C0(5 THE ITOnSETTOLD. 



Usje/? of Paper. — Rubliing with papci- ia a much nicer way of keeping a 

 teakettle, cofifeepot and teapot bright and clean than the old way of wash- 

 ing them iu suds, llubbing with paper is also the best way of polishing 

 knives, tinware and spoons; they shine like new silver. For polishing mir- 

 rors, windows, lamp chimneys, etc., paper is better than dry cloth. Pre- 

 serves and pickles keep much better if brown paper, instead of cloth, is tied 

 over the jar. Canned fruit is not so apt to mold if a piece of writing paper 

 cut to fit the can, is laid directly on the frUit. Paper is much better to put 

 under a carpet than straw. It is warmer, thinner, and makes less noise 

 when one walks on it. 



Stain for Floors. — The best, cheapest and only permanent stain for 

 floors is permanganate of potash. You can get it at any drug store. Mix 

 about one-quarter ounce to a quart of water. Apply freely and quickly to a 

 dry floor with a brush so as to not stain your hands. Repeat the process if 

 a very dark color is desired. When dry, oil with burnt linseed oil or bees- 

 wax and turpentine. You cannot wash this color out, as it actually stains 

 the wood. "When applying this at first, for a few moments the color is bright 

 magenta; but this at once changes to a dark, permanent brown. This 

 makes a very cheap stain. 



Dfsli Wiping. — The following is an arrangement for wiping dishes that 

 eaves half the risk, while the dishes look nicer and brighter: The only out- 

 lay required is a half-bushel basket. Set this either in the sink or in a pan. 

 Wash the dishes as usual, and put them iu a tin pan or pail. Pour boiling 

 water over them, rinse them thoroughly, then set them up edgewise in the 

 basket, so as to drain. The heat will dry them perfectly, and not a streak or 

 particle of lint is to be seen. Five minutes will leave them perfectly dry. 

 No one who tries it once will be likely to go back to the old way. 



Grease Spots on Clothes. — Grease or paint spots in clothes are easily 

 removed by oil of turpentine, or a hot iron pressed on the place over coarse 

 brown paper, after scraping all that can be got off with a blunt knife. Stains 

 may be removed from light-colored clothes, such as drabs, buffs, or whites, 

 with fuller's earth; but this is apt to take the color out of dark clothes. It 

 should be dissolved in a little boiling water, put on the spot when hot, held 

 to the fire to dry, and then brushed out. Pitch is removed, first, by rubbing 

 the place over with grease or oil, and then taking out the oU by the applica- 

 tion of spirits of turpentine. 



Lamp Explosions.^Many of these may be prevented by trimming the 

 wick daily. When burned for several evenings without trimming, the wick 

 becomes black, clogged, and incapable of supplying the oil clearly and 

 uniformly, and the chimneys are sometimes filled with flame and smoke, to 

 the embarrassment and alarm of those present. Some explosions would be 

 prevented by never blowing out the lamp down the chimney; for if the wick 

 happens to be too small, the flame may bo driven down into the oil. The 

 best way is to turn it down with the button until extinguished. 



To Destroy Insect Pests. — It is an undisputed fact that if powdered 

 borax is scattered freely where the cockroach has found a hiding place, it 

 will not only prevent its remaining, but will destroy it. In the dark and 

 sometimes damp closets, under sinks and wash basins, they sometimes 

 make their appearance, aud it iu a good practice to once or twice a year 



