Spons' Household Manual / A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management

by Unknown

Cleaning and Renovating

Cleaning and Renovating.—This is a wide and important subject, embracing not only the person and personal attire, but also the furniture and fittings of the dwelling and the various utensils of the household. Classification is adopted as far as possible.

Chip or Straw Goods.—To Clean.—Wash in warm soap liquor, well brushing them both inside and out; then rinse in cold water, and they are ready for bleaching.

To Bleach.—(a) Put a small quantity of salts of sorrel (oxalic acid) into a clean pan, and pour on it sufficient scalding water to cover the bonnet or hat. Put the bonnet or hat into this liquor, and let it remain in it for about 5 minutes; to keep it covered, hold it down with a clean stick. Dry in the sun or before a clear fire. (b) Having first dried the bonnet or hat, put it, together with a saucer of burning sulphur, into a box with a tight-closing lid. Cover it over to keep it in the fumes, and let it remain for a few hours. The disadvantage of bleaching with sulphur is that the articles so bleached soon become yellow, which does not happen to them when they are bleached by oxalic acid.

To Finish or Stiffen.—After cleaning and bleaching, white bonnets should be stiffened with parchment size. Black or coloured bonnets are finished with a size made from the best glue.

Straw or chip plaits, or leghorn hats and bonnets, may also be cleaned, bleached, and finished as above.

Feathers.—(a) To clean feathers from their own animal oil, steep them in 1 gal. water mixed with 1 lb. lime, stir them well, then pour off the water, and rinse the feathers in cold spring water. To clean feathers from dirt, simply wash them in hot water with soap. Rinse them in hot water. (b) To clean white ostrich feathers: 4 oz. white curd soap cut small, dissolved in 4 pints water, rather hot, in a basin. Make the solution into a lather by beating it with birch rods, or wires. Introduce the feathers and rub well with the hands for 5 or 6 minutes. After the soaping, wash in clean water as hot as the hand can bear. Shake until dry. (c) Slightly soften the soiled feathers with warm water, using a camel’s-hair brush. Next raise each feather with a flat piece of wood or paper-knife, and clean them with spirits of wine. Dry with plaster-of-Paris, and afterwards brush them carefully with a dry camel’s-hair brush. (d) Make a strong solution of salt in water, saturate a large and thick cloth with it. Wrap the bird up in the damp cloth in as many folds as you can, not disarranging the plumage. Look at the bird in 6 hours, and if not long dried on the blood will be soft; if not soft, keep it in the cloth longer, and re-wet it. When soft, rub out with gentle pressure, putting something hard under each feather with blood on, and rubbing with the back of a knife. Of course each feather must be done separately. (e) Col. Wragge treated the soiled plumage of albatrosses, Cape petrel, &c., by simply washing the feathers in rain water, after the process of skinning, and then laying a thick mixture of starch and water over the portion to be cleansed. Next he laid the birds aside, and left them till the plastering of starch had become thoroughly dry. He then removed the dry plaster by tapping it, and found that the feathers had become much cleaner. Old specimens may be cleaned in this way. Feathers may be “set” by just arranging them naturally with a needle or any pointed instrument. (f) White.—Dissolve 4 oz. white soap in 2 qt. boiling water; put it into a large basin or small pan, and beat to a strong lather with a wire egg-beater or a small bundle of birch twigs; use while warm. Hold the feather by the quill with the left hand, dip it into the soap liquor and squeeze it through the right hand, using a moderate degree of pressure. Continue this operation until the feather is perfectly clean and white, using a second lot of soap liquor if necessary. Rinse in clean hot water to take out the soap, and afterwards in cold water in which a small quantity of blue has been dissolved. Shake well, and dry before a moderate fire, shaking it occasionally that it may look full and soft when dried. Before it is quite dry, curl each fibre separately with a blunt knife or ivory paper-folder.

Coloured.—These are to be cleaned, and rinsed in warm and cold water, as above, but not rinsed in blue water. Coloured feathers may also be cleaned in a mixture of 1 part fresh gall and 3 of lukewarm water, washing them in this mixture in the same manner as in the soap liquor. But they will require more rinsing when done by this method, in order to take off all smell of the gall. Dry and curl as before.

Grebe.—Carefully take out the lining, and wash with warm water and soap, as directed for white ostrich feathers, but do not shake them until they are quite dry. Before re-making, carefully repair any rents there may be in the skin.

To Purify Feathers for Beds, Pillows, &c.—Prepare a quantity of lime water in the following manner: Well mix 1 lb. quicklime in each gal. of water required, and let it stand until all the undissolved lime is precipitated, as a fine powder, to the bottom of the tub or pan, then pour off the clear liquor for use. The number of gallons to be prepared will, of course, depend on the quantity of feathers to be cleaned. Put the feathers into a clean tub, pour the lime water on them, and well stir them in it until they all sink to the bottom. There should then be sufficient of the lime water to cover them to a depth of 3 in. Let them stand in this for 3 or 4 days, then take them out, drain them in a sieve, and afterwards well wash and rinse them in clean water. Dry on nets having a mesh about the same size as a cabbage net; shake the net occasionally, and the dry feathers will fall through. When they are dried, beat them well to get rid of the dust. It will take about 3 weeks to clean and dry a sufficient quantity for a bed. This process was awarded the prize offered by the Society of Arts.

Fenders.—(a) Have your bright steel fenders and fire-irons well rubbed with mercurial ointment, and leave all bright parts smeared over with it; they will not rust while left all winter. (b) Rub them well with sperm oil; after which some people put unslaked lime. Wrap the fenders in paper to keep off dust. (c) Take a piece of raw mutton fat (the loin fat is best) and melt it in front of the fire, and rub it thickly all over the bright fenders and fire-irons, and then do them up in several thicknesses of brown paper; you will find them free from rust in the spring. The fat must be raw, not cooked, and melted just enough to rub on.

Firearms.—(a) A good and simple way of cleaning and recolouring the barrels and other metal parts of a double-barrel shot gun which are quite rusty. Take the barrels from the stock, and put them in clean cold water free from gritty matters. Attach the brush to the washing-rod, and get out all adhering powder and residues; next take tow and wash until the barrels are quite clean. If the parts have rusted it will be necessary to use a little emery flour. Dry the barrels with clean cotton rags, rubbing until the metal feels warm. Plug the ports and muzzles securely, then cleanse the outside parts with a strong alcoholic solution of caustic potash, aided, if necessary, with a little emery flour and a soft rag. Rinse thoroughly in water, dry thoroughly, warm, and while warm rub over every part with the following preparation: pure (dry) zinc chloride, 1 oz.; antimony nitrate, ¼ oz.; olive oil, 2 oz.; well rubbed down into a smooth uniform paste. After ½ hour’s exposure, rub off excess of this paste, and polish with clean soft rags. In warming the metal, avoid overheating it so as to injure the temper.

(b) In the Volunteer service there are several fluids used, which are composed of either turpentine, naphtha, petroleum, benzine, or gasoline, about one-third, or according to fancy, with Rangoon oil. But the instructions to the troops are—a damp rag, flannel or tow, is all that is required to clean the barrel out; if much water is used, it is liable to run into the action. The butt should be raised when washing out. After washing out and drying, an oily rag or flannel to be used. On many occasions the oily material will be found to be efficacious, without the previous use of water.

(c) Easy method of cleaning guns and rifles when leaded.—If a muzzle-loader, stop up the nipple or communication hole with a little wax, or if a breech-loader insert a cork in the breech rather tightly; next pour some quicksilver into the barrel, and put another cork in the muzzle, then proceed to roll it up and down the barrel, shaking it about for a few minutes. The mercury and the lead will form an amalgam, and leave the barrel as clean and free from lead as the first day it came out of the shop. The same quicksilver can be used repeatedly by straining it through wash-leather; for the lead will be left behind in the leather, and the quicksilver will be again fit for use.

(d) If the barrels have become leaded, wet the tow on the rod with spirits of turpentine, as the latter enjoys the property of removing any leading almost equally with quicksilver. Newark’s gun-cleaning composition also answers admirably for this purpose, and prevents rust. Paraffin will also be found useful where neither of the foregoing can be obtained. Never touch the grooves of a rifle with emery, as it will dull their edges, and, consequently, affect the shooting power. (Land and Water.)

(e) Fill a stable-bucket one-third full of hot water. The water should not be too hot—not hotter than the finger can bear. If scalding hot, it is likely to cause the rib to start. Dismount barrels from stock, and place breeches in the bucket. Pour some of the water into the muzzles from a jug, and sponge the barrels out with a woollen rag or tow until the water comes out perfectly clear, both at the nipples and when jerked out of the muzzle by action of cleaning-rod. Wipe the water off the exterior of the barrels, then dry the interior with woollen rags; four or five changes of rag are required. When the insides of the barrels are perfectly dry, pass an oiled rag down. Remove fouling from nipples and adjacent parts by means of a stiff brush or woollen rag. Any sharp instrument should on no account be used. Oil out the barrels, being careful not to miss the parts round the nipples, between rib and barrel, and ramrod bands. Remove fouling from hammers in the same way as from the nipples. Rub the hammers, trigger, trigger-guard, &c., clean with a dry woollen rag, then rub them with an oiled one, which should be passed all over the stock. Clean and oil the ramrod. The oil used should be animal, not vegetable. Neat’s-foot oil (of the consistency of grease) is excellent, never rusting the gun in the least. On returning from a day’s shooting, if it is not convenient to clean the gun at once, an oiled rag should be passed outside of the barrels and stock.

Floorcloths and Carpets.—(a) Oilcloths.—In buying an oilcloth for a floor, endeavour to obtain one that was manufactured several years before; as the longer it has been made previous to use, the better it will wear, from the paint becoming hard and durable. An oilcloth that has been made within the year, is scarcely worth buying, as the paint will be defaced in a very little time, it requiring a long while to season. An oilcloth should never be scrubbed with a brush; but, after being first swept, it should be cleaned by washing with a large soft cloth and lukewarm or cold water. On no account use soap, or take water that is hot; as either of them will certainly bring off the paint. When it has dried, you may sponge it over with milk, which will brighten and preserve the colours; and then wipe it with a soft dry cloth. (J. R.)

(b) Wash with a large, soft, woollen cloth and lukewarm or cold water, dry thoroughly with a soft cloth, and afterwards polish with milk, or a weak solution of beeswax, in spirits of turpentine.

(c) Oilcloth may be improved in appearance by rubbing it with a mixture of ½ oz. beeswax in a saucerful of turpentine. After being applied it must be well rubbed with a dry cloth; otherwise the floor will be quite slippery.

(d) Cleaning New Linoleum.—Equal parts of salad oil and vinegar is the best thing for the purpose, as it keeps it clean longer than skim milk, which is commonly used. If dirty, wash the linoleum first with soap-and-water. Soda rapidly destroys it, but soap or grease improves the wear.

(e) Oilcloth made from Carpet.—The following recipe is communicated to the Cultivator and Country Gentleman by a correspondent:—Nail the old Brussels carpet loosely to the floor, in a large attic or wood-house chamber not in use. Then paint it over with a thick coat of linseed oil and burnt umber. Let it dry in thoroughly; add a coat of good varnish. Let that dry for a week or two, and it can be washed with milk-and-water like any oilcloth. Paint it on the wrong side, and nail it down closely, for it need not be taken up for many years. As the varnish and paint wear off, renew them, and thus it will last four times as long as common oilcloth. It may be ornamented with a border of scarlet, green, or blue lines.

(f) Sweeping Carpets.—Before applying the broom, scatter over the carpet the refuse tea-leaves from the teapot. These should be set apart and saved in a pot kept for the purpose, squeezing the water out thoroughly in the hand. First rub the leaves into the carpet with the broom, and then sweep as usual. This will prevent dust, and brighten the colours. Indian meal (maize flour) is recommended for this purpose by many experienced American housekeepers. A small sweeping machine, with a box to catch the dust, is now often used.

(g) Cleansing Carpets.—Put 4 tablespoonfuls ammonia to 1 bucketful of water, with soap, scrubbing-brush, and cloth; scrub and wash the carpet just as you would an unpainted floor, changing the water frequently. Leave the windows open, and the carpet will soon dry. In cities where bituminous coal is used, carpets are scrubbed as regularly as wooden floors, and with happy effects. Instead of taking up a carpet every 6 weeks during the winter, as some in muddy districts think necessary, a careful wiping every week of the carpet with a mop wrung from clean water will remove the dust and brighten the colours. A thorough sweeping should precede this wiping-up.

(h) Carpets may be washed on tables or on the floor. In either case they must be taken up and well beaten and swept. Grease is taken out by rubbing hard soap on the spot, and scrubbing it out with a brush dipped in clean cold water. Each spot must be rubbed dry with a cloth as it is washed. Dissolve a bar of soap in 2 gal. water, by cutting it into the water and heating to a boil. Lay the carpet on the floor and tack it down, or have a heavy board, 3 ft. wide by 12 ft. long, laid on stout stands, or horses, and throw the carpet over that, keeping a clean board or sheet underneath to receive the carpet as it is cleansed. Provide brushes, and a quantity of coarse cotton cloths, flannels, and a large sponge. Take 2 pails filled with blood-warm water, put 2 qt. of the melted soap into one of them to scour the carpet with, and use the other for rinsing. Dip the brush in the soapsuds, and scour a square yard of the carpet at a time, using as little water as possible, not to soak it through. When the soap has done its work, rub it well out of the carpet with a flannel or coarse sponge, sucking up with these all the wet and dirt left by the brush, rinsing the article used in clean water repeatedly. Have ready a pail of clean cold water, with enough sulphuric acid or sharp vinegar in it to taste sour; dip a clean sponge in this, squeeze and rub it well into the spot just cleansed. Afterward wipe dry with coarse cloths, rinsing and hanging them where they will be dry when the next yard is washed. Finish yard after yard in this way, rubbing each clean and dry as you go. Keep a good fire in the room to dry the carpet thoroughly. If scoured on a frame, nail the carpet against the side of a house in the sun to dry. This is a tedious, but thorough process. Hearth rugs may be cleaned in the same way, beating and brushing them well, and tacking on a large board before washing. Scrub one-sixth of it at a time unless you are expeditious, and dry well with an old sheet. The secret of having carpets look well is to wash and rinse them thoroughly, without soaking them through. Ingrain, tapestry, Brussels, and Turkish carpets are all cleaned in this way. Good authorities recommend a teacupful of ox-gall to a pail of soapsuds, rinsing with clean water.

(i) Removing Grease Stain.—To take oil out of a carpet, as soon as it is spilled put on plenty of wheat flour or whiting, to absorb the oil and keep it from spreading. If the oil is near a seam, rip it, so that the spot will not spread, and put whiting on the floor under the carpet. Next day sweep up all the flour above and under the carpet with a stiff brush, and put on plenty of fresh flour. To take out grease spots, rub them with white flannel dipped in raw spirits of turpentine. If they show after a while, rub again on both sides. If there are grease spots on the floor, remove them with potters’ clay before the carpet is laid down.

(j) Ditto.—Upon the grease stain lay a little damp fullers’ earth, and, after standing for some time, rub it gently into the carpet, and then wash off by using a little ammonia carbonate, and the colour will be restored.

(k) Following are systems adopted by professional carpet cleaners.

All carpets and hearth-rugs, whether intended for dry or thorough cleaning, must first be well beaten, and swept or brushed with a hard broom. A carpet, to be properly beaten, should be hung on a stout line, the wrong side outwards, and well beaten by two or more persons, according to its size, some standing on one side and some on the other. The sticks used should be pliable, and well covered at the ends with cloth in the form of a knot in order to prevent the carpet being torn or the seams split by the sharp ends of the sticks. After being thoroughly beaten on the wrong side, the carpet should be turned and treated in the same manner on the right side.

