478 THE nOUSEnOLB. 



it will precipitate and make the clothes spotted. Ask the druggist to war. 

 rant it, for if it is all right it is unequaled by any bluing in the market, and 

 it is a matter of great economy to use it; the quantity mentioned costing 

 only about twenty cents. 



To Wash Shetland Shawls — Make a thin lather of boiled soap and. 

 water; plunge the shawl in tliis, and gently strip it through the hand. It 

 must never be rubbed or wrung. When clean, rinse through water without 

 any soap, hang it up for about a minute, shake it gently by each side alter- 

 nately, pin it out on a sheet exactly square, and if the shawl be of a fine 

 texture it should be hghtly sewed down to the sheet by the top of the fringe 

 to prevent it running up; then go over the whole fringe, drawing each thread 

 separate, and laying it straight out. If these directions are carefully at- 

 tended to the shawls may be washed many times, and each time appear as 

 well as when new. They should never be put into the hands of any but 

 those who are accustomed to wash lace. 



Washing Hosiery— Stockings that are stained or troublesome to clean 

 are improved by being stretched out on a board and scrubbed with a hand- 

 brush. Colored stockings ought to be rinsed quickly and well, and opened 

 by pulling them on the hands on each side, and holding them thus until the 

 toe is reached, then letting them fall, and pinning them by the top and side 

 to the line. Woolen stockings are kept from shrinking if dried on a wooden 

 shape of the right size. These are easily made from shingles of thin boards. 



To Wash Colored Cottons— Boil two quarts of bran in water for half 

 an hour, let it cool, then strain it, and mix the Uquor with the water in which 

 the things are to be washed. They will only require rinsing, as the bran 

 will stiffen them sufficiently. For colored muslins, rice-water is very good, 

 as it helps to preserve the color: but, although it makes white muslins clear, 

 it sometimes gives them a yellow tinge. When used it should previously be 

 boiled in the proportion of one pound of rice to one gallon of water. No 

 soap is required. 



New Mixture Used in "Washing Clothes. — In Berlin, Prussia, the 

 washerwomen use a mixture of two ounces of spirits of turpentine and one 

 quarter ounce of spirits of sal-ammoniac, well mixed together. This mix- 

 ture is put into a bucket of warm water, in which half a pound of soap has 

 dissolved. Into this mixture the clothes are immersed during the night and 

 the next day washed. The most dirty cloth is perfectly freed from all dirt, 

 and after two rinsings in pure water, the cloth has not the least smell of the 

 turpentine. The cloth does not require so much rubbing, and fine linen is 

 much longer preserved by it. 



Whitening Yello'w Flannels. — Flannel that has become yellow from 

 being badly washed can be whitened by soaking it for two or three houra in 

 a lather made of one quarter of a pound of curd soap, two tablespoonfuls 

 powdered borax and two tablespoonfuls of carbonate of ammonia, dissolved 

 in five or six gallons of water. Boil the soap in small shavings in water till 

 dissolved, then add to it the other ingredients. Let the flannel lie in it until 

 it looks whiter, then squeeze and press it, and rinse in bluing water, and 

 hang in the hot sun to dry. Iron while it is still damp. 



Hints for the Ijaundry. — If you wish your white clothes to look clear 

 and pure white, always have ready a ku ttlo of boiling water and scald them 



