A sheet of zinc, covering
the whole hearth, is cheap, saves work, and looks very well. A tinman
can fit it properly.
Stone hearths should be rubbed with a paste of powdered stone, (to be
procured of the stone-cutters,) and then brushed with a stiff brush.
Kitchen hearths, of stone, are improved by rubbing in lamp-oil.
Stains can be removed from marble, by oxalic acid and water, or oil
of vitriol and water, left on a few minutes, and then rubbed dry. Gray
marble is improved by linseed-oil. Grease can be taken from marble,
by ox-gall and potter's clay wet with soapsuds, (a gill of each.) It
is better to add, also, a gill of spirits of turpentine. It improves
the looks of marble, to cover it with this mixture, leaving it two
days, and then rubbing it off.
Unless a parlor is in constant use, it is best to sweep it only once
a week, and at other times use a whisk-broom and dust-pan. When a
parlor with handsome furniture is to be swept, cover the sofas, centre
table, piano, books, and mantelpiece with old cottons kept for the
purpose. Remove the rugs and shake them, and clean the jambs, hearth,
and fire-furniture.
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