7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1375 
Improving Old Floors 
As a “rmiting family” for nearly 20 
years. there is hut little rliat I have not 
experienced in moving from farm to farm 
and house to holism Naturally people tlo 
not or did not rout, a farm on which were 
new hoimes. If the farm boasted a new 
or pretty good house the owner lived in 
i liai. and the family who worked the 
land lived in an old building or else in 
the kitchen part of the better house. As 
Ihese old-fashioned farmhouses had doors 
const meted of wid* and in some eases 
unpinned hoards, and in nearly all eases 
the matching or cracks between the 
hoards .was worn, it was next to impos¬ 
sible to live upon them without covering 
of some sort. No amount of paint or 
other treatment applied In rile floor itself 
would <top cracks so large that one could 
sec into the cellar. I have lived in many 
sueli houses. In the first one the old lady 
lived there, too, and would let rue do 
iiolliing. although the cracks were so 
large, especially around the stove, that 
she used to lose her thimble and scissors 
through them, and on windy and cold 
days one had to sit with feet elevated on 
a stool or chair rung. 
The next place 'he floors were similar, 
Inn pieces of kindling wood were split 
small enough to drive into rite cracks. 
I’ret ty rough work to clean it. as some 
places the sticks did not till the crack, 
ami in others they were more than tilled, 
hut the cold was kept out. and that was 
the most important part. This was the 
kitchen, in iin* form of ail “L.“ which 
led into a pantry and a small, old-fash¬ 
ioned hull .insi large enough for the four 
doors to open into, or rather out of. 
There was nothing to this hall hut cor¬ 
ners and door casings, four of each, but 
tlic floor wits covered with an old oilcloth 
securely tanked anil painted i<> the floor. 
The owner said she made the cover when 
she moved into the house, "J'J years pre¬ 
viously. The floor was a continuation <>f 
the kitchen floor, w ide hoards and cracks 
to match, hut as it led into the parlor 
she preferred to have it covered. At first 
she folded newspapers into strips and 
snick the -trips edgeways into the cracks, 
so by treading on them the folds would 
spread and cover the cracks. Then she 
put old carper (rag) down upon the 
floor and gave it a good heavy coat of 
paint, and immediately put a piece of 
old oilcloth of a coarse, heavy grade over 
if, so it would stick onto the carpet, and 
painted the oilcloth two good coats of 
paint and one of hot linseed oil. aud when 
all were thoroughly dry applied a coat 
of dark hot varnish. After drying the 
varnish >lte said she had never repainted 
it. and only gave it two now coats of 
varnish in the 22 years. I lived there 
six years, and never did cither, and it 
was an ideal floor. Of course the covers 
were cut to lit exactly in this ca-c. and 
painted a Van Dyke brown, and all I 
I':>(1 to do to keep it clean was to take a 
clean mop, wrung partly dry in cold 
water, and wipe the dirt and tracks 
therefrom. 
1 «>nce visited in an old farmhouse and 
was shown the guest room (I was a 
friend) which had for it floor cover sev¬ 
eral thicknesses of paper pasted together 
to lit lln floor, and over all was pasted a 
pretty patterned wallpaper, neatly 
matched and varnished. A deep border 
ran around the four sides, neatly mitered 
at the corners, and it was a wry pretty 
cover for the old floor, and by the use of 
rugs or runovers where the heavy wear 
came would last a long time in such a 
room, or even where it were used oftener. 
Such varnished surfaces are easily kept 
dean by using cold water. Old rag as 
well as old ingrain carpeting can be 
painted and varnished for floor cover¬ 
ings. < >f course it is not intended to re¬ 
move them, but to use them as a perma¬ 
nent floor. 
When l moved into a bouse whose din¬ 
ing-room had a painted rag carpet floor 
1 put my own carpel over it, hut it would 
look well with small rugs and no car¬ 
pet. Where cracks are in the floor un¬ 
derneath they must be permanently filled 
with something before the carpet or oil¬ 
cloth is painted on. or else the carpet 
will break and crack through. a> oilcloth 
or any similar material does over the 
cracks. After tilling the cracks cover 
the hare floor with several thicknesses oE 
news or other paper to make a smooth 
foundation for the carpet, then lav on the 
material, tack firmly aud paint with com- 
.. paint any color desired as though it 
wen- a board floor. The paper under¬ 
neath keeps the paint from going into 
the hoards through the meshes between 
warp and woof. These covers wear well 
where I have found them, and the idea 
of using and painting old carpets or other 
similar material is that the unsightly 
flooring underneath i< permanently out 
of sight, and after the material is once 
thoroughly painted it takes no more 
paint or varnish to keep il in order than 
it would a real floor. 
