Chapter III: Part 3

Things with a nap, as broadcloth and corduroy, must not be cut with cloth double from each end. If the goods is double-fold, cutting double is desirable. Otherwise cut so the nap runs the same in each piece. This also applies in case of figured stuffs with a decided up and down. To make a waist or coat pattern smaller lay a crosswise plait from armhole to edge, and cross it with a lengthwise one of equal width. Enlarge a pattern by cutting it across instead of plaiting it and pasting in strips of paper. Alter skirt lengths usually at the bottom; either fold up or allow extra. If too wide, fold down along each edge to keep proportions.

=Basting:= Baste shoulder seams with the upper half of the fronts stretched tight, the back held a little full. Pressing heals the puckers, which give the smooth fit over the hollow of the shoulder not otherwise attainable. Use fine firm thread for basting, with a large-eyed needle. Take medium running stitches in seams to be fitted; with edges to be held for sewing together make the stitches very long, and set them so far back the stitching will not catch them.

=Pressing:= Have a small board covered with flannel, then with muslin, for pressing. An alcohol stove for heating irons saves time and trouble. Keep it with the iron inside a handy box, upon which it can be set when lighted. Do not damp woolen things before pressing. Moisten silk very slightly, linen rather more, and cotton, as in linings, most of all. Press rounding seams, such as armholes and rolling collars, over the end of the board. Press sleeve seams with the small end of the board inside. Sew up and press outer sleeve seams before sewing inner ones. Do the same with very tiny trousers. Where pressing must be done on the right side cover with a thin cloth very slightly dampened.

=Things Applied:= Lace, insertion, _motifs_, and so on, need to be set on the cloth and sewed firmly in place, then to have the cloth cut out underneath. Turn cut edges back and stitch or sew again. Ribbon trimmings, unless gathered, are best put on by hand, with very long stitches on the wrong side, very short ones on top. Bands or borders applied as hems should be sewed on to the edge, turned over it, not flat with it, then basted down and stitched at the upper edges. Hold true in sewing on—a pucker or stretching ruins the fit. Miter corners very neatly, and stitch upon the wrong side. In putting in a fold or piping baste with the double edge even with the edge of the garment, or the band, then turn over and baste before stitching. Hold lace a little full on rounding edges so it shall not hoop nor draw.

Make fancy yokes, put on the collar, then arrange smoothly on the form, put over the bodice, fit together, and set a thick row of pins where they are to join. If the bodice edge is finished, pin together—if it is to be sewn in, leave it free. An overlapping yoke had better have the bodice cut almost full height, and the surplus cut away after the yoke is put on.

=Making Over:= Begin making over by refurbishing—cleaning, dyeing, pressing, turning. Rip, pick out stitches, take out spots, and brush.

=Dyeing:= Dyeing is easy. Use cotton or woolen dyes according to need. But first wash stuffs very clean. Discharge color by soaking several hours in suds, or cream-of-tartar solution, boiling half an hour in clear water, and dye while still hot. Have a roomy dye pot, drop into it all parts of a garment at once to make the new color uniform. Have the stuff loosely crumpled, stir down instantly with a clean wooden stick. Lift after a minute to air, stir down again, and finish according to directions. Each dye has its own special limitations. Knitted woolens, as sweaters, caps, and so on, must not be soaked nor boiled, only washed quickly, covered with clear hot water, let stand a minute, then squeezed out and put into the pot. Silk should not be washed unless very dirty; clean with gasolene instead, but wet with clear hot water before dyeing. If it loses body after washing, dip into stale beer or weak gum water (see section Renovators) or else stiffen with weak sugar water, and iron while damp. A black kid glove cut up and boiled in a gallon of water till reduced one-half makes a good stiffener for black silk, also for mixtures of silk and wool. This, whether they are dyed or merely washed. So does stale beer.

Tack lace to strips of cloth before dyeing and leave on them till washed and pressed. Dyed net had better be partly dried in crumpled heaps after washing, then stiffened and pressed.

=Gasolene-cleaning=: Take out spots (see section Spots), then plunge in a clean vessel, pour on gasolene to cover, wash quickly, laving rather than rubbing or wringing. Change to clean gasolene, wash again, then hang to air at least ten hours. This must be done away from fire or light. Press on the wrong side, and roll around a rod or mailing-tube instead of folding.

=Washing Silk and Cloth=: Tack, matching pieces together, right sides in, wash double in warm white soapsuds, rinse twice, keeping temperature even, and hang to dry without wringing. Take down when damp, and iron double, going first over one side, then the other. Stiffen by wiping over ahead of the iron with stale beer, glove liquor, or cold coffee or weak tea, for silk; with very thin starch or gum water for woolens. Roll after pressing. Iron cloth the way of the nap, not across it. Figured silk and brocade should be ironed on a soft board.

=Freshening Lace=: A bath in stale beer with draining afterward freshens rusty black lace, also stiffens it. It must be pressed when barely damp. Clean cream and light laces in gasolene, using a very little white soap if they are much soiled. Hang to air smooth—pressing hurts the look. Lying in powdered starch and magnesia for a week will often freshen laces. Mend them before cleaning (see section Making Whole). Shake free of powder—dust and grime will go with it—and smooth by laying back and forth between the leaves of a big book and putting on weight.

=Trimmings=: Clean ribbons, braids, galloons, and fringes in a bath of gasolene, changing at need, hang smooth to air, then press under weights, else roll inside a damp cloth for an hour, then press on the wrong side with a warm (not hot) iron. Wind braid about spools or tubes, and leave a day and night. Comb out fringes and wind around cardboard. In dyeing fringe fold compactly and sew inside a thin bag, then dye as usual. The bag prevents the fringe proper from matting.

