Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-07-31

| fessioual house furnlsher, or Cor one 10
hon the purchase Of q new carpet In
this day Of cheap carpetiug-cheap, alas!
| In quality % we'll ~ 10 price--ls mot
serious problem, this article 10 not In
tended, but rather for the one whosc
clever Ingenuity, united with . short
pure, endeavors 20 procure the best
possible results on the question OF floors
at the least possible expense.
u might be that abs cannot snord
carpet; that shc lives Ia . place where
MIXED paint even II not To Be had.
These dlfiiculties are always In man
ner surmounte,i-Just how, depending
on the bousekeeper's Ingenuity. Of
course, therc are rugs aud rugs; rg
CARPETS. too; and on hot summer days I.
new iy-waslsssi noor, clean, cool aud
sweet smelling, II to be admlrcd-prr-
frrred even to carpetcd room.
And bare noor may be made "th'ng
Of beauty and Q Joy forever" At the ex-
pence only Of patience, skili, aud plenty
of what our grandmothers would have
termed 'elbow grease"
In the south, carpets--those "hsrb'n-
gers Of dust and disease gefms"- are
little used In warm weather, many house
keepers prefrrring bare floors even tn
mating. AZ they are to be exposed 70,
View, the floors there are made OF hard
wood-plne, generally-though occaslon-
ally. oak IL used. The boards are dove
tailed together ne carefully as for table
or cabinet, aud every crc,ice u hlloi In
With putty.
The manner of keeping these floors IL
often the rcsult of individual taste, In
Renulty, or the clever availability of
means at hand. In some eases, where
the fioor IL naturally . pretty one, u ls
simply waved without any staining
whatever, and the result u, In every
way, quite satisfactory.
III the fioor IL to bc oiled, the follow.
Ing 10 q welI.tcsted recipe: Boil linsec,i
oil thoroughly. aud apply II ~ hot q.
possible by means Of mop made OF old
rags. or By q soft brush. Rub the moor
afterwards until q cambric handkerchief
may he wiped over Il without being
stained. LET the oil dry . day or two.
aud meantime the brush-polishlng may
be repeated as often ~ desired; though
the latter IL not absolutely necessaiy.
vet Il adds exceedingly tn the hesuty al
the work and more than repsys for the
added labor. A pretty coloring and one
much used, may lie made by dissolyins
spanish-brown In the oil. Hack walnut
bark dye gives dark brown tint, much
Ike that of the ~ood of the tree itself.
have In my mind now three teauti.
fui fioors, co.ily only In patience and
work, aud To the owner of bare hoor'
" o has more time than money, aud WHO
vet longs Tor the refining influence al
beauty about her home, the method 81
Treating these floors may prove useful,
or, perhaps, suggestive of better one..
The hr,t, q psrlor hoof In an old VII
slnia homestead, was the pride at III
Iowner and the admiration Of strangers
A handsome drusget In dull, rich tones
covered the centre 10 the door; the lat
ter. where exposed "a View, showed Z
rich, nut-brown color, beautiful la sum
mer, not cold-looking In winter, aud "a
highly polished that the shadows al
ohI-cis we're distinctly reflected In u.
The effect was wonderfui--sDd yet thu
n hole MAS the result of one clever little
womAn's patience and Ingenuity.
The mystery 30 the drugget wss years
accumulation Of scrsps, gathered M
string. and woven Ike carIstlng u
~ss prepared In this wise; Bright-hue,
wool scraps, odd. and ends, and "lefi
overs" had been cut Into bias strips
something lee. than an Inch In width
aud gathered gu stout thread by running
the needle through the middle OF eaci
strip Ia moderate stitches, ~ you ~oald
for ordinary gathers. Linen thread, Nv,
yards In length. va. chosen Tor eaei
.tring-the first for durability, the sec
ond for the convenience of the weaver
No matter how tiny . scrap Was, u coul'
be thus used, and when the strips wer'
pushed into place aud the string com
pl.ts,i, IL presented the rope-like, slight.
iy funny appearance of chenille cord
of course, IL took o great number al
these strings, but the work ~As don'
only nj odd moments and spare times
minute. that would otherwise have gor'
10 waste Nth the scraps themselves ]
they hsd not been 80 utilized. 81 KEEP
my wo'k-bAsket handy" she explained
"snd there MAS always q string u
progress. On hnishing = garment an'
putting away the larger pI.ces, ! invari
ably strung up al the tiny bits sn'
.hrrds that would otherwise have gon'
into the fire. Ia madco,er garment
there xer, often good pieces left thu
~erc thus utilized, aud In dyeing ] nj
Ways had some such picces Ia dip Int
the dye aud frr.hen up . bit. Old han
nels and soft ~oolen goods, worn to-
thin Ia be used for anything else, worl
up beautifully In such rugs do ALA
old meriDo stocking tops aud cotton
tack wool goods -haif-worn of course
"No, I did not think of making
drusget when I commenced the work
Ny highest ambition Was q rug-a smai
snair-with these strings se~ed upon
In some conventional design. Hut th'
work grew 80 fast, that the drugget sug
sested itself later on. IL IL wonderful
how much may be- accomplished by sys
TEN aud direction of all ones Odd mo
ments To some ultimate whole"
And the fioor, 10 had been stained by
strong decoction Of chestnut osk bark
made by boiling the bark, fresh from tn
tree, la water aud adding to u iitth
I've to set the color. This Was applies
IA the floor, plank by plank, and rubbcs
Idry With an old-fAshioned, dry-rubbinI
brush as NECESSARY an Institution In n
old Virginia homestead ne the broom u
self. This WAS repeated three times, ant
every spring-ln the inevitable house
cleaning period-the dye Was renewed
Que coat only being sufficient after tn
dr.t staining. An occasional rubbing
With the brush, and = little Max nov
aud then, Was all that VAS necessary u
keep u la order.
The second floor Was = yello~is'
brown--a peculiar tint, too light To IL
called brown, too dark To be called yel
low. u Was obtained by treating th'
pine wood With strong lye leached frou
hickory ashes and applied la the manne
Just described.
The third floor, q marvel ut bcsuty
VAS spotlessly white, With . surface n
soft and sherny ~ satln-wood. u Wa
kept In order by simply polishing Will
nne white sand, slftrd through coars'
muslin and applied With an old shoe u
every spot. Afterwards, the ncor va
rubbed with the dry-rubbing brush
until that soft, sheeny, satln-wood ap
pearance Was obtained.
Il, WELCOME LAUGHTER.