Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-07-22
gaaies' Column.
How to Keep Furniture in order,


should be covered up. She is, indeed,
careless housekeeper who will allow
the dust to be swept over the fnrnI-
ture, to make its way into the cloth
coverings, there to stay, for it is al
most impossible to dislodge 1T.
Many a good set of furniture has
been ruined in this way.
Chairs should not be drawn so
close to the fire as to blister them,
for this is an injury hard to repair.
Neither should finely polished furni-
ture be busted with coarse cloths or
common feather busters an old silk
handkerchief makes an admirable
buster for this purpose.
Furniture should not be allowed to
grow shabby without an effort being
made to brighten it up. A little pol
ish works wonders and is very easily
applied, and if the furniture is of
good quality it is better to renovate
it than to turn it out, and, perhaps,
put new furniture of poorer quality
in its place.
There is more economy in good
furniture than in poor, and it has the
merit of looking better too. Some
of the furniture sold is simply stuck
together, it is not made; some, again
is constructed of unseasoned wood,
while a great deal is faulty regarding
the stuffing and covering. Veneered
furniture is undesirable, as the We
neering is always falling off. Good
solid furniture is the best.
Rosewood is the most beautiful
and lasting of all the woods used for
furniture, though it is costly. If
carefully treated it retains it's good
looks a long time, and it should be
kept well polished in order to secure
this end. No wood combines more
beautifully with plush than this.
Walnut is deservedly popular, as
it looks we'll and is lasting; more
over, it is not hard to keep in order.
When oiled walnut looks dull, it can
be frightened up with the following
Put in a bottle a pint of linseed oil,
one ounce of butter of anthony and
half a gill of vinegar. Mix all to-
gether and shake before using.
If black walnut has been vanished,
take of shellac two parts and boiled
oil one part; mix well, and apply
with a cloth, rubbing briskly. Ink
spots can be removed from black
walnut by applying muriatic acid
with a piece of woollen cloth, and
washing off Immediately with cold
water.
Mahogany is a good, old-fashioned
wood, though perhaps not as much
used as it once was. When it needs
polishing, saturate it with olive oil !;
have ready solution of gum arabic
in boiling alcohol, apply and polish
by rubbing with a soft cloth. An
other good furniture polish is com
posed of three parts Of sweet oil and
two parts of turpentine. Wash the
furniture first with vinegar, then dry
before applying the mixture, which
must be well shaken. Apply lightly,
following the grain of the wood.
Light mahogany can be darkened by
washing it with a weak solution of
quicklime. In repairing furniture it
is we'll to remember this. To fill up
holes and cracks in mahogany, melt
four ounces of beeswax, add one
ounce of Indian red, and enough yell
low ochre to produce the desired
tint.
Among other good polishes is the
following: Mix equal parts of vine
gar, spirits of turpentine and sweet
oil in bottle, apply with a flannel
cloth, then rub with a soft silk hand
kerchief. Three parts linseed oil
and one part spirits of turpentine
make an admirable polish when ap-
piled with piece of wooden cloth,
and when dry rub with wooden.
Finger-marks are very disfguring
to furniture. For removing them,
use sweet oil for vanished furniture,
and kerosene for that which is oiled.
Never set hot dishes on vanished ia
bles, but if you have been thoughtless
enough to have done so, and you find
white marks there, pour some kero-
sene oil on the spot and rub well with
Il soft cloth.
To remove dents, wet the place
with warm water, double a piece of
brown paper five times, soak it in
the water and lay it on the spot.
Place n warm fatiron on this till the
moisture is evaporated, and if not
successful the first time repeat the
process. DemOreSt Journal.
Potato PUDDING. Mash fine one
pint of boiled potatoes; mix with
one pint of flour, one teaspoon of
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