THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 44 
ironing them, and iron on the wrong side with 
a moderately warm iron. I find the results 
more satisfactory if the garments are not al¬ 
lowed to become very much soiled before 
washing, for the first time at least. Unless 
the goods are of some delicate color, I do not 
use salt after the first washing. 
FROM MRS. MARTHA A. S. WEBSTER. 
My plan has been to put four or five heap¬ 
ing table-spoonfuls of wheat flour into a milk 
pan, add about half a pint of cold water and 
stir until it is perfectly smooth, then fill the 
pan with boiling water from the tea-kettle, 
stirring briskly all the time. Remove one of 
the grates from the oven to the top of the 
stove, and on this place the pan of starch, to 
boil from three to five minutes. If it is 
thoroughly boiled, no tallow or spermaceti 
will be needed to prevent sticking. Add half 
of the starch to two or three pailfuls of luke¬ 
warm or nearly cold soft water, stirring well. 
Then rub the goods gently on the board, wet¬ 
ting but one piece at a time. Use no soap 
unless the goods are very much soiled. When 
rubbed clean, drop each article—after shak¬ 
ing it—into another tub into which has been 
stirred the remainder of the starch and two 
or three pailfuls of hard water. Turn the 
garments wrong side out and rinse them 
thoroughly. Wring by hand, and, if possible, 
hang in a shady place to dry. 
If the starch is the least bit lumpy, strain 
it through an old thin towel or a piece of 
cheese cloth. This amount of starch will 
cleanse two dresses for a woman, or several 
smaller garments. Washed in this way, 
black-and-white ginghams and prints will re¬ 
main as bright as new until they are nearly 
worn out. Iron on the wrong side. Where 
linings cause wrinkles, lay a piece of thin 
cloth on the right side of the waist and sleeves 
of a dress, and iron on that, if a “shiny” ap¬ 
pearance is not desired. 
FROM M. G. D. 
Always use soft water. Have the water as 
hot as the hands can bear, but not boiling. 
Put the soap in the water, not on the clothes, 
unless they are very much soiled, and then not 
until after they are wet. Wash the clothes in 
two waters, then rinse them thoroughly in 
soft water and hang them in the shade and 
air to dry. Ii they are to be starched, make 
the starch by dissolving it in a little cold 
water and then pouring boiling water on it 
until it becomes clear, stirring all the time. 
Dip the clothes in the starch after they have 
been rinsed, and wring moderately dry. If 
they are not stiff enough, they can be dipped 
again in the starch after they are dry, and 
again hung out to dry. Always turn colored 
clothes wrong side out to dry. If the clothes 
are black-and-white, and the colors are in¬ 
clined to run together, put a little salt in the 
last rinsing water or starch—about one tea¬ 
spoonful to a gallon of water. For light goods 
put a little indigo in the last rinsing water. 
Sprinkle the clothes the night before they are 
to be ironed, and iron until dry, taking care 
not to scorch them. If they are ironed on 
the wrong side they will not show those shiny 
streaks along the seams, that they do when 
ironed on the right side. 
FROM E. D. B. 
In washing colored clothes, use clean warm 
water, made a little sudsy by the use of any 
kind ot good hard soap. I use home-made 
soap. Never put more than one piece in the 
water at a time. VVasta out quickly, rubbing 
the soiled spots by hand. Use a very little 
soap if you are sure it will not spot the goods. 
I prefer a slight stain rather than have the 
color taken out by the use of soap. Rinse in 
clear water and starch. Dissolve the starch 
in a little cold water, then slowly stir in boil¬ 
ing water till it is clear and about the consis¬ 
tency of sweet cream; add a pinch of salt; it 
will make the goods clear and keep the 
starch from sticking. Starch the clothes on 
the wrong side and hang them in the shade, 
wrong side out. Take them in as soon as 
dry. Black and dark calico, or anything the 
color of which will I think run together. I 
rinse in a pail of water in which a good hand¬ 
ful of salt has been dissolved. Washiudigo- 
blue calico in good suds; if much soil ed, it 
will bear quite hard rubbing. Rinse well, 
turn wrong side out, and dry in the shade 
without starching. 1‘thiuk it looks more like 
new calico without the latter. Sprinkle your 
clothes at night, make them quite wet and roll 
up tightly. Be sure they are thoroughly dry 
before sprinkling and they will iron nicely in 
the morning. Indigo-blue, Dlack, and all dark 
colored cotton goods, should be ironed on the 
wrong side. Very light-colored goods I 
prefer ironed on the right side, as I like to 
have them look slightly glossy. 
