Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 49

329. Beds for the Poor.

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 the smell of them is pleasant and that they will not harbour vermin. They are also very springy.

330. To Preserve Tables.

A piece of oilcloth (about twenty inches long) is a useful appendage to a common sitting-room. Kept in the closet, it can be available at any time, in order to place upon it jars, lamps, &c., whose contents are likely to soil your table during the process of emptying or filling them. A wing and duster are harmonious accompaniments to the oilcloth.

331. Protecting Gilt Frames.

Gilt frames may be protected from flies and dust by pinning tarlatan over them. Tarlatan fit for the purpose may be purchased at the draper's. It is an excellent material for keeping dust from books, vases, wool work, and every description of household ornament.

332. 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 is used to line tea-chests.

333. Another Method.

Another mode of preventing the ill effects of damp in walls on wall-paper, is to cover the damp part with a varnish formed of naphtha and sh.e.l.lac, in the proportion of 1/4lb. of the latter to a quart of the former. The smell of the mixture is unpleasant, but it wears off in a short time, and the wall is covered with a hard coating utterly impervious to damp, and to which the wall paper can be attached in the usual way.

334. No Wet Scouring In Winter.

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.

[A WIFE'S ART IS DISPLAYED IN A TABLE WELL LAID.]

335. 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.

336. Smell of Paint.

To get rid of the smell of oil paint, let a pailful of water stand in the room newly painted.

337. Airing a Larder.

If a larder, by its position, will not admit of opposite windows, a current of air should be admitted by means of a flue from the outside.

338. Keeping a Door Open.

To keep a door open, place a brick covered neatly with a piece of carpeting against it, when opened sufficiently.

339. To Ascertain whether a Bed be Aired.

Introduce a drinking gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s, but if not, the damp of the bed will collect in and on the gla.s.s and a.s.sume the form of drops--a warning of danger.

340. To prevent the Smoking of a Lamp.

Soak the wick in strong vinegar, and dry it well before you use it; the flame will then burn clear and bright.

341. Encrusted Tea-Kettles.

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-sh.e.l.l or a piece of stone or marble in the tea-kettle. The sh.e.l.l or stone will always keep the interior of the kettle in good order, by attracting the particles of earth or of stone.

342. To Soften Hard Water.

or purify river water, simply boil it, and then leave it exposed to the atmosphere.

343. Cabbage Water

should be thrown away immediately it is done with, and the vessel rinsed with clean water, or it will cause unpleasant smells.

344. Disinfectants.

A little charcoal mixed with clear water thrown into a sink will disinfect and deodorize it. Chloride of lime and carbolic acid considerably diluted, if applied in a liquid form, are good disinfectants, and carbolic powder--a pink powder with a smell resembling tar, and sold at about 2d. per lb.--is both useful and effective. The air of a bedroom may be pleasantly sweetened by throwing some ground coffee on a fire shovel previously heated.

345. Chimney Smoking.

Where a chimney smokes only when a fire is first lighted, it may be guarded against by allowing the fire to kindle gradually, or by heating the chimney by burning straw or paper in the grate previous to laying in the fire.

346. Ground Gla.s.s.

The frosted appearance of ground gla.s.s may be very nearly imitated by gently dabbing the gla.s.s over with a paint brush dipped in white paint or any other oil colour. The paint should be thin, and but very little colour taken up at one time on the end of the bristles. When applied with a light and even touch the resemblance is considerable.

347. Oiling Clocks.

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.