=As to Turning=: Things worn threadbare had better be turned, either with or without dyeing. Darn the threadbare spots, loosely and sparsely, press—on the right side, of course. Press all over, then take stock of needs and materials. Make the most of every clothes opportunity.

=Freshening Velvet=: Raise the pile of crushed velvet by stretching over a wet cloth laid on the face of a very hot iron and brushing hard while the steam rises. This answers for spots and streaks—with a crushed surface or one so faded dyeing will help it, make into panne velvet by pressing on the right side while damp, laying the pile all one way. Velveteen and cotton-backed velvet dye poorly. Brush well, tack on a board, and paint with hot dye, using a soft brush. Let stand in air to set, then wash with a cloth and soapsuds, followed by rinsing. Press on the right side while still damp. This gives a surface passable for school hats or caps, or yokes and cuffs on made-over frocks.

=Save the Pieces=: In cutting down men’s clothes use the worn parts to interline smaller new garments. Use the very best for the outside, even though it necessitates piecing. Match threads and figures exactly, sew fast, and press hard, then piecing hardly shows. Do it before cutting out. With sleazy stuff whip over edges before sewing together. Avoid putting pieced seams where there will be constant pressure.

=Adaptation=: A jacket or coat worn along seams may be made to serve beautifully for a much smaller person by simply ripping all seams, trimming, and sewing again. Lengthen skirts outgrown by insets of embroidery or contrasting color. Make the waist to match, either with an inset or a deep girdle. Aim to make all changes so they shall look voluntary, not makeshift. In handing down outgrown garments be merciful enough to change them so the new possessor shall not be taunted for wearing. This is not hard; a new yoke, belt, and cuffs will transfigure a garment, to say nothing of the magic wrought by dyeing. Cut, fit, and finish madeovers quite as carefully as new things. Change trimmings—for moral and esthetic effect. Make several dyeings—it is piteous to see a whole family touched up with navy blue or wine-red or pink. Dyes are so cheap, dyeing so easy, give yourself the satisfaction of variety. If combining materials, dye them one after the other, the heaviest first. It is likely to be deepest. Use the lighter tint according to quantity and taste for foundation or accessories. Remember two good garments, or even one, will do more good than several skimped and spoiled.

=Millinery=: Steam hats of fancy braid soft, unpick, steam again, sew while soft, shape, and wire. To change color, paint over with dye, let dry thoroughly, then wipe over with a cloth wet in alcohol to remove surplus color. Or wash quickly with white soapsuds, drying in sunlight; or wipe over with alum water. None of these are necessary if the color does not rub off. Or veil with net, chiffon, lace, or grenadine. Cord the brim edge with silk or velvet, and shir the thin stuff inside. Shape by bending while still damp. Trim according to taste and fashion. Hats of beaver can be steamed a very little, then pressed over an improvised block—a fruit jar inverted, a crock, a tin pan, or bucket. Cover with a damp cloth while pressing. Begin on something of little value, learning by experience. Hats of velvet or silk or lace must be unpicked, freshened, and made up anew, using new shapes. Lingerie hats require simply washing and reshaping over clean frames with fresh or freshened ribbons.

Restore ribbon and velvet as already directed. To improve crushed and faded flowers touch the backs of the petals thickly with gum arabic (see section Renovators), let dry, then dip in gasolene, lave quickly, and pass on into more gasolene which has had a tube of oil color dissolved in it. Work quickly, moving the flower sprays about so they shall not be blotched nor streaked. Lay on soft paper to dry in airy shade. Big flowers—roses, orchids, poppies—had better be separated before dyeing, then remounted. Touching up the hearts with oil color rubbed smooth in a little poppy oil, using a camel’s-hair brush, is a further improvement.

Stiff fancy feathers can be dyed, not by dipping, but painting with hot dye, and taking off the surplus by brushing hard when dry with corn starch and prepared chalk in fine powder. Touch mounting very lightly—they are founded on glue. If ill-colored, conceal them with _choux_ of ribbon or velvet or a made ornament.

Fine feathers should go to professionals—at least, until their owners learn to color cheap ones. Draggled soft feathers may be colored with gasolene and tube paint, shaking hard while they dry so there shall be no clotting. Strip off when dry, and tie the flues into pompons about lengths of stiff wire with loops in the end. Wind the wire with silk thread or cover with a spiral of tissue paper. Two or three shades of the same color tied thus make a handsome ornament for any school hat.

Clean white and light plumes by sprinkling very lightly with gasolene, then burying a week in corn starch and magnesia. Shake out the powder, beat the plumes steadily but gently against the palm, then comb very gently with a coarse clean comb, and hold in the steam of a kettle. Curl, if you like, by drawing the flues, a few at a time, over the edge of a blunt knife, taking care to draw so steadily there is no breaking.

=Ornaments=: Mark what you wish—buckle, butterfly, star, crescent, dagger, or quill—accurately upon rather fine buckram, sew fine wire over the outlines, then cut out neatly. Cover with silk or velvet. Make a butterfly body of velvet very slightly padded with wings of silk. Sew firm, turning stuff well over edges, then sew on beads, any sort you like. Make them imitate butterfly markings, cover a quill as though flues, fill star surfaces completely, but simply edge crescents and buckles. After edging put inside bigger beads, of contrasting color. The beading done, cover the whole under side neatly with soft thin silk or net. Quills need a stout center wire. Crystal, with a tip of gold beads or silver and bronze or jet with silver and rhinestones, deftly managed make effective ornaments.

