Friction in the Martin Family
It was the first day of school after the spring vacation. Grace and Mary, George, John and Jimmy, and several other children were early at school, all talking at once about the good times they had had during vacation.
That is, all except Jimmy. Jimmy stood, with his hands in his pockets and a queer look on his face and said nothing.
George did most of the talking. He was so full of his trip to Washington that he had to tell about it.
“Say, fellows, it was great! I had the best time! I saw the President and went to the Capitol, Mount Vernon, and lots of places besides. I wish you could have seen the cherry trees in blossom on the Mall, and the Lincoln Memorial. I’ll never forget that! You know there is a pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and I had a lot of fun watching some police dogs jump in for sticks.
“But the greatest fun was the egg-rolling on the White House lawn. I’m glad I didn’t miss that. Just thousands of eggs! And afterward when the party was over it seemed as though there were egg shells all over Washington. Somebody had to do a lot of work cleaning up the next day.”
“I wonder if they used the right kind of soap,” said Mary, with a laugh.
“That’s an idea,” said John. “What kind of soap would you use for scrubbing city streets? You know so much about soaps, George, you should have stayed a few days and bossed the job.”
“Guess I don’t know much about that kind of cleaning,” laughed George, good-naturedly.
“Miss Dean,” said Tommy, “I read in the paper yesterday that a statue in City Hall Park, New York City, was given a scrubbing. I wonder what kind of soap they used for that?”
“If it was as dirty as soot and smoke and dust can make city buildings, it probably needed a scouring soap,” said Miss Dean.
When Jimmy hear Miss Dean mention scouring soap he began to look interested. Miss Dean noticed it. “Jimmy,” she said, “we haven’t heard you say what you did during vacation.”
“Oh, nothing miuch, Miss Dean,” Jimmy replied in an off-hand way. But suddenly he said with a little grin,
“Say, Miss Dean, there’s a lot of work to be done around house!”
“There surely is,” said Miss Dean. “But why did you think of that just now?”
“Oh, Sue and I have been doing most of the work in our house this vacation. You see mother had a fall just as vacation began. She hurt her right arm so that she couldn’t use it for a while.”
“That’s too bad, Jimmy,” said Miss Dean. “So you and Sue took mother’s place in the house?”
“Yes, we tried to,” said Jimmy. “Dad wanted to help but he was busy. So we pitched in and tried to keep house. Mother said she would show us how to do things.”
“That wasn’t much of a vacation,” said George.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Jimmy. “It wasn’t so bad, especially when a fellow knew he was helping out in a pinch. It was sort of fun for a while, except that I found out that housework is doing the same things over and over again.
“I suppose you made angel cake,” teased Grace.
“I did not,” said Jimmy with a grin. “I left that to Sue. She was getting in training for a merit badge for cooking that the Campfire Girls earn, and she was a pretty good cook. I wasn’t getting any merit badge, but I washed dishes, three times a day, and polished the silver and the kitchen things and the stove and the tiling and the bathtub, and did a lot of cleaning all around the house.
“And I began to think about it,” went on Jimmy. “You see I was using some cleansers we hadn’t talked about, and what I want to know is--”
Miss Dean stopped him with, “I’m sorry, Jimmy, that we haven’t time now for your question. It is nine o’clock. Suppose you ask it later in the day.”
And later, Jimmy had his chance.
“You see, Miss Dean,” said Jimmy, “mother told me to use two or three kinds of scouring powders or scouring soaps. I learned to use one kind to scour the kitchen knives and frying pans, and other kinds for the silver and the tiling and the bathtub. Mother said it would be dreadful to use the wrong kind on the silver and scratch it, and the porcelain in the sink and bathtub mustn’t be scratched either. What is it in a soap which scratches or doesn’t scratch? How can we tell the difference?” asked Jimmy, ending up quite out of breath.
“There’s a whole story in the answer to your question, Jimmy,” said Miss Dean. “Or rather, there are a number of stories, and they are very interesting, because they take us under the ocean and below the ground.”
“Can’t we have the stories, Miss Dean?” asked several children.
Miss Dean looked doubtful. “You see, I don’t know whether all of you would be interested in scourers, such as Jimmy has been telling about. It depends upon how much you use them and feel that you’d like to know about what you use. With soaps, we had something which we all use, so of course we were interested.”
“But we do use scourers,” said Mary. “I almost always help mother polish the silver.”
“If I knew how to use them I’d like to help my mother,” said Grace.
“I always keep the silver clean in my toilet set,” said Gertrude.
“I help dad keep the nickel bright on our car,” said Peter. “We often use a scouring soap for that. I’d like to know the best kind to use.”
George was looking sadly at a rusty jack-knife. “Here’s why I’d like to know about scourers,” said he. “Do you suppose any of them will take off this rust?”
“I was sorry when our soap talks stopped,” said Peggy. “I wish we might talk about scouring soaps too.”
“Very well, we will have a few talks about scourers,” said Miss Dean, “and we will begin tomorrow. How would you like to borrow from home the different scourers you use? Bring them tomorrow if your mothers are willing, and I will bring some too.”
And now, wouldn’t you like to join Miss Dean’s group, and look around in your own homes for the scourers you use? How many kinds can you find?
Are the scourers liquids, pastes, powders, or in cakes?
If you find several kinds, find out also some different uses to which they are put.
Look at the first word in the title of this chapter. What does it mean? Do you think Jimmy could tell you? Has it anything to do with scouring? Could you use the word in telling about some of the housework Jimmy did?
Name some articles in your home that are scoured in order to give them a bright surface. What other use may scourers have? Name several scouring operations where cleanliness is more important than luster.
Which takes a brighter polish, a smooth surface or a roughened surface? Which is easier to keep clean? Give several reasons why smooth surfaces should not be scratched by coarse scourers.
Internet Links to Help you on your Way
George's Spring Vacation
History of the White House Easter Egg Roll
Mount Vernon
See the Cherry Trees of Washington, D.C.
The History of the Cherry Trees
The Lincoln Memorial
Where would you like to go next? 
