TRANSCRIBER NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
The 'pointing hand' symbols have been replaced by ==> or <==.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the
text and consultation of external sources.
More detail can be found at the end of the book.
MRS. HALE'S
RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION:
CONTAINING
FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE
Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc.
IN THE
USEFUL, ORNAMENTAL, AND DOMESTIC ARTS,
AND IN THE CONDUCT OF LIFE.
BEING A
COMPLETE FAMILY DIRECTORY.
RELATIVE TO
Accomplishments,|Economy, |Ladies' Work, |Phrenology,
| | |
Amusements, |Etching, |Feather Work, |Potichomanie,
| | |
Beauty, |Etiquette, |Manners, |Poultry,
| | |
Birds, |Flowers, |Marriage, |Riding,
| | |
Building, |Gardening, |Medicines, |Swimming,
| | |
Children, |Grecian Painting,|Needlework, |Surgery, Domestic
| | |
Cookery, |Health, |Nursing, |Temperance,
| | |
Courtship, |Home, |Out-Door Work,|Trees, etc.
| | |
Dress, etc. |Housekeeping, |Painting, |Women's Duties,
Words of Washington, etc.
BY MRS. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.
Philadelphia:
T. B. PETERSON, NO. 306 CHESTNUT STREET.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
SARAH JOSEPHA HALE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in
and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
PREFACE.
"_All the labor of man is for his mouth,_" says Solomon. If this
proverb be understood, as it was undoubtedly meant--that the chief
aim and purpose of all human labor are to make the homes of mankind
places of enjoyment, we see how important the art of household
management becomes.
While preparing my "New Cook Book," I was naturally led to examine
the subject, and the result was a deep conviction of the need of
another work on domestic economy, or directions how to guide the
house. This led me to prepare the present treatise, embodying rules
and receipts, such as never before have been brought together for the
help and instruction of a household.
"_Knowledge is power_" always; knowledge used for good purposes is
wisdom. Knowledge, like gold, must be gained by personal effort; and
usually, in small quantities, and by continued exertions, both wisdom
and gold are accumulated.
It has been by washing the sands of common experience and gathering
the small bits of science and art found here and there on the mining
ground of common knowledge, that this large work, containing the pure
gold of truth, applicable to all the needs of common life, has been
made. A few _nuggets_ will be seen, such as the collected maxims of
Franklin, and the "Words of Washington," never before placed within
the reach of the popular mind.
In the economy and well-being of the family, personally and
individually, improvement should be sedulously kept in view. It is
not enough that woman understands the art of cookery and of managing
her house: she must also take care of herself; of children; of all
who will be dependent on her for direction, for health, for happiness.
Personal appearance is important; the art of beautifying a home is
important; the knowledge of ways and means by which the clothing
of a family may be kept in good order, with the least expense of
time and money, is important; some knowledge of plants, flowers,
gardening, and of domestic animals, is of much benefit, particularly
to those who live in the country; and more important than all, is a
knowledge of the best means of preserving or restoring health. Then
there is the very important matter of home happiness to be kept in
view. Amusements, accomplishments, elegant arts, manners, modes of
conduct in society; all these are necessary knowledge. And to crown
the whole, those indispensable rules and maxims of moral improvement,
which are the foundation of good in the character and life of
rational, immortal beings, must be made familiar. All this has been
attempted in "Receipts for the Million," as every person may see by
examining "The Table of Contents" and the "Index."
The aim of both my works on domestic matters has been to awaken
the attention of my own sex to these subjects, belonging, so
unquestionably, to woman's department. _The home administration_
is in her hands; how salutary and powerful this may be made in its
influence on humanity is yet hardly imagined, even by the most
sagacious and earnest advocates of woman's elevation.
Would that those of my sex who are urging onward, into the industrial
pursuits, and other professions appropriate for men, might turn
their attention to improvements in domestic economy. Here is an open
field, where their heads and hearts as well as hands may find ample
scope and noble objects. The really great woman never undervalues her
own sphere. Madame Roland excelled in her _ménage_; Mrs. Somerville
is eminent for domestic qualities; Mrs. Sigourney is a pattern
housekeeper; and a multitude of other names and examples may be
met with in my recent work,[A] where genius is found adorning home
pursuits.
There should be Lectures on Housekeeping, and other subjects
connected with domestic life, instituted in every Ladies Seminary.
This would serve to remedy, in some degree, the evils that now attend
a boarding-school education. The grand defect of this is, that
teachers too often leave out of sight the application of learning
to the home pursuits of young ladies. So when these return to the
parental roof, they give themselves up to novel reading, as their
chief mental resource.
A better time is coming. Women, capable of using their faculties for
the improvement of society, will not much longer remain in the castle
of indolence. Miss Nightingale will find followers. And as the active
pursuits of women will naturally centre in the domestic circle, great
advances in the art of making home the place of happiness must be
made.
May this book help onward the good work.
S. J. H.
_Philadelphia_, October 1st, 1857.
CONTENTS
PREFACE 3
CONTENTS 5
PART I.
HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS.
House Cleaning--Repairing Furniture--Cleaning Stoves and
Grates--Mending Glass, China, &c.--Coloring and Polishing
Furniture, &c.--Removing unpleasant Odors--Fires--Water and
Cisterns--Carriages and Harness--Washing--To remove Stains--To
clean Silks, Lace, &c.--Paste, Glue, and Cement--Dyeing--Blacking
for Boots, Shoes, &c.--To destroy Insects--The
Kitchen, &c. _Page 9 to 88_
PART II.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY.
Rules for the preservation of Health--Simple Recipes efficacious
in common diseases and slight injuries--Burns and Scalds--Fevers
--Plasters, Blisters, Ointments, &c.--Poisons and Antidotes--Baths
and Bathing--The Toilet, or hints for the preservation
of Beauty--The Dressing-Table _Page 89 to 150_
PART III.
HOME PURSUITS AND DOMESTIC ARTS.
Needle-work--Explanation of Stitches--Preparation of House-Linen
--Patchwork--Silk Embroidery--Fancy-work--Ink--Birds,
Fish, Flowers, &c.--House-Plants--Window-Plants--To
manage a Watch _Page 151 to 187_
PART IV.
DOMESTIC ECONOMY, AND OTHER MATTERS WORTH KNOWING.
Teas--Coffee--Various Recipes for making Essences, &c.--Preserving
Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs, &c.--Hints to Farmers--Management
of a Horse--Raising Poultry--Preservation from
Fire--Drowning--Suffocation--Thunderstorms _Page 188 to 209_
PART V.
MISTRESS, MOTHER, NURSE, AND MAID.
Of the Table--On the management of Infants, young Children,
and the Sick--Qualifications of a good Nurse--Food for the Sick
and for Children--Drinks for the Sick--Simple mixtures--Rules
for Women Servants _Page 210 to 264_
PART VI.
HINTS ABOUT AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, &c.
Manure--Soil--Hay--Grains--Vegetables--To destroy Insects--Vermin
--Weeds--Cows, Calves, Sheep, &c.--Gardening--The
Orchard--Timber--Building--Bees _Page 265 to 318_
PART VII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Choice and cheap Cookery--New Receipts--Southern Dishes--Cakes,
Bread, Pies, and Puddings--Home-made Wines, Mead,
Nectar, &c.--Washing--Hints on Diet, Exercise, and Economy
--Painting--Books--Periodicals and Newspapers _Page 319 to 384_
PART VIII.
ELEGANT AND INGENIOUS ARTS.
Water-Colors used in Drawing--Directions for mixing Colors--Wash
Colors for Maps--To paint Flowers, Birds, Landscapes,
&c., in Water-Colors--Potichomanie--Grecian Painting--Diaphanic
Feather Flowers--Sea-Weeds--Botanical Specimens, Leaf
Impressions, &c.--Transferring to Glass, Wood, &c.--Emblematic
Stones--Staining Stone, Wood, &c.--Ornamental Leather work--Dyeing
--Games--Evening Pastime _Page 385 to 431_
PART IX.
WORK IN DOORS AND OUT.
Household maxims--Household receipts for many things--Care
of Furs--Wise economy--Things to know--Cleanliness--Prevention
of accidents--Domestic hints--More hints on Agriculture--Cattle
--Gardening--Drying Herbs--Properties and uses of Vegetables
--Vegetables to cultivate--Fruit Trees and Fruit--Vermin
on Trees _Page 431 to 484_
PART X.
PERSONAL MATTERS.
Dress of Ladies--Dress of a Gentleman--Manners--Rules of
Etiquette--Dinner Parties--Balls and Evening Parties--Courtship
and Marriage--Marriage Ceremony--After Marriage--Directions
to a Wife--Directions to a Husband--Our House--Conversation--Rules
of Conduct _Page 484 to 533_
PART XI.
HEALTH AND WEALTH.
Preservation of Health--Baths--Exercise--Terms expressing the
properties of medicines--Ointments and Cerates--Embrocations
and Liniments--Enemas--Poultices--Special rules for the prevention
of Cholera--Rules for a Sick Room--Domestic Surgery--Bandages
--Riches--Temperance--Way to Wealth _Page 533 to 590_
PART XII.
THE FAMILY AT HOME.
A good Table--Bread, &c.--Meats--Vegetables--Household
management--Beverages--Useful Receipts for Family Practice
--Miscellaneous Receipts, Rules, &c.--Dietetic maxims--Hints
to Mechanics and Workmen--Maxims and Morals for all Men--Home
Industry for Young Ladies--Pets--Swimming--Riding--Home
Counsels--Parlor Amusements--The training of Daughters,
&c.--Sentiments of Flowers--Signs of the Weather--Air--Its
effects on Life--Importance of Laws--Phrenology--Synopsis of
American History--Words of Washington--Useful Family
Tables _Page 590 to 699_
MRS. HALE'S
RECEIPTS FOR THE MILLION,
CONTAINING
FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE
RECEIPTS, FACTS, ETC.
PART I.
HOME AND ITS EMPLOYMENTS.
_House cleaning--Repairing Furniture--Washing--Mending Glass,
China, &c.--Dyeing--Blacking for Boots, Shoes, &c.--To destroy
Insects--The Kitchen, &c._
1. _House Cleaning._--The spring is more particularly the time for
house-cleaning; though, of course, it requires attention monthly.
Begin at the top of the house; first take up the carpets, and, if
they require it, let them be scoured; or as carpets are sometimes
injured by scouring, they may be well beaten, and if necessary,
washed with soda and water.
