The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-12

The care of hardwood floors was the
somewhat prosaic topic discussed by
Miss Maria Parloa yesterday afternoon
in Young Mems Christian Association
hall. 1t was the fourth lecture of the
course she is giving and as handled by
her was far from being dull or prosaic.
During the progress of her talk she told
Row to polish and keep hard wood
floors III good condition; how to polish
woodwork and furniture; how to re-
move stains and restore color to wood
work and furniture and how to make
polishes. Her talk was illustrated by
practical demonstrations of the man
ner In which all of these things are
done.
Nothing more helpful or practical
than Miss Parloa's talks on Domestic
Economy have been heard in this city
and 1t is a matter of comment that
there is not a larger attendance each
day. a newspaper report cannot of
course give anything more than brief
outline of Miss Parloas talks and but
the faintest hint of the practical dem
onstrations OF the most approved and
labor Saving method of doing house
work which the speaker uses to illus
trate the text of her lectures.
YESTERDAYS LECTURE.
Miss Parloa began her talk yesterday
by stating that the daily care of q pol
ished hard wood lloor is perhaps great
er than that of carpet, but this daily
care is 50 simple and the outlay of
time and strength so small that it is
very little compared with the amount
of strength and time one must give a
carpeted room in the course of a year.
She then went into a general discus
sion on the proper method of caring for
hard wood floors and laid particular
stress on the fact that water should
not be used on any fine floor. She then
gave a demonstration of the proper
method of cleaning a floor with turpen-
tine and said that when the spot was
of such a nature that turpentine can
not be used then steel wool should be
employed. There was a large spot of
grease on the stage and this she quick
ly wiped out by the use of steel wool.
Next she showed how to wax and
polish floors with two kinds of encous-
tics, the method of preparing which she
explained. One of the encoustics cleans
and polishes and this she used with ex-
cellent effect on the back of one of the
seats in the auditorium. She gave the
ladies general directions concerning the
best method of using the weighted
brush for polishing and showed them
how to clean dull and marred furniture
POLISHED A TABLE.
A small table with a cherry top was
brought on the stage and Miss Parloa
cleaned one-half of it with rotten stone
and oil and the other half with rotten
stone and water, giving a practical
illustration of the difference of oil and
water for such purposes.
Miss Parloa next gave very lucid
explanation of the manner in which
color may be restored to furniture that
has been scratched or bruised
Natural woods" said the speaker
require special care. AS much as
possible avoid using water on them.
Once a year the wood can be wiped
with a mixture of oil and turpentine
and the more thoroughly it is rubbed
into the wood the better. All these
| woods can be cleaned by wiping with
cloth wet with kerosene. This sub
stance not only cleans but it oils, too.
! The only objection is the odor, and
| that certainly is an objection. Tur-
! pentine cleans but the oling should
always follow. The preparation should
not be put on too thick. A soft flannel
! should be moistened in the mixture
! and then rubbed on the wood, always
rubbing with the grain Polish with
a dry flannel. Use about two-thrds
oil and one-third turpentine"
Miss Parloa's next lecture will be be
! on Thursday afternoon when she will
review the four previous lectures and
also speak about fuel, management of
| fires, lighting and ventilation.