If a fireplace is kept very bright and clean, a much greater heat is obtained than if the surroundings of the fire are dull and dirty. If the fire is reflected on a pure white or even a brightly polished black surface, the heat is so much greater that a considerable saving of fuel may be effected. This is called radiation of heat, and is a perfectly established fact. A bright fireplace is not only comfortable looking, but really more com- fortable. Cinders ought to be separated from the dust, and put behind the fire, or in the stove ; they also make the best beginning of a fire. Bad housekeeping shows itself in the waste of this particular item. Pots and pans, if greasy, ought to be washed inside and out with warm water, in which is a little soda. Once a week the sauce-pans ought to be scoured inside. Rub the inside of tinned sauce-pans well over with soap and a little very fine sand or bath-brick till they become quite bright, then wash them with warm water, and dry well. They ought to be put past without the lids on to keeD them fresh and sweet. i Tin covers, brass pans, etc., should be washed in warm DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 139 water and soap to remove smoke or grease, then dried, and polished either with whiting moistened with cold water, or polishing paste, and rubbed up with a dry cloth till quite bi'ight. Enamelled sauce-pans should be cleaned by being washed first in hot water and soda, inside and outside, to remove all grease, then scoured well with a cloth, rubbed over with soap and dipped in crushed egg shells ; then washed out with warm water, and dried. Knives and forks should have the blades and prongs dipped in hot water and then dried ; it is injurious to the handles of knives to put them in hot water. Afterwards rub bath-brick on a knife-board, and polish the knives. Rub the steel forks with a slightly soaped flannel dipped in bath-brick, and polish with a dry cloth till bright. Spoons should be rubbed with whiting moistened in water, and afterwards polished with a dry cloth. Greasy dishes ought to be scraped clean, gathered in a pile, and washed with boiling water having a small piece of soda dissolved in it; dried first with a dishcloth wrung tightly, and afterwards polished with a dry cloth. Tea- cups, etc., should be dipped one by one in clean warm water, and dried carefully with a soft towel. Glass is best washed in cold water. Allow it to drain for some time, then dry and polish with a soft cloth. Wood is made and kept white by using cold water to scrub it, unless where there is grease ; in that case, use warm water and a little soda. Wet the wood first with a flannel cloth, then sprinkle a little sand over it, rub a brush with soap, and scrub it well, rubbing with the grain of the wood ; then wash well with water, and dry thoroughly. A stair should always be swept with a short brush, holding a dust-pan in front of each step. If the stair 140 DOMESTIC ECONOMY. be of wood, it should afterwards be rubbed with a dry duster.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

If a fireplace is kept very bright and clean, a much greater heat is obtained than if the surroundings of the fire are dull and dirty. If the fire is reflected on a pure white or even a brightly polished black surface, the heat is so much greater that a considerable saving of fuel may be effected. This is called radiation of heat, and is a perfectly established fact. A bright fireplace is not only comfortable looking, but really more comfortable. Cinders ought to be separated from the dust, and put behind the fire, or in the stove ; they also make the best beginning of a fire. Bad housekeeping shows itself in the waste of this particular item. Pots and pans, if greasy, ought to be washed inside and out with warm water, in which is a little soda. Once a week the sauce-pans ought to be scoured inside. Rub the inside of tinned sauce-pans well over with soap and a little very fine sand or bath-brick till they become quite bright, then wash them with warm water, and dry well. They ought to be put past without the lids on to keep them fresh and sweet. Tin covers, brass pans, etc., should be washed in warm water and soap to remove smoke or grease, then dried, and polished either with whiting moistened with cold water, or polishing paste, and rubbed up with a dry cloth till quite bright. Enamelled sauce-pans should be cleaned by being washed first in hot water and soda, inside and outside, to remove all grease, then scoured well with a cloth, rubbed over with soap and dipped in crushed egg shells ; then washed out with warm water, and dried. Knives and forks should have the blades and prongs dipped in hot water and then dried ; it is injurious to the handles of knives to put them in hot water. Afterwards rub bath-brick on a knife-board, and polish the knives. Rub the steel forks with a slightly soaped flannel dipped in bath-brick, and polish with a dry cloth till bright. Spoons should be rubbed with whiting moistened in water, and afterwards polished with a dry cloth. Greasy dishes ought to be scraped clean, gathered in a pile, and washed with boiling water having a small piece of soda dissolved in it; dried first with a dishcloth wrung tightly, and afterwards polished with a dry cloth. Teacups, etc., should be dipped one by one in clean warm water, and dried carefully with a soft towel. Glass is best washed in cold water. Allow it to drain for some time, then dry and polish with a soft cloth. Wood is made and kept white by using cold water to scrub it, unless where there is grease ; in that case, use warm water and a little soda. Wet the wood first with a flannel cloth, then sprinkle a little sand over it, rub a brush with soap, and scrub it well, rubbing with the grain of the wood ; then wash well with water, and dry thoroughly. A stair should always be swept with a short brush, holding a dust-pan in front of each step. If the stair be of wood, it should afterwards be rubbed with a dry duster.

Household cookery and laundry work