Remove all the furniture from the room, have the chimneys swept where
fires have been kept, and clean and blacken the grates. Wrap old
towels, (they should be clean), around the bristles of the broom,
and sweep lightly the ceiling and paper; or, if requisite, the paper
should be cleaned with bread, as elsewhere directed. Then wash the
paint with a flannel or sponge, and soap and water, and, as fast as
one person cleans, another should follow, and with clean cloths, wipe
the paint perfectly dry. Let the windows be cleaned, and scour the
floor. Let the furniture be well rubbed; and the floor being dry,
and the carpets laid down, the furniture may be replaced. The paper
should be swept every three months.
2. _To clean Bed-rooms._--In cleaning bed-rooms infested with bugs,
take the bedsteads asunder, and wash every part of them, but
especially the joints, with a strong solution of corrosive sublimate
in spirits of turpentine; as the sublimate is a fatal poison, the
bottle containing the above solution should be labelled "Poison;"
it should be used very carefully, and laid on with a brush kept for
the purpose. Bugs can only be removed from walls by taking down the
paper, washing them with the above poison, and re-papering.
In bed-rooms with fires, a whisk-brush is best to clear the curtains
and hangings from dust.
To remove grease or oil from boards, drop on the spots spirits of
turpentine before the floor is scoured.
The house-maid should be provided with a box, with divisions, to
convey her various utensils, as brushes, black lead, &c., from room
to room, and a small mat to kneel upon while cleaning the grate.
3. _Scouring Bed-rooms._--This should never be done in winter if it
can be avoided, as it is productive of many coughs and colds. If
inevitable, a dry day should be selected, and the windows and doors
should be left wide open till dusk. A fire ought always to be made in
the room after cleaning.
4. _To clean Carpets._--Before sweeping a carpet, sprinkle over it
a few handfuls of waste tea-leaves. A stiff hair-broom or brush
should be used, unless the carpet be very dirty, when a whisk or
carpet-broom should be used first, followed by another made of hair
to take off the loose dirt. The frequent use of a stiff broom soon
injures the beauty of the best carpet. An ordinary clothes-brush is
best adapted for superior carpets.
When Brussels carpets are very much soiled, take them up and beat
them perfectly free from dust. Have the floor thoroughly scoured and
dry, and nail the carpet firmly down to it. If still soiled, take
a pailful of clean, cold water, and put into it about three gills
of ox-gall. Take another pail, with clean, cold water only; now rub
with a soft scrubbing-brush some of the ox-gall water on the carpet,
which will raise a lather. When a convenient-sized portion is done,
wash the lather off with a clean linen cloth dipped in the clean
water. Let this water be changed frequently. When all the lather has
disappeared, rub the part with a clean, dry cloth. After all is done,
open the window to allow the carpet to dry. A carpet treated in this
manner, will be greatly refreshed in color, particularly the greens.
Kidderminster carpets will scarcely bear the above treatment without
becoming so soft as speedily to become dirty again. This may, in some
measure, be prevented by brushing them over with a hot, weak solution
of size in water, to which a little alum has been added. Curd soap
dissolved in hot water, may be used instead of ox-gall, but it is
more likely to injure the colors, if produced by false dyes. Where
there are spots of grease in the carpeting, they may be covered with
curd soap dissolved in boiling water, and rubbed with a brush until
the stains are removed, when they must be cleaned with warm water as
before. The addition of a little gall to the soap renders it more
efficacious.
The carpets should be nailed on the full stretch, else they will
shrink.
Fullers' earth is also used for cleaning carpets; and alum, or soda,
dissolved in water, for reviving the colors.
5. _To clean Turkey Carpets._--To revive the color of a Turkey
carpet, beat it well with a stick till the dust is all got out; then,
with a lemon or sorrel juice, take out the spots of ink, if the
carpet be stained with any; wash it in cold water, and afterwards
shake out all the water from the threads of the carpet. When it is
thoroughly dry, rub it all over with the crumb of a hot wheaten loaf;
and, if the weather is very fine, hang it out in the open air a night
or two.
6. _Cheap Carpeting._--Sew together strips of the cheapest cotton
cloth, of the size of the room, and tack the edges to the floor. Then
paper the cloth, as you would the sides of a room, with any sort of
room paper. After being well dried, give it two coats of varnish,
and your carpet is finished. It can be washed like carpets, without
injury, retains its gloss, and, on chambers or sleeping rooms, where
it will not meet rough usage, will last for two years, as good as new.
7. _To beat a Carpet._--Hang the carpet upon a clothes-line, or upon
a stout line between two trees; it should then be beaten on the
_wrong side_, by three or four persons, each having a pliable stick,
with cloth tied strongly in a knob on the end, in order to prevent
the carpet from being torn, or the seams split, by the sharp end
of the stick. When thoroughly beaten on the wrong side, the carpet
should be turned, and beaten on the right side.
8. _Floor or Oil Cloths._--Floor-cloths should be chosen that are
painted on a fine cloth, which is well covered with the color, and
the patterns on which do not rise much above the ground, as they wear
out first. The durability of the cloth will depend much on these
particulars, but more especially on the time it has been painted, and
the goodness of the colors. If they have not been allowed sufficient
time for becoming thoroughly hardened, a very little use will injure
them; and, as they are very expensive articles, care in preserving
them is necessary. It answers to keep them some time before they are
used, either hung up in a dry barn where they will have air, or laid
down in a spare room.
When taken up for the winter, they should be rolled round a
carpet-roller, and observe not to crack the paint by turning the
edges in too suddenly.
Old carpets answer extremely well, painted and seasoned some months
before laid down. If for passages, the width must be directed when
they are sent to the manufactory, as they are cut before painting.
9. _To clean Floor cloths._--Sweep, then wipe them with a flannel;
and when all dust and spots are removed, rub with a waxed flannel,
and then with a dry plain one; but use little wax, and rub only
enough with the latter to give a little smoothness, or it may
endanger falling.
Washing now and then with milk, after the above sweeping and
dry-rubbing them, gives as beautiful a look, and they are less
slippery.
10. _Method of Cleaning Paper-hangings._--Cut into eight half
quarters a large loaf, two days old; it must neither be newer nor
staler. With one of these pieces, after having blown off all the dust
from the paper to be cleaned, by means of a good pair of bellows,
begin at the top of the room, holding the crust in the hand, and
wiping lightly downward with the crumb, about half a yard at each
stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is completely cleaned
all round. Then go round again, with the like sweeping stroke
downwards, always commencing each successive course a little higher
than the upper stroke had extended, till the bottom be finished. This
operation, if carefully performed, will frequently make very old
paper look almost equal to new.
Great caution must be used not by any means to rub the paper hard,
nor to attempt cleaning it the cross, or horizontal way. The dirty
part of the bread, too, must be each time cut away, and the pieces
renewed as soon as it may become necessary.
11. _To clean Paint._--Never use a cloth, but take off the dust with
a little long-haired brush, after blowing off the loose parts with
the bellows. With care, paint will look well for a long time, if
guarded from the influence of the sun. When soiled, dip a sponge or
a bit of flannel into soda and water, wash it off quickly, and dry
immediately, or the soda will eat off the color. Some persons use
strong soap and water, instead.
When the wainscot requires scouring, it should be done from the top
downwards, and the water be prevented from running on the unclean
parts as much as possible, or marks will be made which will appear
after the whole is finished. One person should dry with old linen, as
fast as the other has scoured off the dirt, and washed off the soap.
12. _To give to Boards a beautiful appearance._--After washing them
very nicely with soda and warm water and a brush, wash them with a
very large sponge and clean water. Both times observe to leave no
spot untouched; and clean straight up and down, not crossing from
board to board; then dry with clean cloths, rubbed hard up and down
in the same way.
The floors should not be often wetted, but very thoroughly when done;
and once a-week dry-rubbed with hot sand and a heavy brush the right
way of the boards.
The sides of stairs or passages on which are carpets or floor-cloths,
should be washed with sponge instead of linen or flannel, and the
edges will not be soiled. Different sponges should be kept for the
above two uses; and those and the brushes should be well washed when
done with, and kept in dry places.
12a. _To extract Oil from Boards or Stone._--Make a strong ley of
pearlashes and soft water, and add as much unslaked lime as it will
take up; stir it together, and then let it settle a few minutes;
bottle it, and stop close; have ready some water to lower it as used,
and scour the part with it. If the liquor should lie long on the
boards, it will draw out the color of them; therefore do it with care
and expedition.
13. _To scour Boards._--Mix together one part lime, three parts
common sand, and two parts soft soap; lay a little of this on the
scrubbing-brush, and rub the board thoroughly. Afterwards rinse
with clean water, and dry with a clean coarse cloth. This will keep
the boards a good color: it is also useful in keeping away vermin.
For that object, early in the spring, beds should be taken down,
and furniture in general removed and examined; bed-hangings and
window-curtains, if not washed, should be shaken and brushed; and the
joints of bedsteads, the backs of drawers, and indeed, every part of
furniture, except polished mahogany, should be carefully cleaned with
the above mixture, or with equal parts of lime and soft soap, without
any sand. In old houses, where there are holes in the boards, which
often abound with vermin, after scrubbing in, as far as the brush can
reach, a thick plaster of the above should be spread over the holes,
and covered with paper. When these things are timely attended to, and
combined with general cleanliness, vermin may generally be kept away,
even in crowded cities.
14. _To wash Stone Stairs and Halls._--Wash them first with hot water
and a clean flannel, and then wash them over with pipe-clay mixed in
water. When dry, rub them, with a coarse flannel.
15. _To take Oil and Grease out of Floors and Stone Halls._--Make
a strong infusion of potash with boiling water; add to it as much
quick-lime as will make it of the consistence of thick cream; let it
stand a night, then pour off the clear part, which is to be bottled
for use. When wanted, warm a little of it; pour it upon the spots,
and after it has been on them for a few minutes, scour it off with
warm water and soap, as it is apt to discolor the boards when left
too long on them. When put upon stone, it is best to let it remain
all night; and if the stain be a bad one, a little powdered hot lime
may be put upon it before the infusion is poured on.
16. _To clean Marble._--Muriatic acid, either diluted or pure, as
occasion may require, proves efficacious. If too strong, it will
deprive the marble of its polish, which may be easily restored by the
use of a piece of felt, with some powder of putty or tripoli, with
either, making use of water.
17. _To clean Marble. Another way._--Mix ¼ lb. of soft soap with
the same of pounded whiting, 1 oz. of soda, and a piece of stone-blue
the size of a walnut; boil these together for ¼ of an hour; whilst
hot, rub it over the marble with a piece of flannel, and leave it
on for 24 hours; then wash it off with clean water, and polish the
marble with a piece of coarse flannel, or what is better, a piece of
an old hat.
