SHAVINGS

Evening Star, Issue 20034, 27 November 1928, Page 2

SHAVINGS

The secret of the beautiful shine on the crystal in shop windows is simply methylated spirits. Add a few diops tc the water (either warm or cold) in which you rinse your crystal, and polish with a soft cloth that has no Imt. You will find that the surface wiil have that clear polish that is so attractive and shows up this type of glassware to such perfection. » » » ■■ Grass stains usually come out quite easily if you soak the stain in methylated spirit to which a little ammonia has been added. After the stain is removed wash with warm soapy water. If the stain is slight rub on a little glycerine about an hour before the article is washed and the stain will come out easily * * * * ■ A report from American sources states that large quantities of German, Japanese, and American newspapers are being imported into certain districts of China, where they are eagerly bought by the natives and used as coverings for their walls. High prices are said to he given, as much as 35d0l a ton being asked and obtained. If this report is to he relied upon, it provides us with a curious reversal of facts, for it will bo remembered that what it is customary to _ describe _ as Chinese “ wallpapers,” which were imported into England in -he eighteenth century, were not, in point, of fact, used by the Chinese themselves as wallpapers, but were utilised by them in connection with their funeral rites. It almost seems as if Eastern and Western ideas as to what really constitutor a wallpaper are no nearer agreement. & * The majority of iho decorative furnishing fabrics of the British Bmpiro are manufactured in the British Rles especially cottons, linens, and artificial silks Canada exports none at all. Juke Australia and South Africa, what sho does manufacture sho needs for her own use Egypt supplies much raw material, and exports her native productions, of excellent durability and design, in the guise of striped and plain cottons for furnishings or clothes* Her flaxen stair and passage carpeting is a very fine production where cleanliness, durability, and gaiety of colour are sought. Wall fabrics of cotton or sik, curtains embroidered by the natives, find a certain tvpe of customers in England. India sends stencilled goods m largo quantities, especially as bedspreads and hangings. x Her fabric exports pertain more to clothes than to decorative furnishings. # * * *

In your now house is there one of those absurdly narrow casement windows where it is impossible to hang curtains without completely shutting out the light? There is? Well, have you ever thought of arranging your curtains this way ? Instead of putting the curtain rod across the top of the window, have two small rods the length of the window recess, and fix them nt the two upper corners of the casement so that they swing out. This type of swivel rod may bo seen in any draepr s window used for display purposes, and may ho purchased from high-class ironmongers. With the curtains on these swinging rods they may he put back fiat against the wall during the day, and at night time, when it is necessary to screen the window, are simply swung round flat against the glass.

Tho principal difficulty experienced bv amateurs when filing the softer metals, such as lead, copper, or aluminium is the clogging of the space between tho teeth of the file with the soft metal filings. This in time causes scratching of the filed surface, and makes it difficult to obtain a nice smooth result. To obviate this trouble, after roughing down the part to be file* finished with a coarse-cut or bastard file, use a medium-cut or smooth file, and rub a piece of chalk over its surface so as to fill the spaces between tho teeth. You can then file soft metal without the file clogging or scratching the surface, for the presence of _ tho chalk prevents the soft metal particles filed off from obtaining a hold between the file teeth. One of the historic landmarks of Wellington City is to he demolished in order that it may give place to premises more in keeping with modern requirements. It is the Albert Hotel—better known as “ The Old Identities ” —at tho comer of Willis street and Boulcott street. Arrangements have been made by a company to take over tho old wooden building and erect on the site in permanent material an eight-story building to bo known as the Hotel Majestic, the plans for which have ben prepared by Mr W. J. Prouse, who is also architect oMhc new Majcs tic Theatre in course of erection a row doors further down the street. Provision is to be made in the new hotel for 200 guest rooms, with ten shops on the street front, and within lounges, writing rooms, and all the appurtenances of a first-class modern hotel. The spacious dining room will be capable of accommodating 350 people. A_ feature of tho existing old wooden building is the series of reproductions of heads of well-known people associated with the colonisation of Wellington _ which form artificial keystones to the window arcliOo on the Willis street and Boulcott street frontages. At the highest point of the facade is a wooden statue of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the founder of Wellington.—‘ New Zealand Decorator.’