238 
APR 6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
water unstirred ; then turn the bosom board 
on the hardest side and polish and dry by 
rubbing quickly and hard with the flat. 
Collars and cuffs should be treated the same 
way. Iron slowly at first on both sides, lift¬ 
ing the articles often from the board, passing 
the hot flat over the ironing-sheet so as to dry 
them slowly on both sides. I have used a 
polishing iron, but it is bard work and hardly 
pays for the extra strength. Turn over collars 
or bend -the points before they are entirely dry 
to avoid blisters. Should any appear during 
the process, dampen and set a warm iron on 
them till they are dry again. To shape cuffs, 
run the flat over them on the wrong side with 
the right hand, and bend the cuff with the 
left toward the flat as it passes sideways over. 
Lay them in the sun, or on clean tin on the 
warming shelf to dry. I prefer Duryea’s 
Gloss starch for the shine; but I use Niagara 
as cheaper. Use the boiled starch lef t[for light 
calicoes, etc., as they will then keep their 
color better than when flour starch is used. 
Crumpled white dresses, dampened while 
pressing, with borax water, will be fresh and 
stiff again without washing if not too soiled. 
FROM MRS. ALICE P. SHEFFER. 
For starching shirts, collars, etc., I use a 
starch made as follows: (I prefer Kingsford’s 
Silver Gloss starch to any I’ve used). Wet 
up the starch with just enough warm water 
to dissolve it thoroughly; have boiling water 
ready and when pouring it on the starch, 
raise the kettle so that the stream falls from 
a hight of two feet from the pan, pouring 
steadily and not too rapidly. Have an as¬ 
sistant to stir constantly and evenly. When 
it is of proper consistency allow it to cook 
until clear. While starching have the starch 
as hot as can be borne. People with weak 
wrists find it very difficult to wring the 
starched garments properly. To obviate the 
trouble I often use the clothes-wringer for 
this purpose. Don’t have the wringer too 
tight. Thoroughly beat the garments be¬ 
tween the hands before drying. Everything 
used about the starching must be scrupulous- 
y clean to secure the best results. After 
drying, wet up a small amount of starch with 
warm borax water, or rather warm water, 
adding a portion of borax water to the solu¬ 
tion—say a tablespoonful of borax water for 
a shirt or six collars. Wring out the articles, 
old and roll up tightly. Let stand for two 
ours, then iron with moderately hot irons. 
A set of Mrs. Pott’s sad-irons do the best 
work). Iron the shirt-band first, then draw 
the shirt over a board made expressly for the 
purpose, that will stretch tne Dosom evenly 
and hold it securely in place. After the shirt 
is ironed dry, draw it over a bare, smooth 
board and finish with the polisher. 
In ironing collars, cuffs, etc., pull them 
gently with the hands until smooth. Iron 
first on the wrong side until partially dry, 
then turn and finish upon the right side. Do 
not turn over again as the tendency is to 
break up the adhesion of the sections. You 
can use the polisher the same as for the shirts. 
The following is a very good starch polish 
for which a round price is often asked by 
dealers:— 
Mix together, at a gentle heat, one ounce 
of white wax and two ounces of spermaceti. 
Add a piece the size of a pea to starch suffi¬ 
cient for a dozen pieces, or, dissolve two 
ounces of gum-arabic in a pint of hot water, 
bottle and cork. Add a table-spoonful to 
each pint of starch. I add no bluing to any 
starch, as there is no need if the articles have 
been properly blued in the rinsing process, 
and bluing does not readily combine with 
starch. 
FROM MRS. O. J. PUTNAM. 
The following is mother’s way. As she was 
taught, so was I. We call it cold starching: 
Of course, the shirts, etc., are to be washed 
clean and dried the same as a sheet or any 
other article. 
