Care of Oil and Water - colours - Cleaning Oil-paintings t Mounts Gilt Frames - Care of Books - Japanned and Papier Mache Goods - To clean Ivory - To cool Wine - To polish and mend Tortoiseshell - To remove Glass Stoppers.

Care should be taken not to hang pictures on a damp wall as this produces brown spots on any kind of engraving, drawings on paper, or even on cardboard mounts; whilst it produces a slight mildew on oil-paintings. Avoid walls near which the hot water pipes run, as this is apt, in canvas paintings, to make the paint blister and crack. If pictures are hung facing the bright sunshine they are very apt to fade. Four small pieces of cork should be glued to the back, one on each corner: this, keeping the picture a small distance from the wall, secures ventilation. Pictures should be dusted daily with a feather brush.

How To Treat Oil Paintings

Periodically remove the pictures from the walls, and-1. Dust the front, sides of frame, and also the back.

2. Rub lightly and quickly all over with a raw potato, taking a fresh slice as soon as one is soiled, and being careful not to press heavily, or the canvas will be strained, and small cracks will be caused.

3. Wipe gently with a soft cloth at once, because if left wet the moisture will penetrate the varnish and cause it to become opaque.

4. The cleaning may be finished by wiping with a little soft cotton wool.

Amateur restoration of really valuable oil-paintings is not to be recommended. Professional cleaners employ benzole, which is a powerful solvent, the use of which requires to be thoroughly understood.

Nowadays oil-paintings are often protected by glass. Care must be taken that it does not actually touch the surface of the picture.

Gilt Frames

Good English gilt should be wiped gently with a damp leather and dried with an old silk duster, after it has been thoroughly dusted; using a brush to reach any intricacies of pattern.

If the gilt is of inferior quality, and has been allowed to become discoloured, onion water should be applied with a soft old rag; then careful wiping should follow.

Onion Water

Boil one large or two small onions in one pint of water until the principal of the vegetable has been extracted, or until tender; strain, and use when warm, not hot.

Mounting Water-Colours

If this task be attempted in the home, care must be taken that the glass is free from blemish, and quite clean; that the picture and mount are perfectly straight, and the margin on each side is of equal size.

To Clean Mounts

1. Thoroughly dust the frame all over, and carefully remove the picture.

2. Wash the glass on both sides with a pad of wet newspaper, then polish with dry paper.

3. Take a piece of soft bread about two days old, and wipe the mounts carefully with this, doing a strip at a time. As soon as the bread becomes soiled, take another piece, and continue till the whole is cleaned. If the mount is at all discoloured, the more satisfactory plan is to buy a new one, remembering that the tinted mounts are very durable. After it has been placed, be careful to paste strips of brown paper on to the back to keep out the dust.