WORK COLUMN.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XIX, Issue XVI, 9 October 1897, Page 510

WORK COLUMN.

More art goes to the scrubbing of floors than people are apt to suppose. The accomplished scrubber knows well, and even the mistress who does not seek to know the roots of such matters will admit that there is a great deal of difference between one woman’s cleaning and another’s. To begin with, the water should be neither too hot nor too cold ; in the first instance it is apt to turn the boards black, and in the later it fails in cleansing properties. Boards should always be scrubbed the way of the grain, and directly the water becomes dirty it must be changed. This is a very important point; and if it is not attended to, much labour will be expended in scrubbing dirt into the boards instead of extracting it. Powdered soap, which is usually mixed with soda or soft soap (when an addition of soda would be required), is best for the purpose; and, after scrubbing, the floors should be very thoroughly dried. The less soap and water that is allowed to sink into the boards, the better colour will they become. Should a bedroom be scrubbed, it is essential that the sheets and bedding be removed, otherwise they will become hopelessly damp through the process. They should not be brought back until the room is dried by means of a fire. It occasionally happens that we have boards to deal with that have been left neglected for some time. In this case, make a mixture of one part of lime, three of very fine sand, and two of soft soap, and apply sparingly with a clean brush. A great many people will attempt to clean Indian matting with soap and water. This should never be done. A clean cloth wrung out in salt and water is all that should be used, and this must be applied quickly. A little milk has a good effect and preserves the polish, but nothingelse is required. There is nothing that gives a house so much the appearance of having been thoroughly renovated as clean blinds. If these be of the Venetian order, the best plan is to let down the blind, secure the pull-up cord, and then proceed to untie the knots at the bottom. Then slip out the thin laths one by one so that they may be neither jerked off the rollers at the top nor be pulled out altogether. Wipe the webbing down with a damp cloth, and then the laths should be washed with soap and water singly and thoroughly dried. Replace them one by one, re - thread the cord, and knot firmly. The glazed chintz blinds that are being used so much now are best sent to the cleaner, but they charge very large sums for cleaning Tussau-coloured blinds with deep lace insertions, which are also greatly the fashion. The ordinary washerwoman is quite capable of dealing with these' blinds if a little care is bestowed on their preparation before they are sent to the wash. A piece of cotton —the unbleached kind does quite well —should be tacked firmly at the back of the insertion, thereby preventing any strain coming upon this thinner portion of the fabric, and keeping the blind from stretching.

But however busy housekeepers may be upon spring cleaning, this climate has not yet deserted its winter

mood. Consequently, it is still necessity to concern ourselves with fires ; and what with the putting on of fresh chintz, and the hanging np of fresh muslin cnrtains, one feels that a general renovation of nic kknacks is very necessary. The other day I found a friend putting a fresh drapery on what seemed to me a novel kind of fire screen, and I asked permission to sketch it. It is illustrated here, for I think it is particularly pretty, and an admirable way of using an old piece of embroidery or some bit of brocade for which one has a fancy. It is quite an ordinary bamboo frame, and the drapery might be, as I said, of almost any bit of stuff one has by one, either powdered with blossoms, painted with some design, or having initials worked in the corner. It is lined with silk and edged with fringe, and caught up gracefully with tasselled cords.

Easter eggs were again fashionable this year, and none were prettier than those prepared by the amateur. Sometimes, of coarse, an Easter egg simply takes the form of an ordinary present ; but this seems rather a pity, as it is departing from the original idea, and it is quite possible to put all sorts of pretty cadeaux inside the oval-shaped cases which are meant to simulate eggs. Indeed, these cardboard cases can be obtained entirely unornamented, and then pretty little scenes or sprays of spring flowers may be painted on either side, or they may be tightly covered with embroidery of some fanciful device.

And now for one other article—to revert back to the period of renovation—which is sure to want renewing in most bedrooms. That is the dressing-table pincushion. I find the most useful ones are those that combine pincushion and box at the same time, and I think the one given here is a very good model. The triangular foundation is made of cardboard, and lined on the inside

with strawberry-coloured satin over a slight padding of cotton wool. The cover is lined in the same way, and a satin ruche is fixed to the front point. The embroidery on the top side of the cover is carried out on greyishblue plush, with filoselle of the two leading colours and gold thread, and edged with a silk cord, the hinge being formed by a satin band properly fixed. The outside of the box is covered with greyish-blue satin arranged in puffs.