128. To preserve Books.—A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mouldiness and damp. Russian leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never moulds; and merchants suffer large bales of this article to lie in the London Docks in the most careless manner, knowing that it cannot sustain any injury from damp.
129. To clean Oil Paintings.—Clean the picture well with a sponge, dipped in warm beer; after it has become perfectly dry, wash it with a solution of the finest gum-dragon, dissolved in pure water. Never use blue starch, which tarnishes and eats out the coloring; nor white of eggs, which casts a thick varnish over pictures, and only mends bad ones by concealing the faults of the coloring.
130. To Light a Coal Fire.—A considerable saving of time and trouble might often be effected, if housemaids would attend to the following rules in lighting a fire:—Clear the grate well from ashes and cinders; then lay at the bottom of it a few lumps of fresh coal, about the size of ducks' eggs, so as not wholly to obstruct the air passing between the bars on which they are placed. This done, put a small quantity of waste paper or shavings next upon the coal; then a few sticks or pieces of split wood placed carefully above it, so that they may not project between the bars; then a layer of the cinders you have before taken from the grate; and next a few lumps of coal on the top. Take care to complete this process before applying the light, which may easily be done afterwards by means of a lucifer match, and you will seldom fail to have a good fire in a few minutes.
Nothing is easier than to light a fire in the way here recommended, but the coals and cinders must be laid in place by hand, and not thrown in anyhow with the shovel. If the kindling wood be green or damp, it should be dried over night, as a more miserable task cannot be attempted than to light a fire with damp materials.
131. Another Way.—To light a fire from one already kindled, put three or four pieces of charcoal between the bars of the grate; then lay a few pieces of fresh coal upon the bottom of the grate in which the second fire is to be made, and place upon them, crosswise, the lighted pieces of charcoal; cover them with pieces of fresh coal, and blow them with the hand-bellows, when the charcoal will set fire to the fresh coal, and a brisk fire will be made in a few minutes. On the contrary, if we light a fire with wood, some time must elapse before it can safely be blown.