82 YOU MAY DEPEND THE DUSTMAN IS YOUR FRIEND. COLOURS ARE LIGHT never has a clean, bright effect, from the want of dark tints to contrast and set off the light ones. 272. FOR A SIMILAR REASON, carpets whose colours are all of what artists call middle tint (neither dark nor light), cannot fail to look dull and dingy, even when quite new. 273. THE CAPRICES OF FASHION at times bring these ill-coloured carpets into vogue; but in apartments where clegance is desirable, they always have a bad effect. 274. FOR A CARPET TO BE REALLY BEAUTIFUL and in good taste, there should be, as in a picture, a judicious disposal of light and shadow, with a gradation of very bright and of very dark tints; some almost white, and others almost or quite black. 275. THE MOST TRULY CHASTE, rich, and elegant carpets are those where the pattern is formed by one colour only, but arranged in every variety of shade. For instance, we have seen a Brussels carpet entirely red; the pattern formed by shades or tints varying from the deepest crimson (almost a black), to the palest pink (almost a white). Also one of green only, shaded from the darkest bottle-green, in some parts of the figure, to the lightest pea-green in others. Another, in which there was no colour but brown, in all its various gradations, some of the shades being nearly black, others of a light buff. All these carpets had much the look of rich cut velvet. 276. THE CURTAINS, SOFAS, &c., must be of corresponding colours, that the effect of the whole may be noble and elegant. 277. CARPETS of many gaudy colours are much less in demand than formerly. Two colours only, with the dark and light shades of each, will make a very handsome carpet. 278. A VERY LIGHT BLUE GROUND, with the figure of shaded crimson or purple, looks extremely well; so does a salmon colour or buff ground, with a deep green figure; or a light yellow ground, with a shaded blue figure. 279. IF YOU CANNOT OBTAIN A HEARTH-RUG that exactly corresponds with the carpet, get one entirely different; for a decided contrast looks better than a bad match. 280. WE HAVE SEEN VERY HANDSOME HEARTH-RUGS with a rich, black velvet-looking ground, and the figure of shaded blue, or of various tints of yellow and orange. 281. No CARPET decidedly lightcoloured throughout looks effective on the floor, or continues long clean. 282. In Choosing Paper for a Room, avoid that which has a variety of colours, or a large showy figure, as no furniture can appear to advantage with such. Large figured papering makes a small room look smaller. 283. The best Covering for a Kitchen Floor is a thick unfigured oil-cloth, of one colour. 284. Family Tool Chests.Much inconvenience and considerable expense might be saved, if it were the general custom to keep in every house certain tools for the purpose of performing at home what are called small jobs, instead of being always obliged to send for a mechanic and pay him for executing little things that, in most cases, could be sufficiently well done by a man or boy belonging to the family, if the proper instruments were at hand. 285. THE COST OF THESE ARTICLES is very trifling, and the advantages of having them always in the house are far beyond the expense. 286. FOR INSTANCE, there should be an axe, a hatchet, a saw (a large woodsaw also, with a buck or stand, if wood is burned), a claw-hammer, a mallet, two gimlets of different sizes, two. screw-drivers, a chisel, a small plane, one or two jack-knives, a pair of large scissors or shears, and a carpet fork or stretcher. 287. ALSO AN ASSORTMENT OF NAILS of various sizes, from large spikes down to small tacks, not forgetting brass-headed nails, some larger and some smaller. THE WINDOWS OPENED MORE WOULD KEEP DOCTORS FROM THE DOOR. 83 288. SCREWS, likewise, will be found very convenient, and hooks on which to hang things. 289. THE NAILS and screws should be kept in a wooden box, made with divisions to separate the various sorts, for it is very troublesome to have them mixed. 290. AND LET CARE BE TAKEN to keep up the supply, lest it should run out unexpectedly, and the deficiency cause delay and inconvenience at a time when their use is wanted. 291. IT IS WELL to have somewhere, in the lower part of the house, a deep light closet, appropriated entirely to tools, and things of equal utility, for executing promptly such little repairs as convenience may require, without the delay or expense of procuring an artisan. This closet should have at least one large shelf, and that about three feet from the floor. 292. BENEATH THIS SHELF may be a deep drawer, divided into two compartments. This drawer may contain cakes of glue, pieces of chalk, and balls of twine of different size and quality. 