But if the order of work is well laid oat the night before- hand, the breakfast as leisurely eaten as usual, and the family dispersed in their various ways before commencing operations, then by working with a will wonders can be ac- complished in a very short time. It is not worth while to undertake a thorough cleaning of all extra china, silver and glassware, which may be stored in the china closet in ad- diction to the room itself. They can readily Wait over un- til another morning, as can the examination of table-linen. In cleaning any room after the furniture and carpets have boon taken out and the dost swept oat with a damp broom, the proper order is to begin with the ceiling, then take the walls and windows, and lastly the floor. Kalsomining or whitewash dries most quickly when exposed to free draughts of air, the windows being thrown wide open for the pur- pose; this process can also be aided by lighting a fire in the room, either in the stove left for the purpose, or in the grate. These means are equally good for drying a freahly- ocoured floor. In lieu of regular carpet wadding, layers of newspapers arevery good padding under a carpet, or better yet, sheets of Mothbb'b Cook Boob. 881 think brown paper will answer Tory well. Matting and green linen shades are delightfully oool in either Bitting or dining- room for rammer ase, or all through the hottest weather if the dining-room oan be left with a bare floor, and lightly waabed off with cold water before breakfast each day it will add greatly to the coolness of the room. A fireplace can be arranged with a screen before it, or it oan be left open, the fixtures taken away, and a large atone or pottery jar filled with fresh flowers daily set into it Very showy flowers oan In this way be made effective in decorating a room. Jars covered with pictures of delcalcomania are tawdry-looking: Better far to paint them a doll blaok or bottle-green ; or a brick-red, with a plain band or geometric design traced in some contrasting color. In dining-room furniture oak wood with green trimmings and light paint are good contrasting colors, while black walnut or mahogany, with red carpet and shades of red predominating about the room, look well with dark paint. In arranging a sitting-room large spaces left empty look more comfortable and are more convenient in every way than a room hnddled too fall of furniture. A home is not a furniture wareroom nor a fancy bazaar, but a place for people to live in, and to grow in, and to move about in. House-cleaning time presents an opportunity for dispos- ing of many ostensibly ornamental articles which only serve to fill up place, without being either beautiful or well-made of their kind. An empty wall looks better than one bang with daubs. Good engravings and plain cheap frames are now obtained at such a trifling cost that almost every one can afford one or two excellent ones in their sitting-room. People living at a distance oan easily send to some large city for an en- graving or two, or, if they prefer colored pictures, to some well-known establishment for two or three good chromes. 212 Mother's Cook Boos. I hav« seen some of the beat newspaper engravings pinned upon the sitting-room wall, framed in pressed ferns, with very good effect indeed. Once a. very simple bracket held a glass bumper of unique pattern, from which was trailed cypress vines, and mingled with them, a bunch of scarlet lychnis. Against the white wall of the room they looked brilliant, and the effect was really beautiful.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

But if the order of work is well laid oat the night beforehand, the breakfast as leisurely eaten as usual, and the family dispersed in their various ways before commencing operations, then by working with a will wonders can be accomplished in a very short time. It is not worth while to undertake a thorough cleaning of all extra china, silver and glassware, which may be stored in the china closet in addiction to the room itself. They can readily Wait over until another morning, as can the examination of table-linen. In cleaning any room after the furniture and carpets have been taken out and the dust swept out with a damp broom, the proper order is to begin with the ceiling, then take the walls and windows, and lastly the floor. Kalsomining or whitewash dries most quickly when exposed to free draughts of air, the windows being thrown wide open for the purpose; this process can also be aided by lighting a fire in the room, either in the stove left for the purpose, or in the grate. These means are equally good for drying a freshly scoured floor. In lieu of regular carpet wadding, layers of newspapers arevery good padding under a carpet, or better yet, sheets of Mothbb'b Cook Boob. 881 thick brown paper will answer very well. Matting and green linen shades are delightfully cool in either Bitting or diningroom for summer use, or all through the hottest weather if the dining-room can be left with a bare floor, and lightly washed off with cold water before breakfast each day it will add greatly to the coolness of the room. A fireplace can be arranged with a screen before it, or it can be left open, the fixtures taken away, and a large atone or pottery jar filled with fresh flowers daily set into it Very showy flowers can be this way be made effective in decorating a room. Jars covered with pictures of decalcomania are tawdry-looking: Better far to paint them a dull black or bottle-green ; or a brick-red, with a plain band or geometric design traced in some contrasting color. In dining-room furniture oak wood with green trimmings and light paint are good contrasting colors, while black walnut or mahogany, with red carpet and shades of red predominating about the room, look well with dark paint. In arranging a sitting-room large spaces left empty look more comfortable and are more convenient in every way than a room huddled too full of furniture. A home is not a furniture wareroom nor a fancy bazaar, but a place for people to live in, and to grow in, and to move about in. House-cleaning time presents an opportunity for disposing of many ostensibly ornamental articles which only serve to fill up place, without being either beautiful or well-made of their kind. An empty wall looks better than one hung with daubs. Good engravings and plain cheap frames are now obtained at such a trifling cost that almost every one can afford one or two excellent ones in their sitting-room. People living at a distance oan easily send to some large city for an engraving or two, or, if they prefer colored pictures, to some well-known establishment for two or three good chromes. 212 Mother's Cook Boos. I have seen some of the beat newspaper engravings pinned upon the sitting-room wall, framed in pressed ferns, with very good effect indeed. Once a. very simple bracket held a glass bumper of unique pattern, from which was trailed cypress vines, and mingled with them, a bunch of scarlet lychnis. Against the white wall of the room they looked brilliant, and the effect was really beautiful.

Mother's Cook Book: Containing Recipes for Every Day in the Week, Including ..