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General Suggestions

On Monday, wash: Tuesday, iron: Wednesday, bake and scrub kitchen and pantry: Thursday, clean the silver-ware, examine the pots and kettles, and look after store-room and cellar: Friday, devote to general sweeping and dusting: Saturday, bake and scrub kitchen and pantry floors, and prepare for Sunday. When the clothes are folded off the frame after ironing, examine each piece to see that none are laid away that need a button or a stitch. Clean all the silver on the last Friday of each month, and go through each room and closet to see if things are kept in order and nothing going to waste. Have the sitting-room tidied up every night before retiring. Make the most of your brain and your eyes, and let no one dare tell you that you are devoting yourself to a low sphere of action. Keep cool and self-possessed. Work done quietly about the house seems easier. A slamming of oven doors, and the rattle and clatter of dishes, tire and bewilder every body about the house. Those who accomplish much in housekeeping-and the same is true of every other walk in life-are the quiet workers.

SILVER-WARE, when set away, keeps best wrapped in blue tissue-paper. RAINY DAYS. - Make the house as bright and sunshiny as possible. TO PREVENT HINGES CREAKING. -Rub with a feather dipped in oil. TO DRIVE OFF FLEAS.-Sprinkle about bed a few drops of oil of lavender. RED ANTS. A small bag of sulphur kept in a drawer or cupboard will drive away red ants.

ICY WINDOWS.-Windows may be kept free from ice and polished by rubbing the glass with a sponge dipped in alcohol.

TO DESTROY COCKROACHES, ETC. -Sprinkle the floor with hellebore at night. They eat it and are poisoned.

LOST CHILDREN.-Label children's hats with the name and place of residence so that, if lost, they may be easily restored. PARCELS. When parcels are brought to the house, fold paper and put away in drawer, and roll the string on a ball kept for the purpose. SOAP. It is a great saving to have bars of soap dry. It should be bought by the quantity.

TO PREVENT PAILS FROM SHRINKING. -Saturate pails and tubs with glycerine, and they will not shrink. TO KEEP FLIES OFF GILT FRAMES. -Boil three or four onions in a pint of water and apply with a soft brush.

TO REMOVE OLD PUTTY FROM WINDOW-FRAMES. -Pass a red-hot poker slowly over it, and it will come off easily.

TO SOFTEN HARD WATER.-Hard water becomes nearly soft by boiling. A piece of chalk will soften hard spring-water.

PROVIDE ON SATURDAY FOR MONDAY, SOo as not to take up the fire with cooking, or time in running errands on washing-day.

TO SOFTEN CISTERN-WATER. - Cistern-water that has become hard from long standing, can be softened by adding a little borax. TO DESTROY THE SMELL OF FRESH PAINT. - Sprinkle hay with water in which chloride of lime has been mixed, and place on floor. ANTS AND INSECTS.-Dissolve two pounds alum in three quarts water. Apply with a brush while hot to every crevice where vermin harbor. TO CLEAN CHROMOS.-Dampen a linen rag slightly and go over them gently. If the varnish has become defaced, cover with a thin mastic varnish. COAL ASHES make excellent garden walks. They become very hard by use and no weeds or grass will grow through them.

TO CLEANSE A SPONGE. - By rubbing a fresh lemon thoroughly into a soured sponge and rinsing it several times in lukewarm water, it will become as sweet as when new.

TO REMOVE GREASE SPOTS FROM CARPETS. -Cover spots with flour and then pin a thick paper over; repeat the process several times, each time brushing off the old flour into a dust-pan and putting on fresh. MENDING.-Never put away clean clothes without examining every piece to see if they are in any way out of order. Stockings, particularly, should be carefully darned.

HARD WHITEWASH. -Ten cents worth of kalsomine, five cents worth of glue dissolved in warm water, two quarts of soft soap, and bluing. This will do for halls closets, fences, etc.

BAD SMELLS.-Articles of clothing, or of any other character, which have become impregnated with bad-smelling substances, will be freed from them by burying for a day or two in the ground. Wrap up lightly before burying. CEMENT FOR CHINA. -To a thick solution of gum arabic add enough plaster of parts to form a sticky paste; apply with a brush, and stick edges together. SHEETS. When sheets are beginning to wear in the middle, sew the selvage sides together and rip open the old seam, or tear in two and hem the sides.

