il, shake well and
apply with a brush or sponge. Sweet oil will remove finger marks from
varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.

To Freshen Gilt Frames.--Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dusting
them, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whites
of three eggs. Scraped patches should be touched up with gold paint.
Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oil
paintings. Other methods should not be employed without some skill.

To Fill Cracks in Plaster.--Use vinegar instead of water to mix your
plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not
"set" for twenty or thirty minutes, whereas if you use water the plaster
will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it.
Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife.

To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glassware.--Immerse the article in a pot
filled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boil
the water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resist
any sudden change of temperature.

To Remove Paint from Window-Glass.--Rub it well with hot, sharp vinegar.

To Clean Stovepipe.--A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stove
will clean out the stovepipe.

To Brighten Carpets.--Carpets after the dust has been beaten out may be
brightened by scattering upon them cornmeal mixed with salt and then
sweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets should
be thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side,
after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and
water.

To Keep Flowers Fresh exclude them from the air. To do this wet them
thoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wet
newspaper, then place in a cool spot. To preserve bouquets, put a little
saltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets, and the flowers will
live for a fortnight.

To Preserve Brooms.--Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling
suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and
pliable. A carpet wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in this
manner.

To Clean Brassware.--Mix one ounce of oxalic acid, six ounces of rotten
stone, all in powder, one ounce of sweet oil, and sufficient water to
make a paste. Apply a small proportion, and rub dry with a flannel or
leather. The liquid dip most generally used consists of nitric and
sulphur