18. _To take Stains out of Marble._--Mix unslaked lime in finest
powder with stringent soap-ley, pretty thick, and instantly with a
painter's brush lay it on the whole of the marble. In two months'
time wash it off perfectly clean; then have ready a fine thick lather
of soft soap, boiled in soft water; dip a brush in it, and scour the
marble. This will, with very good rubbing, give a beautiful polish.
19. _To take Iron-stains out of Marble._--An equal quantity of fresh
spirit of vitriol and lemon-juice being mixed in a bottle, shake it
well; wet the spots, and in a few minutes rub with soft linen till
they disappear.
20. _Mixture for cleaning Stone Stairs, Hall Pavements, &c._--Boil
together half a pint each of size and stone-blue water, with two
table-spoonfuls of whiting, and two cakes of pipe-makers' clay,
in about two quarts of water. Wash the stones over with a flannel
slightly wetted in this mixture; and when dry, rub them with flannel
and a brush. Some persons recommend beer, but water is much better
for the purpose.
21. _To Color or Paper the Walls of Rooms._--If a ceiling or wall is
to be whitewashed or colored, the first thing to be done is, to wash
off the dirt and stains with a brush and clean water, being careful
to move the brush in one direction, up and down, and not all sorts of
ways, or the work will look smeary afterwards. When dry, the ceiling
is ready for whitewash, which is to be made by mixing whiting and
water together, till quite smooth, and as thick as cream. Dissolve
half-an-ounce of glue in a teacupful of water, stir it into the
whitewash. This _size_, as it is called, prevents the white or color
rubbing off the wall, and a teacupful is enough for a gallon of wash.
Stone color is made by mixing a little yellow ochre and blue black
with the size, and then stirring it into the whitewash; yellow or red
ochre are also good colors, and, with vermilion or indigo, any shade
may be prepared, according to taste.
If paper is to be used, the wall must be washed with clean water, as
above explained; and while wet, the old color must be scraped off
with a knife, or a smooth-edged steel scraper of any sort. It will
be best to wet a yard or two at a time, and then scrape. Next, wash
the wall all over with size, made with an ounce of glue to a gallon
of water; and when this is dry, the wall is ready for the paper.
This must be cut into lengths according to the different parts of
the room; one edge of the plain strip must be cut off close to the
pattern, and the other left half an inch wide. If the paper is thick,
it should lie a minute or two after it is pasted; but if thin, the
sooner it is on the wall, the better. Begin by placing the close-cut
edge of the paper at one side of the window, stick it securely to
meet the ceiling, let it hang straight, and then press it down
lightly and regularly with a clean cloth. The close-cut edge of the
next length will cover the half-inch left on the first one, and so
make a neat join; and in this way you may go all round the room, and
finish at the other side of the window.
22. _Damp Walls._--Damp may be prevented from exuding from walls
by first drying them thoroughly, and then covering them with the
following mixture: In a quart of linseed oil, boil three ounces of
litharge, and four ounces of resin. Apply this in successive coats,
and it will form a hard varnish on the wall after the fifth coating.
23. _To clean Moreen Curtains._--Having removed the dust and clinging
dirt as much as possible with a brush, lay the curtain on a large
table, sprinkle on it a little bran, and rub it round with a piece of
clean flannel; when the bran and flannel become soiled, use fresh,
and continue rubbing till the moreen looks bright, which it will do
in a short time.
24. _To clean Calico Furniture._--Shake off the loose dust; then
lightly brush with a small, long-haired furniture-brush; after which
wipe it closely with clean flannels, and rub it with dry bread.
If properly done, the curtains will look nearly as well as at first;
and, if the color be not light, they will not require washing for
years.
Fold in large parcels, and put carefully by.
While the furniture remains up, it should be preserved from the sun
and air as much as possible, which injure delicate colors; and the
dust may be blown off with bellows.
By the above mode curtains may be kept clean, even to use with the
linings newly dipped.
25. _Making Beds._--Close or press bedsteads are ill adapted for
young persons or invalids; when their use is unavoidable, the
bed-clothes should be displaced every morning, and left for a short
time before they are shut up.
The windows of bed-rooms should be kept open for some hours every
day, to carry off the effluvia from the bed-clothes; the bed should
also be shaken up, and the clothes spread about, in which state the
longer they remain, the better.
The bed being made, the clothes should not be tucked in at the sides
or foot, as that prevents any further purification taking place, by
the cool air passing through them.
A warming-pan should be chosen without holes in the lid. About a yard
of moderately-sized iron chain, made red hot and put into the pan, is
a simple and excellent substitute for coals.
26. _To Detect Dampness in Beds._--Let the bed be well warmed, and
immediately after the warming-pan is taken out, introduce between the
sheets, in an inverted position, a clean glass goblet: after it has
remained in that situation a few minutes, examine it; if found dry
and not tarnished with steam, the bed is perfectly safe; and _vice
versa_. In the latter case, it will be best to sleep between the
blankets.
27. _Beech-tree Leaves._--The leaves of the beech-tree, collected at
autumn, in dry weather, form an admirable article for filling beds
for the poor. The smell is grateful and wholesome; they do not harbor
vermin, are very elastic, and may be replenished annually without
cost.
28. _Useful Hints relative to Bed-clothes, Mattresses, Cushions,
&c._--The purity of feathers and wool employed for mattresses and
cushions ought to be considered as a first object of salubrity.
Animal emanations may, under many circumstances, be prejudicial
to the health; but the danger is still greater, when the wool
is impregnated with sweat of persons who have experienced putrid
and contagious diseases. Bed-clothes, and the wool of mattresses,
therefore, cannot be too often beat, carded, cleaned, and washed.
This is a caution which cannot be too often recommended.
It would be very easy in most situations, and very effectual, to
fumigate them with muriatic gas.
29. _To clean Feathers of their Oil._--In each gallon of clean water
mix a pound of quick-lime, and when the undissolved lime settles in
fine powder, pour off the lime-water for use. Having put the feathers
to be cleaned into a tub, pour the clear lime-water upon them, and
stir them well about; let them remain three or four days in the
lime-water, which should then be separated from them by laying them
in a sieve. The feathers should next be washed in clean water, and
dried upon fine nets; they will then only require beating, to get rid
of the dust, previous to use.
To restore the spring of damaged feathers, it is only necessary to
dip them in warm water for a short time.
30. _To purify Wool infested with Insects._--The process of
purification consists in putting into three pints of boiling water
a pound and a half of alum, and as much cream of tartar, which are
diluted in twenty-three pints more of cold water. The wool is then
left immersed in this liquor during some days, after which it is
washed and dried. After this operation, it will no longer be subject
to be attacked by insects.
31. _To clean Looking-glasses._--Keep for this purpose a piece of
sponge, a cloth, and a silk handkerchief, all entirely free from
dirt, as the least grit will scratch the fine surface of the glass.
First, sponge it with a little spirit of wine, or gin and water, so
as to clean off all spots; then, dust over it powder-blue, tied in
muslin, rub it lightly and quickly off with the cloth, and finish
by rubbing it with the silk handkerchief. Be careful not to rub the
edges of the frames.
32. _To preserve Gilding, and clean it._--It is impossible to prevent
flies from staining the gilding without covering it; before which,
blow off the light dust, and pass a feather or clean brush over it,
but never touch it with water; then, with strips of paper, or rather
gauze, cover the frames of your glasses, and do not remove till the
flies are gone.
Linen takes off the gilding and deadens its brightness; it should,
therefore, never be used for wiping it.
A good preventive against flies is, to boil three or four leeks in a
pint of water, and then with a gilding-brush wash over the glasses
and frames with the liquid, and the flies will not go near the
articles so washed. This will not injure the frames in the least.
Stains or spots may be removed by gently wiping them with cotton
dipped in sweet oil.
33. _To retouch the rubbed parts of a Picture-frame._--Give the wood
a coating of size made by dissolving isinglass with a weak spirit.
When nearly dry, lay on some gold leaf; and polish, when quite dry,
with an agate burnisher, or any similar substance.
34. _Furniture Oil._--Put into a jar one pint of linseed oil into
which stir one ounce of powdered rose pink, and one ounce of alkanet
root, beaten in a mortar: set the jar in a warm place for a few
days, when the oil will be deeply colored, and the substances having
settled, the oil may be poured off, and will be excellent for
darkening new mahogany.
35. _Furniture Paste._--Put turpentine into a glazed pot, and
scrape beeswax into it, which stir about till the liquid is of the
thickness of cream; it will then be good for months, if kept clean;
and furniture cleaned with the liquid thus made, will not receive
stains so readily as when the turpentine and wax are heated over the
fire; which plan is, besides, very dangerous; but if the heating be
preferred, place the vessel containing the wax and turpentine in
another containing boiling water.
36. _French Polish for Furniture._--To one pint of spirits of wine,
add half an ounce of gum-shellac, half an ounce of gum-lac, a quarter
of an ounce of gum-sandarac; place the whole in a gentle heat,
frequently shaking it, till the gums are dissolved, when it is fit
for use. Make a roller of list, put a little of the polish upon it,
and cover that with a piece of soft linen rag, which must be lightly
touched with cold-drawn linseed oil. Rub the wood in a circular
direction, not covering too large a space at a time, till the pores
of the wood are sufficiently filled up. After this, rub in the same
manner spirits of wine, with a small portion of the polish added to
it; and a most brilliant polish will be produced. If the article
should have been polished with wax, it will be necessary to clean it
off with fine glass paper.
37. _Another Polish and Varnish._--The only way to preserve polish on
rosewood French-polished furniture, is to keep it continually rubbed
with a chamois leather and a silk handkerchief. We have no better
remedy to offer for scratches on the wood than filling them in with
a little oil covered with alkanet-root. The following varnish for
furniture not French-polished, has been highly recommended: Melt one
part of virgin white wax with eight parts of petroleum; lay a slight
coat of this mixture on the wood with a fine brush while warm; the
oil will then evaporate, and leave a thin coat of wax, which should
afterwards be polished with a coarse woolen cloth.
38. _Polish for Dining Tables._--Is to rub them with cold-drawn
linseed oil, thus: Put a little in the middle of a table, and then
with a piece of linen (never use woolen) cloth rub it well all over
the table; then take another piece of linen and rub it for ten
minutes, then rub it till quite dry with another cloth. This must
be done every day for some months, when you will find your mahogany
acquire a permanent and beautiful lustre, unattainable by any other
means, and equal to the finest French polish; and if the table is
covered with the table-cloth only, the hottest dishes will make no
impression upon it; and when once this polish is produced, it will
only require dry rubbing with a linen cloth for about ten minutes,
twice in a week, to preserve it in the highest perfection; which
never fails to please your employers; and remember, that to please
others is always the surest way to profit yourself.
