1598.  Simple Form of Will


The following is a simple Form Of Will:
This is the last will and testament of J—— B——, of No. 3, King's Road, Chelsea. I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to my wife, Mary B——, her heirs, executors, and administrators, for her and their own use and benefit, absolutely and for ever, all my estate and effects, both real and personal, whatsoever and wheresoever, and of what nature and quality soever; and I hereby appoint her, the said Mary B——, sole executrix of this my will. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this —— day of ——, one thousand eight hundred and ——.

John B——.

Signed by the said John B—— in the presence of us, present at the same time, who, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, attest and subscribe our names as witnesses hereto.

John Williams, 15, Oxford Street, Westminster.

Henry Jones, 19, Regent Street, Westminster.

1599.  Other Forms of Wills


Other forms of wills give particular legacies to adults, or to infants, with direction for application of interest during minority; to infants, to be paid at twenty-one without interest; specific legacies of government stock; general legacies of ditto; specific legacies of leasehold property or household property; immediate or deferred annuities; to daughters or sons for life, and after them their children; legacies with directions for the application of the money; bequests to wife, with conditions as to future marriage; define the powers of trustees, provide for and direct the payment of debts, &c. All these more complicated forms of wills require the superintendence of a professional adviser.

1600.  Crossing Cheques


If cheques have two parallel lines drawn across them, with or without the addition of the words
"& Co.,"
they will only be paid to a banker.

1601.  Banker's Name across Cheque


If, in addition, the name of any particular banker be written across the cheque, it will only be paid to that banker or his agent.

1602.  Effect of Words "Not Negotiable" on Cheque


If the words "Not Negotiable" be written across a cheque, the lawful holder of the cheque is not prevented thereby from negotiating it. The effect of these words is to prevent any person receiving a cheque so marked from acquiring a better title to it than the person had from whom he received it. If, therefore, such a cheque has been stolen, the thief cannot, by passing it away for value, vest in the person so acquiring it a good title.

1603.  Repayment of Money, etc., borrowed when under Age


An infant, or person under twenty-one years of age, is not liable to repay money borrowed by him, nor to pay for goods supplied to him, unless they be necessaries.

1604.  Acceptance of Liability


Even if a person after coming of age promise to pay debts contracted during infancy, he is not liable, whether the promise be made in writing or not.

Wilful Waste Makes Woeful Want.


1605.  Limitation of Recovery of Land or Real Estate


A person becoming entitled to any land or real estate, must bring an action to recover it within
twelve
years from the time when his right accrued, otherwise his claim will be barred by the "Statute of Limitations."

1606.  Recovery of Damages by Workmen from Employer


By the "Employers' Liability Act," 1880, a workman may recover from his employer damages for personal injuries sustained by him in the course of his employment, if the accident happen through any one of the following causes:

  1. A defect in the way, works, machinery, or plant used in the employer's business, and which defect the employer negligently allows to remain unremedied.
  1. The negligence of some superintendent or overlooker in the service of the employer.
  1. The negligence of the foreman or other person in the service of the employer, whose orders or directions the workman was bound to obey and did obey.
  1. The act or omission of any person in the service of the employer done or made in obedience to the rules, bye-laws, or instructions of the employer.
  1. The negligence of any person in the service of the employer who has the charge or control of any signal, points, locomotive engine, or train upon a railway.

1607.  Amount Recoverable


The largest sum which a workman can recover in any of the above cases is limited to the amount of the average earnings for
three
years of a person in his situation.

1608.  Notice to Employer


Notice in writing of the injury must be given to the employer, or sent by registered post, giving the name and address of the person injured, the date of the accident, and stating in ordinary language the cause of the injury.

1609.  Actions for Compensation to be brought in County Court


All actions for compensation under the above Act must be brought in the County Court, and commenced within six months of the accident, or, in case the workman die and the action is brought by his representatives, then within
twelve
months from his death.

1610.  Bills of Sale


The "Bills of Sale Act," which came into operation on November 1, 1882, effects several noteworthy changes of the utmost importance. It repeals part of the Act of 1878, which repealed the Act of 1854.

1611.  What the term "Bill of Sale" includes


The term "bill of sale" is made to include, in addition to those assignments of personal property which were within its meaning under the Act of 1854, "inventories of goods with receipt thereto attached; and receipts for purchase-moneys of goods," where the goods remain in the possession of the seller, and also an agreement to give a bill of sale.

1612.  What the term "Personal Chattels" includes


The term "personal chattels" has also a wider meaning than under the old law, as it includes fixtures and growing crops when separately assigned, and trade machinery when assigned, together with an interest in land so as to require registration.

