The Country Gcntlcivoman 



feathers is best adapted for removing the 

 dust which may settle on it. 



To gilding the flies are the greatest ene- 

 mies ; but if, during those periods of the 

 year in which they are numerous and active, 

 gilding were covered over with thin coarse 

 leno or gauze, it might be preserved unsoiled 

 for many years. 



X. CHINA, EARTHENWARE, AND GLASS. 



China and earthenware should be washed 

 in plenty of warm soap and water, rinsed 

 clean in a second bowl of water alone, either 

 warm or cold, should be then turned down 

 to drain, and afterwards wiped dry with linen 

 tea-cloths. Settlings of any liquidw hich have 

 been suffered to dry up at the bottom of 

 earthen vessels may be dissolved generally 

 by a little pearlash and water, or with soda 

 instead of pearlash ; either of these will also 

 quickly remove any oiliness which may be on 

 the surface of earthenware or porcelain. 

 Neither porcelain nor earthenware will bear 

 sudden immersion into hot water, when the 

 weather is cold, without great danger of its 

 cracking. 



In washing glass the above caution is still 

 more requisite to observe than in respect to 

 china and earthenware. 



To put glass suddenly into boiling water 

 in cold weather would be inevitably to break 

 it Glass should be washed in water mode- 

 rately warm ; and the quantity of water used 

 should be abundant, and in proportion to the 

 number of articles to be washed. When 

 taken out of the water, each article should be 

 at first turned down on a table or dresser, 

 that the water may run off from them. After- 

 wards they should be dried with a soft linen 

 cloth, and, before they are placed for use, 

 each should be polished with a clean soft 

 skin of wash leather kept for the purpose. 

 Glass should never be brought to table with 

 the dull linty surface which negligence in 

 wiping it would give it. For cut glass the 

 use of a soft brush may be requisite to polish 

 it well ; but if any brush or rubber of a harsh 

 nature be applied, glass, which easily receives 

 scratches on its surface, would lose irrecover- 

 ably its beauty and brilliance. 



Glass discoloured with the settlings of port 

 wine may require more than common wash- 

 ing. A solution of soda will effect solution 

 of the colouring matter. A bottle brush is 

 sometimes used to remove the wine settlings, 

 but it is liable to scratch the glass. 



XI. CLEANING PLATE. 



Plate is cleaned in various ways, and every 

 butler or footman has a prejudice in favour 

 of one or other mode. In cleaning plate the 

 objects to be attained (when it has been 

 washed in hot soap and water immediately 

 after it has been in use) is to erase all scratches 

 and scores which it had received from being 

 thrown carelessly together, or against sub- 

 stances of a harder and rougher nature than 

 its own, and thus restore the polish. After 

 washing it in hot soap and water, it should 

 be rinsed in cold water ; then, before putting 

 it away, it should be rubbed with wash 

 leather. But this may not be always suffi- 

 cient to remove entirely the dim coating 

 given by the oily matters it has been brought 

 into contact with. If greasy, they will require 

 being washed with a hot solution of alkali, 

 such as potash, or soda and water, which 

 will remove the grease and render them fit 

 for polishing. 



For cleaning plate two good-sized skins of 

 wash-leather are requisite, together with a 

 brush of soft and fine bristles, for cleaning 

 away from the cruets, cyphers, and chasings 

 the ingredients with which the plate had been 

 cleaned. With one leather, the plate is first 

 rubbed with the powder employed to clean 

 it, and aftenvards with the other, in order to 

 give it a final polish. As this last-mentioned 

 leather should be kept particularly clean, it 

 should be washed occasionally with soap and 

 water and dried, and used for no other pur- 



pose. 



Polishing powders for plate are sold in the 

 shops ; but, as they are apt to wear the silver, 

 they should be used as sparingly as possible. 

 One called rouge powder is much recom- 

 mended by silversmiths ; and, though they 

 find it very useful and elTectual, yet, if used 

 as often as plate requires cleaning in a family 

 (perhaps twice a-week), the plate would suffer 

 considerable wear. 



