The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-05-20

Chemistry ard Hs1sekeeping. J,
Mrs. Richards, who IL the first wom-
IN who graduated from the Massachu-
,etts Institute of Technology, recently
gave . lecture in Providence ON
q Chemistry and Housekeeping"
which is thus reported in the Journal Of
that city: :EI.
There are three questions to con-
'ider. First. What are the main
offices Of housekeepingP What has
chemistry to do with themp In what
way will chemistry help industrial
housekeeping Food and health have
the most vital connection, especially in
the complicated life of Eastern cities il
it common to find cheap. poor materials
used in place Of good ones, and 80 the
end sought is not attained.
Zone Of the first requisites of house.
keeping, without which there cannot
be perfect health. is cleanliness. In
washing clothes sal-soda is useful, but
il used without knowledge it may be to
our cost. Mrs. Richards said she
bought on the previous evening pack
age of the last new washing powder,
warranted not to injure the finest fab
rio. nor the hands, and vet to take
stains out Of marble. What is this
magical substancep The speaker put
little into glass, poured in q little
vinegar and the result was . wine-col-
ored liquid. Like most of the washing
powders, which are sold at about
twenty-five cents pound, this is sal
soda, which can be bought by the
housekeeper at three cents pound. It
is therefore useless to pay the differ
ence for having it put up in labeled
packages. One manufacturer stated
that he put quinine in his powders, but
that could be of no service. A safe rule
for the use of sal-soda is one-haf .
pound to q gallon of water; of this use
one cupful, or two teaspoons Of the
crystals to one tub of water. Every
washing compound depends on sal-soda
for its cleansing properties. Some.
times this prepared powder is called
pearline; sometimes soapine, or some
other attractive name. Sal-soda may
always be detected by using vinegar
which liberates the carbonate. II it
foams it is safe to say that sal soda is
present. Several of the packages have
little white particles left in the glass,
which proved to be particles of soap
when tested. In reply to a question,
Mrs. Richards said that borax is safer
than sal-soda, but costly. A paragraph
going about the press declares that
clothes may be made fire proof, or at
least to that extent that they will not
blaze, by using borax in starch. They
would be so stiff as to be uncomforta-
BILE. For that purpose she would pro-
fer the tungstate of soda. Many of the
washing powders contain pinch Of
borax. Sal-soda must not be used for
colored cloths. and is the worst thing
which can be put to wooden. Wool has
little hooks in its fiber like the boards
on wheat, and rubbing mats it together;
therefore it should not be rubbed. The
wool men cleanse it in warm, not hot
water, which dissolves the animal oil
better than the cold water sometimes
recommended. Aqua ammonia is per-
fectly safe for cleansing wooden fabrics,
but not for those garments which have
an admixture of cotton. 1t is better to
get this in large quantities. as the drug
gists ask large profit on it, and it is
not so sure to be good when bought in
small quantities. No exact rule for
using it can be given because it is not
of uniform strength.
"Some things can only be cleansed
by naptha. This is an explosive mate
rial, and must be used with great care.
MRS. Richards then spoke of baking
powders. Yeast bread is of course more
healthful than any other sort, as it is
already partly digested. The purity Of
the various baking powders may easily
be tested. She has lately tested fifty
six samples of cream tartar. and eighty
per cent. was pure. One.half teaspoon
full of cream tartar ought to dissolve
readily in cupful of hot water: it will
not dissolve in cold water. There Is
always little lime in it, which is not
soluble in cold water. Alum will also
dissolve in water, but there is test
for it. Bread is raised by means Of
the carbonic acid gas evolved. A quart
of flour requires eight quarts of carbon
ic acid gas to raise it. Twenty-four
out of the thirty-three samples of bak-
ing powders lately examined were good.
All the good ones have carbonate Of
soda and Gre am tartar mixed in the
right proportion. They were adulter-
ated only by little starch or ground
rice, used to combine the rest more
easily. Logwood stepped in little
hot water was then applied to two SAM
Piles of baking powder. One turned
purple, showing that it contained alum,
and the other became yellow brown.
Vinegar will turn purple when applied
to alum. Cooking soda is seldom adul-
terated. because there is hardly any
thing cheap enough to use in it."