TO MAKE ARTIFICIAL CORAL. - Melt together four parts yellow resin and one part vermilion. Dip twigs, cinders, or stones in this, and when dry they will look like coral.

TO SEW CARPET-RAGS ON A MACHINE. - Make the stitch short, run it obliquely across the rags where they are to be joined, and sew a good many before cutting the thread.

A RUSTIC FRAME. -A neat rustic frame for pictures may be made of cattail rods. Hide the corners where they are joined with ivy, or a vine made of leather-leaves or handsome autumn leaves and the berries of bitter-sweet. TO DESTROY WEEDS IN WALKS.-Boil ten pounds stone-lime, five gallons water and one pound flour of sulphur, let settle, pour off clear part, and sprinkle freely upon the weedy walks.

TO MEND TIN. - Scrape the tin about the hole free from grease and rust, rub on a piece of resin until a powder lies about the hole, over it lay a piece of solder, and hold on it a hot poker or soldering iron until it melts. TO REMOVE GREASE FROM WOOD BEFORE PAINTING. -Whitewash the spots over night, and wash it off in the morning. When dry, the paint will stick. Slaked lime laid on the spots and wet a little, will do as well as whitewash. TO CLEAN HEARTHS. - Soapstone or sandstone hearths are cleaned by washing in pure water, then sprinkling with powdered marble or soapstone, and rubbing with a piece of the stone as large as a brick, and having at least one flat surface.

LIGHTNING CREAM FOR PAINT OR CLOTHES. -Four ounces white castile soap, four of ammonia, two of ether, two of alcohol, one of glycerine; cut the soap fine, dissolve in one quart of soft water over the fire, and when dissolved add the other ingredients.

KEROSENE AND CARPETS. - When so unfortunate as to spill kerosene oil or other grease on a carpet, sprinkle buckwheat flour (wheat flour will do) lightly over it until it is completely covered, and let it lie without disturbing it for a week; brush off, and there will be no trace of oil left. MAGIC FURNITURE POLISH.-Half pint alcohol, half ounce resin, half ounce gum-shellac, a few drops analine brown; let stand over night and add three-fourths pint raw linseed oil and half pint spirits turpentine; shake well before using. Apply with cotton flannel, and rub dry with another cloth. TO HANG PICTURES. -The cheapest and best material with which to hang pictures is copper wire, of a size proportioned to the weight of the picture. When hung, the wire is scarcely visible, and its strength and durability is wonderful.

LAMP-WICKS.-To insure a good light, wicks must be changed often, as they soon become clogged, and do not permit the free passage of the oil. Soaking wicks in vinegar twenty-four hours before placing in lamp insures a clear flame. Felt wicks are best.

TO TEMPER LAMP CHIMNEYS. - Lamp chimneys and glass-ware for hot water are made less liable to brake by putting in cold water, bringing slowly to boiling point, boiling for an hour, and allowing to cool before removing from water.

FURNITURE POLISH. - One and a half ounces each alcohol and butter of antimony, one-half ounce muriatic acid, eight ounces of linseed-oil, onehalf pint vinegar. Mix cold. This has been tried for twelve years and has been regularly sold for $10.

A CHEAP CARPET. - Make a cover for the floor of the cheapest cotton cloth. Tack it down like a carpet, paper it as you would a wall with paper resembling a carpet in figures, let it dry, varnish with two coats of varnish, and with reasonable usage it will last two years.

MENDING PLASTER OF PARIS. - Gum shellac makes an excellent strong cement for joining broken pieces together, and is more covenient than glue. The shellac should be flowed upon the surfaces to be joined, firmly pressed together, and carefully set away for about one hour. TO MAKE RAG RUGS.-Cut rags and sew hit and miss, or fancy striped as you choose; use wooden needles, round, smooth, and pointed at one end, of any convenient length. The knitting is done back and forth (like old fashioned suspenders), always take off the first stich. -Anna F. Hisey. TO CLEAR CISTERN WATER.-Add two ounces powdered alum and two ounces borax to a twenty barrel cistern of rain-water that is blackened or oily, and in a few hours the sediment will settle, and the water be clarified and fit for washing and even for cooking purposes.