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VII

REMEDYING SPOTS, STAINS, AND TARNISH

=Grease Spots in Wood=: Scour unpainted wood with clean sand after pouring strong lye upon the grease spot. If it is very obstinate, cover with a paste of prepared chalk, corn starch, and whiting wet with ammonia, let stand two days, and scour. Grease stays on varnished surfaces; wash it off with warm borax soapsuds and follow, after wiping dry, by a hard rubbing with alcohol and turpentine mixed. Machine oil must be taken out with either gasolene or alcohol, then scoured with cold suds—heat sets it.

Dust greasy walls thickly with powdered chalk or whiting, brush off after a day, and repeat. For a small but staring spot lay chalk thickly between net, hold it flat against the spot, with a very hot iron over it. Commonly this will take up the grease. Chalk or whiting wet with alcohol to a thin paste and left to dry on grease spots, then gently brushed off, will remove grease. But with paper badly spotted it is best to take it off and put on a fresh length.

Machine oil on garments old or new must be taken out with gasolene, else washed in white soap and cold water. If spots are black as well as greasy, lay them face down upon a thick cloth and pour alcohol or gasolene through, not rubbing the spot proper, but sawing it back and forth against the cloth underneath—thus the black is not imbedded in the fabric. Lay thin things spotted face down and dab hard repeatedly with a swab of cotton tied in net and wet with gasolene. Move the spots to clean surfaces, and swab till clean. Lay silk and gauze, especially delicately colored ones, over a layer of calcined magnesia mixed with corn starch, and pour through either grain alcohol or chloroform. Wet very lightly a ring around the spot of unspotted fabric and work from it inward to the spot. This to save annoying circles.

Take grease out of woolens with a flood of gasolene, changing it as it grows dirty. If caked dirt shows afterward, wash with naphtha soap, applying lather to the spot, holding a very hot iron a little way from it for a minute, then washing off with hot water. Instead of the iron you may hold the spot to the spout of a boiling kettle, letting the steam penetrate it. Greasy coat collars and heavy garments blotched with spilled food demand washing in suds besides the washing in gasolene.

For a greasy carpet mix whiting and cornmeal, make hot, sift on thickly, cover with gasolene, and rub hard and quickly until the gasolene evaporates, then sweep very clean and wipe with a damp cloth. If gasolene involves fire risks, leave the powder standing for several days, sweep off, and repeat if the grease is not all gone.

Axle-grease spots or any other partly resinous must be softened with oil, then taken out with gasolene or turpentine. Washing, even boiling, sets them. It is the same with linseed-oil spots. Take them out with turpentine followed by gasolene.

=Road Stains=, whether from mud, asphalt, tar, oil dirt, or oil proper, are as easy to get as they are hard to get rid of. Let mud cakes and flakes severely alone until dry—wiping while wet smears them and gives a firmer hold on the fabric underneath. A soft semi-fluid mud, if it can be dipped almost instantly in clear water, laved without touching, then have water poured through from the back, will be apt not to leave a mark—so wash whenever such washing is possible. Where it is impossible, hold the stained surface mud side down until dry, then rub and brush well before attempting to get rid of the mark. Stiff mud left to dry undisturbed will come away leaving but a faint mark. If it is clay mud, pour boiling water through it from the wrong side in a steady stream for at least a minute. Wet as small a space as possible, stretch it smooth, let dry, brush or rub with coarse velvet, cover with a cream of French chalk, starch, and alcohol, let dry, and brush off; commonly the stain goes with it. This for silk or wool. Wash fabrics need only to be well laundered after the boiling-water treatment.

Grimy mud needs to be well wet with kerosene, let stand an hour, then cleaned with either alcohol or gasolene. Gasolene or benzine will also take out spots of tar and asphalt, but they come away quicker and cleaner if first wet with turpentine, then greased on both sides with soft lard, and let stand a while. Dip in the gasolene, soiled side out, and change the gasolene as soon as it looks dark. Bold big stains may demand three changes. After the stain is out spread the fabric smooth and wipe all round the gasolened space with a cloth dipped in more gasolene to prevent circles. Soften oil marks or those from oily dirt by wetting thoroughly with kerosene, washing out later in gasolene as directed for tar. Very fine things can be cleaned with ether or alcohol instead of gasolene, pouring through the spot and rubbing with a wisp of cotton.

Take grease from paper, as books or prints, by laying on thickly powdered borax and calcined magnesia, and keeping warm for several days. Shut books tight upon the powder and put under moderate weight. Or iron over the powder with a very hot iron, shake off, apply fresh, and tie or put under weight. A tender old print, much soiled, should be pasted on a thin cloth and cleaned with a damp, soapy cloth, then, after drying, covered both sides with chalk, left several days, then shaken out and ironed on the wrong side, with the right against a soft clean cloth. Mitigate grease on leather bindings with the chalk pad and hot iron—it is rarely wholly removable. Plain calf admits of gasolene, but for anything else dry-cleaning alone is safe.

=Paint and Varnish=: Soak hardened metallic paint in turpentine till softened, then remove with gasolene, alcohol, or chloroform. Chloroform is the thing for fine fabrics of delicate colors. Use alcohol on white stuff, swabbing with an upward motion. Varnish requires little beyond the turpentine treatment. Earth paints and calcimine demand washing in soapsuds to get rid of the color. Remove paint from floors or windows with strong hot soda water or else a cloth well wet in turpentine. Gasolene will likewise remove it, but is more apt to smear. Plate glass or fine mirrors should be polished with whiting and alcohol after the spots have been removed. Wet to a cream, rub on, let stand awhile, then rub off with clean cloths.

