FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



HOME MAKING 



OLD FURNITURE OR NEW? 



Huntington Women Advise Refreshing 

 Furniture 



The Huntington women have found 

 that in practically every home there is at 

 least one piece of furniture made of 

 beautiful wood and good in design which 

 has been put up in the attic, or that there 

 are some good, durable pieces that are 

 doing service even though they are badly 

 marred. With a small expenditure for 

 simple equipment, and a few materials, 

 and the willingness to expend some time 

 and effort in refinishing, these same 

 pieces of furniture have been greatly im- 

 proved. 



They found they enjoyed doing the 

 work together so they have had meetings 

 every Wednesday afternoon, helping one 

 another do the hard jobs. Thirty-four 

 chairs have been reseated and refini.shed 

 as well as numerous other articles. The 

 money saved is hard to estimate but the 

 exhibit shown at the summary meeting of 

 some of the chairs, before they were 

 worked on and after, makes it apparent 

 that the saving on each article is a large 

 item. 



These women have decided that to re- 

 finish furniture requires care, patience 

 and often times hours of labor if good 

 results are to be obtained. But the time 

 and energy required for the refini.shing of 

 a piece of good furniture is worth while 

 if the furniture is good in design, well 

 built, desirable, made of good material 

 and easy to reflnish. 



Preparations for Refinishing 



The first thing to do in preparing to re- 

 finish is to remove all unnecessary orna- 

 ments and superfluous details. Then if 

 repairs are necessary, make them. It is 

 well to decide upon the new finish before 

 taking off the old because the new finish 

 will determine the method of procedure. 



Removal of Old Finish 



The old finish may be removed by 

 scraping with a piece of glass, putty 

 knife, or steel cabinet scraper. Scrape 

 with the grain of the wood, not across it. 

 Use an even stroke being careful not to 

 gouge into the wood. 



If the old finish is difficult to remove 

 with a scraper, one may use a liquid re- 

 mover, such as a varnish remover, de- 

 natured or wood alcohol, ammonia, lye, 

 washing soda, or strong soap powder solu- 

 tion. There are many varnish removers 

 on the market and the directions for us- 

 ing are found on label of container. The 

 liquid remover should be applied to the 

 surface, allowed to remain until the old 

 finish becomes softened when it may be 

 scraped off. Lye starch paste may be 

 used on turned surfaces where it is most 



n 



Huntingt( n Wome.1 Reseating Chairs 



difficult to remove the old finish. The 

 starch makes it possible to keep the re- 

 mover on the uprights until the old finish 

 is softened and facilitates the work. 



Lye or lye starch paste is likely to 

 darken wood, so care should be exercised 

 in using it. Do not use on woods where 

 the lovely color is to be preserved, i. e., 

 mahogany, walnut, cherry, etc. Exercise 

 extreme care in using it on veneered sur- 

 faces. It will loosen the veneer if left on 

 too long or if too strong a solution is 

 used. 



After the old finish is removed, linse 

 and allow the wood to dry thoroughly be- 

 fore any rubbing is done. A liquid re- 

 mover is likely to roughen the surface of 

 wood, so after using it, when the wood is 

 thoroughly dry, rub the surface with 

 sand paper or fine steel wool until smooth. 

 All rubbing should be done with the grain 

 of the wood. If the sand paper is 

 grasped over a small block of wood the 

 rubbing will be much easier. Use fine 

 (0 or 00) sand paper for fine work. 

 Steel wool may be used for the rubbing. 



If there is a stain in the wood it may 

 be removed by bleaching with oxalic acid. 

 One tablespoon oxalic acid crystals dis- 

 solved in one pint of hot water. Apply 

 this liquid to the stained spot but do not 

 allow the solution to remain on the wood 

 too long as it may bleach the wood. If 

 any discoloration occurs the color may be 

 restored by rinsing in ammonia water. 

 If a stain is deep set it may be impossible 

 to remove it unless the surface is planed. 



If the new finish is to be painted or 

 enameled the surface should be rubbed 

 smooth with sand paper and steel wool. 

 The old finish may be entirely removed by 

 using a liquid remover and in some cases 

 this may be easier than the "rubbing 

 down" process. 



Watch for directions in next month's 

 paper for applying new fini.=hes. 



PICKLING TIME IS HERE 



The following pickling recipes were 

 prepared by Professor W. R. Cole, Ex- 

 tension Specialist in Horticultural Manu- 

 factures, Massachusetts Agricultural Col- 

 lege. 



Piccalilli 

 Materials : 



h peck of green tomatoes 

 1 pt. of large gherkins 



(cucumbers will do if small) 



1 green pepper 



2 medium sized onions 

 1 quart cider vinegar 

 I lb. of salt 



I lb. sugar 



i t. sp. of peppercorns 



1 t. sp. of celery seeds 



1 t. sp. of mustard seeds 



I t. sp. of whole cloves 

 i. Chop the tomatoes, gherkins, peppers 

 and onions, (may be put through food 

 chopper using largest knife). 



2. Mix with salt and set aside for 12 

 hours. 



3. Drain well, then press to get out all 

 superfluous liquid. 



4. Heat the vinegar, sugar and spices, 

 add the chopped pickles and bring to 

 the boiling point. 



5. Pack into jars hot, partly seal, and 

 process five minutes in hot water 

 bath. 



6. Complete seal, cool, and store. 



Green Tomato Pickle 

 Materials: 

 12 lbs. green tomatoes 

 6 medium sized onions 

 .3 cups brown sugar 

 ^/^ a lemon 



3 red peppers 

 3 cups vinegar 



1 tablespoon whole black pepper 

 1 " whole allspice 



1 " whole cloves 



1 " crushed celery seed 



i 



