemon juice. Cool slightly and add the beaten eggs. Cook in double boiler, stirring until it thickens. Add lemon rind. Heat directly over flame for a few minutes and bottle while hot.

Lemon Pudding.—Take 1 cup of chopped bread without crust, the grated rind of a lemon, the yolk of 1 egg, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 pint of milk. Bake for half an hour in a good oven. Take the white of the egg and beat till stiff, adding 1 1/4 cups of sugar. Beat again till the sugar is quite dissolved, then add the juice of the lemon. Spread this over the pudding, and brown lightly. This is very nice hot or cold.

Moonshine Pudding.—Three breakfast cups water, 1/2 breakfast cup sugar, whites of 3 eggs, 2 ozs. cornflour, juice of 2 lemons. Boil sugar and water and lemon juice. Mix cornflour with some of the water cold, and then add to mixture and boil. Take off the fire and mix in stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Leave to set, then serve with custard made from yolks of eggs.

Lemon Tart.—Crumbled stale sponge cake, grated rind and juice of one lemon, three tablespoons sugar. To this stir in 2ozs. melted butter, then two well beaten eggs. Cook for four minutes over low fire. Bake in a pastry-lined tart tin. Decorate with white of egg.

Lemon Sauce.—One lemon, 2ozs. sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour, 1/2 pint water. Put sugar, lemon rind and water into pan and cook for ten minminutes. Mix cornflour smooth with lemon juice and stir in till it thickens. Serve hot.