THE LAUNDRY. 471 



Wasbing Made Easjr. — ^To Bare yonr linen and your labor pour on 

 half a pound of soda two quarts of boiling water, in an earthenware pan; 

 take half a pound of soap, shred fine, put it into a saucepan with two quarts 

 of cold water, stand it on a fire till it boils, and when perfectly dissolred 

 add it to the former. AUt it well, and then let it stand till cold, when it has 

 the appearance of a strong jelly. Let your linen be soaked in water, the 

 seams and any other dirty part rubbed in the usual way, and remain till the 

 following morning. Get your wash boiler ready, and add to the water about 

 a pint basin full. When lukewarm put in your linen and allow it to boil 

 twenty minutes. Rinse it in the usual way, and that ia all which is necessary 

 to get" it clean and keep it in good color. The above recipe is invaluable to 

 housekeepers. Give it a tiiaL 



Washing Clotlies Witbont Fadiitf;_Wash and peel Irish potatoes, 

 and then grate them into cold water. Saturate the articles to be washed in 

 this potato water, and they can then be washed with soap without any run- 

 ning of the color. I have taken oil out of carpets saturated with this potato 

 water, when simple cold water would make the color run ruinously; have 

 set the color in figured black muslins, in colored merinos, in ribbons and 

 other silk goods. Often the potato water cleanses sufficiently without the 

 use of soap, but the latter is necessary where there is any grease. In such 

 cases (without soap) I take the grated potato itself and rub the goods with 

 a flannel rag. In woolen goods it is necessary to strain the water, else the 

 particles will adhere, but this is not necessary on goods from which they can 

 be well shaken. 



A French l^ajr of Wasbing Clotbes. — A system of washing clothes 

 has been introduced in some French towns which is worthy of sjiecial men- 

 tion. Its economy is so great as to greatly reduce the cost. This is the 

 process: Two pounds of soap are reduced with a little water to a pulp, which 

 having been shghtly heated, is cooled in ten gallons of water, to which is 

 added one spoonful of turpentine oil and two of ammonia; then the mixture 

 is agitated. The water is kept at a temperature which may be borne by the 

 hand. In tliis solution the white clothes are put and left there for two hours 

 before washing them with soap, taking care, in the meantime, to cover the 

 tub. The solution may be warmed again and tised once more, but it will 

 be necessary to add a half a spoonful of turpentine oil and another spoonful 

 of ammonia. Once washed with soap, the clothes are put in hot water, and 

 the blue is applied. 



This process, it is obvious, saves much labor, much time and fuel, while 

 it gives the clothes a whiteness much superior to that obtained by any other 

 process, and the destructive tise of the wash-board is not necessary to cle&Q 

 the clothes from impurities. 



Bluing. — Bluing made from the following recipe has been in constant 

 use in many families for several years. It does not injure even the finest 

 clothes, and the ©ost is trifling compared with any other bluing. The quan- 

 tity here noted has been known to last a family of six persons a year: Get 

 one ounce of oxalic acid, one ounce of Chinese or Prussian blue (either will 

 do), one quart of soft water. Put in a bottle and shake it well for two or 

 three days after mixing it; after this do not shake it at all. If any of it set- 

 tles to the bottom you can fill the bottle after using the first water. If when 

 you buy it, it is not powdered, ask the druggist to powder it in a mortar for 

 you. Unless the Chinese or Pmssian blue is pure it will not be a success; 



