Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-02-19
Stained and Polished Floors.

" Hllc WTluoTS on 0faut0n
there are few advocates or the polished wooden
floor which fashion has revived, mere margin
OF WOOD has much to commend IL, especially on
the score OF cleanliness. carpet which covers
the entire floor Is the special harborer OF dust
and disease. 1t cannot conveniently be taken
up more than once or twice in the year, and
the effect OF daily brushing is to redstr-
6ute, but not to remove, the noxious accumu-
latiOns.
Mr.. r. W. Eds, well-known London au-
thority on artistic furnishing, in recent lee
ture before the Society OF Arts. gave his opin-
Ion On the subject to this effect. He said the
margin might either be painted, or stained or
covered with parquet, but he declined to give
his sanction to the so-caled "carpet-p arQuet"
"a kind OF yender much advertised in London
laid down over the flooring. II painted, 1t
should De covered with several coats of some
dark color. II Is tniI ortant that these success
slye coats should be uniformly dark, other wise
scratches upon The floor may show white; aud
care must be taken TO allow each colt TO
harden. Parquet, Mr.. Edits said, Is more
but he was unprepared TO say that Ii was more
artistic. It is more expensive. OF course, being
someW nat costly In itself, and involving, be
sides, the cutting away OF the flooring.
parquet or stained margin having been lett
within this carpet might be pinned down
which could easily be taken up as often as re-
Quired.
A writer In Srribner,s MOnfh7y takes strong
ground against painting the floor. He advises
those who cannot afford to have 1nlad or even
single natural wood floors to have the pine
boards planed and then stained aud polished,
and proceeds In the following practical way to
tell how this may best be done. First,
or IS TeOs has 3 oedn aead from painted ted
patnt-brush, cover the spots and splasnes with
caustic potash; leave this on till the paint is
SaT re d. II VIII take perhaps 1hysx
then have the floor we'll sc0ured taking care
not to let the mixture deface your wash
boards secondly. II your flooring Is marred
by wide. ugly, cracks between the planks, have
them putt1ed, as they serve otherwise as a
multitude OF small dust-oins, ana show an ugly
stripe between your shining boards.
I'll The p!ankS are narrow and or equal width,
you can have them stained alternately light and
dark-oak and walnut In that case, stain the
whole fioor oak, and then DO the alterna e
bought at any paint-shop, or can be ordered
from any city. and brought by express In sealed
cans Ia almost every Gaze 1t is safe TO dilute the
staining mixture with an equal quantity OF tur-
pent1ne. have never seen or used any which
was not far too thick as lie Is bought. 1t helps
very much, when staining in stripes, to lay
two boards carefully on each side OF the stripe
TO be stained, and then draw the brush be-
tween. This guards the plank from an acci-
dental false stroke OF your brush and saves
time line 10 the aching back. II. however, the
the light plank, before It dries wipe Ii OF With
bit OF flannel dipped In turpentine.
when the floor is TO be all walnut, the best
staining nave ever seen Is done without the
use OF brush. Buy at a grocer's-for single
medlum-s1Zed roma 0ne-pound can or burnt
lumber, ground in oil. Mix with boiled linseed
OIL a sufficient amount OF this TO color properly
without percepubly thickening the oil; by
trying the mixture upon DIT OF wood till the
desired color IS attained, the quantity can
nut brown. Rub this into the wood thor
oughly with a woolleu cloth, rubbing It Of
"ltn another woollen cloth TIL the stain
using BOILED ell 70 keep the floor In order for 1t
~ more Ike VarniSh than an oil, and after
the pores or the wood have once become filed,
II es on !. the surface. attracting and holding
aost w !. runs the wood, and can oaly be re-
moved by the use OF caustlc potash, sand-paper.
or the plane But this first. or any snbseuuent
rected.
III you find. when the coloring matter dries.
mat IL Is not dark enough, rub on another
look dull and poor, for they only need few
weeks OF proper care to be what you want.
:" When the staining Is done, prepare for the
low oeeswax in the proportion OF one gallon OF
turpentlne TO one pound of wax, shaved thin.
Let the wax soak all night. or longer 10 the
woollen cloth. few times OF using this viii
make the floor gain polish like that OF an old
fashioned tabletop. at first It must be done
frequently, but hey nd the smell of the turpen-
tine, which soon passes of, and the trouble of
apply ing, It has no disadvantage. When the
wood finally becomes well polished, the wax
need not be applied oftener than once week
or even once fortnight. The door, In the
mean time, cal be busted off by passing over Il
an old broom or hair 1oor-Drssh, with piece
OF slightly moistened rag tied around 1t. Every
thing that falls upon 1t lies upon the surface
as on that OF vanished furniture. Nothing
ever really soils 1t. 1t can, OF course be washed
up, but never needs scruobing."
For the floors OF halls or passages. Mr.. Eds.
IN the lecture above referred to- recommended
the use OF marbie-mosaic tiles. HnoIeum or
OIL cloth is bad being so soon worn out. be-
sides being obtainaole only in patterns which
are bad In color, In treatment and design, anG
poor limitations at the best. 1t Is not desirable
TO make cur already narrow spaces seem mar
rover by the use OF tiles too obtruSye In color
or too elaborate In design. Marble-mosaic
tiles are composed of chips of marble set ir
cement. These are inexpensive, and properly
chosen have good effect.-Ari Amateur.
J THE MYSTERY OF THB STARs.-tStella Basbieu,
/ Vassar, 81. has just been relating some as.
| tour ding astronomical facts and figures.) A.
DnllSfQn Sl0fu1an l..neYer went In for that