FROM MARY D. THOMAS. 
When I have to wash a garment that I am 
anxious to look well, I wash it as quickly as 
possible, and do not use water that is too hot. 
I always use bard soap to make suds but do not 
rub it upon the goods. I use boiled flour starch 
in the water; one can use her judgment as to 
the quantity. After rubbing the goods through 
this water, they are rinsed directly in cold 
water, and then starched slightly, for they 
still retain a portion of the starch that was put 
in the first water. The more quickly they are 
washed ana dried, the better they look. I sel¬ 
dom hang them out in the sun, but generally 
dry them near the range. If hung out, they 
should be turned. After they have been 
sprinkled and when they have stood long 
enough to be dampened evenly, they are iron¬ 
ed on the wrong side, where it is possible, and 
with not too hot an iron. This way of wash¬ 
ing colored goods has proven satisfactory 
with me. 
FROM MBS. W. W. H. 
For washing colored clothes, I always use 
clean water not very hot—never boiling—or 
rinsing suds—and hard soap of my own make, 
which contains some borax. I do not soak 
them by putting several articles into the tub 
at once, but take the lightest-colored first, 
wash, rinse, immediately starch and dry as 
soon as possible. I do not put them where 
they will freeze in winter, or leave them out 
all day in the wind ana sun in summer. If 
the ground-work of prints is white, I use 
store starch with a little'bluing; if not, flour 
starch made in this way: Two small table¬ 
spoonfuls of flour for a dress and three or 
four aprons. I do not like them too stiff. 
Stir in a little cold water. I do not stop to 
mash all the lumps as I was taught to do when 
a child, but pour on boiling water and strain 
through a tin strainer, which takes out all the 
lumps. I thin it with cold water, adding a 
little before putting in each article. If the 
prints have green in them, put a little alum 
in the rinsing water; if black or brown, use a 
handful of salt to a pail of water, letting them 
stand a few minutes. Sprinkle the clothes 
well, letting them lie an hour or two rolled 
up in a towel; then iron with a moderately 
hot iron, until they are quite dry. If the 
iron is too hot, it fades them worse than the 
washing. I never use a hot iron for colored 
table-cloths or napkins. 
FROM MRS. H. M. R. 
My method of washing and ironing colored 
cottons is very simple yet satisfactory. If 
washing day is unfavorable for drying clothes 
quickly, the best prints are laid out of the 
wash; otherwise they are washed m warm 
bluing water with hard soap, the lighter col¬ 
ored ones first, each piece being put in the 
water only when I am ready to wash it. The 
rinsing waters are cold, the last one blued for 
all colors except pink. The thin boiled starch 
(Dot blued) is prepared in the same way as 
that for the white clothes, and allowed to 
cool. Each piece as soon as washed is well 
rinsed, starched wrong side out, and hung in 
the shade right side out to dry. On ironing 
day—a clear one is preferred—the prints re¬ 
ceive a fine sprinkle, are rolled tightly, and as 
soon as evenly dampened they are ironed on 
the wrong side with a light pressure and 
again on the right. I have never used any¬ 
thing that would successfully set color on fad¬ 
ing goods. My way is not to buy them. 
FROM MRS. L. F. 
I think the two most essential things in 
washing colored clothes are plenty of warm 
water and dispatch. My mode is to place the 
lightest colored things, lawns, percales, ging¬ 
hams, or whatever they may be—in the ma¬ 
chine first. These are rubbed through quick¬ 
ly, wrung out and put through warm suds 
that contain no soap, then rinsed through 
starched water which is slightJy blued, if 
necessary, for any of the goods. Hang out 
immediately and follow with the next darker 
colored lot. A tea-spoonful of beef’s gall in 
the rinse-water will prevent fading. Salt is 
good and so is soda. I use flour starch, as I 
think the clothes iron nicer. It is made thus: 
two or three table-spoonfuls of flour moisten¬ 
ed and worked smooth,pour on boiling water, 
stirring constantly until clear and thick; then 
thin so it will strain through a piece of cheese 
cloth. If all parts of colored clothes that can 
be ironed on the wrong side, are so treated 
they will look as nice as new. 
