The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-09-11
IDEAS for d5Mnrnpn.

fAIfsShcs AID AoW TO poAlSp anu ciedu
furniture is in valuable TO an economical
housekceper. who can easily. with the
help OF an intelligent maid, keep her
house clean and bright and freshen it up
when need be, without calling in the aid
of an expensive workman.
Formerly stains were confined to the
colors nearly resembling natural woods;
but of late all colors are -used-greens,
blues. reds and yellow-which partake in
no sense Of the nature of paint. hut are
stains pure and simple, showing the grain
Of the wood.
ne most fashionable stain at present
for cottage furniture is green-not a sage
green, but a good old fashioned regular
green, which when rubbed well into the
pores of the wood and then polished is
really beautiful. The two transparent
colors. Prussian blue and raw sienna,
make. when mixed together, an excellent
green, or If a brighter tint is desired. gam
hoge and Prussian blue. A very little OF
the latter goes a great way, as 1t al
together the most powerful color known,
and completely overcomes any other pig
ment if mixed in equal proportions. In
staining. 1t should be borne in mind that
it is not paint, but stain, and that a very
little SHQQlQ De uSeu, d PDulu pCtki6 SQlh~
Gent to stain a whole set Of furniture.
"
TO get a good color the wood must be
light Oak, yellow or white pine, maple,
any of these are suitable, and the more
grained the better, the MORE effect of
bird's-eye maple, the heavy markings OF
oak. and the picturesque knot so often
seen in yellow pine, all coming out parti-
- -.-f1tH $1,000 49, $50
color.
The best way to apply stain and bring
lut the grain of the wood is to put it
OF quite thick and then rub it off with
a linen or cotton rag, and it is absolutely
necessary that the wood should be in its
natural condition without paint or var
nish BY sending a special order to the
manufacturers it is easy to get sets of
furniture without either but If it is an
old piece that is to be renovated, 1t must
be thoroughly scraped. After staining
a coat of hard oil finish may be applied as
q filler, and then, after It is dry. 1t should
be rubbed all over with the prepared
beesvax that comes in cans for floors,
and then rubbed with a flannel clcth until
1t is quite shiny and bright. After the
wax is rubbed on It should be allowed to
harder before polishing it. Prussian blue
alone makes "a very pretty peacock blue
stain, raw sienna a yellow or orange, ac-
cording to the amount Of color used.
crimson lake a lovely red, burnt sienna
an almost exact Imitation Of new ma
hogany All these are what are called
transparent colors. and are, therefore.
especially adapted for stains but ever
opaque colors. If put on thin enough %
"a ~ -
times vety pretty effects. White on cer-
tain woods has a milky. opaiesque color
ing that Is very harmonious with delicate
chsntzes. Light blue, canary veilew, APP
pie green and pink all may be used on
woodwork as stains If applied IN the
way that house painters call "priming''-
hat IS, ona coat of paint put on 50 hin
that 1t shows the markings of the wood
beneath. Georgia pine looks particularly
well when treated In this way.
Furniture at the seashore is apt 70
look dingy ana elouded. There is moth
ing SO good to clean paint or varnish
with as the ordinary kerosene which
is used for lamps. It is so volatile that
It has none Of the greasy sickness of
ordinary oil, ard the pungent odor which
SO many object to disappears IN a couple
Of hours. serving in the meantime as
an admirable disinfectanf and insect des-
troyer. A table that is stained and shah
by may be made TO look as good as new
by first cleaning it thoroughly with kero-
sene. then giving it a coat of hard oil
fin sh. and afterward, when perfectly
dry, applying the prepared wax with a
rag. Let 1t stand several hours and then
polish hard. first with a flannel cloth.
and afterward with an old silk hand
kerchief.
Floors may be easily vanished and
waxed by a delicate woman in this way:
Take a very low chair or stool $50 low
that a brush held in the hand can easily
reach the floor without %stopping), and
by moving the chair along the entire
surface of the floor can be easily cover
ed, first, with the varnish. and afterward.
when dry, with the wax. Where a heavy
weight floor brush is not available the
old French way may be substituted, 1. e.,
wrapping up the feet in flannel and shut
fling over the floor or skating on a brush.
It is funny to see a servant who has
been trained to wax floors in this way
IN Europe at his work, performing a sort
of shutting dance over the floor, with
his feet looking like pudding bags, and
his eyes fixed on vacancy, as he sol
EMMY dances to and fro, quite uncon-
. scious Of the ~laughable spectacle he pre-
k%sents.
II have a patent method of my own
f waxing floors, said a mother In Israel
Ind a capital housekeeper. II turn all
e children in with their stocking feet,
Pay a jig on the piano and let them run
Id slide all over the floor; they think it
treat fun, and it certainly poiishes 1t
linely-"
Long, long ago some one said or wrote
"a word to the wise is sufficient" but the
trouble is hat most of us are not wise,
and therefore we need many words oft
repeated before we take heed to our
careless ways. All of which means that
the time has come when a warning word
about low shoes is most timely.
To the average woman the low shoe is
q never ceasing source of comfort and de-
Hight To begin with. it looks well on
almost any foot. II IT is properly Fitted:
then 1t Is go easily put on and off; 1t is
so light, SO cool. 50 comfortable and so
altogether satisfying that the temptation
to cling to 1t until late in the fall is al
most Irresistible
1t is a common thing. therefore, in the
early autumn days, and ever after the