310 



TJic Country Gcntlcivoman 



XIII. PAPIER-MACHE AND JAPANNED WARES. 



Tea-boards, either of papier-mache or of 

 japanned iron, should never be washed with 

 hot water, because the heat of boihng water 

 is sufficient to crack the varnish on the sur- 

 face, upon which the blackened coating of 

 either the paper or iron will begin to peel off. 

 AVhen any liquid dries upon tea-trays or waiters, 

 which has in it something of a glutinous 

 nature, water must be employed to wash it 

 off, but whenever simple rubbing with a soft 

 hnen rubber removes any spots on japanned 

 wares, water should not be used. Tea-boards 

 are easily cleansed by the use of a few tea 

 leaves, when emptied out of the tea-pot ; if 

 tea-boards of japan or papier-mache appear 

 streaky, as if from grease, a little flour or 

 whiting sprinkled over them, and rubbed off 

 with a soft linen duster, will clean them. 

 The fine polish to these wares is in the manu- 

 facture given by the use of olive oil, and the 

 friction of the hand alone; hence any 

 scratches on the surface, so slight as not to 

 penetrate through the coating, may be re- 

 moved by a similar application and means. 



Japanned tea-urns should, after use, have 

 any warm water remaining in them poured 

 out before it gets cold. The inside should 

 then be wiped perfectly dry with a linen 

 cloth, and the outside rubbed with a leather 

 kept for the purpose. If any spots caused 

 by the water are rubbed while the urn re- 

 mains warm after use, they will be soon 

 obliterated then ; but, if left till the urn be 

 cold, it will be a more difficult matter ; they 

 must in such case be removed by the use of 

 the urn powder, which is to be purchased 

 either at oil shops or at the shops in which 

 japanned wares are sold. 



In cleaning japanned candlesticks the same 

 caution must be observed as with other 

 japanned wares — that of not employing great 

 heat, either of the fire or water, in removing 

 from their surface any substance which has 

 adhered to them : with care, these articles 

 may last very long; with carelessness, they 

 are injured immediately. When the coating 

 on their surface is chipped or cracked, they 

 cannot be very long serviceable. Every day's 



use and cleaning requisite thereon increases 

 the peeling off of the injured surface. 



XIV. CLEANSING KITCHEN UTENSILS OF 

 METAL, ETC. 



In country places, where brick ovens used 

 for baking bread are usually heated with 

 wood fuel, the Avood-ashes may be procured, 

 and answer the end of removing the grease 

 from the inside surface of saucepans in which 

 animal substances have been cooked ; or a 

 weak solution of potash, boiled in saucepans 

 that require cleansing, will render hard scour- 

 ing unnecessary, which is sure to wear off the 

 tinning. 



Tinplate, of which saucepans are formed, 

 suffers great injury by being frequently 

 scoured with sand, which wears off the 

 tinning rapidly, exposes the iron founda- 

 tion, and causes the rust to eat it in holes. 

 When any scouring is requisite, some soft 

 powder should be used, as that of Bath brick 

 and whiting, and sand as little as possible. 

 Saucepans, after being cleaned, should be 

 well dried by the fire before being put away, 

 and the shelves on which they are put should 

 be in a dry part of the offices. If iron sauce- 

 pans and kettles remain long in a damp place, 

 they will be spoilt by rust, if copper by verdi- 

 gris. 



The corrosion on copper, called verdigris, 

 must be removed, in the first instance, by the 

 application of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), 

 and afterwards with that of whiting rubbed 

 on with a flannel ; copper saucepans tinned 

 should always be carefully examined before 

 they are used. If the tinning of a saucepan 

 be worn away and verdigris formed on the 

 copper beneath, it is unsafe to use it for any 

 purpose whatever, until it has been re-tinned: 

 there have been fatal instances of poison un- 

 intentionally given to whole parties at a time, 

 through food cooked in copper vessels from 

 which the tinning had been worn off, and the 

 verdigris formed on the uncovered copper. 



Tea-kettles should be well rinsed out every 

 morning before they are filled with water. 

 This rinsing is needful to clear away sediment 

 the water in boiling may leave ; but the in- 

 crustation formed by chemical action within 



