The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-01-02
HOW TO SEND THINGS BY MAIL.

teresting article appeared in Harjer'.
Weekly on the subject of the Dead-let
ter Office. and truly appalling We're The
revelations concerning the number O
articles consigned to that vault OF deas
and buried treasures. where. like thos,
in the tombs of the Ptolemys, they re-
main as records, not always of human
civilizat' on, but of human foolishness
for many of those unclaimed articles
might never have gone astray had they
been properly secured by the sender.
There are countless variety of ar.
ticles sent by mail. from dress to be
laundried to a dainty flower; and when
we consider how many careless hand:
there are. and thoughtleSs head, too,
set to this work, the wonder arises, not
that SO many are lost, but that so MANY
reach their destination despite the loose
manner in which they are done up and
the many mistakes made in dire ting
them.
Every one is or ought to be acqua;nt-
ed with the rules for sending various
grades of goods through the mails No
parcels should be sealed, for they might
contain contraband stuff. All writ n
inside is strictly interdicted, for good
reasons. on all second-class mail mat
ter. If you want 10 write so much as
two words, YOU must pay letter postage
for it, or be liable to do SO, at any
rat..
There may be charm in evading the
Post-o ice laws, ,ust as there is in evad-
ing the Custom-house laws, but it is at
tended with the same dangers of DIS
coyery and punishment.
But your parcels must be fas ened
securely; so you gene ally take piece
of Irvine to ii. up the package, which
is quite r;gst. But you sho Id remem-
Der that it has to go through great
many hands. and very often is shaken
together with other articles in umble
worthy of a grab bag at a county fair.
The right way properly to secure a
parcel. for instance. of dry goods. is to
fold it in the smallest possible compass
consistent with keeping the articles
from being creased then roll soft
piece of paper around, secured with an
elastic; this will not add much 10 the
weight, and will insure it not Being
soiled in case the outer wrapper is dis
turbed. Then have a good stout Piece
of brown paper. and fold that neatly
around. turning the ends in on each
side, and then up over the top, creas-
ing them 50 as to make S luare, COM
pact and neat package. Any one in
doubt how to do this deftlv had better
observe the salesman IN dry-goods
store the next time she goes to Duy a
dress. Next take Irvine, but not too
coarse-flax Irvine is the best, as it will
not snap and break in tying-cross it
over both sides. and tie it in the middle.
Now. direct you parcel clear and
di tinctly with the name of the receiver
in full, as well as the po>t-olfice adj
dress Do not leave out the names of
the county or the State, and in one cor
ner write distinctly: ".1Iy-goa Ids onlv,"
mo writing within" Some put on
Second class matter on'y," and be
sure it is true to the letter. Lastly.
take two pieces of Irvine of equal
length, one for each end, pass
each OF these around the narrowest
part of the bundle in such way as to
catch the longest cord above and be-
low, and tie them securely together.
Any woman who is familiar with GRO
chet-work knows Just how this is done:
the object is to prevent the long str ng
from slipping Off. which is the reason
nine-tenths of the packages sent by
mail get lost. The last two cords must
be passed around the main one, or else
1t will not be secure; and pray observe
that you must tie You knots very tight,
first good strong knot, then a small
sbow-knot is most advisable. For want
- such care in sim ly tying knot we
ave known handsome eml roidery and
delicate silk received o tot their wraps,
only wonder that the contents ever
kept company with the address at all.
II yon are sending any fragile arti-
cles. such as shells, jewelry, fans,
combs. or trinkets Of any sort, by ma |.
do not fail to put them in q box, and
fill up the inte.stices with raw cotton,
which will prevent Their rafting, keep
them free from the action of the atmos-
phere. and insure their not being |
broken. The sameoy be said of any |
china or glassware, which should iuys. |
Iiably be wrapped in cotton batting
before being boxed. Indeed, we stronp.
~ recommend that all delicate articles.
such as lace. buttons, ribbons. etc.
should b put in box. Put an elastic
over the box to keep the cover in place
even II the wrap comes loose. Then
do your box up in good strong brown
paper. tie up precisely as before suy-
gested. Boxes are now made 50 light,
of such variety of shapes and sizes.
that no one can fail to find a suitable
one on occasion. and really they add
very little to the we ght in comparison
With the security of your parcel. The
Expense is trifling. " no would grudge
) few cents in saving as many dollars.
perhaps ten times rs many?
Now as regards plants. The convey.
nee OF plants is link between distant
onntries. The introduction of new
.lants Is perhaps as efficient philan-
hropy IS can be practiced. for they adj
ance civilization and increase our
they fertilixe waste places.
nd ify barren ones. As plants.
setls and cnt towers can al be carried
Nelly and cheapiy by mail eve-y one +
lould in his or her humb sphere en-
savor to do something toward spread.
Z useful end rarv plants By sending
len 70 dietaat Trends, n mjseion sta. ,