TO MAKE OIL-CLOTHS MORE DURABLE. -Before or after putting down new oil-cloths, put on one or two coats of linseed-oil with a brush, and when thoroughly dry, add one or two coats of varnish. This makes the cloth softer and much more durable. - Miss Eva Evans, Delaware. TO KEEP ICE-WATER.-Make a hat-shaped cover of two thicknesses of strong brown paper with cotton-batting quilted between, large enough to drop over and completely envelop the pitcher. This prevents the warm air from coming in contact with the pitcher, and the ice will last a long time. TO SWEEP A RAG-CARPET. - Set a pail of water outside the door and dip the broom in it, shaking the water off, so there will be no wet streaks on the carpet; sweep but a small portion, and then dip the broom again; in this way the dust is taken up in the broom, instead of being sent whirling through the air.

TO START A FIRE IN DAMP, STILL WEATHER. -Light a few bits of shavings or paper placed upon the top of grate; thus by the heated air's forcing itself into the chimney and establishing there an upward current, the room is kept free from the gas and smoke which is so apt to fill it, and the fire can then be lighted from below with good success.

PUTTING AWAY CLOTHES. - Before putting away summer or winter clothes, mend, clean, brush, shake well, fold smoothly, sprinkle gum-camphor, on every fold, and on the bottom of trunks or closets (unless cedar chests are used). Fine dresses, cloaks, etc., should be wrapped in towels or sheets by themselves, and placed in the tray or a separate apartment of the trunk. CEMENT FOR ATTACHING METAL TO GLASS. -Mix two ounces of a thick solution of glue with one ounce of linseed-oil varnish, and half an ounce of pure spirits of turpentine; boil the whole together in a close vessel. After it has been applied to the glass and metal, clamp together for two or three days till dry.

ČANE CHAIR-BOTTOMS. - To clean and restore the elasticity of cane chairbottoms, turn the chair bottom upward, and with hot water and a sponge wash the cane; work well, so that it is well soaked; should it be dirty use soap, let it dry well in the air, and it will be as tight and firm as new, provided none of the canes are broken. TO PASTE PAPER ON TIN.-Make a thin paste of gum-tragacanth and water, to which add a few drops of oil of vitriol. Mix a pound each of transparent glue and very strong vinegar, one quart alcohol, a small quantity of alum, ⚫ and dissolve by means of a water-bath. This is useful for uniting horn, pearl, shell, and bone.

TO CLEAN OIL-CLOTHS. - Take a pail of clean, soft, lukewarm water, a nice, soft piece of flannel, wash the oil-cloth and wipe very dry so that no drop of water is left to soak in and rot the fabric. After washing and drying, if a cloth is rung out of a dish of skim-milk and water, and the oil-cloth is rubbed over with this, and then again well dried, the freshness and luster of the cloth will well repay the extra labor.

HOW TO WASH CHAMOIS LEATHER.-Make a good, tepid suds with hard or soft soap, put in leather, rub it on the wash-board, put soap on skin and rub ✓ again on board, and wash in this way through one or two suds, or until perfectly clean; rinse in tepid water without bluing, squeeze dry (do not wring), hang in sun and keep snapping and pulling it till perfectly dry. The leather will be as soft as new if the snapping and pulling are done thoroughly. A CHEAP FILTER. -The most impure water may be rendered pure by filtering through charcoal. Take a large flower-pot, put a piece of sponge or clean moss over the hole in the bottom, fill three-quarters full of equal parts clean sand and charcoal, the size of a pea; over this lay a linen or woolen cloth large enough to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour the water into the cloth, and it will come out pure.

TO CLEAN LOOKING GLASSES.-Divide a newspaper in two, fold up onehalf in a small square, wet in cold water. Rub the glass first with the wet half of the paper, and dry with the other. Fly-specks and all other marks will disappear as if by magic. This is only true of the best quality of rag paper, such as is used by the best weekly papers. Paper which has wood or straw in it leaves a linty deposit on the glass.

TO CLEAN SILVER-WARE EASILY. - Save water in which potatoes have been boiled with a little salt, let it become sour, which it will do in a few days; heat and wash the articles with a woolen cloth, rinsing in pure water, dry and polish with chamois-leather. Never allow a particle of soap to touch silver or plated ware. For wiping silver, an old linen table-cloth cut up in pieces of convenient size, hemmed, and marked "silver," is very nice. TO CLEAN SMOKE OFF MARBLE. - Wet a piece of flannel in strong ammonia and rub the marble quickly with it, and then wash off with hot soap-suds; or, make a paste of chloride of lime and water and brush over the whole surface that is smoky. Let it stand a minute, then wash with hot suds. A paste of crude potash and whiting brushed over a grease spot on marble will cleanse it perfectly.