1613.  Chief Provisions of the Act


All bills of sale made or given in consideration of any sum under £30 are void. No bill of sale executed after the Act shall be any protection to the goods comprised therein against distress for poor and other parochial rates.

1614.   Instruments giving Powers of Distress


Certain instruments giving powers of distress are also to be registered under the Act to be of any validity against the trustees in bankruptcy or execution creditors.

1615.  Registration of Bill of Sale


Every bill of sale must be registered within
seven
days of its making, instead of within
twenty-one
days as under the old law; and provision is made to prevent the evasion of the Act of 1878 by means of renewed bills of sale in respect of the same debt—a practice much resorted to up to the passing of that Act in order to avoid registration.

Wise People are the Most Modest.


1616.  Renewal of Registration


Registration of unsatisfied bills of sale must he renewed every
five
years.

1617.  Voidance of Bill of Sale


A bill of sale executed within seven days after the execution of a prior unregistered bill of sale, if comprising all or part of the same chattels, and if given as a security for the same debt or any part thereof, will be absolutely void.

1618.  Bills of Sale to be Executed in presence of Solicitor


To prevent necessitous persons being inveigled by sharpers into signing bills of sale for sums in excess of advances, or in blank, as has been done in some cases, every bill of sale had to be executed in the presence of a solicitor, but under the Bills of Sale Act, 1882, this is no longer imperative, the condition only affecting bills drawn under the Act of 1878.

1619.  Preserving Fruit


The grand secret of preserving is to deprive the fruit of its water of vegetation in the shortest time possible; for which purpose the fruit ought to be gathered just at the point of proper maturity. An ingenious French writer considers fruit of all kinds as having four distinct periods of maturity—the maturity of vegetation, of honeyfication, of expectation, and of coction.

1620.  The First Period


The first period he considers to be that when, having gone through the vegetable processes up to the ripening, it appears ready to drop spontaneously. This, however, is a period which arrives sooner in the warm climate of France than in the colder orchards of England; but its absolute presence may be ascertained by the general filling out of the rind, by the bloom, by the smell, and by the facility with which it may be plucked from the branch. But even in France, as generally practised in England, this period may be hastened, either by cutting circularly through the outer rind at the foot of the branch, so as to prevent the return of the sap, or by bending the branch to a horizontal position on an espalier, which answers the same purpose.

1621.  The Second Period


The second period, or that of Honeyfication, consists in the ripeness and flavour which fruits of all kinds acquire if plucked a few days before arriving at their first maturity, and preserved under a proper degree of temperature. Apples may acquire or arrive at this second degree of maturity upon the tree, but it too often happens that the flavour of the fruit is thus lost, for fruit over-ripe is always found to have parted with a portion of its flavour.

1622.  The Third Stage


The third stage, or of Expectation, as the theorist quaintly terms it, is that which is acquired by pulpy fruits, which, though sufficiently ripe to drop off the tree, are even then hard and sour. This is the case with several kinds both of apples and pears, not to mention other fruits, which always improve after keeping in the confectionery,—but with respect to the medlar and the quince, this maturity of expectation is absolutely necessary.

1623.  The Fourth Degree


The fourth degree of maturity, or of Coction, is completely artificial, and is nothing more nor less than the change produced upon fruit by the aid of culinary heat.

1624.  Maturity of Vegetation


We have already pointed out the first object necessary in the preservation of fruit, its maturity of vegetation, and we may apply the same principle to flowers or leaves which may be gathered for use.

1625.  Flowers


The flowers ought to be gathered a day or two before the petals are ready to drop off spontaneously on the setting of the fruit: and the leaves must he plucked before the season has begun to rob them of their vegetable juices. The degree of heat necessary for the purpose of drying must next be considered, as it differs considerably with respect to different substances.

1626.  Degrees of Heat Required


Flowers or aromatic plants require the smallest increase of heat beyond the temperature of the season, provided that season be genial: something more for rinds or roots, and a greater heat for fruits; but this heat must not be carried to excess.

Fools Have an Abundance of Vanity.


1627.   Proportions of Heat


Philosophic confectioners may avail themselves of the thermometer; but practice forms the best guide in this case, and therefore we shall say, without speaking of degrees of Fahrenheit or Réaumur, that if the necessary heat for flowers is one, that for rinds and roots must be one and a quarter, that for fruits one and three quarters, or nearly double of what one may be above the freezing point.