=Ice-cream and Gelatine=: Such spots must be soaked in clear cold water for at least an hour. If on garments that forbid soaking, lay the spot upon a folded damp cloth, put another over it, and press with moderate weight for an hour. Then wipe off on both sides with borax water, weak and cold, followed by several rinsings in clear cold water. Shift the spot to a clean place now and then. When clean pin it smooth between thick clothes and press dry with a moderate iron. Wash fabrics, of course, can be laundered after soaking.

=Fruit Stains=: Soak fresh fruit stains half an hour in cold water, then pour boiling water through them and dry quickly. If they have been set by soap and boiling, touch them with Javelle water (see section Renovators), washing it out quickly. Use only on white things—it takes out color as well as stains. Some stains on colored things can be taken out harmlessly by covering with salt and vinegar and leaving two hours in the sun. Tomato juice and salt in sunshine is another prescription—with a bright tin underneath. An apple cut in half and laid under a set stain in sunshine is likewise effectual. Take care, though, to wash the material well in cold water so there may not be a fresh apple stain.

Ammonia removes acid discolorations; it also mitigates perspiration marks. Use the spirits, and follow with alcohol and water, dabbed on lightly.

=Wine Stains=: Wet wine stains with alcohol or whisky and soak an hour in cold water, else pour boiling water through them with the fabric held taut, and dry before laundering. This for table linen. Stained silk or cloth must be dabbed many times with tepid water, pressing with dry cloths between dabbings. Do not make wet enough to leave circles. Shake finely powdered chalk on thickly when the dabbing is done, let it lie for a day, then brush off, and if a mark remains dab with alcohol and water, blood warm, or hold the stain with the wrong side next a steaming spout, wiping it off well as soon as it is damp.

=Ink Stains=: If ink is spilled on a carpet, take up every bit possible with warm, damp cloths, letting them lie to absorb it. Follow with cloths wet in cold, sweet milk, rubbing and dabbing vigorously. Wash afterward with clear hot water, then sift on, while damp, cornmeal or dry sawdust and let stand a day, brush off, and wipe the spot over with alcohol. Lacking cloths, crumpled paper, newspaper, or blotting-paper can be used to take up the ink. Never wipe it, and take up about the edges first, to save spreading.

Take stains from wood with oxalic-acid solution (see section Renovators). Reduce one-half with boiling water, wet the stain, wipe off with clear, hot water; if stain remains, repeat the acid. Use the acid on white things ink-stained, wetting them first with boiling water and holding the stain in steam or close to a very hot iron for a minute or two after dipping in the acid. Wash out the acid with clear water, as hot as can be borne.

Take ink stains from paper by laying it on a thick cloth, putting on a drop or two of acid, covering with another cloth, and pressing with a hot iron. Remove to a clean, wet cloth, cover, and press again.

Oxalic acid must not be used full strength on silk or woolens. Weaken two-thirds with boiling water, and pour boiling water through the stain after wetting with the acid. Test the color; if the acid destroys it, try either covering the stain with a paste of French chalk and alcohol, letting dry and brushing off, or dropping blazing tallow through from the wrong side, and later removing it with gasolene or chloroform, the same as an ordinary grease mark. The tallow must be left on several days so it may combine with the ink.

=Tar and Asphalt=: Rub tar spots with soft grease, let lie, and remove with gasolene or by washing in hot suds. Asphalt should be well wet with kerosene, left to stand, then washed out in turpentine or alcohol. Soap sets it hopelessly if applied at first.

=Grass Stains=: Rub molasses well into the stains, let lie overnight, then wash out with tepid water, repeating if the stain still shows. If a brown mark is left, wet with weak chloride of lime water (see section Renovators) and hang in hot sunshine or close to a fire.

=Iron Rust=: Take out with oxalic acid the same as ink stains. Else cover thickly with salt after wetting in boiling water, lay in sunshine over bright tin, and squeeze on lemon juice or that of a ripe tomato. Wash out in hot water, repeating if necessary.

=Mildew=: Wet with boiling water, wring dry, then dip in sour milk, lay in sun, and cover thickly with salt. Or beat a raw, ripe apple to a pulp, mix with salt liberally, and spread on the spots in the sun. Salt and lemon, salt and tomato, or oxalic acid will likewise remove mildew. The advantage of fruit processes is that they do no harm to the fabric, which the oxalic acid weakens somewhat, no matter how carefully used. Very fine and choice mildewed fabrics should be covered with a paste of sifted starch and laid on the grass in sunshine. Wash off paste and repeat till mildew disappears.

=Wax Spots=: Soften, dip in warm oil, let lie an hour, keeping warm, wash in turpentine, then in alcohol or gasolene.

=Perspiration Marks=: Try dry-cleaning, sifting upon them over and over and over corn starch, magnesia, and French chalk. Rub lightly after each sifting. If the mark remains, try ether. Make a swab of soft white silk filled with the powder, pour on the ether a little at a time, and dab the swab. Put a drop or so of ammonia spirit upon the swab—not enough to change colors. If ether fails, deluge with chloroform, rubbing inward hard until it evaporates. Such marks are the problem of amateur cleaning—the hardest of all to remove.