ECONOMICAL MATS for use in front-doors, fire-places, bureaus, stands, etc., may be made of coffee-sacking, cut to any desired size, and worked in bright worsted or Germantown wool. Any simple pattern may be used or it may ay be entirely filled in with a plain green. The edges of the sacking may be fringed by raveling. To give it weight, line with an old piece of carpet or heavy cloth.

A GOOD CEMENT-For mending almost any thing, may be made by mixing litharge and glycerine to the consistency of thick cream or fresh putty. This cement is useful for mending stone jars, stopping leaks in seams of tinpans or wash-boilers, cracks and holes in iron kettles, fastening on lamp-tops; in all cases the article mended should not be used till the cement has hardened. This cement will resist the action of water, hot or cold, acids, and almost any degree of heat.

TO PRESERVE BOOKS. -Bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over with the spirits of wine. A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mold and damp. Russia leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never molds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to preserve valuable manuscripts. Russia-leather covered books, placed in a stationer's window, will destroy flies and other insects.

BADLY FITTING DOORS. - When blinds and doors no not close snugly, but leave cracks through which drafts enter, the simplest remedy is this: Place a strip of putty all along the jambs, cover the edge of the blind or door with chalk, and shut it. The putty will then fill all spaces which would remain open and be pressed out where it is not needed, while the excess is easily removed with a knife. The chalk rubbed on the edges prevents adhesion, and the putty is left in place, where it soon dries and ar leaves a perfectly fitting jamb. CARE OF OIL PAINTINGS AND FRAMES.--Wash the picture, when necessary, in sweet milk and warm water, drying carefully. Or, clean the painting well with a sponge dipped in warm beer, and when perfectly dry, wash with a solution of the finest gum-dragon dissolved in pure water. To retouch a gilt frame wet the rubbed spot with isinglass dissolved in weak. spirits. When about dry, lay on gold-leaf, and when quite dry, polish with a very hard burnisher. Give the gilt frame when new a coat of white varnish, and all specks can then be washed off with water or suds without harm.

FINISH FOR ROOM. - A room with plain white walls is finished beautifully by placing a black walnut (or the same wood with which the room is finished) molding around the room where the border of paper is usually placed, at the junction of wall and ceiling. The molding, finished in oil, costs from ト one to five cents a foot, and is easily put up. The upper edge should be rounded, and a space of a quarter inch left between it and ceiling. To hang pictures buy an S hook, sold at all hardware stores, place one hook over the molding, hang the picture cord on the other, and slip to the right or left to the desired position. This saves the wall from injury from picture-nails. PERPETUAL PASTE. - Dissolve a teaspoon of alum in a quart of water. When cold, stir in as much flour as will give it the consistency of thick creain, being particular to beat up all the lumps; stir in as much powdered rosin as will lay on a five-cent piece, and throw in half a dozen cloves to give it a pleasant odor. Have on the fire a tea-cup of boiling water, pour the flour mixture into it, stirring well at the time. In a few minutes it will be of the consistency of mush. Pour it into an earthen vessel, let it cool, lay a cover on, and put in a cool place. When needed for use, take out a portion and soften it with warm water. Paste made in this way will last a year. It is better than gum, as it does not gloss the paper.

