Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-09-06
Che Rouseholo.
CUFFS, COLLARS, AND SHIRTS.
Good Housekeeping

her husbands linen, limp, damp, and
streaked with bluing, feeling she either
had to put up with it-rather allow him
to do tor force him to drop his hard
earned dollars in the almost indispensable
steam laundry, in order to show bold
white front to the wearisome toll of the
day. |, among the rest, have suffered at
the hands of ignorant, INSCRIPTIONS
laundresses with their pockets full of sal
soda. ETC., who, when mildly rebuked for
their execrable washing, tell you with an
injured air, they do their best and If you
don't like it, better get some one else.
Many girl on the eve of her wedding
knows as little about "doing up" shirt
as she does about making bread, which is
precious little, for she has never had to do
it. was never made to do it, and how can
she show any willing woman in her en-
plOy how to do it, if she knows not how
herself? After weeks, yea. months, of
bad washing, she finally concludes it
would be economy to send the cuffs, col
lars. and shirts, anyhow, to the laundry,
or take them to the nearest Monaghan to
be spat upon, thinking she will save on
something else.
All goes well for awhile, but our friend
soon discovers the shirts wear out much
sooner than usual, the cuffs are not mated,
and very often her husband goes down
to his office in a bad humor, the result
of finding all his collars marked II in
ches. when he wears l54. But the com
fort of having them look white and still
shuts her eyes to the price and loss,
which amounts to considerable to IA
young couple, perhaps with growing
family and limited means.
For those in sympathy with me and
who are now going through the mill, let
me solve the problem, or, in other words,
give them the benefit of the advice of an
expert laundress, recently employed by
my mother who by accident engaged her,
not knowing ut the time her true worth.
nor her amiable willingness to show and
tell how she put iron in the bosoms and
luster on the linen. The woman in ques
ton was a bright mulatto, who worked
as she talked with an ease and grace that
bespoke her ability to practice what she
preached.
This is her way, and as am only allu-
ding to cuffs, collars and shirts, the sup
position is that they are snowy white
when you 90 to starch them. The starch
for those articles is made much thicker
than ordinary, so that when it is cold
you can slice it with knife. For those
who have never made it, append the
following recipe, enough for four shirts.
a dozen collars, and as many pairs of
cuffs: Put to boil in "A clean saucepan
with copper bottom one and one-half
quarts of clear water; have ready a cup
full of best gloss starch dissolved in cold
water, and when the water on the stove
is galloping, for it must 'dance as well
as sing" pour in the melted starch, stir
ring well, and boil carefully until it is
translucent. 1t must be quite thick, and
if one cupful Gas cups vary) is not
enough, dissolve more and add, being
twenty minutes boiling find sufficient,
and it is ready to strain in three-cor ner-
ed cheese cloth bag, which you will find
better than thicker goods, as the starch
runs through it readily. Now add a tea
spoonful of kerosene and a few drops of
bluing. Some use bit of butter or
sperm, but find kerosene to answer the
purpose and is always at hand
The starch made and the clothes ready,
you may now proceed to business. Don't
be in hurry, for what time you con-
sumo in the starching will be made up in
the ironing. As soon as the starch is
sufficiently cool to bear your hand, take
shirt that has just come from the rinse
water, gather up the bosom, immerse in
the starch, rub well, long, and vigorously
till the starch has entered every fold of
the bosom. lining and all; don't wiring
or squeeze, but draw it through your
fingers well, slipping off all supertiuous
starch; treat band and wristbands the
same, hang up until bone dry. Proceed
to do the same to the collars and cuffs
not forgetting that success in the ironing
depends wholly upon how well you rub
in the starch. In stripping them of the
starch, endeavOr to smooth out all wrin-
kles while wet, and when dry they will
rattle like paper.
If the ironing does not take place until
the next day, put your linen away care
fully out of the dust, but do not sprinkle.
A half hour before you are ready to iron
it, wiring out of cold water very dry a
clean white cotton rag twice the size of
towel, lay the collars and cuffs on it,
with the fold of the rag between each
article, roll up smoothly and tight. On
the shirt bosoms lay similar rag, only
smaller enough to cover the starched
parts, roll as before and put away for
thirty minutes. Heat on the fire three