Dry Cleaning.—Have ready a number of dry coarse cotton or linen cloths, some coarse flannels, and one or more large pieces of coarse sponge; two or more hard scrubbing or scouring brushes, some large tubs or pans, and pails, and also a plentiful supply of both hot and cold water.

First take out all grease spots; this may be effected in several ways. Well rub the spot with a piece of hard soap, and wash out with a brush and cold water, and well dry each spot before leaving it.

Or use, instead of the soap, a mixture of fullers’ earth, gall, and water, well rinsing and drying each spot as before. When this has been done, the carpet may be cleaned by one of the three following methods:—

(1) With Soap Liquor.—Cut up a bar of soap and dissolve it over a fire in 2 gal. water. Put 2 qt. of this dissolved soap into a pail of warm water. Dip a scrubbing-brush into this soap liquor, and scour with it about 1 sq. yd. of the carpet; be careful not to let the liquor soak through to the back. When this piece is thoroughly cleaned, rub the soap well out of it by means of a coarse flannel or sponge, sucking up all the wet and dirt made by the brush; rinse the flannel or sponge frequently in warm water. Now take a clean sponge and dip it into a pail of common sour, squeeze it out, and then rub the sour well into the part just cleaned and rinsed. Rub as dry as possible with clean, coarse cotton or linen cloths before proceeding with the cleaning. The whole carpet is to be cleaned, spirited, and dried in the same manner, a square yard at a time.

(2) With Gall.—Put a bag of very fresh bullocks’ gall into a pail containing 2 gal. cold water, with 4 oz. pearlash dissolved in it, and well mix it either with a stick or your hands. Have ready, besides this, 2 pails cold water, a large sponge, a couple of flannels, and some dry, coarse cloths. Dip the brush into the gall and water, and scrub the carpet, a square yard at a time, as quickly and as carefully as possible. Rinse, and suck up the gall and dirt with a large flannel or sponge, which is to be frequently rinsed in the pails of cold water. Well dry with cloths before beginning a second square.

By adopting this simple process, any carpet, whatever its size, may easily be cleaned on the floor; the process is especially useful when the carpet is not very dirty, or when it contains delicate colours, as the gall cannot possibly injure them. The only objection to this method is that when cleaned with gall there is often a disagreeable smell left in the carpet; but if the gall be obtained from a fresh-killed bullock, and the carpet, after cleaning, be hung for a few hours in a current of fresh air, the whole of this smell will go off.

(3) With Ammonia.—Dissolve in a small pan 1 oz. pearlash in hot water, and mix with it 1 gal. ammonia, which must be obtained from a drysalter, not from a chemist. Dip a sponge or coarse flannel into the ammonia, take it out rather wet, and well rub it into the carpet, then dip the scouring-brush into the liquor and well scour the part already sponged as quickly as possible. The dirt and ammonia must then be sucked up in the sponge or flannel, and the part well dried with flannels and cloths before proceeding with the next. Each square yard will take about 20 minutes to clean and dry thoroughly.

This is another very simple method, the only objection to it being that the carpet will smell of the ammonia for some time if it is kept in the room in which it has been cleaned; it should therefore be hung for 3 or 4 days in the open air or under an open shed, taking care, however, that it does not get wet.

In dry cleaning, special care must be taken not to allow the liquor to soak to the back of the carpet or rug; and also that, before commencing, the floor or board on which the operation is conducted, is perfectly dry. A good fire should also be kept in the room during the whole time, as much of the success of the operation depends on rapid drying.

Floors.—(a) First sweep well. Have a small tub or bucket of warm water; an old saucer to hold a piece of brown soap; a large thick tow-linen floorcloth; and a long-handled scrubbing-brush. Dip the whole of the floorcloth into the water, and with it wet a portion of the floor. Next, rub some soap on the bristles of the brush, and scrub hard all over the wet place. Then dip your cloth into the water, and with it wash the suds off the floor. Wring the cloth, wet it again, and wipe the floor with it a second time. Lastly, wash the cloth about in the water, wring it as dry as possible, and give the floor a last and hard wiping with it. Afterwards go on to the next part of the floor, wet it, scrub it, wipe it 3 times, and proceed in the same manner, a piece at a time, till you have gone over the whole; changing the dirty water for clean, whenever you find it necessary. For a large room, fresh warm water will be required 4 or 5 times in the course of the scrubbing. When the floor has been scrubbed, leave the sashes raised while it is drying. For scouring common floors that are very dirty, have by you an old tin pan with some grey sand in it; and after soaping the brush, rub it on some sand also. Always commence operations at the corner farthest from the door and work towards the door.

(b) Take some clean, sifted, white or silver sand, and scatter it on the floor. Dissolve 1 lb. potash or pearlash, in 1 pint water, and sprinkle the sand with this solution. Have a pail of very hot water, and well scrub the boards lengthwise with a hard brush, and use the best mottled soap. Change the water frequently. The potash, if applied as directed, will take out all stains. Ink stains may be removed from boards by using either strong vinegar, or salts of lemon.

(c) The following will be found useful in cleaning and restoring colour to wooden floors:—1 part calcinated soda allowed to stand ¾ hour in 1 part slaked lime; then add 15 parts water, and boil. Spread the solution, thus obtained, upon the floor with a rag, and after drying, rub with hard brush and fine sand and water. A solution of 1 part concentrated sulphuric acid and 8 parts water will enliven the wood after above application. When dry, wash and wax the floor.

(d) Remove ink from floors by scouring them with sand wet with water and a little oil of vitriol, mixed. Then rinse them with strong saleratus water (potassium bicarbonate).

(e) Take ¼ lb. fullers’ earth and ¼ lb. pearlash, and boil together in 1 qt. water, and, while hot, spread it on the greased surface, allowing it to remain 14 or 15 hours; after which it may be scoured off with sand and water.

(f) Procure some good light benzoline, scrub the stained portion with a hard brush dipped in this, then wipe with a dry flannel. Make a strong solution of common washing soda in hot water, place a little unslaked lime, broken into coarse powder, over the stains, and pour on sufficient solution of soda to wet the lime thoroughly. Leave this mixture on for a short time, then scrub hard with plenty of clean hot water, and wipe dry with clean flannel.

(g) A small quantity (say 2d. worth) oxalic acid (poison) dissolved in ½ pint hot water; apply on a rag tied to a stick; wash off with soda, soap, and water.

(h) Marks of tempera (whitewash) can be removed by a good scrubbing with soap and water; oil stains require to be softened with turpentine, and then scraped off. There is a soap called Philadelphia Kitchen Crystal Soap, which removes oil stains rapidly; it must never be put into water, but a damp flannel is rubbed on it, and the stains are scrubbed with the lather. It also removes dirty marks on paint quickly and easily.

Furniture.—(a) Scratches on furniture may be removed by rubbing with a woollen rag dipped in boiled linseed oil. The article must then be varnished with shellac dissolved in alcohol.

(b) To clean and restore the elasticity of cane chair-bottoms.—Turn the chair bottom upwards, and with hot water and a sponge wash the canework well, so that it is well soaked; should it be dirty, use soap; let it dry in the air, and it will be as tight and firm as new, provided none of the canes is broken.

(c) Straw Matting.—Wash it with weak salt and water and dry it well, or boil a small bag of bran in 2 gal. water, and wash the matting with the water, drying it well.

(d) Ink Stains out of Mahogany.—Put a few drops of spirits of nitre (nitric acid) in a teaspoonful of water, touch the spot with a feather dipped in the mixture, and on the ink disappearing, rub it over immediately with a rag wetted in cold water, or there will be a white mark, which will not be easily effaced.

(e) Ditto.—Apply spirits of salts (muriatic acid) with a rag until the spots disappear, and immediately afterward wash with clear water.

(f) Ditto.—To ½ pint soft water put 1 oz. oxalic acid, and ½ oz. butter (terchloride) of antimony; shake well; when dissolved, it will be very useful in extracting stains from mahogany, as well as ink, if not of too long standing.

(g) Furniture creams or French polishes.—These are better bought than home made. Nearly 100 good recipes exist, and maybe found in ‘Spons’ Mechanic’s Own Book.’

Furs, Skins, and Rugs.—(a) Fur.—Soap or water will spoil it. Get some clean common whiting—powdered, and plenty of it—put it in a damp place for a day or so, but on no account let it get wet; rub it into the fur with the hand, and don’t be afraid to rub it. Now let it stop till next day, give it another good rubbing, then shake out all the whiting you can, and give it a good brushing with a clothes-brush. It will now be pretty clean, except the skin at the bottom of the fur. To remove the dirt from thence get the fur over the back of a chair, and use the point of the clothes-brush very briskly, at the same time giving a short puff of wind every time you give a stroke with the brush. With a little patience you will remove every trace of whiting, grease, or dirt. Lastly, pour a little spirits of wine on a plate, dip the point of the clothes-brush in this, and lightly pass it over the fur; move the brush the same way as the fur runs.

(b) Ditto.—Take equal parts of flour and powdered salt (which should be well heated in an oven), and thoroughly rub the fur. It should afterwards be well shaken, to free it from the flour and salt.

(c) Ditto.—Lay the fur on a table, and rub it well with bran made moist with warm water. Rub until quite dry, and afterwards with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, and the dry with a piece of book muslin.

(d) Ditto.—Thoroughly sprinkle every part with hot plaster-of-Paris, and brush well with a hard brush. Then beat it with a cane, comb smooth with a wet comb, and press carefully with a warm iron; when dry, shake out all loose plaster-of-Paris.

(e) Hearth-rugs.—Hearth-rugs should never be cleaned on the floor, but on a large scouring board, and should only be operated upon ⅙ of their length at a time. After being cleaned, they require to be dried very quickly; as otherwise, on account of the thickness of the pile, they are apt to sadden. Hearth-rugs may be cleaned by either the first or second methods given for dry-cleaning carpets; with the following exception, that when the first method is adopted, only 1 lb. soap dissolved in 1 gal. hot water will be required. After the rug is finished, dip a clean sponge into a pail containing a little common sour, and well rub it into the face of the rug.

(f) Sheepskin Rugs and Mats.—Dissolve 1 bar soap in 2 gal. boiling water. Put 2 qt. of this into a tub or pan containing about 2 gal. warm water. First rub out the dirt and grease spots with the strong soap liquor, or, if necessary, with fullers’ earth. Then put the rug or mat into the tub containing the weak soap liquor, and well wash and punch it. Throw away this first liquor, and mix another lot with the same proportions of warm water and dissolved soap, and again well wash the rug; and so continue until it is perfectly clean. Then rinse well in cold water to take out all the soap, and afterwards in cold water in which a small quantity of blue has been dissolved. This blue water will only be required for white skins. After this has been done, the mat or rug should be wrung out, shaken, and hung to dry with the skin side towards the sun, but not when the heat is scorching, or the skin will become hard and brittle. It should, while drying, be frequently shaken and hung up first by one end and then by the other.

(g) Ditto.—Wash while fresh in strong soapsuds, first picking from the wool all the dirt that will come out. A little paraffin, 1 tablespoonful to 3 gal. water, will aid in removing the impurities. Continue to wash the skin in fresh suds till it is white and clean. Then dissolve ½ lb. each of salt and alum in 3 pints boiling water, put into it water enough to cover the skin, which should soak in the solution 12 hours, and then be hung on a line to drain. When nearly dry, nail it, wool side in, on a board, or the side of a barn, to dry. Rub into the skin 1 oz. each of pulverised alum and saltpetre, and if the skin is large double the quantity. Rub for an hour or two. Fold the skin sides together, and hang the skin away for 3 days, rubbing it every day or till perfectly dry. Then with blunt knife clear the skin of impurities, rub it with pumice or rottenstone, trim it into shape, and you have a door-mat that will last a lifetime. If it is to be dyed, have a shallow vessel as large as the skin in which to prepare the dye, so that the skin can be laid wool-side down smoothly into the vessel that all parts may be equally immersed in the dye. This should not be more than an inch deep, otherwise the skin might be injured by the hot dye. After colouring, again stretch the skin to dry, and then comb with a wool- or cotton-card.

Glass Articles.—(a) Mirrors.—Wet the surface of the glass with gin, to remove the stains. Then rub with a cloth dipped in powdered blue. Polish with a silk handkerchief. Be very careful not to touch the frames.

(b) Ditto.—To clean glass in frames, when the latter are covered or otherwise so finished that water cannot be used, moisten tripoli with brandy, rub it on the glass while moist, and when dry rub off with a silk rag; to prevent the mixture injuring the cloth on the frame, use strips of tin bent to an angle; set these on the frame with one edge on the glass; when the frames are of a character that will not be injured by water, rub the glass with water containing a little liquid ammonia, and polish with moist paper.

(c) Ditto.—Take part of a newspaper, fold it small, dip it in a basin of clean cold water, and when it is thoroughly wet squeeze it out as a sponge, and then rub it hard over the face of the glass, taking care that it is not so wet as to run down in streams. After the glass has been well rubbed with the wet paper, let it rest a few minutes and then go over it with a fresh dry newspaper, till it looks clear and bright, which it will do almost immediately.

(d) Windows.—Procure a washleather of convenient size and some “paper-hanger’s” canvas; 2 yd. divided into 3 pieces, will be a nice size to work with. Have the cut sides hemmed, and they will last a long while. When it is desired, use one; boil or soak for an hour or so in a solution of soda and water to get out the “dress”; then wring out, and rinse in as many courses of clean water as you like; then partially dry (practice will enable you to judge), fold to a convenient size, and it will be ready for use. The soda solution will now be cool enough for the leather (if too hot it will shrivel the leather); wash in the same manner, and wring superfluous moisture out; then wash the glass thoroughly with it and plenty of elbow-grease, and polish off with the canvas.

(e) Ditto.—One of the best materials is a mixture of calcined magnesia with enough purified benzin to produce, when shaken up, a thick milk. It should be kept in vessels provided with well-ground glass stoppers. For use, a small quantity of the mixture is applied to a muslin rag, or better, to a wad of cotton, and the windows are rubbed with this. It may be very readily cleaned off without leaving any deposit in the corners.

(f) Glass Globes.—Rub inside with a little wet pumice-powder on a cloth, and in 2 minutes you would not know that they were not newly purchased. The best way to cleanse dirty glass of all kinds is to put a small quantity of spirits of salts (hydrochloric acid) into a basin of water, and to place the dirty articles in the liquid for a few minutes, when it will be found that the glass is clean, and only requires drying. If very dirty, the globes may require to stay in the liquid a little longer. This plan is very useful for cleaning the pendant drops of glass chandeliers, water bottles, &c., as no soap is required. Care must be taken not to drop the undiluted spirits of salts on the clothes or hands.

(g) Photographic Glass Plates.—One of the most powerful—if not, indeed the most powerful—detergents for refractory plates is the mixture of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash recommended by Carey Lea some years ago. It is especially useful with glasses which have been frequently used, or which from the nature of the treatment they have undergone resist the action of both acids and alkalies completely. Its utility is dependent upon the powerful action of chromic acid upon organic matter, and we have never yet met with a plate which did not succumb to its treatment. One precaution is necessary in using it, however; it must be carefully removed from the glass by copious washing as soon as possible after it has done its duty. If allowed to soak for some time, as is frequently the practice, the plates appear to absorb the solution (the penetrating power of which is extraordinary), or an insoluble compound becomes firmly attached to the surface and stedfastly refuses to be displaced. Though generally invisible, it results in a peculiar mottled appearance between the glass and the developed film which entirely ruins the picture. We recently treated a number of plates which had become useless from this cause with various detergents, including acids as well as alkalies, but to no purpose; friction with various abrading powers failed to remove the defect, and we were well-nigh compelled to give it up. Remembering, however, that cyanide of potassium has been utilised by carbon printers for the purpose of reducing the strength of over-printed proofs—which it does by virtue of its action upon the insoluble compounds of chromium—we resolved to try its efficacy on our refractory plates, when all the mottling disappeared as if by magic. Those amongst our readers who dare to fly in face of all that has been lately written upon the dangers attending cyanide and bichromate of potash have here a “wrinkle.” Surely those who have dared bichromate will not fear the minor dangers of cyanide. (Brit. Jl. Phot.)