293. THERE MAY BE SHELVES at the sides of the closet for glue-pots, paste-pots and brushes, pots for black, white, green, and red paint, cans of painting oil, paint-brushes, &c. 294. AGAINST THE WALL, above the large shelf, let the tools be suspended, or laid across nails or hooks of proper size to support them. 295. THIS IS MUCH BETTER than keeping them in a box, where they may be injured by rubbing against each other, and the hand may be hurt in feeling among them to find the thing that is wanted. 296. BUT WHEN HUNG UP against the back wall of the closet, of course each tool can be seen at a glance. 297. WE HAVE BEEN SHOWN an excellent and simple contrivance for designating the exact places allotted to all these articles in a very complete tool closet. 298. ON THE CLOSET WALL, directly under the large nails that support the tools, is drawn with a small brush dipped in black paint or ink, an outline representation of the tool or instrument belonging to that particular place. 299. FOR INSTANCE, UNDER EACH SAW is sketched the outline of that saw, under each gimlet a sketch of that gimlet, under the screw-drivers are slight drawings of screw-drivers. 300. So THAT WHEN BRINGING BACK ANY TOOL that has been taken away for use, the exact spot to which it belongs can be found in a moment; and all confusion in putting them up and finding them again is thus prevented. 301. WRAPPING PAPER may be piled on the floor under the large shelf. It can be bought very low by the ream, at the large paper warehouses; and every house should keep a supply of it in several varieties. For instance, coarse brown paper for common purposes, that denominated ironmonger's paper, which is strong, thick, and in large sheets, is useful for packing heavy articles; and equally so for keeping silks, ribbons, blondes, &c., as it preserves their colours. 302. PRINTED PAPERS ARE UNFIT FOR WRAPPING anything, as the printing ink rubs off on the articles enclosed in them, and also soils the gloves of the person that carries the parcel. It 303. WHEN SHOPPING, if the person at the counter proceeds to wrap up your purchase in a newspaper (a thing rarely attempted in a genteel shop), refuse to take it in such a cover. is the business of every respectable shopkeeper to provide proper paper for this purpose, and printed paper is not proper. 304. WASTE NEWSPAPERS had best be used for lighting fires and singeing poultry. 305. WASTE PAPER that has been written on, cut into slips, and creased and folded, makes very good allumettes or lamp-lighters. These matters may appear of trifling importance, but order and regularity are necessary to happiness. 306. Beds for the Poor. 84 A DIRTY GRATE MAKES DINNER LATE. Beech-tree leaves are recommended for filling the beds of poor persons. They should be gathered on a dry day in the autumn, and perfectly dried. It is said that they smell grateful, and will not harbour vermin. They are also very springy. 307. To Preserve Tables.-A piece of oil-cloth (about twenty inches long) is a useful appendage to a common sitting-room. Kept in the closet, it can be available at any time to place jars upon, &c., &c., which are likely to soil your table during the process of dispensing their contents: a wing and duster are harmonious accompaniments to the oil-cloth. 308. Gilt Frames may be protected from flies and dust by oiled tarlatan pinned over them. Tarlatan, already prepared, may be purchased at tho upholsterer's. If it cannot be procured, it is easily made by brushing boiled oil over cheap tarlatan. It is an excellent material for keeping dust from books, vases, wool work, and every description of household ornament. 309. Damp Walls.-The following method is recommended to prevent the effect of damp walls on paper in rooms:-Line the damp part of the wall with sheet lead, rolled very thin, and fastened up with small copper nails. It may be immediately covered with paper. The lead is not to be thicker than that which lines tea-chests. 310. Bedrooms should not be scoured in the winter time, as colds and sickness may be produced thereby. Dry scouring, upon the French plan, which consists of scrubbing the floors with dry brushes, may be resorted to, and will be found more effective than can at first be imagined. If a bedroom is wet scoured, a dry day should be chosen the windows should be opened, the linen removed, and a fire should be lit when the operation is finished. 