Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-10-10
GOOD BEDDING,
As Half Mans Lie is Spent in Bed, 1t is a
Matter of Importance.

'soees' " o'so'eS'
There is nothing in house-furnish.
ing quite SO nice-or so necessary-as
clean, comfortable, sweet-smelling beds
and these are so easily provided and SO
cheaply made that it is wonder in.
telligent people will put up with such
make shifts" as one often finds, even
among well-to-do people. A bedstead
should be firm on its feet" and its
parts closely fitted, so there will be no
cracks, crevices or holes in which a
chance insect may hide. If such hid
ing places do exist, they should be
filled with putty, such as GLACIERS use,
at the cost OF few cents. Casters
are a matter of course nowadays.
Twice a year the bedstead should be
taken apart, thoroughly busted and
washed, and one or more coats OF warm
ish applied. In this way it will al
ways be clean, and look new. A warn.
ish brush costs but little, and with
care will last for years.
To every bedstead, there should be
good bed-springs; the best is none too
good, and cheap ones are an abomi-
nation. Get the best mattress your
means will allow. The best always
being the pneumatic mattress, but
like all "good things" it comes high.
If you must get cheap one or none,
it will be An exercise of economy to
get none, for mattress made OF q
loose weave of cheap ticking, filled
with shavings or poor excelsior, with a
thin layer of lumpy cotton batting
spread over it's top, is one of the most
uneatisfactory investments you can
make. A better way will be to buy a
good grade of ticking, or domestic
Bingham, and make it up to fit your
bed-six feet nine inches in length,
and four feet ten inches in width, is q
good size, and will allow for shrinkage
when washed. Make two openings,
on each side-one near each end,
large enough to insert your hand !;
leave the end partly open; send to the
feed store" and get bale of the best
straw-that which is freest from chaff,
or, ii you like it better, bale of
prairie hay. Fill the tick with this,
atuffing all the corners we'll, and push.
ing it we'll to the sides. When as full
as it will hold, "run up" the end
seam, with coarse needle and thread,
and lay it on the bed springs. then,
putting your hands into the openings
left on the sides, stir the filling evenly
all over the bed.tick. For the first
few times Of using you may find few
"holes" and bumps" but these can
readily be stirred down, and the straw
equally distributed.
Now. get some medium weight un.
bleached domestic-quite thin will do,
and a yard wide; tear off three strips
the length desired-six feet four
inches is about right; seam the three
widths together on your machine /;
tack one and one. half Widths into q
frame, as for quilting, letting the
other part fall over to one side. Get
four rolls of cotton batting, and lay
evenly over the muslin, as il for q
comfort; turn the loose muslin up
over it, lacking also to the frames, and,
with coarse knitting cotton. or cotton
twine, tack this, As for . comfort,
though not 80 closely. When done,
take out of the frames. and "run up"
the side and ends by hand. This will
be yonr cotton mattress. to lay over
your straw mattress, and you will find
it comfortable, add easily aired and
kept clean.
When the muslin shows soil, as it
will by usage, rip up the hand.sewed
side seam and ends, cut the lacking,
and carefully lay your cotton out in
the sun, while you launder the muslin,
then put together again as at first. and
your bed will be sweet and clean
again, with very little trouble.
A good way to clean your mattress
especially If children have been sleep.
ing on it, is to lay it out on boards, or
grass, just before heavy shower, and
let remain out and dry in the hot
sunshine before using.