J02 Reading-Course for Farmers' \Vives. 



broom kept for the purpose is the best thing to use for sprinkling 

 clothes. Some persons have used a toy sprinkling pot. There is danger 

 in its use for it may rust and give rise to rust spots on clothing. 

 Large pieces should be sprinkled and folded separately. 



Small pieces may be sprinkled and laid together before folding. Care 

 should be taken to fold and roll smoothly as this aids in ironing. 



The rolls of dampened pieces should be packed closely in a basket 

 lined with a clean cloth and covered with a clean cloth. 



Table and other linen should be made very damp, not wet. If table 

 linen is sprinkled with a mixture of one part alcohol and four parts 

 water the result after ironing will be a slight stiffness resembling that of 

 new linen. 



If a mangle is used, unstarched pieces may be removed from the line 

 while still damp and ironed immediately without the preliminary sprink- 

 ling. 



COLORED CLOTHING 



The processes of dyeing have so improved that almost all wash goods 

 are now considered to have fast colors. This is particularly true of the 

 better grades of fabrics in which the dye seems to attach itself more firmly 

 to the fibres of the cloth. However, though a color may be said to be fast, 

 this is only a relative term and colored goods require more careful 

 treatment than white goods. The conditions which most affect the sta- 

 bihty of colors in fabrics are: long-continued action of water and soap; 

 strong alkalis or acids; strong sunlight, which is a powerful bleaching 

 agent and is used constantly for this purpose. In washing colored 

 clothing these factors should be kept in mind. Colored clothing cannot 

 be soaked for any length of time unless the color is known to be very 

 stable; an}'- soap used in the washing process should be a mild soap 

 used in solution, or if the color is very delicate, it should be replaced 

 by soap bark, bran, rice water, potato water or cooked starch water; 

 the washing process should be conducted quickly, and the water should 

 not be very hot. After washing, colored garments should be turned 

 inside out and hung in a very shady or dark place, and should be 

 taken in as soon as dry. Fading is more often due to careless drying 

 than to any fault in washing. Washing powders or strong alkalis should 

 never be used. If the water needs softening use borax. If starch, bran, 

 rice water, etc., are used instead of soap, use the mixture as if it were 

 soap-suds. 



In starching colored clothes, rub the starch in thoroughly and wipe 

 off any excess, and no difficulty will be experienced with white starch 

 spots. 