If the appearance must be more immediately produced, take some
FURNITURE PASTE.
39. _Varnished Furniture._--This may be finished off so as to look
equal to the best French polished wood, in the following manner,
which is also suitable to other varnished surfaces. Take two ounces
of Tripoli powder, put it into an earthen pot, with just enough water
to cover it; then take a piece of white flannel, lay it over a piece
of cork or rubber, and proceed to polish the varnish, always wetting
it with the Tripoli and water. It will be known when the process is
finished by wiping a part of the work with a sponge, and observing
whether there is a fair, even gloss. When this is the case, take a
bit of mutton suet and fine flour, and clean the work.
Frames of varnished wood may be cleaned to look new, by careful
washing with a sponge and soap and water, but nothing stronger should
be used.
40. _Varnish for Violins, &c._--Take a gallon of rectified spirits
of wine, twelve ounces of mastic, and a pint of turpentine varnish;
put them all together in a tin can, and keep it in a very warm place,
shaking it occasionally till it is perfectly dissolved; then strain
it, and it is fit for use. If you find it necessary, you may dilute
it with turpentine varnish. This varnish is also very useful for
furniture of plum-tree, mahogany, or rosewood.
41. _White Varnish._--The white varnish used for toys is made of
sandarac, eight ounces; mastic, two ounces; Canada balsam, four
ounces; alcohol, one quart. This is white, drying, and capable of
being polished when hard. Another varnish for objects of the toilet,
such as work-boxes, card-cases, &c., is made of gum sandarac, six
ounces; elemi (genuine), four ounces: anime, one ounce; camphor, half
an ounce; rectified spirit, one quart. Melt slowly. These ingredients
may, of course, be lessened in proportion.
42. _To remove Ink-spots from Mahogany._--Drop on the spots a very
small quantity of spirits of salt; rub it with a feather or piece
of flannel, taking care not to let the spirit reach the fingers or
clothes; in four or five minutes, wash it off with water.
Or, mix a teaspoonful of burnt alum, powdered, with a quarter of an
ounce of oxalic acid, in half a pint of cold water; to be used by
wetting a rag with it, and rubbing it on the ink-spots.
Or, crumple a piece of blotting-paper, so as to make it firm, wet
it, and with it rub the ink-spot firmly and briskly, when it will
disappear; and the white mark from the operation may be immediately
removed by rubbing it with a cloth.
43. _Or:_--Dilute ½ a teaspoonful of oil of vitriol with a large
spoonful of water, and touch the part with a feather; watch it, for
if it stays too long, it will leave a white mark. It is, therefore,
better to rub it quickly, and repeat if not quite removed.
44. _To clean Chairs._--Scrape down one or two ounces of beeswax, put
it into a jar, and pour as much spirits of turpentine over it as will
cover it: let it stand till dissolved. Put a little upon a flannel
or bit of green baize, rub it upon the chairs, and polish them with
a brush. A very small portion of finely-powdered white rosin may be
mixed with the turpentine and wax.
45. _To clean and restore the Elasticity of Cane Chair Bottoms,
Couches, &c._--Turn up the chair bottom, &c., and with hot water and
a sponge wash the cane work well, so that it may be well soaked;
should it be dirty, you must add soap; let it dry in the air, and you
will find it as tight and firm as when new, providing the cane is not
broken.
46. _Blacking for Leather Seats, &c._--Beat well the yolks of
two eggs, and the white of one; mix a tablespoonful of gin and a
teaspoonful of sugar, thicken it with ivory black, add it to the
eggs, and use as common blacking; the seats or cushions being left a
day or two to harden.
47. _To prevent Hinges Creaking._--Rub them with soft soap, or a
feather dipped in oil.
48. _Swallows' Nests._--To prevent swallows building under eaves, or
in window corners, rub the places with oil or soft soap.
49. _To clean Polished Grates and Irons._--Make into a paste with
cold water, four pounds of putty-powder and one of finely-powdered
whiting; rub off carefully the spots from the irons, and with a
dry clean duster rub the irons with the mixture always in the same
direction till bright and clear. Plain dry whiting will keep it
highly polished if well attended to every day. The putty mixture
should be used only to remove spots.
50. _To clean the Back of the Grate, the inner Hearth, and the fronts
of Cast-Iron Stoves._--Mix black lead and whites of eggs well beaten
together; dip a painter's brush, and wet all over, then rub it bright
with a hard brush.
51. _To remove the Black from the Bright Bars of Polished Stoves in a
few minutes._--Rub them well with some of the following mixture on
a bit of broadcloth; when the dirt is removed, wipe them clean, and
polish with glass (not sand) paper.
52. _For Mixture_:--Boil slowly one pound of soft soap in two quarts
of water to one quart. Of this jelly take three or four spoonfuls,
and mix to a consistence with emery.
53. _To clean Bright Stoves._--There are many ways of cleaning a
stove, but if the ornamental parts be neglected, rust will soon
disfigure the surface, and lead to incalculable trouble. Emery dust,
moistened into a paste with sweet oil, should be kept in a little
jar; this should be applied on a bung, up and down, never crossways,
until marks or burns disappear. A dry leather should then remove the
oil, and a polish should afterwards be given with putty powder on a
dry clean leather.
54. _Another way to clean Grates._--The best mixture for cleaning
bright stove-grates is rotten-stone and sweet oil: they require
constant attention, for, if rust be once suffered to make its
appearance, it will become a toil to efface it. Polished fire-irons,
if not allowed to rust by neglect, will require merely rubbing with
leather; and the higher the polish, the less likely they are to rust.
If the room be shut up for a time, and the grates be not used, to
prevent their rusting, cover them with lime and sweet oil.
Bright fenders are cleaned as stoves; cast-iron fenders require black
lead; they should not, however, be cleaned in the sitting-room, as
the powdered lead may fly about and injure carpets and furniture. A
good plan is to send cast-iron fenders to be bronzed or lackered by
the iron-monger; they will then only require brushing, to free the
dust from the ornamental work. The bright top of a fender should be
cleaned with fine emery-paper.
55. _To prevent Fire-Irons becoming Rusty._--Rub them with sweet
oil, and dust over them unslaked lime. If they be rusty, oil them
for two or three days, then wipe them dry, and polish with flour
emery, powdered pumice-stone, or lime. A mixture of tripoli with half
its quantity of sulphur, will also remove rust; as will emery mixed
with soft soap, boiled to a jelly. The last mixture is also used for
removing the fire-marks from bright bars.
56. _To Color the Backs of Chimneys with Lead Ore._--Clean them with
a very strong brush, and carefully rub off the dust and rust; pound
about a quarter of a pound of lead ore into a fine powder, and put it
into a vessel with half a pint of vinegar, then apply it to the back
of the chimney with a brush. When it is made black with this liquid,
take a dry brush, dip it in the same powder without vinegar; then dry
and rub it with this brush, till it becomes as shining as glass.
57. _To blacken the fronts of Stone Chimney-pieces._--Mix oil-varnish
with lamp-black, and a little spirit of turpentine to thin it to the
consistence of paint. Wash the stone with soap and water very clean;
then sponge it with clear water; and when perfectly dry, brush it
over twice with this color, letting it dry between the times. It
looks extremely well. The lamp-black must be sifted first.
58. _Composition that will effectually prevent Iron, Steel, &c., from
rusting._--This method consists in mixing, with fat oil varnish,
four-fifths of well rectified spirit of turpentine. The varnish is
to be applied by means of a sponge; and articles varnished in this
manner will retain their metallic brilliancy, and never contract any
spots of rust. It may be applied to copper, and to the preservation
of philosophical instruments; which, by being brought into contact
with water, are liable to lose their splendor, and become tarnished.
59. _To keep Arms and polished Metal from Rust._--Dissolve one ounce
of camphor in two pounds of hog's lard, observing to take off the
scum; then mix as much black lead as will give the mixture an iron
color. Fire-arms, &c., rubbed over with this mixture, and left with
it on twenty-four hours, and then dried with a linen cloth, will keep
clean for many months.
60. _To preserve Irons from Rust._--Melt fresh mutton-suet, and smear
over the iron with it while hot; then dust it well with unslaked lime
pounded and tied up in a muslin. Irons so prepared will keep many
months. Use no oil for them but salad-oil, there being water in all
other.
Fire-irons should be wrapped in baize, and kept in a dry place, when
not used.
61. _To prevent polished Hardware and Cutlery from taking
Rust._--Case-knives, snuffers, watch-chains, and other small articles
made of steel, may be preserved from rust, by being carefully wiped
after use, and then wrapped in coarse brown paper, the virtue of
which is such, that all hardware goods from Sheffield, Birmingham,
&c., are always wrapped in the same.
62. _Another way._--Beat into three pounds of fresh hog's-lard two
drachms of camphor till it is dissolved; then add as much black lead
as will make it the color of broken steel. Dip a rag in it, and rub
it thick on the stove, &c., and the steel will never rust, even if
wet. When it is to be used, the grease must be washed off with hot
water, and the steel be dried before polishing.
63. _To take Rust out of Steel._--Cover the steel with sweet oil
well rubbed on it, and in forty-eight hours use unslaked lime finely
powdered, to rub until all the rust disappears.
64. _To clean Plate._--See that the plate is quite free from grease,
by having been washed, if necessary, in warm soap and water. Then mix
some whiting with water, and with a sponge rub it well on the plate,
which will take the tarnish off, making use of a brush not too hard,
to clean the intricate parts. Next, take some rouge-powder, mix it
with water to about the thickness of cream, and with a small piece of
leather (which should be kept for that purpose only) apply the rouge.
This, with a little rubbing, will produce a most beautiful polish.
This is the actual manner in which silversmiths clean their plate.
65. _The common method of cleaning Plate._--First wash it well with
soap and warm water; when perfectly dry, mix together a little
whiting and sweet oil, so as to make a soft paste; then take a piece
of flannel, rub it on the plate, then with a leather, and plenty of
dry whiting, rub it clean off again; then with a clean leather and a
brush, finish it.
66. _An easy way to clean Plate._--A flannel and soap, and soft
water, with proper rubbing, will clean plate nicely. It should be
wiped dry with a good-sized piece of soft leather.
