To Remove White Stains from Furniture.
Wet a woollen cloth with kerosene and rub the spot until the stain disappears. It may take a good deal of hard rubbing if the stain be deep or of long standing, but perseverance will accomplish the object.
Cleaning Brass.
There are many good preparations which come for cleaning brass. The most of them do the work quickly, leaving a brilliant polish, but the metal does not keep clean so long as when cleaned by the old method. Pound fine and then sift half a pint of rotten-stone. Add to this half a gill of turpentine and enough sweet oil to make a thick paste. Wash the brasses in soap and water, wipe dry, and then rub with the paste. Rub with a soft clean rag, and polish with a piece of chamois skin.
Conveniences when Sweeping.
If one have proper covers for the pictures and heavy pieces of furniture in the room, a great amount of trouble can be saved on the sweeping day. Buy cheap print cloth for the furniture. Have three breadths in the cover, and have it three yards and a half long. It should be hemmed, and the work can be done quickly on a sewing-machine. I find six cloths a convenient number, although we do not always need so many. Get cheap unbleached cotton, and cut it into lengths suitable for covering pictures, heavy ornaments, clocks, etc. These need not be hemmed. Always remove any coverings gently; then take them out of doors to be shaken. Fold them and put them away. They will last a long time, and pay for themselves in a year, because they save so much extra dusting, and the moving of heavy articles.
Mending Breaks in Plaster.
Mix together half a pint of powdered lime, one gill of plaster of Paris, and cold water enough to make a thick paste. Fill the holes with this and smooth the surface with a knife. Work quickly. If there be many breaks mix only as much plaster as can be used in ten minutes, as it hardens quickly.
Another method is to fill the breaks with putty. When the plaster or putty is dry, the places can be touched with water colors to correspond with the rest of the wall.