(h) Ditto.—A cream of tripoli powder and spirits of wine, with a little ammonia added, is a very good solution for cleaning glass plates. Old collodion is also very good; it should be thinned down with an equal bulk of spirits of wine; add an excess of iodide of potassium, and shake till the solution is saturated. Caustic potash is very good; so is carbonate of soda. If the plates be new, and covered with little gritty particles which do not come off on the application of potash, they may be removed with nitric acid.

(i) Ditto.—Take a dilute solution of potash permanganate, and pour on enough to wet the sides of the vessel to be cleaned. A film of hydrated manganic oxide is deposited, which is then rinsed with hydrochloric acid. Chlorine is formed, which acts in the nascent state on the organic matter, which becomes readily soluble. The permanganate solution can be used again and again till its oxidising power is exhausted. (Walz.)

(j) Ditto.—Dissolve 15 gr. potassium iodide in 5 oz. water and 5 oz. alcohol, afterwards adding 3 gr. iodine and enough whiting or rottenstone to make a creamy paste Rub a little of this on the glass with a rag until clean, then polish with a cloth. (J. Hughes.)

(k) Glass Slides.—“I had tried previously to remove the hardened balsam in many ways, and had succeeded fairly with a mixture of prepared chalk, methylated spirit, and liquid ammonia, but found this objectionable because it was such a dirty job. I now simply warm the slides over a flame, and push off the covers into strong sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), and leave them therein for a short time; when clean, drain off, and rinse with a little fresh acid, and finish off by washing well in water. As much balsam as possible is removed from the slides by scraping with a knife, and then sulphuric acid is rubbed upon them with a glass rod. They are then well washed. If necessary, a finishing touch may be given with a warm solution of washing soda or methylated spirit and ammonia, to remove all trace of grease. Sulphuric acid should be added to water, or water to sulphuric acid, very gradually.” (Thos. H. Powell.)

(l) Removing Grease.—Dissolve soda carbonate in water, in the proportion of 1 of the former to 10 of the latter, and let the liquid boil in a clean untinned iron pot. Slake 8 parts quicklime in a covered vessel and add the hydrate thus formed to the boiling liquid, stirring it meanwhile. Great care must be exercised in using this caustic solution, which must not be allowed to touch the hands; the glass must therefore be dipped in it by the aid of tongs or pliers. When the grease is dissolved, the glass is to be well brushed and subsequently rinsed in water.

(m) Removing Paint Stains.—3 parts potash, 1 oz. caustic lime; lay on with a padded stick and let remain some hours.

(n) Ditto.—Moisten with washing soda dissolved in warm water; renew for ½ hour; wash off with clean water.

(o) Bottles.—If oily or otherwise greasy, they should not be washed with water, but wiped with dry tow, or a dry dirty cloth, so as to remove as much grease as possible. By changing the cloth for one that is clean, the vessel can be wiped until all traces of grease disappear.

(p) Ditto.—A strong solution of an alkali, such as pearlash, may be used, whereby the removal of the grease is materially facilitated.

(q) Ditto.—If soiled by resin, turpentine, resinous varnishes, &c., wash with a strong alkaline solution, and rub by means of the wire and tow.

(r) Ditto.—If the alkali fail to act, a little sulphuric acid may be employed with advantage. The latter acid will also be found advantageous in removing pitch and tar from glass vessels. Nitric or sulphuric acid may be employed to clean flasks which have contained oil.

(s) Ditto.—“To clean a silver-bottle, pour in a strong solution of potassium cyanide; shake a few times, pour out, and rinse with water 2 or 3 times, and your bottle is perfectly clean. Keep the solution, and filter and strengthen when required. By doing this you can sun your bath better in 2 hours than in a week’s exposure in the dirty black bottles photographers appear to delight in.” (Phil. Phot.)

(t) Ditto.—Alexander Müller, of Berlin, after speaking of the various methods in vogue for cleaning glass vessels, as, for example, sand (which is objectionable, as it scratches glass), shot (good, but should be followed by a wash of dilute nitric acid, to get rid of lead), brushes, copper scale (also good, but requires subsequent rinsing with some dilute acid), bits of paper or linen, wood ashes, salt (especially rock-salt), gypsum and marble-dust (very good), ground bones (likewise excellent), he concludes as follows:—Chisel or tongue-shaped pieces are cut from thick pieces of indiarubber, and a sharp brass or platinum wire is fixed into the thick end to serve as a handle. With this washer and its flexible handle, we are able to “lick” out, to a certain extent, any kind of a bottle. For beakers and capsules, we greatly prefer it to the hair pencil and feather commonly used; for, owing to their fibrous structure, the precipitate gets entangled in them, while they also lose some of their nitrogenous particles, which would affect the accuracy of careful nitrogen determinations, as, for example, in water analyses. Finally, to clean glass or porcelain vessels from the greatest variety of adherent organic substances, he recommends a mixture of bichromate of potassium and sulphuric acid as superior to ether, alcohol, benzine, &c.

(u) Bottles which have contained petroleum, wash with thin milk of lime, which forms an emulsion with the petroleum, and removes every trace of it; by washing a second time with milk of lime and a small quantity of lime chloride, even the smell may be so completely removed as to render the vessel, thus cleansed, fit for keeping beer in. If the milk of lime be used warm, instead of cold, the operation is rendered much shorter. (Ding. Pol. Jl.)

(v) Decanters.—There is often much difficulty experienced in cleaning decanters, especially after port wine has stood in them for some time. The best way is to wash them out with a little pearlash and warm water, adding a spoonful or two of fresh slaked lime if necessary. To facilitate the action of the fluid against the sides of the glass, a few small cinders may be used.

(w) Ditto.—Soak the decanters for some hours in warm soda and water; if there is much cutting on the outside, a brush will be necessary to remove the dirt and stains from the crevices. Cut a potato into small dice, put a good handful of these into the decanter with some warm water, shake the decanter briskly until the stains disappear; rinse in clean cold water, and let them drain until dry. Vinegar and sauce cruets can be cleaned in the same way.

Gloves.—Kid. (a) Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm water; lay the glove flat on a board, the bottom of a dish, or other unyielding surface; dip a piece of flannel in the lather and well rub the glove with it till all the dirt is out, turning it about so as to clean it all over. Dry in the sun or before a moderate fire. When dry they will look like old parchment, and should be gradually pulled out and stretched. (b) Have a small quantity of milk in a cup or saucer, and a piece of brown Windsor or glycerine soap in another saucer. Fold a clean towel or other cloth 3 or 4 times thick, and spread the glove smoothly on the cloth. Dip a piece of flannel in the milk, and rub it well on the soap. Hold the glove firmly with the left hand, and rub it with the flannel towards the fingers. Continue this operation until the glove, if white, appears of a dirty yellow; or, if coloured, until it looks dirty and spoiled, and then lay it to dry. Gloves cleaned by this method will be soft, glossy, and elastic. (c) French method: Put the gloves on your hands and wash them in spirits of turpentine until they are quite clean, rubbing them exactly as if washing your hands; when finished, hang them in a current of air to dry and to take off the smell of the turpentine. (d) Eau de Javelle, 135 parts; ammonia, 8; powdered soap, 200; water, 150. Make a soft paste, and use with a flannel.

Washleather. (e) Take out the grease spots by rubbing with magnesia or with cream of tartar. Then wash with soap dissolved in water as directed for kid gloves, and afterwards rinse, first in warm water and then in cold. Dry in the sun, or before the fire.

Buckskin.—(f) To ¼ lb. Paris white add the same quantity of scraped pipeclay and 3 oz. best isinglass; boil all well down, stirring the while. Put the compound on thick, and, when dry, beat it well out by clapping your hands together, &c.; then carefully iron the gloves with a hot smoothing-iron. (g) When dirty, wash 3 times in clean warm (not hot) “soap lather.” Put a little blue in, wring them well, then put them in as good a form as you can—as nearly what they should be when dry as practicable. When nearly dry, but sufficiently damp to form to the hand, put them on; if difficult to get on, damp a little; then press or push them off, and when dry (from the fire) they will be as good as new, and white and clean, and not mark anything. (h) 1 oz. gum arabic to 1 lb. white lead (powder), free from lumps, to be well dissolved and strained through muslin; afterwards mix your lead stiff and put it by until perfectly hard. Be very careful not to leave water in the box or sponge after using. (i) Take ½ lb. prepared chalk, ½ lb. prepared alum, 3 cakes pipeclay, ½ oz. oxalic acid, ½ oz. isinglass, 1 oz. powdered pumice, 1 tablespoonful starch, 6 tablespoonfuls sweet oil, 2 oz. white soap. To be mixed in boiling water; the oxalic acid and prepared alum to be added last.

All gloves are better and more shapely if dried on glove trees or wooden hands.

Hands.—The hands are apt to be stained or tainted by contact with many substances in everyday use. The following are most common.

Tar. (a) Rub with fresh orange or lemon peel.

(b) Mix together pulverised extract of liquorice and oil of aniseed to the consistency of thick cream; rub on thoroughly with the hand, then wash off with soap and warm soft water.

Disagreeable Odours. (c) Ground mustard, mixed with a little water, is an excellent agent for cleansing the hands after handling disagreeably or strongly odorous substances, such as cod-liver oil, musk, valerianic acid and its salts. Scale-pans and vessels may also be readily freed from odour by the same method. (Schneider.)

(d) All oily seeds, when powdered, answer for this purpose. Flax-seed meal, for instance, removes odours as well as mustard. The use of ground almond-cake as a detergent is well known. The explanation of this action is somewhat doubtful, but it is not improbable that the odorous bodies are dissolved by the fatty oil of the seed, and emulsionised by the contact with water. In the case of bitter almonds and mustard, the development of ethereal oil, under the influence of water, may perhaps be an additional help to destroy foreign odours. The author also mentions that the smell of carbolic acid may be removed by rubbing the hands with damp flax-seed meal, and that cod-liver-oil bottles may be cleansed with a little hot sesamé or olive oil. (Huber.)

Silver Nitrate. (e) Wash in solution of 10 parts potassium iodide, 1 iodine, 1 ammonia, in 100 water. (Liesegang.)

(f) Wash in strong solution of cupric chloride, and, about a minute later, in soda hyposulphite. (Underwood.)

Nitric Acid. (g) Wash immediately and put on some lime chloride.

(h) On the stain or stains place sufficient caustic soda (the usual reagent strength) with the end of the stopper (if the stain is all covered it will do); gently rub it with any solid for a few seconds, then wash it off; then gently rub the spot with a finger nail, when it will come off almost completely; put on a little dilute hydrochloric acid, when the spot will disappear entirely. If not, repeat the whole process, which will be sure to remove it without the least injury to the hand.

(i) Wash the hands in a solution of soda-ash and bleaching powder, add the solution of soda-ash to the bleaching liquor as long as a precipitate forms, then wash; the remaining stains will wear off in time. Wash in this daily till the stains are completely removed.

Potassium Bichromate. (k) Rub the stains with a solution of sulphurous acid, and subsequently wash with distilled or soft water. (l) To a warm, strong solution of soda hyposulphite add a small quantity of sulphuric acid; this may then be used on the stains with similar effect. (Photo. News.)

Ivory and Bone Articles.—(a) Spirit of turpentine is very efficacious in removing the disagreeable odour and fatty emanations of bones or ivory, while it leaves them beautifully bleached. The articles should be exposed in the fluid for 3 or 4 days in the sun, or a little longer if in the shade. They should rest upon strips of zinc, so as to be a trifle above the bottom of the glass vessel employed. The turpentine acts as an oxidising agent, and the product of the combustion is an acid liquor which sinks to the bottom, and strongly attacks the ivory if allowed to touch it.

(b) Make a thick puddle of common whiting in a saucer. Brush well with a tooth-brush into the curved work. Brush well out with plenty of clean water. Dry gently near the fire. Finish with a clean dry hard brush, adding one or two drops (not more) of sweet oil.

(c) Mix about a tablespoonful of oxalic acid in ½ pint boiling water. Wet the ivory over first with water, then with a tooth-brush apply the acid, doing one side at a time, and rinsing; finally dry in a cloth before the fire, but not too close.

(d) Take a piece of fresh lime, slake it by sprinkling it with water, then mix into a paste, which apply by means of a soft brush, brushing well into the interstices of the carving; next set by in a warm place till perfectly dry, after which take another soft brush and remove the lime. Should it still remain discoloured, repeat the process, but be careful neither to make it too wet nor too hot in drying off, or probably the article might come to pieces, being most likely glued or cemented together. If it would stand steeping in lime water for 24 hours, and afterwards boiling in strong alum water for about an hour and then dried, it would turn out white and clean. Rubbing with oxide of tin (putty powder) and a chamois leather, will restore a fine gloss afterwards.

(e) Well clean with spirits of wine, then mix some whiting with a little of the spirits, to form a paste, and well brush with it. It is best to use a rubber of soft leather where there are no delicate points; put a little soap on the leather, and dip into the paste and rub the ivory until you get a brilliant polish, finish off with a little dry whiting; the leather should be attached to flat wood surface, and rub briskly.

(f) When ivory ornaments get yellow or dusky-looking, wash them well in soap and water, with a small brush to clean the carvings, and place them while wet in full sunshine; wet them 2 or 3 times a day for several days, with soapy water, still keeping them in the sun; then wash them again, and they will be beautifully white.

(g) Rub with soda bicarbonate applied on a tooth-brush dipped in warm water.

Leather Goods.—(a) Carriage tops that have faded and become grey can be restored by washing with a solution composed of 4 oz. nut-galls, 1 oz. each of logwood, copperas, clean iron filings, and sumach berries; put all but the iron filings and copperas in 1 qt. best white wine vinegar, and heat nearly to boiling point; then add the copperas and iron filings; let stand for 24 hours, and strain off the liquid; apply with a sponge. This is equally good for restoring black cloths.

(b) Enamelled leather tops that have been soiled by dust and rain should be washed with soft water and Castile or crown soap. Apply the water with a sponge and then scrub with moderately stiff brush; cleanse with clean water and dry with a “shammy.” Never apply any kind of oil or top dressing without first cleaning the leather.

(c) Mouldy Leather.—Remove the surface mould with a dry cloth, and with another cloth apply pyroligneous acid.

(d) Russet Leather-covered Mountings.—Remove all stains and dirt by rubbing the leather with a cloth and a little oxalic acid, and restore the colour and finish by the use of salts of lemon (tartaric acid) applied with a woollen cloth. Rub the leather until a good polish is produced.

(e) Rubber-covered Mountings.—Rub the covered as well as the metallic parts with a “shammy” and a little tripoli, and finish with a clean woollen cloth.

(f) Chamois-leather.—Make a solution of weak soda and warm water, rub plenty of soft-soap into the leather, and allow it to remain in soak for 2 hours, then rub it well until it is quite clean. Afterwards rinse it well in a weak solution composed of warm water, soda, and yellow soap. If rinsed in water only, it becomes hard when dry, and unfit for use. The small quantity of soap left in the leather allows the finer particles of the leather to separate and become soft like silk. After rinsing, wring it well in a rough towel, and dry quickly; then pull it about and brush it well, and it will become softer and better than most new leathers.

(g) Morocco Leather.—Strain well over a board, and scour with stiff brush, using tepid water and soft-soap, made slightly acid with oxalic acid; when done, unstrain the leather, and dry in a cool place; do not saturate the leather, but keep the board inclined; when dry, rub a little oil lightly over the surface with a rag.

