Articles made of what is usually called Britannia metal may be kept in order by the frequent use of the following composition: 1/2 a lb. of finely-powdered whiting, a winegla.s.s of sweet oil, a tablespoonful of soft soap, and 1/2 an oz. of yellow soap melted in water. Add to these in mixing sufficient spirits--gin or spirits of wine--to make the compound the consistency of cream. This cream should be applied with a sponge or soft flannel, wiped off with soft linen rags, and the article well polished with a leather; or they may be cleaned with only oil and soap in the following manner: Rub the articles with sweet oil on a piece of woolen cloth; then wash well with strong soap-and-water; rub them dry, and polish with a soft leather and whiting. The polish thus given will last for a long time.

BRUSHES--TO WASH

Dissolve a piece of soda in some hot water, allowing a piece the size of a walnut to a quart of water. Put the water into a basin, and, after combing out the hair from the brushes, dip them, bristles downward, into the water and out again, keeping the backs and handles as free from the water as possible. Repeat this until the bristles look clean; then rinse the brushes in a little cold water; shake them well, and wipe the handles and backs with a towel, but not the bristles, and set the brushes to dry in the sun, or near the fire; but take care not to put them too close to it. Wiping the bristles of a brush makes them soft, as does also the use of soap.

CARPETS--TO CLEAN

Shake the carpet well; tack it down, and wash it upon the floor; the floor should be very clean; use cold soap suds; to three gallons add half a tumbler of beef-gall; this will prevent the colors from fading.

Should there be grease spots, apply a mixture of beef-gall, fuller's-earth, and water enough to form a paste; put this on before tacking the carpet down. Use tacks inserted in small leather caps.

Carpets in bedrooms and stair-carpets may be kept clean by being brushed with a soft hairbrush frequently, and, as occasion requires, being taken up and shaken. Larger carpets should be swept carefully with a whisk-brush or hand-brush of hair, which is far better, especially in the case of fine-piled carpets. Thick carpets, as Axminster and Turkey, should always be brushed one way.

CARPETS--TO LAY

This can hardly be well done without the aid of a proper carpet-fork or stretcher. Work the carpet the length way of the material, which ought to be made up the length way of the room. Nail sides as you go along, until you are quite sure that the carpet is fully stretched, and that there is no fold anywhere in the length of it.

STAIR-CARPET--TO CLEAN

Make stair-carpet longer than necessary, and change it so that it will not cover the steps in the same way each time of putting down. Moved about in this way, the carpet will last much longer. Clean the rods with oxalic acid. They should be kept bright.

CHIMNEY ON FIRE

Close all doors and windows tightly, and hold a wet blanket in front of the fire to prevent any draught going up the chimney.

CHINA OR GLa.s.s--TO WASH

Wash in plenty of hot soap suds; have two vessels, and in one rinse in hot water. Turn upon waiters, and let the articles drip before being wiped. Use linen towels for wiping.

CHINA AND GLa.s.s--CEMENT FOR

Dissolve 1 oz. of gum-mastic in a quant.i.ty of highly-rectified spirits of wine; then soften 1 oz. of isingla.s.s in warm water, and, finally, dissolve it in alcohol, till it forms a thick jelly. Mix the isingla.s.s and gum-mastic together, adding 1/4 of an oz. of finely-powdered gum-ammoniac; put the whole into an earthen vessel and in a warm place, till they are thoroughly incorporated together; pour it into a small bottle, and cork it down for use.

In using it, dissolve a small piece of the cement in a silver teaspoon over a lighted candle. The broken pieces of gla.s.s or china being warmed, and touched with the now liquid cement, join the parts neatly together, and hold them in their places till the cement has set; then wipe away the cement adhering to the edge of the joint, and leave it for twelve hours without touching it; the joint will be as strong as the china itself, and if neatly done, it will show no joining. It is essential that neither of the pieces be wetted either with hot or cold water.

CLOTHES--CARE OF

Woolen dresses may be laid out on a table and brushed all over; but in general, even in woolen fabrics, the lightness of the tissues renders brushing unsuitable to dresses, and it is better to remove the dust from the folds by beating them lightly with a handkerchief or thin cloth.

Silk dresses should never be brushed, but rubbed with a piece of merino or other soft material, of a similar color to the silk, kept for the purpose. Summer dresses of muslin, and other light materials, simply require shaking; but if the muslin be tumbled, it must be ironed afterwards.

If feathers have suffered from damp, they should be held near the fire for a few minutes, and restored to their natural state by the hand or a soft brush, or re-curled with a blunt knife, dipped in very hot water.

Furs and feathers not in constant use should be wrapped up in linen washed in lye. From May to September they are subject to being made the depository of moth-eggs.

CLOTHES--TO BRUSH

Fine clothes require to be brushed lightly, and with a rather soft brush, except where mud is to be removed, when a hard one is necessary; previously beat the clothes lightly to dislodge the dirt. Lay the garment on a table, and brush in the direction of the nap. Having brushed it properly, turn the sleeves back to the collar, so that the folds may come at the elbow-joints; next turn the lapels or sides back over the folded sleeves; then lay the skirts over level with the collar, so that the crease may fall about the center, and double only half over the other, so that the fold comes in the center of the back.

