Year: 1874

In the average household few things
suffer more from i'll usage than porcelain
and glass, especially the finer kinds Of
such ware. A few practical suggestions
on the best methods of cleansing and pre-
serving these fragile materials NAV be
welcome to the readers of the Journal.


One OF the most important things is to


season glass and china to sudden
change OF temperature, so that they will
remain sound after exposure to sudden
heat and cold. This is best done by plac-
ing the articles in cold water, which must
gradually be brought to the boiling point.
and then allowed to cool very slowly.
taking several hours to do it. The com.
moner the materials the more care in this
respect is required. The very best glass
and china is always we'll seasoned, or
''annealed," as the manufacturers say, be-
fore it is sold. If the wares are properly
seasoned in this way, they may be washed
in boiling water without fear of fracture,
except IN frosty weather, when, even
with the best annealed wares, care must
be taken not to place them suddenly in
too hot water. All china that has any
gliding on it must on no account be rubbed
with cloth of any kind, but merely rinsed
first in hot and afterward in cold water,
and then left to drain until dry. Ii the
gliding is very dull and requires polish
ing, it may now and then be rubbed with
soft wash-leather and little dry whit
ing; but this operation must not be re-
peated more than once a year, otherwise
the gold will most certainly be rubbed off
and the china spoiled. When the plates,
&C., are put away in the china closet,
pieces of paper should be placed between
them to prevent scratches on the glaze or
painting, as the bottom OF all ware has
little particles Of sand adhering to it picked
up from the oven wherein it was glazed.
The china closet should be in dry situa-
ton, as damp closet will soon tarnish
the gliding of the best crockery.


In a common dinner service it is a great
evil to make the plates too hot, as it inva-
riably cracks the glaze on the surface, if
not the plate itself. We all know the re-
sult-it comes apart "nobody broke it,
lit was cracked BEFORE" or Cracked
long time ago" The fact is that when
the glaze is injured, every time the
things" are washed the water gets into
the interior, swells the porous clay, and
makes the whole fabric rotten. In this
condition they will also absorb grease;
and when exposed to further heat makes
u.
old, ill-used dish be made very hot indeed.
teaspoontull of fat will be seen to exude
from the minute fssures upon its surface.
These latter remarks apply more partic-
ularly to common wares.


AS rule, warm water and a soft cloth
are all that is required to keep glass in
good condition but water bottles and
wine decanters, in order to keep them
bright, must be rinsed out with little
muriatic acid, which is the best substance
for removing the "fur" which collects in
them. This acid is far better than ashes,
sand or shot: for the ashes and sand
scratch the glass. and if any shot is left in
by accident the lead is poisonous. Richly
cut glass must be cleansed and polished
with soft brush, upon which very lit
tie fine chalk or whiting is put; by this
means the lustre and brilliancy are pre-.
served.-BoSton Journal Of Chemistry.