Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-25
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING.
BY Laura A. kirkman.
THE BRIDES CHINA.

Please tell me how many pieces OF
china | will need and what pattern YOU
would advise, writes n bride-to-be. The
man ] am soon to marry Is Furnishing n
little house for me so prettily, but we must
have inexpensive things to begin with
and would like to be economical IN choos-
ing the china.
The amount of china needed by n
bride depends upon the extent to which
she will entertain. But as my corre
spondent said nothing about this. ! will
give her list comprising only the china
she will need for herself and her husband
and perhaps an occasional guest-nOt n
list including the pieces she would require
for extensive entertaining. This list Is:
Six dinner plates, six tea plates. six
soup plates. six dessert plates, six bread
and butter plates. six cups and saucers,
six cereal bowls, two large vegetable dishes
gravy boat one large meat platter
and one small, six after-dinner cups and
saucers these might be omitted, two
small fancy dishes TO contain radishes,
olives. bonbons, or nuts This supply
of china should be supplemented by six
small glass or earthenwarc ramekins,
one large glass or earthenware casse-
role for baked puddlngs or baked vege-
table or meat dishes and SIN glass Gus
tard cups.
And now comes the question. What
kind of china" In the first place, it
should be of good quality; this is
economy in the long run, for the cheap
or porcelains are improperly glazed and
not only chip more easily than the finer
grade but in some eases the glaze cracks,
leaving an ugly notified appearance.
Ii is also important to select pattern
from open stock that is, a pattern
which can be had in odd pieces and which
the dealer assures one viii be manu-
factured year after year.
Tastes vary and the china on the
market is patterned to suit the most
antIpodal preferences. But there arc
few things one should avoid in choos-
ing china-bands of gold or color run
ming near the edge of china should be
avoided because the least chip at the
edge will show up-whereas If such a
band ran nearer the center the chip
would not be as noticeable; raised de-
signs are also undesirable ii these raised
portions are colored or gilded, for the
color or gold will be pretty sure to wear
of after little use because the raised
part will receive the most wear
It is nice to have salad dishes (thc
tea plates may be used for this of
different pattern from the rest Of the
set-a little fancier. The same is true
of cereal dishes (which may be used for
dessert dishes and OF bread and butter
plates.
A couple of odd glass dishes (imita-
tion cut glass, or, better, the lovely and
inexpensive etched glass, for desserts
viii be quite help. Other necessary
pieces of glass ware are: an oblong dish
to hold celery, a medi,lm-sized salad
bowl, six water glasses, water pitcher.
sugar bowl and cream pitcher, and a
syrup pitcher with nickel or silver top.
And when the time CONES to afford extra
pieces of glassware. ] would suggest
tall farine glasses for iced fruit drinks
in hot weather, and the new glass tubes
with colored shelshaped fiat portion
st the end Ito stir with through which
TO drink the iced beverages.