T1IE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
253 
Women, as a class, aro very different from men, in this 
respect, at least. A man will not work with poor tools. 
If the carpets are threadbare and the lcitchen-stove 
worn out, he must have money for all the implements 
he can use; while a woman will even make one old stub 
of a broom do duty for parlor and kitchen and perhaps 
use it to sweep the front walk, then wash and dry it to 
sweep the carpets, and congratulate herself upon her 
economy, never taking into account the loss to her nerv¬ 
ous system and the loss of time caused by the annoyance 
and difficulty with which she accomplishes her work. 
It is no economy to do with less than three brooms, one 
made of fine short broom-corn for the parlor and bed¬ 
rooms, a larger one for the more frequent uses, and an 
old one for the kitchen and walks. A whisk-broom for 
corners and furnitu-e upholstered in worsted, wooden 
skewers to remove the dirt from the comers of the door- 
sills and steps, a feather-duster for books, pictures and 
ornaments, a short-handled brush made of bristles to 
brush the backs of picture-frames, window-blinds and 
screens—though this can be done with a whisk-broom, 
if both cannot be afforded—will be found necessary 
weapons of warfare in the contest with dust and dirt. 
Dags made of canton-flannel, fuzzy side out, and with a 
draw-string to be tied over the broom, to dust walls and 
hard-wood floors, are very useful, as too much wiping 
with a damp cloth will injure the lustre of the wood. 
Chamois-skins make the best dusters for furniture, and 
can be bought for thirty cents, and with careful wash¬ 
ing will last for years. They should be washed in cold 
water with soap, rinsed in clear water and hung in 
the shade. Before they aro entirely dry they can be 
rubbed and pulled till they are soft again. Squares of 
cheap, soft gray linen or old cambric, with all raw edges 
hemmed, are next best, and these should be washed 
every week after the Friday’s sweeping. We have 
everything now to work with, except covers for the 
large pieces of furniture which cannot be removed be¬ 
fore sweeping. Old sheets can be used, or squares can 
be made of cheap calico or unbleached muslin, and kept 
for this purpose. There should be one large enough to 
cover a piano or a bed. Now, if the parlor is to be 
swept, we will begin by rolliug up the shades and tuck¬ 
ing up any curtain drapery there may be. Then we 
will take out the rugs, shake them and hang them on a 
line or fence, dust all the chairs and small pieces of 
furniture, and set them out of the room, dust the large 
pieces and carefully cover them. 
Tnen the ornaments from mantel and brackets can be 
dusted and put away, the backs of the pictures brushed, 
and all is ready. Dampen some newspapers, tear them 
in pieces and strew over the carpet and you will have 
little dust. Sweep the corners and about the door-sills 
with the whisk-broom, as it spoils a large broom even if 
it can be done as well; then sweep toward the middle of 
the room and take up the dust there. If a room is very 
dirty it is well to sweep it over twice, lightly the first 
time and very hard the last time. Of course, all furni¬ 
ture that is on castors must be moved, and bookcases 
that' do not sit flat on the floor can be swept under 
with the whisk -broom. It is best to not raise the 
window-screens while sweeping, but to take them 
out of the room afterward; brush them on both 
sides and dust the window-casings before returning them. 
A piece of white mosquito netting, slightly damp, is 
considered by many the best thing to dust painted wood¬ 
work with. Nothing now remains to do but to dust the 
walls, wood-work and pictures, unless the dust is wiped 
from the carpet with a clean cloth in a mop. A pail of 
clean water can be set on a bit of old carpet, and the 
c>oth rung out dry as possible and lightly ruhbed over 
the carpet. All the dust that remains after the sweep¬ 
ing will be taken up with the damp cloth. A white 
cloth is best, as that shows when it needs rinsing. 
When the chairs are brought in and order restored, the 
room is clean enough fora prince; and with dusting daily, 
and occasional brushing with a carpet-sweeper or a damp 
broom, it will keep clean for a long time, unless used 
more than most parlors are. 
When sleeping-rooms are to be swept, the closets must 
be put in order first. Oil cloth or painted floors are 
best, as carpets are only an invitation for moths to 
enter. If your closet is large enough, dust the stand 
and put that in and lay all the little toilet and mantel 
ornaments on it. Shake the bureau mats, dust the pin¬ 
cushion and put them in the closet. If you have no 
room in the closets, make up the bed and lay the pillows 
flat on it, and there will also be room for all the little 
articles, then spread a cover over all. Now proceed as 
in sweeping the parlor. Once a month the mattress 
should be removed, and the springs and slats dusted. 
If papers are spread under the bed to catch the dust, it 
can be done with little trouble. 
In doing general sweeping, balls should be swept last. 
Begin with the upper hall, sweep it and take up the dirt, 
not sweep it down the stairs as is the custom with some 
careless servants. It is well to take with you, when you. 
go to sweep, a large newspaper in which to deposit the 
dirt from the different halls and stair's. The stairs should 
be swept with a whisk-broom, and the dirt be brushed 
from each step into the dust pan; the skewer will be 
useful in the corners about the rod fastenings or where 
the carpet is tacked down. 
In dusting, also begin at the top, and this should be a. 
process of wiping. Nothing is more distressing to a 
good housekeeper than to see a person flirting a dusting- 
cloth over furniture, which is only stirring up the dust 
to have it settle again somewhere else. 
After the sweeping and dusting are done, the finger¬ 
marks can be removed from the paint with a white 
flannel cloth dipped in water, with a few drops of am¬ 
monia or a little borax in it. Windows, globes to lamps 
and gas-fixtures must be washed whenever they require 
it. All plated ware, such as faucets and ornaments to 
stoves and grates, should be cleaned weekly before the- 
sweeping. Basins in stationary wash-stands should be 
cleaned with a brush, using Sapolio instead of soap. 
Pitchers for holding water where there are no stationary 
wash-stands, and tooth-mugs, should also be cleaned in 
the same way, as a gummy deposit collects on them, 
which no amount of hot water and soap wiU remove. 
Mrs. C. G. Herbert. 
Flies, To keep flies from gilded frames, cornices, etc., pepper, condensed milk, and sugar, in equal quantities,, 
sprinkle them with strong onion water. Ground black will make a mixture fatal to flies. 
