Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1891-10-02
RENOVATiNG OLD CHAIRS.
Work Is Very Inexpensive Yet Adds
Much to the Value of u House.

Work That Is Very inexpensive Yet Adds
Much to the Value of II House.
An old chair, if it is a rocker or an arm
chair, will often pay well for the trouble of
r~enovating. A few hours hunt in many
old country garrets will disclose chairs
which are delightful in shape and strong
in make, but which for some trifling mis-
hap have been relegated to the attic. II
they are chairs of two or three generations
ago there is all the more reason for believ-
ing that they are sincere in make and
worth elevating to a better place in the
household. Unless they are old mahogany,
it is probably as we'll to clean them thor
oughly at home and enamel them, sending
them first to the cabinetmaker's merely
for repairs only.
In case of good mahogany it is an extrav-
agance to trust it to amateur hands to
clean, or to cover the beautiful and costly
wood with enamel. An old oak or cherry
chair that has become shabby may very
well be repaired and enameled, as all enam-
eled work that is properly done is done on
hard wood.
Begin by thoroughly scrubbing the chair
with strong sal soda and water, scrape it
carefully to remove any old finish that has
been put on it, but not enough to scratch
the wood. Coarse or moderately coarse
sandpaper will help in this process of re-
moving the polish left on the surface and
bringing the chair down to the raw wood.
When the chair is thoroughly dry and
clean, and after it is thoroughly repaired,
paint it with a coat of the best English
snamel. Cream white or any tint you may
Dhoose may be used.
After this first coat is dry put on another
and when this is dry rub it down very
gently and carefully with a very fine sand
paper to remove any unevenness in tho
coats. Apply another coat, and if neces-
sary another, and then the chair is ready
for cushions. All chairs of this kind should
be cushioned. The best material for stuff
ing cushions is good hair or feathers if you
wish a very soft chair, but there are vari-
GUS cheaper materials that make very good
filings.
A pretty cretonne that can be bought in
yard width from thirty-ive to fifty cents a
yard can be used for covering the cushions.
The colors and style of the cushions will
depend upon the style of chair. Amateurs
do not often succeed in producing very sat-
isfactory results in upholstering that is
mailed down." so we do not advise any one
to undertake this work unless she under
stands her business. Movable cushions,
which are laid or tied or in place, on the
contrary, are very easily made at home.
If the chair is to be used in the parlor or
in a daintily furnished guest ROOM, and
you have any skill with our brush, paint
in an ind%istinct, sketchy style a few sprays
OF fine flowers on the enamel. A cream
white chair painted with traceries suggest
ing a rose vine, leaf and flower is very
pretty. Use cushions of India silk or bro
cade in roseate or olive green tints in such
a chair, or make cushions of a pale blue
India silk, patterned with a tangle of rose
vines or powdered in a Dresden design
with rosebuds.-New York Tribune.
How to Act When Baby Is Choking.
Mothers need not be told that children
Of a certain G have an uncomfortable
tendency to make the mouth a receptacle
Tor every small substance they pick up.
As a natural consequence, gagging or
choking is not of infrequent occurrence.
At such times more than likely the
mother in her fright loses all self posses
sion, and frantically catching her stran-
Cling little one screams the injunction to
'spit it out" and at the same time empha-
sizes this with a rough shaking.
Even If the victim of the accident could
do as told, which is seldom possible, he
would be ratified out of his senses and try
to cry in terror, and thus make matters
worse.
Unless the offending substance is quick
ly dislodged from the throat the frightened
mother is pretty certain to lay the unfortu-
nate across her knees, on his back, and
thrust her foretnger into his throat and
push it aimlessly about. This part of the
treatment is all very we'll when intelligent
~ applied; but such position of the child
makes the danger Of ~strangling infinitely
greater.
A child in this state should be caught up
by the waist and laid across the lap, face
downward, but with his chest we'll over
one Of the knees so that the head is sus-
pended. The mother should then slap him
forcibly several times between the should
ers. If the substance is not dislodged, she
should then lay him on the table, still face
down, with head we'll over the edge, and
put her forefnger gently into his mouth,
carrying it back as far as possible.
This will often quickly cause vomiting,
a fortunate occurrence, and if it does not,
she should delicately feel around the
throat for the offender. The force used
should be that only which is necessary to
keep the finger in the mouth; lone will be
needed, nor must any be used, while search
ing for the obstruction.
No mother, no matter how cool and self
possessed when this accident occurs, can
treat her own child as skillfully as she
could the child of another. Hence it is
always best to leave this work for some
n at hand. But if alone, the mother
must do the best she can. And if she will
only believe the truth, namely, that of all
the many accidents of this kind but very
few indeed result fatally, it must lessen
her terror somewhat and steady her
nerves, which happy result will greatly
favor success in the treatment. 1t Is
scarcely necessary to add that a physician
should be sent for without delay in all
such accidents .-Boston Herald.
How to Make a Bed "Comfortable."
It is a simple matter to make a bed
Comfortable at home. Materials for q
bed comfortable" which will cost three
or four dollars in the shops already made
up may be purchased for one dollar. The
patent cotton batting which comes in ever
layers stitched in place by machine saves
all in ARRANGING the cotton. and