FURNITURE.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18543, 19 November 1925, Page 4

FURNITURE.

VALUE OF POLISH. Much of the beauty of furniture — j both old and modern—depends on the ' polish, because this brings out all the beauty of the grain and colouring of : the wood. Apart from this, it helps j to .preserve it, and furniture wears i 'twice as long it it is well and regularly polished. In addition to the ordinary dusting, ali furniture needs periodical cleaning and rubbing, and if any of it has come in for special hard wear, all marks, stains, etc., must be attended to before you think of polishing it. Great care must be taken in choosing the cloths vou are to use. They must be very j soft, and such that will not leave any j lint on the furniture, as this is a nui- j banco to get rid of. All cloths should be hemmed, as raw edges are likely to fray and will catch in any ornamental parts of the furniture—carvings, headings,.etc. ■ . ■ ' Flannel or sponge is best for washing. Aiiv soft material will do for drying, and for applying the furniture polish, and a chamois is the best polisher. Some people give a final polish with a piece of linen, but most people will be satisfied with the result given by the chamois. Tho first thing to do is to wash the furniture thoroughly. To Wash the Furniture. ' As a general rule warn? water is the best thing to use. And if you add a piece of washing soda the size of a pea vou will be following the advice given to me by a professional furniture dealer —but it must bo no more. If, however, the furniture is very dirty and requires an extra amount of washing, it must be specially treated. Different woods require different treatment, and here are some safe rules to follow. Very highlv-polished furniture requires warm water with a little methylated spirits added to it (about a teaspoonful of spirits to a pint of water). After this dry it well and polish with a chamois. No furniture polish will be needed. For mahogany furniture use vinegar and water. A small painter's brush will be found useful for any carving or ornamental parts. Never use soap on oak furniture. If it is very dirty a little warmtTeer will remedy this, and will bring back the tone —espeeiallv if it is old oak. Ncyer make furniture very wet when you are washing it. And always dry it thoroughly. The next job is to remove all 6tains. Removing Stains. "White stains that have been caused by hot dishes are the most troublesome. They' can, however, be removed by rubbing them well with spirits of camphor. White marks caused by water can be taken out with equal parts of linseed oil and turpentine. Ink stains must be treated with a little oxalic acid. Spread it on with a cork, aiid be careful not to let the acid get on the wood round ..the stain. With all the stains and dirt removed.. and the. furniture. thoroughly, dried the next thing is your polish. There are inmiPjerable furniture creams and polishes on the market, but those that. are home-niado still hold their ow r n. They are no trouble to make! and they are always more economical. A Home-Made Polish. , The standard recipe—-a quarter of a pound of beeswax melted in a pint, of turpentine aiid leftf to set —is as good for furniture as it is for lioors, but some people object to it, as the beeswax makes it a little sticky and it requires U. lot 'of. hard rubbing to remove this. Equal quantities of boiled linseed _ oil and brown vinegar, well, shaken "together, is excellent. A third recipe is to take equal .parts of turpentine, browav vinegar, linseed oil, and methylated spirits. Never apply furniture polish unless your furniture is absolutely clean, and if ,you are using a now kind of polish always wash off tho old first. Shake the bottle well before using, and apply it with a soft'cloth, always rubbing with the grain of the wood. Only a little'polish is necessary; a lot will give a smeary result, and will be difficult to work in. After applying the polish, wipe with a soft duster, and then finally polish with a chamois leather. There are two more important points to remember. when you are polishing furniture. First, be careful to put your • bottle of furniture pcslish somewhere whore it won't get knocked over! Aiid, secondly, remember that, in snite of all the labour-saving devices of to-dav, plentv of "elbow gfease"'is the only wav to get a really beautiful polish on your furniture. It is worth whole bottlesfnl of polishing creams. SUBURBAN PROGRESS. AUCKLAND'S RAPID GROWTH. That Auckland is rapidly growing and expanding in the suburban areas is shown by the immense building activity and opening-up of large estates in districts not far removed from the outer confines of tho city. Particularly" is this, tho caso in Edeiidalo and Mount Roskill. The opening of the tram route in the former suburban area has led to considerable expansion in building. On the main road, served directly by the ear route, shops and residences arc being built rapidly. The erection shortly of a picture theatre at the present tram terminus 'will bring this rapidly-growing suburban area into line with Dominion I road and Mount Albert. . Many new | roads have already been formed and opened up. The erection of a new school > to serve the needs of the district is practically assured. Along Dominion road, beyond the present tram terminus, many new shops are in, course of erection or contemplated. The building of the new Brixton road School, oft'JDominion road, will mark another step forward. Mount Eden is another of the rapidly expanding suburbs. The concreting of the main road and the extension of the City Council's motor-bus "services has indueed many wage-earners to erect their own homes. Altogether, there are not wanting outward and visible signs that Auckland's suburbs are entering upon an era of expansion unprecedented in the history of the city.