The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-02-27
USEFUL RECIPES.

A teaspoonful of powdered borax
dissolved in quart of tepid water is
good for cleaning old black dresses of
silk, cashmere, or alpaca.
Butter will remove tar epots. Soap
and water will afterwards take out the
grease stain.
Black shoes may be bronzed by
strong solution of aniiin red in alcohol.
Four parts borax and three part
Er som salts, mixed with three or four
parts warm water to one part of the
combined substances, is aid to form an
excellent freproof wash for clothes. 1t
should be used Immediately after prep
aration.
Flaxseed and tailow are used in Ger
many as stnffing for cushions. One
part of tallow to ten parts of flaxseed
are employed, the mobility of the
creased seed rendering the cushion very
soft and pliable.
Gold bronze for furniture is q mix
ture of copal varnish mixed with gold
colored bronze powder. The last is
bisulphate OF TIN.
The total number of strings in a
piano, when properly stretched to pro-
duce the right tones, exert a pull of
over ten tons this explains why good
pianos must be durably and heavily
built.
To prevent moths in carpets, wash
the floor before laying them with spir-
it, of turpentine or benzine.
Straw mating should be washed
with a cloth dampened with salt water.
Indian meal sprinkled over it and thor
oughly swept out will also cleanse it
finely.
| In washing windows, a narrow-b laded
wooden bnife, sharply pointed, will
take out the dust that hardens in the
corners of the sash. Dry whiting will
polish the gla 8, which should first, be
washed with weak black tea mixed with
a little alcohol. Save the tea leaves
for the purpose.
Gray marble hearths can be rubbed
with linseed oil, and no spots will show.
| Sprigs of wintergreen or ground ivy
will drive away red ants; punches OF
wormwood will serve the same purpose
for black ants.
Papering and painting are best done
in cold weather, especially the latter,
| for the wood absorbs the oil of paint
much more than in warm weather ;
while in cold weather the oil hardens
| on the outside, making a coat which
will protect the wood instead of soak
ing into it.
Never paper wall over old paper and
paste. Always scrape down thoroughly.
Old paper can be got off by damping
| with salara.us and water. Then go
over all the cracks of the wall with
plaster of Paris, and finally put on a
wash of a weak solution of carbolic
acid. The best paste is made out of
rye flour, with two ounces of glue
dissolved in each quart of paste ; half
an ounce of powdered borax improves
| the mixture.
An oaken color can be given to new
pine floors and tables by washing them
in solution of copperas dissolved in
strong lye, a pound of the former to q
gallon of the latter. When dry, this
should be oiled, and it will look we'll
for year or two then renew the oiling.
Kerosene and powdered lime, whiting
or wood ashes will scour tins with the
least labor.
l~a ko1 nj Of 10
with finely powdered pumicestone mixed
with verjuice. Cover the spots and al
low the stuff to remain for twelve hours;
then rub clean, dry, and rinse.
Soapstone hearths are first washed in
pure water and then rubbed with pow
dered marble or soapstone, put on with
a piece of the same stone.
A strong solution of hyposulphite OF
soda is said to be excellent for cleaning
silver.
Never use wrought iron instead of
steel simply because it is more easily
worked and cheaper than the latter; nor
brass instead of gun metal in heavy
machinery.
Two ounces of common tobacco boiled
in gallon of water is u. ed by the
Chatham street dealers for renovating
old clothes. The stuff is rubbed on
with stiff brush. The goods are nice
ly cleaned, and, strange to add, no to-
bacco smell remains.
Shellac is the best cement for jet
articles. Smoking the joint renders it
black to match.
Barrels Intended for alcohol may be
rendered perfectly tight by applying
inside solution of one pound leather
scraps and one ounce oxalic acid in two
poands water, afterwards diluted with
three pounds warm water.
A solution of chloride of iron will
remove nitrate of silver stains from the
hands.
UnsIakened lime is excellent for clean
irg small steel articles, such as jewelry,
buckles, and the like.
Glass may be powdered to render it
suitable for glass paper, for fltering
varnishes, ETC., by heating it red hot
and then suddenly plunging it in water.
To remove old paint, cover with a
wash of three parts quickstone lime,
slaked with water to which one part
pearlash is added. Allow the coating
to remain 16 hours, when the paint may
be easily sc;apsd of.