311. To get rid of a bad Smell in a Room newly painted.Place a vessel full of lighted charcoal in the middle of the room, and throw on it two or three handfuls of juniper berries, shut the windows, the chimney, and the door close; twenty-four hours afterwards, the room may be opened, when it will be found that the sickly, unwholesome smell will be entirely gone. The smoke of the juniper berry possesses this advantage, that should anything be left in the room, such as tapestry, &c., none of it will be spoiled. 312. Paint.-To get rid of the smell of oil paint plunge a handful of hay into a pailful of water, and let it stand in the room newly painted. 313. If a Larder, by its Position, will not admit of opposite windows, then a current of air must be admitted by means of a flue from the outside. 314. For Keeping a Door open, place a brick covered neatly with a piece of carpeting against the door. 315. To Ascertain whether a Bed be Aired.-Introduce a glass goblet between the sheets for a minute or two, just when the warming-pan is taken out; if the bed be dry, there will only be a slight cloudy appearance on the glass, but if not, the damp of the bed will assume the more formidable appearance of drops, the warning of danger. 316. To prevent the Smoking of a Lamp.-Soak the wick in strong vinegar, and dry it well before you use it; it will then burn clear and bright, and give much satisfaction for the trifling trouble in preparing it. 317. Water of every kind, except rain water, will speedily cover the inside of a tea-kettle with an unpleasant crust; this may easily be guarded against by placing a clean oyster-shell in the tea-kettle, which will always keep it in good order, by attracting the particles of earth or of stone. 318. To Soften Hard Water, or purify river water, simply boil it, and then leave it exposed to the atmosphere. 319. Cabbage Water should be thrown away immediately it is done with, and the vessel rinsed with clean water, or it will cause unpleasant smells. MUDDLE AT HOME MAKES THE HUSBAND ROAM. 320. A little Charcoal mixed with clear water thrown into a sink will disinfect and deodorize it. 321. Where a Chimney Smokes only when a fire is first lighted, it may be guarded against by allowing the fire to kindle gradually. 322. Ground Glass.-The frosted appearance of ground glass may be very nearly imitated by gently dabbing the glass over with a piece of glazier's putty, stuck on the ends of the fingers. When applied with a light and even touch, the resemblance is considerable. 323. Family Clocks ought only to be oiled with the very purest oil, purified by a quart of lime water to a gallon of oil, in which it has been well shaken, and suffered to stand for three or four days, when it may be drawn off. 324. Neat Mode of Soldering. -Cut out a piece of tinfoil the size of the surfaces to be soldered. Then dip a feather in a solution of sal ammoniac, and wet over the surfaces of the metal, then place them in their proper position with the tinfoil between. Put it so arranged on a piece of iron hot enough to melt the foil. When cold the surfaces will be found firmly soldered together. 325. Maps and Charts.-Maps, charts, or engravings may be effectually varnished by brushing a very delicate coating of gutta percha solution over their surface. It is perfectly transparent, and is said to improve the appearance of pictures. By coating both sides of important documents they can be kept waterproof and preserved perfectly. 326. Furniture made in the winter, and brought from a cold warehouse into a warm apartment, is very liable to crack. 327. Paper Fire-Screens should be coated with transparent varnish, otherwise they will soon become soiled and discoloured. 328. Pastils for Burning.Cascarilla bark, eight drachms; gum benzoin, four drachms; yellow sanders, two drachms; styrax, two drachms; olibanum, two drachms; charcoal, six 85 ounces; nitre, one drachm and a half; mucilage of tragacanth, sufficient quantity. Reduce the substances to a powder, and form into a paste with the mucilage, and divide into small cones; then put them into an oven until quite dry. 329. Easy Method of Breaking Glass to any required Figure.-Make a small notch by means of a file on the edge of a piece of glass, then make the end of a tobacco-pipe, or of a rod of iron of the same size, red hot in the fire, apply the hot iron to the notch, and draw it slowly along the surface of the glass in any direction you please; a crack will follow the direction of the iron. 330. Bottling and Fining.Corks should be sound, clean, and sweet. Beer and porter should be allowed to stand in the bottles a day or two before being corked. If for speedy use, wiring is not necessary. Laying the bottles on their sides will assist the ripening for use. Those that are to be kept should be wired, and put to stand upright in sawdust. Wines should be bottled in spring. If not fine enough, draw off a jugful and dissolve isinglass in it, in the proportion of half an ounce to ten gallons, and then pour back through the bung-hole. Let it stand a few weeks longer. Tap the cask above the lees. When the isinglass is put into the cask, stir it round with a stick, taking great care not to touch the lees at the bottom. For white wine only, mix with the isinglass a quarter of a pint of milk to each gallon of wine, some whites of eggs, beaten with some of the wine. One white of an egg to four gallons makes a good fining. 