TO CLEAN A PAPERED WALL. -Cut into eight pieces a large loaf of bread two days old, blow dust off wall with a bellows, rub down with a piece of the bread, in half yard strokes, beginning at the top of the room, until upper part is cleaned, then go round again repeating until all has been gone over. Or, better, take about two quarts of wheat bran, tie it in a bundle of coarse flannel, and rub it over the paper. It will clean the paper nicely. If done carefully, so that every spot is touched, the paper will look almost like new. Dry corn meal may be used instead of bread, applying it with a cloth. If grease spots appear, put blotting paper over spots and press with a hot flatiron. INK STAINS On mahogany, rosewood, or black walnut furniture may be removed by touching the stain with a feather wet in a spoonful of water in which six or eight drops of nitre have been mixed. As soon as the ink disappears, rub the place immediately with a cloth wet in cold water, or the nitre will leave a white stain. If the ink stain then remains, make the solution of nitre stronger, and repeat. Ink stains on paper may be removed by a solution made as follows: Dissolve a half pound chloride of lime in two quarts of soft water; let stand twenty-four hours and strain through a clean cotton cloth; add to an ounce of the lime-water a tea-spoon of acetic acid, apply to the blot, and the ink will disappear. Dry with blotting paper. Bottle the remainder of the lime-water closely, and keep for future use. THE CARE OF MARBLE. - Never wash the marble tops of wash-stands, bureaus, etc., with soap. Use clean warm water (if very much soiled add a little ammonia) and a soft cloth, drying immediately with a soft towel. There is nothing that will entirely remove grease spots from marble, hence the necessity of avoiding them. To clean marble or marbleized slate mantels, use a soft sponge or chamois-skin, dampened in clean warm water without soap, then polish with dry chamois-skin. In dusting, use a featherduster, and never a cloth, as it is likely to scratch the polished surface. Slate hearths are preferable to marble, as they are not so easily soiled. To wash them, use a clean cloth and warm water. Many oil them thoroughly when new with linseed oil; thus prepared they never show grease spots. INDELIBLE INK. -Two drams lunar caustic, six ounces distilled or rainwater; dissolve, and add two drams gum-water. Wet the linen with the following preparation : Dissolve one-half an ounce prepared natron, four ounces water, add half ounce gum-water, (recipe below); after smoothing it with a warm iron, write with the ink, using a gold, quill, or a new steel pen. The writing must be exposed to a hot sun for twelve hours; do not wash for one week, then be particular to get out the stain which the preparation will make. If this is followed in every particular, there need never be a failure. Gum-water for the above is composed of two drams gum-arabic to four ounces water. One tea-spoon makes two drams, two table-spoons make one ounce. If at any time the ink becomes too pale add a little of pure lunar caustic. Never write without using the preparation, as it will rot the cloth. TO EXTERMINATE BEDBUGS.-In March scald with boiling water every crack or suspected place where they find refuge, and then touch thoroughly every crack and seam where the bugs are likely to harbor, with kerosene. Great care must be taken not to injure fine varnished furniture. If any injury is done to varnish by the hot water, it may be restored by rubbing immediately with a rag wet in turpentine or oil. Beds should be examined again for vermin in July and August, and if measures are taken to exterminate them, there will be very little trouble. Another death-dealing method is to fill crevices with salt, and wash bedstead with strong brine, or use kerosene in the same way. Paris-green and mercurial ointment are deadly poisons to the bedbug, but as they are dangerous to have in the house, the first-named methods are preferable. One part quicksilver to twenty parts white of an egg, applied with a feather to every crack and crevice in bedstead and room, will kill them. Most people are unable to console themselves for sleepless nights as did the Irishman, who said: "Indade, I did quite as well as the bugs, for not one of them slept a wink all night," and the above recipes, are any of them certain to remove the pests if properly and faithfully applied. FARMER'S DOOR MAT. - Every doorstep should be provided with a footscraper and a brush or broom, and every one, as he comes in, should take the time to use them before appearing on the carpet or clean floor. If a regular scraper-one made for the purpose-is not at hand, one can make one from a bit of hoop-iron, which is to be placed on a step or edge of the porch in a convenient place. It is well to provide a "mud-mat," which is simply strips an inch or so square-fence pickets will answer-screwed to three or four cross-pieces an inch apart, or a more elaborate one can be made by stringing the slats upon fence wires. One with muddy boots is very apt to stamp and rub them on the steps or floor of the porch; a mud-mat will clean them off more effectually, and save the porch hard wear. A very excellent mat may be made by boring holes in a board, and drawing corn husks through the holes. Careful persons change their foot-gear when they enter the house to remain any length of time-a custom conducive not only to neatness, but so greatly to comfort, that it is to be commended.

