Or use a piece of velveteen. This is one of the best of polishing substances, and has the advantage of being wash able.
To Clean Nickel.—Clean the nickel or other metal trimmings on stoves with whiting. Mix to a thin paste with aqua ammonia or water, or both. Cover the parts with this and allow it to dry. Afterwards rub it off and pol ish with dry flannel or polishing cloth.
Or apply baking soda diluted to a thin paste with aqua ammonia.
Care of New Stoves.—A new stove should be heated gradually, and the oven door should be left open for half a day or more before it is used. If a new stove is allowed to become too hot there is danger that it may be cracked or warped. If an oven is overheated the first time it will not retain the heat well afterwards. Iron ware of all kinds should first be tem pered by gradual heat.
Stove Holders. — Few homemade gifts will be more appreciated than a general supply of kitchen holders. A half dozen is not too many to have at hand in the kitchen at all times, and two or three times as many should be provided, as there will al ways be some in the wash. They can be made of odd pieces that would otherwise go to waste. Stove holders containing a thin sheet of asbestos between two pieces of canvas or other cloth are perhaps the best noncon ductors. Thin asbestos cloth comes by the yard at a small price,- and a single thickness, protected by two pieces of cloth, makes a holder that is quite fireproof.
Or, in place of asbestos, use square pieces of leather cut from old boot tops.
White duck or canvas is the best material, as, if the holders are made so that the asbestos is removable, the covers can be washed and kept clean. Or use outing flannel or other pieces of heavy goods. Also 8- or 10-inch squares of heavy canvas will be found useful in addition to the smaller sizes.
A large pair of loose mittens of canvas or outing flannel lined with asbestos will be found very useful to take hot dishes out of the oven, and for other use about the stove. Fasten to these a stout cord or piece of tape about 2 feet long, and when much cooking is to be done slip one of them under the apron band or belt. Thus both will be suspended so that they will always be at hand.
Old stocking legs, especially of wool, which is a nonconductor, make good holders. Fold the legs inwardly three times to form a square, stitch across it, and also stitch it diagonally in a crisscross pattern, an inch or two apart, on the sewing machine, to pre vent wrinkling in the wash. Two old
stockings prepared in this way and stitched together at the sides and ends so as to admit of a removable square of asbestos between make the best kitchen holders. Or they may be cov ered with strong washable material, as denim or duck. Attach loops of strong tape at one or more corners, or sew on brass curtain rings and hang them on a nail or hook near the stove.
Or cover the holders with pieces of ticking or cretonne or worn-out over alls. Two holders fastened together by a piece of tape about 18 inches long and hung by the apron belt are a great kitchen convenience.
Uses for Asbestos.— Asbestos is a fireproof substance which is found in the earth in a natural state. It has a short fiber, but whether it is of animal or mineral origin is not known. The commercial article can be purchased in the form of cloth or boards of vary ing degrees of thickness, or mixed with cement in strong, smooth plates. As bestos is the best protection possible against heat, and has numberless uses in the household. A piece of hard, smooth asbestos board under the range, cook stove, parlor stove, gas stove, or small oil stove, is superior to iron or zinc because it is durable, easier to keep clean, and presents a better ap pearance. The woodwork near stoves may be protected by the same mate rial, also the collars above stovepipes where they pass through the ceiling and side walls.
Candle lamp shades may be pro tected by a collar or lining of asbes tos; dinner mats, either square or oval, made of two thicknesses of linen, with an opening at one end to admit a square of asbestos, will prevent the hot tea or coffee pot or dishes con taining hot food from injuring the tablecloth or the polished surface of the table. Holders of washable ma terial containing a removable square of asbestos are light, fireproof, and convenient, and asbestos mats lined with wire have many uses about the stove. They may be placed in a hot oven to prevent cakes and pies from burning on the bottom, and also on the top of the stove to prevent the contents of kettles and saucepans from burning. A small asbestos mat, wire lined, with a hole cut through the asbestos in the center, but not through the wire, will be found useful for warming milk and other things in cups and small saucepans with round ed bottoms. The heat is applied to the bottom instead of the sides, and the vessel will not tip over.