It must be borne in mind that an inventory of furniture, linen, and china should be kept, and the things examined by it twice a year, or oftener if there be a change of servants; the articles used by servants should be intrusted to their care, with a list, as is done with plate. In articles not in common use, such as spare bedding, tickets of parchment, numbered and specifying to what they belong, should be sewed on each; and minor articles in daily use, such as household cloths and kitchen requisites, should be occasionally looked to. The best means to preserve blankets from moths is to fold and lay them under the feather-beds that are in use, and shake them occasionally; when soiled, they should be washed, not scoured.

A proper quantity of household articles should always be allowed for daily use. Each should also be kept in its proper place, and applied to its proper use. Let all repairs be done as soon as wanted, remembering the old adage of "a stitch in time;" and never if possible, defer any necessary household duty a moment beyond the time when it ought to be attended to.

Refrigerator.

A Store-room is essential for the custody of articles in constant use, as well as for others which are only occasionally called for. These should be at hand when wanted, each in separate drawers, or on shelves and pegs, all under the lock and key of the mistress, and never given out to the servants but under her inspection.

Pickles and preserves, prepared and purchased sauces, and all sorts of groce-lies, should be there stored; the spices pounded and corked up in small bottles, sugar broken, and everything in readiness for use. Lemon-peel, thyme, parsley, and all sorts of sweet herbs, should be dried and grated for use in seasons of plenty; the tops of tongues saved, and dried for grating into omelets, etc.; and care taken that nothing be wasted that can be turned to good account.

Bread is so heavy an article of expense that all waste should be guarded against, and having it cut in the room will tend much to prevent it; but, for company, small rolls, placed in or on the napkin of each guest, are the most convenient, as well as the most elegant. Bread should be kept in earthern pans with covers.

Sugar being also an article of considerable expense in all families, the purchase demands particular attention. The cheapest does not go so far as that better refined, and there is a difference even in the degree of sweetness. The close, heavy, and shining white, or loaf-sugar, should be chosen. The best sort of brown has a bright, crystalline appearance, as if mixed with salt, and if feeling coarse when rubbed between the fingers, is better than when more powdery. East India sugars are finer for the price, but not so strong; consequently, unfit for wines and sweetmeats, they do well for common purposes. To pound white sugar, rolling it with a bottle, and sifting, wastes it less than a mortar.

Both soap and tallow candles are improved by keeping, and are best when made in cool weather; at which time it will be prudent to lay in a stock of both. They are, indeed, better for being kept eight or ten months, nor will they spoil for two years if kept in a cool place; and there are few articles that better deserve care in buying, and allowing a regulated quantity of, according to the size of the family.

Wax, spermaceti, and composite candles ought to be always purchased in quantities of not less than a dozen pounds, on which an allowance is usually made.

Soap should be cut in pieces that will make a long square, when first brought in, and kept out of the air two or three weeks; for, if it dries quickly, it will crack, and, when wet, break. Put it on a shelf, leaving a space between each piece, and let it grow hard gradually; thus it will save a full third in the consumption; but, for coarse washing, soft soap will go further than the hard.

Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be melted in a large ewer of water, some of which pour into the tubs and boiler; and when the latter becomes weak add more.

Self-Heating Flat Iron.

Many good laundresses advise soaping linen in warm water the night previous to washing, as facilitating the operation with less friction. This should always be done with fine muslins and laces.

The price of starch depends upon that of flour; the best will keep good in a dry warm room for some years.

Everything should be kept in the place best suited to it, as much waste may thereby be avoided.

Great care should be taken of jelly-bags, tapes for collared things, etc, which, if not perfectly scalded and kept dry, give an unpleasant flavor when next used.

Vegetables will keep best on a stone floor, if the air be excluded; meat in a cold dry place, where the air is freely admitted; sugar and sweetmeats require a dry place, so does salt; candles, cold, but not damp; dried meats, hams, bacon, and tongues, the same. All sorts of seed for puddings, such as rice, etc, should be covered close to preserve them from insects; but if kept long that will not be sufficient, unless they be occasionally sifted. Apples and pears should be laid upon very clean and dry straw, to prevent a musty taste; nor should they be exposed to either light or air. The floor of a dark garret is a good place in which to deposit them; or, which is still better, shelves made by strips of wood about two inches wide, placed an inch and a half apart, and the apples laid between them. They should be ranged singly in rows, without touching each other, and should be often inspected, both to wipe them, if damp, and to reject those which may appear to be getting rotten; but the larger sort of pears should be tied up by the stalk. Apples may also be preserved in excellent condition for a long period by being packed in large barrels with dry sand, but require to be used immediately when they are taken out.

Coarse nets suspended in the storeroom are very useful in preserving the finer kinds of fruit, lemons, etc, which are spoiled if allowed to touch. When lemons and oranges are cheap, a proper quantity should be bought and prepared, both for preserving the juice, and keeping the peel for sweetmeats and grating; especially by those who live in the country, where they cannot always be had.

They are perpetually wanted in cookery.

The best way of scalding fruits, or boiling vinegar, is in a stone jar, on a hot iron hearth, or by putting the vessel into a saucepan of boiling water, called a water-bath, after its having been closely corked, but not quite filled, as the heat may occasion the fruits to swell; but if they diminish after this is done, the vessel must then be filled.

Onions, shallots, and garlic should be hung up for winter use in ropes from the ceiling; as should dried parsley, basil, savory, and knotted-marjoram, or London-thyme, and tarragon, to be used when herbs are ordered, but with discretion, as they are very pungent.

Hams should be well covered in paper bags, and put in a chest or barrel, with layers of charcoal or ashes between. When you take one out to cut for use, put it away in a dark place, well covered.

Herbs should be kept from the air. Herb tea, to do any good, should be made very strong. Herbs must be gathered while in blossom. Those who have a little ground will do well to raise the most useful herbs; apothecaries make large profits on them.

Suet and lard keep better in tin than earthen-ware. Suet keeps good a year, if chopped, packed in a stone jar, and covered, with molasses. Or, pick suet free from veins and skin, melt it in water before a moderate fire, let it cool till it forms a hard cake, then wipe it dry and put it in clean paper, in linen bags.