goods remain in the suds the more the colors 
will run together. I rinse them until the 
water is clear; then hang them in the shade 
to dry. If they are ironed when taken from 
the line and before they are thoroughly dry, 
I find they will look well for a long time, 
Slightly soiled garments and those that faded 
badly I have washed in bran water. Take a 
piece of cheese cloth and tie up a quantity of 
bran and squeeze it out in the water in which 
the goods are to be washed. If well rinsed 
and well pressed they will look like new. 
have learned lately that if a red table-cloth is 
put in strong hot brine for an hour or two be¬ 
fore putting it in suds for the first time it is 
washed, the color will last much longer. 
FROM MRS. ESTELLA E. G. WALLIS. 
The use of soda is fatal to cotton goods and 
nothing is more frequent than to see the 
delicate tints of lawns, etc., blotched and 
streaked by the ignorance and vandalism of a 
laundress. It is worth while for ladies to pay 
attention to this, and insist upon having 
their summer dresses washed according to the 
directions which they should be prepared to 
give their laundresses. In the first place, the 
water should be tepid, the hard soap should 
not be allowed to touch the fabric; it should 
be washed and rinsed quickly and turned 
upon the wrong side as soon as possible. Linen 
should be washed in water in which hay or a 
quart bag of bran has been noiled. The latter 
will be found to answer for starch as well, and 
is excellent for pink dresses of all kinds; but 
a handful of salt is very useful also to set the 
colors of light cambrics and dotted lawns, and 
a little ox-gall will not only set but brighten 
yellow and purple tints, and has a good effect 
upon green. Alum, also, is good to use in the 
starch for muslins, ginghams and calicoes. Dis¬ 
solve a piece of alum the size of a walnut for 
every pint of starch, and add to it. By so 
doing the colors will keep bright for a long 
time, which is very desirable when dresses 
must be often washed, and the cost is but a 
trifle. 
FROM A FARMER’S WIFE. 
I do my washing with as little elbow grease 
as possible. I use Frank Siddall’s soap for 
my white clothes and wash the colored ones 
in the same water. I don't think it fades 
them and if it makes them tender we can have 
some new ones all the sooner. Rinsing well 
and starching in flour starch with a little 
piece of butter melted in it, and ironing, is 
treatment good enough for the flve-cent 
remnants we farmers’ wives have to wear. I 
shall make soft soap soon, and I think that 
just as good as hard. What’s the use of wear¬ 
ing ourselves out washing, anyway, when all 
we get is our board and perhaps as much pin- 
money as the head of the house spends for to¬ 
bacco? I want to save my strength so as to 
live long enough to get the use of that third 
of the property, half of which I have earned. 
FROM LAURA E. RICE. 
I wash in warm water with as little soap oi 
the clothes as possible, and there is no ven 
hard rubbing on the board. If the clothei 
are much soiled I use two waters for washing 
them. After rinsing them in warm water, ; 
have ready some clear cold water with somi 
salt in it—about a table-spoonful to a pail o; 
water. I let the clothes remain in this for t 
few minutes. For those that I wish starchec 
I make a thin starch—I use starchine, whicl 
requires no cooking, as the hot water poured 
upon it is sufficient. After starching, I hang 
them where they will dry quickly, without 
the sun shining directly upon them; being 
careful to hang so as to have as few wrinkles 
in them as possible. When they are dry, 1 
dampen, fold and roll them up carefully and 
lay them aside for an hour or perhaps longer. 
I iron with a hot iron, being sure to dry them 
with the iron. 
FROM AMANDA C. ERHART. 
Colored cotton fabrics should be washed 
quickly in a good suds either quite warm or 
hot, according as the hands or machine are 
used. Rinse well at once and starch and dry 
in haste. Do not expose to a hot sun in sum¬ 
mer, or to hard freezing cold in winter. If it 
is desired to maintain the colors, iron on the 
right side which gives a gloss which is a pre¬ 
ventive against soiling so quickly. Dainty 
fabrics, such as lawns, can be washed nicely 
in starch-water leaving out soap altogether. 
Use two starch waters if the goods are much 
soiled. 
FROM MRS. M. S. 
