The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-03-24
THE Household,
Cleaning Glass Vessels.

We sometimes read very curious
directions for doing very simple things
1t is among the oldest of notions that
bird shot is useful for cleaning bottles,
decanters. ETC.. and it may be in some
cases; but one must not use it for fine
glaas or that which is in any way
delicate.
Many valuable bottle and decanter
has been broken by the use of shot. 1t
does very well for coarse, common,
heavy glass. and one might naturally
suppose that this was the sort that must
haYe been used by women who recon-
mended it.
The ideal material for doing this
sort Of work is coarse sand. Gather a
palltul of ordinary sand from any wash
out on the roadway, pass it through a
common sieve. and put it away for this
purpose. Half cupful thrown into a
bottle and shaken about will scour the
inside as clean as can be. 1t must be
used with care, however, as too long
shaking is likely to scratch the inside
of the bottle.
For very fine glass, potato cut in
pieces the size Of small dice is prefer
able as cleaning agent. This cannot
possibly scratch, and, although it takes
more time to achieve the desired result.
1t is done with no risk to the finish OF
the article. Good, clean sifted sand has
many uses. II one cannot obtain that
which is perfectly clean, ordinary sand
that has been washed down by the
roadside may be used. Throw a pan
ful OF this into tub and pour in water,
stirring the sand vigorously until all of
the muddy look is washed out When
the water shows perfectly clear after
being stirred up, the sand is clean. 1t
may then be dried and put away in a
bag or box for future use.
Very few people are aware that flow
ers can be kept very much longer by
setting the stems into dish of sand
Put the flower into the vase as usual.
then carefully sift in sufficient sand to
Ill the vase nearly to the top, then add
water until it stands very little above
the top of the sand. This is useful in
more ways than one.
Very light, fine vases are thus made
sufficiently heavy to be out of danger of
upsetting. One may also draw upon
the sand bag for filing dishes in which
cutting are put to root Ver3 few
cuttings would spoil if thrust into wet
sand and kept there until the roots are
well grown. Everybody can have an
abundance of rooted cuttings, simply by
tying string around an ordinary fruit
jar, filling it with sand and putting the
cuttings into it. Hang this near the
window and keep sufficient water in
the vessel to make the sand wet all of
the time. In small houses, where there
IS lack of light, half dozen jars hung
around in various windows where the
sun shines, will occupy but little space
and will insure plenty of material for
putting out as soon as frost is out of the
ground.
If one has a number of sleeves, little
sand can be sifted out, retaining only
the finest. A dish of these kept on the
kitchen shelf is invaluable for securing
tables and benches that are not painted.
Some persons use very fine sand in
dish on the desk to clean pens with
This may do for steel pens, but is
ruinous to gold ones, indeed the greatest
care should be taken never to allow
the point of pen to come in contact
with any hard substance.-New York
Ledger.