(h) Saddles.—If much soiled, wash the leather with a weak solution of oxalic acid and water, and, when dry, with the watery portion of beef blood. The latter can be preserved by adding a little carbolic acid, and keeping it in a bottle tightly corked.

(i) Brown saddles may be cleaned to look as well as new by the use of tepid water and crown soap; if the latter cannot be had, use pure Castile soap.

Marble, Stone, Plaster, &c.—Marble.—(a) Take finely powdered pumice and vinegar; wash the surface with the mixture, and leave it for several hours, then brush hard and wash clean. When dry, rub with whiting and washleather. (b) Equal parts caustic potash, quicklime, and soft-soap; make into a thick paste with water, and apply with a brush; leave for about a week, and apply again and again until the stain has disappeared. (c) 2 parts soda (carbonate), 1 of pumice, and 1 of finely powdered chalk. Mix into a fine paste with water. Rub this over the marble, and the stains will be removed; then wash with soap and water. (d) Wash thoroughly with soda and warm water to remove any grease, and apply oxalic acid by laying a piece of white cotton cloth saturated upon the spots for a short time. If it destroys the polish, repolish with oxide of tin and water applied with a cloth. If the stains are not deep, rub the surface only with the oxalic acid and water upon a small piece of cloth quickly, and wash, to free the marble of acid. Then, to give it a gloss, rub with chalk wet with water. (e) Marble figures may be washed clean by putting them out in a heavy shower. (f) Spots from sulphur and phosphorus, caused by lucifer-matches, can be extracted from marble by carbon bisulphide. (g) Removing rust from marble depends upon the solubility of iron sulphide in a solution of potassium cyanide. Clay is made into a thin paste with ammonium sulphide, and the rust-spot is smeared with the mixture, care being taken that the spot is only just covered. After a lapse of 10 minutes, this paste is washed off, and replaced by one consisting of white bole mixed with a solution of potassium cyanide (1:4), which is in its turn, washed off after a lapse of about 2½ hours. Should a reddish spot remain after washing off the first paste, a second layer may be applied for about 5 minutes. (h) Brush the dust off with a piece of chamois, then apply with a brush a good coat of gum arabic about the consistency of thick mucilage, expose it to the sun or wind to dry. In a short time it will peel off. If all the gum should not peel off, wash it with clean water and a clean cloth. If the first application does not have the desired effect, it should be tried again. (i) Rub with the following solution: ¼ lb. soft-soap, ¼ lb. whiting, 1 oz. soda, and a piece of blue the size of a walnut; rub it over the marble with a piece of flannel, and leave on for 24 hours, then wash off with clean water, and polish the marble with a piece of flannel or an old piece of felt. (j) Take 2 parts common soda, 1 of pumice, and 1 of finely powdered chalk; sift through a fine sieve, and mix with water; rub it well over the marble; then wash the marble over with soap and water. (k) To take stains out of white marble, take 1 oz. ox-gall, 1 gill lye, 1½ tablespoonfuls turpentine; mix, and make into a paste with pipeclay; put on the paste over the stain, and let it remain for several days. (l) To remove oil-stains, apply common clay saturated with benzine. If the grease has remained on long, the polish will be injured; but the stain will be removed. (m) Ironmould or ink-spots may be taken out in the following manner: Take ½ oz. butter of antimony and 1 oz. oxalic acid; dissolve in 1 pint rain-water; add enough flour to bring the mixture to a proper consistency. Lay it evenly on the stained part with a brush, and, after it has remained for a few days, wash off, and repeat the process if the stain be not wholly removed.

Stone.—(n) To remove grease from stone steps or passages, pour strong soda and water boiling hot over the spot, lay on a little fullers’ earth made into a thin paste with boiling water, let remain all night, and if the grease be not removed, repeat the process. Grease may sometimes be taken out by rubbing the spot with a hard stone—not hearth-stone—using sand and very hot water, with soap and soda.

Plaster.—(o) By means of Dutch rush or shave-grass (Equisetum hyemale), or exceedingly fine sandpaper, the plaster must be rubbed over in an equal manner, and in every part. The rubbing, being done in a skilful manner, opens the pores of the plaster; then brush it over with the thick oil used for moulding, which will give it a very pleasing yellow tint, and at the same time great solidity. If, however, a white colour is preferred, soak the cast, after the first operation has been performed, in a stearine bath. If placed in a bath of hot stearine, and allowed to remain 4 hours, it will acquire almost the solidity and the polish of marble.

Alabaster.—(p) Make a paste with quicklime and water; spread this well over the discoloured article, and leave on for about 24 hours; then remove with soap and water, applying some friction on parts which are worse than others. (q) If not too much discoloured, clean with a strong lye of soap and water. (r) The superficial dirt and grease having been removed, wash with diluted muriatic acid.

Metal Goods.—Brass.—(a) Wash with rock alum, boiled in a strong lye in the proportion of 1 oz. to a pint; polish with dry tripoli. (b) The government method prescribed for cleaning brass, and in use at all the United States arsenals, is claimed to be the best in the world. The plan is to make a mixture of 1 part common nitric acid and ½ part sulphuric acid, in a stone jar, having also ready a pail of fresh water and a box of sawdust. The articles to be treated are dipped into the acid, then removed into the water, and finally rubbed with sawdust. This immediately changes them to a brilliant colour. If the brass has become greasy, it is first dipped in a strong solution of potash and soda in warm water; this cuts the grease, so that the acid has free power to act. (c) Rub the surface of the metal with rottenstone and sweet oil, then rub off with a piece of cotton flannel, and polish with soft leather. (d) A solution of oxalic acid rubbed over tarnished brass soon removes the tarnish, rendering the metal bright. The acid must be washed off with water, and the brass rubbed with whiting and soft leather. (e) A mixture of muriatic acid and alum dissolved in water imparts a golden colour to brass articles that are steeped in it for a few seconds. (f) First boil your articles in a pan with ordinary washing soda, to remove the old lacquer; then let them stand for a short time in dead aquafortis; then run them through bright dipping ditto. Swill all acid off in clean water, and brighten the relieved parts with a steel burnisher; replace in clean water, and dry out in beech sawdust. Next place your work on stove till heated, so that you can with difficulty bear your hand on articles, and apply pale lacquer with brush: the work will burn if heated too much or too rapidly. (g) Put a coat of nitric acid over the part you want cleaned, with a piece of rag; as soon as it turns a light yellow, rub it dry, and the brass will present a very clean appearance; if not, repeat. (h) Oxalic acid and whiting mixed and applied wet, with brush, and brushed again when dry with soft plate-brush to polish with dry whiting. (i) The general idea is to use strong oil of vitriol or a strong solution of oxalic acid. Now, these two substances are very corrosive, and, although they undoubtedly clean the brasswork most effectually, they do mischief in literally eating it away, so that delicate engraving and fine edges soon disappear. In cases of brass name-plates, these acids gradually insinuate themselves underneath the black filling of the letters, generating gas, and forcing it up bit by bit. The best thing to use is lemon pulp: the waste lemon from grog or lemonade does excellently. It should be tied up in a piece of rag, plum-pudding fashion, and when it becomes dry it should be dipped in water. After the brasswork has been rubbed with the lemon it should be well washed with water, and then finished off with rottenstone and oil. One word about brass plates. There is no greater eyesore to those who worship neatness than to see a rim of worn-away paint round the brass plate on the hall door of an otherwise well-appointed house. Such a defect may be easily avoided by cutting out a piece of thick cardboard to the shape of the plate, and covering over with it the paint surrounding the metal during the process of cleaning. Another fatal mistake is to suppose that the black letters require cleaning; they do not, and any efforts in this direction only result in their being gradually worn away. (j) Embossed Surfaces.—Make a mixture of 1 part nitric acid, 2 water, and 6 hydrochloric acid. Boil the articles to be cleaned in a strong soda-lye, and then leave them in the above solution, until they become covered with a black layer. Remove from the mixed acids, rinse in plenty of water, and use a fine scratch-brush to remove the black mud. When clean, rinse in hot water, and dry in hot sawdust. Articles thus treated acquire a brilliant lustre. To give a very rich orange-yellow tone to the brass, the nitric acid may be replaced by an equivalent weight of powdered alum. (k) Brass Instruments.—If the instruments are very much oxidised or covered with green rust, first wash them with strong soda and water. If not so very bad, this first process may be dispensed with. Then apply a mixture of 1 part common sulphuric acid and 12 of water, mixed in an earthen vessel, and afterwards polish with oil and rottenstone, well scouring with oil and rottenstone, and using a piece of soft leather and a little dry rottenstone to give a brilliant polish. In future cleaning, oil and rottenstone will be found sufficient. (l) Take a strip of coarse linen, saturate with oil and powdered rottenstone, put round the tubing of instrument, and work backwards and forwards; polish with dry rottenstone. Do not use acid of any kind, as it is injurious to the joints. To hold the instrument, get a piece of wood turned to insert in the bells; fix in a bench vice. The piece of wood will also serve for taking out any dents you may get in the bells. (m) Oil and rottenstone for this purpose are, though very efficacious, objectionable on account of dirt, on account of the oil finding its way to the pistons, and because the instrument cleaned in this manner so soon tarnishes. Dissolve some common soda in warm water, shred into it some scraps of yellow soap, and boil it till the soap is all melted. Then take it from the fire, and when it is cool add a little turpentine, and sufficient rottenstone to make a stiff paste. Keep it in a tin box covered from the air, and if it gets hard, moisten a small quantity with water for use.

Scale-pans.—(n) Pour sufficient ammonia in the pan to cover the bottom, and rub briskly till dry with a handful of dry pine sawdust. For very dirty pans, take about 1 dr. potash bichromate, powder it in a mortar, mix it with 2 or 3 times its bulk of concentrated sulphuric acid, and add twice as much water. With this rub the pans (having a care for the fingers), rinse well, and finish with rottenstone.

Brass or Copper.—(o) Mix together 1 oz. oxalic acid, 6 oz. rottenstone, and ½ oz. gum arabic; all these are to be finely powdered. Then add 1 oz. sweet-oil and sufficient water to form the mixture into a paste. Apply a small portion to the article to be cleaned, and rub dry with a flannel or washleather.

Bronze.—(a) For cleaning bronze statues, when blackened by smoke and soot, wash with plenty of clean water, accompanied with mechanical friction. Even this simple treatment is undesirable; because the friction, however slight, accompanying the washing, destroys, or tends to destroy, the sharpness of the outlines; and the sulphurous and sulphuric acids of the prevailing smoke rapidly corrode the surface of any bronze statue which is constantly being washed. For these reasons, the Nelson monument at Liverpool, was left untouched when it was re-erected, after the building of the new Exchange surrounding it. It has been a matter of much debate whether the soot-blackened surface of a bronze statue is not more pleasing to the eye, than the metallic lustre of a new, or newly-cleaned statue. (b) Weber finds that a dilute solution of caustic alkalies removes overlying dirt, and allows the green patina to become visible. Where the metal was not originally oxidised, the alkali simply cleanses it, and does not promote any formation of green rust. (c) By dipping fustian in soluble glass, and washing it with soap directly afterwards, we get a fabric largely impregnated with silica, which will be found very well adapted for cleaning bronzes, &c. Samples of the material were in the Vienna Exhibition, and attracted some notice. (d) The method of restoring a bronze tea-urn turned black in parts will depend, to a great extent, on the metal and the colour. Clean the surface, first of all, with whiting and water, or crocus powder, until it is polished; then cover with a paste of graphite and crocus, mixed in the proportions that will produce the desired colour. Heat the paste over a small charcoal fire. If the bronzing has been produced by a corrosive process, try painting a solution of potassium sulphide over the cleaned metal. There are many recipes for bronzing, and it is impossible to say which is suitable. The bronzed surface may be polished; but it cannot be bright unless the surface of the metal itself is polished, and then covered with transparent lacquer to preserve the brightness.

Coins.—Coins can be quickly cleansed by immersion in strong nitric acid, and immediate washing in water. If very dirty, or corroded with verdigris, it is better to give them a rubbing with ½ oz. pure potash bichromate, 1 oz. sulphuric acid, 1 oz. nitric acid; rub over, wash with water, wipe dry, and polish with rottenstone or chalk. (Lyle.)

Copper Electros.—Copper electros should be well cleaned after working, as the ink between the fine lines in time generates acids, which destroy the electro. For this purpose turpentine and the brush are employed; others also recommend the electros to be afterwards well rubbed with an oil as free from acid as possible. Should the ink be so dried up as to resist it, creosote should be applied, and the electros treated with the brush.

Copper Vessels.—Use soft-soap and rottenstone, made into a stiff paste with water, and dissolved by gently simmering in a water-bath. Rub on with a woollen rag, and polish with dry whiting and rottenstone. Finish with a leather and dry whiting. See also Brass.

Gas Chandeliers.—Very few chandeliers are gilt; they are burnished and lacquered with yellow lacquer. Proceed as follows, whether gilt or lacquered: Take the chandelier to pieces, and boil in strong soda lye for a few minutes; brush over with a soft brush, pass through a strong solution of potassium cyanide (deadly poison), wash through a tubful of boiling water, dry in clean sawdust, wipe up bright with a washleather, and relacquer.

Gilt Mountings.—Gilt mountings, unless carefully cleaned, soon lose their lustre. They should not be rubbed; if slightly tarnished, wipe them off with a piece of Canton flannel, or what is better, remove them if possible, and wash in a solution of ½ oz. borax dissolved in 1 lb. water, and dry them with a soft linen rag; their lustre may be improved by heating them a little, and rubbing with a piece of Canton flannel.

Gold.—(a) To remove the brown tarnish from coloured gold, take a piece of tissue-paper damped in liq. ammoniæ, gently rub the gold till the tarnish disappears, then wash off carefully with soft brush, soap, and water, dry in sawdust or before the fire; if this is not sufficient, entrust the article to a jeweller. (b) Mix a little rouge and spirits of wine together, and apply to the jewellery with a rather stiff brush, and turn the brush round and round—not to brush as if to polish, but rather tickle it and pat it with the hair of the brush; but be sure to keep the brush wet with the mixture. After you have got the tarnish off, wash it out with soap and boiling water, and dry in box-dust. Take care of any stones with foil behind. (c) Rub with a piece of tissue-paper, screwed up and wet with the tongue. This will often do it; if not, re-colour it. (d) A weak solution of potassium cyanide will clean gold braid. Use with small sponge, and wash off with clean water. Strength, say 10 or 15 gr. to the oz. of water. Care should be taken that the solution does not get into any cuts or wounds, as it is very poisonous. The strength of the solution would greatly depend on the condition of the lace. It can be made stronger if necessary. (e) A solution of 20 dr. lime chloride, 20 dr. soda bicarbonate, and 5 dr. common salt, in 5¼ pints distilled water, is prepared and kept in well-closed bottles. The article to be cleaned is allowed to remain a short time in this solution (which is to be heated only in the case of very obstinate dirt), then taken out, washed with spirit, and dried in sawdust. (Chem. Cent. Blatt.)

Iron and steel.—(a) Take a spongy piece of fig-tree wood and well saturate it with a mixture of sweet-oil and finely powdered emery, and with this well rub all the rusty parts. This will not only clean the article, but will at the same time polish it, and so render the use of whiting unnecessary. (b) Bright iron or steel goods (as polished grates and fire-irons) may be preserved from rust in the following manner. Having first been thoroughly cleaned, they should be dusted over with powdered quicklime, and thus left until wanted for use. Coils of piano-wire are covered in this manner, and will keep free from rust for many years. (c) Dissolve ½ oz. camphor in 1 lb. hogs’ lard, and take off the scum; then mix with the lard as much black-lead as will give the mixture an iron colour. Rub the articles all over with this mixture, and let them lie for 24 hours; then dry with a linen cloth, and they will keep clean for months. (d) Table knives which are not in constant use should be put in a case containing a depth of about 8 in. quicklime. They are to be plunged into this to the top of the blades, but the lime must not touch the handles. (e) Steel bits that are tarnished, but not rusty, can be cleaned with rottenstone, common hard soap, and a woollen cloth. (f) Removing paint from iron.—After a number of experiments, it has been found that a paint-softener made of 1 lb. lime to 4 lb. potash and 6 qt. water works better than any other proportions.

