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House Cleaning: Make

To Make a Hearth. -Prepare mortar by mixing sifted wood ashes with salt and water in the proportion of 1 tablespoonful of salt to 1 gallon of ashes. Spread this over the hearth with a trowel, and tamp it down as hard as possible with the end of a log of wood, or otherwise. Level smoothly with the trowel. Make a hot fire in the fireplace or grate. If the mortar cracks, add more, tamping it into the cracks. This makes a hard, smooth white surface.

Or mix 2 parts of unslaked lime and 1 part of smith's black dust with water, and treat as above.