=Smoke Stains=: Shave half a bar of soap into a cup of boiling water, dissolve, add a cup of turpentine, a cup of kerosene, and a half cup of ammonia spirit. Mix, and cover close. Spread on the stain, let stand five minutes, then rub hard with the lead swab (see section Equipment) and wash off with hot water and a thick cloth. If the stain is on plaster, as around a grate, use a brush instead of the swab, which is, for stone, brick, or marble, a sovereign thing.

=Care of Iron=: Rust is the bane of iron; grease, its salvation. Coat anything not in use well with hot tallow, and shake over it, still hot, either fine sifted wood ashes or powdered unslaked lime. Wrap in clean newspaper and keep dry. When wanted, brush hard with a stiff brush; there will be a beautiful surface. Anything pitted with rust may as well be thrown away. A merely rusty surface must be greased with clear fat, left standing two days, wiped, washed in clear, very hot water, and greased again. Three greasings should bring it into condition for polishing. Wipe dry, coat with oil, shake on lime, and brush off after twenty-four hours. Any alkali without grease predisposes iron to rust. Eschew soap and soda in cleaning it. Use gasolene or turpentine or even kerosene. A cloth wet in either will take off smut. Polish with crumpled newspaper and a handful of hot sawdust.

=Brass and Copper=: Remove tarnish from brass and copper with salt and strong vinegar or oxalic acid (see section Renovators). Rub hard till bright all over, wash in clear, very hot water, then while still hot polish with a clean chamois skin dipped in sweet oil, and a pinch of either whiting or very fine sand. Rub quickly, wipe with soft paper, heat moderately, and set away. This gives the mellow old look. Copper cooking-vessels must be scoured inside and out, first with the salt and vinegar, then with soap and sand. A greasy cloth rubbed over the outside protects them without being dangerous. If stains are deep enough to demand oxalic acid, be sure to wash afterward with boiling water and borax.

=Bronze=: Wash bronze with a soft brush in hot, weak borax water, dry quickly, keep warm, and rub all over with a clean cloth wet in turpentine with the barest suspicion of wax. It must not coat the metal, hardly even film it. Make bone-dry before setting away.

=Pewter=: Remove spots with a swab of whiting lightly dipped in oil. Wash in weak suds, rinse well with boiling water, dry, and polish with hot sand and a stiff brush.

=Silver Tarnish=: Tarnish, like a bad habit, must be checked in the beginning. Prevention is better than cure. Keep big things, when not in use, well wrapped in wax paper with blue paper outside that, and absorbent cotton added. Put inside canton-flannel bags, tie tight, and keep dark and dry. Watch all things not thus ambushed closely. Remove spots as soon as visible, either with salt and whiting wet with borax water or ammonia and French chalk. Rub hard and quickly, wash off, wipe dry, and polish with dry whiting or plate powder, or what you will. Treat egg-stained spoons with wet salt. Fortnightly at least wash every bit of silver in sight in warm borax soapsuds, rinse in boiling water, dry with clean towels, and rub lightly with sifted whiting. Cover chasings and engraving with wet whiting, let dry, and brush it off. For things in high relief fold chamois skin over the point of a blunt skewer—thus you can rub the deeps. Count at each washing and keep sets together. Upon a damp cleaning day lay a trayful of small things in a half-warm oven, letting them stay till hot and dry.

Clean toilet silver with oxalic acid of one-third strength, taking care to touch with it nothing but the metal. Wipe with a cloth wrung very dry out of hot water, and polish with a chamois dipped in alcohol and whiting. Wrap a cloth about the bristles in cleaning brush backs, and wipe with old silk after the polishing.

=Things Gilded=: Wipe dust carefully from anything gilded with a soft silk cloth, then polish with a clean chamois sprinkled lightly with alcohol and dipped in thrice-sifted whiting. Rub steadily but not hard. Blow dust from deep carvings with a hand bellows unless a vacuum cleaner is in use.

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CHAPTER VIII

FOOD: CHOOSING AND KEEPING

=Flour=: Perfect flour has a slight yellow tinge and a faint, pleasant smell, especially after wetting. Dazzling whiteness indicates bleaching; a gray tinge or minute black specks, showing only under the microscope, grinding from spoiled grain. Test by gripping a handful—if it remains the shape of the hand and shows the lines of the palm, buy it. Gluten is a most desirable element. Test for it by wetting a pinch to a stiff dough, and washing the starch out of it in cold water. The greater and tougher the stringy residue the greater the gluten content. Wet another pinch very soft, take it betwixt thumb and finger, and try to spin a thread. If it spins, all well; if it does not, but makes only blobs on the finger tips, there is likely to have been corn ground with the wheat. Another test for corn admixture is to dry a pinch, but not scorch it, and rub between the finger tips. Pure wheat flour will not feel gritty, but corn, no matter how finely ground, remains a little rough.

Set flour barrels a little above the floor, and do not use the same one continuously. Any wooden container may become a harbor for insects. A japanned tin can, emptied and aired monthly, is best for keeping flour, meal, or oatmeal in bulk. All should be kept where it is dry, airy, and free of smells, as all take up taints very readily.

=Cornmeal=: Fresh water-ground cornmeal has a pleasant smell, and runs through the fingers without caking or clotting. A musty odor shows it is too old. Meal from white flint corn is much the most desirable. Sift it at need—the bran helps to keep it. Cornmeal kiln-dried and bolted, as it has to be for the grocers to save it from spoiling, is, in a sort a libel on the real thing. In it there is not much choice save between fine and coarse grinding. Fine-ground makes clammy bread, hence is to be avoided. But even kiln-drying should not quite take away the original fragrance. Perfect meal shows under the microscope round white grains like fairy hail.