Plate Powders.—(a) Equal parts precipitated iron subcarbonate, and prepared chalk. (b) An impalpable rouge may be prepared by calcining iron oxalate. (c) Take quicksilver with chalk, ½ oz., and prepared chalk 2 oz., mix them. When used, add a small quantity of spirits of wine, and rub with chamois leather. (d) Put iron sulphate into a large tobacco pipe, and place it in a fire for ¼ hour, mix with a small quantity of powdered chalk. This powder should be used dry. (e) The following makes a liquid polish for silver plate—3 to 4 dr. potassium cyanide, 8 to 10 gr. silver nitrate, and 4 oz. water; apply with a soft brush, wash the object thoroughly with water, dry with a soft linen cloth, and polish with a chamois skin. (f) Take 2 oz. hartshorn powder and boil it in 1 pint water; soak small squares of damask cloth in the liquid, hang them up to dry, and they will be ready for use, and better than any powders. (g) Add by degrees 8 oz. prepared chalk in fine powder to a mixture of 2 oz. spirits of turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, ½ oz. spirits of camphor, and 2 dr. aqua ammonia; apply with a sponge, and allow it to dry before polishing. (h) Mix together 1 oz. fine chalk, 2 oz. cream of tartar, 1 oz. rottenstone, 1 oz. red-lead, and ¾ oz. alum; pulverise thoroughly in a mortar. Wet the mixture, rub it on the silver, and, when dry, rub off with a dry flannel, or clean with a small brush. (i) An excellent preparation for polishing plate may be made in the following manner:—Mix together 4 oz. spirits of turpentine, 2 oz. spirits of wine, 1 oz. spirits of camphor, and ½ oz. spirits of ammonia. To this add 1 lb. whiting, finely powdered, and stir till the whole is of the consistency of thick cream. Use this preparation with a clean sponge, cover the silver with it, so as to give it a coat like whitewash. Set the silver aside till the paste has dried into a powder; then brush off, and polish with a chamois leather. A cheaper kind may be made by merely mixing spirits of wine and whiting together.

Silver and Plated Goods.—(a) East Indian jewellers never touch silver ware with any abrasive substance, but use, instead of polishing paste, &c., slices of lemons; the goods to be cleaned are well rubbed with these, and then left in a pan for a few hours, covered with slices. For delicate jewellery, a large lime is cut in half, the article inserted, the two halves applied together and tied up for some hours; the article is then washed in several waters, placed in a pan of nearly boiling soapsuds, stirred about, rinsed, and dried on a metal plate, the smooth parts being gently rubbed with wash-leather, if required. (b) Potassium cyanide solution (rather weak) dissolves off the dirty surface gradually, but great care is required. (c) Green tamarind pods (potash oxalic) are greater detergents for gold and silver than lemons, and are often employed for the purpose of removing stains, firemarks, &c. (Boston Journal of Chemistry.) (d) Eisner states that a polish equal to that obtained by the use of the finest plate powder, can be produced by simply cleaning the silver in water in which potatoes have been boiled. (e) Dead or engraved silver goods should never be cleaned with plate powder, but be washed out with a soft brush and some strong alkali, and well rinsed afterwards. When the dead or frosted parts are quite dry, the polished parts are carefully cleaned with powder. (f) The following directions are given by a silversmith in Christiania:—Silver filagree work is best cleaned by the application of spirit of ammonia by means of a soft brush, and afterwards thoroughly washing in soft-soap and warm water, and rinsing in clean warm water, and quick drying by linen rags, blotting-paper, or some similar clean absorbent. Should this method, after several repetitions, cease to have the required effect, the article will have to be sent to a silversmith to be heated and boiled in acid. The best mode of preservation is to wrap the article in tissue paper before placing it in the case. (g) The simplest and cleanest substance for cleaning silver articles is, according to Professor Davenport, soda hyposulphite. It acts quickly, and is inexpensive. A rag or a brush, moistened with a saturated solution of the salt, cleanses even strongly oxidised silver surfaces in a few seconds, without the application of any polishing powder. (h) Mix 8 oz. prepared chalk, 2 oz. turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, 4 dr. spirits of camphor, and 2 dr. liquor of ammonia. Apply this mixture to the article with a sponge, and allow to dry before polishing. (i) Dissolve 12 oz. potassium cyanide in 1 qt. water; dip in this solution, and brush it with a stiff brush until clean; then wash and dry. (j) A paste composed of washed whiting, precipitated magnesia carbonate, and precipitated iron peroxide. (k) Gin. (l) Apply whiting mixed with sweet oil on a shammy. (m) Take 2 qt. water, ½ oz. hartshorn, and 1 oz. whiting, and boil the whole together. While boiling, put as many of the silver or plated articles into the vessel as it will conveniently hold, and let remain for 5 minutes; withdraw, and leave to dry. Polish with clean linen or woollen rags, which, after being soaked in the above-named liquor, have been well wrung. Finally rub with a clean soft leather. (n) The ink eraser sold by stationers has the property of cleaning and brightening silver and gold mountings, such as meerschaum pipe fittings, pencil-cases, watch-cases, &c. (o) Cut some flakes of white curd soap, and put them into a saucepan of water to simmer; sew the ornaments up in a muslin bag, and place in the liquid for about 10 minutes whilst on the fire.

Tarnished Silver Lace.—(p) Sponge over with a weak solution of potassium cyanide. (q) Dab over with a cream of heavy magnesia and water, allowing this to dry, and then brushing it off with a soft-haired brush.

Zinc Vessels.—Zinc articles, if small, can be cleaned by being pickled in spirits of salt (hydrochloric acid) with water added, till the articles are nicely cleaned, in about 3 minutes, without being too strongly attacked, then washed and dried. Large articles like refrigerators are cleaned by being rubbed with a swab, dipped in raw spirits, then washed with water, and finished with whiting.

Paint.—(a) Paint should be more often swept than scrubbed, for too frequent scrubbing causes it to decay. Use as little soap as possible, and wash it off with plenty of clean water to prevent discoloration. To clean paint that has not been varnished, put upon a plate some of the best whiting; have ready some clean warm water, and a piece of flannel, which dip into the water and squeeze nearly dry; then take as much whiting as will adhere to it, apply it to the paint, when a little rubbing will instantly remove any dirt or grease; wash well off with water, and rub dry with a soft cloth. Paint thus cleaned looks equal to new, and, without doing the least injury to the most delicate colour, it will preserve the paint much longer than if cleaned with soap, and it does not require more than half the time usually occupied in cleaning.

(b) When painted work is badly discoloured, put 1 tablespoonful ammonia water into 1 qt. moderately hot water, and with the aid of flannel, wipe off the surface. Rubbing is not necessary.

(c) Take 1 oz. pulverised borax, 1 lb. shavings of best brown soap, and 3 qt. water. Put the soap and borax into the water, allow it to simmer until all the soap has been dissolved, stir it frequently, but do not allow it to boil. Apply it to the paint on a piece of old flannel, and rinse with clean water.

(d) Dissolve ½ oz. glue, and a bit of soft-soap the size of a walnut, in about 3 pints warm water, and with a well-worn whitewash brush well scrub the work, but not sufficient to get off the paint; rinse with plenty of cold clean water, using a washleather; let it dry itself. Work done in this manner will often look equal to new.

(e) First take off all the dust with a soft brush and pair of bellows. Scour with a mixture of soft-soap and fullers’ earth, and use lukewarm water. If there are any spots which are extra dirty, first remove these by rubbing with a sponge dipped in soap and water. Commence the scouring at the top of the door or wainscot, and proceed downwards; dry with a soft linen cloth. When cleaning paint, it is always better to employ two persons, one to scour and the other to rub dry.

Paint-brushes.—(a) To soften brushes that have become hard, soak them 24 hours in raw linseed oil, and rinse them out in hot turpentine, repeating the process till clean. (b) Wash in hot soda and water and soft-soap.

Paper and Books.—(a) The amateur book-cleaner had better begin to practise on some worthless volume, until he acquires the necessary skill. All traces of lime, &c., used in the cleaning process must be removed from the book, else in time it may be completely destroyed. The first thing to be done in a book that wants washing, is to cut the stitches and separate the work into sheets. Then a glance may be taken for the separation of those leaves or sheets which are dirty from those which have stains of ink or oil. The dirty leaves are now placed in a bath composed of ¼ lb. lime chloride and the same quantity of soda to about 1 qt. water. These are left to soak until the paper has regained its proper tint. The pages are now lifted out tenderly into a second bath of cold, and if possible running, water, where they are left at least 6 hours. This removes all traces of lime. The paper, when thoroughly dried by exposure, must be dipped into a third bath of size and water, and again laid out to dry. This restores the consistency of the paper. Pressure between printers’ glazed boards will then restore smoothness to the leaves. The toning of the washed leaves in accordance with the rest of the book is a delicate process, which requires some experience. Some shag tobacco steeped in hot water will usually give the necessary colouring-matter, and a bath in this liquid the necessary tone.

The process described above may do for water-stains; but if the pages are dirted by grease, oil, coffee, candle-droppings, or ink, different treatment will be required. Dilute muriatic acid with 5 times its bulk of water, and let the oil-stained pages lie in the liquid for 4 minutes—not longer. Then remove, and wash, as before, in cold water. If the grease is a spot in the middle of a page, place between 2 sheets of blotting-paper, or cover with powdered French chalk (the blotting-paper is preferable), and pass a hot iron over the place. This will melt the grease, which is immediately soaked up by the chalk or paper.

For dirty finger-marks, the following is recommended: Cover the mark with a piece of clean yellow soap for 2 or 3 hours, then wash with a sponge and hot water, and dip the page in weak acid and water. Give another bath of hot water, and then thoroughly cleanse with cold water. To remove ink-stains, dip the page in a strong solution of oxalic acid, then in a solution of 1 part muriatic acid and 6 water, after which bathe in cold water, and allow to dry slowly. Vellum covers which need cleaning may be made almost equal to new by washing with a weak solution of potash binoxalate, or, if not much soiled, warm soap and water. Grease may be removed from the covers of bound books by scraping a little pipe-clay, French chalk, or magnesia over the place, and then ironing with an iron not too hot, else it will discolour the leather. (Publishers’ Circular.)

(b) Press powdered fullers’ earth lightly upon the greasy spot, and allow it to soak out the grease.

(c) Hannett says the spots may be removed by washing the part with ether, chloroform, or benzine, and placing between white blotting-paper, then passing a hot iron over.

(d) A more expeditious, and thought by some, the best way, is to scrape fine pipe-clay, magnesia, or French chalk on both sides of the stain, and apply a hot iron above, taking great care that it is not too hot.

(e) After gently warming the paper, take out all the grease you can with blotting-paper, and a hot iron, then dip a brush into essential oil of turpentine, heated almost to ebullition, and draw it gently over both sides of the paper, which must be kept warm. Repeat the operation until all is removed, or as often as the thickness of the paper may render necessary. When all the grease is removed, to restore the paper to its former whiteness, dip another brush in ether, chloroform, or benzine, and apply over the stain, especially the edges of it. This will not affect printers’ or common writing ink.

(f) Lay on a coat of indiarubber solution over the spot, and leave it to dry. Afterwards remove with a piece of ordinary indiarubber. Any operation with ether, chloroform, or benzine, should never be conducted by candle-light, as their vapour is apt to kindle even at several feet from the liquid. (d) will remove grease from coloured calf, even if the spot be on the under side of the leather; it may thus be clearly drawn right through.

(g) Apply a solution of pearlash (in the proportion of 1 oz. pearlash to 1 pint water) to oil-stained drawing-paper.

Parchment and Vellum.—(a) Immerse in a solution of acetic acid, and gently rub the stained parts while wet on a flat board with lump pumice, then bleach with lime chloride. This process was recommended in the English Mechanic. It is not very successful, but it makes it white enough for bookbinding. It has, however, the objectionable qualities of not making the parchment flexible, and when dried it is as hard as a board, and it has no gloss like the virgin parchment. On no account must the parchment be washed in very hot water, or held before a fire, as it will shrivel up in a most provoking manner.

(b) Benzine applied with a sponge. It will remove almost every stain, and does not destroy the texture in the least.

Pictures, Prints, and Frames.—Pictures.—(a) Remove the works from their frames, and first of all examine the surface of each separately and with care. Then, if there are no cobweb cracks, no cockled-up edges of bits of paint likely to peel off, and no unburst bubbles of colour, take an old soft cloth, and some white of egg, and wash the surface, a square inch at a time, with a spiral motion of the hand, not pressing too heavily. If there is much dirt, make a basin of bread, treacle, and new milk with a trifle of turpentine in it, and wash with soft flannel and sponge; after, use white of egg. If mildew from damp walls has attacked the canvas, and even the surface, let a committee of artists be called; there are so many varieties of this form of injury, it is well to understand the particular case. If coal gas, foul air, or other pollution is suspected of having injured the varnish, an artist chemist, learned in varnishes of the different schools, must prescribe; but if the surface is injured, or the colour scales off, no amateur can repair the crack; and in every case, before returning the well-cleaned and well-rubbed surfaces to their frames, let good plate glass be securely fastened over each to prevent future injury.

(b) Pictures may be cleaned by rubbing the thumb over the painting moistened with saliva, or by a raw potato cut in half and rubbed evenly over the picture.

(c) Dissolve a little common soda in urine, then add a grated potato and a little salt; well rub this over the paintings till clean. Wash off in spring water, and dry with a clean cloth.

(d) First rub the picture well with good whisky, which will make the varnish come off in froth, then wash well with cold water, and when dry varnish again; this will restore the picture to its original colour unless very old. Keep the picture covered from dust till the varnish is dry.

(e) The painting is first removed from the frame, and the dust and smoke brushed off with a pencil or feather. After this it is washed with a sponge dipped in well water. It is next covered with a thick layer of soap; shaving soap is the best for the purpose, because it remains moist and does not dry on. After the soap has been on 8 or 10 minutes it is all washed off with a strong brush or pencil, adding a little water if necessary. The soap that still adheres is rinsed off sufficiently with water, and the picture left to dry. When completely dry, it is further cleansed with nitro-benzol—also known as nitro-benzine, artificial oil of bitter almonds, or essence of mirbane. It is a yellowish oily, poisonous liquid, with a powerful smell of bitter almonds. It is formed when coal-tar benzol is mixed with fuming or concentrated nitric acid under suitable precautions. The nitro-benzol is poured into a dish, and a clean linen rag is dipped in it, and passed over the painting. This quickly removes all the adherent dirt. This linen rag must be frequently exchanged for a clean one. When the rag remains clean after going over it repeatedly, the cleansing is finished. If the colours look dull after going over it the last time and letting it dry, it is given a thin coat of the finest olive oil, and after a while must be varnished with a good, quickly-drying varnish. (Von Bibra.)

(f) The picture had better first be sponged with cold water and allowed to dry, then apply solution of hydrogen peroxide with a clean sponge in successive lines, not going over the same surface twice; again allow to dry. If the solution is sufficiently strong, the painting is now tolerably clean; if not, a second or third application is necessary. Peroxide of hydrogen, hydroxyl, or hydrogen di-oxide (H₂O₂), owing to the readiness to part with half its combining weight of oxygen, is a powerful bleaching agent; but the way in which it serves to clean oil paintings is accounted for thus:—Sulphuretted hydrogen, which is present in the atmosphere, especially in the neighbourhood of towns, attacks the lead in the paint and forms lead sulphide, which is readily soluble in peroxide of hydrogen, water and lead sulphate being the result; thus

PbS + 4H₂O₂ = PbSO₄ + 4H₂O (J. T. C. Williams.)

