Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-05-21
The Battle Of the Brooms.


war-path. We hear the shrill tones of
feminine command, the sweep of the
broom, the clatter of the dust-pan, the
steady thump of the Negotiating stick,
and the fitful tapping of the tack-ham-
mer. With cobwebby pennons of VIC
tory, and flourish of dust-cloths, towel
helmeted ranks charge through the
house, swooping down on the weak and
the unwary, and some they drown, and
esome they drive to distraction.
By-and-by when the victory is won,
when not even the ghost of a dust-speck
is left to fight against, and calm-eyed
peace, emerged from calico aprons and
crimping- pins, sits once more beside the
, family hearth-stone, everybody will re-
Joice in the spic-and-span atmosphere
which pervades the house from attic to
|, cellar.
Except TO those housekeepers who
have joined the ranks of the great IN
neat, this annual upheaval appears in
the light of necessity so inevitable that
we women submit cheerfully, and "tear
Nup,'' and "set to rights" with jealous
haste, not because we want to, but be-
cause we must. AS for man, the be-
nighted, the very thought of carpet
coming up or stove-pipe coming down
puts him out of sorts. 1t would seem
that for the sake of quiet and comfort
he would prefer to be like the people in
old-fashioned stories, who ''lived in
peace and died in grease, and were
buried under lump Of tallow."
II you want a specimen of mans
housekeeping, just look at the barn. Do
you suppose the dust and cobwebs gath
cred there have ever encountered
broom, or the window-panes been re-
leved of an atom of dirtP Now, if
woman had charge of that building the
walls and ceilings would certainly have
an occasional sweeping, and the win
dows would at least be clean enough to
see through, and the first man who
found time to whittlt stick would fud
himself armed with whitewash brush.
But houses must be cleaned even if hus-
bands do grumble; of course they will
anyway, and to tell the truth some of
them have just cause-when, for in
stance, housekeeping means cross
and collarleSs wife, q carpetless,
draughty house, week of cold dinners,
and succession of minor mishaps and
miseries, winding up with coughs and
colds and maybe Doctors bill, it is no
wonder it grows To be bugbear. Such
tanaticism is nearly out of date now.
We women have learned the truth of
the old adage "the more haste the less
speed" in this respect at any rate, and
most of us are content to go about our
9Aspring work sensibly and Systematically,
taking one room at time and leisurely
completing it before beginning another.
s AS a preparatory step, closets, trunks
and drawers ought to have thorough
overhauling. There is no place in a
house that needs publication more than
an unventilated closet; clothing that has
been hanging long in such place is UNI
fit to wear until it has in some way been
/ restored to freshness.
All wooden garments and furs should
be well summed, beaten and carefully
examined to make sure that they are
free from moths if afterward they are
put directly into paper bags and pasted
q up, or even tied up securely in paper
and packed away, they will be safe until
they are needed again. If there is the
II least-siGn of moth about them 1t is best
to keep them where they can have q
weekly brushing and examination.
E The moth miller flies and lays its eggs
during May and June. 1t is, of course,
necessary that things should be put
away before that time, and many con
slider it wisdom to examine such article:
in July. If packed as directed, in 6
tight trunk or chest, and there is nc
doubt about their perfect cleanliness
the latter precaution may be dispensed
with. The seems and cracks of packing
boxes should have strong paper pasteC
over them, but if there is an empty
liquor cask to be had use that instead
. one can ask for no better paking case
Where a carpet is found to be infested
with moths, wash the floor with no
d soap-suds and when dry brush it will
" spirits of turpentine about yard wild
all around the room, then when the car
pet is down, wiring strip of muslin on
of alcohol, lay it on the carpet and pres
it with a hot iron until dry. Proceed il
~ this manner all around the room and
the carpet is properly swept you vii
have no further trouble. If the moth
ri are in upholstered furniture use the in
sect powder. 1t will kill them, sure.
Paint and varnish are not expensiv
ARTICLES, and they are so easily apple,
that old furniture can be made to loo
like new with next to no trouble;
should be remembered, however, tina
every article should be thorough
cleaned with hot water and soap, and
necessary little washing soda, befor
painting or vanishing, TO clean wal
paper, cover q smooth block of WOO
with two or three thicknesses of canton
flannel, heecy side out When the cal
pet is up, dip this block into dry within
and rub the paper lightly with the sol
side, doing breadth at time so as nc
to skip any. When all is finished brus
the wall with a soft cloth fastened owe
the broom. If paper has been spotte
with grease or hair-oil, brush the stat
with shellac varnish to prevent tn
grease striking through, then patch il
o cutting it in some figure to exact
5 match.
All stained places coming from leak
eu roofs should be coated over with tn
same shellac varnish before whitenin
ceilings or walls; otherwise the stain
evil strike through.
To whten walls, scrape off all oil
whitewash that is rough or scaly an
wash the walls with a solution of tw
ounces of white vitriol to four gallons {
water. Soak quarter of pound {
~, ,Al