=Oatmeal=: Beware that which has much grain dust between the grains. Examine carefully a double handful before buying in quantity; if you find even one trace of weevil, reject it. Weevil and sundry mites—_Acari_ in scientific parlance—are the bane of grain foods if they are kept over long. Hence the caution of keeping them in bright metal away from dampness and molds.

=Buckwheat Flour=: Fresh buckwheat flour is of a slightly tawny cast and a lively velvet feel. Mustiness means age—at first there is hardly any smell. Clotting or caking indicates dampness either of grain or storage, hence a product below grade.

=Grits and Hominy=: Judge by the absence of grain dust and the even grinding; grains the same size approximately cook evenly. Examine a sprinkle through a magnifying-glass, and if there are signs of weevil or mites do not buy at any price. A pocket magnifier is cheap and handy, also it may save you many times its cost in a single month.

=Coffee=: Green coffee beans break with a clean fracture, and if the break is ragged or spongy there has been mold or heating. Roasted beans should show one-half very dark brown, the other half black but not scorched. Crack between the teeth; you can taste scorching. Fresh-ground coffee is stronger and more flavorous than that ground in bulk. Also there is less chance of adulteration. To test for adulteration, stir a pinch of ground coffee into a glass of cold water. Pure coffee settles to the bottom, leaving hardly a trace of color. Chicory will rise to the top, also making a kind of scum. Adulteration with roasted grain or bread or the artificial beans will color the water more or less deeply. Keep coffee in bright tin or glass, tightly closed, away from light, where it is dry and cool.

=Tea=: Tea is largely a matter of taste and brands, also prices. Very cheap tea is undesirable, being commonly adulterated with spent tea leaves. Tests vary as much as brands. A safe and easy one is to infuse a pinch of tea one minute in boiling water, pour off one-half, and let the other half stand, keeping at almost boiling heat for ten minutes. Pour off and compare in smell and taste with the first. Artificial color, if present, will show as dregs in the long steeping and reveal itself further in a faint metallic taste. Various copper salts are the commonest coloring matters, and, though the quantities are too small to be immediately dangerous, constant use may develop stomach trouble. Tea is best kept air-tight, dark, dry, and warm.

=Butter=: Beware butter too yellow, especially if winter-packed. Butter colors are harmless in the main, but some constitutions are intolerant of them. Look for firm texture slightly grained and a lively, agreeable smell. A sour smell and white specks show something to let alone. Keep tightly covered, dark, and cool, away from any possibility of taints.

=Lard=: If you do not know, experimentally, good fresh lard, get leaf fat, try it out, taking care not to scorch it, and use the product as a standard. Lard must be firm, but not hard, even-textured throughout, and with almost no smell. Your nose, if permitted, will tell you if it is either scorched or rancid—the two unpardonable faults. From grain-fed pork it is clear white, with now and then a faint cream tinge. Keep in glass or bright tin, tightly closed, where it is cool and dark.

=Cheese=: As to choice of cheese one cannot dogmatize; so much depends on individual palates. Get the best you can afford of your chosen sort. Good cheese cuts grainy rather than waxy—it is not too greasy, reasonably solid, and free, of course, of mites or weevil. Cut a section from a whole cheese, then butter well the cut surfaces, cover with wax paper, and keep dark, dry, and cool. Wrap the cut-out section in wax paper likewise, and keep in a covered crock for daily use. Keep fancy, strong-smelling cheeses well wrapped in tinfoil, then in wax paper, and laid inside a covered crock, set in a cool place.

=Beef=: Prime beef comes only from well-fatted animals, neither too young nor too old. Fat and suet are white, inclining faintly to cream; lean a dark, healthy red, which becomes brighter by hanging. Very yellow fat and scarlet lean indicate a condition below first class. The meat should not cut dry when raw, but neither should liquid follow the cleaver.

=Mutton and Lamb=: The fat over the ribs is the best index of quality; if it is half an inch or more, the animal was thriving. The fat should be white with hardly a trace of yellow, the lean a fine purply red, not too deep. Follow your nose in buying all manner of butcher’s stuff, remembering cooking will never work the miracle of making sound the unsound. Good spring lamb has very white fat, with lean inclining to pinkish red. If the rib fat covers the whole surface, all is well. The caul fat should be in lumps as big as the finger end. A strong sheepy smell of either lamb or mutton shows animals badly dressed, or, in case of mutton, too old. Press a bare finger hard upon the outer surface; if the meat feels grainy there has probably been treatment with some preservative.

=Pork=: Clear white fat and lean of a lively pink-red show perfect pork. It cannot well be too fat, yet if there are lumps or inflamed spots in the kidney fat, let it alone. Press hard on the skin; it should be elastic, and be sure there is only a fleshy smell. Sniff the big joints—spoiling begins there. Sniff sausage likewise, and reject if too highly seasoned. The seasoning may disguise less pleasant smells. It should be red and white speckled, the color predominant; five pounds of lean to three of fat is the best proportion.

=Salt Meats=: Streaky bacon should have white fat and dark-red lean—yellow fat is undesirable. It must smell lightly of smoke and have also a tang of salt. Salt pork must be very white and firm, the lean of it showing a dull-pale red. Hams must have white fat, thick and firm, and lean of a rich, clear red just the least inclined to purple. Look close around the bone; if the fat there is white and firm the ham is all right. It must, of course, have been well smoked. But too thick smoke, shown by a black-brown color, is undesirable. Corned beef should be clear red, firm, and clean-smelling. Dried beef should have a firm, dark outside and be a dark, clear red within. If it shaves to slivers partly transparent, it is very nearly perfect.