Prints.—(a) Presuming these to be mounted, proceed in the following manner. Cut a stale loaf in half, with a perfectly clean knife; pare the crust away from the edges. Place them on a flat table, and rubbing the surface with the fresh-cut bread, in circular sweeps, lightly but firmly performed, will remove all superficial markings. Soak the prints for a short time in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, say 1 part acid to 100 of water, and then remove them into a vessel containing a sufficient quantity of clear chloride of lime water to cover them. Leave them here until bleached to the desired point. Remove, rinse well by allowing to stand an hour in a pan in which a constant stream of water is allowed to flow, and finally dry off by spreading on clean cloths. Perhaps may require ironing between two sheets of clean paper.

(b) Put on a smooth board, cover it thinly with common salt finely pounded; squeeze lemon juice upon the salt so as to dissolve a considerable proportion of it; elevate one end of the board, so that it may form an angle of about 45° or 50° with the horizon. Pour on boiling water from a tea-kettle until the salt and lemon-juice be all washed off; the engraving will then be perfectly clean, and free from stains. It must be dried on the board, or on some smooth surface, gradually. If dried by the fire or the sun it will be tinged with a yellow colour.

(c) Hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, or eau de Javelle may be employed, weakened by water. After the leaves (if it be a book) have by this means been whitened, they must be bathed again in a solution of soda sulphate, which will remove all the chlorine, and leave the pages white and clean. They will, however, have lost all firmness of texture, owing to the removal of the size from the paper. It will, therefore, be advisable to give a bath of gelatine and alum made with boiling water, to which may be added a little tobacco, or any other simple substance to restore the tint of the now too white paper.

(d) Immerse each mildewed sheet separately in a solution made in the proportions of ½ lb. lime chloride to 1 pint water. Let it stand, with frequent stirring, for 24 hours, and then strain through muslin, and finally add 1 qt. water. Mildew and other stains will be found to disappear very quickly, and the sheets must then be passed separately through clear water, or the lime chloride, if left in the paper, will cause it to rot. Old prints, engravings, and every description of printed matter may be successfully treated in the same manner.

(e) “I have in my time cleaned many hundreds. The plan which I adopt is as follows:—I place them, one or two at a time, in a shallow dish, and pour water over them until they are completely soaked or saturated with it. I then carefully pour off the water, and pour on to the prints a solution of lime chloride (1 part liquor calcis chloratæ, to 39 of water). As a general rule, the stains disappear as if by magic, but occasionally they are obstinate. When that is the case, I pour on the spot pure liquor calcis chloratæ, and if that does not succeed, I add a little dilute nitro-muriatic acid. I have never had a print which has not succumbed to this treatment—in fact, as a rule they become too white. As soon as they are clean they must be carefully washed with successive portions of water until the whole of the chlorine is got rid of. They should then be placed in a very weak solution of isinglass or glue, and many collectors colour this solution with coffee-grounds, &c., to give a yellow tint to the print. They should be dried between folds of blotting-paper, either in a press or under a heavy book, and finally ironed with an ordinary flat-iron to restore the gloss; placing clean paper between the iron and the print. Grease stains are much more difficult. I find benzine best. Small grease spots may be removed by powdered French chalk being placed over them, a piece of clean blotting-paper over the chalk, and a hot iron over that.” (F. Andrews.)

(f) Mildew often arises from the paste used to attach the print. Take a solution of alum of medium strength and brush on back and face of the engraving 2 or 3 coats, then make the frame air-tight by pasting a strip of paper all round the inside of glass, leaving about ½ in. overlapping (taking care not to paste the paper on the glass, so as to be seen from the front), then place your glass in frame, take the overlapping piece and paste to side of rebate; place your picture in position, spring backboard in, and then place a sheet of strong paper (brown) on the table, damp it, and paste round back of frame, lay it on to the paper, leave to dry, cut level. If this does not answer there will be no help for it, but dust off as the mould accumulates. Do not brush on surface with the alum if the engraving is coloured, but several coats on the back.

(g) A plan recommended by Wm. Brooks is to get a dish or china tray a little larger than the engraving to be operated upon; if, smaller, there is a great risk of tearing and damaging the engraving. The bleaching agent used is Holmes’ ozone bleach. The strength preferred is 1 part bleach to 10 of water, well shaken up before pouring into the dish. A much stronger solution can be used (say 1 in 5), but the weaker it is the easier is its removal from the paper afterwards. The engraving is immersed in the solution face upwards, avoiding bubbles. The only caution to be observed is that the sodden engraving is somewhat rotten, and needs careful handling. If the engraving be only slightly stained, ½ hour will suffice to clean it, but if quite brown it may require 4 hours. After all the stains are removed, and the paper has regained its whiteness, pour the solution back into the bottle, as it can be re-used till it becomes discoloured; fill up the dish with water, changing frequently for about 3 hours, or place it in running water. When the engraving is sufficiently washed, it can be taken out, blotted off, and hung up to dry. When quite dry, it may be ironed on the back with a warm flat-iron, which must not be too hot. (Brit. Jl. Photog.)

(h) If the engravings are very dirty, take 2 parts salt and 1 soda, and pound them together until very fine. Lay the engraving on a board, and fasten it with drawing-pins, and then spread the mixture dry equally over the surface to be cleaned. Moisten the whole with warm water and a little lemon-juice, and, after it has remained about a minute, or even less, tilt the board up on its end, and pour over it a kettleful of boiling water, being careful to remove all the mixture, and avoid rubbing. If the engraving is not very dirty, the less soda used the better, as it has a tendency to give a yellow hue.

(i) Does not injure the quality or texture of the engraving. Immerse the print in a lye made by adding to the strongest muriatic acid its own weight of water; to 3 parts of this mixture add 1 of red oxide of lead or black oxide of manganese. If the print is very dirty, it may remain in the liquid 24 hours without harm. Indian ink stains should be first assisted out with hot water, and pencil marks with rubber or breadcrumbs. If there be old paste on the back, it must be removed with warm water. The saline crystals left after immersion are removed by several rinsings in warm water.

(j) To remove surface dirt from engravings and mezzotints, the most effectual plan is to use common bookbinders’ paste, applied with a paste brush, both to front and back of the print; the paste will take up the whole of the dirt, which will come away with the paste when it is removed with water. A bath of plain water completes the operation, from which the print will emerge as fresh as when first issued. Many a guinea has been earned by this simple but efficacious plan.

Frames.—(a) Fly-marks can be cleaned off with soap and water used sparingly on end of finger covered by piece of rag. When all cleared off, rinse with cold water, and dry with chamois leather; next buy 1 lb. (1d.) of common size, and 2 penny paint pans. Boil a little of the size in one of the pans with as much water as will just cover it. When boiled, strain through muslin into clean pan, and apply thinly to frames with camel-hair brush (called technically a “dabber,” and costing 6d. to 1s. each). Take care you do not give the frames too much water and “elbow grease.” On no account use gold size, as it is used only in regilding, and if put on over the gold would make it dull and sticky.

(b) Dissolve a very small quantity of salts of tartar in a wine bottle of water, and with a piece of cotton wool soaked in the liquid dab the frames very gently (no rubbing on any account, or you will take off the gilt), then stand up the frames so that water will drain away from them conveniently, and syringe them with clean water. Care must be taken that the solution is not too strong.

(c) If new gold frames are varnished with the best copal varnish, it improves their appearance considerably, and fly-marks can then be washed off carefully with a sponge. The frames also last many times longer. It also improves old frames to varnish them with it.

(d) Gilt frames may be cleaned by simply washing them with a small sponge, moistened with hot spirits of wine or oil of turpentine, the sponge only to be sufficiently wet to take off the dirt and fly-marks. They should not afterwards be wiped, but left to dry of themselves.

(e) Old ale is a good thing to wash any gilding with, as it acts at once upon the fly-dirt. Apply it with a soft rag; but for the ins and outs of carved work, a brush is necessary; wipe it nearly dry, and do not apply any water. Thus will you leave a thin coat of the glutinous isinglass of the finings on the face of the work, which will prevent the following flies’ fæces from fastening to the frame, as they otherwise would do.

(f) The Papier Zeitung recommends the following method of renovating gilt frames. It consists in applying with a camel-hair pencil a gum solution to which has been added gold bronze having the colour of the frame. Before mixing with the gum water the bronze must be washed with water until it runs off perfectly clear. If one application does not suffice, it may be repeated until the spot entirely disappears, but of course one coat must be dry before the next is applied. Spots treated in this way look very well at first, but it will not last, for it is not able to resist the moisture in the air unless it is specially prepared. For this purpose an ordinary bristle brush is rubbed with a piece of yellow wax until it is somewhat sticky, then it is passed very lightly over the spot several times as when dusting it. This gives it a very thin coat of wax that hardens in 2 or 3 days; in the meantime it must be protected against dust.

Sponge.—(a) First clean, wash, and squeeze out the sponges; then dip them into a 2 per cent. solution of potassium permanganate. Here they become quite brown (from separated manganic oxide); after 10 minutes, take out, wash in water, again well press, and dip into a 2 per cent. solution of oxalic acid [some prefer diluted sulphuric (1:20) or diluted hydrochloric acid (1:15)], in which they become perfectly white. Success mainly depends on the soaking in the permanganate solution; if they are macerated too short a time they do not become thoroughly white; if too long, they are apt to become rotten. (Siemens.)

(b) First clean the sponges by immersing in dilute hydrochloric acid. Then soak in a bleaching liquid, composed of 1 part sodium hyposulphite, 12 water, and 2 hydrochloric acid. After some time, remove and well wash. To the last wash-water a little glycerine is added in order to preserve the sponges soft. The liquid is best pressed out by passing the sponges through a clothes-wringer.

(c) Toilet sponges which have been in use, often become peculiarly slimy, fatty, and almost useless, owing to some action of the soap. Mere washing in distilled water does not remove the difficulty. It may be overcome by using fused calcium chloride. The sponge is pressed as much as possible, placed on a plate, the powdered calcium chloride is sprinkled upon it, and allowed to deliquesce upon the sponge. After about ½ hour, the sponge may be washed in water and dried, when it will become white. (Valta.)

(d) Soak the sponges, previously deprived of sand and dirt by beating and washing, in a 1 per cent. solution of potassium permanganate. Remove them, wash thoroughly with water, and press out the water. Next put them into a solution of ½ lb. sodium hyposulphite in 1 gal. water, to which 1 oz. oxalic acid has been added, and leave in the solution for 15 minutes. Finally, take out, and wash thoroughly. By this treatment the sponges are rendered perfectly white. Many sponges contain a more or less dark-coloured brownish core. If treated only with permanganate and acid, the core is either not bleached at all, or, if it has been somewhat bleached, the tint is apt to grow again darker. (Borham.)

(e) Soak for 10 minutes in a 2 per cent. solution of potash permanganate; then in a 2 per cent. solution of oxalic acid with the addition of a little sulphuric acid for about ½ hour; finally treat with a 2 per cent. solution of potash carbonate for ½ hour, wash, and dry. The solution of potash carbonate produces the yellow colour often particularly wanted. (Chem. and Drug.)

(f) A sponge employed in photographic manipulations for a few months loses all its valuable qualities, becoming black, hard, and greasy, and contaminating anything which it touches. To clean it, a solution of potash permanganate in water is prepared of such a strength that it appears of a wine colour, and into this the unserviceable sponge is immersed, and allowed to remain for some time. When taken out and squeezed, it is next put into a diluted muriatic acid of ordinary commercial quality, being immersed and kept saturated therein for some time as before. The most appropriate strength of this acid solution is about 10 parts water to 1 of acid. The sponge is taken out after sufficient treatment, squeezed well to free it from the acid, and then washed well in good spring water. When taken out, it will be found to be quite clean, to have again assumed its light colour, and to be free from all foreign matter. Sponges treated in this way become like new sponges, and can be used without any fear of their contaminating, even if employed for the filtration of neutral liquids. The main thing to be attended to in this plan of purifying sponge is to see that it is thoroughly saturated both by the permanganate and the acid solutions, which should be allowed ample time to soak through the mass; care must also be observed to wash the sponges thoroughly with plenty of water at the end of the operation. (Dr. J. Stinde.)

(g) When sponges get greasy, let them dry, and then work them with a small quantity of turpentine, and after a few minutes wash them with warm soap-and-water with a little bit of soda. This will get them quite clean with very little trouble. (E. T. Scott.)

(h) Put a handful of salt on the sponge, and rinse the salt well through the sponge. Let the sponge dry in a thorough draught of air. The latter precaution alone will keep sponges free from sliminess, unless they become saturated with soap.

(i) I tried the effect of sulphuric acid as follows:—In a large basin mixed about 1 pint water and 2 tablespoonfuls sulphuric acid (common oil of vitriol), then steeped the sponge about 2 hours, wrung it out several times in the acid, and finally well washed out the acid in clean water; it was then just like new, having regained its former size, colour, and elasticity, with not the slightest trace of its former sliminess. It was a large bath sponge, and in an extremely bad condition. (J. W. Jackson.)

(j) Dissolve some citric acid in water in a hand-basin, and wash the sponge in it as in (i).

Stuffed Specimens.—(a) Give a good brushing with a stiff clothes-brush. After this warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, taking care it does not burn, to prevent which quickly stir it. When warm, rub it well into the fur with your hand. Repeat this a few times, then rid the fur of the bran, and give it another sharp brushing until free from dust. (b) Sponge with white soap and warm water, rubbing well into and about the roots of the hair, but avoid using an excess of water to soak into the stuffing, or the specimen will, in all probability, never thoroughly dry, and moths and rot will be the result. Dry in a current of air as free from dust as possible; brush the fur occasionally as it dries (a coarse comb at first will, perhaps, separate the hairs better). Before putting it into its case, wash freely with benzoline, rubbing with the fur; you may never dread moths, and your specimen will always be clean if your case is properly made and closed up air-tight by means of paper pasted over every joint and crack.

Teapot.—(a) Fill with boiling water and add some strong washing soda; let it remain for a day or two. (b) Weak solution of spirits of salt (hydrochloric acid).

Textile Goods.—The arrangement of a laundry is dealt with in another section. The present section is concerned with the ordinary household washing, drying, ironing, and starching operations.

The first step is to sort the dirty linen the day before washing actually takes place. White goods should be separated from coloured, and linen from woollen. Repairs may often be considerably reduced by doing them while the articles are soiled and before the ordeal of the washtub has converted thin places into holes and small holes into large ones.

Much labour is saved by putting the articles in soak overnight, which dislodges the dirt and avoids the hard rubbing otherwise necessary. A good soak mixture is an inch cut off a bar of soap to every 4 gal. of water used, and a dessert spoonful of washing powder, allowing both soap and powder to dissolve before introducing the clothes. For body linen the water should be hot, for bed linen it may be cold. Curtains, blinds, fringes, and other articles which harbour dust and smoke should be soaked in plain cold water. Another excellent soak mixture is made as follows:—Dissolve 2 lb. soap in 5½ gal. nearly boiling water; add 3 tablespoonfuls ammonia and 1 of spirits of turpentine; soak the clothes in this mixture for 3 hours before washing.

On washing day the first care is to get a copper full of boiling water. Meantime the articles in soak can be prepared. Always commence operations with the most delicate goods.

Thus laces and fine muslins are dealt with first. If to be boiled they must be tied up in a clean coarse muslin bag, but usually they will hardly require this treatment, but simple washing will suffice. In this case pass them into a hot soak mixture as already described and work them with the hands without rubbing, till clean. Then rinse, first in warm water, then in cold; fold; roll up in a clean towel, and put aside ready for starching.

