Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-01-27
THE HOUSEKEEPER.
C,enu;ny the store.

A nicely-polished wcll-kept stove is an
attractive piece of furniture in any house.
1t may not be of the latest style or pat
tern; indeed, it may be as old fashioned as
it will, yet, if cared for properly, it will
present much better appearance than an
ill-kept, neglected range of the latest
style. To be sure, il is not expected that
the stove or range should be without speck
or spot on it's surface all the time, for that
would be very foolish expectation, as the
neatest housewife with much cooking to
do could not keep it in this condition
There is an old saying to the effect that in
house where the stove is kept highly
polished at all times there is very little
cooking done. However true this may be,
certain il is that where there is much cook
ing to do stove cannot be kept as bright
and clean as where it is less used for this
purpose, although it can be kept looking
nice enough for anybody by little care
each day.
Once week is often enough to give it q
thorough cleaning, and this, with q little
attention during the week, will keep it
looking as clean and nice as any person
could wish. The first thing to be done be-
fore applying the polish is to see that the
stove is clean. With an old knife scrape
off all superhuous matter from the stove,
and brush off into the dustpan. Scrape
from the oven all the burnt matter caused
by the running over of pies and buildings,
and brush it thoroughly out. If the top
of the stove is very greasy it should be
washed thoroughly in warm soapsuds, and
wiped with dry cloth. If the time can
be given to it, it is much better to wipe
both top and hearth of the stove, or any
part of it that needs it, and it will polish
much easier. The next thing to be done is
10 put on the hands pair of old, loose
fitting gloves, and never on any account
polish q stove without them. No matter
how carefully you may handle brush and
backing, it is sure to make the hands
rough and grimy, and it is next to inn
possible to remove it when it gets under
the finger nails. Mix . sufficient quantity
of the powdered polish with soapsuds to
stove with a brush. Some backing ad-
mits going all over the stove first, when it
is wet, and polishes better when thor
oughly dry, while other kinds must be
rubbed when slightly damp, for if left
until thoroughly dry it will not polish at
all, and will have to be reblacked. With
the latter kind of backing only small
part Of the stove should be gone over at
one time, SO that it may not get too dry.
If brush is to be used in polishing, cover
mouth and nose SO as not to inhale the
dust that is sure TO arise from the vigorous
use of the brush. A brush does, to be
sure, give nice gloss to the stove. but
| most women do not care for this, claiming
that spots show much quicker Oh such q
glossy surface than on duller one. A
wooden cloth is much better TO use than a
brush TO polish the stove, for it makes but
very Ii, tie dust and gives softer gloss tc
the surfac of the iron, which is muct
nicer than high polish. person with
weak lungs should never use brush fol
this work, on any account. After polish.
ing, rub the nickel plating with clott
dampened with ammonia and whiting
Mix whiting and ammonia to the con-