331. To Sweeten Casks.-Mix half a pint of vitriol with a quart of water, pour it into the barrel, and roll it about; next day add one pound of chalk, and roll again. Bung down for three or four days, then rinse well with hot water. 332. Oil Paintings hung over the mantel-piece are liable to wrinkle with the heat. 86 TOO MUCH BED MAKES A DULL HEAD. 338. Mending.—When you make a new article always save the pieces until "mending day," which may come sooner than expected. It will be well even to buy a little extra quantity for 333. To Loosen Glass Stop-ing, as to have their regular turn and pers of Bottles.-With a feather rub term in domestic use. a drop or two of salad oil round the stopper, close to the mouth of the bottle or decanter, which must then be placed before the fire, at the distance of about eighteen inches; the heat will cause the oil to insinuate itself between the stop-repairs. Read over repeatedly the "Doper and the neck. When the bottle or decanter has grown warm, gently strike the stopper on one side, and then on the other, with any light wooden instrument; then try it with the hand: if it will not yet move, place it again before the fire, adding another drop of oil. After a while strike again as before; and, by persevering in this process, however tightly it may be fastened in, you will at length succeed in loosening it. This is decidedly the best plan. 334. Lamp Wicks.-Old cotton stockings may be made into lamp wicks, and will answer very well. 335. The Best Lamp Oil is that which is clear and nearly colourless, like water. 336. China Teapots are the safest, and, in many respects, the most pleasant. Wedgwood ware is very apt, after a time, to acquire a disagreeable taste. MESTIC HINTS" at page 239. These numerous paragraphs contain most valuable suggestions, that will be constantly useful if well remembered. They should be read frequently that their full value may be secured. Let your domestics also read them, for nothing more conduces to good housekeeping than for the servant to understand the "system" which her mistress approves of. 339. Cleansing of Furniture. The cleaning of furniture forms an important part of domestic economy, not only in regard to neatness, but also in point of expense. 340. THE READIEST MODE indeed consists in good manual rubbing, or the essence of elbows, as it is whimsically termed; but our finest cabinet work requires something more, where brilliancy of polish is of importance. 341. THE ITALIAN CABINET-WORK in this respect excels that of any other country. The workmen first saturate the surface with olive oil, and then apply a solution of gum arabic in boiling alcohol. This mode of varnishing is equally brilliant, if not superior, to that employed by the French in their most elaborate works. 337. Care of Linen. When linen is well dried and laid by for use, nothing more is necessary than to secure it from damp and insects; the latter may be agreeably performed by a judicious mixture of aromatic shrubs and flowers, cut up and sewed in silken bags, to be 342. BUT ANOTHER MODE may be interspersed among the drawers and substituted, which has less the appearshelves. These ingredients may con- ance of a hard varnish, and may always sist of lavender, thyme, roses, cedar be applied so as to restore the pristine shavings, powdered sassafras, cassia lig- beauty of the furniture by a little nea, &c., into which a few drops of otto manual labour. Heat a gallon of water, of roses, or other strong-scented per- in which dissolve one pound and a half fume, may be thrown. In all cases it of potash: add a pound of virgin wax, will be found more consistent with eco- boiling the whole for half an hour, then nomy to examine and repair all washable suffer it to cool, when the wax will articles, more especially linen, that may float on the surface. Put the wax into stand in need of it, previous to sending a mortar, and triturate it with a marble them to the laundry. It will also be pestle, adding soft water to it until it prudent to have every article carefully forms a soft paste, which, laid neatly on numbered, and so arranged, after wash-furniture, or even on paintings, and care |