Take one and a-half even tea-spoonful of 
Silver-Gloss starch or any other kind. Dis¬ 
solve the same with one table-spoonful of 
milk, then put in one and a-half tea-cupf ul of 
cold water—this is sufficient for one shirt, one 
collar and one pair of cuffs. If more is 
needed increase in like proportion. Then take 
the above articles, turn or fold them so as to 
dip them into the starch on the wrong side, 
wring or squeeze all the extra starch water 
rom them, then roll them up together and 
lay them aside. See that the sad-irons are 
scrupulously clean, as a smeared shirt front is 
not a thing desired. Wash the irons with 
warm soap-suds and place on a clean stove to 
heat. When hot take the starched shirt and 
iron all but what is starched, then place the 
bosom-board in place, smooth out the bosom 
on the same, place over it a piece of worn 
white cotton cloth, then iron on this cloth 
with a hot iron, no matter if it scorches 
“some” as it will not scorch through till it is 
dry or nearly so; then remove the article 
from the board, starch again on the wrong 
side in the same starch after stirring it, put 
back on the board, smooth out—also wipe over 
with a damp cloth to remove particles of 
starch if any. Then take a common hot iron 
and iron right on the besom, lightly at first; 
always iron one way this time as the gloss will 
be all the brighter for it and iron till dry or 
nearly so, then place the bosom by the fire to 
finish, as dampness removes the stiffness. 
Proceed in the same way with collars and 
cuffs and I think you will be pleased with the 
result. 
I have found this method the easiest and 
best, after using cooked starch, etc. The arti¬ 
cles are quite stiff and glossy and please those 
who wear them. Practice makes perfect, and 
you will soon be able to do up your linen in a 
short time. Do not imagine your starched 
articles are going to look as glossy as those 
done up at a laundry where power is used to 
gloss them. We must use elbow grease and 
hard rubbing when they have been starched 
the last time. 
FROM MEDORA CORBETT. 
To make starch that will make articles 
glossy and stiff with one starching only, 
dissolve in a clean, tin basin,’ one-third of 
the usual amount of starch, in just sufficient 
cold water; add boiling water till the starch 
is transparent and smooth, let boil tor two or 
three minutes, and when comfortably cool, 
dissolve, in au earthen dish, the remaining 
starch and borax (one-half a tea-spoonful to 
one table-spoonful of starch) with a little cold 
water, add to the cooked starch a few 
drops of bluing, if desired; stir well together 
and strain into the earthen dish through a 
thin cloth or a fine wire strainer. 
Having ironed the plain parts of a shirt, 
slip the bosom-board in, wrong side up, dip 
the collars and cuffs in the starch, lay them 
on the bosom and rub the starch in and the 
wrinkles out. See that each piece is wet 
through and through before laying it aside 
for 30 minutes or more protected from dust 
and flies. 
To iron: lay a cloth over the bosoms, and 
put the collars and cuffs between two folds of 
a cloth; iron with a moderately hot iron, but 
not too long before removing the cloth; make 
the articles as smooth as possible, and when 
dry, pass a wet cloth over the right side of 
the ironed surface and polish. The amount 
of gloss obtainable will depend upon painstak¬ 
ing and the kind of flat-irons used. Put 
collars and cuffs in a deep dish and in a hot 
oven for a safe length of time. 
FROM AUNT RACHEL. 
After shirts have been washed and wrung 
out of the rinsing water, they are starched in 
boiled starch. This is made by dissolving a 
couple of table-spoonfuls of starch in a little 
cold water in a pan or basin. Set this on the 
stove and pour into it boiling water until the 
contents thicken, stirring all the time Re¬ 
move from the stove and when cool, starch 
the bosoms and collars and hang them on the 
line. A little pulverized borax, dissolved in 
the starch, helps to stiffen the articles and if a 
sperm candle is stirred around in the starch 
while the latter is hot, it will assist the work 
of the flat-iron. Very particular persons hang 
their shirts on the line and pin them at the 
shoulders. When dry and ready to iron, the 
bosoms, cuffs and collars are wrung out of cold 
starch; that is, a tea-spoon of stareh dissolved 
in a half-bowl of water. They are then rolled 
up and laid away for an hour, then ironed 
until dry, with a hot iron. If a soft white 
cloth wrung out of cold water is rubbed over 
the bosom when any spot or wrinkle appears 
the ironing will be all the better. Collars are 
treated in the same way, and embroidery is 
ironed on the wrong side. Starched clothes 
should not be hung out in very freezing 
weather, as the starch is apt to stick when the 
clothes are ironed. Good judgmeut will vary 
the mode of handling finely-starched goods 
according to the state of the weather. As in 
many other cases, practice in this “ makes 
perfect.” 
FROM EMMA L. ROBERTS. 