1628.  Hints about making Preserves


It is not generally known that boiling fruit a long time, and
skimming it well, without sugar
, and
without a cover
to the preserving pan, is a very economical and excellent way—economical, because the bulk of the scum rises from the
fruit
, and not from the
sugar
; but the latter should be good. Boiling it without a
cover
allows the evaporation of all the watery particles therefrom, and renders the preserves firm and well flavoured. The proportions are, three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Jam made in this way of currants, strawberries, raspberries, or gooseberries, is excellent. The sugar should be added after the skimming is completed.

1629.  To make a Syrup


Dissolve one pound of sugar in about a gill of water, boil for a few minutes, skimming it till quite clear. To every two pounds of sugar add the white of one egg well beaten. Boil very quickly, and skim carefully while boiling.

1630.  Covering for Preserves


White paper cut to a suitable size, dipped in brandy, and put over the preserves when cold, and then a double paper tied over the top. All preserves should stand a night before they are covered. Instead of brandy, the white of eggs may be used to glaze the paper covering, and the paper may be pasted round the edge of the pot instead of tied—it will exclude the air better.

1631.  To Bottle Fruits


Let the fruit to be preserved be quite dry, and without blemish. Take a bottle that is perfectly clean and dry within, and put in the fruit in layers, sprinkling sugar between each layer, put in the bung, and tie bladder over, setting the bottles, bung downwards, in a large stewpan of cold water, with hay between to prevent breaking. When the skin is just cracking, take them out. All preserves require exclusion from the air. Place a piece of paper dipped in sweet oil over the top of the fruit; prepare thin paper, immersed in gum-water, and while wet, press it over and around the top of the jar; as it dries, it will become quite firm and tight.

1632.  Keeping Apples


Apples for keeping should be laid out on a
dry
floor for three weeks. They may then be packed away in layers, with dry straw between them. Each apple should be rubbed with a dry cloth as it is put away. They should be kept in a cool place, but should be sufficiently covered with straw to protect them from frost. They should be plucked on a dry day.

1633.  Dried Apples


Dried apples are produced by taking fine apples of good quality, and placing them in a very slow oven for several hours. Take them out occasionally, rub and press them flat. Continue until they are done. If they look dry, rub over them a little clarified sugar.

1634.  Preserved Rhubarb


Peel one pound of the finest rhubarb, and cut it into pieces of two inches in length; add three quarters of a pound of white sugar, and the rind and juice of one lemon—the rind to be cut into narrow strips. Put all into a preserving kettle, and simmer gently until the rhubarb is quite soft; take it out carefully with a silver spoon, and put it into jars; then boil the syrup a sufficient time to make it keep well,—say one hour,—and pour it over the fruit. When cold, put a paper soaked in brandy over it, and tie the jars down with a bladder to exclude the air. This preserve should be made in the spring.

1635.  Dry Apricots


Gather before ripe, scald in a jar put into boiling water, pare and stone them; put into a syrup of half their weight of sugar, in the proportion of half a pint of water to two pounds of sugar; scald, and then boil until they are clear. Stand for two days in the syrup, then put into a thin candy, and scald them in it. Keep two days longer in the candy, heating them each day, and then lay them on glasses to dry.

1636.  Preserved Peaches


Wipe and pick the fruit, and have ready a quarter of the weight of fine sugar in powder. Put the fruit into an ice-pot that shuts very close; throw the sugar over it, and then cover the fruit with brandy. Between the top and cover of the pot put a double piece of grey paper. Set the pot in a saucepan of water till the brandy is as hot as you can bear to put your finger into, but do not let it boil. Put the fruit into a jar, and pour on the brandy. Cover in same manner as preserves.

1637.  Brandy Peaches


Drop them into a weak boiling lye, until the skin can be wiped off. Make a thin syrup to cover them, boil until they are soft to the finger-nail; make a rich syrup, and add, after they come from the fire, and while hot, the same quantity of brandy as syrup. The fruit must be covered.

1638.  Preserved Plums (1)


Cut your plums in half (they must not be quite ripe), and take out the stones. Weigh the plums, and allow a pound of loaf sugar to a pound of fruit. Crack the stones, take out the kernels, and break them in pieces. Boil the plums and kernels very slowly for about fifteen minutes, in as little water as possible. Then spread them on a large dish to cool, and strain the liquor. Next day add your syrup, and boil for fifteen minutes. Put into jars, pour the juice over when warm, and tie up with bladder when cold, with paper dipped in brandy over the preserve.

