346 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



moved from the room you covered with shawls or 

 sheets to keep out the dust, before the carpet was 

 taken up, — the paper or straw beneath the carpet 

 was well shaken and laid aside for use again, the 

 floor was sprinkled with tea or coflFee-grounds or 

 wet grass, to prevent as much as possible the dust 

 from rising, and then swept ; so that now the fur- 

 niture «an be carefully dusted ; the pictures, also, 

 and then the glass that covers them carefully 

 wiped with a moist cloth, upon which pour a few 

 drops of camphor or cologne for cleaning oil 

 paintings — and if you wish to keep the flies from 

 their frames boil half a dozen onions in a pint of 

 water, and wash them lightly with this when cold, 

 using as a small mop, a bit of flannel tied to a 

 stick. 



In cleaning paint have a pail of hot strong suds 

 made of the borax and soda soap, mentioned in 

 the early part of this chapter, and also a pail of 

 clean warm rainwater. Wash either with a soft 

 scrubbing brush or a piece of flannel, a small por- 

 tion — not more than a square yard — and then 

 rinse well. If the paint is much discolored lay 

 out a good deal of "elbow grease," but never put 

 undiluted soap in contact with it ; good suds and 

 a careful use of a very little fine sand for the worst 

 places is much better. 



After the cleaning is over, if the ceiling needs 

 whitening and you do not dare attempt it yourself, 

 get some one to apply one or two coats of the lime 

 or the chalk wash before spoken of. If your pamt 

 needs renewing you can go to work with the paint 

 prepared as recommended when the repairing of 

 fences, &c., was spoken of. The first coat of paint 

 should be mixed almost entirely with oil, and al- 

 lowed to become perfectly dry, then the next may 

 be more or less glossy, as you desire. The less 

 spirits of turpentine used the more liable the paint 

 will be to turn yellowish, but the greater will be 

 its gloss. In applying paint take but a very small 

 quantity upon your brush, and rub it lightly into 

 the wood by following the grain in short quick 

 passes — finish it by longer and slower strokes, ob- 

 literating, as you proceed, all traces of the brush ; 

 never cross the grain of the wood in finishing. 

 "Wall washes should be applied in a similar man- 

 ner. This is not hard work, and by attention to 

 these particulars any woman can do as well with 

 such matters as a man. 



Perhaps, too, your rooms need new wall paper. 

 After the paint is dry you can haiiff them, (paste 

 them on) if you please, as a great many women 

 do. If you choose a plain paper, or one having 

 much blank surface, the old paper must be all ta- 

 ken otF, the roughness of the wall smoothed with 

 sand-paper, and broken places or indentations 

 filled with a mixture of calcined plaster and lime- 

 water made into a thick mortar — which will dry 

 immediately. Then the wall may be wet with 

 glue-wash, — quarter of a pound of glue pounded 

 and dissolved in a quart of hot water. But if your 

 paper is well covered (has a mixed, spreading pat- 



tern or many close, small figures) the inequalities 

 beneath it will not show, so the old paper, having 

 been nicely swept, can be left on. 



Make a paste by pouring boiling hot water upon 

 three quarts of dry flour with which qunrter of a 

 pound of pulverized alum has been mixed. Pour 

 the water slowly, stirring it well as you pour. 

 When the mixture is a little too thick to spread 

 with a brush, stir in half a pint of spirits of turpen- 

 tine, if you have insects about your walls, if not, the 

 same quantity of water. 



Let this pa^te get cold, then measure your walls 

 and cut a length of paper. A striped paper is the 

 easiest to hang, because it has no joints or match- 

 ing of figures along the seam ; these need a good 

 deal of calcuL.tion about cutting and much atten- 

 tion in the hanging. If you have a figured paper, 

 and no cornice, and no border for the top of the 

 room, cut the lengths so that a figure commences 

 at the top ; with a cornice or border the pattern is 

 more effective commencing a short distance below. 



If you have a long ironing board, it is just the 

 thing to lay your lengths of paper upon for past- 

 ing ; but a table will answer, — which you will keep 

 from getting defaced by covering with a clean 

 sheet. Lay on this the length, and spread on its 

 wrong side a thin coat of paste, with a small, soft 

 paste brush, — which is similar in size and shape to 

 your whitewash brush. See that every part is ev- 

 enly covered with the paste ; then fold the paper 

 across the centre, and with a sharp knife trim the 

 left hand side, by a rule or yard-stick, according to 

 the colored lines or dashes that are placed as a 

 guide for trimming along the side of the paper. 

 Then, it being ttill folded, lift this length to the 

 wall, (while raising it let the fold open) and touch 

 the top edge to the wall, allowing the paptr to drop 

 straight by its own weight. Then with a dry brush, 

 like that used for spreading the paste, sweep it 

 gently down and across till all wrinkles are gone; 

 it may need in some places loosening and dropping 

 again before this is accomplished. When it is 

 smooth, press it carefully with the brush wherever 

 it seems loose, particularly along the seam. If the 

 paper is very thick it is well to roll the seam after 

 closing it ; a wooden castor is very good for this 

 purpose. A clean towel, or a soft cotton cloth, is 

 better than a brush for smoothing and pressing a 

 very thin paper. Paste upon the outside of any 

 paper injures its appearance, so great care must be 

 taken that none gets there. This will be prevented 

 in a great measure by keeping the length folded — 

 the paste within— as you take it to the wall ; but it 

 is sometimes squeezed out at the seam by the press- 

 ing and rolling, if there is much near the edge. 



Now we come to the floors. These if carpeted 

 need only a good washing with soapsuds. Un- 

 painted floors that are not carpeted need frequent 

 scouring with a stiff' brush, using very little soap 

 and a great deal of sand ; that is, the common pine 

 floors of kitchens, and similar rooms, — too much 

 soap makes them yellow and dingy, — they need to 