Go over the body linen in soak and pay special attention to stains and extra dirty spots. Wring the articles as free as possible from the dirty water, beginning always with the finest, and put into another tub containing a warm soak; here wash again, and then pass through a tub of clean cold water to remove adhering suds. Next fill the copper with clean cold water and add the same quantities of soap and washing powder as before; wring the goods out of the cold washwater, put them into the copper, bring to boiling, and let boil for 10-15 minutes. Pass successive lots into the copper in the same way, replenishing the water, soap, and washing powder as needed. Each lot as taken from the boiler should be rinsed first through hot and then through cold water, well wrung, dipped, an article at a time, in water containing some blue, wrung out, shaken, folded, and put on one side. The bluewater will need additions of blue occasionally.

When all the body linen has gone through the copper, the table and bed linen may follow in the same way; but after the second rinsing on leaving the copper these articles can at once be hung out to dry. The kitchen linen will come last and be washed in the suds of the previous batches.

Drying should always be at least partially effected in the sun if possible. When available, nothing is better than exposing linen on a clean lawn. Failing this it must be hung on wires or ropes provided for the purpose. Galvanised wire lasts longer and is cleaner than rope. Both require rubbing clean with a damp cloth before use. After sunning, the drying must always be completed before a good fire, especially in the case of body linen. Table and bed linen should be taken in while still damp, and folded and mangled before drying by the fire. Body linen is not mangled, but ironed or starched.

Ironing may be done without starching, or with. Calicoes are generally ironed on the right side, as they thus keep clean for a longer time. In ironing a frock, first do the waist, then the sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the skirt rolled while ironing the other parts, and set a chair to hold the sleeves while ironing the skirt, unless a skirt-board be used. Silk should be ironed on the wrong side, when quite damp, with an iron which is not very hot, as light colours are apt to change and fade. In ironing velvet, turn up the face of the iron, and after damping the wrong side of the velvet, draw it over the face of the iron, holding it straight; always iron lace and needlework on the wrong side, and put them away as soon as they are dry.

Starching is applied chiefly to shirts, cuffs, and collars, and in a rougher way to print dresses and white petticoats. A good cold-water starch is prepared as follows. Mix in a basin 3 tablespoonfuls of laundry starch and sufficient cold water to make a paste; then add 1 teaspoonful of white soap shredded and dissolved in warm water and 1 teaspoonful powdered borax, mixed in ½ teacupful of boiling water; stir well together till it froths. To starch collars, &c., wring them from bluewater a few at a time, well rub them in the starch, and wring hard, stirring up the starch for each fresh lot; rub them a few at a time, fold, and pass through a close mangle or wring hard in a towel. Iron immediately.

Boiled starch for shirts, &c., is made in the following manner. (a) Into a warm basin put 4 tablespoonfuls of starch; rub down with warm water to a thickish paste; add 1 in. cut off the end of a bedroom composite candle, a piece of spermaceti as large as a pea, and 4 drops turpentine. Slowly pour in boiling water, with vigorous stirring till the starch turns transparent without losing its thickness. Take the shirts in a damp state, and first dip the fronts and collars, squeezing them tightly, and then the cuffs; be expeditious, as the starch should be used quite hot. Rub moderately, hang up to dry; when quite dry, damp with cold water, fold with the two sides of the front in contact, and roll up for a day before ironing, wrapping in a damp cloth if the weather is dry.

(b) A liquid starch gloss which is well recommended consists of 5 oz. glycerine and 2 oz. each spermaceti, gum senegal (cheap gum arabic) and borax in 49 oz. water, mixed and boiled together; 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of this are added to ¼ lb. boiled starch.

Ironing starched goods requires more care. For cold-starched cuffs and collars it is well to have a table with a thick flannel and a clean cotton or linen cloth tightly stretched upon it. Lay the collar evenly on the table, and run a moderately hot iron lightly along the wrong side first; turn it, and do the same on the right side. Repeat this once or twice rather quickly until it begins to feel a little dry. Then press heavily and evenly on the right side, pulling out button-holes, and ironing them straight. A fine polish is put on by using the edge of the iron, and rubbing with it from the top of the collar to the band, leaning heavily. Curl the collar, and put aside to harden. Cuffs are ironed in the same way; if reversible, with a band in the middle, the band is ironed thoroughly and finished first.

Hot-starched cuffs and collars are ironed in the same way but with a hotter iron.

When ironing a shirt, lay the back of the sleeve smoothly on the table; iron each side smoothly. Iron the wrist-band smoothly, wrong side first, and then right side. Next iron the shoulder-strap, then the neck-band or collar, doing the latter extremely carefully, and polishing it nicely. Now double the back of the shirt, and iron it on both sides. Spread the shirt out, and iron all the front except the breast. Lay a board covered with flannel under the breast, and iron very nicely, polishing highly at the last. Hang up to dry well, fold neatly, and put away.

The following curious recipe is recommended for restoring linen which has been scorched at the fire in drying. “It is almost needless to premise that if the tissue of linen is so much burnt that no strength is left, it is useless to apply the following composition; for nothing could prevent a hole from being formed, although the composition by no means tends to injure the fabric. But if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads not actually consumed, then the application of this composition, followed by 2 or 3 good washings, will restore the linen to its original colour; the marks of the scorching will be imperceptible, and the place will seem as white and perfect as any other part of the linen. Mix well together 2 oz. fullers’ earth reduced to powder; 1 oz. hen’s dung; ½ oz. cake soap, scraped; and the juice of 2 large onions, obtained by the onions being cut up, beaten in a mortar, and pressed. Boil this mass in ½ pint strong vinegar, stirring it from time to time, until it forms a thick liquid compound. Spread this composition thickly over the entire surface of the scorched part, and let it remain on 24 hours. If the scorching was light, this will prove sufficient, with the assistance of two subsequent washings, to take out the stain. If, however, the scorching was strong, a second coating of the composition should be put on after removing the first; and this should also remain on for 24 hours. If, after the linen has been washed twice or thrice, the stain has not wholly disappeared, the composition may be used again, in proportion to the intensity of the discoloration remaining, when a complete cure will seldom fail to be effected. It has scarcely ever happened that a third application was found necessary. The remainder of the composition should be kept for use in a gallipot tied over with bladder.”

Having dealt with the general operations, it will be well to add a few notes on special processes for certain classes of goods.

Bed Ticks.—Apply starch by rubbing it in thick with a wet cloth, then put the tick in the sun. When dry, rub it with the hands. If necessary, repeat the process, and the soiled part will be as clean as new.

Black Goods.—After washing, rinse in water containing salt, to fix the colour.

Chintzes.—As coloured dresses, adding a little ammonia to the water.

Coloured Dresses.—As flannels, omitting the washing powder. Wash quickly in warm water, wring hard, wash again, rinse in cold water and hang to dry.

Crape Scarfs.—If the fabric be good, these can be washed as frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been employed among other colours in the patterns. In cleaning them, make a strong lather of boiling water, suffer it to cool; when cold, or nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately in cold hard water in which a little salt has been thrown (to preserve the colours); rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the open air; pin it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not in any part be folded together. The more rapidly it dries the clearer it will be.

Flannels.—The great difficulty in washing flannels, blankets, and all woollen goods without causing excessive shrinkage is due to the nature of the fibres, which, under the conditions of rubbing and heat, become matted together in a kind of felt, reducing the dimensions of the article and adding to its thickness. The following recipes for washing such goods, are all destined to prevent this felting process.

(a) The water should be only warm, not boiling, and soda silicate or caustic ammonia is preferable to soap as a detergent. Flannels well soaped and shrunk when first fulled always remain softer and shrink less ultimately than those not so treated. The felting power of wool varies considerably, and it should be selected accordingly for fabrics intended to be frequently washed. Flannels should not be rubbed or beaten in washing, merely rinsed, and soiled spots soaped and brushed with a soft brush. It is important not to press the material until thoroughly dry.

(b) Buy the flannel in the piece, put it into a tub, and cover it with boiling water, turning it about with a stick to allow the air to escape from between the folds. Leave it in the water until the next day, when take out and hang on a line to drain and dry. It must not be wrung or pressed, but allowed to get rid of the water in its own way. When made up into trousers or jackets, it will never shrink any more; but in the case of shirts, there may be a slight shrinking in the course of time, though not to nearly the usual extent. Flannel should be washed in lukewarm water, and without soda, when, if it has been properly shrunk before being made up, it will last very well.

(c) The great principle is, not to have the water any hotter than a lady’s hand can comfortably bear. Cut up, overnight, some pieces of yellow or mottled soap, into a large saucepan of cold water; next morning allow this to heat gradually, until all melted. Have two tubs of the hot water ready, into which pour some of the melted soap, and whisk it with the hand to make a thoroughly good lather. The first tub must be more than double the strength of the second, which latter should have plenty of blue in. In the first tub wash the white flannels, without rubbing any soap on, excepting on stains of perspiration, &c. Directly after they have been done through the first tub, do them in the same way through the second, shake well, and hang out immediately. Coloured flannels can follow in the same way. Stockings should always have a third wash. The small pieces of soap left in the bedroom soap-dishes come in nicely for melting down.

(d) Flannel should be soaked in cold hard water before making, and hung up to drain and dry without any squeezing or handling in the water. After this it will not shrink in washing. Fill a tub with spring water, place the flannel in it, and take out as soon as it sinks to the bottom. It does not lose the appearance of new flannel when dry.

(e) To prevent shrinking in washing, soak the flannel for a night in cold water when dirty, and the next morning wash with curd soap in very lukewarm water. Do not wring, but press the water out and hang to dry.

(f) White Flannel. Use pipeclay, which should be mixed to proper consistency in a pipkin; stand on the fire till warm, stir with wax candle for 5 minutes, add a modicum of soap and a dash of Prussian blue, and stand by to cool, and always use cold, laid on with a sponge, and dry in shady breeze. For grease spots, lay over them pure clay, size the thickness of a crown piece, then place in the sun, and the clay will absorb all the grease without fail. When trousers are dry, rub them to loosen the clay, which brush off, and you will have cleaner looking trousers than by washing, and they will be fit to wear two or three times without pipeclaying. The same for flannel jackets.

(g) In order to keep flannel from shrinking and felting as much as possible, dissolve 1 oz. potash in a bucketful of rain-water, and steep the fabric in it for 12 hours. Next heat the water with the cloth in it, wash it out without rubbing, simply drawing it through several times. Then place the flannel in another bath consisting of 1 spoonful wheat flour to 1 pint water, and wash in like manner. Then rinse in lukewarm rain-water. Flannel washed in this manner becomes very clean, and will scarcely shrink or felt.

(h) It must strictly be observed that the heat does not rise beyond 100° F., and the fabric to be washed must be immersed in a bath of boiled soap, to which 1¼ dr. sal ammoniac per pint of fluid have been added; ¼ hour’s immersion in a well-covered vessel will have dissolved the fat and dirt sufficiently, and a beating or rubbing will no longer be necessary in order to wash the fabric clean. Very dirty spots are rubbed in with soap, and brushed with a soft brush. If one washing is not to satisfaction, repeat the process in a weaker soap bath, observing the same cautionary rules, and conclude with rinsing in cold water. It is also important not to smooth the fabric in a half-moist condition; because in this case, the condition of felting is complied with in this operation; while smoothing of the sharply dried substance is performed without being accompanied by the evil effects of shrinkage. The addition of sal ammoniac is to be left out with sensitive colours.

(i) Scotch methods for Shawls.—Scrape or cut up 1 lb. soap, and boil in a small quantity of water. When sufficiently cool, beat to a jelly with the hand, at the same time mixing with it 3 tablespoonfuls spirits of turpentine, and 1 of spirits of hartshorn. Wash the shawl thoroughly in this, then well rinse in cold water, and, when all the soap is out, in salt and water. This last need only be done when the shawl contains delicate colours. Then fold the shawl between two sheets, being careful not to let two folds of the shawl come together. Mangle, and afterwards iron with a very cool iron.

(j) To wash red or scarlet flannel when soiled, mix a handful of flour in a quart of cold water, and boil 10 minutes. Add this to some warm suds, and wash the flannel gently, rinsing rather than rubbing; rinse in 3 or 4 warm waters, and the brightest scarlet will never lose its colour. Soft soap or olive soap should be used for woollen goods in preference to bar soap.

(k) After rinsing, a wringing machine dries them better than any other method. The drying must be done rapidly, and the articles should be shaken and pulled during the drying.

Lace.—(a) Washing Black Lace.—Mix bullocks’ gall with sufficient hot water to make it as warm as you can bear your hand in, and pass the lace through it. It must be squeezed, not rubbed; and it will be well to perfume the gall with a little musk. Rinse through 2 cold waters, tinging the last with a little blue. After drying, put it into some stiffening made by pouring boiling water on a very small piece of glue; squeeze out, stretch, and clap it. Afterwards, pin out on a linen cloth to dry, laying it very straight and even, and taking care to open and pin the edge very nicely. When dry, iron on the wrong side, having laid a linen cloth over the ironing blanket.

(b) Cleaning White Lace.—Boil gently for 15 minutes in a solution of white soap; put it into a basin holding warm water and soap, and keep gently squeezing it (do not rub it) till it is clean, and then rinse it from the soap. Then take a vessel of cold water, into which put a drop or two of liquid blue; rinse in it. Have ready some very clear gum arabic water, or some thin rice-water. Pass through it. Then stretch out even, and pin to dry on a linen cloth, making the edge as straight as possible; open out all the scallops, and fasten each with a pin. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin smoothly over it, and iron on the wrong side.

(c) Ditto.—Cover an ordinary wine bottle with fine flannel, stitching it firmly round the bottle. Tack one end of the lace to the flannel, then roll it very smoothly round the bottle, and tack down the other end, then cover with a piece of very fine flannel or muslin. Now rub it gently with a strong soap liquor, and, if the lace is very much discoloured or dirty, fill the bottle with hot water, and place it in a kettle or saucepan of suds and boil it for a few minutes, then place the bottle under a tap of running water to rinse out the soap. Make some strong starch, and melt in it a piece of white wax and a little loaf sugar. Plunge the bottle 2 or 3 times into this and squeeze out the superfluous starch with the hands; then dip the bottle in cold water, remove the outer covering from the lace, fill the bottle with hot water, and stand it in the sun to dry the lace. When nearly dry take it very carefully off the bottle, and pick it out with the fingers. Then lay it in a cool place to dry thoroughly.

(d) Ditto.—Take a black bottle covered with clean linen or muslin, and wind the blond round it (securing the ends with a needle and thread), not leaving the edge outward, but covering it as you proceed. Set the bottle upright in a strong cold lather of white soap and very clear soft water, and place it in the sun, having gently with your hand rubbed the suds up and down on the lace. Keep it in the sun every day for a week, changing the lather daily, and always rubbing it slightly when you renew the suds. At the end of the week, take the blond off the bottle, and (without rinsing) pin it backward and forward on a large pillow covered with a clean tight case. Every scallop must have a separate pin; or more, if the scallops are not very small. The plain edge must be pinned down also, so as to make it straight and even. The pins should be of the smallest size. When quite dry, take it off, but do not starch, iron, or press it. Lay it in long loose folds, and put it away in a pasteboard box.

(e) Thread Lace.—As in (d).

(f) Ditto.—When it has been tacked to the bottle, take some of the best sweet oil and saturate the lace thoroughly. Have ready in a wash-kettle, a strong cold lather of clear water and white Castile soap. Fill the bottle with cold water, to prevent its bursting, cork it well and stand it upright in the suds, with a string round the neck secured to the ears or handle of the kettle, to prevent its shifting about and breaking while over the fire. Let it boil in the suds for an hour or more, till the lace is clean and white all through. Drain off the suds and dry it on the bottle in the sun. When dry, remove the lace from the bottle and roll it round a white ribbon-block; or lay it in long folds, place it within a sheet of smooth white paper, and press it in a large book for a few days.

