Plate Glass for the Small House

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 818, 12 November 1929, Page 4

Plate Glass for the Small House

ECONOMY IN' THE END VARIETY OF PRACTICAL USES I’latt glass is generally associated i cvitli expensive furniture, luxurious j fittings, and the rich appointments of i a large house, but actually it may be | used iu many ways in the small home ! with advantage to the busy homemaker. As a protection to the tops of dressi lug-tables and polished tables, plate j glass is well known and appreciated, i it may be cut to the shape and size of ! any piece of furniture, which it will j * effectually serve to protect, while at i the same time adding to its beauty. i A sheet of plate glass behind the | 1 sideboard in the dining-room will project the wall-paper from splashes! ; during carving, and a rub with _ a j ; damp cloth, followed by a polish with i j a leather, will keep it iu perfect order. ; On a small dining table a complete ; | top of plate glass may be used, with , ■ small linen and lace mats placed be- j i neath at meal times. Not only is : ; the polished wood surface thus pro- ; j tected from the hot dinner plates and i ! dishes, but a considerable saving can ; ! be effected on the weekly laundry bill, j ! Plate glass mats are charming when - ! used with lace beneath them on a | i larger table. | The beautiful modern walnut and : i mahogany bedroom furniture, which j iis so popular today, needs the pro-1 I tection of plate glass to ensure that j | the delicate surface will not be j accidentally damaged. ! Dainty runners and mats can be : j placed in position beneath the glass | on the dressing-table and their crisp | freshness will remain untouched in- | definitely. Drops from the scent spray j or the heat of waving Irons will do no | harm to the delicate polish on the j wood. • j In the kitchen plate glass has many ! uses. A glass pastry board and 1 roller are delightfully cool and are J easy to keep perfectly clean. Trays covered with glass do not suffer from hot liquids being spilt upon them and can bo used with a pretty' tray cloth underneath the glass or just with the natural beauty of the grain i of the wood showing through. I There are some particularly- pretty light cane trays one can buy now that are delightful used -with self-coloured china as an early morning tea set. The back of the glass is coloured in various shades of mauve, blue, pink and green, so you can choose one to match the colourscheme of the room in which it is | most often used. Plate glass finger-plates for doors save a lot of work in the course of a year and are quite the best to use on light coloured paintwork. A coloured motif can be used beneath the glass to suit the colour schemes of the various rooms, or the whole of the back of the glass may be coloured in any shade preferred. It is not always easy to prevent liquids from being spilt on the teawagon when it.is wheeled from room to room, or out into the garden, and the advantages of helving the shelves covered with plate glass will be appreciated. Embroidered linen and lace cloths, the exact size of the trays, can be laid underneath the glass, or pieces of coloured damask are effective used in this way. To keep plate glass fittings always perfectly clean and shining, wipe them over once a day with a clean (not fluffy) cloth, wrung out In very hot water and then polish up with a damp leather. Any spill made should be wiped up as soon as possible, otherwise it may harden and be difficult to remove. A beautiful extra polish can be given to any glass surface, including mirrors, by rubbing with a cloth moistened w-itli methylated spirit. For toilet mirrors, eau-de-cologne is even nicer. One only needs a few drops on j the cloth and not only does it polish j the glasses beautifully, but fills the air I of the room w-ith a fresh, elusive i sw-eetness. | QUAINT JAPANESE LEGEND THE PAST RENEWED In Japanese mythology the sun god- • dess, Amaterasu, is considered the. heavenly ancestor of all the Emperors of Japan. She is the supreme deity of the Shinto pantheon, having sprung into being from the eye of her father, Izanagi. Certain Japanese customs of today can be traced to an incident in her career, the flight from her prankplaying brother, Susano-wo. the pod of the sea, who later went to the nether-land to live. He frightened his sister so that she fled to a cave and shut herself in, thereby taking all sunlight from the land. The “SOO myriad deities’* tried to entice her from the cave. A mirror was made from the “heavenly metal mountains,” and a dancer danced outside the cave. The sun goddess came out and was entranced by her own reflection in the mirror. A straw rope was then placed across- the entrance to the cave, and the goddess could not return. The straw rope, shimenawa. is at present used in the New Year’s festivities as a symbol to keep sunlight and prosperity in the Japanese home. CORKS AND CORKSCREWS TO MAKE CORKS AIR-TIGHT j Immerse them in pure olive oil for j | five minutes; or dip them in warm j mutton suet or white wax. Fix into j the bottles immediately and leave to harden. Before pushing the cork down in a pickle or sauce bottle, double a j piece of string across the neck so j that it passes undgr the cork, leaving the two looped ends hanging out. Steam the ork, so that the string will gink iu and not leave any air j i space, and seal firmly. When you i want to open a bottle or jar thus . | sealed, break the sealing wax, run ; ! a fork’s prong through the two j ]oo PS of string and pull out the i cork. It will come out easily and j in good condition. | A soft cement for covering the I corks of preserved fruit bottles may ! j be made by melting yellow wax with i j an equal quantity of resin. ! If your corkscrew has been mislaid j j by any chance, an effective substitute | is an ordinary strong screw with a ! piece of stout string attached.