476 THE noUSEHOLB. 



purest white soap and luke-warm water. This must be done with groat 

 dehcacy of touch, and rubbing must not be attempted; it must be merely 

 dabbed or patted, and pressed between the bauds gently to and fro in the 

 water. When the dirt is well out rinse it several times in lukewarm water, 

 aud if any stiffness is required pass it through water just sweetened with the 

 finest white sugar candy. In drying, the moisture must be expelled by gen- 

 tle pressure; hand wringing must never be resorted to for any of the finer 

 kinds of lace. 



Doing np Men's liinen — Many a husband easy to please in all other 

 respects, has had his weekly grumble over " the way this collar sets," or 

 " how this bosom bulges out!" And many a housewife has tried again and 

 again to remedy these faults. A lady explains the difficulty in the following 

 language: 



Some time ago my husband used to complain that his linen collars did 

 not set nicely in front. There was always a fullness, which in the case of 

 standing collars was particularly trying to a man who felt a good deal of 

 pride in the dressing of his «eck, as it spoiled the effect of his cravat, and 

 often left a gap for the display of either the collar band of the shirt or a half 

 inch of bare skin. While talking with a practical shirtmaker one day, ho 

 mentioned his annoyance, and inquu-ed if there was any means of reliev- 

 ing it. 



" Yes," answered the man, "the fault liee with your laundress. While 

 doing up your collars she stretches them the wrong way. Damp linen is 

 very pliable, and a good pull will alter a fourteen-inch collar in the twink- 

 ling of an eye. She ought to stretch them crosswise, and not lengthwise. 

 Then, in straightening out your shirt bosom, she makes another mistake of 

 the same sort. They also ought to be polished crosswise instead of length- 

 wise, particularly in the neighborhood of the neck. A lengthwise pull draws 

 the front of the neckband up somewhere directly under your chin, where it 

 was never meant to go, and of course that spoils the set of your collars. 

 With the front of your neckband an inch too high, and your collar an inch 

 too long, you have a most undesirable combination." 



The speaker was right. As soon as my husband ordered the necessary 

 changes to be made in the methods of our laundry, a wonderful diflfereueo 

 manifested itself in the appearance of that most important part of his cUd 

 anatomy, the neck. Let me commend the shirtmaker's hint to other dis- 

 ti'essed women. 



How to Gloss lilneii—Inquiry is frequently made respecting the mode 

 of putting a gloss on linen collars and shirt fronts, like, that of new linen. 

 This gloss, or enamel, as it is sometimes called, is produced mainly by fric- 

 tion ^^'itll a warm ii'on, and may be put on linen by almost any person. The 

 linen to be glazed receives as much strong starch as it is possible to charge 

 it with, then it is di-ied. To each pound of starch a piece of sperm or white 

 wax, about the size of a walnut, is usually added. Wlieu ready to be ironed, 

 the linen is laid upon the table and moistened very lightly on the surface 

 with a clean wet cloth. It is then ironed in the usual way with a flat-iron, 

 and is ready for the glossing operation. For this purpose a peculiar heavy 

 flat-iron, rounded at the bottom, as bright as a miiTor, is used. It is pressed 

 firmly upon the linen and rubbed with much force, and this frictioual action 

 puts on the gloss. " Elbow grea»e " ia tke principal secret connected with 

 the art of glossing linen. 



