255.  Attractive Living Room.—­The living room is sure to have a cheery atmosphere if provided with a wooden seat at either side.  The wooden shelf is a good place for the clock, candlesticks, and a few simple flower vases.

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256.  Finger Bowl.—­A finger bowel should always have a few flowers or a leaf floating around on the surface.

257.  Raw Oysters.—­Raw oysters are further improved by sections of lemon or sprigs of mint among the cracked ice.

258.  Cheerfulness at Meals.—­Meals should be something more than the consumption of food.  All work stops at those times and people meet together.  Nothing that can be done should be omitted to make it an occasion of agreeable interchange of thought and conversation, and when this is done, not only the body, but the mind and nerves are refreshed.

259.  To Keep a Rug from Curling.—­The edge of the heavy rug will not curl if treated to a coat of shellac on the under side.

260.  Grease Stains on Silk.—­For grease stains on silk, rub the silk with French chalk or magnesia, and then hold it to the fire.  Thus the grease will be absorbed by the powder, which may then be brushed off.

261.  Ironing Centerpieces.—­When ironing centerpieces of tablecloths, see that the iron moves with the straight grain of the cloth.  If this method is followed the circular edge will take its true line.

262.  Tucking Children’s Dresses.—­When hand tucks are to be used on children’s dresses, they should be very carefully made, and the first one kept perfectly straight to use as a guide for the others.  A good way to do this is to loosen one thread, not to pull out but sufficiently draw it to show the straight line, and crease the tuck in this line.  After the width of the tuck and space between each is decided use a notched card as a measure for all the other tucks.

263.  A Neat Way to Mend Table Linen.—­A neat way to mend table linen is to darn it with linen threads off an older tablecloth.  It will look much neater than a patch sewed on.  It is advisable to keep a piece of a discarded tablecloth in the mending basket for that purpose.

264.  A Good Substitute for a Toaster.—­If the toaster is suddenly lost, you can find a very good substitute in the popcorn popper.  It can be held over the gas or before the coal fire, and the bread will toast in a few minutes.

265.  To Prepare Cauliflower.—­To prepare cauliflower remove all the large green leaves and greater part of stalk.  Soak in cold water, to which has been added one teaspoonful of vinegar and a half teaspoonful of salt to each quart.

266.  Preserving Dress Patterns.—­Some women, after they have used a pattern, just roll it up and tuck it away wherever it happens, and when they want to use it the next time, it curls up and acts so that there is no doing anything with it.  If they would just lay the patterns out flat and put them where they might stay that way, all this trouble would be avoided.