ried before putting away,
to prevent rusting.

If draining is considered preferable to wiping dishes, a good plan, if
one has not a patent dish drainer, is to fold an old tablecloth in
several thicknesses and spread upon the table. Wash the dishes carefully
and rinse in hot water. Place a cup or bowl bottom upward, lay a plate
on each side, then one between and above them, with two more on the
outside, and so on, not permitting them to touch more than necessary.

DISHCLOTHS AND TOWELS.--No dishes or utensils can be well cared for
without good, clean dishcloths and towels, and plenty of them. An
excellent dishcloth may be either knit or crocheted in some solid stitch
of coarse cotton yarn. Ten or twelve inches square is a good size.
Several thicknesses of cheese-cloth basted together make good
dishcloths, as do also pieces of old knitted garments and Turkish
toweling. If a dish mop is preferred, it may be made as follows: Cut a
groove an inch from the end of a stick about a foot in length and of
suitable shape for a handle; cut a ball of coarse twine, into nine-inch
lengths, and lay around the stick with the middle of the strands against
the groove; wind a fine wire or cord around the twine to fasten it in
the groove; then shake down the twine, so it will lie all one way like a
mop, and fasten it to the handle by tying a second cord around it on the
outside.

Towels for drying dishes should be of three different grades,--fine ones
without lint for glass, silver, and fine china; coarser ones for the
ordinary table ware, and still another quality for pans, kettles, and
other kitchen ware. The right size is a yard in length and half as wide,
with the ends hemmed. As to material, fine checked linen is usually
employed for glass and silver towels, and crash for ordinary dishes, for
iron and tinware towels which have become somewhat worn, or a coarse bag
opened and hemmed, may be used. Old, half-worn tablecloths may be cut
into excellent dish towels.

It is of the greatest importance that all dishcloths, mops, and towels
be kept perfectly sweet and clean. Greasy dishcloths and sour towels are
neither neat nor wholesome and are a most fertile source of germs, often
breeding disease and death. After each dish washing, the dishcloth,
towels, and mops should be thoroughly washed in hot water with plenty of
soap, well rinsed and hung up to dry either upon a line out of doors or
a rack made for the purpose near the kitchen range