My way is to make suds, not very strong, 
und add borax, the amount required depend¬ 
ing on the condition of the goods to be washed. 
1 wash them through only one water and do 
that as quickly as possible; for the longer the 
FROM ALICE JOHNSON. 
Dip them first in a solution of salt and 
water, and bang them in a shady place to dry 
—the salt sets the colors. When dry wash in 
light soap suds in the usual way. Calico and 
muslins do not require hot suds. Water mod¬ 
erately warm is best. Wash quickly, turn 
wrong side out and hang in the shade. For 
blue goods, blue the rinsing water, also the 
starch. 
Another way is to make a paste of bran, as 
one would make starch, and boil it one hour, 
then strain it into warm, soft water. No soap 
is necessary, as bran has cleansing properties 
of its own. Always iron on the wrong side 
with a moderately hot iron. Sugar-of-lead 
and other drugs may be used to set colors per¬ 
manently, but this is not desirable, as they 
arc poisonous, and make the goods tender. 
FROM JULIA OSBORNE. 
To wash colored cotton goods without caus 
ing them to fade is almost impossible, but fad¬ 
ing may be prevented in a measure by 
proper care. First, the water should be only 
moderately hot. I generally use the rinsing 
water of the white goods. Should it not be 
hot enough 1 add more hot water. But this 
water could not be used for black goods on 
account of the lint from the white goods re¬ 
maining in the water. Then wash out the 
light calico garments first, not putting too 
many in the water at once, as the longer they 
soak in the water the more liable is the color 
to come out. After the light goods are fin¬ 
ished, put in the dark ones, and all should be 
rinsed in two clean waters. They are then 
ready for the starch which I think is best not 
too thick, and it should not be used very hot. 
In ironing after the goods have been sprin¬ 
kled and laid away for an hour or two (over¬ 
night is better), the dark ones will look 
much brighter if ironed on the wrong side. 
No washing soda or other washing prepara¬ 
tions shoula be allowed to come in contact 
with colored cotton goods if keeping them 
fresh looking is desired. 
FROM ETTA D. LYON. 
I use hard or soft water and good hard soap, 
never soft or inferior soap. Make moderate¬ 
ly warm suds, put in the goods, the light-col¬ 
ored and least soiled first; soak five minutes; 
then wash out quickly and thoroughly. Some 
goods will not bear rubbing on a board and 
such may be washed with the hands only and 
rubbed as little as possible. W hen all are 
through the first suds, make another, using 
less soap than for the first, and wash them 
through this. Then rinse in cold water, and 
starch in boiled starch of the consistency of 
thin cream (if made of flour it should be 
strained) and hang wrong side out, in the 
shade to dry. Remove from the line as soon 
as dry and dampen and fold for ironing. I 
let them lie over-night so that the moisture 
may penetrate every part. I use moderately 
hot sad-irons—too much heat will permanent¬ 
ly injure the color of some fabrics. Colored 
cotton and linen table-cloths or napkins I 
never iron; I fold them smoothly while damp 
and put them under a weight and they retain 
their bright colors much longer than if ironed. 
FROM JESSIE LAWRENCE. 
I always use plenty of water and good hard 
soap. Have the water lukewarm and soap 
the things in it, roll them up, and let them 
soak 30 minutes or longer. Then wash quick¬ 
ly through two waters and rinse in blue water, 
then turn them inside out, starch, and hang 
them out. Bring them in as soon as dry, as 
exposure to the sun and air fades cotton goods 
more than washing. Sprinkle with warm 
water; and roll them up tightly. In about two 
hours they may be ironed, but they will iron 
better if left longer. We like to dampen them 
at night and iron them the next morning. 
Never use a very hot iron, as it takes the 
color out and makes the clothes tender. Our 
cotton goods, washed and ironed in this way, 
keep bright until worn out. 
FROM MRS. T. 8. 
In washing colored cottons I heat sufficient 
water, with soap cut fine, to make good suds 
so as to avoid rubbing the soap directly on 
the goods. 1 wash them through two waters 
as quickly as possible and rinse them well. I 
think much depends on the way clothes are 
rinsed. In washing prints the first time, I 
soak them for a few moments in lukewarm 
water to which a spoonful of salt has been 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castoru* 
When she was a Child, she cried forCastorla 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castorla 
When she had Children, she gave them Caatorfa 
