HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 1914 
der, not only to look neater, but to give 
greater strength to the cloth. When prop¬ 
erly finished none of the edges of the lin¬ 
ing will be exposed and there will be no 
tacks showing except the art tacks along 
the top edge when the lid is raised. The 
top or lid will be fastened on at one end 
with small brass hinges. If desired a 
pocket may be sewed into one of the end 
linings, for holding small items that may 
be wanted kept separate from the other 
things in the box. When the lid is down 
this work-box forms a useful little table, 
the colors of which, except the legs, har¬ 
monize with the other furniture already 
described. The legs of the box-table are 
enameled white. 
If considerable sewing is done, a large 
cutting table is necessary. One easily con¬ 
structed and quickly brought into service 
may be made by taking three boards, each 
an inch thick, a foot wide and three feet 
long, and fastening them together by nail¬ 
ing cleats on the underside near the ends. 
Instead of constructing it with legs, simply 
lay this large top on the top of the little 
box-table described above. The boards 
used for it should be surfaced on one side 
at least, and the table will require no 
covering. A similar table top may be con¬ 
structed with a pair of hinges in the cen¬ 
ter so that, when not in use, it may be 
folded up to eighteen by thirty-six inches 
in size and easily stored in a closet. 
The bed and a chair or two will com¬ 
plete the furniture of a room of this kind. 
It will form an ideal little sewing room, 
and, when it is needed for sleeping pur¬ 
poses, a few minutes is all that will be 
needed to eliminate every trace of its hav¬ 
ing served as a work room. In other 
words, you possess a disappearing sewing 
room. 
Cleaning Cretonnes 
The cretonne coverings for the furni¬ 
ture become soiled very quickly. A heavy 
household expenditure is the extra laun¬ 
dry bill when they are sent to be cleaned. 
Those who possess washing and drying 
accommodations should make use of their 
advantages and launder the coverings at 
home. 
First shake or brush all loose dirt from 
the coverings, soak them in water for at 
least twelve hours. If they are much 
soiled, change the water several times. 
Add salt to the water if they are being 
washed for the first time. This prevents 
the colors from fading. Dissolve a cake 
of yellow soap in boiling water, making a 
plentiful supply if there are many covers 
to be washed. Add enough to a tub of 
water to produce a good suds. If the 
water is hard a little ammonia will soften 
it. Rub them well in the soapy water, 
changing it once or twice as required. The 
covers should be rinsed through several 
waters to which salt has been added. This 
keeps the colors from fading. Wring out 
thoroughly and starch through hot starch. 
to which has been added some shredded 
white wax and a teaspoonful of powdered 
borax. Rub the starch well into the ma¬ 
terial and hang out to dry. 
When thoroughly dry, sprinkle and al¬ 
low ample time for the water to dampen 
uniformly each piece of cretonne. Press 
with a hot iron until dry. 
Hanging Burlap 
The problem of how to hang burlap suc¬ 
cessfully has been encountered by so many 
who like to take a hand in their own dec¬ 
orating that the following method, which 
has been tried out with good results, 
should prove a help: 
Make a size of one pound of glue, which 
soak in a gallon of cold water for two 
hours. Add four pounds of very dark 
brown sugar and bring to a boil and boil 
for ten minutes. Dilute the whole with as 
much water as for sizing. When cold 
apply to boards, and follow, just before 
lianging, with a second coat. This method 
applies to wood walls; in the case of plas¬ 
tered walls only one coat of sizing is ap¬ 
plied. 
Paste for burlap is made in the follow¬ 
ing way: Work up a stiff wheat-flour 
paste and, while hot, add to a twelve-quart 
pailful two tablespoonsful of Venice tur¬ 
pentine. Paste your strip, fold and lay 
aside till a second strip is pasted, then take 
the first strip and unfold and paste again. 
After trimming with straight edge and 
knife it is ready to hang. 
As burlap will stretch and the first strip 
will soon be out of line for the second, 
hang and brush the first strip up and 
down, never crossways. Hang the second 
so that the edges do not quite meet with 
231 
the first. Brush down the whole strip, cut 
off at the bottom, then bring the edges to¬ 
gether from both sides to a butt edge, roll 
down the seam and never leave it till you 
are sure it is dry. Always look back for 
seams shrinking open. 
To Keep Cut Flowers 
Cut flowers may be kept for a long 
period by burning their stems with wood. 
Do not use a match, as the sulphur is in¬ 
jurious to flowers. The charring process 
causes the water to penetrate the stem 
and sustain the life of the flowers. Chry¬ 
santhemums may be kept in a good condi¬ 
tion for five or six weeks if treated in this 
manner. 
Frozen Plants 
It is not a good thing for any active, 
potted plant to become badly chilled, 
frosted or frozen, yet with proper hand¬ 
ling such freezing of the plant need not 
mean its death. 
When potted plants are frozen they 
should be thawed out very gradually and 
kept away from the light until they have 
time to recover from the shock. One of 
the best ways to treat a frozen plant is to 
remove it immediately in the morning 
from the window and place in a cool and 
moist portion of the cellar, where the day 
and night temperature is only slightly 
above freezing. In this atmosphere, away 
from light, it will thaw out very slowly 
and will almost, if not entirely, recover. 
If there is no cellar to the house, place 
the frozen plant in a cool and dark room 
for two or three days and then bring it 
to higher heat and light gradually. 
Trunks are usually such clumsy and awkward things that it is a positive relief, with a few additions, to make 
them do duty as window-seats 