=Poultry=: All poultry save capons can be too fat. But it had better be too fat than too lean. Choose light-colored fat and firm pinky-white flesh. See that combs are fresh-colored, leg joints flexible, and skin soft. Much hard, deep-yellow fat indicates age. Milk-fed poultry, so called, is mainly so called—it may have got milk, but much else went with it. With ducks and geese, pull open the eyelids; if the eyes are filmed the birds are likely to have been killed too long. Freezing injures the quality of poultry. Dry-picked poultry is much more desirable than that which is scalded. To test for age look at the legs—scaliness is a sure mark of age. Press hard upon the breast bone; in a young fowl it bends a little, in an old one it is rigid.

=Keeping Fresh Meat and Poultry=: Never put meat or poultry in contact with ice, neither lay them flat in dish or pan. Put a rack under the meat, then set the pan in the refrigerator, first wiping the meat with a damp (not wet) cloth. This until cooking-time. Things to be kept several days should be well wiped, laid on waterproof paper, have lumps of charcoal put round and about, then wrapped, tied, put in cheesecloth bags, and hung where it is cool and airy. Lacking such hanging space, lay them on racks close to ice.

=Salt Fish=: Keep salt fish, whether dry or in brine, well away from all else. A good place for them is a big box with a tight cover, the cracks filled inside with putty and covered outside with paper. Put a shelf across for boxes and cartons; stand kits on the floor. Hinge on the top as a door, and fasten with hook and staple. Set the box on short legs, else put bricks under the corners.

=Things in Glass=: Glass jars, whether of preserves, fruit, or vegetables, had better be wrapped in paper, held on by a rubber band, and set so as not to touch. They should be kept where it is dark, dry, clean, and cool, on slat shelves or plank ones bored full of half-inch holes. Light, through its weird actinic rays, plays hob with flavors, and may even induce worse things. Yet jellies set in full sunlight for, say, ten days gain a richer texture and keep better ever after.

=Fruit and Vegetable Storage=: With a cool, dry, airy cellar have movable bins of slats with firm, low legs, whitewashed yearly inside and out. Store in them apples, potatoes, sweet and Irish, turnips, carrots, beets, what not. Lay grapes, choosing perfect bunches only, upon swinging slat shelves and cover with cheese cloth. In a temperature around forty degrees there will be no rotting nor drying up, provided only sound things have been brought in.

=Canning Things=: The secret of success in canning things is perfect sterilization. Do the work if possible in bright, windy weather, out doors if you can; if not, in a kitchen very clean and well aired. Bring into it no specked or rotten things—decay is a ferment the same as yeast, and spores of it spread through the air. It is better to prepare things outside. Drop apples, pears, or peaches in water as pared or hulled, and keep them covered until ready to cook. Have two kettles of syrup, one bubbling, the other barely simmering. Have a boiler of boiling water for the jars. Empty a jar just at the moment of using, fill it running over with boiling-hot fruit and seal instantly. The simmering-kettle is for filling up the other. Keep the bubbling-kettle filled with syrup to capacity, drop in barely fruit enough to fill a jar, cook for five minutes, then seal. A few cloves and a blade of mace in the top of each can improve flavor. Use at least half weight of sugar to fruit—three-fifths is better. Invert after sealing and screw tops harder when cool. If a can leaks, empty it, reheat, fill, and seal securely. Set hot jars away from draughts until cool. Remember, though, the fruit which comes out of your cans will be just as good and no better than what went into them. Therefore spend your time and strength only on good fruit, ripe, but not over-ripe.

=Outdoor Pantries=: Save in the very hottest weather edibles, cooked or raw, keep better in fresh air than in a refrigerator. An outdoor pantry can be set on a back porch or on legs in a shady yard, or even made fast to the wall. A goods box, whitewashed, set firmly about waist high, furnished with shelves inside and a door of screen wire, will hold meat, milk, cakes, pies, bread, surplus fruit, raw or cooked, and keep them to the queen’s taste. Have clean bags with drawstrings to slip over dishes of meat, as hams, roasts, a fowl in wait for Sunday dinner. Lay raw meat upon lumps of charcoal, put other lumps over it, and wrap tight in clean cloth, then lay upon a rack or slat shelf. Put milk in a bright tin bucket with a tight cover, stand it in a pan, put in half inch of water, then wrap the milk bucket with a thick cloth, letting it touch the water. It will keep damp and, by evaporation, cool the milk.

Where ice is hard to get have holes made with a post-hole digger, a foot across and four feet deep. Fit stout wooden tops to them big enough to lap an inch all round. Put a handle on firmly and screw a stout hook in the middle underneath. Suspend things from this hook by a cord or light chain, as a bucket of milk, or butter, a bottle of wine, water, or grape juice, or a bag of fruit. Fresh meat even can be kept several days, of course wrapping it well before hanging it. Rain ruins this form of cold storage, but for camps, summer bungalows, and so on it is a very present help.

A greater one is a dry well either rock-walled or planked up. Have it seven to eight feet deep, wide enough for a ladder, and set shelves around the edge. Or it may be simply dug, covered, and things let down into it at the end of strings. An abandoned well or cistern comes in handy for such use. If deep and dry, whole carcasses as of lambs, sheep, pigs, or deer can be hung and kept safe.

=Dried Fruit=: Keep sun-dried fruit in a warm, airy place, sunning it often. Look it over for worms, throw out infested bits, scald the residue one minute in full boiling water, spread thin, and dry in the oven. In a long damp spell bring dried fruit into the kitchen and hang where heat will strike it, but away from steam. All this applies equally to sun-dried vegetables, such as corn, okra, and green peas, likewise to beans and peas full grown.