1 once moved into an old house where 
the clothes press floors were covered with 
ten chest malting, which had been given 
ync good coat of paint to fill in between 
the me-hes in order to keep the water 
from soaking through onto the floor or 
into the straw, thus making the room re¬ 
tain dampness after cleaning. The rooms 
were small anil could lie reached in nearly 
all parts from the doorway without en¬ 
tering the rooms, so ilie material would 
last a long time. The mail-order houses 
us .- 1 I., keep a waterproof dressing to he 
applied to canvas, duck or material of 
similar wm\e which, while rendering it 
waterproof, also left it nearly as pliable 
as before the application was made, and 
it wore well. too. I do not think anyone 
with good floors would need or want ro 
cover them with these coverings, hut. 
Velvet fakes on a new lease of life 
when steamed. Prop up a hot iron so it 
will rest on its handle and cover the base 
with a wet doth. The velvet is then 
should he washed in warm soapsuds, then 
stretched into shape, pinned ami dried. 
Black veils should be rinsed in a strong 
infusion of black fen, to which gum 
those like myself, who had to live where- 
ever taken to, and that usually where 
the owners had lived as long as they 
could or would endure it, i>r else n>> other 
would go there. This is the condition of 
most tenants and the rented .farms, and 
very seldom indeed do the owners expend 
an unnecessary penny for repairs—some¬ 
times not the necessary ones, cither. 
.1ISSIK. 
A Millinery Piece Box 
Do you keep a millinery piece box? If 
you do, you will find it a great help in 
planning the family hats at the begin¬ 
ning of the new season. Bits of straw 
braid, flowers, feathers, “good as new" 
linings, fill mine. I also find use for a 
spool of covered tie wire, a few bunches 
of flower centers, rubber stemming and 
some bright-colored wool. These extras 
combined to make the trimming for four 
hats Iasi Spring, 
The trouble with most millinery left¬ 
overs i> their “sei-oud-hand" appearance. 
'This can he overcome in great measure 
by judicious cleaning and renovating. At 
the end of each season when you are 
storing away the hats that are to he 
worn again, examine them thoroughly. 
Itemovi all dust and spots, and wrap 
carefully. If a hat is not to he used iu 
its original shape, rip it all apart. Clean 
rhe ribbons and velvet aud roll them up 
smoothly. Save the covered wire anil 
any other useful bits from the hats, and 
add to your piece box. 
Now for cleaning the materials. Most 
ribbons may he washed with pure soap 
and warm water. Stretch them on a 
clean table and scrub gently with a soft 
brush and the soapsuds until they are 
clean. Binse in clear water, pressing 
out the water without wrinkling the rib¬ 
bon. Stretch on the table again to dry. 
When dry press with a warm iron. 
passed over the iron, wrong side being 
next to the wet doth, and the steam 
forces its way Through the pile of the. vel¬ 
vet, removing crease- and wrinkles and 
making it look like new. Brush gently 
with a soft hru-li all the while yon are 
steaming the velvet. 
Feathers may also he washed success¬ 
fully in pure soapsmls and water. Draw 
them through your hands from stem to 
tip with a regular stroke. Shake in the 
air to dry. Then steam the feathers by 
holding the hack toward tin* steam from 
the spout of a teakettle. Shape tin* stem 
of the feather while it i- damp and then 
curl the feather w th . dull knife. This 
is done by drawing three or four fibers 
at a time over the knife with a quick 
downward and incurving -trokc. 
A white felt liar may be cleaned with 
eornmeal or magnesia. Dover the hat 
with one of rhese materials and leave it 
for two days. Then brush off the meal or 
powder. Repeat the process if necessary. 
