Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-10-15


Two young men were once boarding
with some friends. There were mice in
their room that annoyed them dread
fully, yet they hesitated to complain to
their supersensitive young hostess. AS
they dared not purchase trap or scatter
poison about on account of the child OF
the household, they set their wits to
work to contrive scheme that would
rid them of the nuisance.
Each night they set well-filled water
pitcher upon the floor, put piece Of
paper, broken in the center, on top, and
upon this sprinkled cheese. A bit Of
plank slanted from the floor to the top
of the pitcher like gang-plank, and a
trail of cheese led the way to the sum-
nit. 1t worked like charm. The
mice, allured to the top, fell through
the frail paper and we're drowned.
A HANDY TIN-CAN HOLDER.
A certain neat housewife hangs a large
sack in some convenient but inconspicu-
GUS place outside her kitchen door into
which tin cans 60 as soon as they are
emptied. A short stick run into the
hem of the top makes an opening
through which the cans are easily slip
ped. When the sack is full it is the
special duty of one of the boys to cart 1t
away to the dump in the suburbs of the
small town. Thus there is never lot
of accumulated trash to make the back
yard unsightly, and no much-dreaded
cleaning-up day to haunt the home
maker.
A HAT LIFT.
To keep a hat from pressing upon the
forehead, sew bit Of narrow ribbon
inside the crown from side to
side, near the front of the hat, leaving II
somewhat loose, adjusting it to feel
comfortable, and to lift the hat becom-
ingly. This band, resting upon the top
of the head, raises the weight from the
forehead, eliminates the red dent that q
stiff brim makes in the tender skin, and
also leaves the hair soft and uncrushed
so that a hat may be removed without
fear of having the hair plastered fiat in
front. Many hats are heavy and droop
in spite of hat pin, and when worn for
several hours they cause genuine
headache. Others are of rough straw
which is unpleasant in spits'of Innings.
So once worn, q woman will always take
time to sew in this useful bit of ribbon.
OF wAsTE-BAsKETs.
He was an inveterate smoker, and
being an absent minded artist-he would
toss burnt matches not yet extinct into
his wicker waste-paper basket. As a
measure of safety, the "power that was"
finally contrived to replace the basket
by capacious jardiniere of plain dark
red earthenware; and fire was no longer
to be feared. Moreover, 1t was soon dis
covered that the big jar possessed an
other advantage Ito housekeepers, at
least) in that it never "leaked" pencil
chips, charcoal dust, nutshells or scraps
of any sort, when moved-and retained
none of these when turned upside down
for emptying.
FLOOR CUSHIONS.
A fad which after all seems to be
very sensible one is floor cushions for
use. These cushions are
stuffed with straw or hair and are made
of denim, heavy chintz, ticking or repp.
They are very solidly stuffed and have a
heavy piece of cardboard placed on the
bottom to make them strong. When not
in use they can be placed in a pile in the
corner of the room where they do not
take up much space.
GLOVES.
A piece of lump ammonia is said to
keep gloves in good condition II placed
in the box with them. Care must be
taken, however, that the ammonia does
not touch the gloves.
CARE OF LACE.
White lace should never be put away
without first being cleaned and repaired.
1t should then be laid in box lined with
blue tissue paper and sprinkled all over
with a little powdered magnesia, the
paper being then wrapped around the
lace so that it is completely protected
from the air. When tho lace is again re-
quired the magnesia can easily be shaken
out.
MACHINE STITCHING.
1t is a great mistake when stitching by
machine to sew everything with the same
length of stitch. If the material is very
fine and ''ciose," too small stitch will
tend to cause the fabric to tear at the
seams. The sleeves of bodice should
always, however, be firmly sewn, many
stitching twice around the
but the long skirt seams should
be sewn, on the contrary, with wider
stitch.
To darn table damask, use travelling
from the cloth. If there is an actual
hole, put under it q piece of the same
damask, matching the pattern to a
thread Then darn backward and for
ward with the raveling. If the work is
done right, the patch will not show after
except by careful scrutiny.
In the past, skill in such needle craft
was considered a necessary accomplish
ment for the finished young lady"
A suburban woman removed every
trace of bad ink stain from new
Administer carpet by making thick
paste of buttermilk and starch, covering
the spot with it, leaving 1t for two days
and then removing it and repeating the
process. After the first application the
blemish had faded nearly out. She
washed 1t thoroughly with cold water to
remove all the paste, and put on another
aver. This she left three days. When
The removed it and washed the place In
,old water, the stain had disappeared.
Don't let buttons hang by their last
thread, darn small holes, never wear
lirty or tumbled lace, and bind frayed
kirts.
Don't sew too much; don't embroider
90 many hours o day; don't do one
hing exclusively and all the time, for
his means strain upon your eyes.
When pressing the dress after 1t has
,een made, the iron should be worked
ccording to the nap, while In sponging
nd cleaning similar procedure should
lways be followed.
Remove smoke stains from ivory BY
nmersing 1t in benzins and going over
. with 4 brush.