1639.  Preserved Plums (2)


Another Way.—Plums for common use are very good done in treacle. Put your plums into an earthen vessel that holds a gallon, having first slit each plum with a knife. To three quarts of plums put a pint of treacle. Cover them over, and set them on hot coals in the chimney corner. Let them stew for twelve hours or more, occasionally stirring, and next day put them up in jars. Done in this manner, they will keep till the next spring.

1640.  To Preserve Lemons, Whole, for Dessert


Take six fine, fresh, well-shaped lemons, cut a hole just round the stalk, and with a marrow-spoon scoop out the pips, and press out the juice, but leave the pulp in the lemons. Put them into a bowl with two or three quarts of spring water, to steep out the bitterness. Leave them three days, changing the water each day; or only two days if you wish them to be very bitter. Strain the juice as soon as squeezed out, boil it with one pound of loaf sugar (setting the jar into which it was strained in a pan of boiling water fifteen or twenty minutes); tie it up,
quite hot
, with bladder, and set by till wanted. Taste the water the lemons are lying in at the end of the third day; if not bitter, lift the lemons out into a china-lined pan, pour the water through a strainer upon them, boil gently one or two hours; set by in a pan. Boil again next day, until so tender that the head of a large needle will easily pierce the rind. Put in one pound of loaf sugar, make it just boil, and leave to cool. Next day boil the syrup, and pour it on the lemons; add one pound of sugar, and hot water to supply what was boiled away. Lift out the lemons, and boil the syrup and pour on them again every day for a fortnight, then every three or four days, adding gradually three pounds of sugar. When the lemons look clear and bright, boil the syrup pretty hard, add the lemon juice which had been set by, just boil, skim; put the lemons into jars, pour the syrup upon them, and tie up the jars
instantly
with bladder.

Vice Cheats its Votaries.


1641.  Preserved Ginger


Scald the young roots till they become tender, peel them, and place in cold water, frequently changing the water: then put into a thin syrup, and, in a few days, put into jars, and pour a rich syrup over them.

1642.  To Preserve Eggs (1)


It has been long known to housewives, that the great secret of preserving eggs fresh is to place the small end downwards, and keep it in that position—other requisites not being neglected, such as to have the eggs perfectly fresh when deposited for keeping, not allowing them to become wet, keeping them cool in warm weather, and avoiding freezing in winter. Take an inch board of convenient size, say a foot wide, and two and a half feet long, and bore it full of holes, each about an inch and a half in diameter; a board of this size may have five dozen holes bored in it, for as many eggs. Then nail strips of thin board two inches wide round the edges to serve as a ledge. Boards such as this may now be made to constitute the shelves of a cupboard in a cool cellar. The only precaution necessary is to place the eggs as fast as they are laid in these holes, with the small end downwards, and they will keep for months perfectly fresh. The great advantage of this plan is the perfect ease with which the fresh eggs are packed away, and again obtained when wanted. A carpenter would make such a board for a trifling charge.

1643.  Preserving Eggs (2)


Another Method.—The several modes recommended for preserving eggs any length of time are not always successful. The egg, to be preserved well, should be kept at a temperature so low that the air and fluids within its shell shall not be brought into a decomposing condition; and, at the same time, the air outside of its shell should be excluded, in order to prevent its action in any way upon the egg.

1644.  Preserving Eggs (3), Mixture for


The following mixture for preserving eggs was patented several years ago by Mr. Jayne, of Sheffield. He alleged that by means of it he could keep eggs two years. A part of his composition is often made use of—perhaps the whole of it would be better. Put into a tub or vessel one bushel of quicklime, two pounds of salt, half a pound of cream of tartar, and mix the same together, with as much water as will reduce the composition, or mixture, to that consistence that it will cause an egg put into it to swim with its top just above the liquid; then place the eggs therein.

1645.  Preserving Eggs (4)


Eggs may be preserved by applying with a brush a solution of gum arabic to the shells, and afterwards packing them in dry charcoal dust.

1646.  Improving Bad Butter


Bad butter may be improved greatly by dissolving it in thoroughly hot water; let it cool, then skim it off, and churn again, adding a little good salt and sugar. A small portion can be tried and approved before doing a larger quantity. The water should be merely hot enough to melt the butter, or it will become oily.

1647.  Rancid Butter


This may be restored by melting it in a water bath, with some coarsely powdered animal charcoal, which has been thoroughly sifted from dust, and strained through flannel.

1648.  Salt Butter


Salt butter may be freshened by churning it with new milk, in the proportion of a pound of butter to a quart of milk. Treat the butter in all respects in churning as fresh. Cheap earthenware churns for domestic use may be had at any hardware shop.