(g) Starching Lace.—Use a very thin boiled starch or the liquor in which rice has been boiled. Dip the lace in the starch, and squeeze out. Clap between the folds of a towel to partially dry it. Lay wrong side up on the table, slightly picked out, and place a piece of muslin over. Rub a cool iron over several times, till a little dry. Take up, and with the fingers pick it out to show the pattern and the edge. Iron again. Pick out once more, carefully draw to each side, and give a final ironing. The iron must be very cool, or the lace will be stiff; moving it about in the hands, and drawing it out tends to make it flexible.

Loose Colours.—As black.

Silk Goods.—(a) Silk scarfs and stockings are best washed in tepid water, with white soap dissolved in it, then rinsed quite free from soap, wrung dry in a towel, and ironed dry on the wrong side with a muslin cloth between the iron and the silk.

(b) Heat some rain or soft water, and while on the fire cut into it slices of good yellow soap, to make a lather; put the stockings in while the lather is warm, but not scalding, and wash in two such waters (a wineglassful of gin in the first water is an improvement); rinse well in lukewarm water, having ready a second rinsing water, in which is mixed a little blue (not the common kind, but such as is used for muslins and laces), or rose pink, which can be procured at a chemist’s, and is used in the same way as the blue, by tying it up in a piece of flannel and squeezing it into the water. After rinsing, put the stockings between towels and let them get almost dry; place on a small sheet, lay out quite flat, as they are when first purchased, tack to the sheet with a needle and thread, turn the sheet over them, and mangle. If it is not convenient to mangle them, the next best plan is to put 4 or 6 stockings one upon the other between muslin, lay them on a stone doorstep, and beat them with the rolling pin. They must not be mangled or beaten in towels, as the pattern of the towels would be impressed on them. If the stockings have lace fronts they will more particularly require the tacking mentioned above to make them look nice. No soda or washing powder of any kind must be put to them. They must be done quickly.

Stains, Removing.—The great difficulty in eradicating stains is to do so without damaging the often delicate tints of the fabric. Following is a synopsis of the best plans in use, arranged according to the nature of the substance causing the stain.

Acids.—Nearly all acids produce a red discoloration on goods dyed black or blue with vegetable dyes. If the acid is strong, the fabric will probably be locally destroyed as well as stained. The best treatment for all acids is the immediate application of a strong alkali, either ammonia, potash, or soda, but ammonia is the most satisfactory. When once the stain is old nothing will efface it. Nitric acid stains are the most troublesome, as the acid bleaches away the original colour. Repeated moistening with a very strong solution of potash permanganate (Condy’s fluid may be used as a weak substitute) followed by rinsing with water, is said to be effective.

Anilines.—(a) Wash out in alcohol containing some acetic acid, unless the colours of the fabric would be damaged by acetic acid, in which case use alcohol alone. (b) Try a solution of sodium sulphite.

Coffee, Chocolate, &c.—Apply a mixture of glycerine and egg-yolk; wash out with warm water, while still damp iron on the reverse side with a moderately hot iron.

Dust.—White and cotton coloured goods only require beating and brushing. For old dry stains on coloured silk and woollen goods, apply alcohol mixed with yolk of egg, let dry, and scrape off; wipe away remaining traces of the egg by means of a linen rag dipped in warm water.

Fruits, Red Wine, Vegetable Dyes.—The greater part may be removed without leaving a stain, if the spot be rinsed in cold water in which a few drops of aqua ammoniæ have been placed, before the spot has dried. Wine stains on white materials may be removed by rinsing with cold water, applying locally a weak solution of chloride of lime or dilute chlorine water, or eau de javelle (potash or soda hypochlorite), and again rinsing in an abundance of water. Some fruit stains yield only to soaping with the hand, followed by fumigation with sulphurous acid (fumes of burning sulphur); but the latter process is inadmissible with certain coloured stuffs. If delicate colours are injured by soapy or alkaline matters, the dye must be renewed by applying colourless vinegar of moderate strength. For coloured cotton and woollen materials, the stain is washed with hot soapy water (to which more or less chlorine water has been added, according to the fastness of the dyes), rinsed in water containing a little ammonia, dipped in a solution of soda hyposulphite and then in a solution of tartaric acid, and finally washed in hot water. For silk and satin goods the same programme must be followed but with very dilute solutions. Another plan is to treat with salts of sorrel (hydrogen potassium oxalate) or with solution of soda hypochlorite. The latter especially must be carefully removed when the object is attained. Another well-tried plan, when space is available, is to spread the stained fabrics on the ground in the open air, smear the spots with soap, and sprinkle ground potash or common salt upon them. Water is added and replaced when lost by evaporation. After 2 or 3 hours’ exposure the whole fabric may be washed, and will usually be found freed from its stains.

Grass.—White goods need only be washed in boiling water. Coloured goods, whether cotton, woollen, silk, or satin, are damped with a solution of tin chloride and immediately washed out in abundance of water.

Grease.—(a) Simple washing in soap and water. (b) Stains from oil colours will yield to a mixture of soap and caustic potash. (c) Chalk, fullers’ earth, or steatite (French chalk) diffused through a little water to form a thin paste, spread upon the spot, allowed to dry, and then brushed out. (d) Ox-gall and yolk of egg. The ox-gall should be purified, to prevent its greenish tint from degrading the brilliancy of dyes or the purity of whites. Thus prepared it is most effective, especially for woollens. It is diffused through its own bulk of water, applied to the spots, and rubbed well in with the hands till the stains disappear, after which the stuff is washed with soft water. (e) Volatile oil of turpentine will take out recent stains, for which purpose it ought to be previously purified by distillation over quicklime. Wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in oil of turpentine, cover with filter paper (blotting-paper) and pass a hot iron over several times; finally wash out in warm soapy water. (f) Benzine or essence of petroleum is commonly used for removing grease spots; but these liquids present the inconvenience of leaving, in most cases, a brownish ring. To prevent this, the garments, &c., should be laid out flat, in daylight, upon a cake of plaster of Paris, or upon some folds of blotting-paper, moistened with sulphuric ether, otherwise known as rectified ether, and rubbed gently with a soft brush or clean linen rag. This process, if necessary, may be repeated. It neither injures the colour nor the material, and evaporates completely on exposure to the air. Another remedy is to scatter powdered gypsum or lycopodium on the moist surface, brushing the powder away when dry. (g) Equal parts strong ammonia water, ether, and alcohol form a valuable cleaning compound. Pass a piece of blotting-paper under the grease spot, moisten a sponge, first with water to render it “greedy,” then with the mixture, and rub with it the spot. In a moment it is dissolved, saponified, and absorbed by the sponge and blotter.

Gelatine, Glue, Blood, Sugar.—Wash in clean warm water.

Green nuts, Tanning Juices.—Wash white goods in weak eau de javelle or chlorine water. For coloured goods, first damp, and then touch the spot with more or less dilute chlorine water, afterwards rinsing in clean water.

Ink, Ironmould.—For ink stains, dilute hydrochloric acid, which must subsequently be carefully washed out, will mostly be found effectual. For the same purpose oxalic acid or salts of sorrel (hydrogen potassium oxalate) may also be employed, and that most economically, in fine powder to be sprinkled over the stains and moistened with boiling water. The action of these solvents may be hastened by gentle rubbing, or still better by placing the stained portion of the fabric in contact with metallic tin. If there is much ironmould to be removed, dyers’ tin salt (stannous chloride) will perform the same work at less expense than the oxalic acid compounds. Another solvent for such stains consists of a mixture of 2 parts argol with 1 of powdered alum. On coloured cotton and woollen goods let a drop from a burning tallow candle fall on the stain, and then wash out in a concentrated solution of pyrophosphate of soda. On fast dyes, lime chloride or tartaric acid may be used. On fine silk or satin goods damp with strong vinegar and leave covered for some time with beechwood ashes, washing finally in strong soapy water. Some iron stains submit to a washing in a solution of yellow prussiate of potash with addition of sulphuric acid; the blue colour thus produced is removed by rinsing in a solution of potash carbonate. One of the simplest and most efficacious removers of ink stains is milk, applied instantly.

Lime and other Alkalis.—If white goods, wash out in clean water. For coloured cottons or woollens, silk or satin, wet the stuff, and apply successive drops of dilute citric acid; when the stain has disappeared, wash thoroughly in clean water.

Mildew.—(a) Dip the spot into a strained weak solution of lime chloride (2 teaspoonfuls to 1 qt. water) for a moment and expose to the sun for a few minutes; repeat till gone, and then rinse thoroughly in clean water. (b) Soak in water for an hour and then sun. (c) Moisten with lemon juice and lay in the sun. (d) Moisten with lemon juice, cover with a paste of soft-soap and chalk, and sun for ½ hour; repeat till gone.

Milk, Soup.—For white goods, wash thoroughly in soapy or lye water; for coloured cottons and woollens, wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in pure turpentine-oil or benzine, remove excess with blotting-paper, and wash out in warm soapy water. For silks and satins use purest benzine ether.

Nitrate of Silver.—(a) Dip in a neutral solution of copper chloride and touch the spot with a crystal of soda hyposulphite dipped in ammonia. (b) Damp with solution of potash hypermanganate and dip into solution of potash bisulphite. (c) Moisten with solution of mercury bichloride (a deadly poison). (d) Moisten repeatedly with very weak solution of potassium cyanide and rinse thoroughly in clean water.

Oil, Paint, Varnish.—(a) New stains will submit to carbon bisulphide, or spirits of turpentine. (b) Cover old stains with butter or olive oil, and when softened apply first spirits of turpentine and then benzine. (c) For white goods, and coloured cottons and woollens, damp the patch, and pass a sponge dipped in turpentine-oil or benzine repeatedly over the stain, then lay on a sheet of blotting-paper and pass a hot iron over; finally wash out in warm soapy water. (d) For silks and satins spread on a thin paste of ether and magnesia carbonate; when the ether has volatilised, brush away the magnesia, or rub with crumb of bread.

Perspiration.—Wash in a solution of soda hyposulphite, and then bleach if the goods are white.

Stearine, Wax.—Remove with a knife; place a piece of wet linen beneath, cover the stain with several layers of blotting-paper, and pass a hot iron over. Any remaining trace can be removed by a sponge dipped in benzine.

Tar, Pitch, Resin.—For coloured cottons and woollens the stuff is damped, and fat is applied to the stain, on which soap is well rubbed. The soap is allowed to act for a few minutes, and is washed out alternately with oil of turpentine and hot water. If this has not succeeded, the yellow of egg mixed with some oil of turpentine is applied, and when this has dried it is scratched away, and thorough washing out in hot water ensues. The last method is the washing of the stuff in water mixed with a little muriatic acid, and thorough rinsing out in pure river water. For silk and satin, the stuff is wetted, and a sponge dipped in a solution of ether and chloroform is rubbed over the stain. If the stain is no longer noticeable, white clay is strewn over it, over which blotting-paper is placed, and the stain is extracted by passing a hot smoothing iron over. If this process has not been successful, the yellow of egg mixed with chloroform is used in the same manner.

Unknown origin.—(a) For white goods, and coloured cotton goods, a small quantity of soap is dissolved in lukewarm water, and for each pint is added a coffee spoonful of ammonia. The stain is wiped with a sponge steeped in this fluid, and the material is finally washed out in water. (b) For coloured woollen stuffs, dissolve 20 parts ox-gall, 40 of borax, 500 of spirit, and 200 of ammonia, adding 30 of glycerine and the yellow of two eggs. The stuff is washed in this boiling solution. It is subsequently rinsed in clean warm water, and dried in the air, but not in the sun. (c) For silk and satin, dissolve 40 parts borax and 10 of soap in 70 of diluted spirit and 30 of ether, adding 10 of magnesia carbonate and the yellow of two eggs. The mixture is applied to the stain, and the stuff is washed in lukewarm water, rinsed in cold water, and dried at a moderate warmth, being subsequently ironed with a moderately hot iron.

Urine.—Wash in alcohol or very weak solution of citric acid.

Vinegar, Wine, Acid Fruits.—For white goods, wash out in clean water, to which ammonia has been added. For coloured cotton and woollen materials, silk, and satin, diluted ammonia is spread over the satin, and when it has disappeared a thorough washing in water ensues.

Wine, Beer, Punch.—Wash in soapy and then clean hot water.

Tobacco Pipes.—A very simple and effective plan. Cut ½ in. from the end of an ordinary cork, and fit it tightly into the bowl of the pipe. Then with a knife cut a hole through the cork wide enough to admit the nozzle of a water tap with a little pressure, turn on the water gently until the flow through the stem is sufficiently strong, and let it run until the pipe is clean.

Violin.—(a) Use soap and water, but avoid its running through the “f” holes. Clean the interior with dry rice.

(b) Moisten the solid parts with salad oil, then mix same oil and spirits of wine together in a basin, trying its strength first on a part of the neck or scroll, then with a piece of white linen rag, dipped in the oil and spirit, rub the soiled parts, keep shifting the rag as it gets dirty: it will take several days to do, but keep the parts well soaked, where dirty, with oil after every rubbing; but by no means scrape it.

(c) Ordinary paraffin oil. Slightly saturate a rag of soft silk, and proceed to wash your violin therewith. The effect is almost magical; the paraffin dissolves the crust of dirt and resin and cleans the varnish without injuring.

(d) For the outside, a strongish solution of washing-soda, applied with piece of flannel. If you find the soda remove the varnish (as it does with some oil-varnishes), use soap-and-water, and then paraffin. When clean, rub with linseed-oil; spirits of wine removes the old resin at once, but sometimes takes the varnish with it. For the inside, get a handful of rice, steep in solution of sugar and water 5 minutes, strain off, and nearly dry the rice till just sticky. Put in at sound-holes and shake till tired. This will pick up all dirt, then turn out.

Violin Bows.—(a) Take a small piece of flannel, wet it (cold process), well rub it with best yellow soap, double it, holding the hair gently between the finger and thumb, rub gently till clean, using plenty of soap; rinse flannel, wipe off, then wipe dry with a piece of calico or linen; in an hour afterwards it will be ready for the resin. (b) A solution of borax-and-water.

Wall-papers.—To remove oil stains or marks where people have rested their heads, from wall-papers, mix pipeclay with water to the consistency of cream, lay it on the spot and allow it to remain till the following day, when it may be easily removed with a penknife or brush.

Watches.—A correspondent of the Watchmaker and Metal-worker tells how he cleans watches with benzine. The method may be useful for other fine work. He says: I immerse the parts in benzine and dry in boxwood sawdust. This gives the gilding a fresh, new look, which I have not been able to get by any other process. The movement must be entirely taken down. The dial screws may be screwed down tightly and left, but all parts united with screws must be separated, so that there will be no places where the benzine can remain and not be at once absorbed by the sawdust. I have a large alcohol cup, which I fill about half full of benzine, taking down my movement and putting the larger pieces in the fluid. The scape wheel, balance, and delicate parts I treat separately, that they may not be injured by contact with the heavier pieces. I then take the pieces one at a time, and tumble them into the sawdust. In a few seconds they will be dry, when I pick them out and lay in a tray, using brass tweezers, which do not scratch. I treat all the parts in this way except the mainspring, when a slight use of the brush and clean chamois will remove all dust. Of course, the holes must be cleaned with a pointed peg; and I wipe out the oil sinks with chamois over the end of a blunt peg, but it is not often necessary to clean the pinions with a peg; they will come out of the sawdust bright and clean. The mainspring must not be put in benzine unless you want it to break soon after. The fluid seems to remove the fine oily surface which a spring gets after working for a time, and which is very desirable to retain; so I clean my springs by wiping with soft tissue paper. If they are gummy, I put on a little fresh oil to soften, and wipe off, being careful not to straighten out the springs.