Carpet designs are handsomer now than ever before, and there is
no need for a homely pattern to find its way into any home. Care
in their preservation will guarantee a long service, and by care is
meant intelligence in cleaning and dusting them, and in the manner
in which they are laid. No carpet ought to cover the entire floor.
An inch, if not more, of space should be left all round the room, so
that the corners can be kept clean, and the carpet easily taken up.
They should be carefully fastened down with tacks that have suffi-
46 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
c«ent body to hold and not tear the fabric, and the stretching process,
save in a moderate degree, should not be indulged in because it ruins
a carpet. Brown paper or newspapers are better protectors against the
floor under carpets than the generality of paddings sold for that pur-
pose ; and no carpet ought to remain on the floor long enough to
wear these out. Dust in a carpet is likely to do more harm than to
keep a duster in use; weak lungs have no greater enemies.
To sweep a carpet properly requires judgment, and, if there is
much dust to be taken out of it, tea-leaves or bran or salt should be
slightly dampened and scattered over it. Afterward, the carpet
should be wiped off with a clean silk or cotton dust-cloth. The
sweeping should never be done against the grain — and the short, fierce
strokes of an inexperienced sweeper only injure and do not clean a
carpet. A long movement of the arm with the broom, holding the
broom down to the floor, when the length is a long reach, will
remove the dust and yet not throw it in the air, thus making double
work. A broom used on a carpet should never be taken to sweep any
other kind of floor. When not in use, they should be hung upon a
nail by a string put through the handle for the purpose. Servants
rarely take the interest in carpets that the mistress does ; and since
it is poor economy to hire a servant to take the exercise which she
requires, housekeepers, as far as possible, should do their own sweep-
ing. This is a radical doctrine, but the exercise is excellent, and it is
the kind that the majority of women sadly need.
To so adorn a window that it shall be an improvement to a
room, and a pleasing feature of the exterior view of the house, is an
achievement all too rarely accomplished. In the majority of homes
a white shade is considered sufficient finish for the up-stairs windows,
and the surplus adornments are reserved for the parlor, and when
this is accomplished the windows are said to be decorated. Lace
curtains are the chosen drapery for windows, and these are now
manufactured in such varied qualities that the cottage of the hum-
blest mechanic can have its pretty muslin or Nottingham curtains,
though the latter, unless fine, are not desirable, even in cottages.
HOME-MAKING AND HOME-MANAGEMENT. 4/
Page 24
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Carpet designs are handsomer now than ever before, and there is no need for a homely pattern to find its way into any home. Care in their preservation will guarantee a long service, and by care is meant intelligence in cleaning and dusting them, and in the manner in which they are laid. No carpet ought to cover the entire floor. An inch, if not more, of space should be left all round the room, so that the corners can be kept clean, and the carpet easily taken up. They should be carefully fastened down with tacks that have suffi-
46 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
cient body to hold and not tear the fabric, and the stretching process, save in a moderate degree, should not be indulged in because it ruins a carpet. Brown paper or newspapers are better protectors against the floor under carpets than the generality of paddings sold for that purpose ; and no carpet ought to remain on the floor long enough to wear these out. Dust in a carpet is likely to do more harm than to keep a duster in use; weak lungs have no greater enemies.
To sweep a carpet properly requires judgment, and, if there is much dust to be taken out of it, tea-leaves or bran or salt should be slightly dampened and scattered over it. Afterward, the carpet should be wiped off with a clean silk or cotton dust-cloth. The sweeping should never be done against the grain — and the short, fierce strokes of an inexperienced sweeper only injure and do not clean a carpet. A long movement of the arm with the broom, holding the broom down to the floor, when the length is a long reach, will remove the dust and yet not throw it in the air, thus making double work. A broom used on a carpet should never be taken to sweep any other kind of floor. When not in use, they should be hung upon a nail by a string put through the handle for the purpose. Servants rarely take the interest in carpets that the mistress does ; and since it is poor economy to hire a servant to take the exercise which she requires, housekeepers, as far as possible, should do their own sweeping. This is a radical doctrine, but the exercise is excellent, and it is the kind that the majority of women sadly need.
To so adorn a window that it shall be an improvement to a room, and a pleasing feature of the exterior view of the house, is an achievement all too rarely accomplished. In the majority of homes a white shade is considered sufficient finish for the up-stairs windows, and the surplus adornments are reserved for the parlor, and when this is accomplished the windows are said to be decorated. Lace curtains are the chosen drapery for windows, and these are now manufactured in such varied qualities that the cottage of the humblest mechanic can have its pretty muslin or Nottingham curtains, though the latter, unless fine, are not desirable, even in cottages.