Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-01-07
HINTS ABOUT UMBRELLAS.
A Dealers Suggestions That Owners an,
RnrrnMera MAJ RroRf Az.

A Dealers Suggestions That Owners ano
Borrowers May Profit By.
mot one umbrella in hundred, no.
not one in a thousand" remarked .
dealer, lis ever worn out through legit-
innate use for the purpose for which a
umbrella is designed-that is, in keep
ing OF the rain. Rain doesn't hurt an
umbrella in the least; on the contrary,
IL IL my belief. after years of expert
ence, that rain does it good. But don't
believe that / ever saw an umbrella
that WAS used up in shielding its owner
Tor somebody elss) from summer showers
or winter storms
Umbrellas are as rule short-lived,
and they suffer harm in various ways
One is from being allowed to stand
folded up. OF course nobody expects a
man to carry his umbrella in the street
unless it is folded, but how many peo-
pie stop to think that there is no use of
letting it remain so during the time that
it is standing in the house? The proper
way is to unfold it and shake it out
when you enter your house or your of
fee and expect not to carry the umbrella
during the next few hours or longer
period. Otherwise the silk is more liza
BILE to crack at tho creases, which are
always the weakest point in an UNI
brella, unless it meets with an accident
that tears the silk or breaks the stick.
For the same reason / never advise
man, or . woman either, to draw cover
over an umbrella after it is wrapped.
sell covers Of course, and if a purchaser
says nothing to me about 1t, l say moth
ing to him. But If my advice is asked,
always say frankly that consider the
cover a bad thing, unless it is used mod
erately, as Josh Billings advised in the
that If . man simply puts on the cover
when he is going to take his umbrella
out Of doors, and takes it of again a.
soon IS he comes in and sets the UNI
brella aside, it will not do very much
harm. But the safer practice is to do
without the cover altogether.
Another way in which umbrellas get
worn out is being knocked about in
travelling. You go into street car. for
instance, and place your umbrellas along
side of you. The next passenger who
comes in may brush his muddy boot
against it, and you will be lucky if he
does not make hole in it Umbrellas
have hard luck, too, on railway jour
mega
''If you place one carefully in the
rack the constant Earring and motion of
the train will inevitably wear it con-
siderably even in going hundred miles
Under such circumstances there is some
thing to be said in favor of protecting
it with cover, though it is certain that
in that case whatever is gained will be
accompanied by corresponding, or at
least by some, loss.
Then again, umbrellas suffer because
people don't know how to handle them
when the wind is boisterous. How often
do we see umbrellas turned inside out
simply through lack of care or of knowl-
edge! This is something that ought
never to happen; at least it ought never
to happen in such gales a. We have in
the streets of New York City. Few
people know how to hold an umbrella
under such circumstances
In order to guard it properly and pro-
tect it from damage u should be firmly
grasped by both hands. Let one hand
seize 1t near the handle end of the stick,
about in the place where it would be
held in the mildest June shower Then
let tho other take an equally firm hold
far up the stick, close to the point where
the spring holds the outstretched ribs
THUS you can not only protect your
self from the rain as much as possible,
but you render = collapse of your UNI
brella almost out of the question. If a
woman is out in blow and tries to hold
her skirts up with one hand and to con-
troll her umbrella with the other, it is
not the least wonder in the world that
she meets with q mishap.
There is more science in taking care
Of an umbrella" the dealer said in con-
clusion, than one person in hundred
understands have no doubt that /
could make an umbrella last twice as
long az any one of nine-tenths of my
customers. 1 would do it merely by
acting upon the hints have given and
others equally simple which would sug-
gest themselves.
at may not be good for business to
talk as I have done, but have only ex-
| pressed my honest thoughts. One thing
is certain-mighty few umbrellas come
to natural end, if the natural end of
an umbrella iS to be used up in keeping
the rain Of OF peoples heads and shout
ders. IN. Y. Tribune.