67. _Plate Powder._--In most of the articles sold as plate
powders, under a variety of names, there is an injurious mixture
of quicksilver, which is said sometimes so far to penetrate and
render silver brittle, that it will even break with a fall. Whiting,
properly purified from sand, applied wet, and rubbed till dry, is
one of the easiest, safest, and certainly the cheapest of all plate
powders: jewelers and silversmiths, for small articles, seldom use
any thing else. If, however, the plate be boiled a little in water,
with an ounce of calcined hartshorn in powder to about three pints
of water, then drained over the vessel in which it was boiled, and
afterwards dried by the fire, while some soft linen rags are boiled
in the liquid till they have wholly imbibed it; these rags will,
when dry, not only assist to clean the plate, which must afterwards
be rubbed bright with leather, but also serve admirably for cleaning
brass locks, finger-plates, &c.
68. _To cleanse Gold._--Wash the article in warm suds made of
delicate soap and water, with ten or fifteen drops of sal-volatile.
(The sal-volatile will render the metal brittle. This hint may be
used or left, at pleasure.)
69. _To clean Brass and Copper._--Rub it over slightly with a bit
of flannel dipped in sweet oil; next, rub it hard with another bit
dipped in finely-powdered rotten stone; then make it clean with a
soft linen cloth, and finish by polishing it with a plate-leather.
70. _Obs._--The inside of brass or copper vessels should be scoured
with fullers' earth and water, and set to dry, else the tinning will
be injured.
71. _Another way to clean Brass and Copper._--Put one pennyworth of
powdered rotten stone into a dry, clean quart bottle; nearly fill it
up with cold soft water; shake it well, and add one penny-worth of
vitriol. Rub it on with a rag, and dry it with a clean, soft cloth,
and then polish it with a plate-leather. This mixture will keep for
a long time, and becomes better the longer it is kept. But the first
method gives the most lasting polish, as well as the finest color.
72. _To clean Brass Ornaments._--Wash the ornament in a strong
solution of boiled roche-alum, in the proportion of an ounce to a
pint of water. When dry, rub them with fine tripoli powder.
73. _Polishing Paste for Britannia metal, tins, brasses, and
coppers_, is composed of rotten-stone, soft soap, and oil of
turpentine.
The stone must be powdered and sifted through a muslin or hair sieve:
mix with it as much soft soap as will bring it to the stiffness
of putty: to about half-a-pound of this, add two ozs. of oil of
turpentine. It may be made up in balls, or put in gallipots; it
will soon become hard, and will keep any length of time. Method of
using:--The articles to be polished should be perfectly freed from
grease and dirt. Moisten a little of the paste with water, smear it
over the metal, then rub briskly with dry rag or wash-leather, and it
will soon bear a beautiful polish.
74. _To clean Britannia metal._--Rub the article with a piece of
flannel moistened with sweet oil; then apply a little pounded
rotten-stone or polishing paste with the finger, till the polish is
produced; then wash the article with soap and hot water, and when
dry, rub with soft wash-leather, and a little fine whiting.
75. _To clean Pewter._--Scour it with fine white sand, and strong ley
made with wood-ashes, soda, or pearl-ash; then rinse the pewter in
clean water, and set it to drain. The best method, however, is to use
the oil of tartar and sand.
76. _To clean Tin Covers._--Get the finest whiting; mix a little of
it powdered with the least drop of sweet oil, rub the covers well
with it, and wipe them clean; then dust over them some dry whiting
in a muslin bag, and rub bright with dry leather. This last is to
prevent rust, which the cook must guard against by wiping them dry,
and putting them by the fire when they come from the parlor; for if
but once hung up damp, the inside will rust.
77. _Safe Method of cleaning Tea-urns._--In an earthen gallipot
put one ounce of bees'-wax, cut up in small pieces; set it by the
fireside, until perfectly melted and quite hot, very near boiling
heat; remove the jar from the fire, and stir into it rather
less than a table-spoonful of salad oil, and rather more than a
table-spoonful of best spirits of turpentine; continue stirring till
well mixed and nearly cold; fill the urn with boiling water so as to
make it thoroughly hot, apply a thin coating of the above mixture,
and rub with a soft cloth, till all stickiness is removed, then
polish with a clean rag and a little crocus powder.
N. B.--The crocus powder must be very fine, so as to sift through
muslin.
78. _To clean Gilt or Lacquered Articles._--Brush them with warm soap
and water, wipe them, and set them before the fire to dry; finish
with a soft cloth. By this simple means may be cleaned ormolu and
French gilt candelabra, branches, and lamps; mosaic gold and gilt
jewelry, toys and ornaments. Care is requisite in brushing the dirt
from fine work, and finishing it quite dry. Any thing stronger than
soap, as acids, pearl-ash, or soda, will be liable to remove the
lacquer.
_To polish inlaid Brass Ornaments._--Mix powdered tripoli and linseed
oil, and dip in it a piece of hat, with which rub the brass; then, if
the wood be ebony, or dark rosewood, polish it with elder ashes in
fine powder.
79. _To clean Lacquer._--Make a paste of starch, one part; powdered
rotten-stone, twelve parts; sweet oil, two parts; oxalic acid, one
part; water to mix.
80. _To clean Door-plates._--To clean brass-plates on doors, so as
not to injure the paint at the edges, cut the size of the plate out
of a large piece of mill-board, place it against the door, and rub
the plate with rotten-stone, or crocus and sweet oil, upon leather.
81. _To clean Mother-o'-pearl._--Wash in whiting and water. Soap
destroys the brilliancy.
82. _To clean Knives and Forks._--Hold the knives straightly on
the board, and pass them backward and forward in as straight a
line as possible. Forks should be cleaned with a stick covered
with buff-leather, and finished with a brush. The best article for
cleaning is the powder of the well-known Flanders bricks.
83. _Of Knife-boards._--A knife-board properly made, should consist
of an inch-deal-board, five feet long, with a hole at one end by
which it is to be hung up when not in use. At this end, the left
hand, and close to the front edge, should be fastened a stiff brush
for cleaning forks. At the other end should be a box, with the
open end towards the hand, and a sliding lid; this should contain
a bath-brick, leathers for forks, &c., so that the materials for
cleaning may be shut in and hung up with the board.
Or, cover a smooth board free from knots, with thick buff-leather,
on which spread, the thickness of a shilling, the following
paste:--emery, one ounce; crocus, three ounces; mixed with lard or
sweet oil. This composition will not only improve the polish, but
also the edges of the knives.
84. _To re-fasten the loose handles of Knives and Forks._--Make
a cement of common brick-dust and rosin, melted together.
Seal-engravers understand this receipt.
85. _Metal Kettles and other Vessels._--The crust on boilers and
kettles arises from the hardness of the water boiled in them. Its
formation may be prevented by keeping in the vessel a marble, or a
potato tied in a piece of linen.
Tin-plate vessels are cleanly and convenient; but, unless carefully
dried after washing, they will soon rust in holes.
Iron coal-scoops are liable to rust from the damp of the coals.
If cold water be thrown on cast-iron when hot (as the back of a
grate), it will crack. Cast-iron articles are brittle, and cannot be
repaired.
The tinning of copper-saucepans should be kept perfect, clean, and
dry: in which case they may be used with safety.
Copper pans, _if put away damp_, will become coated with poisonous
crust, or verdigris, as will also a boiling-copper, if left wet.
When used for cooking, and not properly cleaned, copper vessels have
occasioned death to persons partaking of soup which had been warmed
in a pan infected with verdigris.
Untinned copper or brass vessels are at all times dangerous: it
is absurd to suppose, that if the copper or brass pan be scoured
bright and clean, there is little or no danger, for this makes but a
trifling difference; such vessels for culinary purposes ought to be
banished for ever from the kitchen.
A polished silver or brass tea-urn will keep the water hotter than
one of a dull brown color, such as is most commonly used. The more of
the surface of a kettle that is polished, the sooner will water boil
in it, as the part coated with soot drives off rather than retains
heat.
A polished metal tea-pot is preferable to one of earthenware; because
the earthen pot retains the heat only one-eighth of the time that a
silver or polished metal pot will; consequently, the latter will best
_draw_ the tea.
A German saucepan is best adapted for boiling milk in: this is a
saucepan glazed with white earthenware, instead of being tinned in
the usual manner; the glaze prevents the tendency to burn, which, it
is well known, milk possesses.
A stewpan, made as the German saucepan, is preferable to a metal
preserving-pan; simple washing keeps it sweet and clean, and neither
color nor flavor can by any chance be communicated to the article
boiled in it.
Ornamental furniture, inlaid with brass or buhl, should not be placed
very near the fire, as the metal when it becomes warm expands, and,
being then too large for the space in which it was laid, starts from
the wood.
"German silver" will not rust; but it does not contain a particle of
silver, it being only white copper. If left in vinegar, or any acid
mixture, it will become coated with verdigris. Salt should never be
left in silver cellars, else the metal will be much injured.
86. _To clean Glasses._--Glasses should be first washed in warm clean
soap-suds, and rinsed in fresh cold water; wipe off the wet with one
cloth, and finish them with another.
87. _Cleaning Decanters._--Those encrusted with dregs of port wine,
can be readily freed from stain by washing them with the refuse of
the teapot, leaves and all. Dip the decanter into a vessel containing
warm water, to prevent the hot tea-leaves from cracking the glass,
then empty the teapot into the decanter, and shake it well. The
_tannin_ of the tea has a chemical affinity for the _crust_ on the
glass.
88. _To clean Decanters._--Put into them broken egg-shells, pieces of
coarse brown or blotting paper, with pearlash, and nearly fill them
with lukewarm water; shake them well for a few minutes, or, if very
dirty, leave them for some hours, when rinse the decanters with cold
water. The settlement of the crust of wine in decanters, may be best
prevented by rinsing at night, with cold water, all the decanters
used during the day. To clean the outer work of decanters, rub it
with a damp sponge dipped in whiting; then brush it well, rinse the
vessel in cold water, drain, and finish with a fine dry cloth.
89. _To remove Crust from Glass._--It often happens that glass
vessels used for flowers and other purposes, receive an unsightly
crust hard to be removed by scouring. The best method is to wash it
with a little diluted spirit of salts, which will soon loosen it.
90. _To cleanse Bottles._--To cleanse bottles with bad smells, put
into them pieces of blotting or brown paper, and fill up with water;
shake the bottles, and leave them for a day or two, when, if they be
not sweetened, repeat the process, and rinse with pure water.
91. _To restore the Lustre of Glasses tarnished by Age or
Accident._--Strew on them powdered fuller's-earth, carefully cleared
from sand, &c., and rub them carefully with a linen cloth. Oxide of
tin (putty) would perhaps be better.