=Keeping Rich Cake=: Plum cake, spice cake, or iced pound cake keep a long time treated thus: Pour a teaspoonful of brandy upon the under side, let it soak in, then wrap the whole loaf in a clean cloth and sprinkle with brandy. Put into an earthen crock with a tight cover, lay a fresh apple on top, and keep shut. Once a week set the crock upon a cooling range until warm through, removing the apple while warming. Put in a fresh apple every fortnight, and renew the brandy treatment at the same time. Plum cake almost demands this keeping, being better for a year of it. Other cakes should not be kept over six months.

=Keeping Melons for Christmas=: Plant melons so they will ripen a little before frost. Build a rail pen, floor it two feet above ground, and lay on the floor a foot of corn stalks well packed. Stand other stalks about the edge, then fill in a foot of fresh corn husks. Bed in these the melons, cut each with a short length of vine, and the vine ends dipped in melted paraffine. Wrap the melons in tissue paper, take care not to let them touch nor lie too close to the stalk wall. Cover with another foot of husks, packed down firmly, but not rammed. Over these put more corn stalks, filling the pen with them. Lay on a slanted roof of boards, weighting them in place.

=Fresh Eggs=: A strictly fresh egg has a tiny air space at either end betwixt shell and lining. Lying makes the air bubbles rise and join. A fresh egg sinks in water end down, one less fresh commonly lies on its side. Break an egg, empty the shell, look in the ends; if the spaces are lacking it is not fresh. Or boil hard—a fresh yolk will have white evenly all round. After some days the yolk will be near the shell or pressing against it.

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IX

HOUSE PLANTS, WINDOW BOXES, CUT FLOWERS

=Soil=: Soil for pots and boxes must be very rich and light. Mix it of one-half well-rotted animal manure, one-quarter leaf mold or rotted sods, and one-quarter good loam. If the loam is heavy clay make it one-half clean sand. Heap and keep under cover, away from sun-baking and the leaching of rain. Sift for use. Sprinkle now and again to keep it moist.

=Pots=: Use clean pots and sound. Break up cracked ones for drainage. Wash pots as soon as empty, stack, and stand in air. Wash again before using, dry, then wipe over outside with a cloth wet in copperas water. This to prevent the annoying green scum. Repeat the wiping over with copperas water about once a month. Keep pot surfaces clean—their dull red, so kept, is more artistic than any jardinière. Further, it makes for plant health—a clean pot admits air to the roots.

=Window Boxes=: Window boxes must be well drained. If set outside it is imperative that they be made fast. Lacking regular window guards, use hooks and staples. Paint wooden boxes dull green outside and white inside. Choose tile ones to harmonize with walls and windows. Have uniform boxes for a row of windows—this applies equally to boxes proper and what grows in them. Indoor boxes should have zinc trays fitted to them, with strips laid across to insure drainage.

=Potting=: Pots must be proportioned to their contents. A hyacinth bulb will thrive in a four-inch pot. A clump of three will grow in a six-inch one; it should be shallow. A shallow eight-inch pot will hold a dozen tulips or Roman hyacinths or two dozen crocuses. Broad pots, rather shallow, are best for all manner of bulbs save the tall-growing lilies, such as the Amaryllis family, Auratum, and Easter lilies. Plant rooted cuttings in two-inch pots, shifting them as they grow. Over-potting is a drawback, especially with flowering things. Do not shift until the pot is filled with roots—test for that by turning out—and shift to the next size. Seasonal bulbs rarely require shifting, but those kept year in and out must be separated from their offsets and given fresh earth. In shifting put an inch of broken pot in first, arranging a big bit over the hole, fill in a little earth, then set the plant upon it; the ball at its root should come within an inch of the top. Hold it plumb and fill in sifted earth about it, shaking the pot gently after each handful. Shake hard when the pot is full; fill in chinks around the edge and put a little fresh earth on top, then water freely but without splashing. Let it drain and set in place. Always have something underneath to catch the drip. Glazed ware is better than the clay saucers—they make damp spots.

Plant bulbs their own depth in earth except the finer lilies. Set them only a little way in earth. It is safer to make a little hole in the earth, put in a handful of clean sand, and bed the bulb in the sand. Keep very wet—sand will not rot the bulb surface. Fill up with soil an inch higher, but keep it away from the bulb with a sand blanket, and put a very thin layer of sand on top. Plant ordinary bulbs in succession from September to December, keep damp and dark for some weeks to insure root growth, then bring to light, water, and fertilize, turning every three days to make symmetrical.

=Plant Choice=: No plant will live long without light—few will thrive without more or less sunlight. The green-and-white Aspidastra is the hardiest in this respect. Plants used for interior decoration must be often shifted, set in light, fertilized, and bathed till thrifty, while others in good condition take their places. Weekly changes will maintain a proper effect. Palms and ferns are most satisfactory for such uses; flowering things get ragged very quickly. Begonias carefully tended and not allowed to dry out nor get hot make a brave showing. So do wax-leafed woody things—dwarf orange and lemon trees, rubber trees, dwarf evergreens and box trees.

=Plants for a North Light=: Fuschia stands pre-eminent, next to that thrifty ferns, ivy of both sorts, dwarf evergreens, spiderwort, moneywort, and trailing box vine. An hour or two of sunlight will suffice for all these, other conditions to their mind; also, in their season, for pansies, violets, and the dwarf Japanese morning glories so wonderful in color and texture.