Flowers that an* fa-led but in other¬ 
wise good >*ondition may ho retouched 
with water color paints. Trim the edges 
of the petals if they are frayed. Silk, 
muslin or velvet flower- may he fresh¬ 
ened by shaking gently over a steaming 
cloth. 
New flowers may bo made from bits of 
silk, chiffon and wool. The flower cen¬ 
ters iu the piece box will come in handy 
here. The -tents are made of the cov¬ 
ered tie wire, wrapped with the rubber 
stemming. During the last few months 
.-ev-rnl of the needlework magazines have 
had full page dire rions for making many 
types of flowers. They arc easiiy made, 
very popular, and go a long way toward 
giving the distinctive touch to hat or 
dress trimming. 
A veil i- often a necessary accessory 
to the hat. Veils soil easily and are 
just as easily neglected in cleaning. They 
arabic has been added. Fxo two tea¬ 
spoons powdered gum arabic to one pint 
water, MRS. F. W. STITXMAX. 
Real Squash Pie 
Three eo’gs. one cup sugar, one pint 
hot milk, one pint steamed squash, one- 
fourtb level teaspoon each cinnamon, 
nutmeg and ginger, scant teaspoon salt 
This will make Two good thick pies, and 
should be baked -lowly after the crust is 
ser. The crust will keep ifs shape better 
if made on an earthenware plate, and if 
put on th** plate- at least half an hour 
before baking and allowed to "set" a little. 
Brown sugar is often used instead of 
white, and gives more of an old-fashioned 
taste. The -pice should he mixed in with 
the sugar, iu order to prevent unsightly 
spots. The eggs should be beaten am! 
well mixed with the prepared squash aud 
-ugar and -pier ami the hot. milk carefully 
stirred iu s,, that it Ls good and smooth. 
< ’nref itliy till the paste-covered plates, 
smooth tin top of the squash tilling and 
carefully spread over a couple of table¬ 
spoons of cold milk. This- cold milk “top- 
dressing" is sure to brown nicely. 
MBS. F. \v. u. 
Two Fudge Recipes 
•Sour Cream Fudge.—One cup white 
•sugar, one cup thin sour cream, one cup 
brown sugar, pinch salt, two ounces choc¬ 
olate, one teaspoon vanilla. If the cream 
has become quite thick through souring 
add one-third cup sweet milk. Cook until 
it forms a soft ball in water, or to 22 s 
degrees F. Let it cool a few minutes, 
then add vanilla and beat until creamy. 
Honey Fudge.—Two cups sugar, one- 
half cup milk, one-fourth cup honey, one- 
fourth cup butter. Cook to 230 degrees 
F.. or until it forms a fairly firm ball in 
cold wat er. RUT it SWINGLE. 
Preservation— 
The First Law of Nature 
Every good farmer protects the roofs of his buildings; creosotes 
wooden fence posts; and “saves the surface” of buildings with 
paint. Does every member of a modern farm family preserve 
the enamel of the teeth just as carefully? Brushing the teeth 
after each meal is a common sense investment in health. 
Tooth enamel—the precious outer covering—is only about 
1-32 of an inch thick on the grinding surfaces. A non-gritty 
dental cream will safely “wash” and polish this thin pro¬ 
tective covering. (The United States Public Health Service 
warns against gritty dentifrices.) Once the enamel is broken 
or scoured away nature does not restore it. 
Cleans Teeth the Right Way 
“Washes” and Polishes—Doesn’t Scratch or Scour 
Doctors agree that sickness is often prevented by keeping the 
teeth clean and sound. For “Good Teeth—Good Health” 
Colgate’s Ribbon Dental Cream has just the common sense 
combination you need in a safe tooth cleanser. Young folks 
use it willingly and regularly after each meal because they , 
like its delicious flavor. / 
Its specially prepared non-gritty Pure and mild its vegetable / 
chalk loosens clinging particles oil soap “washes” the teeth / 
from the enamel. thoroughly clean. f 
If your store doesn't carry ALL the Colgate products below, / 
send us the coupon. / 
iftbUbanDi 
£?© 
fAV^OMS 
5*hhot 
*°U. or 
Name. 
Colgate's cleans reeih chotouphly— 
no safe dentifrice does more. A Large 
tube costs 25c —why pay more? 
dealer's Name 
Address 
