The cleaning, of furniture forms an important part of domestic economy, not only in regard to neatness- but also in point of expense.

685. The readiest mode indeed consists in good manual rubbing, or the essence of elbows, as it is whimsically termed; but our finest cabinet work requires something more, where brilliancy of polish is of importance.

686. The I talian cabinet work in this respect excels that of any other country. To produce this effect, the workmen first saturate the surface with olive oil, and then apply a solution of gumarabic in boiling alcohol. This mode of varnishing is equally brilliant, if not superior, to that employed by the French in their most elaborate works

687. But another mode may be sub-stituted, which has less rhe appearance of a hard varnish. and may always be applied so as to restore the pristine beauty of the furniture by a little manual labour. Heat a gallon of water, in which dissolve one pound and a-half of potash; add a pound of virgin wax, boiling the whole tor half-an-hour, then suffering it to cool, when the wax will float on the surface. Put the wax into a mortar, and triturate it with a marble pestle, adding soft water to it until it forms a soft paste, which laid neatly on furniture, or even in paintings, and carefully rubbed w en dry, with a woollen rag, gives a polish of great brilliancy without the harshness of the drier varnishes.

688. Marble chimney-pieces may also be rubbed with it, after cleaning with diluted muriatic acid, or warm soap and vinegar; but the iron or brass work connected with them requires other processes.

689. Polisued iron work may be preserved from rust by a mixture not very expensive, consisting of copal varnish intimately mixed with as much olive-oil as will give it a degree of greasiness, adding thereto nearly as much spirit of turpentine as of varnish.

690. Cast iron work is best preserved by the common method of rubbing with black lead.

691. If rust has made its appearance on grates or fire-irons, apply a mixture of tripoli, with half its quantity of sulphur, intimately mingled on a marble slab, and laid on with a piece of soft leather. Or emery and oil may be applied with an excellent effect: not laid on in the usual slovenly way, but with a spongy piece of fig-tree fully saturated with the mixture. This will not only clean but polish, and render the use of whiting unnecessary.

692. Brass ornaments, when not gilt or lackered, may be cleaned the same way, and a fine colour given to them by two simple processes.

693. The first is to beat sal ammo-niac into a fine powder, then to moisten

It with soft water, rubbing it on the ornaments, which must be heated over charcoal, and rubbed dry with bran and whiting.

694. The second is to wash the brass work with roach alum boiled in Strong ley, in proportion of an ounce to a pint; when dry, it must be rubbed with fine tripoli. Either of these processes will give to brass the brilliancy of gold.