92. _To clean China._--_China_ is best cleaned, when very dirty, with
finely-powdered fuller's-earth and warm water; afterwards rinsing it
well in clean water. A little clean soft soap may be added to the
water instead of fuller's-earth. The same plan is recommended for
cleaning glass.
93. _To clean Alabaster._--Remove any spots of grease with spirit of
turpentine: then dip the article in water for about ten minutes, rub
it with a painter's brush and let it dry; finish by rubbing it with a
soft brush dipped into dry and fine plaster of Paris.
94. _To bleach Ivory._--Ivory that has become discolored, may be
brought to a pure whiteness by exposing it to the sun under glasses;
having first brushed the ivory with pumice-stone, burnt and made into
a paste with water. To conceal the cracks in antique ivory, brush out
the dust with warm water and soap, and then place the ivory under
glass. It should be daily exposed to the sun, and turned from time
to time, that it may become equally bleached.
95. _Glazed Vessels._--The glazing of stone ware is sometimes very
imperfect: to test it, nearly fill the vessel with vinegar, into
which put some fat of beef, salted; boil for half an hour, and set
it by for a day, when, if the glazing be imperfect, small black
particles of lead will be seen at the bottom of the vessel.
96. _Use of Candle Snuffs for cleaning Glass._--Candle snuffs are
generally thrown away as useless; they are, however, of great utility
for cleaning mirrors and windows, especially the former. For this
purpose take a small quantity of the burnt snuffs and rub them with a
soft cloth upon the surface of the mirror. In a short time a splendid
polish will appear, superior to that obtained by other means. We
know those who clean the whole of the windows in a large house with
snuffs; and we are told that not only are the windows cleaned much
better but also much quicker than by the ordinary methods.
_A Razor Strop Paste_ is also made of candle-snuffs, and answers very
well. It consists in simply rubbing a small quantity of the snuffs
upon the strop; this imparts a keener edge to the razor than when no
such paste is employed. Mechi's celebrated Magic Razor Strop Paste is
certainly an excellent article, but we question whether it be much
superior to the ordinary and common-place substance now recommended.
97. _To loosen the Glass Stopples of Smelling Bottles and
Decanters._--With a feather rub a drop or two of olive oil round
the stopple, close to the mouth of the bottle or decanter, which
must be then placed before the fire, at the distance of a foot or
eighteen inches; in which position the heat will cause the oil to
spread downward between the stopple and the neck. When the bottle
or decanter has grown warm, gently strike the stopple on one side,
and 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, if you choose, another drop of oil. After a while
strike again as before; and by persevering in this process, however
tightly the stopple may be fastened in, you will at length succeed in
loosening it.
98. _Or_, knocking the stopper gently with a piece of wood, first
on one side, then on the other, will generally loosen it. If this
method does not succeed, a cloth wetted with hot water and applied to
the neck, will sometimes expand the glass sufficiently to allow the
stopper to be easily withdrawn.
99. _Crockery and Glass._--Crockery and glass, to be used for holding
hot water, are best seasoned by boiling them, by putting the articles
in a saucepan of cold water over the fire, and letting the water just
boil; the saucepan should then be removed, and the articles should be
allowed to remain in it till the water is cold. Some kind of pottery
is best seasoned by soaking in cold water.
Choose thin rather than thick glasses, as the thin glass is less
likely to be broken by boiling water than that which is thicker; for,
thin glass allows the heat to pass through it in least time. The
safest plan is to pour boiling water very slowly into cold glasses.
As boiling water will often break cold glass, so a cold liquid will
break hot glass; thus wine, if poured into decanters that have been
placed before the fire, will frequently break them.
Glass dishes and stands made in moulds are much cheaper than others,
and they have a good appearance, if not placed near cut-glass.
Lamp-glasses are often cracked by the flame being too high when they
are first placed round it; the only method of preventing which is to
lower the flame before the glass is put on the lamp, and to raise the
flame gradually as the glass heats.
100. _Polished Tea Urns preferable to varnished ones._--Polished tea
urns may be kept boiling with a much less expense of spirits of wine,
than such as are varnished; and the cleaner and brighter the dishes,
and covers for dishes, which are used for bringing food to table,
and for keeping it hot, the more effectually will they answer that
purpose.
101. _Japanned Candlesticks and Tea-Trays, and Paper work._--To
remove grease from these, let the water be just warm enough to melt
it; then wipe them with a cloth, and if they look smeared, sprinkle a
little flour on them, and wipe it clean off. Wax candles should not
be burned in the candlesticks, as the wax cannot be taken off without
injuring the varnish. Paper work is liable to break if let fall, or
if boiling water be poured on it.
102. _To clean Lamps._--Bronzed lamps should be wiped carefully; if
oil be frequently spilled over them, it will cause the bronzing to
be rubbed off sooner than it would disappear by wear. Brass lamps
are best cleaned with crocus or rotten-stone and sweet oil. Lackered
lamps may be washed with soap and water, but should not be touched
with acid or very strong ley, else the lacker will soon come off.
When lamps are foul inside, wash them with potash and water, rinse
them well, set them before the fire, and be sure they are dry before
oil is again put into them.
Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell, if, before using, the
cottons be dipped in hot vinegar, and dried.
To clean ground-glass shades, wash the insides carefully with weak
soap and water, lukewarm, rub them very lightly and dry with a soft
cloth.
103. _To make economical Wicks for Lamps._--When using a lamp with
a flat wick, if you take a piece of clean cotton stocking, it will
answer the purpose as well as the cotton wicks which are sold in the
shops.
104. _Wax Candles._--Should they get dirty and yellow, wet them with
a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of wine.
105. _Blowing out a Candle._--There is one small fact in domestic
economy which is not generally known; but which is useful, as saving
time, trouble, and temper. If a candle be blown out holding it above
you, the wick will not smoulder down, and may therefore be easily
lighted again; but if blown upon downwards, the contrary is the case.
106. _Plain Hints about Candles._--Candles improve by keeping a few
months. Those made in winter are the best. The most economical, as
well as the most convenient plan, is to purchase them by the box,
keeping them always in a cool, dry place. If wax candles become
discolored or soiled, they may be restored by rubbing them over with
a clean flannel slightly dipped in spirits of wine. Candles are
sometimes difficult to light. They will ignite instantly, if, when
preparing them for the evening, you dip the top in spirits of wine,
shortly before they are wanted. Light them always with a match, and
do not hold them to the fire, as that will cause the tops to melt and
drip. Always hold the match to the side of the wick, and not over
the top. If you find the candles too small for the candlesticks,
always wrap a small piece of white paper round the bottom end, not
allowing the paper to appear above the socket. Cut the wicks to a
convenient length for lighting (nearly close); for if the wick is too
long at the top, it will be very difficult to ignite, and will also
bend down, and set the candle to running. Glass receivers, for the
droppings of candles, are very convenient, as well as ornamental. The
pieces of candles that are left each evening should be placed in a
tin box kept for that purpose, and used for bed lights.
107. _To make an improved Candle._--Make the wicks about half the
usual size, and wet them with spirits of turpentine; dry them, before
dipping, in the sunshine, or in some favorable place, and the candles
will be more durable, emit a steadier and clearer blaze, and be in
every way superior to those made in the ordinary way.
108. _Quicksilver._--Tallow will take up quicksilver. Vinegar kills
it.
109. _To give any Close-grained Wood the appearance of
Mahogany._--The surface of the wood must first be planed smooth, and
then rubbed with weak aquafortis; after which it is to be finished
with the following varnish:--To three pints of spirit of wine is to
be added four ounces and a half of dragon's blood and an ounce of
soda, which have been previously ground together; after standing
some time, that the dragon's blood may dissolve, the varnish is to
be strained, and laid on the wood with a soft brush. This process is
to be repeated, and then the wood possesses the perfect appearance
of mahogany. When the polish diminishes in brilliancy, it may be
speedily restored by rubbing the article with linseed oil.
110. _To Darken Mahogany._--Drop a nodule of lime in a basin of
water, and wash the mahogany with it.
111. _To make Imitation Rosewood._--Brush the wood over with a strong
decoction of logwood, while hot; repeat this process three or four
times; put a quantity of iron-filings amongst vinegar; then with a
flat open brush, made with a piece of cane, bruised at the end, or
split with a knife, apply the solution of iron-filings and vinegar
to the wood in such a manner as to produce the fibres of the wood
required. After it is dry, the wood must be polished with turpentine
and bees'-wax.
112. _Imitation of Ebony._--Pale-colored woods are stained in
imitation of ebony by washing them with, or steeping them in a strong
decoction of logwood or galls, allowing them to dry, and then washing
them over with a solution of the sulphate or acetate of iron. When
dry, they are washed with clean water, and the process repeated, if
required. They are, lastly, polished or varnished.
113. _Cheap Coloring for Rooms._--Boil any quantity of potatoes,
bruise them, and pour on them boiling water until a pretty thick
mixture is obtained, which is to be passed through a sieve; then mix
whiting with boiling water, and add it to the potato mixture. To
color it, add either of the ochres, lampblack, &c.
114. _Cheap Paint._--Tar mixed with yellow ochre makes an excellent
green paint, for coarse wood-work, iron fencing, &c.
115. _Weather-proof Composition._--Mix a quantity of sand with double
the quantity of wood ashes, well sifted, and three times as much
slaked lime; grind these with linseed oil, and use the composition
as paint; the first coat thin, the second thick; and in a short time
it will become so hard as to resist weather and time.
Or, slake lime in tar, and into it dip sheets of the thickest brown
paper, to be laid on in the manner of slating.
116. _Artificial Marble._--Soak in a solution of alum a quantity of
plaster of Paris. Bake it in an oven, and grind it to a powder. When
wanted, mix it with water to about the consistency of plaster. It
sets into an exceedingly hard composition, and takes a high polish.
It may be mixed with various colored minerals or ochres to represent
the various marbles, and is a valuable receipt.
117. _To give Wooden Stairs the Appearance of Stone._--Paint the
stairs, step, by step, with white paint, mixed with strong drying
oil. Strew it thick with silver sand.
It ought to be thoroughly dry next morning, when the loose sand is to
be swept off. The painting and sanding is to be repeated, and when
dry, the surface is to be done over with pipe-clay, whiting, and
water; which may be boiled in an old saucepan, and laid on with a bit
of flannel, not too thick, otherwise it will be apt to scale off.
A penny cake of pipe-clay, which must be scraped, is the common
proportion to half a lump of whiting.
The pipe-clay and whiting is generally applied once a week, but that
might be done only as occasion requires.
