Put the whole into a bottle for a day or two, and shake it a
few times. When the gums are dissolved it is fit for use.
When you think the polish is laid on thick enough, take a clean
wad and cloth, put a little clean spirits of wine on the wad, the
same as you did the polish, and rub it up the same way, but
rub very lightly, and rub until quite dry. You must put a lit-
tle oil on the cloth, the same as in laying on the polish.
For Polishing Furniture. — Half a pint of vinegar; half a
pint of linseed oil; two pennyworth of butter of antimony.
To Clean the Face of Soft Mahogany or other Wood.— After
scraping and sand-papering in the usual manner, take a sponge
and well wet the surface to raise the grain; then with a piece
of fine pumice-stone, free from stony particles,rub the way of the
fibres; rub the wood in the direction of the grain, keeping it
moist with water; let the wood dry then; if you wet it again you
will find the grain much smoother, and it will not rise so much;
repeat the process, and you will find the surface perfectly
smooth, and the texture of the wood much hardened. By this'
means common soft Honduras mahogany will have a face equal
to Hispaniola. If this does not succeed to your satisfaction,
you may improve the surface by using the pumice-stone with
cold drawn linseed oil, in the same manner as you proceeded
with water; this will be found to put a most beautiful, as well
as durable, face to the wood, which must then be polished or
varnished.
216 HOUSEHOLD.
To Cll«aa and Lay by Gurtaiiis.^In summer it ia usual to
lay by curtains of rep, damask, or chintz, and replace them
with lace or muslin curtains, which look much cooler, and the
more expensive rep and chintz are preserved by it. Rep cur-
tains should be well brushed and shaken; wrapped in linen
cloths, and put away (protected by bags of pepper, cedar
shavings, or camphor, from the chance of moths) in a dry
closet or a deep drawer. Chintz should be spread on a long
table and rubbed all over with clean bran and flannel, which
cleans the glaze nicely. Then fold and lay them by. If chintz
curtains have the dust blown off them once a week by a pair of
bellows, and are taken down and well shaken once a quarter,
they will last seven years without requiring cleaning. The
writer speaks from experience in this matter. It is wiser to
have lace and muslin curtains cleaned than washed, and quite
as cheap. Chintz should also be sent to be cleaned and
re-glazed when dirty.
To Clean Covers which are not Silver. — Put a piece of
mottled soap (about two ounces) and about the same quantity of
whiting into a jug and pour boiling water on it; mix till it
becomes a thick paste, quite smooth. Then rub it on the
covers, let it dry, and rub off with dry whiting and a leather.
This preserves the cover from being scratched. The insidcs
and outsides of covers should be carefully wiped the moment
they are brought from the table.
There are also pastes sold for cleaning covers, about the
best of which is Graham's paste; but the old fashioned mode
of using soap and whiting for the purpose does very well, and
preserves the covers longer.
When they are plated, they are best cleaned like other plate,
with gin and whiting mixed, or with rouge powder.
Page 149
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
Put the whole into a bottle for a day or two, and shake it a few times. When the gums are dissolved it is fit for use. When you think the polish is laid on thick enough, take a clean wad and cloth, put a little clean spirits of wine on the wad, the same as you did the polish, and rub it up the same way, but rub very lightly, and rub until quite dry. You must put a little oil on the cloth, the same as in laying on the polish.
For Polishing Furniture. — Half a pint of vinegar; half a pint of linseed oil; two pennyworth of butter of antimony.
To Clean the Face of Soft Mahogany or other Wood.— After
scraping and sand-papering in the usual manner, take a sponge and well wet the surface to raise the grain; then with a piece of fine pumice-stone, free from stony particles,rub the way of the fibres; rub the wood in the direction of the grain, keeping it moist with water; let the wood dry then; if you wet it again you will find the grain much smoother, and it will not rise so much; repeat the process, and you will find the surface perfectly smooth, and the texture of the wood much hardened. By this' means common soft Honduras mahogany will have a face equal to Hispaniola. If this does not succeed to your satisfaction, you may improve the surface by using the pumice-stone with cold drawn linseed oil, in the same manner as you proceeded with water; this will be found to put a most beautiful, as well as durable, face to the wood, which must then be polished or varnished.
To Clean and Lay by Curtains.—In summer it is usual to
lay by curtains of rep, damask, or chintz, and replace them with lace or muslin curtains, which look much cooler, and the more expensive rep and chintz are preserved by it. Rep curtains should be well brushed and shaken; wrapped in linen cloths, and put away (protected by bags of pepper, cedar shavings, or camphor, from the chance of moths) in a dry closet or a deep drawer. Chintz should be spread on a long table and rubbed all over with clean bran and flannel, which cleans the glaze nicely. Then fold and lay them by. If chintz curtains have the dust blown off them once a week by a pair of bellows, and are taken down and well shaken once a quarter, they will last seven years without requiring cleaning. The writer speaks from experience in this matter. It is wiser to have lace and muslin curtains cleaned than washed, and quite as cheap. Chintz should also be sent to be cleaned and re-glazed when dirty.
To Clean Covers which are not Silver. — Put a piece of mottled soap (about two ounces) and about the same quantity of whiting into a jug and pour boiling water on it; mix till it becomes a thick paste, quite smooth. Then rub it on the covers, let it dry, and rub off with dry whiting and a leather. This preserves the cover from being scratched. The insidcs and outsides of covers should be carefully wiped the moment they are brought from the table.
There are also pastes sold for cleaning covers, about the best of which is Graham's paste; but the old fashioned mode of using soap and whiting for the purpose does very well, and preserves the covers longer.
When they are plated, they are best cleaned like other plate, with gin and whiting mixed, or with rouge powder.