Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1914 — NEED PROPER SETTING [ARTICLE]

NEED PROPER SETTING

ARRANGEMENT OF ARTISTIC PIECES OF CHINA. Important Point fs~ Preservation of Color Scheme In Its Entirety— How Woman Evolved Really Clever Idea. China and artistic pieces of pottery are so inexpensive and their collection 1b a source of so much interest and real enjoyment that their care and arrangement are a matter of more than passing interest in the home. Good china or pottery imitations require, a suitable setting for best effects. Valuable specimens should be single or placed in. groupß. Mugs ahd plates on the plate rail should be' separated, each collection as a single decoration. The construction of the plate rack should conform to the general style of the room, and the articles placed upon it should be of one color, or consist of a collection of pieces which will not give to'the room the general air of a curio shop. One woman desirous of having dainty plates upon her plate rack, but who was unable to get the kind she wished, made several of oriental design by cutting patterns from a paper that is used to give a stained glass appearance to windows. The paper was cut into many beautiful patterns and pasted around the edge and across the center of inexpensive china plates, but in perfect harmony with the color scheme of her dining room. The washing of valuable china needß to be carried out very cautiously and carefully. A big wooden bowl, filled with warm soapsuds, to which a few drops of household ammonia have been added, should Jae prepared, and each piece of china washed separately in this, using a square of old flannel for plain pieces and a soft brush for elaborately ornamental articles. Rinse In another wooden bowl of clear, warm water and dry with linen cloths. Wash the pretty, new table china yourself In the dining room. Have a pan of hot water, some soap, a mop and towels In the dining room after the meal is over, and there wash the china. Put them in their places Immediately afterward and you will not find the work a tax. To prevent fine china plates breaking, put ‘a thickness of blotting paper between them. This may be bought in large sheets and cut into rounds which are large enough to prevent one plate from marring the decoration of another. Porcelain ware can be mended with ordinary putty mixed with oiL Work a small particle into the worn place, set it aside for several days and food can be cooked ih the vessel without danger of a putty taste. A good cement for broken china is made by stirring plaster of parts into a thick solution of gum arable until it becomes a viscous paste.