The evening times., 1896-02-20
THE HOUSEWIFE STEAKS.
ANY bride, rejoicing in the bea u
III tiful china provided by loving
vi friends stoadorn h or table, and who,
u wishing to see her new DosseS sionS

v friends toadorn or table and who
wishing to see her new possessions
as often as possible. uses them
| frequently, gricves over the misbaps which
befall the dainty articles, often without sus-
| pecting the real cause.
| "Nicks''-the banc of the housckeeper-
| appear, the gliding looks dull, or even
begins to wear off, the colors OF the ex-
| Quisitc Royal Worcester dish, which has
| been so pretty to hold few dainties,
| fade. the decorations on set OF hand
| painted dessert plates look here and there
| as if bits of the color had come Off.
MUTILATING CHINA.
Nor is it only the china brought forth
| to deck her board on special occasions
| which suffers. The palmer ware pur-
| chased for daily use shows unaccountahle
| cracks in the glaze which, in the course
| OF time become brown, especially in the
| case of platters or other dishes, on which
| meats or any greasy kinds OF food are
| served. This cracking of the glaze is
| commonly due to exposure to too much
heat, for instance, in warming the plates
| setting dishes in the oven to keep their
| contents hot. or even plunging them into
water that is near the boiling point to
wash them.
| After the glaze is injured, every time
| the dishes are washed the water gets into
| the porous clay underneath, and in the
same way the grease from gravies, ETC.,
| enters. This cracking of the glaze, how
| ever, fortunately. rarely occurs n the
| costlicr ware, because they are subjected
| togrcaterhcat in the process of manufacture.
| PROPER PRECAUTIONS.
| Before leaving the subject OF the COM
moner ware, a suggestion which VIII ma
| terialy lessen the amount OF breakage
| of articles in daily use viii be Helpful 10
| the economical housewife. III the yellow
| bowls, crockery baking dishes, tea POTS,
etc, are placed in cold water, which is
heated until it tolls. then taken Off the
| fire and allowed to cool gradually, their
power TO resist heat will be very greatly
| increased, and the bill for replacing broken
| cooking utensils correspondingiy din,iD
| ishcd.
To return TO the fine china-"nicks"
can scarcely be avoided, III servants are
allowed to raise and lower it On a dumb
walter. 1t is far safer-if it cannot be
washed in the dining room or butier's
pantry, TO have it carried over the stairs
on large tray, as the Earring OF the dishes
against each other is Il fruitful source
OF hicks and even breakage. and this jar
ring can be avoided by setting them apart
on a tray, which, in careful bands, is
safe from the jolting and iarriDg of the
average dumb waiter
TARNIsHED DECORATIONS.
The duIlncss OF the gliding is often
due to the location of the closet in which
lie ic
the very best gold win tarnisb. If. how
ever, the misfortune does not occur, Its
hriIiiancy can be restored by rubbing with
a little dry whiting and soft wash leather,
but this should he done as rarely as POS
sible of the giidings will be worn off.
IN THE CLOSET.
Having first taken care that the china
is kept in dry place, the next step In
preserving the gliding and decoration is
never to permit plates or dishes to be
set one upon the other without somc-
thing between them. Canton flannel Is
the best material for this purpose, but
bIotting paper, cut into circles the size
of the plates. Is an excellent substitute.
The bottoms of all dishes are liable to
be little rough. and many a delicate
bit of china has had its gliding or color
decoration niarred or scratched for lack
of the precaution just mentioned. Cups
may be protected from injury by hang
ing them in rows by the handles on small
brass hooks, screwed in just below the
closet shelves. instead of following the
more frequent custom of piling them,
sometimes three or four deep. one inside
the other. which often results in fall.
The effect of the china cups, each on its
own hook, is. also far prettier when are
ranged In the closets with glass doors,
which are now found in almost every
modern dining room.
The secret of the fading of the colors
of dishes in which pickles and salads are
served Is the acid of the vinegar which
sometimes, through some almost invis-
ible holes in the glaze, penctratcs beneath.
Royal Worcester is specially apt to suffer
from this cause, and therefore it is safer not |
to use 1t for such viands.