A section of a barrel hoop covered with cotton cloth and having a piece of old broomstick fastened between the two ends of the crescent makes a good clothes hanger. A pair of trousers may be folded and hung over the rod, and coats and overcoats hung upon the convex side. A piece of stout twine or wire may be adjusted in the middle to hang by.
To Prepare Garments for Packing. —Wash or dry-clean all woolen gar ments before packing them away for the summer. Remove especially all grease spots, which are very attractive to moths, and by decaying tend to in jure the fabrics. This takes time, but saves clothes and money.
To Clean Furs. — Before packing, clean dark furs by heating bran or oatmeal. Rub this thoroughly into the fur while warm. Remove by shak ing and repeat if necessary. Beat the furs with a piece of rubber pipe and comb them with a steel comb.
Clean white furs by laying them on a flat surface and rubbing them with bran moistened in warm water. Ap ply the bran with a flannel, rub until dry, and afterwards apply dry bran. Shake clean, and apply magnesia against the grain of the fur. Shake, beat, and air well before packing.
To Pack Clothes.—Wash, dry-clean, shake, and air. Button coats and waists; fill sleeves and bodies with crushed newspapers. Place one upon another. Newspapers prevent creases. In folding skirts and trousers, place newspapers, not crushed, where the folds come and fold them inside the garments. Wrap loosely in newspa pers separate articles when folded, and store them in boxes, trunks, or chests lined with newspaper or tarred paper. Label each package sepa rately.
Wrap silk, linen, and other delicate articles in colored tissue papers. Chem icals used to bleach white paper will turn them yellow. Do not use news papers.
To Remove Odors.—Musty and oth er unpleasant odors in goods packed and stored may be prevented by sprinkling charcoal in and about the articles, and putting lumps of char coal in the receptacle in which they are stored.
To Store Silk.—To prevent silks or woolen goods from turning yellow when packed and stored, break up a few pieces of genuine white beeswax, fold loosely in cheese cloth, and place among the goods. Wrap up the arti
cles in old white linen or cotton cloth. Do not use white paper. It will turn them yellow.
To Pack and Store linen.—Wash linen articles, rinse without bluing or starch, and rough dry.
To Store Lace. — Cover lace with powdered magnesia to prevent its turning yellow.
Whitewash for Vermin.—Prepare whitewash as usual, and add to 1 gal lon 4 ounces of corrosive sublimate or 2 ounces of powdered copperas pre viously dissolved in boiling water.
Alum Wash for Vermin.—Dissolve 1 or 2 pounds of alum to 1 gallon of water by boiling until dissolved. Ap ply with an oil can, a brush, or other wise.
Benzine Wash for Vermin.—Make suds of hard white or yellow soap, using about bar of soap to 1 pailful of water, and add 1 pint of benzine. Use to wash floors or woodwork. Ap ply with a brush, mop, or otherwise.
Phosphorus Paste for Vermin. Mix 2 -drams of phosphorus with 2 ounces of lard, and add 6 ounces of flour and 2 ounces of brown sugar, making the whole into a paste with a little water. Add to this for rats or mice a small quantity of cheese.
But remember that phosphorus is easily set on fire by friction, also that it must not be allowed to fall on the skin, as it burns the flesh, forming a dangerous ulcer. Hence pure phos phorus, which in a solid, is kept under water and handled by means of pin cers or a sharp-pointed penknife.
To mix the above, place the phos phorus in a wide-mouthed glass bot tle and pour over it an ounce or so of alcohol. Immerse the bottle in hot water until the phosphorus is melted. Cork it and shake vigorously until cold. Pour off the spirit, mix the phosphorus and lard, and add the other ingredients previously mixed to gether. ' Salberg Vermin Wash. — Mix bi chloride of mercury, 2 ounces; spirits of turpentine, 6 ounces; rnuriatic acid, 1 ounce; water, 100 ounces.