118. _Lime for Cottage Walls, &c._--Take a stone or two of unslaked
white lime, and dissolve it in a pail of cold water. This, of course,
is whitewash. The more lime used, the thicker it will be; but the
consistence of cream is generally advisable. In another vessel
dissolve some green vitriol in hot water. Add it, when dissolved, to
the whitewash, and a buff is produced. The more vitriol used, the
darker it will be. Stir it well up, and use it in the same way as
whitewash, having first carefully got off all the old dirt from the
walls. Two or three coats are usually given. For a border at top and
base, use more vitriol, to make it darker than the walls. If you have
stencil-plates, you can use it with them. This is cheap, does not rub
off like ochre, and is pure and wholesome, besides being disinfecting.
119. _A White for Inside Painting, which dries in about four hours,
and leaves no smell._--Take one gallon of spirits of turpentine, and
two pounds of frankincense; let them simmer over a clear fire till
dissolved, then strain and bottle it. Add one quart of this mixture
to a gallon of bleached linseed oil, shake them well together, and
bottle them likewise. Grind any quantity of white-lead very fine with
spirits of turpentine, then add a sufficient quantity of the last
mixture to it, till you find it fit for laying on. If it grows thick
in working, it must be thinned with spirit of turpentine; it gives a
flat, or dead white.
120. _A Green Paint for Garden Stands, Trellisses, &c._--Take mineral
green, and white lead ground in turpentine; mix up the quantity you
wish with a small quantity of turpentine-varnish; this serves for
the first coat; for the second, put as much varnish in your mixture
as will produce a good gloss; if you desire a brighter green, add a
small quantity of Prussian blue, which will much improve the beauty
of the color.
121. _Cheap and beautiful Green._--The cost of this paint is less
than one-fourth of oil color, and the beauty far superior. Take
four pounds of Roman vitriol, and pour on it a tea-kettleful of
boiling water; when dissolved, add two pounds of pearl-ash, and stir
the mixture well with a stick until the effervescence cease; then
add a quarter of a pound of pulverized arsenic, and stir the whole
together. Lay it on with a paint brush, and if the wall has not been
painted before, at least two, or even three coats, will be requisite.
If a pea-green is required, put in less, and if an apple-green, more,
of the yellow arsenic.
122. _To Destroy the Smell of Fresh Paint._--Mix chloride of lime
with water, with which damp some hay, and strew it upon the floor.
123. _To take the Smell of Paint from Rooms._--Let three or four
broad tubs, each containing about eight gallons of water, and one
ounce of vitriolic acid, be placed in the new painted room near the
wainscot; this water will absorb and retain the effluvia from the
paint in three days, but the water should be renewed each day during
that time.
124. _To remove Unpleasant Odors._--The unpleasant smell of new
paint is best removed by time and atmospheric ventilation; but
tubs of water placed in the apartment, will act more rapidly; with
this inconvenience, however, that the gloss of the paint will be
destroyed. Unpleasant smells from water-closets, or all articles of
furniture connected with them, may be modified by the application of
lime-water, to which may be added the soap-suds that have been used
in washing, which neutralize the pungently offensive salts; a little
quick-lime put into a night-chair will destroy all disagreeable
effluvia. Aromatic pastiles of the following composition may be
burned with great success: take of camphor, flowers of benzoin,
powdered charcoal, powdered cascarilla bark, powdered Turkey myrrh,
and powdered nitre, each equal quantities; beat them with syrup
sufficient to form a mass, and divide into pastiles of a conical
shape. They may be mixed up with spirit of turpentine (the rectified
oil) or anything that is inflammable. Syrup does best, as it is most
adhesive.
125. _To prevent disagreeable Smells from Privies, Night Chairs,
&c._--Milk of lime (water in which lime has been slaked, and which
is whitened by the fine particles of that substance) must be mixed
with a ley of ashes, or soapy water that has been used in washing,
then thrown into the sink of the privy; it will destroy the offensive
smell. By these means, for the value of a few pence, any collection
of filth whatever may be neutralized.
For the night-chair of sick persons, put within the vessel half a
pound of quicklime, half an ounce of powdered sal-ammoniac, and water
one pint: this will prevent any disagreeable odor.
126. _Remarks._--Quicklime, or even lime just slaked, answers the
purpose without any addition. It is the only thing used in camps,
particularly in hot countries, to keep the ditches from creating
contagion.
127. _To clean Books or Prints._--Ink spots may be removed by oxalic
acid dissolved in water, and carefully applied with a hair pencil.
To remove oil or grease, warm the spot, lay over it blotting paper,
and upon it the heated blade of a knife, when the blotting-paper will
absorb the grease; then apply spirits of turpentine, with a hair
pencil, and restore the whiteness of the paper with spirits of wine.
128. _To preserve Books._--A few drops of any perfumed oil will
secure libraries from the consuming effects of mouldiness and damp.
Russian leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree,
never moulds; and merchants suffer large bales of this article to
lie in the London Docks in the most careless manner, knowing that it
cannot sustain any injury from damp.
129. _To clean Oil Paintings._--Clean the picture well with a sponge,
dipped in warm beer; after it has become perfectly dry, wash it with
a solution of the finest gum-dragon, dissolved in pure water. Never
use blue starch, which tarnishes and eats out the coloring; nor white
of eggs, which casts a thick varnish over pictures, and only mends
bad ones by concealing the faults of the coloring.
130. _To Light a Coal Fire._--A considerable saving of time and
trouble might often be effected, if housemaids would attend to the
following rules in lighting a fire:--Clear the grate well from ashes
and cinders; then lay at the bottom of it a few lumps of _fresh
coal_, about the size of ducks' eggs, so as not wholly to obstruct
the air passing between the bars on which they are placed. This done,
put a small quantity of waste paper or shavings next upon the coal;
then a few sticks or pieces of split wood placed carefully above it,
so that they may not project between the bars; then a layer of the
cinders you have before taken from the grate; and next a few lumps of
coal on the top. Take care to _complete_ this process before applying
the light, which may easily be done afterwards by means of a lucifer
match, and you will seldom fail to have a good fire in a few minutes.
Nothing is easier than to light a fire in the way here recommended,
but the coals and cinders must be laid in place by hand, and not
thrown in anyhow with the shovel. If the kindling wood be green or
damp, it should be dried over night, as a more miserable task cannot
be attempted than to light a fire with damp materials.
131. _Another Way._--To light a fire from one already kindled, put
three or four pieces of charcoal between the bars of the grate; then
lay a few pieces of fresh coal upon the bottom of the grate in which
the second fire is to be made, and place upon them, crosswise, the
lighted pieces of charcoal; cover them with pieces of fresh coal,
and blow them with the hand-bellows, when the charcoal will set fire
to the fresh coal, and a brisk fire will be made in a few minutes.
On the contrary, if we light a fire with wood, some time must elapse
before it can safely be blown.
132. _Economy in Fuel._--A saving of nearly one-third of the coal
consumed may be made by the following easy means:--Let the coal
ashes, which are usually thrown into the dust bin, be preserved in
a corner of the coal hole, and make your servants add to them from
your coal heap an equal part of the small coal or slack, which is too
small to be retained in the grate, and pour a small quantity of water
upon the mixture. When you make up your fire, place a few round coals
in front, and throw some of this mixture behind; it saves the trouble
of sifting your ashes, gives a warm and pleasant fire, and a very
small part only will remain unburnt.
133. _Fire Balls._--Mix one bushel of small coal, or saw-dust, or
both, with two bushels of sand, and one bushel and a half of clay;
make the mixture into balls with water, and pile them in a dry place,
to harden them. A fire cannot be lighted with these balls; but when
it burns strong, put them on above the top bar, and they will keep up
a strong heat.
134. _To prevent the ill effects of Charcoal._--Set over the burning
charcoal a vessel of boiling water, the steam of which will prevent
danger from the fumes.
135. _Method of sweeping Chimneys without employing Children, and the
danger attending the old Method pointed out._--Procure a rope for the
purpose, twice the length of the height of the chimney; to the middle
of it tie a bush (broom furze, or any other), of sufficient size to
fill the chimney; put one end of the rope down the chimney (if there
be any windings in it, tie a bullet or round stone to the end of the
rope), and introduce the wood end of the bush after the rope has
descended into the chamber; then let a person pull it down. The bush,
by the elasticity of its twigs, brushes the sides of the chimney as
it descends, and carries the soot with it. If necessary, the person
at the top, who has hold of the other end of the rope, draws the bush
up again; but, in this case, the person below must turn the bush, to
send the wood end foremost, before he calls to the person at top to
pull it up.
Many people, who are silent to the calls of humanity, are yet
attentive to the voice of interest: chimneys cleansed in this way
never need a tenth part of the repairs required where they are swept
by children, who being obliged to work themselves up by pressing
with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other,
often force out the bricks which divide the chimneys. This is one of
the causes why, in many houses, a fire in one apartment always fills
the adjoining ones with smoke, and sometimes even the neighboring
house. Nay, some houses have even been burnt by this means; for a
foul chimney, taking fire, has been frequently known to communicate,
by these apertures, to empty apartments, or to apartments filled with
timber, where, of course, it was not thought necessary to make any
examination, after extinguishing the fire in the chimney where it
began.
136. _To revive a dull Fire._--Powdered nitre, strewed on the fire,
is the best bellows that can be used.
137. _Fires, Stoves, &c._--It is wasteful to wet small coal, though
it is commonly thought to make a fire last longer: in truth, it
wastes the heat, and for a time makes a bad fire.
A close stove intended to warm an apartment should not have a
polished surface, else it will keep in the heat; whereas, if of rough
and unpolished cast iron, the heat will be dispersed through the room.
Long, shallow grates, are uneconomical, as the body of the coal in
them is not soon heated, and requires to be oftener replenished to
keep up the fire.
A good fire should be bright without being too hot: the best and
quickest mode of making up a neglected fire is to stir out the ashes,
and with the tongs fill up the spaces between the bars with cinders
or half-burnt coals: this method will soon produce a glowing fire. If
coke can be mixed with coals, the fire will require extra attention:
coke, however, makes too much dust for fires in the best rooms.
138. _Water._--Hard water by boiling may be brought nearly to the
state of soft. A piece of chalk put into spring water will soften it.
Rain, or the softest water, is better adapted than any other for
washing and cleaning; but it must be filtered for drinking in large
towns, as it becomes impure from the roofs and plaster of houses. The
best water has the greatest number of air bubbles when poured into a
glass. Hard water will become thick and foul sooner than soft water.
139. _To purify Water for drinking._--Filter river water through a
sponge, more or less compressed, instead of stone or sand, by which
the water is not only rendered more clear, but wholesome; for sand
is insensibly dissolved by the water, so that in four or five years
it will have lost a fifth part of its weight. Powder of charcoal
should be added to the sponge when the water is foul, or fetid. Those
who examine the large quantity of terrene matter on the inside of
tea-kettles will be convinced all water should be boiled before drunk.