CLOTHES--TO REMOVE SPOTS AND STAINS FROM

To remove grease-spots from cotton or woolen materials, absorbent pastes, and even common soap, are used, applied to the spot when dry.

When the colors are not fast, place a layer of fuller's-earth or pulverized potter's clay over the spot, and press with a very hot iron.

For silks, moires and plain or brocaded satins, pour two drops of rectified spirits of wine over the spot, cover with a linen cloth, and press with a hot iron, changing the linen instantly. The spot will look tarnished, for a portion of the grease still remains; this will be removed entirely by a little sulphuric ether, dropped on the spot, and a very little rubbing. If neatly done, no perceptible mark or circle will remain; nor will the l.u.s.tre of the richest silk be changed, the union of the two liquids operating with no injurious effects from rubbing.

Eau-de-Cologne will also remove grease from cloth and silk. Fruit-spots are removed from white and fast-colored cottons by the use of chloride of soda. Commence by cold-soaping the article, then touch the spot with a hair-pencil or feather dipped in the chloride, and dip immediately into cold water, to prevent the texture of the article being injured.

Fresh ink-spots are removed by a few drops of hot water being poured on immediately after applying the chloride of soda. By the same process, iron-mould in linen or calico may be removed, dipping immediately in cold water to prevent injury to the fabric. Wax dropped on a shawl, table-cover, or cloth dress, is easily discharged by applying spirits of wine; syrups or preserved fruits, by washing in lukewarm water with a dry cloth, and pressing the spot between two folds of clean linen.

c.r.a.pE--TO RENOVATE

Place a little water in a tea-kettle and let it boil until there is plenty of steam from the spout; then, holding the c.r.a.pe with both hands, pa.s.s it to and fro several times through the steam, and it will be clean and look nearly equal to new.

COMBS--TO CLEAN

If it can be avoided, never wash combs, as the water often makes the teeth split, and the tortoise-sh.e.l.l or horn of which they are made, rough. Small brushes, manufactured purposely for cleaning combs, may be purchased at a trifling cost; the comb should be well brushed, and afterwards wiped with a cloth or towel.

CUPBOARDS, DAMP--TO DRY

Leave a quant.i.ty of quicklime in the cupboard for a few days, and the moisture will be entirely absorbed.

EGGS--TO PACK

Put into a b.u.t.ter firkin a thick layer of coa.r.s.e dry salt, then a layer of eggs, with the small end down, another layer of salt, then eggs, and so on until the firkin is full. Cover and keep in a dry place. These eggs will keep put up in this way almost any length of time.

COAL-FIRE--TO LIGHT

Clear out all ash from the grate and lay a few cinders or small pieces of coal at the bottom in open order; over this a few pieces of paper, and over that again eight or ten pieces of dry wood; over the wood, a course of moderate-sized pieces of coal, taking care to leave hollow s.p.a.ces between for air at the center; and taking care to lay the whole well back in the grate, so that the smoke may go up the chimney, and not into the room. This done, fire the paper with a match from below, and, if properly laid, it will soon burn up; the stream of flame from the wood and paper soon communicating to the coal and cinders, provided there is plenty of air at the center.

Another method of lighting a fire is sometimes practiced with advantage, the fire lighting from the top and burning down, in place of being lighted and burning up from below. This is arranged by laying the coals at the bottom, mixed with a few good-sized cinders, and the wood at the top, with another layer of coals and some paper over it; the paper is lighted in the usual way, and soon burns down to a good fire, with some economy of fuel, it is said.

FEATHERS--TO CLEAN

Cover the feathers with a paste made of pipe-clay, and water, rubbing them one way only. When quite dry, shake off all the powder and curl with a knife.

FLANNEL--TO WASH

Never rub soap upon it; make suds by dissolving the soap in warm water; rinse in warm water. Very cold or hot water will shrink flannel. Shake them out several minutes before hanging to dry. Blankets are washed in the same way.

FLEAS--TO DRIVE AWAY

Use pennyroyal or walnut leaves. Scatter them profusely in all infested places.

FLIES--TO DESTROY

A mixture of cream, sugar, and ground black pepper, in equal quant.i.ties, placed in saucers in a room infested with flies will destroy them. If a small quant.i.ty, say the equivalent of a teaspoonful of carbolic acid be poured on a hot shovel, it will drive the flies from the room. But screens should be used to prevent their entrance.

STEEL-FORKS--TO CLEAN

Have a small box filled with clean sand; mix with it a third the quant.i.ty of soft soap; clean the forks by sticking in the sand and withdrawing them rapidly, repeating the process until they are bright.

CUT-FLOWERS--TO PRESERVE

A bouquet of freshly-cut flowers may be preserved alive for a long time by placing them in a gla.s.s or vase with fresh water, in which a little charcoal has been steeped, or a small piece of camphor dissolved. The vase should be set upon a plate or dish, and covered with a bell gla.s.s, around the edges of which, when it comes in contact with the plate, a little water should be poured to exclude the air. To revive cut flowers, plunge the stems into boiling water, and by the time the water is cold, the flowers will have revived. Then cut the ends of the stems afresh, and place in fresh cold water.