Edited by Aunt Martha. 
-:o:- 
All communications for this department 
should he addreseed “Household Helpsf 
care of Seed-Time and Harvest, La Plume, 
Pa. 
Fall Housework. 
Usually, the autumn house-cleaning is 
pretty well under way by the first of this 
month, but to those who have been hinder¬ 
ed by sewing which must needs be done, or 
unforseen circumstances have made them 
a little late, a few suggestions may not be 
out of place. 
What with canning and potting, and 
pickling, and “picking up” and “putting 
away,” the already over-tasked housewife 
looks with dismay on the accumulation of 
summer dust, and the soiled woodwork. 
The flies (if allowed) have done their 
work faithfully, as windows and walls will 
testify. For, although walls may have been 
brightened and windows burnished many 
times through the summer, they “show 
up*’ just about as dirty when the time for 
general house-cleaning comes. The little 
finger-prints on window-panes, where the 
little one has watched for papa, stand out 
in bold relief with all the rest, and the 
tired mother looks and wonders if she can 
ever “wade through” it all and be ready 
for winter. 
Before windows are washed, the blinds 
may be taken off and brushed clean, remov¬ 
ing all dust and dirt possible. Then wet a 
doth in kerosene and wash and rub until 
dry. They will reward you by looking 
bright and clean for some months. 
For cleaning the corners of sash inside, 
use an old toothbrush, but be careful not to 
put any soap on the putty, as it will de¬ 
stroy it. A newspaper or an old silk hand¬ 
kerchief is a good thing to give a final pol¬ 
ish. 
If carpets were taken up in the spring, 
(unless the room has been used constantly) 
it may not be necessary*, to move-them" 
again, but if moths are suspected, the tacks 
can be lifted and the carpet turned back, 
afld the boards washed with hot alum 
water. 
Fill up the cracks with “Tillinghast’s 
pest powder,” then replace the carpet, and 
with a moderately hot iron press over a 
wet towel for two or three feet in, around 
the edges, and you need not fear the “sly 
intruders” for a season. 
• __ 
Those who are living in small houses, 
and are “cramped” for room, can impro¬ 
vise many things to hang against the walls 
where they will take less room, than when 
allowed a place in cupboard or on the floor. 
Make a sack like a pillow-case, only larg¬ 
er, as a receptacle for soiled clothing, and 
suspend it by two loops hung on hooks. It 
can be made out of cheap print or muslin 
and will last a long time. 
Another handy article is a clothes-pin 
apron which is made in a very simple man¬ 
ner as follows: Take two-thirds of a yard 
of crash toweling, fold it half way, sewing 
the sides firmly together. Put a band of 
muslin on the top long enough to button 
around the waist, fill the pocket with the 
pins and when not in use hang it with your 
clothes-bag. 
Frosting Windows. 
Perhaps some of the ladies who are read¬ 
ers of Seed-Time and Harvest have win¬ 
dows looking out on back-yards, or unclean 
neighbors. If you wish t6 exclude such 
views, it can be done by taking Epson salta 
and dissolving it in lager beer until about 
the thickness of cream, then apply to a 
clean window-pane with a sponge. When 
dry, you will find most beautiful figures, 
looking something like the effects of frost 
on windows in winter. 
Dear Aunt Martha: 
Though a stranger 
to you, we will try to become acquainted 
through this “Ladies’ Department.” I am 
glad to contribute my “mite” to “House¬ 
hold Helps,” and will proceed to tell you. 
how I made “superior stove polish.” 
I took a cake of Sunrise polish and the 
same quantity of hard soap, sliced, with 
