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Show " " " &Zr &YA 0IiO II Post-Ester Household Duties II tit . . tfffo;ooV30fcolaoV:o;30V!osoaoo ITr N Oio calendar of domestic economy 1 . the festival of Easter marks a 1 parting of the ways, a divldlncr, as ML. It were, of the housekeeping year . Into a winter and a summer solstice. This spring the systematic housewife has rather lost her hearings that Is, If sho be or tho ciass that havo a certain spring date for rearranging their household house-hold effects and Is vigilant In having the work begun upon that date. In this caRe she has stolen a march on Euatertldc, which Is unusually late In arriving this year. The sun upon this very lato Easter morn will find her lares and penatcs shining with their new spi'ing glory to greet the great religious re-ligious celebration of the Christian church. There Is -one post-Easter domestic rite which will have to be performed In a few weeks ai the outside, that of the cleaning and putting away of oriental rugs. The people of the orient have I taught western worshipers of tho rug that at least once a year these beautiful beauti-ful floor coverings renujc a good bath. Indeed, Turkish women wash even now rugs In cold water, rubbing their surfaces sur-faces vigorously with a bunch of twigs and soapsuds. They are mighty careful care-ful to rub" with the warp and not 1 against It In order to bring out the orlg- , inal luster of the material. Sunlight and water are wonderful agencies In the care of the eastern rug. Tho colors are made of vegetable dyes; they cannot can-not fade., and the natural wool but tightens In the process of washing and becomes firmer and more dust proof. It Is much the safer rule to wash the rugs at home, as tho treatment is sure then to be beneficial If the following suggestions are followed. But before washing the rugs must be thoroughly ' nhakcn, not beaten. The sight of an oriental rug on a back yard clothesline being beaten to death would wring tears from the eyes of its weaver. In the orient rugs are always shaken, but If .there are germ crazy housekeepers who think beating Is essential to their hygienic salvation then by all means let them sec to It that the rug is manipulated manipu-lated on the fa.ee side. If beaten on ! the back tho threads are broken. 'When the dust is out of small rugs .'they may be placed in washtubs tilled with plain cold water. Now beg ns an i ablution with a brush and soapsuds of 1 tho entire surface, rubbing In tho di rection of the warp. Then a rinsing in I clear cold Avater is necessary. To clean a large rug stretch and tack it upon a clean floor, preferably a porch floor; i t l ... ' H l ' then scour It thoroughly with soapsud3 In which lias been dropped a little household ammonia. After scouring it must be rinsed to remove all traces of soap. The rug should then be left in the same position and the tacks not removed re-moved until it is perfectly dry. If this Is dono the rug will not shrink and will Ho perfectly flat upon tho floor. Very large and heavy orientals after shaking and beating in the direction to ward which the wind blows may have the garden hose turned on them with advantage and then should be allowed to dry in the sun. A secret of oriental rug washing has recently been disclosed which is doubt- less very effectual, but will not, I am afraid, be universally adopted by occidentals, occi-dentals, that of soaking them In milk, rubbing them clean, rinsing and again rubbing until dry. Another eastern method more likely to succeed In becoming be-coming a formula In America In to rub the rug with a llttlo fine rice meal. But In most instances washing In soapsuds soap-suds will be considered sufficient treatment treat-ment onco a year. Priceless Daghestan prayer rugs, which are almost Impos sible to procure now, might be soaked in milk and cleaned according to this method with great success. In these exquisite squares the toning is soft and lovely, and the milk helps to preservo the coloring. When closing the house for the sum mer or after the annual bath the rugs should be rolled up with tobacco, cedar shavings, camphor or moth balls and securely covered with newspaper. Over this a wrapping of unbleached muslin Is sowed. Creasca and ridges that look llko Imperfections In the weaving uro often found In rugs that have been packed away. This Is Invariably duo to the fact that the rug has been folded and not rolled. 1 1 ""H'ii Wi,-Mr-VJH'lMiTrVr1l Hon should he one of prayerful consideration. consid-eration. More Is required In their choice than tho fact that the coloring harmonizes with the other tones employed em-ployed In the apartment. This is very Important, to bo sure, but there arc a few other points which should not be overlooked They como such long distances over sea and land that it is necessary to ship and reshlp them many times, and In this transportation the grappling TWO METHODS OF CLEANING HUGS. 5 Oriental rugs are so beautiful and add so materially to tho quiet elegance of a room and very essentially also to the humor of tho occupant that their selec- hooks often make rents In the rugs. It Is very necessary to look out for these holes when buying a rug. Of course If the tears are not large or awkwardly shaped an experienced mender will find no troublo In hiding them with a few careful stitches. Lay the rug flat on tho floor and see whether it lies straight: then examine the selvage. If this selvage Is very much worn look out for another rug unless the one under un-der Inspection is such a coveted possession posses-sion that it can be loved with all its faults. Ordinarily when the rug itself has been torn at the ends It is folly to purchase it. but when the selvage is merely worn its isefulncss may bo preserved pre-served by overseamlng to prevent further fur-ther fraying. I The putting away of rugs suggests I the closing of the house for th summer "flitting." which in these days is apt to ; mean tho shutting up of the homo for i hurled at their Innocent heads from an ul! ust avengeful fate need not read this llttlo "how to prevent ceca. JL s for tho housewife who is really seeking seek-ing to pvent troubles of this kind and who wants the house to bo safe In or absence and easily put -slit on her return that the suggestions oro made After the packing neylcafSlon' drawers and cupboards In c"fu;slond Tidy up each drawer when all you need Jas been taken from it, prca d a dust sheet or newspaper over its contents and lock it up. Do the same ulth wardrobes, cupboards, etc In each bedroom take down curtains, shake and fold them, lay them on the bed. vilth all tho bedding needed for that room, and cover securely. There will probably proba-bly be one or two bureau drawers available avail-able In which to place the room ornaments orna-ments and dressing table fPPO ntmcnts In another drawer put clean linen for the bed and fresh towels for the , room. This provision Is a llttlo work for tho moment, but It saves a world of an-novance an-novance at the home coming. Tho drawing room, library and dining room must be prepared as for a -regular turnout and covered up with dust sheets. Ornaments should he put away and silver sent to the bank or safe deposit, de-posit, and It is wise to lock up valuable china Keys should all be labeled and put on bunches or rings, thoso belonging belong-ing to each room on a separate ring; otherwise there will be confusion. All registers must be closed und water, gas or electric light, turned off. No food should be left In tho house except that in jars In the storeroom. Bo sure that tho shutters are closed and the windows win-dows securely locked. Now the house Is ready to be wired by one of the burglar bur-glar protection companies If you care to go to the expense of this extra safeguard. safe-guard. ELINOR HEWITT. To Prcucrvc Pollwh on Plate. Among the minor annoyances of housekeeping Is the one that, however carefully plate may be cleaned before putting It away, In the course of a week or so it becomes dull and tarnished. This may be avoided by the following simple means; After thoroughly cleansing cleans-ing tho plate and polishing it with whiting whit-ing Avrap each piece In tin foil, such as Is used for wrapping up chocolate, tea, etc; then put It In a dry cupboard or drawer. To Keep Butter. Fill a bowl with cold water. Put the butter on a plate and put on top of the bowl; then take a piece of butter muslin mus-lin and put over the butter and let both ends drop Into tho water. Tou can easily get tho butter for use, and you wl1 find It is quite solid and cool. |