MOVING. When about to move to another house, begin packing two weeks beforehand. Carefully pack small and fragile articles in boxes and barrels. In this way, china and glassware, and fragile ornaments may be stowed away with odd articles of clothing, bedding, etc. Books should be packed in boxes, or wrapped several in a package, in several thicknesses of newspaper, and tied with strong twine. They can thus be transported with very little handling. Larger pictures should be taken down and tied in couples, face to face, with rolls of soft paper between the corners to prevent rubbing. Small pictures may be packed with clothing in bureau-drawers and trunks. Take up carpets last. When about ready to move, select one room up-stairs into which remove every thing possible from the other rooms, and another below for the same purpose. If the occupant of the house into which you are to move will do the same, you can easily make some rooms there ready for occupancy. Of course each room must be swept down and scrubbed. As soon as the floors are dry, carpets may be put down in the more important rooms, and the furniture moved in. On the day the transfer is made, see that coal or fuel is provided, so that a fire may be started, and take along a basket, with matches, towels, napkins, knives and forks, sugar, tea, bread, and other materials for lunching. With all the caution you can exercise, you will find Franklin's old saying true, that "three removes are as bad as a fire." Houses that have been en empty may become fever breeders when they come to be re-occupied. An English sanitary officer alleges that he has observed typhoid, diphtheria, or other zymotic affections to arise under these circumstances. The cause is supposed to be in the disuse of cisterns, pipes, and drains, the process of putrefaction going on in the impure air in them, the unobstructed access of this air to the house, while the closure of windows and doors effectually shuts out fresh air. Persons moving from the city to their country homes for the summer, should see that the drains and pipes are in perfect order, that the cellars cellars and closets are cleared of rubbish, and the whole house thoroughly aired before occupying. Copperas used freely in the cellar is a good and cheap disinfectant.

LABOR-SAVING CONTRIVANCES.-Every good housewife has neatly arranged cupboard and dish-closet. Every thing has its appropriate shelf and division. But there are other things for which provision should be made. A pile of books is sometimes seen in one part of the dining-room, a few newspapers in another, and a pair of shoes in a third. The inside of a closet is sometimes a mass of confusion-"a place for every thing," and every thing thrown promiscuously into it. Half a dozen garments are hung upon one nail, to crowd each other out of shape; others are thrown upon the floor amid heaps of boots and shoes. And so on to the end of the chapter of careless and slovenly disorder. There is no excuse for such carelessness, and no satisfaction in such housekeeping. Want of time is no excuse, for such want of system and order is the cause of the most prodigal waste of time. It is only necessary to use the brain a little to save the hands. Systematic habits, doing every thing well, and the hundred little contrivances which will suggest themselves to every neat and ingenious housekeeper, will save time, and establish order and cleanliness. Have shelves in the closet, and regular rows of hooks, and plenty of them; let one side be appropriated to one kind of clothing, with a hook for each article. If necessary to preserve the order, make a neat label, and paste over each hook. Make shoe-pockets (these pockets are made of about two and a half yards of calico; one yard of which makes the back, to be tacked to the door when done. Split the remaining yard and a half in two, lengthwise, and, placing the strips about one inch apart, make, across the back, three rows of pockets, by stitching first the ends of the strips to the sides of the back, and then gather the bottom of each strip to fit the back; then separate each strip into two, three, or four pockets, according to the use for which they are designed, and fasten by stitching a narrow "piping" of calico, from top to bottom of the back, between the pockets. All the work may be done on a machine. A border of leather, stitched on the edges of the back, and a narrow strip used instead of the calico "piping," make whole much stronger) on the inside of the doors, and never put any thing on the closet floor, where it will be trodden upon in entering for other articles. Never stuff any thing away out of sight in haste and disorder. Hiding dirtiness does not cure it. Those who write many letters should have a case, with "pigeon-holes" labeled and arranged alphabetically-a box for three or four letters is sufficient-in which to keep them, with one compartment for unanswered letters. When the case becomes crowded, or at the end of the year, wrap in packages, and label with letter and the year. Newspapers and magazines, when preserved, should be neatly filed in order and laid away, or sent away for binding. The work-basket, which is in daily use, is often a spectacle for gods and men-the very picture of confusion and disorder. When it can be afforded, one of the new ladies' adjustable work-tables, of which several admirable styles are made and widely advertised, will be found a great convenience, especially where there are children-whose little fingers delight in tumbling the contents of the basket. If a basket is used, it should be divided into compartments. A circular basket, with divisions about the edge for smaller articles, and larger spaces in the center, is convenient, and easily kept in order. All these, and hundreds of other devices like them, are labor-savers, which relieve housekeeping of a large share of its burdens. And a calculation of the time spent every year in hunting through closets for lost overshoes or slippers, or in cleaning up the scattered items in the sitting-room when company is coming in, and searching for missing letters among a miscellaneous pile thrown into a drawer, will give a startling result, and convey some adequate idea of the real money and time-value of that love of neatness and order which is one of the cardinal virtues in women.