Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-31
HOUSEHOLD CARES.
When Men Do Their Smoking at
Home.

Written for The Star.
Where the family consists largely of men,
a careful housewife has one annoyance from
which she is never free. Cleaning away
cigar stubs, burnt matches and myriad
particles of tobacco that become scattered
on tables and chiffoniers Is her never end
ing task Especially is this true when the
man makes the house his club as well as
his home For, however particular he may
be personally about the care of his smok-
ing paraphernalia, men friends, and not IN
frequently other members of the family,
have little regard either for table covers
or for handsome carpets.
In one household where three brotners
and the father were all smokers the
mother remarked that the soft green car
pet in her sitting room showed minute
brown specks near each of the comfort
able chairs. In several places 1t was &C
tually burned. This gave her the key to
their origin. Each boy as he smoked mis-
cigarette or cigar would fieck off the END.
using the ash receiver only when the gray
tip became unusually long. The result was
that many a spark reached the moor W'nlie
It was yet hot, and after innumeraole
feckings the carpet had not faled TO snow
the effect
Her husband, too, had his share in 1t.
At the nightly cleaning of his pipe he
would carefully scrape the contents into
the waste basket, and then blow through
the pipe prodigiously to free 1t from all
particles. Little brown specks flew in every
direction, and as most of them were damp
with saliva, they chung fast to the fuzzy
nap.
The homemaker's remedy for all this was
the purchase of large papier ,mache and
prettily decorated china bowls. These she
substituted In every room In the house for
the usual tiny ash receivers. 1t did not
take the family long to learn the luxury
of spacious dish in which to fieck their
cigarettes and to clean the old tobacco
from their pipes. And not only did the
mothers carpet get the benefit, but her
dainty table covers as well were spared
the wear and tear of the daily brushing
which the previous nights waste tobacco
and overflow of ashes always necessita ted.
In another home the mother noticed that
she was constantly having to buy matches.
At the beginning of the week each room
would be supplied with a small box OF
them, but before Thursday every one OF
the boys would be calling for match when
they came to light their gas at night. She
observed as well that whenever they light
ed their cigars it was always with the spe-
cial KIND of matches she was the habit
of buying.
without saying a word, she thought out
scheme for thwarting them. The next
time they looked for matches they found
the tiny boxes tied by means OF short
length of baby ribbon to the bracket of
the gas jet. That is, the ribbon ran
through the frame of the box, SO that a
fresh case could be inserted when neces-
sary. The mothers plan was more than
successful. So long as the boxes were not
handy, to pick UP and tuck in their pockets,
the boys bought their own matches for
smoking purposes while the match boxes
In the house were always to be found Just
where they were left
Besides petty annoyances of this sort,
which are inevitable in family where
the men all smoke. the homemaker has GER
tain duties which are really essential. For
instance. cigar or cigarette stub that Is
allowed to smolder after 1t Is laid down
! is apt to make person nauseated who
| does not use tobacco, while the effect on
| the lungs is worse than a roomful of fresh
smoke. Every flicker of light should be
extinguished before the stub is thrown IN
| the dish.
| Ashes and stubs allowed to remain In q
room over night leave dreadfully staie