For one bosom and collar I moisten a tea¬ 
spoonful of starch with cold water, pouring 
on boiling water until I have the proper 
quantity. 1 use a new tin dish, and if the 
boiling water does not make the starch clear, 
I place it on the stove, and cook it until it is 
clear—but no longer. A little gum-arabic 
water, a small shaving of white beeswax, aud 
two or three drops of kerosene improve it 
very much—one may use one or all if she has 
them. The starch should be made to pene¬ 
trate the cloth by striking the article between 
the h»nds and keeping it rolled up tightly for 
two or three hours. I first place a cloth over 
the bosom and iron lightly; then remove the 
cloth and polish the bosom with a reasonably 
hot iron. If the result does not suit, I moisten 
the bosom with a cloth dipped in cold water 
and try again. It will polish all the better 
for wetting. 
FROM MRS. A. J. GREENE. 
Just before the articles are ready for the 
linel make my starch, allowing a table-spoon¬ 
ful to each shirt and its quota of collars. Hav¬ 
ing put the starch into a large bright basin, add 
sufficient cold water to dissolve the starch and 
also a small piece of white wax or spermaceti, 
pouring over the whole boiling-hot water 
to make it of the consistency of thick cream. 
Place shirt-fronts, collars and wrist-bands in 
the starch while it is quite warm; wring out 
and thoroughly rub the starch into tbe articles 
and hang them upon the line to dry. . 
An hour or so before ironing 1 put them, 
just long enough to wet them, into warm 
water in which has been dissolved about a 
tea-spoonful of starch to each shirt, wring 
them out, and roll the collars in a towel and 
the shirts by themselves. 
When ready to iron 1 stretch the articles on 
the ironing-board and thoroughly wet each 
with a damp cloth, then pass quickly over 
them a good hot iron, polishing them until 
dry. 
FROM MRS. H. T. 
Take two table-spoonfuls of good Gloss 
starch and mix smooth with three table¬ 
spoonfuls of cold water. Set the pan on the 
stove and pour over it slowly, stirring all the 
time, one quart of boiling water. Let it boil 
five minutes. The starch must be strained 
through a thin bag into a pan.' No matter 
how free from lumps the starch looks, the 
straining should not be omitted. When the 
shirts and collars are ready for the line, dip 
them in the not starch and rub it thoroughly 
into them from the wroug sides of bosoms and 
collars. When they are perfectly dry mix 
smooth one tea-spoonful of starch in one pint 
of cold water, dip the shirt bosoms and collars 
into it, wring out—not very dry—roll up and 
let them lie 10 minutes. Iron the plain parts 
first; rub the bosoms with a clean, damp 
cloth. Iron perfectly dry. 
FROM “MARGARET.” 
The soiled articks should be first put into 
cold water, and rubbed slightly with the 
hands to remove the old starch and to loosen 
the dirt, then they are washed and dried in 
the usual way. An hour before ironing, I 
take about two table-spoonfuls of Gloss starch 
to a pint of water, dissolve it with cold water, 
adding enough warm to make it a little more 
than of blood-heat. Add a very little blu¬ 
ing, dip the collars in this ana wring out sev¬ 
eral times—do not wring very dry the last 
time—then roll in a sheet. The shirt-bosoms 
are treated in the same way and laid away 
until ready to be ironed. Now take a soft 
cloth and rub the articles to remove any 
starch which may be on the surface; take a 
hot flat-iron and iron the collar first on the 
wrong side, then smooth the right side several 
times; change for a cooler iron and polish by 
rubbing vigorously. 
FROM MARY E. WARREN. 
A certain amount of tact and natural deft¬ 
ness of manipulation is necessary to do the 
simplest things well, and this is true for so 
simple a thing as starching and ironing. My 
method is this: After rinsing and bluing, I 
dip tbe articles in a boiled starch, (taking it 
for granted that every housekeeper knows 
how to prepare this) using the best sort. 
When the articles are dry, at evening 1 dip 
them in a cold starch—1 find Electric or Cel¬ 
luloid starch very nice for this—roll them 
tightly, and in the morning iron them with a 
hot iron, but not so hot as to discolor or 
scorch the linen. By lightly rubbing the 
iron over with a piece rf white wax, and then 
with a dry cloth before using it, a better 
polish will be obtained. Finish with a polish¬ 
ing-iron treated in tbe same manner. 
FROM MRS. LINDA T. VAN BUSKIRK. 