140. Or, take a large flower-pot, and put either a piece of sponge or
some cleanly-washed moss over the hole at the bottom. Fill the pot
three-quarters with a mixture of equal parts of clean sharp sand, and
charcoal in pieces the size of peas. On this lay a piece of linen or
woollen cloth, large enough to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour
the water to be filtered into the basin formed by the cloth, and it
will come out pure through the sponge or moss at the bottom.
141. _To purify River, or Muddy Water._--Dissolve half an ounce of
alum in a pint of warm water, and stirring it about in a puncheon
of water from the river, all the impurities will soon settle to the
bottom, and in a day or two it will become quite clear.
142. _To purify muddy Water of Rivers or Pits._--Make a number of
holes in the bottom of a deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and
above this some clean sand; sink this tub in the river or pit, so
that only a few inches of the tub will be above the surface of the
water; the river or pit water will filter through the sand, and rise
clear through it to the level of the water on the outside, and will
be pure and limpid.
143. _Method of making putrid Water sweet in a Night's Time._--Four
large spoonfuls of unslaked lime put into a puncheon of ninety
gallons of putrid water, at sea, will, in one night, make it as clear
and sweet as the best spring water just drawn: but unless the water
is afterwards ventilated sufficiently to carbonize the lime, it will
be a lime water. Three ounces of pure unslaked lime should saturate
ninety gallons of water.
144. _Lead Cisterns._--_Lead Cisterns_ are unsafe to hold water
for culinary purposes: if the water has stood in them several days
undisturbed, a small white coating may be observed at the upper edge
of the water: on any addition of water, this coating is washed off,
and if there be the slightest acidity in the vessel, this coating
will be dissolved in the water, and thus a poison be conveyed into
the stomach. To prevent this, the insides of lead cisterns should be
occasionally examined and cleared out.
145. _To prevent the freezing of Water in Pipes in the Winter
Time._--By tying up the ball-cock with straw or flannel during
the frost, the freezing of pipes will often be prevented; in fact,
it will always be prevented where the main pipe is higher than
the cistern or other reservoir, and the pipe is laid in a regular
inclination from one to the other, for then no water can remain
in the pipe; or if the main is lower than the cistern, and the
pipe regularly inclines, upon the supply's ceasing, the pipe will
immediately exhaust itself. When water is in the pipes, if each cock
be left a little dripping, the circulation of the water will prevent
its freezing in the pipes.
146. _To preserve Water and Meat from Putrefaction in long
Voyages._--The crews of two Russian ships, which sailed round the
world, were extremely healthy. During the whole three years of their
voyage only two men died of the crew of the Neva, and the Naveshda
did not lose a single man. It is known that their fresh water was
preserved in charred casks, but it is not so generally known that
they used the same precaution for preserving their salted provisions.
The beef they carried out with them tasted as pleasantly upon their
return, as it did three years before, when first salted.
147. _To make Sea-water fit for washing Linen._--Soda put into
sea-water renders it turbid; the lime and magnesia fall to the
bottom. Therefore, to make sea-water fit for washing linen, put in
soda enough as not only to effect a precipitation of these earths,
but to render the water sufficiently alkaline.
148. _Steam._--When the steam from a tea-kettle appears cloudy, it
should be taken from the fire, as the water is then fast boiling
away; the steam when the water first boils being quite transparent,
so as scarcely to be seen near the mouth of the spout. The top of the
kettle should be kept bright, as a polished surface keeps in the heat.
149. _To clean a Carriage._--Wash the body and wheels with a mop,
brush, and plenty of water. Then blacken and clean all the straps
and leather, first cleaning the brass or other ornaments as those on
harness. Next brush the inside lining, clean the glasses, and clean
and trim the lamps. Stains may be removed from panels by rubbing them
with sweet oil on baize. The wheels should be occasionally greased or
oiled, and the linchpins examined.
150. _For Coach Wheels._--Melt over a slow fire one pound of lard,
and half a pound of black lead in powder, stirring them well; remove
the mixture from the fire, and stir till cold.
151. _Harness Makers' Jet._--Take one drachm of indigo, a quarter of
an ounce of isinglass, half an ounce of soft soap, four ounces of
glue, one pennyworth of logwood raspings, and one quart of vinegar;
boil the whole together over a slow fire, till reduced to one pint.
A small quantity is then to be taken up on a piece of clean sponge,
and thinly applied to harness, boots, &c., taking care that they are
previously well cleaned.
N.B.--A small quantity of sulphate of iron (green vitriol) would
perhaps greatly improve this.
152. _To clean Harness._--Having washed off the wet dirt, sponge the
harness clean, and hang it up to dry. Next, brush it with a dry, hard
brush, and clean the brass ornaments.
For this purpose, mix a quarter of a pint of turpentine, with two
ounces of rotten-stone, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal, and
a quarter of a pint of droppings of sweet oil; apply this paste with
leather, and polish it off with powdered charcoal.
Or, clean the brass ornaments with the following mixture, which is
used in the Royal Mews: dissolve one ounce of oxalic acid in a pint
of water, to which add a pint of naphtha. To give the brass-work a
fine color, powder some sal-ammoniac, moisten it with water, and rub
it upon the ornaments; then heat them over charcoal, and polish with
dried bran and whiting.
Or, wash the brass-work with a strong solution of roche alum, and
polish it with tripoli.
To restore the color of harness, clean it, and brush over it the
following mixture:--boil half a pound of logwood chips in three
quarts of soft water, to which add three ounces of galls bruised and
one ounce of alum.
153. _Oiling Old Leather._--A practice is common of wetting harness,
&c., before it is to be oiled, under the idea that it soaks in the
oil better for wetting. No two things are less capable of union than
oil and water. The leather appears soft after the above practice,
but a dry day will soon show how hard the leather becomes when the
water it has imbibed has evaporated, and how rotten the heart of the
leather is, although the outside appears yet oily. If leather be dry
and then oiled, the quantity of oil consumed will tell whether the
leather has absorbed the oil or not. If it have, it will last for
years, if it be oiled thoroughly every spring. The most durable stuff
to nail up garden trees, is leather soaked in oil, and then drained
before use. Old shoes and harness will thus be of use when no longer
of service to the body.
154. _General Washing._--Counterpanes, blankets, bed-hangings, &c.,
should be washed in summer, as they will then dry quickly, and be of
good color.
By putting linen and cotton stockings to soak the night before they
are to be washed, much soap and labor will be saved.
If clothes remain long dirty, they will not only require more soap
and labor, but be much injured in washing.
155. _Washing Preparation._--Half a pound of soap; half a pound
of soda; quarter of a pound of _quick_-lime. Cut up the soap and
dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon
of boiling water over the soda; and enough boiling water over the
quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick,
it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare
each of these in separate vessels. Put the dissolved lime and soda
together, and boil them for twenty minutes. Then pour them into a jar
to settle.
Another method of making this preparation is--Instead of preparing
each of the articles by themselves, dissolve over night half a pound
of soda in one gallon of boiling water, pour it on the lime, and let
it settle; cut up the soap, and pour the clear water from the lime
and soda upon it. In the morning it will be a dissolved mass, fit for
use. In this way the twenty minutes' boiling of the lime and soda is
dispensed with.
In either of these processes white or common yellow soap may be used.
But the lime should be white and quick. If it does not bubble and
hiss when the water is poured on it, it is unfit for use.
This preparation contains nothing injurious to the linen. It has been
proved by trial that if the directions are rightly followed, it is
less destructive than the old method.
156. _How to proceed after having made the Preparation._--Set aside
the flannels and colored things, as they _must not_ be washed in
this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are
boiling.
The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of
stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak.
In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having
strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not
to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the
water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes. A plate
should be placed at the bottom of the copper to prevent the clothes
from burning.
Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an hour. Then rinse
them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be beautifully white.
The same water will do for _three_ lots. Wash the finer things first.
After having been used for the clothes, the mixture may be employed
for cleaning silver, brass, or any other kind of metal; which should
afterwards be dried and polished with leather. The liquid may also be
used for scouring floors, or cleaning paint.
157. _To make Starch._--Dissolve as much starch as will be required
in a very small quantity of cold water; then pour boiling water on it
till it is of the right consistency, and let it boil once or twice.
In _mixing starch_, put a lump of sugar in it to prevent it from
sticking to the iron. Stirring the starch for a minute with a sperm
candle improves it when it is wanted for shirt bosoms or collars.
158. _Gum Arabic Starch._--Get two ounces of fine white gum arabic,
and pound it to powder. Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a
pint or more of boiling water, (according to the degree of strength
you desire,) and then having covered it, let it set all night. In the
morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork
it, and keep it for use. A table-spoonful of gum water stirred into a
pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, will give to
lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness to which nothing
else can restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted)
for thin white muslin and bobbinet.
159. _To keep Muslins of a good Color._--Never wash muslins or any
kind of white cotton goods, with linen; for the latter deposits or
discharges a gum and coloring matter every time it is washed, which
discolors and dyes the cotton. _Wash them by themselves._
160. _To wash Flannels._--Flannels should be washed in soft water,
soap, and much blue. The water should be as hot as the hands will
bear; wring them as dry as possible, shake them and hang them out;
but do not rinse them after the lather.
161. _To make Flannels not shrink._--The first time of washing put
them into a pail of boiling water, and let them lie till cold.
162. _To scour Flannels._--Slice half a pound of yellow soap, and
dissolve it in boiling water, so as to make it of the thickness of
oil; cover the flannels with warm water, add a lump of pearlash, and
about one-third of the soap-solution; beat them till no head rises on
the water; then pour it off, and proceed as before with hotter water,
without pearlash.
163. _To wash Woollens._--Use soft water; and, in order to make a
lather, put half a pound of soap into a gallon of water, (or as much
more in proportion as is necessary,) and boil it until the soap is
dissolved; wash through two waters, (unless one is found sufficient,)
as warm as can be borne, adding, as you go on, what quantity of the
soap-water is needed; wring them out each time; then throw them into
a rinsing-tub, and fill, to covering, with boiling water. Let them
remain until cool enough to admit of handling, then proceed to rinse
well, and wring them.
N. B.--Observe, the rinsing-water must be _hard water_--this is the
secret. This method will do for any kinds of woollens; but for large
and strong, such as blankets, or carpets, &c., perhaps wringing would
be better omitted, and in all cases, care should be taken to spread
out the articles straight and smooth.