Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

Use clean, dry sawdust ; scatter it by the handful upon that part of the floor farthest from the door, covering three or four square feet of the floor ; then with a stiff new scrubbing-brush, set with short bristles, scrub the floor with the motion used in scrubbing with water; if any spot is unusually soiled, scrub a httle harder over it, using extra sawdust. When the entire floor has been scrubbed, sweep up the sawdust, and bum it, and dust off the floor before putting down the rugs. DRY SCRUBBING WITH SAND Fine white sea-sand can be used upon unpainted floors, in the same way as the sawdust, but is not so perfect a purifier ; the only advantage is that the sand can be washed and dried, and used repeatedly. The same process is to be followed as with the sawdust. HOW TO PREPARE floors for oiling and staining. When the surface of the floor is uneven, it must be planed down, or nibbed smooth with coarse sandpaper, any projecting nails being first removed. The nail-holes and small cracks must be filled with putty : the large cracks may be filled in with strips of wood. When the floor is quite even, it should be washed clean, and allowed to dry thoroughly ; then dust it, and finish it by any chosen process. The vehicle chosen for finishing the floor should be mixed in a rather shallow open basin or bucket admitting the free use of the brushes or rags used in applying the stain or poUsh. There should be two rags or brushes, one for applying the coloring, and the other for rubbing it well into the crevices of the wood : a small rag or brush is required for the comers and along the wainscoting. Begin to work in the comer farthest from the door. Do not have any open doors or windows if there is any dust flying. Brush or rub with the grain of the wood ; make irregular stops, not straight defined lines across the floor ; when the wood of the floor is well-grained, have the color mixed thin enough for the grain to show through it, and use strength to rub the color well into the grain of the wood. Soft woods will absorb more stain than hard ones ; but a fair proportion is a quart of stain to sixteen square yards of flooring, and half a pint of varnish to protect the stain. After applying one mixture, the brushes must be thoroughly washed in warm water, and dried before using them for another ; one brush should be flat and wide for the open floor, and another small for the comers. OILING HARD-WOOD FLOORS. A perfectly smooth hard-wood floor can be kept in good order by daily dusting, and a weekly wiping with a soft cloth wrung out of warm water ; the use of soap is to be avoided, because it would neutralize the oily coating of the wood, and so destroy the effect sought for. In ordinary households, twice a year is often enough to oil a good floor. The floor should be of hard wood, made quite smooth, as directed in a preceding paragraph, and thoroughly washed and dried. Use boiled linseed-oil, applying it hot, as directed previously, either with stiff" brushes or soft rags, and rubbing it well into the grain of the wood. When the floor is made of lightcolored wood, a little ground burnt umber or burnt sienna may be mixed with the oil for the purpose of staining it, before applying it to the floor. POLISHING HARD -WOOD FLOORS.