When I am ready to iron, I set a shallow 
kettle (the potato kettle) on the stove with 
some water to boil. Taice a tea-spoonful of 
starch for each shirt, p U t it in a small bowl, dis¬ 
solve or wet the starch with as little water as 
possible, then, while stirring it, add enough 
boiling water to make enough starch for the 
articles. Set the bowl in the kettle of boiling 
water and keep stirring the starch until it is 
cooked. While cooking put in a lump of nice 
suet tallow as large as a pea—it prevents all 
sticking. (I have tried kerosene but don’t 
like it.) A' ply the starch to the back of the 
bosoms, fold from right side and press tightly 
so that all will be damp. Then spread the 
article out, pull it into proper shape and 
hang it up for a few minutes. Iron the other 
articles and watch the starched ones. When 
they look as if they were partly dry, begin 
ironing them. Iron the plain parts first, 
then put a bosom-board into the shirt under 
the bosom, have a clean cloth and water 
handy to dampen dry places and wipe off any 
foreign substance. I lay a thin cloth over 
all starched articles first and pass the iron 
over this. When smooth take off the cloth, 
and rub a moderately hot iron quickly over. 
This puts on a polish that “ my John ” says is 
good enough for him or any one else. I use 
“ Satin Gloss starch.” 
FROM MRS. A. H. S. 
I am not presumptuous enough to tbrnk 
that my method will be beneficial, except as a 
contrast to the more modern methods of the 
present time, yet I will give it. After they 
have been washed, the clothes to be starched 
are allowed to become thoroughly dry before 
they are starched. Starch is then well rubbed 
into the different pieces, which are again dried 
in the sun. Common irons are used, and with 
reasonable care the results are satisfactory in 
my family. In making starch, I use the or¬ 
dinary lump starch of the stores. This 1 dis¬ 
solve in cold water until of the consistency of 
cream; then pour on boiling water, stirring 
constantly. It is then boiled for about 30 
minute?, a small piece of butter being added. 
To make the irons smooth I rub them on a 
spray of red cedar and then they will put a 
fine gloss upon collars, cuffs and the like. 
FROM MRS MARY E. PRESLEY. 
After trying various methods of doing up 
shirts and collars with varying degree* of 
success, I have finally adopted the following 
which gives mo complete satisfaction, but 
perhaps it would not be as well thought of by 
others. After the linen is thoroughly dried, 
I apply as much thick-boiled starch as it is 
possible to charge it with, to which is added 
one-half tea-spoonful of powdered borax to 
one quart of the starch. Starch is best ap¬ 
plied with a brush. Roll the starched linen 
up and in course of half-an-hour it is ready 
for ironing. I use ordinary flat irons, and if 
one is careful there is never any trouble with 
the starch sticking to them. The secret of 
success in getting the brilliant polish so much 
sought after is “elbow grease." it a very 
bright gloss or enamel is desired, after ironing 
in the usual way an iron for this particular 
purpose must be used, which is a very heavy 
iron, rounded at the bottom and very bright. 
But as I have said I never fail to succeed 
with the ordinary ones. 
FROM LIZZIE JOHNSON. 
I do not starch the linen until it is dry. I 
then take about one tea-spoonful of Niagara 
Gloss starch to one shirt bosom, and propor¬ 
tionately for the collars,aud dissolve it in the 
amount of water needed. I then starch the 
clothes and let them remain for a few minutes 
before ironing. I have used one tea-spoonful 
of a solution of gum-arabic and water in the 
starch with success. 
FROM MRS. A. J. BRACE. 
In my opinion it is not so much the method 
of starching upon which success depends as 
upon the starch itself. I always experienced 
more or less trouble until f began the use of 
Elastic starch and since then I am satisfied 
wutb my work even when done with the ordi¬ 
nary flat-iron, though I doubt not the so- 
called diamond-faced laundry irons would 
give a much finer polish 
FROM MRS. GEORGE RANDALL. 
When the clothes are ready for the line, 
I rub the bosoms of shirts as well as the 
collars with warm starch of the consistency 
of sweet cream. Three hours before ironing, 
dip them in cold starch aud roll in a dry 
cloth. When ready to iron, I then rub 
them well with a damp cloth to remove any 
superfluous starch. I use a hard bosom-board 
covered with fine cloth. After smoothing 
nicely, rub hard and quickly. I do not 
polish. 
FROM E. B. 
I take the following ingredients in this pro- 
Pij&tcllaucou.s 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castona 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria 
When she had Children, she gave them Castorla 
