One of the most important things is to season glass and china to sudden change of temperature, so that they will remain sound after exposure to sudden heat and cold. This is best done by placing the articles in cold water, which must gradually be brought to the boiling point, and then allowed to cool very slowly, taking several hours to do it. The commoner the materials, the more care in this respect is required. All china that has any gilding upon it may on no account be rubbed with a cloth of any kind, but merely rinsed first in hot and afterward in cold water, and then left to drain till dry. It may be rubbed with a soft wash-leather and a little dry whiting; but this operation must not be repeated more than once a year, otherwise the gold will most certainly be rubbed off, and the china spoilt. When the plates, etc., are put away in the china closet, pieces of paper should be placed between them to prevent scratches on the glaze or painting, as the bottom of all ware has little particles of sand adhering to it, picked up from the oven wherein it was glazed. The china closet should be in a dry situation, as a damp closet will soon tarnish the gilding of the best crockery. In a common dinner-service, it is a great evil to make the plates too hot, as it invariably cracks the glaze on the surface, if not the plate itself. The fact is, when the glaze is injured, every time the "things" are washed the water gets to the interior, swells the porous clay, and makes the whole fabric rotten. In this condition they will also absorb grease; and when exposed to further heat, the grease makes the dishes brown and discolored. If an old, ill-used dish be made very hot indeed, a teaspoonful of fat will be seen to exude from the minute fissures upon its surface. These latter remarks apply more particularly to common wares.

As a rule, warm water and a soft cloth are all that is required to keep glass in good condition; but water-bottles and wine-decanters, in order to keep them bright, must be rinsed out with a little muriatic acid, which is the best substance for removing the "fur" which collects in them. This acid is far better than ashes, sand, or shot; for the ashes and sand scratch the glass, and if any shot is left in by accident the lead is poisonous.

Richly-cut glass must be cleaned and polished with a soft brush, upon which a very little fine chalk or whiting is put; by this means the lustre and brilliancy are preserved.